and shift the capital to Philadelphia if that becomes unavoidable.
'Personally, I do not believe Lee can take Washington. Sherman and I spent months seizing Vicksburg and it was not nearly as well fortified as Washington.
'I think Lee will presently discover he can bite at our capital but he can't swallow it in the time available before I arrive in the East.'
Grant reached into his pocket, pulled out a neatly folded telegram, and opened it up.
'This was from the president,' he announced, and put it on the table. 'It authorizes me to come east, to take command of all forces, and, as the president himself said, to defeat General Lee's army. That, sir, is my mission.'
'And the capital?'
'I hope it holds but I can do nothing for it now or for weeks to come. In fact I hope it barely hangs on.'
'Sir?'
'Because it will keep Lee in place,' Sherman said with a grin. 'It'll be like the snake trying to swallow the hog. It's a meal too good to pass up, but once it is halfway down, he won't be able to swallow any more and he won't be able to disgorge and crawl away. He'll be stuck.'
A trace of a smile crossed Grant's features.
'My mission is to destroy Lee, to bring this damned war to an end. That, sir, will take time.'
'Can you and Sherman not go to Washington now, sir?' Elihu asked. 'Your presence would do much to boost morale.'
'It sounds like General Heintzelman is doing a good enough job as is, even though, from what I've heard, he's no great shakes as a field commander. Besides, Haupt, how long would it take to get me there?'
'Four days at least, sir, if I cleared the line all the way to the Port Deposit on the Susquehanna. Then fast packet to the Anacostia Naval Yard.'
'It will already be decided by then,' Grant replied, gaze fixed on the map. 'Let's review the situation in Washington. What forces does Heintzelman have?'
'The garrison in the city is approximately twenty-five thousand. Mostly heavy artillery regiments, several good units. Also some small naval and marine detachments.'
'Reinforcements?'
Haupt turned the pages on his own oversized notebook and found the information.
'Three thousand men have been dispatched from Fortress Monroe. They should be there by now. Halleck ordered that operations in front of Charleston be scaled back, half the men there, nearly ten thousand to be transported up as well. If need be, the operation in front of Charleston can be abandoned and the rest of the force brought up as well.'
Elihu cleared his throat and looked over at Grant.
'Concerning Halleck.'
Sherman walked around behind Grant, who sat unperturbed, silently puffing away.
Everyone knew of the deep tension that ran between Grant and Sherman on one side, and Halleck on the other. The year before, Halleck had worked vigorously to remove Grant from command of the Army of the Tennessee, blaming him for the first day's debacle at Shiloh.
'Go on.'
'He has been removed from command, sir. The president will have accepted his resignation as of today; in fact the resignation was effective the moment you arrived here in Cairo.'
Sherman grinned and slapped his thigh. 'About damn time, I say.'
Elihu reached into his breast pocket and produced an envelope bearing the letterhead of the White House.
'This, sir, is authorization by the president. As stated in the previous telegram, you are in command of all forces of the United States; Halleck's position is now yours, and, sir, you will answer directly to the president of the United States.'
'Not through Secretary Stanton?' Elihu shook his head.
Herman looked over at Elihu with open surprise. Something big, profound must have happened between Lincoln and Stanton for the president to have cut Stanton out of the direct chain of command.
Grant said nothing; it was obvious that Elihu would brief him privately, later.
'Attached as well,' Elihu continued, 'is a statement from the secretary of the navy. Admiral Farragut will now have overall command of all naval forces, but when it comes to coordination and support of troop movements, he will defer to your orders, sir.'
Grant took the envelope but did not open it. Haupt was deeply impressed by the fact that not a flicker of a smile, not the slightest gesture of self-gratification showed. Instead he looked over at Admiral Porter and nodded.
'John, I'm sorry there wasn't something in this for you,' Grant said. 'God knows you deserve it. We never would have had Vicksburg without you.'
John Porter extended his hand.
'That's reward enough, sir, to hear that from you.'
There was a long moment of silence, interrupted only by the ticking of a station clock on the wall and the shrieking train whistles out in the yard. Grant gazed at the map of the country and Haupt watched him. This man had just been given the responsibility of running the entire war. All power to do so was now focused in this room. He was not given to flights of fanciful imagination, but he found himself wondering for a second if perhaps someday a painting might be commissioned of this moment, a pensive Grant leaning over the map of the country, thinking upon what blood still needed to be shed, what destruction wrought, to bring it together again, if indeed it could be brought together again.
The second cigar burned down, a third was lit. Haupt got up, poured himself a cup of coffee that was now cold, pulling back the window shade for a moment to look out at the rain lashing down, flashes of lightning illuminating the dark river below.
'I am bringing up three corps from Vicksburg,' Grant said, breaking the silence at last.
'McPherson is already coming up.' He paused, looking up at Sherman. 'Ord's Thirteenth Corps will follow, then Burnside's Ninth Corps along with the men he detached to Kentucky. I also want Banks's Nineteenth Corps from Port Hudson and New Orleans.'
'Isn't that stripping the Mississippi down to nothing?' Elihu asked. Even Sherman seemed surprised by the announcement.
'The issue will be decided in front of Washington and Richmond, not on the banks of the Mississippi. Besides, General Sherman here will continue to play havoc with them and I'm also leaving part of your brother Cadwallader's Sixteenth Corps with him.''
Elihu smiled.
'I'd like to see my brother again,' Elihu replied.
Sherman looked over at Grant with outright dismay.
'Sir, I really think I could better serve going with you,' he protested. 'Let me loose on Bobbie Lee and we'll show those Easterners how to fight.'
Grant shook his head emphatically.
'No, Bill, you're staying in the West. Besides, this is what you wanted, a chance at independent command. You'll have a tough job. You've got to keep what we've taken, then drive what's left of the rebs out of the region with only a third of what we had before.'
'Sir,' and there was almost a note of pleading in his voice, which surprised Haupt.
A look from Grant silenced him.
'Hear me out, Bill. You're taking command of the Army of the Tennessee.'
'What's left of it. I'll have only my own corps, Cadwallader's, and some detached units to cover five hundred miles of river.'
'I want someone out west I know I can count on, who can command independently. Ord with the Thirteenth is brand-new to corps command. McPherson is superb as a second in command, but frankly I trust you more in an independent role, and that means command of forces in the West.'
He fell silent again, puffing on his cigar, studying the map, and then stirred.
