19th, 1877, until he reached San Francisco on his return, September 20th, 1879.
The laurels won by General Grant upon the field of battle are no brighter or more lasting than is the imperishable renown he gained for himself by the generous terms accorded the impoverished South, after it had been whipped into subjection. "I wish," said General R. E. Lee to a Northern friend, on one occasion, "to do simple justice to General Grant when I say that his treatment of the Army of Northern Virginia is without a parallel in the history of the civilized world. When my poor soldiers, with famished faces, had neither food nor raiment, General Gran immediately issued the humane order that 40,000 rations should be furnished to the impoverished troops. And that is not all. I was giving directions to one of my staff officers, when making out the list of things to be surrendered, to include the horses. At that moment General Grant, who seemed to be paying no attention to what was transpiring, quickly said: 'No, no, General Lee, not a horse-not one-keep them all! Your people will need them for the spring crops!'" "It was a scene never to be forgotten," adds the gentleman to whom the remarks were addressed, "to watch Lee's manner, when, with a spirit of chivalry equal to his skill and gallantry, he told, with moistened eyes, this and many other instances of the magnanimity so nobly displayed by his illustrious rival." Being subsequently asked who, in his opinion, was the greatest of the Federal commanders, General Lee paid the following handsome tribute to General Grant: "Both as a gentleman and an organizer of victorious war, General Grant has excelled all your most noted soldiers. He has exhibited more true courage, more real greatness of mind, more consummate prudence from the outset, and more heroic bravery than any one on your side."