Grant was ready, at last. The time of testing was over, and he had reached his full stature. He had developed- through mistakes, through trial and error, through steady endurance, through difficult lessons painfully learned, through the unbroken development of his own capacities- into the man who could finally lead the way through that open door. Better than any other Northern soldier, better than any other man save Lincoln himself, he understood the necessity of bringing the infinite power of the growing nation to bear on the desperate weakness of the brave, romantic and tragically archaic little nation that opposed it; understood, too, that although the Rebellion must be crushed with the utmost rigor, the Rebels themselves were men who would again be friends and fellow citizens. Now it was time to go on. Sherman had said it: Sling the knapsack for new fields.
from Grant Moves South, page 489
from Grant Moves South, page 489