While commanding the military division of the Pacific, he still found himself the target of the jealousy and ill will that had followed him from back east. When he learned that a letter circulating gave fellow officer John Schofield all the credit for the victory at Nashville, he decided to respond, not for himself, but so that his men would not be slighted for their role in the battle. He was in the process of forming this response while on active duty in San Francisco when he was struck down by a stroke. It was Monday, March 28, 1870.
He was only 53 years old. As a special train carried him back east, a grateful nation mourned, with silent, respectful crowds gathering at every station along the way. He was laid to rest in Troy, New York, the very place where he had been married almost 18 years before.