Book- >K^2p PUBLISHERS' ANNOUNCEMENT. Ricliai-dson's "Field. Dimsicou and Escape," which we issued in 1865, readied the enormous sale of upwards of ninety thousand copies. His " Beyond the Miss- issippi," in no wise a sensational boolv, and lnouuht out during the dull season of 1867, circulated seventy thousand copies within tlie lirst thirteen months— a sale unequalled by any other American work during the same period— and is still, in the midst of a Presidential campaign, selling at the rate of three thousand copies a mouth. We now offer to the public, his "Illustrated Personal History of General Grant." It is the result of long, unremittino; lalior; and would have appeared sooner but for the author's desire, in which we heartily concurred, to nuike it, not a mere hasty compilation for a campaign document, but a work of permanent historical value. Without disparaging other biographies, we call attention to some leatures of this. 1. Personal. Its fresh and very ample details of Grant's early civil and military life, as well as his acts and utterances during and since the rebelliou, give, we hc- lieve, a far more coTiplete and just idea of his career, character and capacity thau can be gained from any other source whatever. 2. roUtical. It sets forth with great minuteness, and always in his own woixls, the General's views and symjiathies on leading public questions before the war, dur- ing the war and since the war. As a single example, his advancing opinions on the slavery question, are shown on jiages 310, 211, 267, 268, 271, 276, 298, 84.5, 437, .5.3.5, .5.36, e"te. His expressions on soldier's voting, reconstruction, French inter- vention in Mexico, administering the War Department, and other successive topics of the hour, are everywhere interwoven with the story of his life. 3. Military. A complete military history of its subject, would fill several vol- umes, and is not within the scope of this. But it gives the main thread clearly and comiu-ehensively, and throws new light upon disputed points. Its figures, comiiiled from official documents with great care and painstaking, and all capable of authentication, exhiliit minutely the relative strength of Grant and Lee at vari- ous periods, with complete tables of (irant's aggregate losses and caiitures, certi- fied to by the Assistant Adjutant General. See pages, 411, 412, 491, 492, 493, 494, 495, 496. They furnish data indispensable to an iutelligent discussion of Grant's generalship in the great Virginia campaigns. 4. New Documents. Among these, Lincoln's letter, explaining his permission for the Virsjinia Legislature to convene, (page 475) is now, we believe, first given to the public. Lee's correspondence with Grant, proposing a peace conference, (448, 449, 4.50,) has never before been in print; nor juive any of the important dispatches and letters on French intervention in Mexico, which begin on page 506, and are continued on many later pages. There arc also many characteristic minor dis- patches from Grant, Lincoln, etc. We respectfully ask a fair examination of the work, and beliove that it will be found graphic, trustworthy and valuable ; not only for its facts, but also as pre- serving the life and xpirit 'of the times it treats of. On the day of its issue our books' contained the names of 12,471 subscribers already received for it. THE AMERICAN PUBLISHING COMPANY. Hartford, Conn., August, 1868. ^^^^^^ <^-^^^ ,|fii®raai j}||j§if^^ tf - >i^' -^grant's 'birth PLACET'^^ WiM W^iSBM&^J^^& |KT JIJiiOiilSSiL > n ,^olitical and iiulustrial relations of ten millions of ])oople, occupying half a continent; and through all, the little things indicating the interior life of the man — wliat ho thought, and hoi)ed, and feared. Hence I relate many incidents, believing that those, even, which seem trivial and pointless, may lielp to tlirow liglit upon his organization and dcvolopment. Personal liistories so abound in colorings, su[)pressions, and half-truths, tliat it lias been said, " A biograiihy is either a satire or a panegyric." For e.xampk', documents still in existence i)rove the George Washington of ]>opular rcpiitu as fabulous as Lili|)ut or Bhu-beard. There never was any Kucii perfect, sni)ru-human Washington. Ihit tliere was a Washington, full of humun weaknesses and faults, yet of such jiractical wisdom, such long- Preface. vii suffering patience, such radiant integrity, tliat tliose who knew him best k)ved and lionored — not the moral Apollo we substitute for liiin, but the living man, infirmities and all, just as he was. I can not hope to have escaped altogether the dangers which beset this path of literature. But I have tried to write without any theory to vin- dicate, any case to make out, or any party to serve. I have not asked "Whom will this or that fact help or injure?'' but only, "/s it a fact?" I have consciously added nothing, concealed nothing, explained away nothing. I have endeavored, not to paint the ideal, but to photograph the man — or, rather, to let the man photograph himself. "Wherever it was practicable, I have copied verbatim from his letters, orders, and reports. In conversations I have not professed to give his language in a single case, unless some record, or some person I believe trustworthj-, has given his language to me. In consulting previous works, I have drawn most upon Badeau's admi- rable volume. For new material, official records have been opened to me with great freedom and kindness, enabling me to use many letters and dis- patches upon important points of our recent history, never before given to the public. I have journeyed thousands of miles to visit the various scenes of Grant's checkered life, and talked with liundreds of his life-long acquaint- ances, civil and military. All have afforded me cheerful assistance, and all have .expressed hearty love and admiration for his character. There are men who still see in him only the darling of fortune — ener- getic Mediocrity which has blundered into success. I think such are misled by two of his peculiar qualities : — I. He is unimaginative. When he has nothing to say, he says nothing. In private he fills no interstices of conversation witli remarks upon tlie weather, or inquiries after the babies of his visitor. In public he can make no speeches simply of form or compliment; and since the world cared to hear his opinions on affairs, his official position has seldom allowed him to speak freely. But in public or in private, Avhen lie has any thing to utter by tongue or pen, he says it with extreme rapidity and clearness, in terse, marrowy, idiomatic English. His final report as lieutenant-general, his correspondence on the Mexican question, his instructions to military subor- dinates in the South, and other documents in the closing chapters of this volume, afford many examples. But he clothes his thouglits in no liowers of rlietoric; he presents them in the plainest, homeliest words. Napoleon's memorable sayings are all of this order : '• From these summits forty cen- turies look down upon you."' '• We will carry our victorious eagles beyond the pillars of Hercules." Grant's are the exact antipodes: "I have no terms but unconditional surrender." " I propose to move immediately upon your works." " I shall fight it out on tliis line if it takes all summer." The armies were "like a balky team." His army was "in a bottle strongly corked." Said the dramatic Corsican after Austerlitz : " Soldiers, I am satisfied with you. You have decorated your eagles with immortal glory." Said tlie matter-of-fact American to his sliouting men after Port Gibson : " Soldiers, I thank you. Tliat is all I can say. You have done a good day's viii Preface. work to-day, but you must do a better one to-morrow." No gushing rhetoric — only the simple, unadorned fact. II. lie is utterly undramatic. Scott was nicknamed by his enemies, "Fuss and Feathers." Grant has less fuss and fewer feathers than any other public man of his day. lie believes that " That which is, is." He accepts things just as he finds them, not troubling himself about the " Eter- nal Verities," but doing promptly, thoroughly, and subordinately, the duty which lies right before him, however prosaic and disagreeable. He acts his convictions instead of talking them. So he is called " common-place:" for we Americans are prone to confound brilliancy v.nth greatness ; to admire any special shining gift, even though accompanied by some corresponding weakness, rather than that large development and harmonious adjustment of all the faculties — clear judgment, or good common-sense. But even genius, according to Buffon, is "only great patience." Rarely has so much greatness been disfigured by so few littlenesses ; so much goodness marred by so trivial faults. I believe Grant's character — l)eculiarly unique and American — one of the most beautiful in history; a worthy companion to that of the great President, murdered through the foul conspiracy which was aimed at his life also. Happily he remains to com- plete the work of Abraham Lincoln — to whom he is so unlike, and yet so like — with the same steadfastness and sagacity, the same "charity for all, and malice toward none." He is singularly genuine and guileless. He still preserves in his high estate the sweetness and simplicity of his country boyhood. Altogether free from cant, Ills li[)s, obeying the teachings of his mother, have uttered no oath, been soiled by no coarseness. He is a miracle of serenity and self-poise. During the terrors of Belmont, when an aide, with pallid cheeks, cried, ""Why, General, we are surrounded!" there was no perceptible change in liis pleasant face or calm voice as he answered, " Then we will cut our way out." Nearly four years later, as he read Lee's dispatch proposing the sur- render of the Army of Northern Virginia, he was equally unmoved ; no elation sliono in his face, or sounded in the ordinary tone in which he asked : *' Well, General Rawlins, how do you think that will do ?" " Tried by both extremes of fortune, and never disturbed by either," he remains as simple and unallected to-d.ay as in his years of poverty and obscurity. Our war might liavo developed a leader profligate, corrupt, or uneasily ambitious, as so many great captains have been in the i»ast. It gave us in- stead this pure, modest, simple-hearted man, who is loyal and admirable in private life, who loves himself last, and who believes most enthusiastically in the United States of America. Invincibility in war, magnanimity in vic- tory, wisdom in civil government, and unselfishness in all things — what are these, if they be not greatness ? " Wlmt is writ Is writ; woiilil It were wortlilor." It is the inqierfoct record of a life which carries a striking lesson of charity, of faitb in human nature, of certainty that the higiiest talents may Bleep undiscovered until opportunity comes, without which no man is great. Nkw Yi.iiiK, Au(;uat 1, 1S03. OOISTTEI^TS. CHAPTER I. — Genealogy. PAGE Matthew Grant lands at Xantasket— Milk one penny a quart— On the verge of Starvation— A Quaint old Epitaph— Fighting Famine and Indians— Survevor, Town Clerk, and Church Clerk— Matthew Grant's Church Record— An Umbrella as a AVeapon — Solomon Grant makes his Will — Noah Grant's Handwriting— Solomon and Noah Grant killed— Noah Grant, junior, in the Revolution— Settles in Western Pennsylvania- Removes to .the Ohio Wilderness— The Grant Genealogical Record IT CHAPTER II.— Parextage akd Birth. End of the last Centurv— How the People lived— Boston, Albany, and St. Louis— From Cmcinnati to Pittsburg— .V (ilance at Famous Men— And those to become Famous— Many Digressions intended— Ingenuity of young Jesse— The Boy's Mother dies— How tlie Ohio Settlers lived— Jesse on Spoons and Bowls— The last "War with England— Jesse looks for a Wife— And meets with Ill-Fortune— But finally Marries wiselj^- And Ulysses is Born 2^ CHAPTER III.— Boyhood. •The Babv Named bv Ballot— Jesse moves to Georgetown— A great place for Drinking—" I can't take Powder "—A Correspondence in Rhyme— Ulysses the Favorite Child— Earlv exploits with Horses— Boyish feats of Horse- manship—A curious juvenile Bargain— Skating, Fishing, and Swimming— A New and Improved Version — " When the Cat's away " 49 CHAPTER lY.— Earlt Youth. A Journey to Deerfield — A thoroughly boyish Trick— Working in the Bark Mill—'- Dave and Me "-Ulysses sent to Louisville— Driving a good Barijain— The Hills '-Judgment and Mercy "—Ulysses' Father and Mother— At School and Iq Sports— The Military Spirit fervent— A Student at Maysville and Ripley — Ulysses' standing at Seventeen. 61 CHAPTER Y.— West Poixt. Plans for Future Life — A Vacancy at AVest Point — Ulysses " Simpson " Grant Appointed — Reaches the Military Academy — Its Scenery and Stirring Memories — Moll Pitcher's Life and Death — Obstructing Rivers with Chains — Darkest days of the Revolution — Arnold escapes to the Enemy — The Ro- mantic Memory of Andre- Winfield Scott on West Point— West Point saves the Country CH.VPTER VL— Graduates. How Cadets are treated- Oulv an Inch to Spare— .Routine of Study and Drill- How Offenses are punished — What the Graduate has learned— Ulysses tlirashes a Classmate- Nicknames of the Cadets— " Leave it to Uncle gam "— " I cau"t die but once." — Graduates and returns Home ^•> CHAPTER VII.— Mexican W.\.r— witu Taylor. Lieutenant Grant at Jefferson Barracks— Where he falls in Love— Origin of the Mexican War — How Annexation was received — Lieutenant Grant and his jovial Colonel— Stationed at Corpus Chrisli, Texas— How Taylor obtamed X Contents. PAOH Mules — The Army marches for Mexico — And encamps opposite Mata- itioras — Grant lights his first Battle — And the next day his second — War "upon our own Soil" — Scoti's '-Fire in the Rear" — Pillow's Ditcli and Breastwork — The Battle of Monterey — Three Days of Hard Fighting — Grant runs a Gantlet of Death — " Green " rendered into Spanisli 95 CHAPTER YIII. — Mexican "Wak— with Scott. Taylor is attacked at Buena Yista — And wins a Splendid Victory — "Generals made out of any thing " — The battle of Cerro Gordo — A Solitary Relic of the Aztecs — Grant's Regiment seizes San Augustine — Battles of Contreras and Churubusco — The Attack on Molino del Roy — Lively times for Lieu- tenant Grant — Chepultepec Stormed and Capttired — Lieutenant Grant earns a Captaincy — End of tlie Mexican War — What it Lost and Gained us — Taylor nominated for the Presidency — Quartermaster Grant is robbed — Returns home and defends Taylor 113 CHAPTER IX.— Marriks. "Wedding— Winter at Sackett's Harbor — The new Couple begin Housekeep- ing — And a Son is Born to them — Grant's Life in Detroit — Outdoor and Indoor Pleasiu'es — A Quarrel with Zachary Chandler — Chandler fined six cents and costs — Grant at Sackett's Harbor — Odd Fellow and Son of Tem- perance — A very Uneventful Life 129 CHAPTER X.— Resigns. Ordered to the Pacific Coast — How the Ladies crossed tlio Isthmus — Grant's Energy and Resources displayed — Ravages C)f Cholera in liis Regiment — His Kindness to the Suffering Men — Stationed on the Columbia River — Enter- tains George B. McClellan — "How clear-headed Sam Grant is!"' — A Captain at Fort Ilnmbolt, California — Living on the Fat of the Land — Resigns and returns Home — His Fortunes at a low Ebb 139 CHAPTER XL— Farmer. Four Years' Residence at Gravois — Builds a House and hauls Wood — His Heart Warm toward old Comrades — Yisits his Brothers at Galena — .V Black Skin but a True Heart — Grant casts his First Yote — An Adventure with a Wood Thief — Grant and Boggs form a Partnersliip 151 CHAPTER XIL— Real Estate Agent. Grant lives in Camp Stylo — Conducts Business in Boggs's absence — Suffers from Ague and Rheumatism — Trades oft" Hardscrabble — How his Friends re- garded him — Applies for the County Engincership — Indorsements on tlie Application — '" Leading Citizens " who seconded it — Why it was Unsuc- cessful — Boggs and Grant dissolve Partnership 159 .^ CHAPTER XIII.— The Leather Stoke. 11 The Captain disappointed again — Yisits his Father at Covington — Settles in (Jalena, Hlinois — .V Clerk in the Leather Store — A Hard Struggle for a Liv- ing — Grant is a Douglas Democrat — But is Converted to Republicanism — Disturbed about Public Affairs 1G9 CHAPTER XIY.— The Long Roll. Fort Sumter is fired on — ileeting in the Galena Court-IIouse — .\ Grand Speech from Rawlins — Grant i)resides at anotiier Meeting — He makes Ids First Speech — Gees with Wasliburne to Springlield — A Clerk in the Governor's Ollice — Made Colnnel (if the Twenly-lirst — His Men like FaistalVa Soldiers — Beginning of Washbunie's Friendsliip — His Heart Tender and Lenient — Made lirigadier-( loucral 177 CHAPTER XY.— BuiOAmEK-GENERAL. HUlyer's Enthusiastic Client — \ Trap for Jeff. Thompson — First Xewspaperdc- scripiion of Grant — i )ccn])i8 — His Views on Strategy — Tho Grade of Lieutenant-Gencral — Views of Loading Senators — Lincoln sends for Grant's Frieml — "This Prosidpiitial Grub "'—Letter to Sherman and McPherson — Sherman sends a Reply — Grant'.s deception in Washing- ton — Visits the Anny of tho Potomac — "' Enough of tho Show Business.". 373 Contents. xiii CHAPTER XXXII.— Wilderness. PAGE The General begins his Task — " Mr. Grant an Obstinate Man " — Northern Tcace Party growing — Lincoln and Grant correspond —What the General deter- mined to do^Why he chose the Overland Ronte — Tiie Army once more in Motion — Battle of the Wilderness Begins — Terrible bnt Indecisive Conflict — Second Day — Lee's Narrow Escape — Grant Whittles and Smokes — A Talk before the Camp Eire — A Leader found at last — A Correspondent comes to Grief 381 CHAPTER XXXIII. — Spottsylvaxia to Cold Harbor. " Not a Retreating Man " — Sheridan ordered to March — Sedgwick is Killed — "Fight it Out on This Line" — Hancock's Splendid Charge — Orders from Meade and Lee — How Grant received a Stranger — The feeling ia Meade's Army — Sheridan within the Enemy's Lines — Grant withdraws from North Anna — Terrible fighting at Cold Harbor — Relative strength of Grant and Lee ^101 CHAPTER XXXIV.— Before Petersburg. Lincoln's View of tlie Situation — Grant Changes his Base to the James — Smith's Failure at Petersburg — Butler "in a Bottle strongly Corked" — Head- quarters at City Point — A Letter from Winfield Scott — Early Invades Maryland — General lilcPherson is Killed — A Letter from his Aged Grand- mother — " You must throw away that Cigar " 413 CHAPTER XXXY.— Sheridan's Ride. A Mine is Exploded — Horrible Scenes in the Crater — Sheridan sent to the Shenandoah — Great Explosion at City Point — Figiiting on the Weldon Railway — Sherman captures Atlanta — Slieridan is instructed to "go in" He sends Early " whirling " Southward — Grant's Views on Soldiers' Voting ■ — His Operations in September — Early attacks Sheridan's Army — Sheridan arrives and routs him — " Up from the South at break of day " 423 CHAPTER XXXVI. — The Beginnixo of the End. Grant refuses to argue with Lee — End of the active Fall Campaign — Humor of the Soldiers in the Field — Hood proposes to Invade the North — " How Sherman Marched Dow^u to the Sea " — Thomas's splendid Victory at Nash- ville — Butler's Failure at Fort Fisher — Grant in Washington and New York — Philadelphians present him a House — Three Rebel Peace Commis- sioners — Confer with Lincoln and Sew^ard — Lee proposes a Peace Confer- ence — Grant asks Instructious — Stanton's ungenerous Conduct 43T CHAPTER XXXVII.— Attention— March 1 Sherman in the Carolinas — Slieridan Finishes up Early — Abraham Lincoln at City Point — Grant's Orders for the Final Campaign — Lee's Repulse at Fort Steadman — Sherman arrives for Conference — Grant's Hopes and Fears — His final Orders for the March 451 CHAPTER XXXVIIL— Richmond Falls. Lincoln's Farewell Words — " I now feel like Ending the Matter " — Sheridan driven back to Dinwiddio — Fights the Battle of Five Forks — Evening Scenes in his Camp — Grant breaks the Petersbiu-g Lines — A. P. Hill is Killed — Jefiferson Davis's Flight — "And Great was the Fall of it" — Lincoln's Re- ception in Richmond 459 CHAPTER XXXIX.— The Hot Chase. " Siftin Souf, Sah"— Sheridan on Lee's Front— "Our Army is Ruined, I fear " — Grant goes forward to Sheridan — Gallant Exploit of Read's Brigade — Battle of Sailor's Creek — Important Letter from Lincoln — Sheridan and the Old Virginian — A Friend of the Family — Correspondence between Grant and Lee — Fac-simile of Lee's First Reply — The General thinks the " Job " finished 469 xiv Contents. CHAPTER XL.— TuE Last Ditch. PAiblican Conventiol— Its Declaration of Principles — Grant Nominated for Iho Presidency -4' Let us have Peace." 549 SKETCH OF SCHUYLER COLFAX. Birth and Ancestry— Founds the South Bend " Register "—Nominated and De- feated for Congress — A Representative — Sjiecch on Kansas — Views at the Oulbroalv of tlie War— Elected Speaker of the House- A Tour through the Mining Stales— Nominated for the Yicc-Prosideucy 653 J^ I LLUSTRATIONa TO FACE PAGE 1. Portrait of General Graxt, 1S63. On- Steeu — 2. iLI.rSTRATED TiTLE-PaGE (GllANTS BiRT1IPLACE)i — 3. Grant's Boyhood in Georgetown, Ohio W 4. Cadet Geant at West Point. 1S39-43 76 5. Brevet Second-Lieutenant Guant. 1S45 100 6. Grant's Hide for Ammunition at Monterey. 184(>. ., 110 7. Ckossing the Isthmus. lSo'2 140 8. Captain Grant's Residences in and about St. Louis. 1So5-9 151 9. nARDSCBABBI-E, BuiLT BY CaPTAIN GrANT 156 10. Boggs and Grant, St. Louis. 1S59 160 11. Captain Grant in Galena. 1S60-61 172 12. " Nigger "VVuf More to Me." 202 13. Grant at Shiloii — Death of Carson 251 14- '-Only Served IIim Eight." 268' 15. " Buess »e Lord I " 802 16. General John A. Rawlins, Chief of Staff 346 17. The Charge at Mission Ridge 363 li General Grant's Father and Mother, 1863 386 19. " You Mt'ST Throw Away that Cigar, Sir." 422 20. Coolness of Grant at the City Point Explosion 426 21. Mrs. Grant. 1S6S 445 22. The Lost Causf„ 490 23. Returning to Galena. 1S65 514 24. Residences since the War .^ S30 25. The Chicago Convention Nominates Grant for tub Presidency. 1668 551 26. Portrait of Schuyler Colfax. On Steel 553 Fac-SimileS. PAGE 1. 1755— Noah Grant's Handwriting 27 2. 1659— Businfss Card of Boggs & Grant 159 3. 1859 — Captain Grant's Application for St. Louis County Enginkeeship 164-5 4. 1S62 — Fort Donelson. — "I Propose to Move Immediately upon your "Works." 228-9 5. 1862 — BucKNER Accepts the "Ungenerous and Unchivalrous Terms." 230-1 6. 1863 — Letter from Lincoln to Grant, after Vicksburg 338-9 7. 1865— Lee's Reply to Grant's Demand for Surrender. 1865 479 8. 1863— A Letter from Sheridan 547 Maps. PAGE 1. Bblmont, Henkt, Donelson, Siiiloh, Corinth, and Iuka 198 2. The Field and the Union Lines at Shiloh 246 8. The Seven Campaigns against Vicksburg 280 4, The Chattanooga Campaign 856 5, The Virginia Campaign of 1864 398 6, The Final Campaion against Lee 456 PERSONAL HISTORY OF ULYSSES S. GRANT. CHAPTER I. GENEALOGY. It is the fasliion among modern American biographers to impute Scotch or Scotch-Irish blood to their heroes, and to trace their lineage from the illustrious defenders of London- derry. The subject of this volume has not escaped the common lot. Indeed, circumstances conspire to thrust it upon him. Not only has he the blue eyes, fair complexion, and sandy beard of the typical Scotch face, but he bears the name of an ancient Scottish clan, to whose chosen motto, "Stand fast, stand firm, stand sure," not a Scot of them was ever more true than he. Hence, his multifarious biog- raphers* report him of Scotch descent, and a tradition to the same effect has been cherished in his own family. But the record disproves the tradition. Eichard A. Wheeler, of Stonington, Connecticut, has searched out the Grant genealogy, and is confident he can establish every link in a court of justice. Running back for more than two hundred and fifty years, it 'is without a trace of Scotch blood, and leaves no doubt that our General is of English Puritan lineage. ^ The summer of 1630, ten years after the Pilgrim Fathers landed at Plymouth Rock, witnessed an unprecedented immigration to the New England Colony. Between Feb- ruary and August arrived seventeen ships, loaded with families, bringing their cattle, furniture, and other worldly * While this book was passing through the press, five or sbc Lives of Grant were akeady out, and twelve more announced to appear within a few weeks. B 18 Matthew Grant lands at Nantasket. [i630. goods. The Mary and John, whicli sailed from Plymouth, England, on the twentieth of March, was a ship of four hundred tons, and brought one hundred and forty passen- gers. They were emigrants from Dorsetshire, Devon, and Somerset, principally young bachelors or young married couples. I. Among the latter were Matthew Grant, and Priscilla, his wife— the earliest known ancestors of General Grant.* They were each twenty-nine years old, and they brought with them an infant daughter. Probably they had no Scotch blood, for they came from Dorsetshire, one of the three English counties farthest from Scotland, and whose residents were therefore known as "West-country people." An old record describes the passengers by the Mary and John as "a very godly and religious company, many of them being persons of note or figure, and dignified by the title of Master, with which but few in those days were." Two were Wareham and Maverick, both eminent preach- ers. The voyage was uneventful ; but it seems to have been a busy time for the clergymen. Roger Clap, who was on board, kept a diary, whicli illustrates the Puritan mean- ing of "comfortably," in a phrase suggesting that of the venerable lady who once declared, " I am so old now that I shall never enjoy much more trouble in this world." Roger sums up : " So we came, by the good hand of God, through the deep comfortably, having preaching and expounding of the Word of God enoery day for ten loeeTcs together^ by our ministers." On the thirtieth of May the ship landed at Nantasket, a peninsula on the southeast side of the narrow entrance to th(3 harbor of Bostoi> and nine miles from that city. It now holds the quaint little hamlet of Hull, hiding from the sea between two hills, and casting but sixteen or seven- teem votes, for which political poverty it hath been ridi- culed many a time and oft . Says a Massachusetts election * Four )'0ftr9 later, tho anceutorB of his friend and lieutenant, William T. Sher- man, came from Essex County, England, and also settled m the Massachusetts Bay Colony. 1630.] Milk One Penny a Quart. 19 proverb, "As goes Hull, so goes tlie State;" and liis Ma- jesty, the Breakfast-Table Autocrat — Now let us sing, Long live the King — thus improves the Essay on Man : — " All are but parts of one stupendous Hull/' The Nantasket settlers, who were colonists of ten years' standing, hospitably entreated the new-comers, until they could cross in little boats and land at Boston. Captain Squib, master of the Mary and John, though a good sailor, was not willing to venture his ship into the intricacies of a harbor of which he knew nothing. But he had agreed to take his immigrants to Boston ; and the colonial authorities held a prejudice, not yet altogether extinct in New England, in favor of having agreements lived up to. So Captain Squib's passengers brought suit against him, and recovered damages, for not being landed at their destined port. Thirteen days after the immigrants reached Nantasket, Governor Winthrop arrived at Salem, then boasting but ten buildings, where he found a frame house awaiting him. In those days milk sold for one penny a quart ; and colonists wrote home glowing descriptions of the beauty and fertility of New England. One of their letters records that "by planting thirteen gallons of corn, one can raise three hun- dred and sixty-four bushels, and every bushel can be sold to the Indians for beaver worth eighteen shillings. So of these gallons of corn, worth six shillings and eightpence, one might have about three hundred and eighty-seven pounds sterling." The "West-country people" settled four miles from Boston, at Matapan. This Indian appellation they changed to Dorchester, in memory of the county town of theii' own English Dorsetshire, which like most British names ending in "Chester,"* is the site of an old RoYiian encampment. So the memory of Imperial Caesar, dead and turned to clay, invaded the domain of the Sachem of "Mos-chuset," and changed its nomenclature. Dorchester is now a pleasant Boston suburb of half a * Castra, camp. 20 Ox THE Verge of Staevatiois'. [i^^^o. dozen villages and hundreds of generous residences witli exquisite grounds. As Emerson says of England, it is finished with the pencil instead of the plow. One house is still standing which Avas built in 1633, and at the "rais- ing" of which, perhaps, Matthew Grant assisted. In his day, Dorchester Plantation was a rude settlement of a few log cabins, straggling over most of the territory now embraced in Milton, Canton, Stoughton, Sharon, and South Boston. The salt marshes afforded excellent subsistence for the famishing cattle of the immigrants, but they them- selves suffered for want of food. Their first meal was of fish without any bread, and for months, they endured many hardships. Says Eoger Clap : " The place was a wil- derness. Fish was a good help to me and to others. Bread was so scarce that I thought the very crusts from my fa- ther's table would have been sweet ; and when I could have meal and salt and water boiled together, I asked, ' Who would ask for better'^' " Among the settlers of Dorchester, were several elderly gentlemen of good estate in England, three men of military experience, and two stockholders of the London Company which held th(i Massachusetts Bay Charter. The Charter had been drafted for a trading company rather than for a government, so tlie control of the settlement vested only in the stockholders. But the Puritans would not permit Dor- chester to be governed by two men, and the Court of Massa- chusetts Bay bestowed freemanship upon twenty-four col- onists witliin a month after the arrival of the Mary and John. Freemanship was an important endowment, secur- ing to its reci])ients large tracts of land and making them members of the General Court. This unique tribunal was a sort of colonial town meeting for local government,* as the representative "sy stem was not yet in vogue and the col- ony was almost a pure democracy. The principal qualifi- cation for frccmansliip seems to liave been piety, or at least cliurch membershi]^ ; and Matthew Grant received it, with many others, after he liad lived in America for one year. ♦The Massachusetts Legislature is still poijularly known as the " General Court." 1635.] A Quaint Old Epitaph. 21 Writers in 1633, describe Dorcliester Plantation as having "abundant hay-ground, fair corn-fields, and pleasant gar- dens, with many cattle, sheep, and swine," though the in- habitants still subsisted largely upon fish. Among the settlers was Humphrey Atherton, who, a train band captain eke had been in famous London town. He became a leading military spirit of the settlement, for pro- motion is rapid in new countries, and his ambition was ulti- mately gratified by a major-generalship. He was the first captain of the "Ancient and Honorable Artillery," a milita- ry organization of note still existing in Boston. In the third or fourth year of the colony he died. His memory was honored by an imposing military funeral — which Matthew Grant doubtless attended — and his tombstone was illuminated by the quaint epitaph : " Here lies our Captain and Major; of Suffolk was witliall ; A goodly Magistrate was He, and Major-generall. Two Troops of Horses with Him came sucli Worth his Love did crave ; Ten Companies of Foot also mourning marched to his Grave. Let all that read be sure to keep the Faith as He has done ; With Christ He lives now crowned ; His Name is Humphrey Atherton." When Matthew had been four years in America, Pris- cilla, his wife, died, and left four children, the youngest an infant. The next year, 1635, nearly half of the first Dor- chester settlers went to establish new homes in the wilder- ness of the Connecticut Valley, far beyond the confines of civilization. Early historians give as reasons for this second migration, a "hankering after new lands," which were fertile and grassy, while those of Dorchester were rocky and heavily wooded ; better opportunities for trading in furs with the Indians ; and fears lest Connecticut should fall into the hands of the Dutch, who were attempting to settle it. Matthew Grant — now restless and lonely — went with the rest. Reaching the present site of Windsor, half-way be- tween Springfield and Hartford, and already settled by an offshoot from the Plymouth Colony, they Avere entertained by the pioneers, and, after examining the country, deter- mined to stay. The settlers from Plymouth resented this as ungenerous ; but the Dorchester people persisted, and even 22 Fighting Famine akd Indians. [i^ss. drove away another party of twenty from Massachusetts Bay, likewise desirous of remaining. Matthew Grant and his companions spent the summer in felling trees and liuilding log-houses. Their families re- mained behind in DorQhester, and in October, several of the men went "back for them. Sending their household goods by ship around through Long Island Sound, to come up the Connecticut, they started on their return to Windsor, by land, the babies and invalids on horseback, and men and women walking, and driving their cattle through the wilderness. Winter set in early. By the middle of November the river was fast frozen, and the snow deep. The overland emigrants suffered much, and were obliged to leave their cattle in the woods, where many died, while the rest lived on acorns until spring. Reaching the Windsor settlement, the travelers Avere appalled to learn that the ship, with their provisions, was imprisoned in the river below. Seven- teen went back to Massachusetts Bay in despair, while those who remained subsisted chiefly on nuts and acorns. At length a party of seventy — men, women, and children — started for the ship, which had frozen in twenty miles above the river's mouth, that they might live on her sup- plies. But before they reached her, she was released by the spring thaw ; so they returned to their settlement, wliicli at first tliey called New Dorchester, but finally named Windsor. Th(y carried their lives in their hands. Like all frontier- men, they were reckless of their own safety, but prudent for tlieir wives and cliildren. As soon as their fiunilies arrived, they built a palisade, a quadrangle three-quarters of a miU; long, to protect them against Indians. Those who had houses or lots outside, left them and moved in. Matthew Grant had cleared six acres, but abandoned it all except the little pii'ce on which his log-dw<^l]ing stood, within the ]^)alisadi', and ni'xt to the old Windsor town-house. For ninety years the colonists suffered constantly from Indians. At home, in the field, in the meeting-house, nowhere were they secure. 163*?.] SuEVEYOE, Town Clerk, and Church Clerk. 23 " Honest Mattliew Grant " filled a large place in the set- tlement. He was elected one of two surveyors, to overlook tlie construction and preservation of liigliways, and con- tinued in that office for the greater part of his life. The roads and farm boundaries were very crooked and involved, and real estate plentiful and cheap. After working hard all day at surveying, Matthew used to say, "I would not accept all the land I have bounded to-day as pay for my day's work." He was also town clerk for many years. His auto- graph constantly appears on the Windsor records, to au- thenticate public documents. In 1637, the driven-out Massachusetts people sold their tract to this colony. Ap- pended to the deed is a long note describing the land, and signed "Matthew Grant, Recorder." He seems to have taken a just pride in his own integrity. In a land suit, in 1675, in a deposition still preserved in the State archives at Hartford, he testified in somewhat nebulous rhetoric :— "If any question my uprightness and legal acting about our town affairs, that I have been employed in a measure of land and getting out of lots of men which has been done by me from our first beginning here come next September is forty yere. I never got out any land to any man until I knew he had a grant to it from the townsmen, and town's approbation, or to recording after the book was turned. I am chose near twenty-three years since. I can say with a cleare conscience I have been careful to do nothing upon one man's desire." He was a Puritan of the Puritans. A schism arose in the church about the old minister, Wareham, who had come with the colonists from Dorchester, and, in his old age, was thought a little rigid and narrow even for those days. So a party of townspeople established a parish under a younger and more liberal divine named Woodbridge. They de- sired to have this entered upon the town records ; but Matthew Grant, apparently alarmed at the degeneracy and growing impiety of the times, refused to write it. The new church people, however, were men of authority, and seem to have demanded the book to enter the fact themselves. At all events, the record stands in a strange handwrit- ing, with a note appended in Matthew's well-known chi- 24 Matthew Gkant's Church Record. [issi rograpliy explaining the affair, and indirectly protesting against it. The Windsor records, in the library of the Connecticut Historical Society, show that he was clerk of the church until his death, Matthew' s brief business-like entries are open to criticism, for he studied conciseness in letters as well as in words, and did not jDut himself to unnecessary trouble in the use of the parts of speech. The sexes are classified as "menkind," and "womenkind," and daughter is given as "darter." Dates of sacraments, baptisms, church admissions, suspensions, and indebtedness to the deacons for bread and wine, are recorded. There are also allusions to the flood of 1639, and to a subscription for sufferers in King Philip's War, to which Matthew and his son both contributed. There was little lighting south of Springfield ; but it was at Hadley, only a few miles above, that Indians attacked while the settlers were at church, and an old man with white flowing beard — whom they at first supposed an angel, but who proved to be one of the fugitive judges of Charles the First — suddenly appeared from the forest and led the worshipers to victory. Matthew's immediate successor as church clerk, was less concise and business-like, but more sentimental, and wrote invocations like this: "1685. The Lord make the next year a good year." "1688. Not so much as one added to the church this 3'ear, and as many died out of it as were added the year before. The good Lord awaken and humble us !" Among the passengers by the Mary and John was Wil- liam RoclvAvell, au elderly man of good estate, who brought Susannah, his wife, and eight children. He also came to AVindsor, where he was first deacon of the church. In 1640 he di(!d. Five years later, and ten years after the loss of his first wife, Matthew Grant was married to Susannah Rockwell. lie was forty-four years old, and she forty- three, and they began housekeeping with the fair start of twelve children. They lived together twentj^-one years. She died November 14, 1666, and he December 16, 1681, at tin; age of eighty, outliving her fiftcMMi years, and spending the close of his life with his youngest son, John. 1754.] An IlMBr.ELLA AS A WEAPON. 