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Show Sherman's March to the Sea. j A curious contribution to history is contained in the Installment of Mark Twain's "Autobiography" in the current cur-rent numbor of the North American Review. It is General Grant's own opinion in regard to the inception of Sherman's march to the sea. It was expressed by General Grant shortly before-his death, in conversation conversa-tion with Mark Twain, who wrote it down at once on leaving him. "Xeither of us originated the idea of Sherman's march to the sea. The enemy ene-my did 'it." said Grant. "He went on to say that the enemy necessarily originated a great many of the plans that the general on the opposite oppo-site side gets the credit for. In this case, Sherman had a plan all thought out. of course. He meant to destroy the two'remaining railroads in that part, of the country, and that would finish up that region. But Gen era! Hood made a dive at Chattanooga. Chattanoo-ga. This left the march to the sea open to Sherman, and so. after sending ! part of his army to defend and hold , what he had acquired in the Chattanooga Chatta-nooga region, he was perfectly free to proceed with the rest of t through ! 1 Georgia. He saw the opportunity, and he would not have been fit for the place if he had not seized It. ; " 'He wrote me' tthe - general is j speaking) 'what his plan was. and I snt him word to go ahead. My staff were opposed to the movement. J The chief of staff, the general said, t even went so far as to go lo Washing- ton without the general's knowledge jj and get the ear of the authorities, and j he succeeded In arousing their fears to ; I such an extent that they telegraphed i J General Grant to stop Sherman. " 'Out of deference to the government, govern-ment, I telegraphed Sherman and . stopped him twenty-four hours; and then, considering that that was defer- j ence enough to the government. T tel- I egraphed him to go ahead again.' "' j |