General Grant reports

150 years ago this week reports by President Johnson and General Grant on the condition of the South were published.

From The New-York Times December 20, 1865:

THE THIRTY-NINTH CONGRESS; Important Message from the President on Reconstruction. He Favors the Immediate Restoration of All the State Governments in the South.Lieut.-Gen. Grant Takes the Same Ground in His Report. Senator Sumner Makes a Bitter Attack on the President.The House Adopts a Joint Resolution for an Amendment to the Constitution.The Payment of Rebel War Debts to be Forever Prohibited.The Washington and New-York Air Line Railroad Bill Passed by the House. FIRST SESSION. THE NORTHEASTERN FRONTIER. A UNIFORM MILITIA SYSTEM. THE FREEDMEN’S BUREAU. COAL LANDS. THE COURT OF CLAIMS. THE REGULAR ARMY. AMENDMENT OF THE PENSION LAWS THE NAVY REGISTER. THE SUPERINTENDENT OF THE PUBLIC PRINTING. THE HOLIDAY RECESS. BILL TO SECURE FREEDMEN’S RIGHTS. VOLUNTEER GENERALS. THE COMMITTEE ON RECONSTRUCTION. SOUTHERN REPRESENTATION. A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT. THE SOUTHERN DELEGATIONS. THE TAX ON DOMESTIC MAUNFACTURES. …

The message of the President was then read, as follows:

To the Senate of the United States:

In reply to the resolution adopted by the Senate on the 12th, I have the honor to state that the rebellion waged by a portion of the people against the properly constituted authorities of the Government of the United States, has been suppressed; that the United States are in possession of every State in which the insurrection existed; and that, as far as could be done, the courts of the United States have been restored, post-offices reestablished, and steps taken to put into effective operation the revenue laws of the country. As the result of the measures instituted by the Executive with the view of inducing a resumption of the functions of the States comprehended in the inquiry of the Senate, the people in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas and Tennessee, have recognized their respective State Governments, and are yielding obedience to the laws and Government of the United States with more willingness and greater promptitude than under the circumstances could reasonably have been anticipated. The proposed amendment to the constitution providing for the abolition of slavery forever within the limits of the country, has been ratified by each one of these States, with the exception of Mississippi, from which no official information has been received; and in nearly all of them measures have been adopted, or are now pending, to confer upon the freedmen the privileges which are essential to their comfort, protection and security. In Florida and Texas, the people are making commendable progress in restoring their State Governments, and no doubt is entertained that they will at an early period be in a condition to resume all of their practical relations with the Federal Government. In that portion of the Union lately in rebellion the aspect of affairs is more promising than, in view of all the circumstances, could well have been expected. The people throughout the entire South evince a laudable desire to renew their allegiance to the government and to repair the devastations of war by a prompt and cheerful return to peaceful pursuits. An abiding faith is entertained that their actions will conform to their professions, and that in acknowledging the supremacy of the constitution and the laws of the United States, their loyalty will be unreservedly given to the government, whose leniency they cannot fail to appreciate and whose fostering care will soon restore them to a condition of prosperity. It is true that in some of the States the demoralizing effects of the war are to be seen in occasional disorders; but these are local in character, not frequent in occurrence, and are rapidly disappearing as the authority of the civil power is extended and sustained. Perplexing questions were naturally to be expected from the great and sudden change in the relations between the two races; but systems are gradually developing themselves, under which the freedman will receive the protection to which he is justly entitled, and by means of his labor make himself a useful and independent member of the community in which he has his home. From all the information in my possession, and from that which I have recently derived from the most reliable authority, I am induced to cherish the belief that sectional animosity is surely and rapidly merging itself into a spirit of nationality, and that representation, connected with a properly adjusted system of taxation, will result in a harmonious restoration of the relations of the States to the National Union.

WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec. 18, 1865.

REPORT OF GEN. GRANT.

Mr. COWAN then called for the reading of a report made to the President by Gen. GRANT, concerning his late visit in the South.

Gen. GRANT’s report was read as follows:

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THH UNITED STATES, Tuesday, Dec. 18, 1865.

His Excellency A. Johnson, President of the United States:

SIR: In reply to your note of the 18th inst., requesting a report from me giving such information as I may be possessed of coming within the scope of the inquiries made by the Senate of the United States in their resolution of the 12th inst., I have the honor to submit the following with your approval, and also that of the honorable Secretary of War.

freedmen’s bureau’s performance – inconsistent

I left Washington City on the 27th of last month, for the purpose of making a tour of inspection throughout some of the Southern States lately in rebellion, and to see what changes were necessary in the disposition of the military forces of the country, now these forces could be reduced, and expenses curtailed, &c.; and to learn, as far as possible, the feelings and intentions of the citizens of these States toward the General Government. The State of Virginia being so accessible to Washington City, and information from this quarter, therefore, being readily obtained. I hastened through the State without conversing or meeting with any of its citizens. In Raleigh, N.C., I spent one day; in Charleston, S.C., two days; and in Savannah and Augusta, Ga., each one day. Both in traveling and whilst stopping I saw much and conversed freely with the citizens of those States, as well as with officers of the army who have been stationed among them.

