That afternoon I went over to the White House to present General Pope, who was on a visit to Washington, and we found the President and General Grant together.  We made our visit and withdrew, leaving them still together, and I always supposed the subject of this conference was the expected decision of the Senate, which would in effect restore Mr. Stanton to his civil office of Secretary of War.  That evening I dined with the Hon. Reverdy Johnson, Senator from Maryland, and suggested to him that the best way to escape a conflict was for the President to nominate some good man as Secretary of War whose confirmation by the Senate would fall within the provisions of the law, and named General J. D. Cox, then Governor of Ohio, whose term of office was drawing to a close, who would, I knew, be acceptable to General Grant and the army generally.  Mr. Johnson was most favorably impressed with this suggestion, and promised to call on the President the next day (Sunday), which he did, but President Johnson had made up his mind to meet the conflict boldly.  I saw General Grant that afternoon at his house on I Street, and told him what I had done, and so anxious was he about it that he came to our room at the War Department the next morning (Monday), the 13th, and asked me to go in person to the White House to urge the President to send in the name of General Cox.  I did so, saw the President, and inquired if he had seen Mr. Reverdy Johnson the day before about General Cox.  He answered that he had, and thought well of General Cox, but would say no further.

Tuesday, January 14, 1868, came, and with it Mr. Stanton.  He resumed possession of his former office; came into that where General Sheridan, General Augur, and I were at work, and greeted us very cordially.  He said he wanted to see me when at leisure, and at half-past 10 A.M.  I went into his office and found him and General Grant together.  Supposing they had some special matters of business, I withdrew, with the remark that I was close at hand, and could come in at any moment.  In the afternoon I went again into Mr. Stanton’s office, and we had a long and most friendly conversation; but not one word was spoken about the “tenure-of-office” matter.  I then crossed over Seventeenth Street to the headquarters of the army, where I found General Grant, who expressed himself as by no means pleased with the manner in which Mr. Stanton had regained his office, saying that he had sent a messenger for him that morning as of old, with word that “he wanted to see him.”  We then arranged to meet at his office the next morning at half-past nine, and go together to see the President.