25 II. Samuel, Matthew' s second son, was born in Dorches- ter, November 12, 1631. When four years old he removed with his father to Windsor, where he lived and died. He left eight children, all bearing Biblical names. III. Samuel (second), first child of the above, was born in Windsor, April 20, 1659. On coming to manhood, he moved to East Windsor, just across the river. There he lived and died, leaving nine children, of whom seven bore Biblical names. IV. Noah, first child of the above by a second marriage, was born in Windsor, December 16, 1692. During his life- time the portion of Windsor in which he resided was set off to Tolland. From his wife' s family descended Samuel Hunting- ton, one of the first Supreme Judges and afterward Governor of Ohio. He resided near Painesville, in that State, and a story, at least entertaining, has been handed down, that once, riding homeward through the woods just before dark, he was set upon by a pack of wolves. He had no weapon but a great umbrella. Whenever his snarling pursuers came too near, he would suddenly spread this open and send them flying back. Then putting spurs to his fleet horse, he out- stripped them for a few minutes. Thus he finally got home in safety, bearing only the frame and shreds of his opportune umbrella. y. Noah (second), eldest child of the abOve, was born in Tolland, July 12, 1718. He married Susannah Delano, of the fiimily from Avliich Columbus Delano, late a Representa- tive in Congress from Qhio, is descended. About 1750 Noah moved to the adjoining town of Coventry. Soon after began the final struggle between the French and English for su- premacy on the American Continent, in which he and his brother Solomon both served. The old French and Indian War of our great-grand- fathers ! — how dim and remote the antiquity, in which it now seems hidden ! The first blood was shed in Western Pennsylvania, under Major George Washington, in 1754. The next year occurred the ambush and slaughter of the English and Americans, under Braddock, ten miles from Pittsburg, in which every ofiicer but Washington, now a 26 Solomon Grant makes his Will. [I'^s. colonel, was killed or wounded. One night a week later, in the deep woods, Iby a glowing torchlight, the young American colonel read the funeral service of the English Church over the corpse of Braddock. Four years after came the dramatic iDattle of the Heights of Abraham, in which Wolfe and Mont- calm gave up their lives, and won a sure place in history. Before entering the service, Solomon Grant, who was a bachelor, thirty years old, made his will, giving his real estate to Noah, or, in the event of JS'oah's death, to his eld- est son, and so on in entail forever. The curious document ran thus : — In the name of God, Amen, the eighth day of September, A. d. 1755. I, Solomon Grant of Coventry, in the County of Windham and Colony of Connecticut, in New England, being about going on the expedition against Crown Point, and also of perfect mind and memory. Thanks be to God there- for, calling into mind the mortality of my body, and knowing that it is ap- pointed for all men once to die, do make and ordain this my last Will and Testament, that is to say, Principally, and first of all, — I give and recom- mend ray Soul into the hands of God that gave it, and my body I recommend to the earth, to be buried in decent Christian burial, at the discretion of my Executor, nothing doubting but at the General Resurrection I shall receive the same again, by the mighty i)ower of God, and as touching such worldly Estate, wherewith it hath pleased God to bless me in this life I give, devise, and dispose of the same, in the following manner and form, ImjJrimis. I give and devise unto my well-beloved Brother, Noah Grant, all and every part of my real estate during his natural life. At his decease I give the whole of said estate to my said brother's oldest son then surviv- ing, and at his decease to tlie next oldest male heir, and so on, to be an estate entail, in manner aforesaid, successively from one generation to another to the latest posterity. Item. I give and bequeath unto my well-beloved Brother, Adoniram Grant, after my debts and funeral expenses are paid, and also he paying what I shall liereafter bequeath, the whole of my movable estate. Item. I give and bequeath unto my well-beloved Sister, Martha Price, one Inuulred pounds in old tenor bills of credit, to be paid out of my movable estate. Item. I give and becpicatli to my well-beloved brotliers, Benjamin and Elias Buell, vm-\\ of tlicm twenty pounds, in old tenor bills of credit, to be out of my movable estate. //(///. I give and bequeatli to my wcH-beloved sister, Abigal Buell, ten pounds in old tenor bills of credit, to be jiaid out of my movable estate. Item. I give and bequeath unto my well-beloved Brother, Samuel Buell, 1755.] Noah Geant's Handwriting. 27 ?,^ ^. N. ^/ M V 28 Solomon a^^d Noaii Grant Killed. [I'J^s. five pounds, in old tenor bills of credit, to be paid out of my movable estate. Item. I give and bequeath to my well-beloved Sister, Hannah Kimball, five pounds in old tenor bills of credit, to be paid out of my movable estate. Item. I give and bequeath unto the Second Society of Coventry afore- said two hundred pounds in old tenor bills of credit, for the use and benefit of the School in said Society, to be paid out of my movable estate. All the above Legacies to be paid by my Executor after named, within the space of one year after my decease. I do hereby constitute, make, and ordain, my well-beloved Brother, Adon- irara Grant, to be ray sole Executor of this my last Will and Testament, and I do hereby disallow, revoke, and disannul all and every other former Testa- ments, Legacies, Bequests, and Executors, by me, in any way before named. Ratifying and Confirming this and no other to be my last Will and Testament. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal the day and year above written. Solomon Grant, [l. s.] Signed, Sealed, Published, Pronounced, and Declared by the said Solomon Grant, as his last Will and Testament, in the presence of us, the Subscribers, PiiiNEAs Strong, Je., Caleb Faiecdild, OziAS Strong. The inventory accompanying gave the property as about nine hnndred pounds sterling. The brothers were both killed in an engagement near Oswego, New York, Septem- ber 20, 1756. IS'oah and his brother were in different companies, Noah a cajitain, and Solomon a lieutenant. The original muster-roll of Noah's company is still preserved in his own handwriting, headed by his own name as captain, and dated Marcli 20, 1755. There was no military prejudice against color in those days, for two privates on the muster-roll are designated: "Prince, negro," and "Jupiter, negro.' VI. Noah (tliird), son of the above, was born in Coventry, Connecticut, on tlie twenty-third of June, 1748, The subse- quent change in our cah'ndar from Old Style to New, brought liis l)irthday on the fourth of July, to the keen satisfaction of Noah, who had inherited the patriotic and military tastes of 1700] Noah Grant in the Revolution. 29 his father. After manyiiig Anna Buell, of the family from which sprang General Don Carlos Buell, Noah went into the army at the first drum-beat of the conflict for Indepen- dence. He was a lieutenant of militia at the battle of Lex- ington, and served through the entire Revolutionary War, coming out with the rank of captain. When he returned from the war, the Connecticut Valley, which, a hundred and fifty years earlier, his ancestor Mat- thew had found a howling wilderness, was dotted with towns, villages, and farms, and filled with an industrious, thrifty people. Brissot, who wrote in 1788, says : " Nature and art have spread out all their treasures to make it the Paradise of the United States. Nevertheless, in this State there is much land to sell. What is the reason ? The 'prin- cipal one is the desire of emigration to the West. The de- sire to do better has empoisoned the joys even of the inhab- itants of Connecticut." Noah Grant returned to a desolate home. His wife had died, leaving him two sons, Solomon and Peter. Under this aflaiction, aggravated by the restlessness which army life leaves, in 1790 he succumbed to the prevailing emigra- tion fever, and removed to Westmoreland County, Pennsyl- vania, settling near Greensburg, on the Monongahela River. ^ Twenty miles below was Pittsburg, then a frontier post of only five hundred inhabitants, but already boasting a news- paper, TJie Pittsburg Gazette, which is still in existence. The people dwelt in log-houses, and there was a little garrison at Fort Pitt, where the Monongahela and Alle- ghany unite to form the Ohio. In the French and Indian War, a certain Major Grant with eight hundred Scots, had fought the Indians on an acclivity east of the town, which is called Grant's Hill to this day. Hence possibly the tradition of Scotch descent in the Grant family, who may have erroneously supposed tliis Scotch major of Pittsburg to be of their kith and kin. A rough mail carriage had just begun to run to Philadel- phia, though there was no turnpike, and roads were horri- ble. Most travelers journeyed on horseback, spending the nights at taverns, where lodging and meals were twenty- 30 Settles in Westeen Pennsylvania. [^"s*- five cents each. The horseback trip from Philadelphia oc- cupied eight or ten days. Freights over the same route cost forty-five shillings per hundred- weight. Westmoreland County is a rough mountainous region, ■whose people, though at the outset of the Revolution on the verge of war with their Virginia neighbors about the boundary between the two States, and during its progress suffering greatly from Indian attacks, had been intensely loyal to the national cause. After the war, the great tide of emigration from New England to the Northwest Territory (Ohio), swept directly through it. Emigrants would cross the AUeghanies, and then embark in canoes on the " Yock '' or Youghiogheny River, float down it and the Monongahela to Pittsburg, stop there a few hours for supplies, and then glide down the Ohio into the deeper wilderness beyond. The people of Westmoreland lived largely upon venison and potatoes, though cattle were plentiful, and the new land produced corn abundantly. They shipped cider and beer down the river to Ohio and Kentucky, and made enormous quantities of whisky, supplying much of the South and West. They raised flax from which the Avomen wove clothing for their entire families. Iron mines in the vicinity of Pittsburg were already attracting attention ; glass and iron manufac- tories were springing up, and some oil wells had been dis- covered. They were not deemed valuable, however, but simply regarded as curiosities. The woods still abounded in whip-poor-wills, owls, bears, and panthers, and often in hostile Indians. There was no money in the region, and its entire business was conducted through barter. Such was the country and society in Avhich Noah Grant settled. On the fourth of Marcli, 1792, two years after his arrival, he married a widow named Rachael Kelly, by whom he had seven children, five of whom are now living, their ages ranging from sixty-five to seventy-five years. yil. Jesse Hoot (irant, fourth child of the above, was born January 23, 1794. He was named for Jesse Root, many years Chief-Justice of the Supreme Court of Connec- ticut. Noah Grant, still restless, lived only nine years in Penn- i'799-] Removes to the Ohio Wilderttess. 31 sylvania. In April, 1799, again he folded liis tent like tlie Arab, and as silently stole away — into a new wilderness. Wagons were tlien little used ; the river, alive with travel and commerce, was the great thoroughfare. At high water crafts went from Pittsburg to the present site of Cairo, at the mouth of the Ohio, in twenty days, but in summer the voyage sometimes consumed ten weeks. The river vessels floated with the current, were flat-bot- tomed, and of two classes : trading boats, bound for Ken- tucky and New Orleans, and loaded with whisky, flour, apples, cider, apple-brandy, earthenware, iron, and glass ; and family boats, of emigrants, carrying farming utensils, household goods, cattle, horses, men, women, and children. In a boat of the latter class, Noah Grant and his wife embarked with their five young children, a horse, two cows, cooking utensils, and all the rest of their worldly goods. Their craft was snug, and a part of it was roofed. Bidding adieu to their old home, they floated down the Monongahela and then down the fair Ohio, whose banks were already dotted by a few farms. They did not stop at night, but glided on through the darkness, one watching while the others slept. Forty-five miles below Pittsburg and two below the Pennsylvania line, they landed at the little settlement of Fawcettstown, now Liverpool, Columbiana County, Ohio. The river here, half a mile Avide, at low water is almost ford- able, but in spring very high, full of driftwood, and dotted with stern-wheel steamers, pushing black coal barges before them. Liverpool, on the north bank, occupies a bluff which slopes down to the river, and looks across upon a sharp, wooded hill. The village is a long straggling collection of buildings which look as if they were on their way " down to the river to drink," — dingy dwellings and stores, sharp- roofed white cottages, shaded by ash and elm, and pottery factories, each a queer, circular edifice of brick, with huge, round chimney, looking like a bee-hive with a stove- pipe protruding from the top. Such is the Liverpool of to-day. Noah Grant found it composed only of half a dozen log-cabins in the deep 32 The Grant Genealogical Kecord. [I822. forest. His son Jesse, then five years old, is still living in full health and vigor, and well remembers the voyage sixty-nine years after its occurrence. He is the father of General Grant. We will recapitulate the foregoing facts, and anticipate some yet to be related, to present in compact and complete fomi the genealogical record : I. Matthew Grant, born in Dorsetshire, England, 1601. Married Pris- cilla , in England, November 17, 1625. Arrived at Nantasket Point, Massachusetts, May 30, 1630, and settled in Dorchester. Removed to Windsor, Connecticut, September, 1685. II. Samuel Grant, born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, November 12, 1631. Married Mary Porter, May 27, 1658. III. Samuel Grant (second), born in Windsor, Connecticut, April 20, 1659. Married Csecond wife) Grace Minor, April 11, 1688. IV. Noah Grant, bora in Windsor, Connecticut, December 16, 1692. Married Martha Huntington, June 12, 1717. V. Noah Grant (second), born in Tolland, Connecticut, July 12, 1718. Married Susannah Delano, November 5, 174:6. VI. Noah Grant (third), born in Coventry, Connecticut, June 23, 1748. Removed to Pennsylvania, 1790. Married (second wife) Rachael Kelly, March 4, 1792. VII. Jesse Root Grant, born in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, January 23, 1794. Removed to Ohio, April, 1799. Married Hannah Simp- son, June 24, 1821. VIII. Ulysses Simpson Grant, born at Point Pleasant, Clermont County, Ohio, April 27, 1822. 1"?99] EXD OF THE LasT CeNTUEY. 33 CHAPTER II. PARENTAGE AIN^D BIRTH. The pleasant spring days, when ISToah Grant and his family glided down the Beautiful River came and went in the last year of the eighteenth century. The "Northwest Territory" held their new home. Its Governor Arthur St. Clair, an erect, soldierly old gentleman, with blue eyes, ruddy cheeks, and long, powdered hair, had been a brigadier-general in the Revolution, and a major- general in later Indian wars. Its delegate in Congress, Cap- tain William Henry Harrison, was a young soldier of twenty- six. The American Union held only live millions of people. It was composed of sixteen States, Mississipj^i Territory, — afterward divided into Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi — and the Northwest Territory, which embraced the present States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan. Neither Louisiana nor Florida, nor a single acre west of the Mississippi belonged to our Government. Indeed, only seven years had passed since the discovery of the great Columbia River. Elders of Tory proclivities still spoke of Great Britain as " home," just as our Oregon and California settlers speak of the Eastern States. Queues, knee-breeches, silk stock- ings, silver shoe-buckles, and three-cornered hats, were yet in vogue. In the popular branch of Congress, and in State Legislatures, all members wore their hats, exce2:)t the Speaker, sitting in his chair, and the orator of the moment, standing upon the floor. Bridges were scarce throughout the Union. Single canoes and skiffs served as ferries for foot passengers, and two lashed together and covered with boards, for teams. Carriages were rare ; and nearly all private traveling was on 34 How TiiE People Lived. P-s^- foot or on liorseback. A liorse-Wock stood "before every door ; and on Sundays, one might see many an old family steed jogging along toward clmrcli with one or both parents and one or two children all on his patient back. The few clocks in use were of foreign manufacture. They stood erect, six or eight feet high, resembling nothing so much as upright coffins. Watches were still more rare. The possession of the enormous but fashionable silver " buir s eye," meant either wealth or extravagance. Hour- glasses and sun-dials were chiefly used for marking time. No sanguine theorist had yet been mad enough to dream of a sewing-machine, but each house had its loom and spinning-wheel, with which the frugal matron provided clothing for her family. Fanners wives and daughters also worked much in the fields, especially in seasons of planting, haying, harvesting, and gathering apples. Fish and game formed a large part of the national diet. Philadelphia, the leading American city, boasted seventy thousand people. Noav York, its chief rival, had only sixty thousand, and they were largely from Holland. Every- where was the Dutch language seen upon New York signs, and heard along New York streets. At Astor Place, Broad- way ended against a farm fence. Washington Square was a pauper graveyard, and the corner of Chambers Street and Broadway a negro burial-ground. Lower Pearl Street was the fashionable resident quarter. Every citizen swept the thoroughfare in front of his house twice a week. Oil lamps lighted the streets, and hickory wood Avas the ordinary fuel. Milk was retailed from tin cans, suspended from neck yokes, borne by the milkmen themselves. Drinking water was sold from cnxrts at a penny a gallon, though there stood a res- ervoir on Chambt^rs Street, between Broadway and Centre, its water, ])umped up from wells, was distributed through a few neighborhoods by bored logs. The stage Journey from N(mv York to Boston occupied a week, the time being diversified by prying the vehicle with rails out of mud-holes, in tlie deep Avoods. Nevertheless, stage-coaches, only lately introduced, were such an improve- ment on the old horseback mode, that travelers wondered at 1799.] Boston, Albany, and St. Louis. 35 the ease and expedition tliey afforded. How little like onr daj, when, as Thackeray has it, "we no longer travel, we only arrive.'''' Boston had twenty -five thousand inhahitants. Cows ran loose in the streets, and were pastured on the Common, which was exactly what its name indicates. Foreign travelers noted, with the proper surprise, that New Englanders preferred their glutinous " Boston "brown bread " of corn and rye to the daintiest of delicacies ; that innkeepers sat at table with their guests ; that stage-drivers were sometimes captains or colonels ; that a large proportion of the people were with- out butter, and many lived on bacon and salt pork ; that in Western Pennsylvania coal-oil often bubbled up in springs, making the creeks glassy; that a thousand acres of good land near Pittsburg was offered as a gift if one would settle upon it ; that ex-President George Washington was reputed by his neighbors exacting and penurious, a hard master to his slaves, and a man without remarkable ability-, though of clearest judgment and shining integrity ; that Vice-President • Thomas Jefferson was equally successful as a farmer, scholar, philosopher, and statesman — the foremost man of all the New World ; that little was known of the remote Missis- sippi, and that little chiefly by way of New Orleans, though there were vague rumors that one might travel for ninet}' days along the Great River, through a fair country, all in- habited by Indians ; that in the Atlantic States, as now in Colorado, Idaho, and Utah, grasshoppers often stripped the meadows of every atom of green, even eating the bark from currant-bushes ; that stages between New York and Wash- ington made four to five miles an hour on good roads, but were often overturned by stumps of trees ; and that in Kentucky many log-houses were entered only from the top, Robinson Crusoe fashion, and the ladders drawn up at night as a precaution against savages. Albany was not only truly rural, but truly Dutch. Its queer houses, with gable ends to the streets, had high sharp roofs, little windows, and low porches, upon which phleg- matic Hollanders sat smoking from morning until night. St. Louis was a village of nine hundred people ; and its first 36 From Cincinnati to Pittsbueg. r.i'^99- "brick building was not erected until fourteen years later. Louisiana, which embraced not only our State of that name, but all the vast territory between the Mississippi and the Pacific, belonged to France. It was a wild boundless region, with only seventy thousand nominally civilized inhabitants, of whom half were negroes, and nearly all spoke the French language, Cincinnati had four hundred inhabitants. Its houses were of logs or planks from immigrants' boats, standing on end, and sometimes covered with clapboards. Main Street was diversified by one large frog-pond at the intersection of Columbia, and another overgrown with alders on the corner of Fifth. On Water Street stood a whii^ping-j)Ost, at which it was the jailer's duty to castigate criminals for stealing. Sometimes, when on a spree, that jocular official amused himself by cowliiding all the prisoners, iiicluding those confined for debt. Fort AVashington was a garrisoned post in the heart of the city. Near it a washer-woman occu- pied a hollow, standing sycamore-tree as her dwelling. It was large enough to afford her one good-sized room, and the aperture where a limb had broken off" served for her chimney. Small change was very difficult to obtain, and less amounts than twelve and a half cents were given out in pins, needles, writing-paper, and raccoon skins. The city had two little newsi:)ai;)ers, which chronicled the stealing of liorses and killing of settlers by Indians, and copied New York neAvs six weeks old, and London ncAVS four or five months old. On the first of each month a keel-boat left Pittsburg for Cincinnati, and another left Cincinnati for Pittsburg. In passing down they ran with the current ; in going up they were pro])elled by tlie wind whiui it blew, and by poles when it didn't. These two boats did the entire packet business of the Upper Ohio. They were bullet-proof, and su])])lied with small-arms and cannon. Ordinary fiat-boats, in going up stream, were "cordeled" — worked l)y the cap- stan, with ro])cs attaclunl to trees on tlie bank. This Avas but sixteen 3-ears after the first daily news- paper appeared in America ; two years after the earliest 1'^?] A Glance at Famous Men. 37 introduction of gas-light ; eight years before Robert Ful- ton launched his first steamer, though a few months after poor John Fitch — who constructed steamboats twelve years before Fulton, yet, lacking his rare business tact, failed to introduce them — died by his own hand, a despairing, broken-hearted man. It was twelve years before the first steamer descended the Ohio, thirty-nine before the first one crossed the Atlantic, and twenty- nine before the first steam cars ran in America — between Albany and Sche- nectady. Washington was living at Mount Yernon, threescore and ten, still standing six feet two, muscular and erect, with his blue eyes undimmed, but his brown hair silvered. During hii^ second term, just ended, he had been traduced even more sham^jfully than was Abraham Lincoln in our day — charged with imbecility, treachery to his country, and even personal cowardice and dishonesty. John Adams was President of the rjnited States. Alexander Hamilton, slender, graceful, generous, with the fair face of perpetual youth, was in the full splendor of his fame, practicing laAV in New York. James Madison was a member of the Virginia Legislature ; Albert Gallatin, a broad-browed, splendid-looking Repre- sentative from Western Pennsylvania, making powerful speeches in Congress with a strong foreign accent ; An- drew Jackson, a Judge of the Supreme Court of Tennessee ; Matthew Lyon, a rattle-brained Irish-born Representative from Vermont, where he published a newspaper for which he had cut thetj^Des with his own hand, and made the paper of bass-wood. lie it was who, spitting in the face of a Connecticut Representative, and getting caned in return in presence of the whole House, began the scenes of violence and words of Billingsgate, which, at intervals ever since, and never so much as of late, have made the country blush for the boorislmess and indecency of its Congress. Henry Clay was a tall, ungraceful youth of twenty- two, beginning to practice law in Lexington, Kentucky ; John Quincy Adams, at the same age, American Minis- ter to Berlin. John Randolph, with great lustrous eyes, and long hair parting in the middle, was an awkward 38 And those to Become Famous. i^''^^- young man of twenty-six, who liad read every tiling, and was now running for Congress. George Stephenson was eighteen, and did not know a letter of the alphabet, but he had learned to take his engine apart and repair it, and was making shoes and cutting out clothing for the miners, to earn his passage to America. Walter Scott was a deputy sheriff, who had published a few ballads, but did not write his first novel until fifteen years afterward. John C. Calhoun was preparing for college ; Martin Yan Buren studying law ; Daniel Webster, a sojjhomore at Dartmouth College, and Lewis Cass journeying on foot across the Alleghanies to find a home in the great West. Eli Whitney, disgusted with the bad faith that had made his cotton-gin a pecuniary failure, was manufacturing mus- kets at New Haven. Robert Fulton, with the most pleasing manners, handsome features, and sparkling black eyes, was studying the sciences and constructing steamboat models in Paris. Fisher Ames, the ablest orator and writer of his day, had retired from public life, and w^as j^hilosophizing among liis Massachusetts gardens and orchards. Noah Webster at forty-one was publishing a treatise on pestilential diseases. He had already been soldier, lecturer, school-teacher, poli- tician, and editor, and did not begin his great dictionary until eight years later. Lindley Murray was a retired lawyer and merchant of fifty-four, who had but recently issued his English Grammar. It is noteworthy that the great grammarian and tlui great lexicographer of our language — those ujKJU whose works all later works are based — did not devote til em selves to their s])ecial studies until after reaching middle lite — only found their places in the great working- world after playing Jack-at-all-trades through their best working years. I should crav(^ iKirdon for this long digression, did I not contemplate many more which would better be condoned all "in the hini])." Beside, the reader may think that the main journey should T)e omitted, rather than these wander- ings in by-i^aths. For are we not all born gossips ? and ■what are these but the gossip of literature? We have not taken passage on a modern express train, which will 1799.] Many Digressions Intended. 3^ take us straight tlirougli to Finis Station at thirty miles an hour, with no extra charge for the chances of being pitched over a precipice, and then broiled in a burning carriage. Not at all. Our way is among tlie fathers, jogging on horse- back or trudging afoot, over stumpy roads, through great forests, and along a few cleared fields inclosed by brush fences. Ample leisure have we to be sociable. After dinner, on the porch of the log inn will we smoke our pipe, and chat as long as we like with the good-hum.ored land- lord. Along the road will we laugh leisurely at the droll stories and merry songs of our jolly fellow-traveler, or shake our heads with the solemn one, wlio is sure that the young country is already going to the dogs— and be- times help pry the coach- wheels with a rail out of the mud- hole, while one hospitable passenger offers us a drink of rum from his black bottle— in which a bit of corn-cob, wrapped with a rag, serves for stopper— while the rest tell us the latest news about the prospect of war with France, or the health of General Washington, or the progress of that rough, dreary, wilderness town on the Potomac to which the Federal Capital is about- to be removed from Philadelphia. We will chat with the farmer by the roadside, who is turning up the black soil with wooden plow, or stii-ring it around the tender corn with clumsy iron hoe ;— with the kindly matron, who stops the loom's swift shuttle on her porcli, to draw up the huge sweep and give us a gourd of cool water from her old oaken bucket ;— with the shy maiden in white sun-bonnet, who walks beside us toward the cross- roads where stands the log school-house, in which she reigns supreme over her boisterous, but loyal and tender- hearted little subjects. Nay, when the mood is on us, we will waader off the road altogether, to pluck luscious straw- berries on sunny slopes, or gather wild honeysuckles in grassy dells, or wade for waxen water-lilies, that sleep white and calm as ivory on their glassy beds, where " The river glideth at his owu sweet will." Suppose we are a little longer upon the journey, do we travel on business, or for pleasure ? And shall we imitate 40 Ingenuity of Young Jesse. [i^oo. those dreadful American tourists wlio do all Europe in thirty days, and come back to tell us— not what they have seen to enlarge their culture and warm their hearts, and make their lives more fair and fruitful— but only how many miles they have traveled and how many dollars it has cost ? Not we, indeed. Noah Grant raised his cabin on the bank of the Ohio. Just after his arrival, an Indian called White Eyes was shot by a settler's son, in a personal altercation. This caused a few skirmishes, until the citizens united and cleared the entire region of red men. In December of that year Washington died. One day Jesse, five years old, observed his mother weeping, and asked : — "What is the matter?" "General Washington is dead," she replied, through her sobs. The lad, upon whom a knowledge of the father of his country had never yet dawned, promptly inquired : — " Was he any relation of yours ?" Jesse was a born Yankee, and ingenuity is justified of her children. At six years he rode an old fiimily liorse to mill, to bring back a bag of meal, which he used as a saddle. On the way home he fell asleep, and the bag slipped off, carrying boy and all. Jesse awoke, rubbed his eyes and pondered. The horse towered above him like a mountain. He could not mount alone, much less lift on the meal. It was three-quarters of a mile back to the mill, and half a mile forward home. He might leave the bag in the road, but meal was i)recious, hogs abounded, and hogs Avhicli sustain a precarious existence on acorns and wild roots, have a special "affinity" for corn in any form except the li(piid one of whisky. The lad cogitated until— Eureka ! — hard by Avas a half-fallen tree, whose stem formed an inclined ])lane ! To the foot of this the little fellow rolled his bag ; then worked it laboriously ui^ the trunk. When it was high enough he led the old horse under, pushed the bag down on the steed's back, dropped upon it himself, and jogged home in triumph. In which fertility of resource 1805.] The Boy's Mother Dies. 4f not onlj^ was the boy father to the man. but father likewise to his future son. Noah Grant had only established himself temporarily. The Western Reserve was not yet surveyed or open to settle- ment ; but lie looked upon it with longing eyes, for it was an admirable body of land. Its three millions of acres embraced the present site of Cleveland, and the eight northeastern counties of Ohio. It was known as New Connecticut, for it belonged to the Nutmeg State. In 1800, however, she sold it to the General Government, and from the proceeds ob- tained her magnificent school fund. But she retained one county for the benefit of her own citizens, who had suffered from the burning of buildings by tl>e British during the Revolution, and these tracts were long known as the " Con- necticut Fire Lands." The whole region was settled chiefly from New Eng- land, and to this day, in pronunciations, in idioms, in social habits, and in political faith, it is like a portion of Massa- chusetts transplanted bodily to the West. When Jesse was ten years old the Reserve was thrown open, and his father established his new home upon it, in Portage County, forty miles from the old home, and near the present town of Deerfield. The next year Noah's wife died. It was a sore loss, for she was the chief dependence of the family. Noah Grant — dark haired, but in form and size like the General— was well educated, clear-headed, a brilliant talker, and a vivid de- scriber of battles. But he was never a provident man. On coming to his majority he inherited a life interest in the Coven- try property left by his uncle Solomon. But, little by little, he parted with it all before he was thirty years old.* And in seven years of military life, a common misfortune befel * After the Revolution, entail was abolished, so upon Noah's death this property fell in fee-simple to his eldest son Peter. Before Peter could take possession he died, and his children inherited it. In 1833, their uncle — the General's father — visited Connecticut to look after it. It consisted of two hundred acres in Coventry. The tenants, who had purchased the life-interest of Noah, were mostly poor, and held farms of five, ten, and twenty-five acres. The property was worth ten thou- sand dollars; but the heirs, who were all in comfortable circumstances, finally quit- claimed to the occupants on receiving three thousand dollars. 42 How THE Ohio Settlers Lived. [isos. liim — he lost something of liis self-control, and acquired the fondness for stimulants often born of army excitements. So, since the close of the war, his family had been poor, and now, the death of his wife broke it up. The younger children were adopted by neighbors, and Susan and Jesse, the two eldest, had to face life and provide for themselves. After Jesse's mother died, he found this rather a hard world. He worked at several places, earning plain food and scanty clothing ; but in November, 1808, the lad, now four- teen years old, went twenty-five miles from Deeriield, to Youngstown, Trumbull County, to live Avitli Judge George Tod of the State Supreme Court. Here Jesse found a home. He was sent to school three months of the first, and three months of the second year, but that was the whole of his school education. In arithmetic he arrived at a dim per- ception of the single rule of three. Later in life he de- voted himself to text books, until sufficiently accomplished for the transaction of ordinary business, and even studied grammar after he was a married man. In summer, at Judge Tod' s, Jesse worked on the farm, clearing land, and planting corn. The first winter he wore the Judge's cast-off garments made over; but the second autumn saw him decked in a full suit of " store clothing," to the delight of his boyish heart. There were no carriages in that region for many years later. Young settlers from the East, outvying the tame romance of Hero and Leander, used to walk back to Con- necticut, six hundred miles, to be married. Then they would start in a light wagon, with cooking utensils, and blankets for camping, to begin their new lumie witli the slender materials, which usually bring the most substantial stock of happiness. Th('re was litth; money in Ohio, and the settlers were extremely ])()()r. Even candles wen; an unusual luxury, and most liouses were lighted by a burning rag, which floated upon a dish of oil. Tlie pe()])]e lived in log-cabins, with roofs of split clapboards, upon wliidi i)()les were laid to keep them in ])lace. After a few years they covered their roofs with split shingles. At first they built the brush fence, but in 180S.] Jesse on Spoons and Bowls. 