The following are the conclusions come to by me: I am satisfied that the mass of the thinking men of the South accept the present situation of affairs in good faith. The questions which have hitherto divided the sentiments of the people of the two sections — Slavery and State rights, or the right of a State to secede from the Union — they regard as having been settled forever by the highest tribunal — arms — that man can resort to. I was pleased to learn from the leading men whom I met, that they not only accepted the decision arrived at as final, but, now the smoke of battle has cleared away, and time has been given for reflection, that this decision has been a fortunate one for the whole country, they receiving the like benefits from it with those who opposed them in the field and in the council. Four years of war, during which law was executed only at the point of the bayonet throughout the States in rebellion, have left the people possibly in a condition not to yield that ready obedience to civil authority that the American people have generally been in the habit of yielding. This would render the presence of small garrisons throughout those States necessary until such time as labor returns to its proper channel, and civil authority is fully established. I did not meet any one, either those holding places under the government or citizens of the Southern States, who thought it practicable to withdraw the military from the South at present. The white and the black mutually require the protection of the General Government. There is such universal acquiesence in the authority of the General Government throughout the portions of the country visited by me, that the mere presence of a Military force, without regard to numbers, is sufficient to maintain order. The good of the country requires that the force kept in the interior, where there are many freedmen (elsewhere in the Southern States than at forts upon the sea-coast no force is necessary) should all be white troops. The reasons for this are obvious, without mentioning many of them. The presence of black troops lately slaves demoralizes labor, both by their advice and furnishing in their camps a resort for the freedmen for long distances around. White troops generally excite no opposition, and therefore a small number of them can maintain order in a given district. Colored troops must be kept in bodies sufficient to defend themselves. It is not the thinking men who would do violence toward any class of troops sent among them by the General Government; but the ignorant in some places might; and the late slave, too, who might be imbued with the idea that the property of his late master should by right belong to him, at cast [least?] should have no protection from the colored soldiers. There is danger of collision being brought on by such causes. My observations lead me to the conclusion that the citizens of the Southern States are anxious to return to self government within the Union as soon as possible; that whilst reconstructing they want and require protection from the government; that, they think, is required by the government and is not humiliating to them as citizens; and that if such a course was pointed out they would pursue it in good faith. It is to be regretted that there cannot be a greater commingling at this time between the citizens of the two sections, and particularly of those intrusted with the law-making power. I did not give the operations of the Freedmen’s Bureau that attention I would have done if more time had been at my disposal. Conversations, however, on the subject, with officers connected with the bureau, led me to think that in some of the States its affairs have not been conducted with good judgment or economy, and that the belief widely spread among the freedmen of the Southern States that the lands of their former owners will, at least in part, b[e] divided among them, has come from the agents of this bureau. This belief is seriously interfering with the willingness of the freedmen to make contracts for the coming year. In some form the Freedmen’s Bureau is an absolute necessity until civil law is established and enforced, securing to the freedmen their rights and full protection. At present, however, it is independent of the military establishment of the country, and seems to be operated by the different agents of the bureau according to their individual notions. Everywhere Gen. HOWARD, the able head of the bureau, made friends by the just and fair instructions and advice he gave. But the complaint in South Carolina was that when he left, things went on as before. Many, perhaps the majority of the agents of the Freedmen’s Bureau, advise the freedmen that by their own industry they must expect to live. To this end they endeavor to secure employment for them, and to see that both contracting parties comply with their engagements. In some cases, I am sorry to say the freedman’s mind does not seem to be disabused of the idea that the freedman has the right to live without cars or provision for the future. The effect of the belief in the division of the lands is idleness and accumulation in camps, towns and cities. In such cases I think it will be found that vice and disease will tend to the extermination or great destruction of the colored race. It cannot be expected that the opinions held by men at the South for years can be changed in a day. And therefore the freedmen require for a few years not only laws to protect them, but the fostering care of those who will give them good counsel, and on whom they can rely. The Freedmen’s Bureau being separated from the military establishment of the country, requires all the expense of a separate organization. One does not necessarily know what the other is doing, or what orders they are acting under. It seems to me this could be corrected by regarding every officer on duty with troops in the Southern States, as agents of the Freedmen’s Bureau, and then have all orders from the head of the bureau sent through the department commanders. This would create a responsibility that would create uniformity of action throughout the South, would insure the orders and instructions from the head of the bureau being carried out, and would relieve from duty and pay a large number of employes of the government.

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, U.S. GRANT,

Lieutenant-General. …

The Daily Dispatch summarized these reports here

Alexander Gardner’s photo of General Grant is found at the Library of Congress