"I have never advocated war except as a means of peace."
"Leave the matter of religion to the family altar, the church, and the private school, supported entirely by private contributions. Keep the church and state forever separate. "
"My failures have been errors in judgment, not of intent."
- At the end of his second term
"No terms except unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works."
- To Simon Bolivar Buckner, under siege, Fort Donelson, 16 Feb 1862