4S two or tliree years erected the high worm fence of rails, and set fire to the old brush, which Iblazed like tinder. Game, including bears and wolves, was abundant. So were Indians, chiefly Ottawas and Muncies, but in general they were very friendly. The pioneers, who raised nearly every thing they ate, at first bought their few groceries at Pittsburg, but soon made Cleveland their trading point. At the outset, in winter they fed their swine on potatoes and peas, fancying the soil too cold for Indian corn, but in time they learned that it was admirably adapted to that grain. Still the nights were extremely cool, even in summer. The country was heavily timbered, and the deep forest shade kept the earth from receiving the sun's heat, so settlers built dwellings on the v/arm open banks beside the streams. The orphan lad was happy at his new home. Among his playmates was David Tod, Avho lived to be Governor of Ohio, while Jesse's son was leading great armies to victory. Mush and milk was the boys' luxury. Every night they were sent to eat it for supper before the roaring log-fire of the great kitchen. On the first evening the spoons and bowls excited Jesse's wonder. He thought them a miracle of elegance. When he became so familiar that he dared to ask the question, he queried of one of the boys : — "What are these spoons made of?" " Silver." " What are the bowls made of?" "China?" Jesse, who thought with Squeers, "Here's richness," continued earnestly : — "AVhen I am a man, and have children, I am going to buy just such spoons and bowls as these. What did they cost V ' " I don't know. I'll go and ask mother." So the future Governor toddled off to the elders, in the sitting-room, and soon came back with the message : — " She says you'll have to be very rich before you can own them, for the set cost eighteen doUars." 44 The Last Wae with England. [1^12. Eighteen dollars was an enormons sum ; but the ambi- tions boy still insisted that he Avould live to own such spoons and bowls. He further determined that he would marry at twenty-five, if able to support a wife, and retire from business at sixty, if he reached that age ; for, stung by tlie inconvenience and bitterness of want, he had firmly resolved that, while his fatlier, born rich had died poor, he, born poor, would die rich. Unlike most of us who never fulfill the rosy expectations of youth, Jesse lived to real- ize his ; but then his were practical, and quite below the region of romance. His brothers, too, seem to have been moved by the same impulse, for all lived to accumulate wealth. At sixteen, Jesse left Judge Tod's, and returned to Deerfield, where he spent two years in learning the tanning business. But the yard was only large enough to employ one man ; so, at eighteen, he was apprenticed to his half- brother in Maysville, Kentucky. There he remained till he had become a first-class tanner. This was during the war of 1812. As British emissaries had excited Indians to cruel hostilities in the West, that section was zealous in favor of the Avar, while New England, whose shipping interest the war utterly ruined, was equally zealous against it. At the outset, our fathers looked upon this struggle as more formidable than, in the spring of 1861, we deemed the Great Rebellion. Congress authorized the President to call out one hundred and seventy -five thousand volunteers and militia. Stirring scenes followed, of which we hardly remember the outline — western settlers massacred by In- dians ; Harrison' s brilliant fight at Tippecanoe, the most des- perate Indian battle of history; Perry's magnificent naval victory on Lake Erie, up<^n whicli he based his famous dis- patch, "AVeliavemet the enemy, and they are ours ;" the flight of President Madison and liis cabinet from ^Yashington, and the capture of that cit}', a disaster causing more excite- ment and liuniiliation than the Bull Pun defeat of our own day; and liiially, .laelvsoifs wondtnful victory at New Orleans, fifteen da}S after the signing of a treaty of peace at Ghent between commissioners of Great Britain 1810.] Jesse Looks foii a Wife. 4S» and the United States, but before news of it had reached America. Ohio and Kentucky were helped rather than injured by the war, as it furnished a market on the northern border for their surplus wheat, butter, cheese, and beef. Their leading citizens were in the army, including Jesse' s friend, Judge Tod, who served as colonel. In 1815, peace being declared, Jesse, now twenty-one, returned to Deerfield, took the little tan-yard and went into business for himself. He began without capital, but being industrious and frugal, steadily accumulated property. This year, he made his first trip to Cincinnati, an ambitious set- tlement of six thousand people, who were beginning to fill up their frog-ponds and to cut streets, which ran like shelves along the sides of their tall bluffs. From Sixth Street up to Twelfth, Jesse saw a great corn-field with the grain in full leaf. At the end of two years, the young tanner removed fif- teen miles to Ravenna. In two years more, he was the owner of fifteen hundred dollars, cliiefly invested in his tan- yard and leather, which made him the richest citizen of the little town. On the morning of his twenty-fifth birthday, Jesse awoke and said to a fellow- workman who slept with him : — ''I always promised myself a wife at twenty-five, if I should have the means to support her. Now I have the property, but I don't know where to look. However, before going to bed I will make a start in some direction toward getting married." So the tall young man donned his Sunday suit, put things to rights in the tan-yard, and then walked thought- fully about the little tavern where he boarded. Tanning and Sunday clothing do not assimilate ; and tiie landlady's curiosity was excited by his unusual garb and mien. She asked :- " What are you thinking about so seriously ?" "About looking for a wife." "Where are you going to look?" ' ' Well, I don' t know— somewhere, where there are girls. ' ' 46 And Meets with Ill-Foetune. [isso. Jesse remembered one Clara Hall, whom he had never seen but once, and that fifteen months before. After din- ner, he went to call on her. She received him cordially, and true to her sex proved an enthusiastic match-maker. He had given her no hint of his purpose, but the feminine instinct was strong within her. When he asked who lived in a neighboring house, she replied : — " My uncle Timothy, and he has a daughter who will make you a capital wife. Now I am going to send for her to come over to tea, and you must go home with her." This was a diversion. Clara, not her cousin, had been in Jesse's mind. But the cousin, Prudence by name, came duly, and he not only took her home, as he was bid, but on the way agreed upon a correspondence with her. After keeping this up for a few months, the J^oung couple resolv- ed to face the perils of matrimony, and agreed that the knot should be tied immediately "after court." The Su- preme Court sat in Deerfield every October, and the session brought much business to the town. After this active period, there was leisure for weddings and other amuse- ments. But the course of this true love did not run smooth. In August Jesse was attacked by the fever and ague. His journeyman also took the disease, and much of his stock was ruined for want of attention. His sickness lasted dur- ing the rest of the 3^ear. Creditors were pressing, debtors were neglected, and before thej^oung man's health returned his little fortune had faded away, and he Avas not worth a hundred and fifty dollars. In January, 1820, so far recovered that he could travel eight or ton miles a day, he spent a feAV weeks with Relatives in Maysvillo. There his father had died a feAV montlis be- fore. After losing his wife, Noah resided near his old Ohio home, until 1811, KU])])orting himself and aiding his younger children by slioemaking. Then he removed to Maysvilh', and spent the rest of his life with his j^oungest son, who was a ])r()mineiit and succ(^ssful business man. Jesse's sickness lasted over a year. When he had so far recovered as to go to work again, he settled in Clermont 1821.] But FiisrALLY Marries Wisely. 47 County, on the north iDank of the Ohio River, twenty-five miles above Cincinnati. The little village, of fifteen or twen- ty families, was then, as now, called Point Pleasant. A citizen had offered to furnish the money for setting up the tanning business, if Jesse would teach its art and mystery to his son. Like Micawber, Genius Jesse might have, Cap- ital he had not ; so he accepted the offer and tarried to accu- mulate capital for a fresh start in life. In Point Pleasant he married — but the bride was not Prudence Hall. The affection of that young lady had so much of the Platonic, and so little of the " AVhere-thou- goest, -I- will-go," that the engagement was given up, and she is now the wife of a well-to-do Ohio farmer and the mother of his two children. But as soon as Jesse was off with the old love, he was on with the new. Ten miles from Point Pleasant lived another maiden, Hannah Simpson, sole daughter of the house and heart of a thrifty farmer who had moved to the AVest two years before. She was born and reared in Pennsylvania, twenty miles from Philadelphia. For several generations her ancestors had been American, though a family tradition alleged that originally they were Irish. Jesse describes her at this time as "an unpretending country girl, hand- some but not vain." She was thoroughly accomplished in all the duties of houseAvifery, and to great womanly sweet- ness added prudence, clear judgment, piety, and a gravity and thoughtfulness beyond her years. Never was Jesse Grant's good fortune greater than when, on the twenty-fourth of June, 1821, he married Han- nah Simpson. The following paragraphs, possibly familiar to some of my readers, give a singularly faithful description of her : — " Her price is far above rubies. The heart of lier husband doth safely trust in her. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. She openeth her mouth with wisdom ; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. 48 And Ulysses is Borx. [1821. Her children arise up, and call her blessed ; her husband also, and he praiseth her." The 3'oung couple began liousekeeping in a little frame dwelling, a hundred yards from the Ohio River. Behind the house and the hamlet rose a bold hill. In front ran a little creek. Here, on the twenty- seventh day of April, 1822, the future General was born. Our title-page repro- duces faithfully a capital photograph of the home in which he first saw the light, with the physician, who introduced him into this breatliing world, standing in the gateway. The dwelling, still substantially unchanged, is now visited by many curious and patriotic pilgrims. The two trees yet standing in front were planted by the hand of Jesse Grant. If leading ancestral qualities are inherited, the infant son of these young parents had fallen heir to inHexible Puritan integrity, aptitude for public business, industry, enterprise and thrift, strong military tastes, and that devoted jDatri- otism which holds it sweet and 'beautiful to die for one' s country. 1822.] The Baby Named by Ballot. 49 CHAPTER III. BOYHOOD. The baby weighed ten and tliree-fonrtli pounds, and' caused the usual excitement attendant upon the advent of a first child. The name was held a question of gravity, only to be decided by a family council. So when the little stranger was six weeks old his mother made a visit to her father's, ten miles away, where a congress of parents, grand-parents, and two maternal aunts, was called to legis- late on the all-important question. Party feeling ran so high that a ballot was determined upon. On a slix3 of paper each wrote the name which he or she preferred, and deposited it in a hat. The hat was shaken, and then an aunt, with head turned aside, drew forth a slip. It bore the name "Ulysses." Further examination of the ballot-box showed that the vote stood thus : — Hiram 1 Albert 2 Theodore 1 Ulysses 2 6 Hiram was voted by John Simpson, the maternal grand- father, with whom it was a special favorite. The Alberts were for Albert Gallatin, well known, particularly^ in the West, as one of the most brilliant, versatile, and able public men of the United States, and just then resident minister of our Government at Paris. He was alike successful as legislator, diplomat, author, financier, and man of business. After s])ending fifty years in honorable public service, and declining seats in two Cabinets, and the Vice-Presidency 50 Jesse Moves to Georgetown. D823. of tlie United States, lie voluntarily retired to spend a calm, wise old age in the pleasant paths of literature. These were matter-of-fact names. Theodore, more fan- ciful, had pleased the fancy of one of the maiden aunts. Ulysses, both romantic and classic, originated thus : Shortly after marriage, Jesse read Fenelon's Telemachus, of which a copy had strayed into the settlement. Afterward the book fell into the hands of old Mrs. Simpson. Both were deeply impressed with the character of the hero's fiither, "the wise Ulysses," Avhom Fenelon depicts from classic song and story, and of whom, by the grace of Alexander Pope, Homer sings : — "To tread tlie walks of death lie stood prepared, And what he greatly thought he nohly dared." Throughout the book he is invariably spoken of as " gentle of speech, beneficent of mind," " the most patient of men," "equally unmoved against danger and reproach." Telemachus is apostrophized : — "Your father Ulysses is the wisest of mankind; his heart is an un- fathomable depth ; his secret lies beyond the line of subtlety and fraud ; he is the friend of truth ; he says nothing that is false, but when it is necessary he conceals what is true ; his icisdom is, as it iccre, a seal iq)0)i liin lips, irJiich is never liroTcen hut for an vnjyortant purpose.'" So, "whether by chance or by design of the immortal gods," the tanner's son, born in a frontier cabin, was named for the antique character whose traits his own Avere to resem- ble so strikingly-^the Grecian warrior and counselor, noted for intrepidit_7, reticence, and Avisdom, no less than for pass- ing unscatluid through every danger. Afterward, in defer- ence to the grandfather's Avish, another name Avas prelixed, and the lad Avas baptized lliram Ulysses Grant. Ten months after the birth of Ulysses, Jesse moved to GeorgetoAV'n, in liroAvn County. The tanner AA^as thrifty. In twenty-two months he had accumulated eleA'en hun- dred dollars, Avhich he took Avith him, one thousand of it in sih'er, then commanding a i)remium of thirty per cent. That year Jesse built him a small brick house, I 182.-?.] A Great Place for Drinking. 51 and supported liis family from tlie profits of his new tan- yard, without drawing upon his accumulated capital. Georgetown is ten miles back from the Ohio. Ripley, the river point for the debarkation of passengers and freight, is fifty-nine miles above Cincinnati, and the most important town between that city and Maysville. Both Ripley and Georgetown are thirty miles from the nearest railway — per- haps the only localities in Ohio so completely "off the road." The counties, Brown and Clermont, happen to be in a bend of the Ohio River, and not on the route to any- where. Landing from a steamer at the old brick town of Ripley, a sort of urban Rip Van Winkle, with a "general flavor of mild decay," we climb the sharp bluff which rises two or three hundred feet. Upon it, and along the creeks cutting through it to the river, are great vineyards, their stakes covered with clinging vines, and in autumn rich with purple grapes. Brown is the first wine county of Ohio, except Hamilton. Back from the river, on the road to Georgetown, we find the country rough and heavily tim- bered. Log-houses are abundant, and many of the people still travel on horseback. Ever since there was a Democratic party the countj^ has been strongly Democratic, and some of its denizens are said to be still voting for Jackson. It used to be famous for Clay suppers, Jackson suppers, and Adams suppers, con- vivial "feeds" at the Georgetown hotel. Probably more liquor has been consumed in the vicinity than in any other of our northern communities. To be temperate in Brown means to be intoxicated only two or three times a year. In old times, a man who did not get drunk at least on the eighth of January, the twenty-second of Februar}^, and the fourth of July, could hardly maintain his standing in the community, or in the local churches. When Jesse settled in Georgetown, its inhabitants, all told, were only a dozen families. It is now the county-seat, a pleasant village of twelve hundred people, built around a hollow square, with an ample brick court-house in the center, after the old Southern and Western fashion. 52 "I Can't Take Powder." [is2i. Here Ulysses passed his boyhood. It furnished little material for a wouder-book, as he was in nowise a remark- able child. Still some leading qualities of his character were displayed veiy early. While he was less than two years old, and lying in his father's arms, a young neighbor wanted to try the effect of a pistol report upon him. So his little hand was pressed against the trigger until the charge exploded with a stunning report. The father relates that the imperturbable baby never winked nor dodged, but sim- ply reached out for the pistol, crying : — '' Fick it again ! Fick it again !" Still he seems to have had no special longing for the villainous saltpeter. Once, when he fell sick, before he was three years old, the family physician pronounced him feverish, and said he would leave powders for him to take. The little fellow burst out sobbing : — "No, no, no ! I can' t take powder ; it will blow me up." Tlie plirase was a by-word in the family afterward, when- ever powders were prescribed. His fondness for horses developed even earlier. When he was twenty months old, a little menagerie and circus which visited the town had, among other attractions, a trained pony. In the midst of the performance the ring- master asked : — '' Who will ride the pony ?" Ulysses, still in petticoats, begged that he might be al- lowed to do so. So he was lield on the steed' s back, and rod«3 two or three times around the ring, manifesting more glee than he had ever shown before. Jesse Grant, sturdy and clear-headed, never swerved from his determination to acquire a competence. He worked hard and lived frugall\ . To make sure of hides, lie added butchering to tanning. Uv also did hauling, erected build- ings, and, indeed, turned his hand to any thing which would pay. lie was a decided character, fond of talking at public meetings, and of wiitiiig iiigeiiious rhymes, which often found their way into i)riiit. The county papei-, published in Georgetown, was called Tki^ Casli, and art(M- hauling the logs upon it, so that they nearly balanced, had drawn them endwise upon D/vVEANDMt; GKANT'S boyhood in GEOUGETOWN, OHIO. 1834.] Ulysses Sent to Louisville. 65 his wagon iinderneatli with little difficulty. The feat made him quite famous in the neighborhood. Did it not involve as much inventiveness, patience, and fertility of resource as the wonderful campaign which ended in the capture of Vicksburg ? Ulj^sses worked hauling the logs all summer, with the exception of a single week, which he spent in Louisville. His father, engaged in a lawsuit, wanted a deposition taken in that city, and had frequently written for it without success. Finally he sent his first-born to attend to the business. Ulysses got the document and started back, but the captain of the steamer on which he sought passage, thinking the little fellow must be a runaway at first declined to take him. When, however, he produced a letter from his father, ex- plaining the business on which he had been sent, the admiring captain brought him back to Maysville free of charge. The jail was finished by the first of December, and then Jesse sold his wagon to a citizen of Aberdeen, twenty-one miles away. Ulysses was sent to take it there, with two horses, one which the purchaser had left, and a beautiful bright bay, not yet four years old, which he himself had owned only a few weeks, and had never tried in harness. For the first ten miles the team went well ; but then, near Ripley, passing a farm-house where the butchering of hogs was going on, the sight and smell of it made. the colt quite frantic. In a twinlding he kicked himself out of the har- ness, tearing it to shreds. Ulysses sprang from the wagon, and firmly held the frightened beast by the bit until he was quiet. Then, knowing that he was, at least, an admirable riding-horse, Ulysses put on his saddle, brought for the return trip, and galloped into Eipley. There he asked of the first acquaintance he met : — " Are there any horse -buyers in town?" "Yes, there is one collecting horses for New Orleans; he is to leave with them in a few days. I reckon he is over there at the stable." To the stable Ulysses rode, and, finding his man, ac- costed him : — 66 Deitixg a Good Baegai^^. [^835. " My horse is for sale ; are you buying ?" " Yes, what do you ask for him V " Sixty-five dollars, and the use of him or some other horse to take my wagon to Aberdeen." The beauty of the little steed interested the buyer, and lie answered : — " I will give you sixty dollars." " I can't take that ; he is worth more." " Well, I will split the difference with you, and give you sixty -two dollars and fifty cents." "All right." The bargain was closed, the horse delivered, and the money paid. But then the buyer, looking again at the chubby lad, whose gravity of demeanor had prevented his diminutiveness from being noticed, added : — "You are a very small boy; I am afraid it is hardly safe to buy of you." " Oh, if that is all, I can satisfy you," replied Ulysses. And he went and brought Captain Knight, an old family friend, who testified : — "It is all right; any trade you make with this boy is just as sound as if you made it with his father." The buyer, determined not to lose sight of his new pony, furnished Ulysses with an old safe horse to Aberdeen, which the boy left in Ripley on his return, and thence went by stage. The next year, a roving New York journeyman, with a weakness for whisky, worked in the tan-yard. Once, hav- ing exhausted all his money, he took six calf- skins belong- ing to Ids employer. Not daring to offer tlunn for sale, he consulted a little shoemaker, who betrayed him. Jesse found the hidden plunder, and soon after meeting his specu- lating workman in the village tavern, ordered him to leave town. But tlie journeyman was obstinate, would not go, and even drew a knife upon Jesse. The broad-shouldered, powerful tanner took tli<; weapon away from him, sent Ulysses for liis coAvhidi^, and laid it over tlie culprit's back half a dozi^n times with all his i)ower. But the victim, neither frightened nor hurt, stood his ground till some 1S35.] The Hills "Judgment aistd Meecy." 67 Tillage "roughs" marched him out of town, with the Avarn- ing never to come back. He never did. Ulysses, ever on the look-out for jobs for his horses, made frequent trips to Cincinnati, fifty miles from George- town. He always stopped at the Dennison House, which still stands on Fifth Street, between ]\fain and Sycamore. He knew familiarly the landlord's son, William Dennison, six or eight years older than he, who lived to become Gov- ernor of Ohio, and Postmaster-General in the cabinet of Abraham Lincoln. Between Georgetown and White Oak Creek was a high ridge, very gentle on the side next the village, but almost perpendicular on the other. With a good deal of humor the x)eople named the steep, dangerous hill, "Judgment," and the gentler declivit}^, "Mercy." On the " Judgment" side the villagers frequently stalled their horses with heavy loads. Young Grant was too good a teamster for this. One day a neighbor asked him : — " Why do your horses never get stalled ?" "Because I never get stalled myself," was the pithy answer. Jesse Grant, with all his thrift, was not getting rich rapidly. He acted thoroughly on Micawber's wisdom — "Annual income, £20; annual expenditure, £19 19s. Gd. — result, happi- ness. Annual income, £20 ; annual expenditure, £20 Os. 6d. — result, misery. The blossom is blighted, the leaf withered — in short, you are forever Jloored.''^ Whatever other agency might have taken Jesse Grant off his feet, he was not a man to be floored by spending sixpence above his income, or to be unmindful of the re- sponsibility which every sixpence involves. He worked hard, never speculated, was a most thrifty, indefatigable citi- zen of sobriety and integrity, but not so p)opular in the com- munity as a more reticent man would have been. He made good speeches, for he was fluent, and possessed an unusually retentive memory. In private, his children were the favorite theme. He was extremely fond, and in- clined to be vain of them. His first-born was nearest his heart. He frequently said : " Who knows but my Ulysses 68 Ulysses's Father and Mother. [isss. may be President of the United States 'f But then, hun- dreds of thousands of parents at the same time were thinking the same thing of their own Iboys. He was always a politician. Three times lie cast his vote for Jackson. When Van Buren was nominated, Jesse, lacking faith in him, did not vote at all ; but in 1840 he sup- ported Harrison, and adhered afterward to the Whig party as long as it lasted. He was chosen first mayor of George- town, but at the second election was defeated by a tailor — a misfortune which does not seem to be hereditary in the family. Ulysses inherited many of his best traits from his mother. The old residents of Georgetown speak of her with extra- ordinary enthusiasm and affection. She was amiable, serene, even-tempered, thoroughly self-forgetful, kind and consider- ate to all, and speaking ill of none. Her children she governed with tender affection, and without the rod ; and in return they were tractable and well-behaved, never bois- terous nor rude in the family circle. She was exceedingly reticent and exceedingly modest. Whatever she thought of her boys and gMs in her mother-heart, she never praised them before others. Even now, though feeling high and just pride in her illustrious son, and fond of reading all that is said of him, she not only refrains from boasting of him, but sometimes blushes like a girl, and leaves the room when his praises are sounded in her ears ; for it seems akin to hearing self-praise, which she regards with unmiti- gated horror. In lier old age, she has calm, winning manners, and a face still sweet and still young in the nicest sense of Holmes : — " For Ijim in vain the envious seasons roll, Who bears eternal summer in his soul." Ulysses was sent to school before he was four years old ; but he began so young to drive a team and make himself useful to his father, that liis edu(;ation was sadly neglected. After he was eleven, he went only in the winter term, averaging about three months. Even then his attendance was ir- regular whenever he could find passengers to drive home, 1835.] At School ais'd in Spoets. 69 or neighbors who wanted to visit Cincinnati. The plain, one- story, brick building, baldly fronting the street, without any pleasant surroundings, where the village youth first quaffed from the "Pierian Spring," is faithfully shown in our picture. Its exterior is still unchanged ; but no more emerge "the playful children just let loose from school," for it is now occupied as a dwelling by a family of negroes. He was not deemed a particularly bright boy, nor a bril- liant scholar except in arithmetic, in which he excelled his class. In other branches he was below the average. But no one in the school could draw such horses upon his slate as young Grant, and in this exercise he was exceedingly diligent. He would sit too, and reflect for hours with his slate or book hugged up against his breast, and his head a little cast down. His ordinary nickname was "Ulyss," or simply "L37SS;" but some of his comrades called him "Texas," because his father had visited that province and published a long account of his trip. Others called him "Hug," from his initials, H. U. G., and others still traves- tied his name to " Useless." Notwithstanding his expertness at skating, swimming, and riding, he was awkward in other out-door sports. But he had unusual fortitude, and though at ball-playing he was a very poor dodger, no ball could hit him hard enough to make him cry, or even wince. He attended frequent evening spelling-schools, and also a juvenile debating club, at which, however, he never spoke. Tliough seeming to care little for amusements, he went with the rest to the evening gatherings of boys and girls, playing his part creditably at riddles, puzzles, and other games, and not shrinking from the endless juvenile kissing involved in forfeits, though he had no special fondness for the society of the opposite sex. One little girl only was a particular favorite, and she continued so until he grew to manhood. But she is a staid manied matron now, living near George- town. In brief, Ulysses was a sober, thoughtful boy, who pre- ferred the society of men to that of younger companions, but always as a modest and quiet listener rather than a talker. 70 The Militaey Spirit Fervent. [i835. He was temperate — mucli less inclined to whisky than most young men in that convivial region, for whoever had grown virtuous, Brown County willed that there should "be cakes and ale. Military traditions were among the familiar things of his childhood ; stories of Samuel and Noah Grant in the old French war, and of his grandfather's exploits in the eight years of the Revolution. The military spirit also was fer- vent in the vicinity ; he saw much of company drill, and never missed the general muster in August. On this grand oc- casion, as many as three thousand citizen-soldiers were some- times drilled by their officers through the long summer day, with more than ordinary zeal and diligence. Even the local names betokened an admiration of military heroes. Ripley was so called in honor of General Ripley ; Scott township, of Winfield Scott ; and Brown County, of Ethan Allen Brown, all famous in the war of 1812. A Philadelphia journalist, who was a native of the same village— a little boy, who, in his own phrase " used to hang around the skirts of Grant's ' wamus,' " writes : — "A brother of tlie General was a fellow-' devil ' in the printing-office in which we were then the younger imp. And through him we became ac- quainted with Ulysses, or ' Lyss,' as he was called by the boys. lie was then a stumi)y, freckle-faced, big-headed country lad of fifteen, or thereabouts, working in his father's tan-yard ; and we often stood by his side and exercised our aniuteur hand under his direction in breaking bark for the old bark mill down in the hollow. Though sneered at for his awkwardness by the scions of' iioble Kentucky who honored Georgetown with tlieir i)resence, Ulysses was a favorite with the smaller boys of the village, who had learned to look up to him as a sort of a protector. " AVe well remember the stir created by the appointment of the tanner's son to a cadetship at West Point. The sumi-iso among the sons of our doctors, lawyers, and storekeepers was soTrtfthing wonderful. Indeed, none of us boys, higli or low, rich or poor, could clearly imagine how Uncle Sam's schoolmasters were going to transform our somewhat ok ire-looking comrade into our heau ideal of dandyism— a West Pointer. But the rude exterior of the bark-grinder covered a wealtli of intellect, which, of course, wo youngsters were not expected to bo cognizant of. Modest and unassuming, though de- termined, self-reliant, and decisive then as he still seems to be — we mistook his sliy, retiring disposition for slowness, and, looked up to as he was by us all, we umst confess there was much joking at his expense as we gathered of evenings m the court-house square.',' 1838.] A Student at Maysville axd Ripley. 71 Beside Ulysses, there were in due season five other children, — Simpson, Clara, Virginia, Orvil L., and Mary Frances. Virginia now resides with her father in Coving- ton, and Mary is the wife of a clergyman, at present the American consul at Leipsic. Both are ladies of unusual talent and most estimable character. Orvil is a Chicago leather merchant, Avith one of the largest establishments in the West. Simpson and Clara both died of consumption a few years ago. When Ulysses was nearly fourteen, his life was varied by a winter at Maysville, Kentucky. The schools there were better than in Georgetown, and to their advantages he was bid by the widow of his uncle, Peter Grant, who resided there. Two years later he was sent for a few months to the Presbyterian Academy at Ripley, where he boarded ^vith Marion Johnson, a citizen still living. He was a plant of slow growth ; looking little like his father, but much like his aunt, Mrs. Rachael Tompkins, of Charlestown, West Virginia, and inheriting the "Grant face," with its Scotch look of strength, spirit, and deter- mination, and, when smiling, its peculiar twist of the under lip. Thus the boy grew up in a pleasant, well-ordered family, trained by a thoughtful father of great energy and integrity, and by a mother so tender, so faithful, so calm, so heavenly tempered, that former neighbors speak of her as men are wont to speak only of their own mothers. In this home he was surrounded by pure influences only— a religious house- hold, the frugality and simplicity of working people in humble life, the hospitality and open-handed kindness of a new country. On the other hand, schools were poor and infrequent, the standard of public morality none of the highest, and the temptations to excess in drink many and powerful. With him the home influence proved the stronger, and at seventeen years of age he was noted as an honorable, trustworthy youth, above all meanness, incapable of any crooked ways. Yet a citizen of Georgetown, asked to select the boys likely to achieve distinction, would have 72 Ulysses' Standing at Seventeen. [isss. placed Ulysses Grant very low upon the list. He was not "brilliant," and his neighbors, like most Americans, con- founded brilliancy with greatness, and suspected good sense and clever judgment of being stupid. Friends of the family would have predicted : — " He will be a horse-trader or a livery- stable keeper, an energetic business man, accumulating money largely and expending it freely, but always a trifle slow, and never des- tined to make a mark in the world." Well muses the melancholy Claude — "Wise judges are we of each other !" A hundred years before, another boy had been reared whose youth was just as unnoticeable, who was equally silent and thoughtful, equally indifferent to books, and chiefly remarkable for his love of athletic sports. If lie had died young, he would only have been remembered, if remembered at all, as one who left a mark upon the Natural Bridge, where he had thrown a stone twenty feet higher than any other man or boy in Virginia. But in that Providence which confounds the wisdom of the wise, he lived to become " first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." 1839.] Plans foe Futuee Life. 73 CHAPTER V. "WEST POINT. In tlie winter of 1838-9 Ulysses was nearly seventeen. Though small of his age, he was a rugged bo}^, who had never been ill a day in his life. His frugal father said to him :— " I reckon you are now old enough to go to work in the beam-house." Now the most unpleasant part of a tanner' s labor is in this very "beam-house," and consists chiefly of cleaning the raw hides of flesh and hair and dirt, by means of a long knife, with handles at each end. Ulysses, though un- complaining and diligent, disliked every branch of the busi- ness, and he replied, with unusual vehemence : — "Well, father. Til work here till I am one-and-twenty, if you require me to ; but I will never do a day' s work at tanning after that." "I don't want you to do this now, unless jou expect to follow it in after-life. What do you want to be ?" " I should like to be a farmer, or a Mississippi trader, or to get an education." The tanner pondered. He had no farm to give his son. The life of a Mississippi River flatboat trader, with its many temptations, he did not approve of; nor did he feel, though possessed of ten or twelve thousand dollars, that he could, in justice to his five other children, afford to send even his first-born to college. He thought of West Point, which had already won a high reputation, and some of whose graduates were leading men — especially in the militia organizations, more honored then than of later years. At the Military Academy his son could be liberally educated at the coun- try' s expense, and serve it afterward in an honorable posi- tion. Ulysses knew all about that school, as George Bailey, 74 A A^ACAisrcY at AVest Point. [^839. his nearest iieiglibor and playmate, had entered there but a short time before. So when his fatlier asked, " How would you like to go to West Point ?" he replied, sententiously : — "First rate." " Then," said the prompt parent, " I will make applica- tion at once." The prospect was not promising. The Congressional district was supposed to have a single cadet there already — all it was entitled to. But each United States senator also could make one appointment ; and in Clermont County, a few miles away, lived Senator Thomas Morris. While a poor boy, he had come from Virginia to free Ohio. After- ward, while a day -laborer, and without any instructor, he began the study of the law, and finally attained eminence in its jDractice. He had been for twenty-four years a mem- ber of the legislature, and chief-justice of the State. Now in the Upper House of Congress, he had won national fame by his gallant and able defense of freedom of the press, of speech, and of petition, against the most violent slavehold- ing opposition. To him Jesse Grant wrote, asking if he had a vacancy at West Point. Morris replied : — " I have not. There heing no application for the cadetship, I waived my riglit to appoint in favor of a member of Congress from Pennsylvania. But tliere is a vacancy in your own district, and doubtless Mr. Earner, your repre- sentative, will fill it with your son." There loas a vacancy. After admission, young Bailey had failed, on the first semi-annual examination. His fatlier l^laced him under a private tutor, and got him reappointed, but ill-fortune still pursued him. In his second year he was expelled on a trifling charge of the delinquency so common in schools — reporting himself ill when he was not. The punishment "vvas so disproportioned to the offense, that he was afterward reinstated ; but lie declined to return, and went to Illinois, in liis mortification not even visiting his own home, though he passed down the Ohio within ten miles of it. His family had been silent on the subject, and all the neighboi's supposed him still at West Point. Ultimately his 1S39.] Ulysses "Simpson" Guant Appointed. 