He privately referred to Lincoln, whom he had known before the war as a lawyer for the Illinois Central, as "nothing more than a well-meaning baboon", a "gorilla", and "ever unworthy of ... his high position".
Han kaldte privat Lincoln, som han havde kendt inden krigen som advokat for Illinois Central, for "intet mere end en velmenende bavian", en "gorilla", og "altid uværdig til ... sin høje stilling."