Jack Hitt

He gave Thaddeus a letter of introduction to Lieutenant General Winfield Scott, who was at that time the head man of the war.

So he has this letter of introduction.

He goes over there to Winfield Scott's tent and his assistant, the orderly says, well, the general's busy right now.

So Lowe comes back a couple hours later and says, he's still busy.

Comes back a few hours later and says, he's at lunch.

Comes back a little while later, he says, the general is now sleeping.

So he realizes, okay, I'm being blown off.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And here's one thing you need to know about General Winfield Scott.

Okay.

When the war broke out, he was 75 years old.

He was a veteran of the War of 1812.

His nickname, just so you know that he wasn't an early adopter, was Old Fuss and Feathers.

Oh, my goodness.

So Lowe goes back to the White House.

He says he tells him that, you know, General Scott could not be seen on official business, even at the president's suggestion.

Lincoln looked at me a moment, laughed.

He rose, seized his tall silk hat and bade me come on.

And so they walked out of the White House and they walked over to the general's headquarters.

This time, the general's guard turned and announced the president of the United States.