75 military education proved of service to liim. In the ^7ar for tlie Union he served as colonel of the JSTinth Loyal Virginia regiment ; and in 1861, in a skirmish at Guyandotte, West Virginia, he was killed. The member of Coi^ress from the Georgetown district was Thomas L. Hamer, a lawyer of distinction, and a bril- liant orator, who was now regarded by the Democrac^y as a possible candidate for the Pi-esidency. To him Jesse Grant wrote, and Hamer received the letter on the evening of March 3, 1839, a few hours before the expiration of his last term in the House. He immediately dispatched a note to Joel R. Poinsett, of South Carolina, Secretary of War, asking the appointment, but without referring again to Jesse's letter for the first name of the applicant, as the Grant family, being his neighbors, were all known to him. Confounding the name of Ulysses with that of his younger brother, he asked the Secretary for the appointment of Ulysses Simp- son, and then wrote back to Jesse : "I received your letter and have asked for the appointment of your son, which will doubtless be made. Why didn't j^ou apply to me sooner?" Hamer got home several days before this letter. Jesse surprised at his seeming neglect, said nothing to him on the subject, and he wondering at Jesse's ingratitude was likewise silent. But at length the delayed letter came, and with it an appointment to the Military Academy filled out for Ulysses Simpson Grant. In vain after reaching West Point did Ulysses attempt to get his own baptismal name substituted. Red Tape argued that the appointment must be right ; and Red Tape proved too much for hira. So, he could only acquiesce in the name, which, first applied to him through a curious blunder, has proved a shirt of Nessus ever since. The unexpected apj)ointment caused some wonder in the little town. Even admiring friends of Ulysses marveled that such a "homespun" boy should be sent to West Point. The same neighbor after whom the youth had onc(! named a horse, and perhaps, in revenge for that dubious compliment, accosted Jesse on the street : — 76 Eeaches the Military Academy. [is^g. / " So Hamer lias made Ulyss a cadet V ' "Yes!" ( " I am astonished that he did not appoint some one with intellect enough to do credit to the district." For a long time the father was very sore over the unkind remark, though he enjoys the memory of it now. Until his appointment came, Ulysses' chief Ibooks had been, not woman" s looks, but horses' idiosyncracies. Now, however, he began to fit himself for the Military Academy, studying and reciting to one Baldwin Summers of George- town, a j)rofessional teacher, with a good deal of reputation as a penman and mathematician. Meanwhile, the lad' s careful mother was preparing his outfit. He had saved about a hundred dollars. He spent twenty -five for new clothing and the like, and had seventy- five for his journey. Sixty dollars was required by the West Point rules as a deposit, to pay the student' s expenses home if he should not pass examination, or should after- ward be expelled. On the morning of the fifteenth of May, 1839, Ulysses, in his eighteenth year, parted from his mother and younger brothers and sisters at the door of the old homestead. Then he went across the street to say good-bye to Mrs. Bailey. She and her daughters bade him farewell with tears. This touched the undemonstrative boy, who exclaimed : — "Why, you must be sorry I am going. They didn't cry at our house." These early friends of his he has never ceased to regard with affection. On his way to West Point he spent several days with his mother's relatives in Philadelphia. That city he had always longed to see, and he wandered about the streets, Fraukliu-like, spending his money freely, until he had barely enough left with Avhich to finish his journey. On the tenth of June he reached West Point, passed his exam- ination without difficulty, and entered at once upon his scholastic duties. The site of the Military Academy had much to stir the enthusiasm, and its history much to captivate the imagina- IKE NORTH BARRACKS THE MESS HALL. CADET GRANT AT WEST POINT. 1777.] Its Sceneet and Stirring Memories. 77 tion of tlie young cadet. It occupies a beautiful plateau on the west bank of the Hudson, fifty-two miles above New York. Half a mile in the rear, and five hundred feet higher, a bluff is crowned with old Fort Putnam. From the parade ground of the Academy, one hundred and fifty feet above the water, one looks out upon some of the loveliest scenery on the eastern half of our continent. Below runs the placid blue river and on every side rise the haze- covered crests of Butter Hill, Crow's Nest, Breakneck Mountain, and other lovely peaks of the Highlands. The region is rich in memorials of our struggle for Inde- pendence. The British were exceedingly anxious to obtain control of the Hudson, for with uninterrupted passage to its head-waters and beyond, by the use of portages and Lakes George and Champlain, could they reach the great lakes and even the Mississippi. The Colonists were equally alive to the importance of the river, and by order of the Continental Congress, fortifications were begun in tlie High- lands in 1775. The next spring, Doctor Benjamin Franklin, accompanied by Samuel Chase and Charles Carroll of Carrollton, commis- sioners, on their way to Canada to invite her to join in our Revolutionary struggle, visited these works, and reported their strength at twenty-nine guns, and one hundred and twenty -four men. They were afterward greatly strength- ened and enlarged ; but, in the autumn of 1777, General Sir Henry Clinton, the British commander at New York, cap- tured and demolished them all. In one fort was Moll Pitcher, wife of an artillerist, — a stout Irish woman of only twenty-two, with red hair, freckled face, and bright piercing eyes. When her husband saw the enemy scaling the parapet, he dropped his port-fire and fled ; but Molly picked it up, and fired the last shot for the Americans. Seven months later, at the battle of Mon- moutli, she brought water from a neighboring spring to her husband, who was serving his gun. Just as she was ap- proaching him with a fresh bucketful, he fell, struck d(^ad by a British shot. The captain of the battery, having no one else to take his place, ordered the piece withdrawn, but 78 Moll Pitcher's Life axd Death. [i'^^s, Molly hearing this, dropped her bucket, seized the rammer, and performed gunner' s dut}^ during the rest of the battle. The next morning, covered with dirt and blood, she was presented to Washington, who appointed her a sergeant, and had her placed on the half-pay list for life. She re- mained in the army through the Avar, usually wearing a cocked hat, and an artilleryman' s coat over her frock. She was a great fiivorite among the soldiers, and was known, not only to them, but also on the official records, as " Cap- tain Molly." After the restoration of peace, she returned to her old home near West Point, where she drew subsistence from the commissary, and after a long sickness, she died, in 1789. The archives of the post contain curiosities in official literature, in the form of letters from the Secretary of War to the quartermaster, authorizing him to order "shifts" and other clotliing for Captain Molly, at the ex- pense of the Government. The works in the Highlands were soon rebuilt ; and, in 1778, the quartermaster-general of the Continental army contracted with the Sterling Iron-works to construct a chain " five hundred yards long, each link two feet long, made of iron, two and a quarter inches square, with a swivel every hundred feet, and a clevis ever}^ thousand feet." The chain was completed, and laid across the river in April of the same year. Sixteen links, still preserved at West Point, one in the Institute Library of Hartford, Con- necticut, and several in the Redwood Library of N^eAvport, Rhode Island, shoAV the form of the huge cable. It Avas buoyed by ])ointed logs sixteen feet long, and held in its place by many anchors. EA^ery autumn it Avas taken up by means of a Avindlass, and coiled in a huge pile on the river bank. Just below this single chain Avas a double one, or boom, also resting u])on logs, and designed, as the more formidable obstruction, to rccciAa' the first shock of approaching ves- sels. r)otli Avere stretched across near the present parade ground, Avlicre sailing vessels Avhich had just come around the short bend couhl get little < headAvay before striking them. 1780.] Obsteuctixg Riyees with Chains. 79 At Fort Putnam, and tlie otlier heights on both sides of the river, heavy guns completely commanded the bend, and could have knocked a ship to pieces while she was strug- gling with the chain. Now the sites of these old fortifica- tions, where the soil was thrown up, are marked only by .taller and stouter cedars than grow on the neighboring crests. Six miles below, at Fort Montgomery, was still another chain. But the enemy kept very clear of these obstructions ; so their efficacy was never tested. Modern experience, however, proves them of little value against armored steam- vessels. Like torpedoes, however frightfiil in theory, they prove harmless in practice. During our war for the Union, the Rebel General Pillow —the same who in Mexico dug his ditch on the wrong side of his breastwork— attempted to stretch a chain across the Mississippi in front of Columbus, Kentucky. But it broke of its own weight, and was known in the neighborhood as "Pillow's Folly." Another chain stretched across below New Orleans, was supported by hulls of ships anchored in the stream. But, though batteries at each end commanded it, a party of Farragnt's men cut it with hammers and cold chisels in less than half an hour, without losing a life, so that the ponderous structure, hulls and all, swung around to shore, the fleet passed"; and New Orleans was captured. No chain across a broad river can be so strong that a heavy steam-vessel at full headway, striking it near the middle, is not likely to brush it away like a spider's web. But though these obstructions discouraged any attempt at force, they could not save the key of the Highlands from passing into the hands of the enemy through treachery. A prominent American officer seized the opportunity to achievt3 eternal infamy. He proposed to take out a link and send it to the smith's, ostensibly for repairs, that free pas- sage up the river might be open to the British. This was General Benedict Arnold. He possessed unquestionable civil and military abilities, and had served his country on the field Avith distinguislitd gallantry ; but common lumor charged him with being in secret and corrupt partnership 80 Daekest Days of the Eevolutiok. [I'^^o. with army contractors. Both Washington and the Provin- cial Congress, fancying that there must be some fire under all this smoke, had many suspicions touching his integrity, though none whatever concerning his patriotism, and long denied him the promotion which his good fighting had fairly earned. With all the bitterness of an egotistical nature, he resented this, and bided his time to revenge it by a deadly blow. The opportunity came. In 1780, in compliance with his own request, he was placed in command at West Point. The post was deemed our Thermopylae. The works had cost more than three millions of dollars, and the American engineers held them impregnable to an army thirty thousand strong. The general belief was that their loss, by severing the East from the AVest, would be fatal to the national cause. It was the most trying point in the Revolution. Many were weary of the protracted struggle, and ready to to give up in despair. A powerful party had been formed against Washington, particularly in New England, Penn- sylvania, and Virginia, and Congress hampered him in many ways. Continental paper money was almost worthless ; a bounty of fifteen hundred dollars was offered for boys for nine months ; and the salary of a major-general was hardly suffi- cient to keep his horse supplied with oats. Regiment after regiment of the ill-paid, ill-fed, ill-clothed soldiers mutinied, until subordinate commanders were authorized to punish stragglers by whipping, and even in loyal neighborhoods, it was found necessary to declare martial law before the people would let their corn and beef go to the army for the depreciated! currency. This period of wide-spread doubt and despair Arnold chose as the fit moment for personal trtuichery and pub- lic treason. He proposed, in consideration of thirty thou- sand dollars and a commission in the British army, to give lip to the enem}^ not only the im])ortant j^ost under his charge, but also the person of George Washington, com- mander-in-chief. He held several interviews with Major John Andre, adjutant-general of^he British army. After one of these, at a house, yet standing, south of AVest Point, 1780.] Arnold Escapes to the Enemy. 81 Andre, trying to get back into the British lines at New York, fell into the hands of the "Cow Boy s. ' ' This partisan organ- ization existing on the neutral ground between the lines of the two armies, claimed to be British in sympathy, but was chiefly inspired by love of plunder. Andre, thoroughly frank by nature, unguardedly permitted the Cow Boys to learn that he was a British officer of high rank. Either from some spark of patriotism at bottom, or from hope of the liberal reward they afterward received, these plun- derers turned him over promptly to the American authori- ties. Washington the while was on a visit to West Point. Arnold, sitting at the breakfast-table with his guest and chief, received a note from the stupid subordinate into whose hands Andre had fallen, and who followed military routine so closely that he sent forward Andre' s papers to Arnold, of whose own treachery they contained indubitable evidence. The traitor read the note with unmoved coun- tenance, excused himself for a moment to the commander- in-chief, and Avent up to his chamber, followed by his wife, who was enough in his confidence to fear for his safety. He told her his danger, and she fell on the floor in a swoon. He, waiting only to kiss his sleeping babe, then six months old, — who arose in after years to the rank of lieutenant- general in the British service,* — dashed down a walk still known as "Arnold's path," and, under cover of a white handkerchief raised upon a stick, escaped in his barge, and found refuge on board the Vulture, a British vessel. A few minutes later, Washington, learning of his treachery, turned to General Knox and asked, with tears running down his cheeks : — "Whom can we trust now ?" He immediately had Andre tried by a board of six major-generals, and eight brigadiers, including La Fayette, Steuben, Knox, and other eminent and patriotic soldiers of the army, Clinton, the British general-in-chief, with whom * One of Benedict Arnold's grandsons is a respected clergyman of the Church of England. 82 TiiE Romantic Memory of Andre. [I'^so. Andre was a great favorite, made strong efforts to save him, offering many concessions if he could "be spared, and threatening retaliation if he sliould be executed. The point urged against his technical guilt was, that he had come into the American lines in his uniform, and had only exchanged it for a disguise when on his way out, at the urgent de- sire of an American officer (Arnold), with whom he had been conferring. But he was clearly a spy. The board unanimously found him guilty, and sentenced him to be hanged one week from the date of his capture. He was very anxious to die a soldier's death; but Washington held the times so perilous as to require an example, and steadfastly resisted all the pressure brought to bear upon him. So Andre, who had won greatly upon the sympathies of his captors, met his fate manfully, and was hanged at Tappan in presence of the whole army. To the memory of this young man of only twenty-nine, this tender son and affectionate brother, accomplished, cultivated, and capti- vating in mind and person, who suffered for the unpunished treachery of an infamous traitor, a compassionate and ro- mantic interest will always cling. Yet, by the well-defined laws of war, he was justly condemned to death. The Trum- bull Gallery at New Haven contains a lock of his hair, and an excellent pen-and-ink sketch of him, which he presented to an American officer. He himself drew it at a table in his guard-room, without even the aid of a mirror, on the day before his execution. Thirty j'-ears after his death, his re- mains were disinterred and removed to AVestminster Abbey, where they now rest, under an imposing monument, among the illustrious dead of liis native country, in whose service he met so unhappy a fate. Soon after the Kevolution, our Government bought West Point for a permanent military post, at the suggestion of Alexander Hamilton, then Secretary of War. In 1794, a military school was established there, upon the recom- mendation of Washington. All his cabinet approved it, except Jefferson, who, very tender about the Constitution until h(^ became President himself, could find no authority for it in that instrument. 1831.] WiNFiELD Scott on West Poiirr. 83 Two ■buildings of Revoliitionaiy origin were yet stand- ing wlien Grant became a cadet. Tlie earliest students were quartered in the old log barracks of the Revolution, boarded loromiscuously in the neighborliood, and were instructed in a two-story wooden building. Witli the pass- ing years various laws were enacted, modifying the govern- ment and character of the Academy. Until 1818 it was conducted mth little system or regularity, but after that time it greatly improved. The prejudice against it has always been strong throughout the countiy. Once a bill was introduced in Congress to abolish it altogether, and Representative Franklin Pierce, of New Hampsliire, supported it in a strong speech; but during the Mexi- can war he became convinced of the utility and necessity of the institution. Subsequent experience has fully con- firmed this. Not only have its graduates performed our most important engineering works on railways and the like, in 'civil life, but in every war their value to the coun- try has been inestimable. Thus far with us wars have occurred about once in a generation. In the Revolution, there were but few men who had served in the French and Indian war ; in the war of 1812, few who had served in the Revolution ; and in the Mexican war, few who had served In the war of 1812. In fighting the Rebellion, there were more who liad been in the Mexican war, but none who had acquired much prominence there. General Scott testified :— " But for our graduated cadets, the war with Mexico miglit, and proba- bly would, have lasted some four or five years, with more defeats tlian vic- tories falling to our share, whereas in less than two campaigns we conquered a great country and a peace, without the loss of a single battle or skirmish.'' John C. Calhoun, while Secretary of War, desired to establish another military institution in the Southern States, but, not succeedmg in this, worked zealously to add to the efficiency of the West Point Academy. In one of his offi- cial reports, he urged upon Congress : — " It ought never to be forgotten that the military science in the present condition of the world can not be neglected with impunity. It has become so complicated and extensive as to require for its acquisition extensive means 84 West Point saves the Couisttey, [is6i. and much time to be exclusively devoted to it. It can onlj flourish under the patronage of the Government, and without such patronage it must be almost wholly neglected. A comparatively small sum expended in time of peace to foster and extend the knowledge of military science, will, in the event of war, be highly beneficial to the country, and may le the means of its safety.'''' It toas iiltiniately our "means of safety" when the civil war blazed, which Calhoun's own teachings had done so much to kmdle. And though at different times the Academy had been under the general supervision of Jefferson Davis and John B. Floyd, Secretaries of War, and under the im- mediate charge of Robert E. Lee and P. G. T. Beauregard, superintendents, and though its tone, like that of the army, was strongly Southern, it proved of the greatest service to the Union cause. No single officer attained much eminence who was not a graduate. At the outset of the Rebellion there were eighty-six cadets at West Point from the Southern States. Of these, sixty-five were discharged, dismissed, or resigned from causes connected with the civil war, while twenty-one remained to prosecute theu* studies. At the same time our army had one thousand and seventy-four officers, including two hundred and seventy of Southern birth. Two liundred and two of these went with the Rebels, accompanied by fifty others from the Northern or Border States, most of whom had married Southern wives or acquired Southern prop- erty.* * Boyntou's "West Point," and Badeau's "Military History of Grant." 1841] How Cadets are Treated. 85 CHAPTER VI. GRADUATES. Each Congressional district in tlie United States lias a cadet at the Military Academy, and whenever he graduates, or is dismissed, the representative names another. The President also can appoint ten each year, and is unre- stricted as to locality. Tlie whole number of cadets is limited by law to two hundred and fifty, but General Grant, while Secretary of War, recommended its increase to four hundred. Cadet rank is a regular one in our army, between sergeant and sec- ond lieutenant. On first admission, the cadet is sworn into the service of the United States, in which lie is to continue eight years unless previously discharged. Most do serve from ten to thirteen years, including their four years at the Academy. u The average age of admission is eighteen , and the maxi- mum twenty -^«!fi^ A large majority of the appointees have always been children of poor parents. This is ascer- tained by marching the cadets on a given day to the adjutant's office to record the occupations and pecuniary circumstances of their fathers. The latter they give by responding "indigent," "moderate," or "ailluent," as the case may be. Each answer is recorded, but not made known to the other students, lest thoughtless boys should ridicule comrades for poverty. Not only does the poor orphan receiA^e the same consideration and facili- ties for graduating with distinction as the son of the most wealthy and distinguished citizen, but of cadets dropped out or expelled before graduating, far tlu^ larger number, proportionately, are sons of rich men, who, ac- customed to luxury, find a soldier's discipline and fare unattractive. 86 Only a^ In-cii to Spaee. [is-ii. At tlie outset every cadet is rigidly examined botli by a medical board and by tlie professors, and rejected if he lias any serious physical or mental disqualification. Tliis pre- liminary examination is puip)0sely severe, to keep out unfit aj)plicants and see that only the best and most promising boys are trained for future officers of our army. Many are rejected at the start, and less than half of those who gain admission ever graduate. Tlio military art, regarding man as a machine, must have standards of height for its academies and armies. Tliat of the British Life Guards is six feet ; that of our army, five feet five inches just now, but it is made higher when recraits are plentiful and lower when they are rare. Tlie standard at West Point is five feet. Cadet Grant, on admission, had T)are]y one inch to spare. Had he been but an inch and a quarter shorter, the doors would have been closed against him. Who then would have captured Donelson — and oj)ened the Mississippi — and whipped Lee — and moved upon the enemy's works generally, "smashing things" as he v/eiit 1 During his stay at the Academy, Grant added two or three inches to his stature. He is now five feet eight inches high, and his average Aveight is one hundi-ed and sixty pounds. The preliminary mental examination of the young cadet is simple — too simple to warrant one barely able to pass it in expecting to graduate. He is only required to be familiar with the elementary rules of arithmetic, and toler- ably pi'oficient in reading, writing, and spelling. From the first of July the accepted cadet ranks as a nuMuber of th(^ lowest class, and from that time until gradu- ating rec(nves the pay of a non-commissioned officer in our army. It is now t^H*ty dollars per month ; in Grant's time it was less. From this, clothing, mess bills, and other ex- l)enses are deducted. The design is simply to support the cadet. Possibly, if he is very frugal, he may come out at the end of four years with a little surplus to pay his expens(*s home. Ingalls graduated with Uncle Samuel his debtor one hundred and fifty dollars ; but Grant's accounts were just square with our indulgent relative. 1841.] Routine of Study and Drill. 87 For six months after admission tlie cadet is on pro^bation ; then, in January, if he passes his second examination, he is regularl}^ sworn into the service of the United States. The entke corps of cadets is organized into fonr companies, each commanded "by some commissioned officer of our army, and each composed of members taken indiscrimi- nately from the four classes. The captain of a company has three cadet lieutenants, four sergeants, and four corporals, under him, selected hy the commandant for unusual merit, and according to the rank of their classes. The first-year cadets are privates ; the second and thii'd, competent to act as cor2:)orals and sergeants, and during the fourth as captains and lieutenants. The one deemed the best soldier is selected as adjutant, for his duties are difficult. Next in importance comes the quartermaster, then the company captains and lieutenants. The cadets treat then- comrades acting as officers with strict military decorum when they are on duty, but officers do not act as spies on their fellow-students. Grant, quiet and unambitious, was never made lieutenant or caj)tain ; but he was appointed cadet-sergeant, and filled the position satisfactorily. That can only be done by a prompt, attentive, and efficient student. His taste did not crave, nor his qualities seem to warrant, any higher rank. Cadet privates perform in rotation the duties of sentinels and guards night and day during July and August, when they are encamped in tents upon the plain, under all the regulations, discipline, and by-laws of an army in the field. They are drilled five days in the week from March to No- vember, and several times daily during the summer en- campment. Tliey are awakened by the drum at five o'clock in the morning, drummed to their meals, drummed to study and military duty, and drummed to sleep at night. Among other accomplishments they are taught dancing. In the morning they study five hours ; then dinner and roll-call at one, p. M. ; then a drill from two until four ; then freedom, with the excej)tion of dress parade at sundown, until ten at night, when lights must be extinguished. The cadet is allowed to bring from home sheets, pillow- ^ How Offenses are Punished. [i84i. cases, and a few such unmilitary luxuries ; but Ms regu- lar allotment is blanket, pillow, cot, looking-glass, bucket, wash-bowl, cocoa-nut dipper, broom, and candlestick. Smoking is, of course, forbidden, and oifers therefore to the juvenile mind the sweetness of stolen waters. Fre- quent are the fumes of tobacco reported by keen-nosed sentinels, and many the cigars or meerschaums confiscated by the authorities. Students are forbidden to receive money from friends, but sometimes do so surreptitiousl}', and invest it as quick as possible in ices, suppers, or less harmless indulgence, lest it likewise be confiscated. Discipline is rigidly maintained ; hence there are none of the riots or uprisings so common in our civil colleges. The extreme punishments are expulsion, sUvspension for one year, extra guard duty, shortened recreation, and confine- ment to tent or darkened room. Lighter offenses are visited by demerit marks. Disobedience to orders and sitting or lying while on guard receive ten demerits in tlie black book ; "trifiing" in ranks or on parade, "late," "unbuttoned coat," and "unblacked boots," five. Ordinary penalties are decreed by the superintendent. Confinement to prison or dismissal is only inflicted by court- martial. Any cadet who receives a hundred demerits in dej)ortment in six months is dismissed. All punishments are avoided as far as possible. The student' s honor is relied •upon. Even when the commandant suspects, but does not know, a student to be guilty of falsehood, he tn^ats his state- ment as true. The great purpose is to instill the feeling that the cadet is a gentlemen and a soldier, and can, there - fori^ do no dishonorable thing, even in trivial mattt^rs. Horseback exercise is strictly insisted upon, and the lads are constantly drilled at leaping hurdles, bearing oflT rings upon the points of sabers, and other (H^uestrian feats. The academic course is more severe than in our regular colleges in every thing excejit tlie dc^ad languages. These are omitted, but English, Erencli, and Spanish ai(^ carefully taught. Mathematics is the basis of chemistry, natural philosophy, geometry — indeed of the whole education. 1841.] What the Gk adit ate has Learned. 89 Tlie course of study lias been little modified since Grant's day, tlioiigh additions have been made to it. The uniform, too, has been somewhat changed, and discipline somewhat relaxed. A perfect or maximum recitation is represented on the records by a figure 3, which the students call a "max." From this tlie numbers run down fractionally to zero. The minute and exact record thus kept, is posted uf) at the end of the Aveek. This detemiines the cadet's standing in his class, and the average of it his regular scholarship. One hundred zero marks in six months will cause his ex- pulsion. The examinations are rigid and impartial. The annual one of the whole corps, in June, is attended by a full aca- demic board, and a board of examiners appointed by the President of the United States. The semi-annual one, in January, is conducted by the professors alone. After ad- mission, the two severest examinations occur respectively at the end of the first six months and the first jear. Even at these, a student, "posed" by some problem, may be saved by his general character — that is, his good record on recitations in the weekly and monthly reports ; but if his marks there fall below the average, and lie also makes a poor showing to the examiners, he is dismissed. The awkward cadet, at first the butt of the older stu- dents, is soon molded into a soldier. At the end of four years, which have accustomed him to military service and discipline, he graduates, capable of drilling a regiment, taking in at a ghmce an offensive or defensive position, overseeing the construction of a field fortification, block- house, bridge, building, or roadway, and drawing maps and plans. He has spent nearly one year in actual field service, living in tents, and performing full military duty ; and in times of peace he can build railways, forts, and lighthouses. In Grant's day, the famous North and South Barracks were yet standing. The rooms of the former each held four cadets — those of the latter, two. Young Grant was lodged sometimes in one, sometimes in the other. The old 90 Ulysses Thrashes a Classmate. • [isss. "barracks of stone and "brick, which were then the distin- guishing feature of the Academy, are now replaced by more imposing and modern ones of stone. "Wlien Grant entered, at the age of seventeen, he was a plump, fair-complexioned, beardless youth from the coun- try, rustic in manners and careless in dress. There was the usual disposition of the school-boy race the world over to impose upon the new-comer, but his readiness to take a joke was his best defense. The students of the first year are called "Plebes." In forming squads to go to meals or roll-call, they begin at the right and take their places toward the left in the order in which they reported at the beginning of the term. In Grant's class was one Jack Lindsay. His father was an old army colonel, whose fellow-officers and comrades had made a pet of Jack, already a tall, stout fel- low, and something of a dandy. His place was on the left of Grant, whom he one day crowded out. Grant, thinking it might be a mistake, and slow to take offense, said nothing till after roll-call, when he quietly told Lindsay not to do it again. The very next time, however, Lindsay, to show his contempt for the raw lad from the backwoods, repeated the indignity. To his infinite surprise and the general delight of their classmates, Grant instantly knocked dov\ni his larger comrade, and administered to him that effectual dose which has taken the nonsense and ill-manners out of so many boys — a sound thrashing. Lindsay interfered with him no more ; and the other "Plebes" saw that, with all his good-humor, " Uncle Sam " Avas not to be imposed upon. There were few less j)rominent students at West Point. He was simply a quiet, well-behaved rustic lad, at first considered a siiecimen of unpretending mediocrity. One of his old tutors writes: — " I reinernbcr liim well. lie was a tiny-looking little fellow, with an in- dependent air, and a good deal of determination. It is a long time ago ; but when I recall old scenes, I can still see Grant, witli his overalls strapped down on his boots, standing in front of the quarters. It seems but yesterday since I saw him going to the riding hall, with liis spurs clanging on tho ground, and Iiis great cavalry sword dangling by his side." As h(-' became better known, he grew popular among 1S41.] Nicknames of the Cadets. 