When in the following summer he died, his body was followed to its grave
in the mountains by what it is hardly an exaggeration to call the whole
people of his State. When Congress reassembled, the Senate and the House
clothed themselves with crape. One of his former judges, who had voted him
guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors (Morton, of Indiana), thus spoke of
him in the Senate:
"In every position in life he showed himself to be a man of ability and
courage, and I believe it proper to say of Andrew Johnson that his honesty
has never been suspected; that the smell of corruption was never upon his
garments."
The same Senator related that when Johnson, as the newly appointed
Military Governor, arrived at Nashville "he was threatened with
assassination on the streets and in the public assemblies, but he went on
the streets; he defied those dangers; he went into public assemblies, and
on one occasion went into a public meeting, drew his pistol, laid it on
the desk before him, and said: 'I have been told that I should be
assassinated if I came here. If that is to be done then it is the first
business in order, and let that be attended to.' No attempt having been
made he said: 'I conclude the danger has passed by;' and then proceeded to
make his speech."
Again the Senator said: "After I had voted for his impeachment, and met
him accidentally, he wore the same kindly smile as before, and offered me
his hand. I thought that showed nobility of soul. There were not many men
who could have done that."
The man, of whom two such incidents could be truthfully related, could
never have invented so foul a charge against an innocent subordinate.
A Senator from a neighboring State, (McCreery), on the same mournful
occasion said of him:
"When he went to Greeneville he was a stranger, and a tailor's "kit,"
his thimbles and his needles, were probably the sum-total of his
earthly possessions; at his death, the hills and the valleys and the
mountains and the rivers, sent forth their thousands to testify to the
general grief at the irreparable loss.
"I honor him for that manly courage which sustained him on every
occasion, and which never quailed in presence of opposition, no matter
how imposing. I honor him for that independence of soul which had no
scorn for the lowly, and no cringing adulation for the exalted. I
honor him for that sterling integrity which was beyond the reach of
temptation, and which, at the close of his public service, left no
blot, no stain upon his escutcheon. I honor him for that magnanimity
which after the war cloud had passed, and the elements had settled,
would have brought every citizen under the radiant arch of the bow of
peace and pardon."
Another Senator (Paddock, of Nebraska) gave utterance to the following
unchallenged statement: