John Harrison Wilson, The life of Charles Henry Dana

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[361] Fort Monroe is proved by the fact that he came out of the prison in better condition than when he went in, and that he lived for twenty years afterwards, and died of old age.

Having performed the duties which took him to Fort Monroe, Dana returned to Washington in time to witness the great review of Meade's and Sherman's armies, and of Sheridan's cavalry. This took place on May 23d and 24th, and on May 30, 1865, he sent to me at Macon a letter which has not been heretofore published. It runs as follows:

I have received a good many letters from you, but have not answered them for the fear that during the meanderings of your eventful campaign they might never reach you. Now, however, that you seem to have made a settlement, and to be within reach of the mails, I take the first moment at my command to reply to all your kind communications.

First, let me congratulate you on the brilliant success of your campaign. You can understand the reasons why I have enjoyed this especially. I have been delighted to find you putting down in this decisive manner all the criticisms and objections which certain friends of ours have been in the habit of making occasionally. I am delighted, too, that you have not fallen into any mistake growing out of the political complications connected with the peculiar termination of the war, and with the remarkable situation in which the State of Georgia is left by it.

Second, let me inform you that the report which you probably have seen in the newspapers, that I have left the department, is only partly true. I have not yet left it, but propose to do so about July 1st. I have agreed to go to Chicago to undertake there the editorship of a new daily journal which is about to be established. As you are aware, it has not been my wish to return to my old profession on retiring from office, but to find some sphere of practical or industrial activity; but as nothing of this kind offered itself,