For he had chosen to put on the tender glove of humanity and grip hands with the mailed gauntlet of war, and though he had been crushed yet even in this bitter hour they could not take from him the knowledge that the Commander in Chief of all spiritual armies would stand forever on his side.

They could take his sword and shoulder straps but they could not rob him of that divine consolation.
And so the two stood with their eyes steady on the General--the Confederate, hard and defiant--the Union officer with a strange, sad glow on his face.
But the General paid them no attention.

He was still studying the map laid out before him on his desk, the cigar in the corner of his mouth drawing one side of his face into harsh, deep lines.

As a matter of fact, Ulysses Simpson Grant was very far removed from harshness--he was simply and solely efficiency personified.

When nothing was to be said General Grant said nothing.