His heart was tenderness throughout, and, as long as the rebels laid down their arms, he did not care how it was done.

I do not know how far he was influenced by General Grant, but I presume, from their long conferences, that they must have understood each other perfectly, and that the terms given to Lee after his surrender were authorized by Mr.Lincoln.

I know that the latter was delighted when he heard that they had been given, and exclaimed, a dozen times, "Good!" "All right!" "Exactly the thing!" and other similar expressions.

Indeed, the President more than once told me what he supposed the terms would be: if Lee and Johnston surrendered, he considered the war ended, and that all the other rebel forces world lay down their arms at once.
In this he proved to be right.

Grant and Sherman were both of the same opinion, and so was everyone else who knew anything about the matter.
What signified the terms to them, so long as we obtained the actual surrender of people who only wanted a good opportunity to give up gracefully?
The rebels had fought "to the last ditch," and all that they had left them was the hope of being handed down in history as having received honorable terms.
After hearing General Sherman's account of his own position, and that of Johnston, at that time, the President expressed fears that the rebel general would escape south again by the railroads, and that General Sherman would have to chase him anew, over the same ground; but the general pronounced this to be impracticable.