We made a great mistake in the beginning of our struggle, and I fear, in spite of all we can do, it will prove to be a fatal mistake. We appointed all our worst generals to command our armies, and all our best generals to edit the newspapers.
There is a terrible war coming, and these young men who have never seen war cannot wait for it to happen, but I tell you, I wish that I owned every slave in the South, for I would free them all to avoid this war.
But what a cruel thing is war to separate and destroy families and friends.
There is scarcely anything that is right that we cannot hope to accomplish by labor and perseverance. But the first must be earnest and the second unremitting.
Wisdom is nothing more than healed pain.
The devil’s name is dullness.
There is nothing left for me to do but to go and see General Grant and I would rather die a thousand deaths.
I am now considered such a monster, that I hesitate to darken with my shadow, the doors of those I love, lest I should bring upon them misfortune.
I have never witnessed on any previous occasion such entire disregard of the usage of civilized warfare and the dictates of humanity.
We cannot afford to be idle, and though weaker than our opponents in men and military equipments, must endeavor to harass, if we cannot destroy them.
Let us go home and cultivate our virtues.
Remember, we are all one country now. Dismiss from your mind all sectional feeling, and bring them up to be Americans.
Whither shall I flee? To no country on earth that I know of where there is as much liberty as yet remains to me even in Virginia.
I am as willing to serve now as in the beginning in any capacity and at any post where I can do good. The lower the position, the more suitable to my ability and the more agreeable to my feelings.
Teach him to deny himself.
Death, in its silent sure march is fast gathering those whom I have longest loved, so that when he shall knock at my door, I will more willingly follow.
There is always hazard in military activity, but we must decide between the positive loss of inactivity and the risk of action.
With all my devotion to the Union, and the feeling of loyalty and duty of an American citizen, I have not been able to make up my mind to raise my hand against my relative, my children, my home. I have, therefore, resigned my commission in the Army...
Any victory would be dear at such a price.
Show me a shouter, and I’ll show you an also-ran. A might-have-been, an almost-was.
It is good that war is terrible. Or else we would become too fond of it.