91 comrades and professors for liis purity, amiability, and modesty. In most studies he was fair, but reputed indo- lent, and not at all brilliant. Still, lie liad a knack of getting at the pith of things, and, even when answering a question incorrectly, never did it mechanically, but could give some clear, well-defined reason for the faith that was in him. In mathematics he excelled. Several, more ambi- tious than he, stood higher ; but the only two classmates who overtojDped him in capacity were Franklin and Quin- by. The class contained several other cadets who became well known as generals during our war for the Union — Ingalls, Hardie, Augur, Judah, Charles S. Hamilton, and Frederick Steele. As in all schools and colleges, the lads distinguished each other by nicknames. Grant, partly from the impres- sion that his second name was Samuel, and partly from his general gravity, was known as "Uncle Sam" — a title which afterward adhered to him during all his service in the regu- lar army. Of the others, Deshon was "Dragon ;" Frank- lin, "Frank;" Gardner, "Gulger;" Ingalls, "Yankee;" Hamilton, "Ham;" Quinby, "Nykins;" Selden, "Taps," or "Simon Tappity ;" Steele, "Doctor," because he had studied medicine ; and Raynolds, "Dad," from premature gray haii*. Two others, yet living, received the uncompli- mentary appellations, "Bullhead," and "Jeremy Diddler." At the end of his second year, the student receives a fur- lough of sixty days for visiting his friends. It is the only one during his entire tenn, unless in case of extreme sick- ness, or some other emergency. In June, 1841, Grant im- proved his by returning to Bethel, Ohio, ten miles west of Georgetown, where the family now lived. He had left Georgetown a round-shouldered lad. Now, after the first greeting, his mother exclaimed : — "Ulysses, you have grown much straighter." " Yes, that was the first thing they taught me," he re- plied. Still the effect of the teaching was not permanent. He spent the weeks of his furlough in visiting old friends, and riding out with the girls ; for nature will assert lierself, and the young man seemed to have outgrown his indifference 92 "Leave it to Ukcle Sam." [i841. to tlie other sex. He had also greatly improved in man- ners, overcome his bashfulness, and gained self-poise. For a time, in accordance with an agreement between himself and classmates to abstain from liquor for a year, he steadily refused to drink with his old friends. The object of the cadets was to strengthen by their example one of their number who was falling into bad habits. In due season he returned to his studies. He had es- tablished his reputation as one who accomplished much easily, and who, though not fond of study, learned every thing thoroughly. His acquaintances were few, but he had a small circle of attached friends, among whom were In- galls, now Quartermaster- General of the army ; Franklin, Steele, Augur, Deshon, and Quinby. His comrades all respected his clear judgment and fairness, and, when dis- putes arose among them, would say : — "Let's leave it to Uncle Sam." And he witched his little world w^ith noble horseman- ship. There was nothing he could not ride. He command- ed, sat, and jumped a horse with singular ease and grace ; was seen to tlie best advantage when mounted and at a full gallop ; coukl perform more feats than any other member of Ids class, and was, altogether, one of the very best riders West l\)int had ever known. The noted horse of that wdiole region was a powerful, long- legged sorrel, known as ' ' York. ' ' Grant and his classmate, Coats, were the only cadets who rode him at all, and Couts could not approach Grant. It was his delight to jump York ov(^r the fifth bar, about live feet from the gi'ound, and the best leap ever made at AVest Point — something more than six feet — is still marked there as "Grant's upon York." Yolk's way was to approach the liar at a gentle gallop, crouch like a cat, and ily over with larest grace. One would see his fore feet high in the air, his heels rising as his fore feet fell, then all four falling lightly together. It needed a linn seat, a steady hand, and a quick e}'e to keep upon the back of that ilying steed. One day when Grant had just taken his favorite leaj) Hamilton said to him : — " Sam, that horse will kill you some day." 1843.] "I Cax T Die but Once." 93 " Well," lie replied characteristically, " I can't die but once." The class, like all at the Academy, was about equally divided between Southerners and Northerners, or rather be- tween plain and pretentious students. Among the last, Southerners took the lead in every thing ; were confident in manners, showy in dress, and courted the society of ladies, for during the summer season, there are frequent cotil- lion parties in the long roomy hall, attended by the families of West Point and guests from everywhere. There was no intimacy between these two sets. They were seldom in each others' rooms, except on business. The only literary society, the "Dialectic," was in the hands of Southerners. It was difficult for the plain pupils to become members, so they asked permission to form another society, but it was denied. Grant, of course, was in the unfashionable set, as were most members of the class who have since be- come eminent. Deshon was held the most shining mem- ber. He remained in the army only a few years, and is now a Eoman Catholic j)riest in New York. The class was held less brilliant than any which had preceded it since the found- ing of the Academy. When it graduated, not a single mem- ber was held good enough in mathematics to be recom- mended for the engineers, and only one for the topographi- cal enghieers. But, eighteen years later, only three of the class went into the Eebel service— Roswell S. Ripley, originally a New Yorker, but married to a Southern lady ; Samuel G. French, from New Jersey, who also married in the South, and Frank- lin Gardner, appomted from Iowa, but residing in Washing- ton when the war broke out. The two first did not rise above the rank of brigadier-general. Gardner, a major-general, was captured with his command at Port Hudson, through the reduction of Yicksburg by Grant in 1863. Grant's class, that of 1843, was of course associated with seven others first and last. In those below it were Georgo B. McClellan, Kirby Smith, and Stonewall Jackson, the lat- ter reputed only a fair scholar. The class of 1842, the first above, was very large, and esteemed by the faculty the 94 Geaduates and Eetuens Home. [is-^^. ablest that had ever graduated. Several members became more or less famous iu our day — Newton, Rosecraus, Pope, Doubieday, Sykes, and Seth Williams on the Union side ; and Longstreet, D. H. Hill, Mansfield Lovell, and Earl Van Dorn in serving the Rebel cause. In the class of 1841, were Buell — adjutant of the corps and a martinet of great reserve and dignity ; Rodman, in- ventor of the Rodman gun ; Patrick Calhoun, son of John C. Calhoun, who died from excessive drinking ; J. F. Reynolds, killed at Gettysburg ; Nathaniel Lyon, Alfred Sully, and Israel B. Richardson, who fell at Antietam. In the class of 1840, were Ewell, William Tecumseh Sher- man, and George H. Thomas. On the thirtieth of June, 1843, Grant graduated, the twenty-first on a list of thii-ty-nine classmates — all that were left of more than a hundred who entered the Academy with him. The rest had been weeded out from year to year. Robert E. Lee graduated fourteen years earlier, when Grant was a stripling of seven ; Bragg and Pember- ton six years earlier, Beauregard five, and Halleck four. Buckner came one year later, McClellan three, Burnside four, Warren seven, McPherson and Sheridan ten, and Howard eleven. Leaving the Academy, Grant went as far as Philadelphia with his classmate, Frederick T. Dent of St. Louis, thence to Washington, and thence to his home in Ohio. At the final examination, his chief achievement was with his fa- voi-ite horse York. In presence of the board of visitors he made the famous leap of six feet and two or three in(;lies. His career at AVest Point had been altogether unno- ticeable. His scholastic standing was about the average. His reputation for integrity and fairness was high, and his observance of the truth so strict that he never indulged in tlic sliglitcst exaggeration. Ijut neitlier classmates nor pro- fessors fancied that he was born great, or going to achieve greatness, or likely to have greatness thrust upon him. 1843.] Lieut. Geant at Jefferson Barracks. 95 CHAPTER VII. MEXICAN AVAK WITH TAYLOR. In 1843 the army of the United States numbered only seven thousand five hundred men, and West Point sent out officers for it much faster than they were needed. The custom was to commission graduates as second lieutenants by brevet, and many became gray-headed men before they reached the rank of captain. Grant was accordingly appointed brevet second lieu- tenant in the Fourth Infantry. The usual ninety days' fur- lough after graduating he spent at his Ohio home, and then joined his regiment at Jefferson Barracks, near St. Louis. The young soldier, with little work and much leisure, found recreation in the society of the neighboring city. Four miles west of the barracks also lived Colonel Frederick Dent,* the father of one of Grant's classmates. In 1815, when a young man, he had settled in Missouri, and bought eleven hundred arpents of land (eighty-five-hundredths of an acre making an arpent), ten miles southwest of St. Louis, on Gravois Creek. This place he called White- haven, in memory of his old home in Maryland, granted to his ancestors by King Charles. The new AVhitehaven was in a pleasant region, looking out upon wooded hills and grassy valleys ; and to its Southern hospitality, made easy by the unpaid labor of thirty slaves. Grant soon be- came a welcome guest. Not solely or chiefly to see his old classmate did he frequent the place. There was metal more attractive. Julia ♦Now eighty-oue years of age, and still living iu General Grant's family at Washington. 96 Where he Falls in Love. [1844 Dent, three or four years liis junior, was tlie liftli child, "but eldest daughter, of the house. Reared among slaves — ''Black Julia," a girl exactly her own age, being her per- sonal servant — she had inherited and acquired some of the local traits and habits of thought alwa}'s perceptible in ladies of Southern education ; but she had a sprightly mind, and a most sterling, lovable character — was amiable in disposition, comely in person, well-bred and attractive in manners. The logical result followed. Poet might have sung to the soberest old oak, that shaded the hospitable Whitehaven porch :— " Beneath tliy bouglis at fall of dew, By lover lips is softly told The tale, that all the ages through, Has kept the world from growing old I" The lieutenant and the lady plighted thek troth. But the family looked askance upon a match for the favorite daughter with a young itinerant, who had no fortune but a subaltern's pay, gave little promise of eminence in his profession, and from whom his wife must endure long sepa- rations. So the young couple could only promise to wait 2:)atiently, and to love each other all the more. Tlie country, meanwhih?, was on the eve of war. Several years earlier, a few hundred Americans had settled in Texas, an outlying province of Mexico. They were chieily Southerners, and an unparalleled proportion were patriots, who had "left tlnur country for their country's good." But even American desperadoes believe in sc;lf-government, so Texas asked admission as a State to the Mexican Confed- eration. She was refused, with the additional indignity of having her commissioners imprisoned. TIk; President of ^lexico was Santa Anna, who had alicady seen many ups and downs of fortune — to-day exiled or in prison, to-morrow chief ruler of the fickle republic. Sam Houston, the central figures in T(^xas, had had a still more clieckered career. His ti'uthful memoir would read like tlic bk)odiest of dime novels. While yet in his teens he had been a boy-soldier against tlie Indians ; then a volun- 1836.] Origin of the Mexican War. 97 taiy resident among tliem for years, adopting tlieir liabits, and leading tliem hy liis strong will ; next a representative in Congress, and then Governor of Tennessee. The latter office he suddenly resigned tliree months after his marriage, and, from some unknown cause, left his young wife, aban- doned civilization, lived again for years among the CHero- kees, was engaged in many battles, and finally settled in Texas, to appear agam in the whirlpool of politics. In 1835, Santa Anna marched into Texas at the head of an army to subdue the refractory province. War followed, with various fortune, for nearly a year. Two bodies of unarmed Texan prisoners, one hundred and eighty-five at the Alamo, and three hundred and fifty- seven at Goliad, were murdered by the Mexicans. These deeds of blood gave a battle-cry to the Texans. On the San Jacinto, eight hundred men led by Houston, attacked a fortified camp of sixteen hundred Mexicans under Santa Anna, shout- ing : — "Remember the Alamo ! Remember Goliad !" They stormed the breastworks, and, with a loss of only thirty-three in all, killed, wounded, or captured almost every Mexican, slaughtering many after the fort was taken. Houston, with the greatest difficulty, saved the life of Santa Anna himself, who was made a prisoner. Mexico was soon ready to acknowledge the independence of Texas. But the question of boundary presented a new difficulty, Texas claiming west to the Rio Grande, and Mexico demanding that the border should be the Nueces River, three hundred miles farther east. Though the inter- vening country is made uj) of barren sand deserts, Mexico and Texas fought about it for years, the Texans receiving warm sympathy and support from our Southern and West- ern States, as the victims of the Alamo and Goliad were from along the Mississippi and the Ohio. Even the two brass field-pieces, which helped Houston to win the battle of San Jacinto, were a gift from citizens of Cincinnati. Our Southern politicians, too, began to clamor in tlie name of freedom for the rich and virgin soil of the fair province — that they might cover it with slaves. Thus en- couraged, in 1837 Texas proposed annexation to the United G 98 How Annexatiot^ was Received. [i845. States. President Van Buren opposed her request as conflict- ing with our well-defined national policy, and as likely to involve us in a war with Mexico. The protection of Great Britain and France was sought for by the revolted prov- ince, which thus invoked the potent influence of opposition to foreign interference on the American continent. The death of President Harrison, and the treachery of Vice-President Tyler to the party electing him, proved more friendly to the Texans. In 1844, Tyler, as President, and John C. Calhoun, as Secretary of State, signed a treaty of annexation ; but the Senate rejected it, so the question was referred to the grand jury of the nation. In vain did Webster and other prominent statesmen, supported by the entire Whig party and many Northern Democrats, oppose the projected addition to our territory, on the grounds of safe policy and sound political morality. The national lust for territorial expansion was irresistible. Van Buren opposed the measure, and so lost the Democratic nomina- tion for the Presidency. Henry Clay, the Whig candidate, opposed it, and was defeated by James K. Polk, tlie Demo- cratic nominee. So Texas was admitted in December, 1845. The South regarded the result as a great victory for the Slave-Power. At the North a fresh impulse was given to the growing Abolition sentiment, both by the annexation and by a provision in the Texas Constitution, whicli autho- rized dividing her into five Slave States at some future day. As an index of the intensity of this feeling, I riMuember a mother, not more interested in public affairs than many New England motliers, who, when ncnvs of the? annexation came, as slie sat at hm- family breakfast-table, burst into tears at such an appalling pro-Slavery triumph. It was so well Tinderstood that Jinnexation might involve war with Mexico, that American troops were concentrated at Fort Jessup, on Red River, near the eastern border of Texas, more than a year before iho admission of tlie ncnv State. Ih-evet Brigadier-Genei'al Zaciliary Taylor, distin- guished in the war of 1812, and in Indian contests, was «ent to take command of this "Army of Observation." 1845.] Lieut. Grant akd his Joyial Colonel. 99 Earl J in May, 1844, Lieutenant Grant obtained leave of absence for a visit to liis Ohio liome. Before tlie steamer conveying him was out of sight, his regiment, at Jefferson Barracks, received orders to start for Red River. There was no telegraph in those days, and Grant went on to Bethel, but the stage which bore him also carried an order in the mail for him to rejoin his regiment ; so he remained at home but one or two days, and then returned. He had barely time to bid adieu to his betrothed. Her family, quite v/illing that the prospective war should rid them of the young lieutenant, were not sorry to have him called away. But youth and maiden, blest with that rich inheritance of hope bequeathed by every generation of true lovers, parted with full faith in a radiant future. It was the second week in May when the regiment em- barked for New Orleans. In flVe days it reached Grand Ecore, on Red River, a cantonment four miles from the old town of Natchitoches, Louisiana, and so healthy that the officers named it "Camp Salubrity." Our young brevet lieutenant varied his idle life by fre- quent visits to the ancient city, and to Fort Jessup, twenty- five miles in the interior, where most of the troops were encamped, and where horse races, "gander pullings," and the other amusements of that region were frequent. Here the regiment was stationed for a year. But in June, 1845, in anticipation of annexation, Taylor waa ordered to the western frontier of Texas, "to protect her from foreign invasion and Indian incursions." Choosing New Orleans as the port of embarkation, he rendezvoused his troops four miles below that city, near the old Jackson battle-ground. The Fourth were in barracks, and not- withstanding the heat and some yellow fever, the young officers delighted to frequent the city. Their regimental commander had a weakness for the botth;. Sometimes, on his visits to town, he fell into the hands of the police, and was reprimanded or fined by the courts. On one of these occasions. Grant went in search of his peccant colonel, took a seat beside him in the court- room, and the two waited for his case of "drunkenness and 100 Stationed at Corpus Cheisti, Texas. [i845. disorderly conduct" to be called. Before it was readied, they lieard the tramp of approaching soldiers in the street, and a moment after, in a familiar voice, the words : — ''Halt ! Ground anns !" It was a squad of Grant's own company. The lieuten- ant instantly stepped out and asked : — '•What does this mean, coi-jDoral ?" "Well, lieutenant," replied that zealous subordinate, "we heard that the colonel had got into an ugly scrape with those rascally police, so I have brought up the squad to prove an alihir^ The corporal, altogether serious, Avas sent back to the barracks with liis squad, but without any very severe re23rimand ; and even the mortification of the crestfallen colonel was mitigated by this misdirected loyalt}^. In August, 1845, the regiment left New Orleans by steamer. With the rest of the army it encamj)ed at Corpus Christi, Texas, an old ranch, supported mainly by con- traband traffic, for then, as now, the Mexicans could not guard their long frontier against smugglers. Horses, mules, blankets, and silver were brought to Corpus Christi and exchanged for "notions," cloth, and tobacco. With true border lawlessness. Colonel Kinney, keeper of the ranch, used to buy off with gold pieces the Mexican soldiers Avho came to suppress his trade, and fight ofi" the Comanches, who came to steal his goods. Twenty adobe liouses about the ranch constituted Corpus Christi. Here tlie army remained until the follow- ing spring. It was encamped on a green slope covered with mesquite shnibs and evergreen oaks, extending doA\-n to the beach and along the water's edge for more than a mile. Ta} lor's head-quarters were beside the beach, only a few yards from Grant's regiment. The vicinity of the camp aff oflicers additional amusement. A few miles from the coast thousands of deer roanjed in herds, but they were too wary to come within raiige of the chaparral. Mexicans hunted them with a stalking-horse — Bunvrr <.rc(,N„ r.ii:, tkn xn-, ..kw 1846.] How Taylor obtained Mules. 101 the dried skin of the head, neck, and part of the body of a horse, which they pushed before them as they crawled on their breasts until within rifle-shot of the grazing host. Herds of wild mustangs also abounded. One day Tay- lor, finding his transportation short twenty -five mules, after swearing with his usual vehemence at the inefficiency of the quartermasters, collected in front of his tent all the Mexican traders and visitors in camp, and told them he would give a fair price for fifty wild horses. Several instantly started for the plains a hundred miles awa}^, built a corral with funnel entrance, drove in the wild little beasts, and in ten days returned with the required num- ber. Twenty-five v^^ere soon lassoed and broken to har- ness, the rest sold to officers at from five to twenty dollars apiece. Pony races at once became a popular amuse- ment. On the first of October, Grant received an appointment as a full second lieutenant in the Seventh Infantry, but he had become so attached to the Fourth, which had existed for more than fifty years, and won a distinguished record, that he asked permission to remain with it. The Washing- ton authorities acceded to his request, and in December came liis commission as full second lieutenant in the Fourth. The regiment was commanded by Colonel Whistler, who had been in the service for forty years — longer than any other officer except Scott. Two of Grant's brother lieutenants were killed by a steamer explosion, and buried just after sunset on the beautiful bluff" back of the camp at Corpus Christi. By tlie liglit of a single lamp, the church service was read over their graves, three volleys were fired, and the escort wheeled into line and marched away to fife and drum. A theater, holding eight hundred persons, was finished in January, and a clever company whih^d away many win- ter nights. The scenery was painted by amateurs among the officers. Corpus Christi had already become a vilhigo of one thousand civilians, chiefiy camp followers. Many of the houses were permanent, though some were covered only with cotton cloth. 102 The Army Maeciies for Mexico, [i846. Tlie annexation of Texas was simply an act of aggression on the part of a strong power against a weak one. No pro- vision had been made for increasing tlie army of the United States, which was smaller than it had heen for forty years. Both Congress and President Polk fancied that a little show of force AYOuld awe Mexico into submitting ^vithout resist- ance. Tlie Government of Mexico loas craven, but her peo- ple, always patriotic in spite of their ignorance, were eager to fight for the integrity of her territory. President Polk feared to take the responsibility of a war, and hints were given Taylor to invade Mexico without orders. But " Old Bough and Ready," as his soldiers called him, was a Whig, and not inclined to walk into such a trap. Finally, he was imperatively instructed to advance : and on the eleventh of March, 1846, Whistler s brigade, to which Grant was attached, started for the Rio Grande. A battery which accompanied was commanded by Captain Braxton Bragg, destined, years later, to come to grief as a Rebel gen- eral at the hands of Lieutenant Grant. The army on the march formed a picturesque caravan. The undress uniform was then light blue, like our present cavalry pantaloons, not dark blue like our blouses. The regular uniform was a heavy frock coat, and a "stove-pipe" felt hat. Most pic- tures of battles in the Mexican war represent our soldiers as appareled in this comfortless coat and preposterous hat, but in the field and on marches they really wore light jack- ets and little flat caps or straw hats. The long procession of blue, relieved by snow-white baggage-wagons and thousands of gleaming bayonets, marclied over vast stretches of barren sand hills, where countless herds of dappled mustangs and spotted antelopes grazed, and gorgeous flowers of yellow, scarlet, and purple somehow found sustenancci in the unj^romising soil. Against the clear sky a magnificent mirage painted purple moun- tains, cool lakes, and green groves which at first it was dillicult to believe unreal. Men and horses were frequently bitten by rattlesnakes, but seldom with fatal results. On the fourteenth day from Corpus Christi, the soldiers left the desert, where they had traveled without seeing a 1846.] And Encamps opposite Matamoras. 103 human habitation, and entered picturesque settlements on the east bank of the Rio Grande, among lovely wheat fields, orchards, and vineyards, where rills for irrigation ran in threads of silver through every field and beside every door. At the mouth of the river, Taylor took possession of Point Isabel, which he made his depot of supplies, leaving a small force to guard it. The army marched twenty- seven miles farther up stream, and encamped beside the Rio Grande, here one hundred and twenty-five yards wide. Just across it rose the fair city of Matamoras, flags of the Mexican Republic flying, housetops covered with dusky faces, streets filled with native soldiery, and two hundred men and women upon the bank, gazing curiously at the new-comers. The army, which had marched one hundred and sixty miles from Corpus Christi, then encamped in a field of green corn within full range of the Matamoras guns. A month was spent in building a fortification. Many soldiers, chiefly English, Irish, and German, deserted to the Mexicans, but. a number were shot while swimming the river. The slaves of our Southern officers also ran away by the dozen, to the infinite disgust of their " owners." Grant's regiment had nothing to do but to hunt wild boars, and go out occasionally to escort trains of supplies from Point Isabel. The colonel, by more than usual dissi- pation, tried the patience of his brusque commanding gen- eral beyond bearing, and Taylor said to him : — " You have my permission to resign." " It is impossible," replied the old officer, " I have spent all my j^roperty, and have no other means to live by. Military life is the only one I am acquainted with, and I am too old to learn any other." The colonel was court-martialed and dismissed the ser- vice, but, in view of his long services, afterward reinstated by President Polk, He remained in command of the Fourtli till 1861, and died in 1863. The twenty-sixth of April brought wild excitement to the little camp. The first blood had been shed. Sixty-three dragoons, scouting under Captain Thornton, had been at- 104 Graxt Fights ins First Battle, [i846. tacked, sixteen killed or wounded, and the rest captured. The desire of the Government was gi-atified ; war had begun, and the Mexicans had fired the first shot. On the first of May Taylor started for Point Isabel, which was threatened by the enemy. When the troops marched away, joy bells were rung in Matanioras, where it was believed that tlie Americans were leaving the country. But the Mexican officers knew what the movement meant. They had threatened Point Isabel, to induce the uncovering of the new fort our troops were building opposite Matamoras, and the moment our aniiy left they attacked it. So on the seventh, Taylor, having fortified and re-enforced the Point, started back to relieve the fort. About noon the next day, his troops met the enemy on a prairie, three miles from Palo Alto (tall timber). The weather was intensely hot, and a halt was made of a couple of hours to park tlie wagons, and let the men lunch and drink from a cool, clear spring. As they started again, the Mexicans opened fire upon them, and a lively skirmish fol- lowed. Grant's regiment, on the extreme right, was in a hot place, supporting artillery, and pouring in a heavy fire. The Mexican lancers charged again and again with a good deal of gallantry, but were successfully repulsed. The long, dry grass of the prairie was fired by the burn- ing wads of tli(^ cannon, and great clouds of smoke presently hid the contending forces from each other. For half an hour, till tlie ilames subsided, the action was suspended. Then, under cover of the smok(% the brigade in which were Grant's i-egiment and llinggold's battery, made a detour, flanked the enemy on his left, and compelled him to change his lin(^ of battle — but not till llinggold had btvu killed. Grant was with his company, which was commanded by Cai)tain George A. McCall. Captain Page fell a few yards from him, his lower jaw shot away by a cannon-ball. Al- most simultaneously a ball took off a soldier's head, scat- tering his brains and blood in the faces of his connades. In another part of the field. Colonel Mcintosh, of the Fifth, riding thi-ough tli(> chaparral, was attacked by several Mexi- cans, wounded by a bayonet thrust through his neck, en- isiG.] And the next Day his Second. 105 tering at the moutli and coming ont at the back. He was left for dead on the field, but recovered in a few days. At the same moment with the movement of the Fourth, another was made on our left, so that the Mexicans were almost surrounded. Their line broke and fell back, and the ground was occupied by our troops. The fight, which lasted for five hours, was chiefly with artillery, though there was some skirmishing at close quar- ters. The American force was about two thousand three hundred men ; the Mexican much larger. Our loss Avas only fifteen in killed and mortally wounded. But it was tlie first encounter of the United States troops with a civilized enemy for thirty years, and was magnified accordingly. It was also Grant's first battle, and he was in the thickest of it. That night the troops slept on the field, undisturbed save by the groans of their wounded comrades and enemies in the hands of the surgeons. Chloroform — ^blessed alleviator of j)ain — had not yet come into use. In the morning they advanced again in line of battle, expecting an immediate encounter, but no enemy appeared. Feeling their way for two hours, they came upon the Mexi- cans posted at Resaca de la Palma (grove of palms), a deep, densely wooded valley crossing the road three miles from the Ilio Grande. Captain McCall, with Grant and a hundred picked men, first encountered the enemy. There was a little skirmishing, and presently the two forces joined battle. It was in a thick chaparral, almost as dense as the woods at Shiloh, or the Wilderness. The artillery could do little good, but bayonets were crossed, and there was hot infantry fighting. The Fourth, though it had changed places, and Avas on our extreme left, chanced again to be in the sharpest of the fight. Taylor himself was under hot fire, and an officer proposed that he retire for safety. He replied : — " No, we won't go back ; but let us ride a little fortoard, where the halls loillfall behind us.''^ After several futile attempts to charge, the Mexicans gave way in confusion. The Americans followed in hot 106 War "upox our own Soil." [i846. pursuit, and, just beyond the ravine, came upon the enemy' s camp, where beeves killed, fires lighted, meals cooked, and the silver dinner-service of a Mexican general left ex- posed, showed that the foe had fancied his position im- pregnable. Without stopping to plunder, our troops pressed on, driving the fugitives pell-mell toward tht^ river. Some were killed while retreating, some overtaken and captured, and many drowned in the rush at the Rio Grande. Tlie American loss* was larger than on the previous day, but still insignificant. Lieutenant Cochrane, of Grant's regiment, was among the killed. Our forces captured eight pieces of artillery, two thousand stands of arms, three standards, and a great deal of camp equipage. The Mexi- cans showed, in these two battles, better fighting qualities than at any subsequent period of the war ; but they lost forever all that vast region east of the Rio Grande, which their republic had hitherto ruled. The campaign, on soil which our Government even claimed, was ended, and the army, which had been first one of " Observation" and then of "Occupation," now became "the Army of Invasion." Taylor readied the river bank opj)osite Matamoras, in time to relieve the new fort. It had been under bombard- ment for six days, but though containing two artillery companies, a detachment of infantry, and all the women attached to the camp, only two persons were killed, and but ten wounded. Major Jacob Brown, of the Tenth in- fantry, who commanded the post, was one of the killed. The unfinished work was consequently named " Fort Brown." Brownsville, Texas, on the same spot, still com- memorates him.' Intel lig<'nc(' of hostilities actually created wonder at AVashiiigton. Cai)t. Th 184G.] Grant Runs a Gantlet of Death. Ill But lie was probably tlie best horseman in the army, and his skill did him good service. Before running the hot gantlet, he had adopted the posture of the Comanche In- dians in similar peril — lying against the side of his horse, with one foot thrown over the saddle and his hand clutched in the mane. Being on the opposite side from the enemy, any shots to harm him must first pass througli the steed. His horse was well trained, and with Grant clinging to him in that awkward position, and "bobbing" up and down with his motion, he started at a quick run. On the way he had to jump an earth wall nearly four feet high. He made the leap splendidly, and though balls whistled and shells exploded all around him, Grant had the good fortune to reach the fort safely. He found Twiggs who gave the order to forward the ammunition, but before it could start our troops came pouring back. With great, but fruitless, gal- lantry they had got into a place in which they could not stay. As Grant himself afterward described it, they were like the man who cauglit a wild boar. When friends came up with congratulations, he replied : — "Yes, I did prettj'^ well in catching him, but now I wish somebody would come and help me let him go !" That niglit ended the figliting. The Fourth had lost five officers and many men. Grant's duties as quartermaster of course excused him from going into battle, but he was not the man to avail himself of any such privileg(\ His gallantry and skill in riding for the ammunition were the theme of general admiration througliout the army. Adjutant Hoskins being killed, Grant was now made adjutant of the Fourth, and afterward performed the duties of that position in addition to those of quartermaster. The white fiag was raised and commissioners appointed — Jefferson Davis, colonel of the First Mississippi Rifles be- ing one — to arrange terms of capitulation. Tlie Mexicans "vvere allowed to retain their small-arms, accouterments, and one battery, but they were to retire within seven days. An anuistice was agreed to for eight weeks, or until either Government should order it to cease. The American loss was one hundred and twenty killed 112 "Green" rendered into Spanish. [i846. and three hundred and sixty-eight wounded, chiefly from ill-advised attacks upon strong positions during the first day. Our troops found Monterey a pleasant city. It had a great cathedral mtli the usual chime of bells and lurid paintings, but just then filled with Mexican ammunition. Some weeks earlier the Mexican general commanding had issued a proclamation advising our men to desert. He afterward asked an American prisoner if our soldiers had not been tempted to do so. Tlie captive replied : — "Oh, no, they were not so green as that." This was too much for the Mexican's English ; so an American interpreter was called to render "green" into S^^anish. He gave it thus : — " The soldier says they were not such d — d fools !" On the day after the battle, Grant encountered an old Georgetown friend and playmate, now captain in the Ohio volunteers, with whom he exchanged confidences. The friend related that he was soon to be married ; and Grant confided to him his own engagement, and that his j)rospect- ive father-in-law, Colonel Dent, had fallen into pecuniary difficulties, the result of a lawsuit of twenty years. On tliis account Julia had offered to release him, but, of course, he should accept no such freedom. As young men are wont, the two friends promised to name their boys for each other, and in pursuance of this agreement the first born of the Ohio captain, now a promising cadet at West Point, bears the name of Ulysses Grant AVhite. Taylor, on receiving orders to resume hostilities, marched liis army to Saltillo, west of Monterey, but he left Grant's regiment behind, and conveniently shelved Colonel Whistler — now back in tlie army, through the kindness of President Polk — by keeping him in command t)f the city. Here died of disease Grant's early fiiciul Avho secured his appointment to the Military Academy, Thomas L. TTamer, of Ohio. He was sincerely mom-jicd by his own State, and by many political friends tliroughout the Union, 1847.1 Tayloe is Attacked at Buena Yista. 113 CHAPTER VIII. MEXICAN WAE WITH SCOTT. On- the fourteenth of January, 1847, the regiment started for "Scott's line." From Camargo, it took steamer to the month of the Rio Grande, and from there to Yera Cruz. Only five thousand men were left witli Taylor, so his cam- paign in northern Mexico was supposed to be ended. He was eminently a fighting man, but he found his main ob- stacle that which has been the chief embarrassment of all army commanders, from the days when Julius Ca?sar in Gaul, was compelled so often to halt his army and gather supplies of corn. Taylor wrote to the Government : ' ' Fight- ing and whipping the enemy is among the least diificulties we encounter ; the great question of sup2yUes necessarily controls all operations." Scott, on reaching the Rio Grande, dispatched to Taylor his plan of operations. But his courier was captured and killed, so his letter went straight to Santa Anna, who thus learned that Scott 2:)roposed to capture Yera Cruz and strike for the city of Mexico, and that he had already stripped Taylor of all his troops except five thousand, of whom less than one-tenth were regulars. Upon obtaining this valuable information, the Mexican chief determined to strike his enemies in detail. So in February, with nearly twenty thousand men, he marched upon Taylor, who had taken a very strong position in a mountain pass at Buena Yista, eleven miles from Saltillo. Santa Anna gave him one hour to consider a proposition for immediate surrender. Taylor would not accept the hour, but instantly refused. At dawn, next morning, the Mexi- cans pushed forward, and the fight soon grew desperate. Jefferson Davis, at the head of his Mississippi Rifles, was badly wounded, but remained on the field and greatly dis- Hi And Wins a Splendid Victory. [is^^. tinguislied liimself. Some of the raw recruits broke badly, pai'ticularly an Indiana regiment. In the midst of the action, when the result seemed extremely doubtful, while Taylor was standing beside the battery of Braxton Bragg, ■ the enemy suddenly j)oured down upon it. Instantly, by order of the chief, Bragg charged his guns with grape and poured it into the Mexicans, who were almost at the muzzles. While the assailants cowered under this terrible liail, Taylor was reported to have shouted : — " A little more grape, Captain Bragg.