to the change of his command. He
objected very strongly, as has been seen, to any such change,
because he felt that he could not hold a command in Washington
without interfering with Grant's interests, and because he had a
rooted objection to living in Washington in the midst of the turmoil
of politics. These objections were embodied in three letters which
General Sherman wrote and showed to Grant before he sent them to
the President. One of them found its way into the public press,
and created a disturbance which called forth the following letters:

"Headquarters Army of the United States,}
"Washington, D. C., February 22, 1868. }
"Hon. J. Sherman, United States Senate.

"Dear Sir:--The 'National Intelligencer' of this morning contains
a private note which General Sherman sent to the President whilst
he was in Washington, dictated by the purest kindness and a
disposition to preserve harmony, and not intended for publication.
It seems to me that the publication of that letter is calculated
to place the general in a wrong light before the public, taken in
connection with what correspondents have said before, evidently
getting their inspiration from the White House.

"As General Sherman afterwards wrote a semi-official note to the
President, furnishing me a copy, and still later a purely official
one sent through me, which placed him in his true position, and
which have not been published, though called for by the 'House,'
I take the liberty of sending you these letters to give you the
opportunity of consulting General Sherman as to what action to take
upon them. In all matters where I am not personally interested,
I would not hesitate to advise General Sherman how I would act in
his place. But in this instance, after the correspondence I have
had with Mr. Johnson, I may not see General Sherman's interest in
the same light that others see it, or that I would see it in if no
such correspondence had occurred. I am clear in this, however,
the correspondence here inclosed to you should not be made public
except by the President, or with the full sanction of General
Sherman. Probably the letter of the 31st of January, marked
'confidential,' should not be given out at all.

"Yours truly,
"U. S. Grant."

The following letter was addressed to the "National Intelligencer,"
a Washington newspaper:

"United States Senate Chamber, }
"Washington, February 22, 1868.}
"Gentlemen:--The publication in your