Adam Badeau, Military history of Ulysses S. Grant from April 1861 to April 1865. Volume 2

[526] at once: ‘Send all my dispatches that have gone concerning operations to Sherman. . . . Have you stopped Mulford from delivering prisoners? If he has any on hand for delivery, tell him to hold on to them.’ To Weitzel he now said: ‘You need not assault in the morning unless you have good reason for believing the enemy are leaving. We have a good thing of it now, and in a day or two I think I will be able to send you all the troops necessary.’

At 4.40 P. M., the general-in-chief telegraphed to City Point: ‘We are now up, and have a continuous line of troops, and in a few hours will be entrenched from the Appomattox below Petersburg to the river above. . . . The whole captures since the army started out gunning will not amount to less than twelve thousand men and probably fifty pieces of artillery. . . . All seems well with us, and everything quiet just now. I think the President might come out and pay us a visit to-morrow.’ To this Lincoln himself replied: ‘Allow me to tender to you, and all with you, the nation's grateful thanks for the additional and magnificent success. At your kind suggestion, I think I will meet you to-morrow.’ Grant thereupon telegraphed again: ‘If the President will come out on the nine A. M. train to Patrick station, I will send an escort to meet him. It would afford me much pleasure to meet the President in person at the station, but I know he will excuse me for not doing so when my services are so liable to be needed at any moment.’ At 8.40 P. M., he added to this: ‘I have just heard from Miles. He attacked what was left of Heth and Wilcox's divisions at Sutherland station, and routed them, capturing about a thousand prisoners. The enemy took the ’