Team of Rivals_ The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln - Doris Kearns Goodwin [398]
According to Grover, Tad loved the theater as much as his father. John Hay noted that Tad would laugh “enormously whenever he saw his father’s eye twinkle, though not seeing clearly why.” Often escorted to Grover’s by his tutor, Tad “felt at home and frequently came alone to the rehearsals, which he watched with rapt interest. He made the acquaintance of the stage attachés, who liked him and gave him complete liberty of action.” Tad would help them move scenery, and on one occasion, he actually appeared in a play. For the lonely boy, who broke down in tears when the appearance of Julia Taft at a White House reception recalled his happier days with Willie and the Taft boys, the camaraderie of the playhouse must have been immensely comforting.
ULYSSES S. GRANT, the hero of Vicksburg and Chattanooga, arrived in the nation’s capital on March 8, 1864, to take command of all the Union armies. A grateful Congress had revived the grade of lieutenant general, not held since George Washington, and Lincoln had nominated Grant to receive the honored rank. With Grant’s promotion, Halleck became chief of staff, and Sherman assumed Grant’s old command of the Western armies.
Grant’s entrance into Washington was consistent with his image as an unpretentious man of action, the polar opposite of McClellan. He walked into the Willard Hotel at dusk, accompanied only by his teenage son, Fred. Unrecognized by the desk clerk, he was told that nothing was available except a small room on the top floor. The situation was remedied only when the embarrassed clerk looked at the signature in the register—U. S. Grant and son, Galena, Illinois—and immediately switched the accommodations. After freshening up, Grant took his son to the dining room at the lobby level. His slim build, “stooping shoulders, mild blue eyes, and light brown hair and whiskers” attracted little notice until someone began pointing at his table. Suddenly, “there was a shout of welcome from all present, an immense cheer going up from the crowd,” who banged their fists on the tops of the tables until he finally stood up and took a bow.
After readying his son for bed, Grant walked over to the White House, where a large crowd had gathered for the president’s weekly reception. Horace Porter, a young colonel who would later become Grant’s aide-de-camp, was standing near Lincoln in the Blue Room when “a sudden commotion near the entrance to the room attracted general attention.” The cause was the appearance of General Grant, “walking along modestly with the rest of the crowd toward Mr. Lincoln.” Meeting Grant for the first time, Lincoln’s face lit up with a broad smile. Not waiting for his visitor to reach him, the president “advanced rapidly two or three steps,” taking Grant by the hand. “Why, here is General Grant! Well, this is a great pleasure.”
Porter was struck by the physical contrast between the two men. From his uncommon height, the president “looked down with beaming countenance” upon Grant, who stood eight inches shorter. The collar on Lincoln’s evening dress was “a size too large,” his necktie “awkwardly tied.” He seemed to Porter “more of a Hercules than an Adonis.” Yet Porter noted the “merry twinkle” in his gray eyes and “a tone of familiarity” that instantly set people at ease. Watching the two men together, Welles, who was also present, was slightly disconcerted by Grant’s demeanor, remarking on his lack of soldierly presence, “a degree of awkwardness.”
After talking with Grant, Lincoln referred him to Seward, knowing that his gregarious secretary could best help the general navigate the crowds of admirers shouting his name and rapidly descending upon him. So frantic was the cheering throng to draw near the conquering hero that “laces were torn, crinoline mashed,