“Though I have but half an hour at home, I cannot let it
pass without thanking you for your gallant fight against
Louisiana. Your tireless patience in carrying in detail one
point after another of the enemy’s defences, all winter
long, has not passed without our grateful admiration; the
masterly strategy of the last week is the grand and fitting
climax,--all the more grateful, because we had been told
you felt the resistance so hopeless as to fear you must
succumb to the dictation of the Cabinet. We have watched
your white plume with fearful delight. Could we only hope
this defeat would be final, our joy would be unmixed. At
any rate, the effort will bear fruit thousand-fold.”