*" There was nothing particularly marked in the phrase, but who can tell what mysterious chord the most common- place words may strike if spoken at the right moment ? The order ticlded the public ear, and went from mouth to mouth and newspaper to newspaper, as indicating the pluck and coolness of " Old Rough and Ready." Captain Bragg' s grape saved the day. On his front the enemy broke and fled, though elsewhere fighting con- tinued until dark. The Americans slej)t on their arms, expecting a renewal next morning, but when the sun rose Santa Anna had retired. The Americans lost nine hundred and forty-six in killed and wounded, almost one-fifth of the number engaged ; the Mexicans about two thousand. Tay- lor' s light with his small force of raw recruits was the most gallant of the war, and made him its popular hero. During these campaigns, one force under Stephen Watts Kearny, with Colonel Sterling Price of Missoui'i and Major Edwin V. Sumner of tlie regular army as subordinates, captui-ed Santa Fe, New Mexico. Another, under GcMUM-al AVool, made a long campaign througli northern ^Mexico, and joined Tayhjr at Saltillo. Meanwhile, Lieutenant John C. Fremont, with a little surveying party, and without knowing that hostilities had bi'gun east of the Rockj Moun- tains, raised the American flag in California, and, with none to molest or make him afraid, annexed that great province to our national possessions. Scott landed his force, twelve thousand strong, at Vera Cruz. Like that of Cortez, three; hundred years before, it was a mere handful, in view of the numbers and resources 1847] "Generals Made Out of Any Thing." 115 of tlie enemy. He planted lines five miles long around the the ancient city, and began the siege. Nearly all the fight- ing was Avith artillery. Here George B. McClellan, a lieu- tenant of engineers, began his career. He was in charge of a working party in the trenches, while Captain C. F. Smith commanded the outpost guard on their front. Once as McClellan' s detachment was being relieved, Smith's line became involved in a sharp skirmish. McClellan did not go to his help, but marched off his command at a double quick, leaving Smith to take care of himself. Ordinarily Scott was not a favorite among his men, but his grievances at Washington excited their sympathy, and even stimulated him into something like wit. Once, as he was walking the trenches, the soldiers rose up and stared over the parapet at his towering form. He cried : — "Down, down, men; don't expose yourselves." " But, General," replied one, "^o?^ expose yourself." "Oh, well," answered Scott, "generals can be made out of any thing now-a-days, but men can't!" It was much in the strain of President Lincoln' s witti- cism in 1863. When friends condoled with him about the capture of a general at Fairfax Court-House, he replied : — " Oh. I can make a new brigadier any day, but all those horses that the Rebels got cost us a hundred and fifty dollars apiece." On the twenty-sixth of March, having bombarded Vera Cruz for five days, with the loss on our side of less than forty men, Scott was about to assault, when the place sur- rendered. Five thousand prisoners and five hundred pieces of artillery were captured. Our troops found the old city, established by the Spaniards nearly three hundred yeara ago, pleasantly built, Avith fiat-roofed houses of limestone three stories high, and streets clean and regular. An active offensive campaign was now prepared for. Congress had provided by law for the appointment of regi- mental quartermasters, and Grant was selected for that post by the colonel of the Fourth. The position brings some additional pay, and is usnally offered, not to a brilliant, but to an energetic, painstaking officer. 116 The Battle of Ceero Gordo. [is47. Scott permitted no grass to grow under liis feet. Ten days after the capitulation of Yera Cruz, his army, now only eight thousand strong, started for the heart of the Mexican republic. Three days later it reached the foot of snow-clad mountains. Santa Anna, who, after his bad luck with Taylor, had marched across the country to intercept Scott, held one of the first summits, known as Cerro Gordo [big hill], with fifteen thousand men and formidable batteries and intrenchments. The next few days were spent in reconnoitering and cut- ting a winding road around the base of the hill. Then Twiggs carried a j)art of it by storm ; and on the seven- teenth of April, Scott issued an order for the next day's battle, which proved one of the most remarkable mili- tary papers in history. AYith minute detail and prophetic accurac}^, it gave the programme for the successive move- ments, telling the time when each work should be carried, and what must be done next. That preliminary order reads almost exactly like a report of the battle. That night Twiggs' s men dragged howitzers straiglit up the hill by hand. It was like climbing the roof of a house ; but before daylight they had their guns planted to command every thing except the crest itself. At dawn the Mexicans, astounded to find them there, opened a heavy fire with artillery. Right in the teeth of grape and canister, the troops, led by Harney, charged wp the rough, almost j)er- pendicular hill-side, carried the enemy' s first battery, drove liim out in a hand-to-hand fight, followed straight up to the second breastwork, and there, after a fierce bayonet charge, the Mexican eagles came down, and the Stars and Stripes went up amid tremendous cheers. TIarney had carried th(^ key to the position, while Pillow was attacking on one side and Shields in the rear. There was no alternative, so the white flag was raised. Three thousand Mexicans surrendered, with forty-tliree ])ieces of artilh'ry ; si'ven thousand escajied, including Santa Anna. His carriage and personal baggage fell into the hands of Scott, who returned them to him. The battle was extremely well contested, and, except i8-i7.] A Solitary Relic of the Aztecs. 117 Buena Yista, the toughest of the war. Our loss Tras four hundred and thirty-one men, of whom sixty-three were killed. Grant was in the entire fight, but his regiment was not closely engaged, and its loss was slight. Scott jiressed on impetuously, and on the fifteenth of May reached Puelbla, ending a most brilliant campaign of sixty days, in which he had captured several vital points, ten thousand prisoners and seven hundred cannon. AYlien his soldiers entered Puebla, many were suffering from sickness, and the rest were weary, dusty, foot- sore, and ragged. They piled their arms in the grand plaza and lay down to sleep in perfect security. Though in the heart of a hostile population, they felt that they were the ruling race. The natives felt it also, and even in their official dis- patches invariably mentioned the invaders as "Ameri- cans ' ' — a title to which they have the same geographical claim as we, and a stronger genealogical one. Scott waited for nearly three months to rest and recruit his troops, who were greatly cut down by low fevers and dysentery, and also to see the result of pending negotiations for peace. Most of tlieir road from Yera Cruz had been over barren mountains and plains, but at Puebla the desert ends, and the soldiers found themselves among picturesque vineyards and corn and wheat fields. Puebla de los Angeles (city of the angels), a town of eighty thousand inhabitants, stands seven thousand feet above the level of the sea, two hundred miles from "S'era Cruz, and ninety from the City of Mexico. It is near the site C)f an old-time metropolis, in which Cortez found two liundred tliousand people with four hundred Aztec temples. But all their monuments are obliterated, save one enormous pyramid standing solitary on a desolate plain. When Scott resumed his march for the capital, seeing the impossibility of preserving regular communication witli Yera Cruz, he cut loose from his base, and determined to live on the country. His army, now increased to eleven thousand, started in the rainy season, but there were only two tents for each company, one for the sick and one for the arms. The men slept upon the ground, and were drenched nightly. 118 Grant's Regimei^t Seizes Sat^- Augustit^e. [is4i. On the ninth of August, Grant's regiment left Puebla, and, marching cut through the environs, saw the snowy summit of blue Popocatapetl, eighteen thousand feet above sea level, and, though thirty miles away, seeming in that clear atmosphere within a stone' s throw. Ascending barren mountains, cooled with icy lakes, on the third day the men reached the highest summit on the National Road, eleven thousand feet above the sea. Jiist be- yond they looked down upon the grand basin of Mexico, with its steeples and domes, and its broad grassy bed glittering with lakes, like a mantle of velvet studded with stars. In the midst of this basin, high among the mountains, nestled the capital, Avith snow-white walls and shining temples. The city, exposed to inundation from mountain streams, is surrounded by dykes, and entered only by eight cause- ways, each commanded by a small fort. The army found the narrow one on the great National Road, which goes in from the east, quite impassable. But a reconnoitering party sent southward soon succeeded in finding an easier approach. By passing along the shores of Lakes Chalco and Xochimilco, and cutting a way across rocky mountain spurs, Scott reached the Acapulco road, which enters from the south, and which the Mexicans thought it imj^ossible for him to gain. On the seventeenth of August, the army. Grant's regi- ment being in the advance, seized San Augustine, nine miles southwest of the city, after some skirmishing. Beyond, toward the capital, the road was commanded by heavy guns, both from fi(4d- works and an old stone church, which s(n-ved as a fortress, at the crossing of the Churubusco River. Four miles west of this point was Contreras, a forti- fi(^d hill. Both these works Avere strong and strongly gar- risoned. j\Iidway between tlu^ni, where he could re-enforce either, Santa Anna A^'as stationed with liis army. A day or two of cutting roads and reconnoitering fol- lowed. There were several skirmishes, in which the Mexican lancers, in yellow cloaks and white caps and jackets, and th(^ Mexican infantry, who wore pretty white and blue uniforms, were easily repulsed. Finally, under cover of a 184:.] Battles of Contreras and Churubusco. 119 cold, rainy night, our men \rere marched forward through chaparral and cactus to a new position. Tired and hungry, tliey slept on the ground until the rain Hooded them, and then stood up until daylight. Soon after dawn, Contreras was stormed. Our eager troops rushed up the steep hill-side with a yell, sprang into the intrenchments, and, after seventeen minutes of hand-to- hand-fighting, secured the position. The Mexicans lost twenty-two pieces of artillery, one thousand seven hundred men killed and wounded, and eight hundred prisoners, of whom one-tenth were officers. Before eight o'clock the fighting here on our left was over. Meamvhile our right wing pressed forward, but met with severe resistance. Grant's regiment in Garland's brigade was with the advance, and had a hot skirmish in the little village of San Antonio. This was carried, and the column, re-enforced by the left wing, Avhich came promptly up after taking Contreras, pushed straight forward on Churubusco. There it met with so stern a resistance that Scott, resorting to his usual tactics, sent strong forces around to the Mexi- can flank and rear. Just as these detachments attracted the enemy's attention, an irresistible charge was made on the front. Our men clambered into the embrasures and carried the formidable position by storm. They instantly turned all the captured guns upon the stone church, and this trong improvised fortress, after an obstinate fight, was also taKen. Here Brigadier- General Franklin Pierce, of New Hampshire, injured two hours before at Contreras, by his horse falling under him, fainted with pain— a fact which, despite his gal- lant behavior, of course made him the subject of bound- less ridicule when he became a candidate for the Presi- dency. The Mexicans, harassed on the flanks by Pierce and Shields, fled precipitately toward the city, followed in hot chase over the long causeway by our dragoons. Captain Philip Kearny, who, though only thirty years old, had seen much of war, and in the French aniiy had won the Cross of the Legion of Honor, i)ursued almost alone to the San Antonio 120 The Attack on Molino del Rey. [is^^- gate. There lie lost an arm, T)iit his gallantry won him the deserved hrevet rank of major.* The victory was complete. Scott lost upward of a thousand men in killed and wounded: the Mexicans far more, besides three thousand prisoners, thirty-seven pieces of artillery, and many small-arms. The next two weeks were occupied in unsuccessful nego- tiations for peace. Meanwhile Scott tried a large party of deserters from our army Avho had been captured while fight- ing in the enemy' s ranks. Twenty-nine were condemned and hanged. Their captain could not be legally executed as he had run away before the war actually began, so he was only lashed and branded. On Scott's front, the rock of Chepultepec, the seat of the Mexican military academy, and crowned by a strong, heavily armed castle, commanded the road to the city. At its base, behind a stone wall, Santa Anna had posted a heavy force, with its left wing resting on Molino del Rey (the mill of the king). This was an old stone powder- mill, one story high and several hundred feet long, with a well-garrisoned tower at each end of its thick walls. The Mexican right wing rested on Casa de Mata, another massive stone building four hundred yards from the mill. The ground between was occupied by infantry and a field- battery. When hostilities were resumed. Worth, with three thou- sand men, was ordered to take and destroy these strong de- fenses. After a heavy bombardment, on the morning of September eighth, he moved forward. The Fourth regiment was again with the advance, which captured the field-bat- tery and compelled the enemy to retire. But in a few min- aites the Mexicans rallied and drove our www back. Then * No American was ever moro a soldier for tlio love of it tlian "Phil. Kearny." After thu Mexican war, unable to cmluro the piping times of peace, he volunteered in Italy, and at Solferiuo won from Louis Napoleon a yoeoud decoration of the Legion of Honor. Li our war for the Union ho became a major-general, and won high fame by his impetuous gallantry. Tie had lost liis loft arm, M;ijor-Genoral 0. 0. Howard, of Maine, his right; and it was a common jest between the two that they would buy their gloves together, antl thus make one pair answer for both. Kearny waa deeply mourned by tlie whole North, when he fell atChautilly, Virginia, in 1862. 1847.] Lively Times for Lieutenant Gkant. 121 the fight grew furious as the assailants again advanced and rushed up the hill in face of a tremendous fire. A large number fell at the first volley, among them eleven of the fourteen officers who led the assaulting column. But the brave fellows never faltered. Pouring over the breastworks, they forced the enemy' s center, isolating his wings, and then charged on the mill itself. Grant had left his commissary wagons and was in the thick of the fight. While pursuing the Mexicans who were crowding into the mill for refuge, he saw Robert Anderson — afterward of Fort Sumter fame — fall, shot through the shoul- der. A moment after he almost stumbled over his friend Dent, who lay upon the ground bleeding from a wound in the thigh. As he stooped to assure himself that his comrade was neither dead nor dying, a Mexican rushed from behind the mill and presented his musket to finish Dent, but startled by Grant' s proximity and seeing Lieutenant Thorne stand- ing near, with back toward him, suddenly wheeled, and with bayonet almost touching that unsuspecting officer, was about to tire, when Grant shouted : — " Look out, Thorne ! " Just then the Mexican hearing a voice behind him turn- ed round, and as he did so. Sergeant James M. Robinson (now captain Second Aj'tillery and brevet brigadier-gen- eral), sprang forward and ran his little sergeant's sword through his body, while Thorne, who had taken the alarm at the same instant, turned and shot the luckless "Greaser" through the head. All tills passed in a twinkling. Then Thorne, Grant, and Robinson rushed into the mill, and chasing the fugitives from room to room, came out at the back of it. The rout had been so sudden that many of the enemy on the top of the building were unable to escape. Grant, surmising this, turned a cart up against the wall and climbed the shafts to the roof. There to his surprise, he found an Irish soldier with musket on his shoulder, quietly pacing to and fro, keeping guard over forty or fifty prisoners of his own capturing. They still bore their arms, which Grant demanded. 122 CiiEPULTEPEC Stormed and Captured. [i847. / As lie was breaking the surrendered muskets one Iby one over the wall and throwing them to the ground, the guns of Chepultepec, which had got the range at last, began to drop shot thiols, and fast among our troops. The attacking force was ordered to withdraw. Grant hustled his prisoners down from the mill -roof, and the soldier marched tliem away. AVortli neither held Molino del Rey, nor destroyed it. His attack, therefore, seemed a needless slaughter, and the press severely' censured him. It was the bloodiest battle of the war, and one-fourth of his command were either killed or Avounded. Many were captured also, and some were barbarously shot after they had surrendered. Dent, Anderson, and Grant were all brevetted for their gallant conduct in this battle. Grant, however, did not ac- cept the brevet, as he received, a few days later, a full pro- motion by the death of the first lieutenant of his company, to whose rank he succeeded. On the thirteenth of September, Scott made a feigned movement against the capital. When he saw that the Mexican general, thoroughly deceived, fancied it an attack in force, Scott ordered a sudden and vigorous assault upon Chepultepec, now weakened to meet the supposed move- ment against the city. At a signal, breaches were made in the stone wall at the base of the hill, through which the assailants poured and climbed the steep ascent in the face of show(?rs of grape and bullets. Reaching the redoubt, they drove the enemy from his guns and gain('d the ditch surrounding liis fortifications. Filling tliis Avitli their fascines, they rushed across, planted their ladders against the walls, and promptly effected a lodgment Avithin the ramparts, though not without heavy loss. Almost before Santa Anna discoveri^d that tin; movement against the city was a feint, and this the real one, the Stars and Stripes were floating triumphantly over the fortress of Chepultepec. Many Mexicans escaped ; many were killed in revenge for the slaughter of Americans a few days before, and many more were (;aptured. Among the latter were fifty general officers, and a hundred cadets of the military 1S47.] Lieutenant Geaxt Earns a Captaincy. 123 academy. These little fellows, from ten to sixteen years of age, liad fought bravely, and many had been killed. In and after this battle also. Grant's gallantry was con- spicuous. The hot pursuit, in which he joined, toward the San Cosmo Gate,* was stopped at a cross-road, which the enemy defended from behind a breastwork and from the roof of a house in the rear. While skirmishing was going on in front. Grant, all alone, made a reconnoissance on our left. Then, believing the work could be turned, he took half a dozen men, led them' around on a run with their muskets trailed, and so got to the rear of the building. There he found Captain Horace Brooks, of the artillery, with tifty men, who had come up from another du-ection. To Grant's eager inquiry, whether he would join them. Brooks, without the least idea of wliat was to be done, beyond the fact that it was something against the enemy, promptly acquiesced, and in three or four minutes his men and Grant's had taken the enemy in the rear, were over the earth-work, and driving the Mexicans at the point of the bayonet. Farther along the road toward the city was a second redoubt, but so close did Grant and Brooks keep to the fugitives, that the occupants could not lire upon their assailants without shooting their own friends ; so this work also was abandoned, and its little garrison re- treated. The pursuing party, now within eight hundred yards of tlie city, dragged a small mountain howitzer up to the cupola of a church near by, and began to drop shot into tlie next breastwork, wliich was right in front of the gate itself.' But being without support, the little band was compelled at length to abandon the unequal contest. Grant received honorable mention in the reports. Cap- tain Brooks gave him credit for helj^ing to carry the strong field- Avork, and turn the enemy's right "after an obstinate resistance ;" Major Lee, commanding the Fourth, for behav- ing with "distinguished gallantry," and Colonel Garland, who led the brigade, for "acquitting himself most nobly on * In the rear of tlio city, directly opposite the gate ou the front at which Kearny had been wounded a few days before. 124 End of the Mexican "Wak. [i84Y. several occasions under my observation." He was after- ward "brevetted a captain, to date from that day. Next morning the city surrendered, and the towering form of the American General entered, greeted by triumphant huzzas from his troops. The war was over. Scott' s campaign, though embracing no large operations, had been conducted with a sagacity, promptness, and skill which increased his well-earned reputation. At first, the people liad been im- patient about his slow progress, and denunciatory of West Pointers generally. Now these clamors were hushed. All officers wlio had won much reputation were graduates of the Military Academy. Of the four hundred and fifty killed, it was the Alma Mater of more than half. The Mexican privates had fought with great gallantry. They were sorry-looking soldiers, ragged, dirty, weariiig sandals instead of shoes ; but they were brawny, thick-set fellows, who could subsist on little food, and were capable of the highest discipline. AVell officered, they would make as good troops as any in the world, but their leaders were sadly inefficient. Most of them, too, were badly armed with old flint-lock muskets ; but even in our own army not many percussion locks were yet in use. Few officers, except the commander-in-chief, had gained the bubble reputation, even at the cannon's mouth. Robert E. Lee* had won, j^erhaps, more fame than any other regu- lar, and JefTc^rson Davis as much as any other volunteer. Grant's energy and coolness had given him a name some- what above the average, but where all did so well none had become distinguished. The Avar was so essentially in the pro-slavery interest, that a large Northern j)arty opposed it bitterly. In the Senate of the United States, in February, 1847, when a member asserted that th(3 IMexicans ought to welcome our troops, Tom Corwiu, the Ohio ''wagon boy" replied : — " If I were a Mexican as I am an American, I Avould welcome them witli bloody hands to hospitable graves !" This remark, like the resolutiou of the Massachus(^tts * Chief of Eugiuccra ou tho stafT of Scott, and his most able and trusted adviser. 1847]. What it Lost ais^d Gained Us. 125 Senate, thirty years before, wliicli denounced the war of 1812 as " unworthy of a moral and religious people," called out sweeping maledictions. Corwin was unsparingly de- nounced and as hotly defended. How strange seem these fierce contests when the lurid glare of the hour has faded into the calm, pale light of history ! The ' ' wagon boy ' ' sleeps now with that white Hand upon his lips which hushes all passion, and makes successive partisans wonder at the bitterness of every generation but their own. Tlie war had lasted twenty- six months. Our entire loss of life was twenty-five thousand men. Battle slays its thousands, but disease its tens of thousands. Com- paratively few soldiers are killed by the bullet ; of all these less than fifteen hundred died of wounds. The war cost us one hundred and sixty millions of dollars, but it added to our domain California and New Mexico, a region large enough to make fifteen great States of the Union. Yain were all attempts to prevent their incorporation into our territory — ^just as vain as the attempt of Josiali Quincy and other Federalists, fifty years before, to prevent the Louisiana purchase. How little the fathers dreamed of the territorial destiny of the Republic ! Quincy declared that the annexation of Louisiana would justify old States in seceding from the Union, "amicably if they can, violently if they must." He had actually heard that this new region might be cut up into six or more States, and that even the mouth of the Oliio would be east of the center of the contemj)lated empire ! It was not for ' ' these wild men on the Missouri nor the Anglo-Hispano-Gallo- Americans who bask in the sands on the mouth of the Mississippi," that our fathers had fought, Years later, John Quincy Adams fancied himself uttering a very extravagant jest, and caused general merriment in the House by saying that, at the rate we were going, we should yet see in Congress "the member from tlie Pacific," and "the member from the North Pole." And, still later, one chief argument AYebster used against the annexation of Texas was, that our territory was already quite as large as wisdom or safety permitted. "But not so did the people 126 Taylor Nominated for the Presidency. [i848. regard it. They acquiesced in expansion, as they always will till Manifest Destin}^ is fulfilled, and the Eepublic stretches from the frozen zone to the glowing isthmus. As we have said, Taylor came out the hero of the war. In vain did leading Whigs denounce him as "an ignorant frontier colonel." Their national convention at Philadel- phia, in June, 1848, named him for President. It was against the fiercest opposition. After the nomination, Henry Wilson, a young delegate fresh from the anti- slavery atmosphere of Massachusetts, sprang upon a bench and exclaimed : — " So help me God, I will do all in my power to prevent General Taylor's election !" Daniel Webster denounced the nomination as "not fit to be made," and Horace Greeley, though acquiescing in it, wrote of the platform, wliich was strongly pro-slavery : "We scorn it; we s]oit upon it; we trample it under our feet!" Already the Whig party gave signs of being riven by that Irrepressible Conflict which was to find final settlement only throiigli the last logic of kings. Duiing the first few months of peace the army remained in Mexico. Grant was still busy with the duties of quarter- master. In this position he had impressed all with his practical talent and efficiency. In the hardest of marches he never failed to feed his regiment. Using his fast horse to som(^ purpose, he went ahead, and b3^the time the men came up there was fresh beef awaiting them. He was careless about his dress, wearing hair and Avhiskers long and rag- ged. He always rose early in the morning, smoked much, chewed tobacco, but never drank to excess nor indulged in the other profligacy so connuon in that country of loose morals. Of his ruling passion, Coppee, who had been Avitli him at West Point, relates this anecdote : — " \\v w.is an admirable l)(irseiiiaii, and liad ii very spirited liorsc. A Mexi- can gentli-inan willi whom he was on friendly terms, asked the loan of his horse. (Iraiit said afterward, 'I was afraid he conld not ride iiini, and yet 1 knew if I saiil a word to that effect, the suspicious Spanish nature would think 1 did not wish to lend him.' The result was, that tlie Mexican mounted him, was thrown before ho had gone two blocks, and killed on the spot." 1848.] Quartermaster Grant is Robbed. 127 Another officer gives the followins; reminiscence : — &' "One day he came to see Colonel Howard, who was in command of the castle of Cliepultepec. The colonel's quarters were inside of the fortress, which was surrounded by a high, broad earth-work. Grant rode up the slope outside, and, after riding around tlie castle two or three times, and see- ing no post to hitch his horse to, deliberately spurred the animal down the broad, but long and steep stone stairs that led into the fort. "When Colonel Howard came out of the ca^^tle and saw Grant's horse tied at the door, where, perhaps, a horse had never before been, he said, in astonishment, 'Lieutenant, how in tlie world did you get your horse in here?' 'Rode him in, sir,' quietly replied Grant. 'And how do you expect to get him out?' 'Eidehim up the steps instead of down,' answered Grant; and, mounting the animal, he rode him to the foot of the stairs, and, with Grant on his back, tlie intelligent brute climbed like a cat to the top, where Grant, waving his hat to Colonel Howard below, disappeared like a flash over the breast- works." Before midsummer the treaty had been ratified by botli governments, and the army started back to Vera Cruz. On the way our lieutenant met with a misfortune;. Every thing was paid ibr in cash. Mexico dealt chietly with England and France, and while glad to cash drafts on London, would only take those drawn on New York at a discount of twenty- five or thirty per cent. The quartermaster must have specie to buy with, and Lieutenant Grant had a thou- sand dollars of Government silver for that purpose. The lock of his own trunk being broken, he 2:»laced it in that of Captain Gore. But one night Gore's trunk was opened by a thief, who stole all his valuables and this public money. Grant made a report of the fact, supported by the aflida- vits of several brother officers, and asked the Government that he might be relieved of responsibility for the loss. It was brought before Congress, but in that circumlocution office twelve years passed before any action was taken. Fi- nally, in 18G2, after Grant had become a major-general and the hero of Donelson, a bill Avas passed which provided that in the settlement of his accounts as commissaiy and regi- mental quartermaster of the Fourth Infantjy, one thousand dollars should be allowed him. Even then, eight senators, nearly all Ri^publicans, voted against it. Grant's regiment remained in Mississippi during July 128 Returns Home, and Defends Tayloe. [i848. and August. Obtaining leave of absence, lie went to St. Louis and paid a visit to Miss Dent, whose devotion had never wavered through those years of separation. Then he visited his fiither' s house in Bethel, Ohio, where he was greet- ed with great rejoicings. He had often written home during the war, but for six months before the capture of Mexico, not one word had come to his parents. They had suifered keenly, and anxiety turned his mother's hair gra}^ How many the hearts and homes which war makes desolate ! Of course, our quartermaster brought home a Mexican horse. He also brought as body-servant a young peon, named Gregory, presented to him by a Mexican gentleman. The lieutenant had educated him in the common branches, and now left him at his father' s. For some years the lad remained with him, but finally went back to Mexico. Grant had returned in the midst of a hot Presidential canvass. Democratic news^Dapers were publishing the affi- davit of an Ohio volunteer that, at Camargo, Taylor had de- nounced Ohio soldiers as a set " of d — d thieves, Avho would run at the sight of an enemy." Grant happened to know the exact amount of truth in the story — a much larger grain than the delicious bits of biography which adorn our news- papers during every Presidential canvass usually contain. An Ohio soldier had seized a chicken in sight of Tajdor, who ordered him to drop it. In pretending to compl}^ the volun- teer only passed the fated fowl to a comrade behind him. The general saw tliis, also, and shouted : — "Throw down tliat cliicken. Any man who will steal is a d — d coward and would run from the enemy." Grant, who happened to be sitting on his horse beside Taylor Avhen this occurred, indignantly denied the story. He urged that if it were persisted in, Taylor liimself should be written to, and that he would tell the truth though it might defeat his election. A proposition most creditable to his own simph^ int(\gi-ity, l)ut not indicating profound familiarity witli the ])y-ways of politics. Grant said that he sliould vote for Tayk)r if he were in a doubtful State ; but election day found him in Kentucky, and he did not vote at all. ;849.] Wedding. Wikter at Sackett's Harbor. 129 CHAPTER IX. MARRIES. After remaining a few days at home, Grant returned to St. Louis, where, on the twenty-second of August, 1848, he was married, at the bride's residence, on the corner of Fourth and Cerre Streets, to Miss Julia B. Dent. He had saved her brother's life, in Mexico, and opposition to the match had ceased. It was a merry wedding, as all wed- dings should be. The dancing continued until midnight. A Santa Fe traveler diverted the company with a lively and graceful Spanish dance. Among the guests were many friends of the Dent family, and many of Grant' s old com- rades from the city and the barracks. Soon after the wedding, the regiment was ordered to the northern frontier, with head-quarters at Detroit, where com- panies C and E were stationed. Though Grant's place as quartermaster was with head-quarters, a brother officer got him ordered to the undesirable winter residence of Sackett's Harbor, on Lake Ontario, where one company was, and the rival secured the position of acting quartermaster. Grant uncomiilainingly oV)eyed, and, with his bride, spent the win- ter at Sackett's Harbor. But his case was laid before Gen- eral Scott, Avho i)romptly ordered him back to Detroit — after the closing of navigation had rendered winter travel impracticable. He returned tliere, however, early in the following spring. With cliaracteristic magnanimity, he never revenged himself upon the officer who had caused liis banishment. On the contrary, he aided and befriended him in after life. At Detroit Grant spent more than two years, in the dull, monotonous existence of a garrison officer in peace times, its daily routine of idleness only enlivened by an occasional "board of survey." The record of one of these exciting 130 The Young Couple begust Housekeeping, [i^^g. events now before me, shows tliat in May, 1849, a few tent- poles, tents, knapsacks, and haversacks, were examined and thus condemned : — "The Board are of the opinion that the above-ennmerated articles have been worn out in the service, and are not fit for further use. "U. S. GRANT, First Lieutenant, Fourtli Infantry, President." The old barracks in the upper part of Detroit — not out- side of it, where Fort Wayne stands — were tumble-down affairs. They extended from Catharine Street to the Gratiot Road, four or five blocks, and from Rivard Street to Russell, one block. The buildings were of wood, and surrounded by a board fence. The sutler's store, hospital, and officers' quar- ters have been removed a short distance, and are now occu- pied as dwellings or stores. The ground upon which they formerly stood is covered with residences and business blocks. Our German fellow-citizens have taken possession. Just north of the old fort is one of the largest breweries in the country, and on the corner where Grant's office was, an immense lager-beer hall is rising. The barracks were only used as quarters for the men. The married officers lived in the town outside. Lieutenant and Mrs. Grant immediately began house- keeping, with the bravery of honest, self-respecting poverty and the glowing confidence of young love, which sees only rosy tints in the overarching heavens. Their first home was near the garrison, in a little frame dwelling, with an arbor in front. It still stands on Fort Street East, between Russell and Rivard — a block which has changed very little since. Then, as now. Fort Street West Avas a fashionable quarter, but Fort Street East was occupied by Germans and other working people, and by some undesii-able r(>sidents. "When (jJrant took tlu^ house, it was suggested that he might hav(^ disorderly neighbors. But his domesticity was true, and he replied : — "Ko matter; if home has a hell outside of it, it ought to be a heaven within." Tlie dwelling belongi^d to G(>orge M. Rich, and was hii-ed for two hundred and fifty dollars a year. Old neigh- ^^^°^ And a Sox is Born to Tiiem. 