Disregard Quotes
Grant had ordered Sherman to start a diversionary attack and then pull back. They both knew that the newspapers would describe Sherman’s efforts as a failure, and Grant was apologetic that Sherman would get some bad press.
Shortly thereafter the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. To this day there is historical debate over whether Japan received enough notice to afford them the opportunity to surrender or whether their cultural imperatives would allow surrender under almost any circumstances. This Japanese rejection of the surrender demand, seems so reckless in retrospect. Even after the second atomic bomb drop, most senior officers of Japan did not want to surrender. Even after the Emperor decided on surrender, there was an unsuccessful coup attempt of officers totally opposed to surrender.
The Seminole Wars were one of the low points in American military behavior. With the specific permission of Commanding General Jesup, the soldiers were to loot the homes and personal possessions of the enemy civilians as well as fighters, but he favored extermination and there were many atrocities. He even seized the Seminole Leaders who had been invited for Peace Talks.
It it alleged that in the original quotation "warm piss" was the phrase used, but the delicacies of the times caused the biographer to clean it up.
The President was with the way the press had handled some press releases from the White House and wanted to give the press less information.
During his campaign for the Senate against Stephen Douglas, Abraham Lincoln adopted a tactic of showing up everywhere his opponent gave a speech and talked to the crowd afterward.
