“’FIFTH AVENUE HOTEL, February 19, 1864.

“’MY DEAR GENERAL:  I have much pleasure in sending you the third volume of Gayarre’s History of Louisiana, which I trust may contain the desired information.  Should you wish to refer to the first volume of his work, you will find it at the Astor Library.  It is an octavo volume of about five hundred pages, published by Harper & Brothers, of this city.  I have the honor to be, general, very truly yours,

(Signed) “’JAS GRANT WILSON,

“’Col., A.D.C.

    “‘Lieutenant-General WINFIELD SCOTT.’

“Called on Scott soon after my arrival from New Orleans (early in October, 1864), and had a very pleasant interview.  Almost the first thing he said was thanking me most kindly for the third volume of Gayarre’s History, and apologizing for his mistake.  Told me his Memoirs were completed and in press; that he had closed them abruptly, as he was fearful that his end was near, during the early part of the summer—­about June, I think he said.”

General Scott’s health continuing bad, he was conveyed in a quartermaster’s boat from New York to West Point by General Stewart Van Vliet, accompanied by several personal friends.  He died at the West Point Hotel a few minutes after eleven o’clock, May 29, 1866.  The last words which he spoke were to his coachman:  “Peter, take good care of my horse.”  He was buried, in accordance with his oft-expressed wish, in the West Point Cemetery; on June 1st, his remains being accompanied to the grave by some of the most illustrious men of the country, including General Grant and Admiral Farragut.  The horse mentioned above was a splendid animal, seventeen hands high and finely formed.  The last time that General Scott mounted him was in the latter part of 1859, which he did with the aid of a stepladder, for the purpose of having an equestrian portrait painted for the State of Virginia.  The war coming on, the picture passed into possession of the Mercantile Library of New York.

The author received a letter from the late Rutherford B. Hayes in January, 1892, in which he said:  “On my Southern tour in 1877 I repeated two or three times something like this, purporting to be quoted from General Scott:  ’When the war is over and peace restored, there will be no difficulty in restoring harmonious and friendly relations between the soldiers of the sections.  The great trouble will be to restore and keep the peace between the non-belligerent combatants of the war.’  I did not hear the remark of General Scott.  My recollection is that I heard it from General Rosecrans.” ...