131 "bors still recall the pleasant interchange of evening visits, with their games of dominoes, and stories of Mexico and of pioneer life in Detroit. In the spring of 1850 they left this house, Mrs. Grant going to her father's, in St, Louis, Avhere her first son was born, and her husband making his home with his friend and comrade. Captain J. H. Gore, in a cottage rented from Mr. W. A. Bacon, at two hundred and fifty dollars per year, and situated on Jefferson Avenue, at the corner of Russell Street. With the Gores ihey remained permanently after Mrs. Grant's return. Jefferson is now The Avenue of Detroit,— as one egotistical thoroughfare in every city is bent on being called. The pleasant cottage in which they lived, itself unchanged, is now surrounded by elegant resi- dences. But then the country was very open. Immedi- ately back of tlie house Avas a pasture. There were no sidewalks and the soldiers had laid a single plank up to the barracks, and dug a ditch beside it for a drain. ^ As their landlord had been for several years connected with the army, liis heart was warm toward officers. He was by profession a teacher, and his little school-house stood immediately back of the dwelling ; so he encountered both tenants nearly every day. He found the elder one very sociable, and had frequent chats with him. But Grant was silent, and Bacon ratlu^r regarded him as the boy and Gore as the man. Though seeing him daUy for twelve months, Bacon remembered so little of him that, thirteen years later, when the "Unconditional Surrender" letter was flashed over the wires to a thrilled and exulting North, Bacon pondered— " Grant, Grant : was not that a Lieutenant Grant who lived in my house with Captain Gore?" Finally, remembering that the lieutenant had one day scratched his name with a diamond ring on a pane of glass in an upper chamber, he went home and looked at the autograph, before he Avas quite sure of his old tenant's name. Detroit was the head-quarters of a large department, of which Major Sibley, from whom our Sibley tent is named, was quartermaster. Grant was quartermaster and com- missary only of the post. He spent little time in his own 132 Gea:nt's Life in Detroit. [isso. oiRce at the barracks, leaving its light duties to his sergeant ; but he was frequently at the office of the departmental quar- termaster, where he ordered supplies for his regiment. The present Quarteraiaster-General of Michigan, then Major Sib- ley' s clerk, recalls that after first meeting the post quarter- master, asked of Grant's sergeant: — " Why in the world have they put that lieutenant in as quartermaster and commissary ? Is it because he knows less than any other officer in the regiment V "He is the ablest and best officer in the old Fourth," replied the sergeant indignantly, "He knows the duties of a soldier better than any other man in the regiment." Two doors below Woodward Street, on Jeffiirson Avenue, in a building yet standing, was the large, well-filled sutler store of the imjDortant post. One proprietor was a son of General Brady, famous in the War of 1812, and in Grant's day spending his old age in Detroit. This store Avas the favorite head-quarters both for retired officers and those on duty. In the back room a barrel of whisky stood ahvays on tap, and each visitor helped himself. Grant not more nor less frequently than the rest. Frontier posts, in peace times, are fraught with the most dangerous temptations for army officers. Active campaign- ing has left in them that insatiable craving for excitement which is kindled by all experiences full of novelty, of liardshi]:), and of peril. However conscientious, they have l^ractically nothing to do. In many cases, too, they are without the restraining influence of wives and children. Is it strange that so many fall deep into drunkenness and other vices ? Grant, who never could endure absolute idleness, did not seek relief in any ex(!ess of drinking. Horse-flesh was 7i/s " 2:)articular vanity." Detroit contained only twenty- five thousand p('02)le, and all the army offici^rs were well known. The old residents still remember Grant for this trait. Whenever aski^d for reminiscences, they immediately tell stories of his gray horse, brought from Mexico, which was finally raffied off; or of his frequent gallops on the hardy little French ponies, which ran wild on the marshes 1850.] Outdoor and Indoor Pleasures. 133 just outside of town; or of Ms running or riding races, sometimes, to tlie consternation of the timid and the delight of the gay, on Jefferson Avenue itself, Avhere his face was exceedingly familiar. Everj'body knew the appearance of " Sam Grant" in a cutter in winter or a buggy in summer, flying along after his "Cicotte mare." Then, as now, driving was the favorite recreation of Detroit, and tlie people decidedly approved both of him and the beantiful jet-black little mare, for which, in the beginning, Grant agreed to pay Cicotte, her owner, two hundred dollars, on condition that she would pace a mile in two fifty-iive, drawing two men in a buggy. The place chosen for this test was Jetferson Avenue, where the spirited mare finished her mile inside of the j^re- scribed time, with Grant and Cicotte riding behind her. So the quartermaster bought her, and kept her for several years. Finally, he sent her to St. Louis, where she won a race for a thousand dollars, and was afterward sold for fourteen hundred. Detroit had many attractions. A frontier city, and the home of Cass and Brady and other retired army officers, it was necessarily hospitable; and containing many old French families, it was fond of dancing and other gayeties. During the Avinter there were weekly assemblies at the leading hotel, the Exchange, where it is remembered that Grant, though a constant attendant, very seldom danced, but stood quietly looking on, with a pleasant word for everybody, and ready to drink in moderation with his more active comrades fresh from the cotillion. Mesdames Grant and Gore were fond of society, so there were also agreeable parties and masquerades at home, where candles, standing on stiigs' antlers, did service for gas, and supper was laid on the back piazza — the pleasant back piazza over- looking the gard(;n full of peach-trees, where Grant loved to smoke his cigars in the golden twilight of summer evenings. Rarely was life disturbed by more exciting events. Sometimes the military were called out to defend the authorities, holding some wretched fugitive slave in cus- 134 A QUAREEL WITH ZaCIIARY ChANDLEE. [1S51. tody, against tlie aroused people ; but Grant, fortunately, never Lad to render this revolting service. Horse-races and dog-figlits were more common. Two dogs of Thomas Lewis and Horace Gray one day had a fierce contest on Grosse Island, in Detroit River. Finally, Gray, who resided there, exclaimed vehemently : — "By heavens, Lewis! either your dog or I must leave the island !" Grant was among the amused spectators, but left before the tenacious dogs could be separated. Twenty years after, he met Gray again. He was commanding the Army of the Tennessee, and Gray was major of the Fourth Michigan Cavalry. As they shook hands. Grant asked : — "Well, Gray, which did leave the island, you or the dog r Though the last man in the world to quarrel, shortly be- fore leaving Detroit, Grant got into a lively controversy with Zachary Chandler, at present United States senator, but then a rising young dry -goods merchant. Grant com- plained of him for violating a city ordinance in not remov- ing the snow and ice from the sideAvalk in front of his house. The neglect liad caused much inconvenience to all the officers, and a severe sprain to our quartermaster who slipped and fell one night on his way home. The following sworn complaint, made before the mayor, is yet preserved in the Recorder' s Court : — State of Michigan^ City of Detroit^ ss. U. S. Grant, being duly sworn, deposes and says, tliat on or about the lOtli day of January, 1851, and for twenty-five days previous thereto, within the city of Detroit, Zachary Chandler did neglect to keep his sidewalk clear and free from snow and ice on Jefferson Avenue, in front of the house occu- pied by liim, and did then and there commit many other causes contrary to the ordinances of said city. Further deponent sayeth not. U. S. Gkant. AVhen tlie trial came on. Chandler insisted upon his right to a Jury, and conducted his own case. The chief witnesses against him W(M'e the young officers, and he as- sailed them with a power of vituperation on which the United States senator has hardly improved, notwithstanding 1S51]. Chandler Fi:jfED Six CE^'TS and Costs. 135 Lis great success in that direction. He denounced them as idle loafers, living on the community ; and, turning to Grant, Gore, and Sibley, said : — " If you soldiers would keep sober, perhaps you would not fall on people's pavements and hurt your legs." The facts, however, were proved, and the jury was com- pelled to find against him. But, whether because public sympathy was with the civilian, or because the ordinance was really a dead letter, the verdict assessed only costs of coui't and a fine of six cents. The whole legal expenses to Chandler were less than eight dollars, for which trival out- lay lie enjoyed Ihe unspeakable luxury of indulging in a great deal of abuse. The trial was a nine-days' talk in the little city, and it was generally expected that Grant or one of his comrades would attack the vituperative civilian. Chandler, physi- cally an enormous fellow, who "traveled on his muscle," was rather anxious to accept this appeal to another court, but nothing came of it. Both he and Grant laughed hearti- ly over the quarrel fifteen years later, when the senator entertained the General of all our armies at his pleasant home in Detroit. In June, 1851, the head-quarters of the Fourth were re- moved to Sackett's Harbor, New York, a village of a thou- sand people. The spot was not far olf where, a hundred years before, in the old French war, Grant's grand-uncle, and his great-grandfather, were killed. In the war of 1812, too, Sackett' s was a point of great importance, and the rendez- vous of the American fleet on the lake. Here Henry Eck- ford made himself famous by building one man-of-war in forty-five days from the time the first tree was cut for her hull, and getting another hundred-gun frigate, one hundred and eighty-four feet long, and of thirty-two hundred tons burden, almost ready for launching in thirty-six days. The unexpected declaration of peace caused work upon her to be suspended. So the Government built a wooden house over her, and she perches now, looking just as Eckford left her half a century ago, but with her huge timbers a mass of powder post, and as soft as cork. Hard by stands an old 136 Grant at Sackett's HArwBOR. [issi. stone house, erected at tlie same time as a hotel, and then the hirgest building between the Hudson and the Pacific. When Grant went to Sackett's Harbor it contained sev- eral old block-houses, built for Indian fighting. One still stands, and by doing duty as a stable, shows to what base uses we may return. The railroad has reduced Sackett' s to an uneasy urban ghost. It has a custom-house, but no imports ; and a naval station, commanded by an admiral who manifests the utmost efficiency compatible with the fact that there is not a war vessel of any kind within his entire department. The Fourth was established in the pleasant Madison Barracks, of stone, half a mile from the lake, which afforded agreeable residences for the officers and their wives. Grant, who still retained his capable and trustworthy quartermaster- sergeant,* had comparatively little to do but sign his name to official documents and draw his pay. An enthusiastic friend in the village, now has hanging in his parlor, framed and glazed, a notice dated July second, 1851, inviting sealed j^roposals for supplying the garrison for one year with fresh beef, " of good, wholesome quality, necks and shanks to be excluded," and signed, " U. S. Grant, Brevet-Captain, and A. A. C. S., Fourth Infantry." In this quiet hamlet the quartermaster won his usual reputation. "I can't see," said the collector of customs to one of his clerks, who had become much attached to Grant, "what you find in that man to be so fond of his company." The friend insisted that there Avas a great deal more in "that man" than he had credit for; that he was full of knowledge, not only of affairs, but (>ven of mechanics, and could give much curious information about machinery. He always seemed careless and at leisure, but close ob- servers noticed that his eye took in much of which his tongue gave no rejiort. Then, as now, he Avould quietly scrutinize * This sergeant now resides in Washington Territory. He lost both feet by an accident, and Grant, with habitual kindness, procured his remaining in the employ of the Government, and tlio appointment of his sou to West Point. 1852.] Odd Fellow and Soif of Temperance. 137 a new visitor from head to foot, as if to read liis character through and throngh. Thougli hy inclination a worshiper witli the Methodists, here he was a frequent, and his wife a regular, attendant at the Episcopal church, and when money was raised to erect a new house he joined in a subscription paper, still preserved because it bears his autograph. Having seen the evil effects of liquor on brother officers in peace times, he became a Son of Temperance soon after reaching Sackett's, and drank no spirits whatever during his residence there. He also joined the Odd-Fellows, attend- ing all their weekly meetings, though not taking any active part. But once chancing to be put upon a committee, he dissented from the majority report which was made by Messrs. Ford and Dana, one a lawyer, the other a bank cashier, and both leading citizens. At first it was thought a little presuming that a minority report, signed simply "U. S. Grant," should undertake to combat the views of men of such prominence and capacity. But the document proved so able as to kindle a suspicion that after all the quartermaster was quite competent to say his say when occasion demanded. A citizen of Sackett' s Harbor, relates that one quarrel ex- cited a mild approach to profanity. "I tell the tale as it was told to me." Naturally, a horse was at the bottom of it. Two acquaintances, Phillips and De Wolf, were on the ice of tlie lake to ' ' time ' ' a horse they had j ust bought. The first half-mile was done in one twelve. De Wolf shouted to urge the racer to higher speed, at which the animal showed a little restiveness. Phillips, expecting that the next thing would be his heels through the dasher, incontinently rolled out on the ice, taking the reins with him. De Wolf dropped to the bottom of the sleigh, and only recovered the lines after the frightened horse had run two miles, at the immi- nent risk of his own and his driver' s neck. Grant saw the the whole scene and bitterly upbraided Phillips for desert- ing his friend ; but Phillips alleged that it was involuntary, as he had been thrown from the sleigh. Grant hotly re- plied : — " It's a d— d lie ! How could he fling you out and not 138 A VERY Un'eventful Life. [i852. De Wolf? You are a coAvard. Never speak to me again ! If you do ril kick you." Petty races, and even contests between a soldiers' fire company and a citizens' fire company interested the officers. In sootli these military heroes, deprived of the spirit-stirring drum, the ear-piercing fife, and other fascinations of the big "wai's, that make ambition virtue, found themselves also de- prived of the tranquil mind. They were sadly at a loss for amusement and caught at any thing. One writes me : — "Grant's life as an army officer was a very quiet, uneventful one. I was in the regiment with him during a portion of the Mexican war, and after- ward on the frontier, but really can say nothing of his sayings or doings worth mentioning. He went about a good deal with horse-fanciers, took his drinks, smoked his pipe incessantly, played loo, and at length, after going to Sackett's Harbor, joined the "Sons," all in a very prosy, common-place sort of fasliion. He read little, though I remember his expressing some liking for Reynolds's writings. "During his whole connection with the regiment he would have been con- sidered, both by his brother officers and himself, about as likely to reach the position of Pope of Eome, as General-in-Chief, or President of the United States. He was regarded as a restless, energetic man, M'ho must have occu- l)ation, and plenty of it, for his own good, but as sincere and true, an amiable good fellow. He was modest, and unambitious— such a man as in our land of pretension and bluster could not be expected to go far. " It required just such opportunities, events, and good luck to bring out the strong qualities and soldierly merits of Grant's character. Had he remained in the regular service, I think he would have jogged on quietly, doing duty with his regiment. But if circumstances had placed him in the cavalry, I believe he would have made his mark as a cavalry leader. He had all the requisite qualities, the physique and the morale.'''' Twenty-nine years old, and his hour had not struck ! He was yet to be for many years "a brave man struggling with the storms of fate." 1852.] Ordered to the Pacific Coast. 139 CHAPTER X. RESIGNS. In June, 1852, the Fourth Infantry was ordered to the Pacific Coast. Mrs. Grant's health would not permit her to undertake the long journey, so with sore regret her hus- band left her behind, and she accepted an invitation from his father and mother, to visit them. Tlie first son, already two years old, bore the name of his grandfather Dent. During Mrs. Grant's stay at Bethel a second was born, and named Ulysses. This young gentle- man made his advent while Jesse was at Columbus attend- ing the last Whig State Convention ever held in Ohio, and writing the platform which the expiring party adopted. A few weeks after the birth of the young Ulysses, Mrs. Grant went to her father's, where she remained during her husband' s entire absence. The boy was called ' ' Buckeye, ' ' by Colonel Dent's negroes, because born in the Buckeye State. That was soon shortened to "Buck," a nickname which he still bears.* Tlie Fourth Infiintry, coming from various ]ioints on the northern lakes, concentrated on Governor's Island, New York Bay. On the fifth of July, eight companies, com- manded by Lieutenant-Colonel Bonneville, embarked for California, on the steamship Oli'io. Quartermaster Grant went with the force, which num- bered over seven hundred, including eighty camp followers. Five oflicers took their wives and children. Tlie Ohio had her proper complement of passengers before passage was engaged for the troops, and was, therefore, excessively crowded. Temporary berths for the soldiers were erected * Thfi following are General Grant's children in 18G3: — I. Fred, born in St. Louis. May, 1850. II. Ulysses (" Buck "), at Bethel, Ohio, July, 1852. III. Nellie, on the Deut farm, August, 1855. IV. Jesse Root, Dout farm, February, 1 858. 140 How THE Ladies Crossed the Isthmus. [1852. on deck several tiers high. The close uncomfortable quarters occasioned so much discontent and murmuring, tliat a strong guard was posted to prevent insubordination. Grant was constantly on duty, and as always popular among officers and men. The weather was fair, and on the eleventh day the ro^gi- ment reached Aspinwall. At that swampy, mushroom vil- lage, born of the California migration, all was excitement and confusion. Civilians were running hither and thither to obtain transportation across the Istlimus, and officers were busy in arranging plans to get their men over. Under the laws of New Granada, soldiers could not traverse the country with arms in tlieir hands ; so provision was made for transporting the guns separately. The steamship company at New York had contracted to take the command across the fever-breeding Isthmus. The Panama Railway was completed only twenty miles, to the Chagres River. After a night in Aspinwall the party started by rail and soon reached the Chagres, where the ladies em- barked for Cruces, eleven miles farther up the stream. They went upon open scows — the largest holding twenty persons — propelled by natives, six or eight of whom walked the j)lanks upon the sides of each, plying their poles. As the current was very rapid, and the Chagres abounds in ob- structions, the progress was about one mile an hour. The fleet set off late in the afternoon, and darkness overtook it three miles from its destination. The boatmen declared it unsafe to go on ; so the passengers remaincnl without food or water on the noxious river througli the chilly night. Next morning the slow flotilla reached Cruces. Tlience the party continued overland, the men walking, and most of the ladies riding mules, procured with grc^at difficulty through the energy of Grant. The traveling was so bad that most of the women donned pantaloons, and rode astrid<3 in sensible, masculine fashion. Several Sisters of Charity W(>nt in hammocks suspended from poles borne on the shoulders of natives, while the delighted children perched on the backs of nud(% dark-skinned denizc^is of the Istlimus. It was the rainy season, and the road mostly a narrow 1S52.] Graft's Energy and Resources Displayed. 141 defile, tlirougli dense chaparral, and deep gorges. The black mnd was more than a foot deep. The mules waded it when they must, but plunged into thorny thickets and scaled sharp rocks to avoid it when they could. After crossing precipitous mountains, and suffering al- ternately from broiling sun and drenching rain, the travel- ers reached Panama. There, through narrow streets, crowd- ed with dusky men and women, and with native soldiers riding mules, armed with cutlasses, and swearing vengeance upon the invading Yankees, they w^ended their tortuous way to the Louisiana Hotel. On the second morning was heard the welcome whistle of the steamer Oolden Gate, from San Francisco, and the ladies were received on board. Several days passed before the soldiers came up after a long march by the way of -Gor- gona. Grant's duties kept him with the men and prop- erty of the regiment. He found it "a hard road to travel," particularly for the poor women and children. To the drum -ma] or he gave twenty -five dollars to buy a mule for his wife. But it was impossible to get one, so she trudged through" the mud and thickets with her lord. As skirts were impracticable. Grant gave her a citizen's coat, and her hus- band furnished her with pantaloons. During the march, malignant cholera broke out. Many soldiers were seized with it, and after excruciating tortures, closed their eyes, and were laid tenderly away under the endless tangle of shining vines, the bright flowers, and the gay birds of that tropical region. The utter failure of the contractors brought out Grant' s resources and energy. By aid of the alcalde at Cruces, he succeeded in procuring some transportation ; and his great activity and efficiency were generally recognized. Consid- erable property was necessarily destroyed, for reasons which he afterward reported to a board of survey : — " Camp, near Benicia, Califoiixia, ) September 3, 1852. j "Gentlemen: I respectfully submit tlie following statement relative to the loss of public property while crossing the Isthmus of Panama. The 142 Ravages of Cholera in his Regiment. [18^2. regiment sailed from New York on the 5th of July last, under a contract which was to cover all expenses of transportation on land and water. " Upon arriving at Navy Bay, it was decided by the contractors or their agents to send the troops by the Gorgona route, and the baggage by the Cruces road. "Upon arriving at Cruces I found that the agent of the contracting par- ties had entered into a contract with Mr. Duckworth for tlie transportation of baggage, etc., from there to Panama. After waiting three days for Mr. Duckworth to furnish transportation I found that at the terms he had agreed upon, he was entirely unable to comply with his engagement. I was obliged, therefore, to enter into contract myself for the transportation of our baggage. This detained me two days more in Cruces, waiting to see the regimental baggage packed or safely stored. During tliis detention, the cholera broke out, among the few troops left with me as a guard, so badly that I was obliged, under recommendation of Surgeon Tripler, to put them under cover. "The baggage, being i)rotected only by tents, was, of course, liable to the depredations of the inhabitants, until it could be got under cover. Buildings were procured immediately to put the property in. All the na- tives that could be induced to work (about ten in number) were employed to pack the property and store it. But there being a large amount in bulk and weight, it could not be removed in one day, neither could the natives be employed at night ; hence, a portion of the property was left over night un- protected. "Had transportation been furnished promptly at Cruces, as it should have been under tiie contract, it is my opinion that little or no loss would have been sustained. " I am, gentlemen, yours very respectfull}-, U. S. GuANT, Brevet Capt. 4th Inft., Quartermaster 4th Regiment." Granf s dutios kept liim on the Isthmus after most of tlie troops had embarked. Already the regiment had lost one hundred and lifty mini, women, and children hy cholera. Among other victims a serg(vant and his wife died, leaving five children, one a baby at the breast. AVhen the command was all on the Croldcn Gate, the pestilence again l)roke out virulently. Qnai-antine regula- tions were strictly enforced, so the infected ship could not land, l)ut was compelled to lie at anchor in Panama l>ay or beat about in Hh' open sea. There was dire ccmsterna- tion among the ])assengers. Veteran soldiers Avho had faced death in niany battles, gave way utterly before this appall- 1852.] His Kindness to the Suffering Men. 143 ing foe. Nearly a hundred were buried in ocean graves. Only one officer fell, Grant's old and loved friend, Major John H. Gore, a gentleman of unusual ability and promise, and Avarmly loved by his comrades. He was buried on an island in the Bay of Panama. Quartermaster Grant at once detailed Lieutenant McFee- ley to escort the bereaved wife to her father's house in Cov- ington, Kentucky. She was transported back to AspiuAvall in a hammock carried by two natives, while a third carried her little son upon his shoulders, and others bore five more hammocks containing her baggage and nurse. On the road, these thieves to the manner born stole her silver, jeAvelry, and even her clothing, until she and her child were left with only one suit apiece. Meanwhile, upon the Golden Gate, Grant, ever forgetful of himself, mingled constantly with the suffering men, nurs- ing them tenderly, and inspiring them with something of his own ch(^erfulness and fortitude. After some weeks of the epidemic, the regimental surgeon insisted upon a complete fumigation of the vessel. So rafts were procured, and the little command transported to the neighboring island of Flamingo. The authorities of Panama, from the main-land, witnessed this movement through their telescopes, and at once concluded that the Great Republic, of whose voracity Spanish-Americans ever stand in excusable fear, was land- ing an army of filibusters. Thereupon the governor of the city steamed over to the sliip in the little tug Tohoga, and demanded an explanation. Quartermaster Grant and his brother officers, heartily amused at the mistake of his excellency, disclaimed any intention of appropriating his fair possessions. They ev(^n assured him that the keenest desire of their hearts was to get out of his dominions just as quick as steam could carry them. The ship was thoroughly fumigated and large quanti- ties of infected clothing, tents and knapsacks were destroyed. Finally, after a detention of eleven days, the Golden Gate sailed for San Francisco, and arrived there about the last of August. The young city then consisted chiefly of adobe houses, 144 STATioisrED ox THE Columbia River. [i853. around the Plaza. Even Montgomery Street "boasted only one or two brick and stone blocks. Times were flush, and immigrants from every nation thronged the streets. White sand-hills loomed up everywhere, their dust blinding the eyes. The regiment was placed in Benicia Barracks, a few hours' sail from San Francisco, where it was again detained four weeks by sickness. Panama fever had taken the place of cholera, and many more deaths occurred. On the sixteenth of September, the head-quarters, band, and five companies left Benicia by steamer. Six days later they reached Columbia Barracks, now Fort Vancouver, on the Columbia River, in Washington Territory — one of the loveliest spots in the world, among symmetric pines, spruces, and firs, whose trunks and branches are gorgeous with yellow moss. The fort stands on a pleasant bluff half a mile back from the most beautiful river of our continent. In front Mount Hood towers grandl}^ The bold mountain and the fair landscape at its feet are always enchanting, but especially so in the sparkling freshness of May or June. The buildings of the post erected by Quartermaster Rufus Ingalls, consisted of two-story barracks of lumber for the soldiers, and one-story log quarters, with balconies looking out upon the river, for the officers. The nearest civilization w^as a few miles away at Port- land, Oregon, then a little settlement in the woods with a single street of one- story frame houses. Thither went our martial heroes for dancing parties and other amusements, though through the winter they had clever theatricals at the garrison, which Grant keenly enjoyed. The neighboring land afforded excellent hunting of deer, elk, bears, and blue grouse, and the clear lakes abounded in ducks, geese, swans, and delicious trout. These luxuries, and the finest salmon in the world, caught in the Columbia, enabled the officers to fare sumptuously every da}\ Some parties were sent out against the Indians, but Grant's duties as regimental and post quartermaster, to which latt(^r ])osition he was ajipointed in the spring of 1&)3, kept him at the fort. It was the depot of stores for 1S53.] Entertains George B. McClellan. 145 interior and remote posts, and also for fitting out expe- ditions, and his work was much, more absorbing than .at any time since the Mexican war. As lie had to receive and ship supplies, his residence was on the bank of the river, in a large two-story dwelling. It was sawed and framed in Boston, and carried around the Horn to California ; but in 1850 lumber grew so cheap in San Francisco that Quartermaster Robert Allen bought it for one thousand dollars, and shipped it to Ingalls. After paying for its transportation it was the cheapest, as it was the best house at the post. It was known as ' ' Quar- termaster' s Ranch." Here in April, 1853, arrived Lieutenant George B. McClellan, of the engineers, to survey the west end of a proposed Northern Pacific Railway. Grant was kept busy for some weeks in fitting out the expedition, and INIcClellan was his guest. The two young oflUcers, who had known each other in Mexico, were thrown much together, eating at the same table, and sleeping under the same roof, for nearly three months. Did any suspicion ever stir their hearts of the liigh place which one was just to miss, and the other easily to gain ? The former drum-major of the Fourth relates that he was indebted to Grant for the unromantic but utilitarian gift of a sow. Pigs were pigs in that market, thanks to the wonderful developflient of California, and the recipient soon found himself the possessor of a small fortune obtained by selling a dozen at forty dollars apiece. An officer states that he and the quartermaster shipped potatoes and other produce to San Francisco, and sometimes obtained rich re- turns. Grant cared nothing for dancing, and very little for hunting. But he bought one of the finest horses in the Territory, and found his daily recreation in galloping through the beautiful woods. A brother officer writes : — " One morning while sitting with some comrades in front of the officers' quarters, wo observed Grant riding on his fine horse toward Major Hatlia- way's battery, which was in park about two hundred and fifty yards distant. As Grant drew near the guns, and we were observing the motions of his 146 "How Cleae-Headed Sam Grant is." [i853. fine animal, we saw him gather the reins, take a tighter grip on his cigar^ pull down his hat firmly on his head, and seat himself securely in the saddle. ' Grant is going to leap the battery,' cried two or three of the officers, and we all stood up to see him do it. He ran his horse at the pieces, and put him over the four guns one after another as easily and gracefully as a circus rider." He remained at Fort Vancouver for more than a year, widely known and liked. His quarters were the temporary home of all visitors. He was an admirable host, and made his guests thoroughly welcome. There was always quiet enjoyment, and sometimes boisterous hilarity at the quarter- master' s hearth, when old army friends, or favorite civilians, were there for a night. His comrades did not fail to notice the singular vividness and comprehensiveness with which he narrated the stirring engagements of the war, and how accurately his memory like an open book reproduced not detached incidents, but the action of the whole army as a unit — what it tried to do, what it accomplished or failed in, and what errors weakened its plan. After one of these talks, they would remark : — " How clear-headed Sam Grant is in describing a battle ! He seems to have the whole thing in his head." In August, 1853, he was promoted from a brevet captain to a full captain in his regiment, to fill a vacancy caused by the death of Captain Bliss, famous as Taylor's adjutant- general during the Mexican war. Early in October he started for Fort Humboldt, California, to take command of his company, F. Shortly after, during a visit to San Fran- cisco, in conjunction with three other officers, he leased the Union Hotel, on Kearny Street — now a part of tiie City Hotel — for a sort of club billiard-room, at five hundred dollars per month. Subscriptions were obtained, and the enterprise might have been successful had the officers been better business men. Grant could not give it his personal attention ; agents were derelict or dishonest, and the rents did not come in. After advancing a good deal of money, he suffered as usual for believing otlier men as just and honest as himself, and the house was given up. Tlie old lease is still preserved as one of the curiosities of San Francisco. 1863.] A Captai:n" at Fokt Humboldt, Califokxia 147 Grant spent several months commanding his company at Humboldt, a post two hundred and forty miles north of San Francisco, and seventy south of the Oregon line built for protection against the Indians. The barracks and offi- cers' quarters were of hewn timber, plastered within, and adorned witli outside chimneys of stone. They stood on a plateau surrounded by pleasant prairies and dark woods of spruce and pine, and affording a splendid view of Hum- boldt Bay. The only town in the vicinity was Eureka, three miles from the fort. It was originally and accurately surveyed by James T. Ryan, with an instrument improvised of two vials and a bit of wood. Ryan had all the versatility which new countries bring to tlie surface. He wanted to build a saw-mill, but labor was high, and machinery scarce. So he bought the old steamer Santa Clara, and took her up the dangerous coast to the new city of Eureka. Just before starting his compass was stolen. He found a little river- compass, with the glass broken, and taking a pane from his pilot-house window, cut out a circular piece with a pair of scissors while holding it under water, and fitted it into the top of his instrument, by tlie aid of which he ran his steamer safely into Humboldt Bay. Then raising her upon the ground without moving the machinery, he used her power to drive a saw-mill beside her, in whicli he employed sixty men and cut out eiglity thousand feet of lumber per day. This ingenious and typical pioneer was afterward elected a briga- dier-general of militia, and a member of the California Senate. In 1861 Senator McDougall thus introduced him to Abra- ham Lincoln : — "Mr. President, this is General Ryan, a loyal neigh- bor of mine, who can build a cathedral and preach in it, a ship and sail it, or an engine and run it." When Grant was at Fort Humboldt, Eureka consisted of Ryan's mill and twenty houses. It was a pleasant situa- tion, and its hospitality made it a favorite resort for the officers. Ryan kept a barrel of whisky always on tap, and his weU-furnished table was supplied with venison, ducks, geese, snipe, grouse, chicken, sweet milk, and biscuits of 148 LiviN'G ois" THE Fat of the Land. [is53. Genesee fiour ; for in those days California obtained wheat from N"ew York instead of shipping her own to Gotham and even to London, China, and Japan. Communication with San Francisco was solely by water, and ships were from ten days to six weeks on the way. They brought mails without the least regularity. The offi- cers looked out anxiously every morning for a sail, and when one appeared, galloped down to Eureka for their letters or a stray neivspaper. A number of Indians employed about the mill gave picturesqueness to the little town. Sometimes an evening was enlivened with a dance, when the few women of the neighborhood were in great demand. Among Eyan's possessions was a horse called Eclipse, for which our captain had a special admiration. Twelve years later, when Grant was at City Point, just before his final campaign, Ryan called on him, and found him with Slieridan and Sherman, their heads bent over a map. Grant, who never forgets an old acquaintance, instantly recognized him, inquired for his family, for the old saw-mill, and particularly for Eclipse, saying : — ' ' He was the finest horse I ever saw west of the Rocky Mountains." An officer remembers that, asked how he liked the clams which abound there. Grant pronounced them "a first-rate substitute for gntta-percha oysters." He frequently visited his brother-in-law, Lewis Dent, who was running a ferry-boat at Knight's Ferry, on the Stanislaus River, and was at one time interested in that en- terprise. There are traditions in the neighborhood of Granf s helping to run the boat, and once, when in a peculiarly jovial mood, of his appearing on the road driving three horses tandem at a spanking j)ace, with three buggies in long ^irocession whirling after, to the amazement of the villagers. In truth, some relief seemed necessary, for life at Hum- boldt was insufferably dull. The line captain's duties were fewer and less onerous than the quartermaster' s had been, and the discipline was far more rigid and irksome. No greater misfortune could have happened to him thaja. this enforced idleness. He had little work, no family with 1854. J Resigns and Returns Home. 149 Mm, took no pleasure in the amusements of his brother offi- cers — dancing, billiards, hunting, fishing, and the like — and riding alone, however inspiriting, may grow monotonous after seA'^eral months of it ! The result was a common one — he took to liquor, Not by any means in enormous quanti- ties, for he drank far less than other oJSicers, whose reputa- tion for temperance was unsullied ; but with his peculiar organization a little did the fatal work of a great deal. Like Cassio, he had very poor brains for drinking. The weakness did not legitimately belong to his character, for in all other respects he was a man of unusual self-control, and thoroughly master of his appetites. 