ed his intention to support the measure.

Mr. Washburne closed the debate with an impressive plea for the
bill. He avowed that it meant General Grant who had been "successful
in every fight from Belmont to Lookout Mountain. The people of
this country want a fighting general to lead their armies, and
General Grant is the man upon whom we must depend to fight out this
rebellion in the end." Mr. Washburne gave a unique description of
General Grant in the critical campaign below Vicksburg: "General
Grant did not take with him the trappings and paraphernalia so
common to many military men. As all depended on celerity of movement
it was important to be encumbered with as little baggage as possible.
General Grant took with him neither a horse nor an orderly nor a
servant nor a camp-chest nor an overcoat nor a blanket nor even a
clean shirt. His entire baggage for six days--I was with him at
the time--was a tooth-brush. He fared like the commonest soldier
in his command, partaking of his rations and sleeping upon the
ground with no covering except the canopy of heaven." The speech
of Mr. Washburne was very earnest and very effective, and, the vote
coming at its conclusion, the House passed the bill by 96 yeas to
41 nays. It was not strictly a party vote. Randall of Pennsylvania,
Morrison of Illinois, Eldridge of Wisconsin, Voorhees of Indiana
and several other Democratic partisans supported the measure, while
Thaddeus Stevens, Winter Davis, Garfield, Broomall of Pennsylvania
and others among the Republicans opposed it.

The bill was desired by the President who approved it on the 29th
of February, 1864, and immediately nominated Ulysses S. Grant to
be Lieutenant-General. Mr. Lincoln saw the obvious advantage of
placing a man of General Grant's ability in command of all the
armies. The General was ordered to Washington at once, and arrived
at the capital on the eighth day of March. Mr. Lincoln had never
before seen him, though both were citizens of Illinois and General
Grant had been distinguished in the field for more than two years.
A new era opened in our military operations and abundant vigor was
anticipated and realized. General Sherman was left in command of
the great army in the West. He had up to this time been serving
with General Grant but was now to assume command of an enormous
force and to engage in one of the most arduous, heroic, and successful
campaigns in the military history of the country. Th