I found this story charming and telling. William Seward and Gideon Welles were the most prominent men in Andy Johnson’s cabinet in 1868. Johnson had been at loggerheads with Grant since the start of the year.
Soon after the election, Seward traveled from Washington to New York City to attend the funeral of the wife of his longtime friend Richard Blatchford. Grant chanced to be on the same train, riding in the presidential car, and he invited Seward to join him. The two men spent several hours together, sharing cigars and stories. When Seward returned to Washington and mentioned this meeting to his colleagues, the Democrats among them were horrified. Interior Secretary Browning noted in his diary that, after all the conflict between Johnson and Grant, he found Seward’s willingness to talk with Grant quite remarkable. [From: Stahr, Walter. Seward: Lincoln’s Indispensable Man (Kindle Locations 9713-9715). Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition.]
Navy Secretary Gideon Welles, in his Journal, wrote of the incident on November 17, 1868. Seward told Welles:
See Welles Journal vol. 3 page 465.
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