'Who can tell whether subtle Nature grafts upon us a new trait, or trans- mits an old one from the fathers to the children to the third and fourth generation 1 Who can tell how far this had been acquired from the influences of boyhood and army life, and how far inherited from an ancestor, generations back? Our captain had not yet learned the truth which enabled him afterward to bring this propensity under abso- lute control — that total abstinence was the o?ily safety for an organization like his. He was guilty of no gross indecorum or misdeed ; but he fell so far under the influence of this insidious foe, that an intimation reached him that ofiicial notice would be taken of it, if he did not place his resignation in the hands of the commandant to be forwarded to Washington, at the first repetition of the offense. Grant received this information with his usual serenity. He was anxious to be once more with his family, and he peremptorily and instantly declined to hold his commission by anybody's favor. He sent in his resignation to take effect July thirty-first, 1854, remark- ing to a friend : — "Whoever hears of me in ten years, will hear of a well-to-do old Missouri farmer." He returned to New York, where he arrived forlorn and poor. Some brother officers at Governor' s Island w«M-e glad to lend a little money to their old comrade in his ill fortune. He then went to Sackett' s Harbor to find the former sutler of his regiment, who had received from him many personal and official favors, but who had suddenly sold out at Fort 150 His Fortunes at a Low Ebb. [i854. Vancouver and gone home, during Grant's temporary ab- sence, owing him sixteen hundred dollars of borrowed money. He found this person, but neither then nor after- ward recovered a cent of the debt. It wounded him very deeply — the treachery far more than the loss. The scurvy debtor was afterward an army officer, and in some sense at the mercy of Grant, whose indignation he feared. But the General was too large to wreak personal revenges, and never showed him special disfavor. The tide in the affairs of Captain Grant now seemed to have passed the flood which leads on to fortune, and to threaten that his future voyage should be " Bound in shallows and in miseries." It had certainly fallen to its lowest ebb. He returned to New York moneyless and disheartened. But he had written to his father, who immediately sent Simpson, the younger brother, to relieve his embarrassments. He reached home to find heartiest welcome. After several weeks in St. Louis, he and Mrs. Grant paid a visit to his father's at Covington, which lasted from September until the middle of November, and then they returned to Missouri. He was thirty -two years old, with a family to support and without any means except sound health, the stimulant of warm affection, and that indomitable and ' ' equal mind ' ' which dares Fortune to do her worst. i CAI'T. tiltANT S UKSlI)i;\( t: IN AM) AlUJll' ST. l.OL'IS. 1854.] PouK Years' Residence at Gravois. 151 CHAPTER XI. FARMER. The autumn of 1854 Captain Grant passed witli the Dents, then living on Walnut Street, St. Louis. The colonel, however, remained in charge of his farm and ne- groes at Gravois, where, before winter, his family and his son-in-law joined him. Here Grant remained four years, residing alternately in "Whitehaven," the old family man- sion, at " Wishtonwish," a pleasant little cottage erected by his brother-in-law Lewis Dent, and at " Hardscrabble," a log house which he himself had built. The Whitehaven farm is cut in twain by Gravois (rocky bed) Creek, from which the neighborhood takes its name. The long, low, spacious homestead, with its great stone chimneys at either end, its wide and hospitable porch, its whitewashed negro-quarters in the rear, and its barns of logs and stone, looks out from among tall locust and spruce trees upon broad, green mead- ows, sunny orchards, and sober woods. Three-quarters of a mile south stands Wishtonwish (Indian, whip-poor-will), a picturesque cottage, in a park of noble oaks ; and one mile northwest, Hardscrabble, where Grant made himself a home, and, carrying out his purpose, became "a steady- going farmer." Our views of the three places, all substan- tially unchanged since Grant lived upon them, are carefully copied from photographs. The others on the same page, showing the St, Louis residences, are also from photographs, except the house on the corner of Seventh and Barton, which is from a sketch. Colonel Dent had given sixty acres of the Whitehaven tract to Julia and her husband. Here, in a pleasant grove of young oaks, the captain chose an elevated spot a hun- dred feet back from the road, as the site of his log dwelling, and here he reared his air-castle. Not very imposing archi- 152 Builds a House and Hauls Wood. [issg. lecture the latter — only a pleasant liome, the loves that hal- low it, and the competence that provides for it. He hauled the stones for the cellar of his material habitation, the logs for its walls, and the shingles, which he had split with his own hands, for its roof. At the "raising," all the neigh- bors came with their negroes to assist, after the helpful custom of the new country. Grant had three or four slaves, given to his wife by her father, but they were more trouble than help to him. He was too kind-hearted to en- force unpaid and reluctant labor with severity. So he took the brunt of the work until his excellent constitution suf- fered seriously. The life of a farmer was not all his fancy had painted it — by no means so comfortable as riding after the Cicotte mare, or ordering provisions for a little garrison. Though he raised two hundred bushels of potatoes to the acre, and pro- duced much wheat, which then commanded a high price, with quiet humor he named the little place " Hardscrabble " as an accurate description of his struggle to wrest a living from it. It was well stocked with fire-wood, which the ne- groes cut and loaded, while he hauled large quantities to St. Louis. Of course, he drove the best of horses ; and as one who knows a good beast is always merciful to it, he never rode on the loaded wagon, but trudged ten miles to market. ' ' The horses," he would say, "have enough to draw without car- rying a lazy rider." His pet pair, a bay and a gray, he permitted nobody but himself to drive, and with them he would take seventy bushels of Avheat to St. Louis. His boast was, tliat tliey could draw a heavier load than any other horses in the neighborhood. At first the adjacent farmers siip])()sed it only a boast, but after working side by side with liim tliey found that tlie captain was authority on liorses. On tlie road, witli invariabh; good-nature, he would frequently unhitch his own strong team to help neighbors or strangers out of the mud. Many leading St. Louis families bought their wood of Grant, and yet remem- ber how he threw off the loads at their doors, pocketed his money, mounted his wagon, and rattled briskly home- 1856.] His Heart Warm toward Old Comrades. 163 ward. Sometimes lie would discharge sucli a cargo at Jef- ferson Barracks — where he had been on duty for a year as second lieutenant — and have a chat, a cigar, and a glass of wine with the officers when his work was finished. Hauling wood ten miles at four dollars a cord was not very remunerative, but it was Grant' s easiest mode of making money. In the blue army overalls of a private soldier, a slouched hat, whiph had a tendency to turn up befoi'e and down be- hind, and heavy boots with pantaloons tucked into them, he was any thing but a fop, and guests at the Planters' House used to stare a little when he went in to dine with his friends. Toward old army comrades his heart warmed alwaj^s. In general he was strictly temperate, though there are tradi- tions that once or twice meeting a brother officer of the Mexican war he sent his team home by the first negro he could find, and the two, making a night of it, went over their old conflicts, till each " Grew vain ; Fonght all his battles o'er again ; And thrice he routed all his foes, and thrice he slew his slain." But these were rare exceptions. Coppee, a fellow-stu- dent at the Military Academy, relates one of the ordi- nary instances : — " Grant, with his whip in hand, once came to see me at the hotel where ■were Joseph J. Reynolds, then a Professor at West Point, D. C. Buell, and other officers. I remember that to our invitation to join us at the bar, he said: — " I will go and look at you ; but I never drink any thing myself." Officers frequently rode out to Hardscrabble to see him, and sometimes on the way down would meet him coming to town with a load of potatoes. Then he would turn back for a few pleasant hours at the farm with his old compan- ions in arms. In 1856, Mrs. Dent, the mother of his wife, died. Like all her family, she had become greatly attached to her son- in-law, and she often spoke of an impressive dream wliich 154 Visits his Beothees at Galena. [isse. she interpreted as indicating that he "would one day rise to some very high position. During the same summer the tedium of the farmer's life was broken by a visit to Galena, where his brothers now carried on the tanning and leather business of their father. For several years before they succeeded to it, Jesse Grant and E. A. Collins had conducted it jointly, there and at Cincinnati. The dissolution of the old firm kindled anew Jesse's rhyming propensities, and he appended the following to the regular legal notice in the Galena papers : — " In Eighteen Hundred Forty- one Our partnership was first begun ; We two then became as one To deal in leather. Some little business we have done While together. " For a dozen years weVe toiled together In making and in vending leather ; Suited to every stage of weather, E'en dry or rain ; But now a time has come to sever, And we are twain. "E. A. Collins is still on hand, And occupies his former stand. In which he alway held command, To buy or sell. As matters now are being planned May he do well. "J. R. Grant the old off-wheel, As quick and true as smitten steel, Doth still a strong desire feel To do some more. Expect then soon within tlie field A bran new store. "Our hearty thanks we humbly send To every customer and friend Who has stood by us to the end AVith free good will, And add, ' In future we intend To serve you well.' 1856.] A Black Skin, but a True Heart. 155 " Now, one thing more we have to sslj To those who owe — ' "We want our pay!' Then send it on without delay — The full amount; For still we have some debts to pay On firm account." Jesse, carrying out his boyish resolution, had retired from active business at sixty, leaving the affairs of the new store to Simpson and Orvil, with whom their brother now enjoyed a pleasant visit. After the captaiu s return from Galena a second brother of Mrs. Grant's proposed to make the long, perilous over- land journey to the Pacific. One of the colonel's negroes begged that he might be sent as a protector to "Young Mass'r John." Consent was given. Grant provided the outfit, and when a neighbor suggested that on reaching a free State George might leave "Mass'r John" to shift for himself, he replied : — " I don't know why a black skin may not cover a true heart as well as a white one. Besides, I have long ago tested George's intelligence and honesty, and I trust him thoroughly." George made the trip — a friend more than a servant — and in time was fully installed in charge of the business at Knight' s Ferry, in California, where he built him a cabin, married a squaw, and rapidly accumulated children and property. But the captain was not always so confident. One day, near a grocery, a neighbor's negro beset him for "a quarter." "For what?" " To buy me a paper of tobacco." Grant stepped in and bought the tobacco for the Afri- can. When asked why he had not given the money, he replied : — " Oh, Tony would have spent that for whisky." On the day of the Presidential election in 1856, return- ing from St. Louis, where he had taken a load of corn, he passed, in his abstracted way, the polling-booth of his dis- 156 Grant Casts his First Vote. [issc. trict ; but remembering presently what day it Avas, lie re- flected a moment. For Buchanan he had no admiration ; but then he was not altogether free from the army and slave- holding prejudice against abolitionists and against the Pathfinder, whose name just then was so stirring the hearts of the young men of the North. "I will go back," said he, "and vote against Fre- mont." So he tied his horses to a tree, walked back to the polls, and put in his ballot for the democratic ticket — the first vote of his life, and one of which he lived to be heartily ashamed. An old citizen declares, that in those days he could not have borrowed a hundred dollars in that country neighbor- hood. This may be an exaggeration of the fact that he was sorely straitened for money ; but he was neither penurious nor wanting in public spirit. For a poor widow in a neigh- boring county, who had been burned out and her children left without shelter, he raised, by personal effort, a sum sufficient to relieve her. And when asked to contribute for the building of a new church, he replied : — " I am very glad to ; we ought to have a comfortable place for preaching. I don't attend as much as I should, but Julia and the children do. We ought also to have a Sabbath- scliool in the neighborhood." While living at Wishtonwish one winter, he discov- ered that some interloper was cutting and carrying away wood from the Hardscrabble tract, two miles distant. On a bright moonlight niglit he started to catch the thief. Whihi sitting upon a stump, he heard a team coming, and hid himself. A burly fellow, who rented a neighboring farm, stoppc^d his horses within fifty feet of him, cliopped a tree, cut it up, loaded it, and then started for the main road. Grant took a short cut, intercepted him, and accosted him with an air of surprise : — "Halloo, Bill I going to St. Louis with your wood, I suppose?" "Y— es." " How much do you ask for it ?" 1858.] An Adventure with a Wood Thief. 157 " About four dollars." " Well, I'll take it. Bring it over to my house." " No ; I have promised it to a man in town," "But I must have it. Now there's no use in hesi- tating ; you must haul this load to my house, and pay me twenty dollars for what you have cut and carried away before. That won't be more than half price, you know." " If I don't, I suppose you'll sue me before the squire ?" " No, we won't trouble the squire or the public, but will settle the matter right here and now." And the captain, his sense of humor giving way to his indignation, sprang forward and seized by the collar the huge trespasser, who instantly cried : — "Hold on! I'll do it; but don't say a word to any- body." The wood was delivered, the money paid, and the thiev- ing discontinued. Grant' s neighbors found him, though very sociable, silent about persons of whom he could not speak well. Often he kept his hearers sitting up until midnight around the wide- mouthed cheerful fireplace at Hardscrabble or Wliitehaven, listening intently to his vivid narrations of army expe- riences. Though exceedingly amiable, and ready to give or take a joke, he was possessed of a certain dignity which made it impossible to impose upon or be too familiar Avitli him. He was called the most industrious farmer in the whole country. His hands had grown hard and horny, and his frame rheumatic and bent, as if from premature old age. Yet in these four years he had been unable to " make both ends meet," and his father had advanced him some two thousand dollars. Farming was a failure, and it was time to find some other employment. Harry Boggs, an intimate friend who, with his wife, a niece of Colonel Dent's, had been present at Grant's wedding, was in business in St. Louis as a real estate agent and collector. One day in the autumn of 1858, Grant, while in the city with a load of com, met Boggs and said :— 158 Grant and Boggs form a Partnership. [isss. ' ' The old gentleman is trying to persuade me to go into "business with some one, and he speaks of you. He thinks I could soon learn the details, and that my large acquaint- ance among army officers would bring enough additional customers to make it support both our families." ' ' I have worked hard to build it up, ' ' replied Boggs, ' ' and I do not want a partner unless he can increase it, but I think you can. Come and see me the next time you are in town." Then, like a wise man, Boggs consulted his wife. She favored the project, thinldng that from the large circle of Grant's and her uncle's friends the patrons would be largely re-enforced. So Grant and Boggs agreed upon a partnership. 1859.] Grant Lives in Camp Style. 159 CHAPTER XII. REAL ESTATE AGENT. On the first of January, 1859, the new firm began. The partners knew each other so well that no written agreement was necessary. No change was made in tlie office, but the little sign at the door was changed to correspond to the new style, and this business card was issued : — S. SOOGS. IT. S. GRAIO'. BOaOS & aRA.NT, COLLECT BENTS. NEGOTIATE LOANS. BUY AND SELL EEAL ESTATE, ETC., ETC. £etweeu Secoud and Thiid, BA.XNT lOtriS, MO, At first. Grant left his family at Hardscrabble. He could not afford quarters at a hotel or even at a boarding- house, but Boggs, who lived at two hundred and nine South Fifteenth Street, had an unfurnished room which he was in- vited to occupy. He lived in it in genuine camp style. Tliere was no carpet, and a bedstead with one mattress and a wash-bowl standing upon a chair were the only furniture. Here Grant remained for two months, taking his breakfjists and suppers at the house, and on Saturday nights walking $ 160 Conducts Business in Boggs's Absence. [i8o9. out to Hard scrabble. He was always at liis city home of an evening, and was very quiet and companionable. Early in the spring he sold at auction his farming tools and stock and rented Hardscrabble. Then he re- moved to St. Louis, and took up his residence in a little frame house on the corner of Seventh and Lynch Streets. It was near the river, not altogether a pleasant neighbor- hood, but the rent was only twenty-five dollars per month. The old office of Boggs and Grant yet stands — though in the changed numbering it is now designated as two hundred and nineteen — in Pine Street, one of the narrow St. Louis thoroughfares which unfortunately have never been burned out and widened since the old French rule. The law-firm oc- cupied the entire lower floor of the ancient brick dwelling, of which we present an accurate view. It consisted of two large rooms, connected by folding doors. Beside a front window looking out on the street, stood the desk of Boggs & Grant. Here, talking through the open window with cus- tomers on the side-walk, Boggs negotiated many a loan and heard the gossip of many a summer afternoon. The projecting sign bore the words: "Boggs & Grant. Real Estate Agency. Money loaned on Real Estate security." Boggs, who had a good many houses to rent, and a good many tenants to collect of, inducted his new partner into the business by taking him about town and introducing liim to all the leading customers. Then, at the suggestion of Colonel Dent, he left Grant to look after the business while he visited Philadelphia, where, as a young man, he had resided for many years and formed acquaintances among wealthy citizens. Money in Philadelphia was worth but five or six per cent., while in St. Louis ten j)er cent, was legal interest and fifteen often the current rate. He succeeded in effecting an arrangement with one capi- talist in Pliihi(?ftli)liia and another in New York to let the firm have four hundred thousand dollars at eight per cent., to loan out in small sums secured on real estate. Returning to St. Louis early in March, in excellent spirits, he advertised that Boggs «fe Grant were ready to advance money on real estate at ten per cent., the borrower paying the two per Ll 1859] Suffers from Ague and Rheumatism. 161 cent, additional to cover expenses of examining titles and negotiating the loan. Like all advertisements wliicli offer money instead of asking it, this brought hundreds of applicants, but the firm rejected some as unsafe, and tlie attorneys of the East- ern capitalists — who, it was agreed, must be satisfied with the securities — refused to accept others. The end of the promising scheme was that Boggs & Grrant made about enough out of it to pay the expenses of the senior partner' s eastern trip. The captain engaged in the new business with all his energy, though incapacitated somewhat for the first four months by ague and rheumatism which he brought from Hardscrabble. Often, during the spring afternoons, his "chill" would come on, and so weaken him that McClellan or Hillyer had to support him to the Third Street omnibus, by which he rode homeward. Boggs, on his return, found that Grant had diligently collected the rents, and let all the vacant houses to good tenants, except one, in which a plausible but undesirable woman had established herself. She was afterward got rid of only by the combined and persistent efforts of the land- lord and the two agents. If Grant ever neglected his duties, it was when he called upon some army officer with a bill for rent. Then he some- times would light his cigar, discuss for an afternoon the old campaigns, and quite forget that he was junior partner in the firm of Boggs & Grant, real estate agents, with an un- receipted bill for rent in his pocket. His quickness at figures was of great service to Boggs when a customer stojDped at the window to get a note dis- counted at a trifle higher than the legal rate. Nevertheless, the senior partner, from the serene heights of long busmess experience, rather looked down upon the junior, who care- fully performed a clerk's duties, and meekly accepted a round scolding when of a morning, as sometimes happened, he was late at the office. Occasionally it would be ten or eleven o'clock before he took his place at the desk, pleading in extenuation that Mrs. Grant, who had several children to 162 Trades Off Haedsceabble. [1859. care for, was late with the breakfast. The "scrabble" in town was quite as hard as it had been in the country. A lady, whose husband had requested her to call on Mrs. Grant, asked on her return : — " Why did you send me there ? The house is shabbily furnished, and they must be very poor." The husband replied that Grant was a most estimable gentleman, though with little business capacity. On fur- ther acquaintance she became devotedly attached to Mrs. Grant, and formed a friendship which still continues. Grant traded Hardscrabble with an attache of the Court- House for a frame cottage on the corner of Ninth and Barton Streets, with a high roof and pleasant overhanging shade- trees. To this dwelling, then quite in the outskirts of the town, he removed in July, 1859, and occupied it during the remainder of his residence in St. Louis. When Grant took the house, thei'e was a mortgage upon it for fifteen hundred dollars, which the former owner as- sumed, giving as security a deed of trust on Hardscrabble. A year or two later, when the deed fell due, he failed to pay it ; so Grant was compelled to sue for the recovery of Hard- scrabble, and several years of litigation followed. After Donelson and Vicksburg, when the case was in court in St. Louis, an old woman who had lived near by was on the witness stand. In reply to questions, she stated in detail who had lived in this house. One year it was Jones, the next Smith, and so on. " Who lived in it in 1859 V asked the lawyer : — " Some man by tlio name of Grant," she replied. " Do you know when; he is now C " I think he is somewhere in the war. It seems to me I have lieard of 7t.im there ^ So great was the; law's delay, that only in 18G7 did Grant recover Hardscrabble. He now owns it, and has also bought AVishtouwish and the Whitehaven house, with six liundred acres of the old place. The earnest captain tried hard for success in business. He dressed plaiiil}', and walked in and out of the busy office without attracting any attention. The three attorneys 1859] How HIS FrIEJTDS REGARDED HiM. 163 tliouglit liim laboring under some special depression of spirits. His eyes, always sad, were then unusually so. His favorite theme was still the battles he had fought, but he related them in a matter-of-fact way, without the least halo of imagination or romance. He was minutely ac- quainted with the Italian war then in progress. He studied newspapers, pored over maps, and frequently said : — "This movement was a mistake. If I commanded the army, I would do thus and so." The attorneys would smile, and think it of very little consequence what their humble acquaintance would do under such impossible circumstances. They did not believe much in village Hampdens, or mute inglorious Miltons, but they enjoyed his chat. When night came, he would not go home as long as any one remained to talk or listen. Hillyer and he discussed politics a good deal, for an anti-slavery controversy was raging in the slave State of Missouri. Hillyer s sympathies were republican. Grant's democratic. Hillyer, quick and fluent, would lead his op- ponent off to side issues, but Grant, following slowly, always brought him back to the main question, and held him to it tenaciously. The firm did not make enough to support two families. Grant's friends were glad to lend him money, for his gen- uineness and uprightness had Avon greatly upon them ; but still tliey looked upon him in that patronizing way with which egotistic Success is wont to regard modest and be- wildered Unpracticality, They thought him a little out of place on this bustling sphere — one of the "people such as hang on the world's skirts rather than actually belong to it." Still they were a good deal drawn to him, and ear- nestly hoped— the most ambitious hope they had for him — that some day he might succeed in earning a good liveli- hood. Tlie partners had many conferences upon their affairs, and Grant saw the necessity for some change. Just then the county engineership of St, Louis became vacant. It was a post worth nineteen hundred dollars a year, and one for which Grant's West Point education rendered him thor- 164 Applies foe the County Enoineeesiiip. [is59. ouglily competent. Therefore lie determined to get it, and thus increase the revenues of tlie finn. The appointment rested with the county commissioners, to whom he wrote the following business-like application : — 1859.] Indorsements on the Application. 165 This document is still preserved among tlie records of the county. On the back it bears these indorsements — the first official, the rest exuberant : — "Application of U. S. Grant to be appointed County Engineer. Reje6tecl. Attest, S. W. Eagar, Jr., Sec. Board of St. Louis Co. Commissioners.'''' " I^ote. — The witliin-named Captain U. S. Grant is now a Major-General in tlie United States Army, and is in command of the Department of the Tennessee. September, 1862." " 2^ola Bene. — Capt. U. S. Grant is now Lieutenant-General of the United States, and tlie highest officer in the service. May 25, 1864." " The hero of Vicksburg." " Captured Kichmond, April, 1865." "Captured the wliole Rebel army, 1865." " General United States Army, 1866." 166 "Leading Citizens" who Seconded it. [1859. One inscription more remains to be made before tlie record of Grant's official positions under the republic is complete. The appended recommendation ran thus : — The undersigned take pleasure in recommending Captain U. S. Grant as a suitable person for County Engineer of St. Louis County. August ], 1859. Robt. M. Eenick, Chas. A. Pope, Robt. J. Hornsby, W. S. Hillyer, G. W. Fishback, Wm. L. Pipkin, J. McKnight, K. McKenzie, J. O'Fallon, Baman & Co., John F. Darby, C. W. Ford, Thos. E. Tutt, A. S. Robinson, T. Grimsley, Geo. W. Moore, S. B. Churchill, R. A. Barnes, J. M. Mitchell, Thos. Marshall, J. G. McClellan, John Horn, N. J. Eaton, Jno. P. Helfenstein, F. Overstoltz, L. A. Benoist, Jas. M. Hughes, Lemuel G. Pardee, James C. Moody, Felix Coste, C. S. Purkitt, J. Addison Barret, D. M. Frost, Ed. Walsh, Taylor Blow. All the signers were prominent citizens ; many afterward became rebels. Tutt was a leading merchant ; Blow, a wholesale druggist ; Benoist & Co. , an old family of bank- ers ; Pope, an eminent surgeon ; Robmson, a bank cashier ; McKenzie, a well-known Scotch settler, formerly of the Hudson Bay Comj)any ; Ford, local superintendent of the United States Express ; Fishback, editor of the St. Louis Democrat ; Coste, executor of the estate of Bryan Mullan- pliy, an eccentric Irish citizen, who left three-quarters of a million of dollars for the benefit of immigrants passing through St. Louis ; and Frost, an ex-captain, wliom Grant had known in the army. He, it was, who just after the Re- bellion began, was captured with his camp of Confederates near St. Louis by General Nathaniel L3'on. He is now a reconstructed rebel farmer residing nt^ar the city. Ford and Fisliback are still in their old positions. Hillyer, of the law- lirm, was on Grant's stall' during the war, rose to the rank of brigadier-general, and is now connected with the Internal R('V(Anu(3 in New York. Moody was Hillyer' s partner, after- ward a circuit judge, impeached by the Missouri Legisla- 1859] Why it ttas Unsuccessful. 167 ture for some construction of law which it reprobated, McClellan was of the same firai, and is still practicing his profession just across the street from the old office. Grant's friends worked hard for him, and his class- mate, J. J. Reynolds, sent in the strongest assurances of his fitness. His claims were duly canvassed by the com- missioners, but politics determined almost every thing. There were five members of the board — Lightner, Taussig, and Farrar, republicans, and Easton and Tippet, demo- crats. Grant, from his political antecedents, was supposed to have democratic proclivities, for in those days there was more truth than satire in the witticism which defined an "old whig," as "one who takes his whisky regularly, and votes the democratic ticket occasionally." There was no other special objection to him. His ability as an engineer was accorded. He was not much known, though the commissioners had occasionally seen him about town, a trifle shabby in dress, with pantaloons tucked in his boots. They supposed him a good ofiice man, but hardly equal to the high responsibility of keeping the roads in order. He might answer for a clerk, but in this county engineership talent and efiiciency were needed ! There was another applicant, C. E. Salomon, a brother of Governor Salomon of Wisconsin. He was a German, known to be a good surveyor, and frequently seen at his professional work. His superior activity was an advan- tage, and he was also strongly pressed by the German citizens who cast more than half the entire vote of the county. Grant stood second in the estimation of the com- missioners, though there were many other applicants. But Salomon quite overshadowed him, and the record shows the result : — "September 22, 1859. Ordered by the board, that 0. E. Salomon be, and he is hereby appointed County Engineer; to liold until otherwise ordered by this board, at a salary of one hundred and sixty dollars per month." The vote stood three for Salomon, two for Grant. During the war Salomon became colonel of one of the German reg- iments, and fought under Lyon at Springfield. He still 168 BoGGS AND Grant Dissolve Paetneeship. [i859. holds tlie county engineersliip. Grant Ibelieves tliat his failure to get it was most fortunate ; that if he had obtained it, he might, perhaps, have plodded along until now, in the St. Louis court-house. But his disappointment was bitter. Nineteen hundred dollars per annum was the purse of Fortunatus to the modest captain, and, with unusual earnestness, he longed for the position. The obtaining of it would have gladdened his heart far more than the General- ship or the Presidency in later j^ears. It was not a ques- tion of personal feeling, but of making sure provision for the loved ones at home. This project failing, in September, after a life of less than nine months, the firm of Boggs & Grant, real estate agents and money lenders, came to an untimely end. 1S60.J The Captain Disappointed Again. 169 CHAPTER XIII. THE LEATHER STORE. Captain Grant next obtained a temporary position in the St. Louis custom-house, but in less than a month the collector died, and he was again out of employment. Througli the fall and winter he sought work in many places, but found it nowhere. These were dark days, but he bore them calmly and patiently. Early in the new year, he sent in this second application for the engineership, based on a current rumor : — " St. Louis, February 13, 1860. "President County Commissioners: — " Sir: Should the office of county engineer be vacated by the will of your honorable body, I would respectfully renew the application made by me in August last for that appointment. I would also beg leave to refer you to the application and recommendations then submitted, and on file with your board. "I am, sir, respectfully, your obedient servant, U. S. Geaxt." But the vacancy did not occur, and he was destined to live no longer in St. Louis. Now, his old acquaintances are fond of talking of the shy, unpractical man, whose future they so little suspected, but whose slightest words they recall with keen interest. One lady remembers his almost girlish fondness for her flower-garden, a taste which, he has manifested through his entire life. He never told coarse stories and was never profane. His strongest language was the pointless Western impre- cation, "Dog on it," or the mild oath, "By lightning." The restraining influence of his mother's teachings, oper- ated so powerfully that he has never uttered an oath in his life. At least his nearest friends assert this with so much emphasis and unanimity that I think the solitary exception already related must be fabulous. He says :— " I 170 Visits his Father at CoviiS-GToisr. [i860. always disliked to hear anyl^ody swear except Rawlins." Old army comrades who remember the peculiarly vigorous and eloquent anathemas of the chief of staff will under- stand the exception. In one respect had Grant been specially fortunate. Dur- ing all these years of poverty and struggle, his wife brought to him that utter devotion, sympathy, faith, and love of a sweet, true-hearted woman, which has buoyed up so many a sufferer weighed down by heavy burdens. Her tender- ness and fidelity were so warmly returned, that she looks back on their life in St. Louis as one of exceeding happi- ness. They had now four little mouths to feed ; so, in the spring of 1860, Grant paid a visit to his father, at Coving- ton, Kentucky, to discuss his future. For six years Jesse liad left the chief conduct of his Galena business in the hands of Simpson and Orvil, though he still owned it, and the name of the house stood "J. R. Grant." To the brothers the father referred the case of Ulysses. They offered him a place in the store at an annual salary of six hundred dollars for the present. If he liked and proved useful, Jesse intended to give him an interest, but not so large a one as to his brothers, who had assisted in building up the concern. The father had already gratified his ambition for a com- petency. Six years later he found himself w^orth one hun- dred thousand dollars, and determined to make over his property to his children. Ulysses desired none of it, in- sisting that he had done nothing toward accumulating it, and that the Government had provided amply for him. So Jesse only gave one thousand dollars each to the children of Ulysses, to aid in educating them, and divided the remain- der between his other surviving sons and daughters. In his seventy -fifth year, he still resides in Covington, where he is postmastei- of the city, and givers daily p(^rsonal attention to the duties of his office. He weighs a hundred and ninety pounds, is broad- sliould(M-ed and erect, has straight brown hair, shaggy ey(^brows, full overhanging forehead, and a fringe of silvery-brown whiskers. lie is a little deaf in one 1860.] Settles in" Galena, Illinois. 171 ear, and his eyesight is failing, but he is singularly clear- headed, and remembers dates with perfect minuteness. With good opportunities in boyhood, he would have become prominent and influential in public affairs. In March, 1860, Ulysses removed to Galena, Illinois, on the Galena River, four miles above its junction with the Mississippi. The little city of six or seven thousand people has a curious Swiss look. The river cuts it in twain, and the narrow and crowded main street threads the valley, while on the north side a bluff rises like a roof for two hundred feet. Upon the summit, and in terraces along the side, perch most of the residences. One ascends to them by wooden steps, leaving the top of the tallest spire far below. Galena, in the midst of the richest lead region in the world, underlying half a dozen counties of Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin, had fourteen thousand inhabitants a quarter of a century ago. Then all the lead was brought to the city to be shipped ; people and wagons crowded the nar- row streets, and a Tower of Babel went up in the form of an enormous brick hotel, containing two hundred rooms. Its owners, who named it the De Soto House, builded rasher than they knew. If the ghostly form of De Soto stalks through its deserted halls, they must remind him of the pri- meval quiet which he found on reaching the Mississippi. The intrusive railway, giving to half a dozen little stations equal facilities for shipping lead, has cut down the magnificent expectations of Galena, and left her far behind Dubuque, Iowa, nineteen miles distant, and on the other side of the Mississippi. Near Galena, in early days, Winfield Scott, Jefferson Davis, Albert Sydney Johnston, David E. Twiggs, and other well-known army officers, were frequently stationed. E. D. Baker, the Oregon senator, who was killed at the head of his regiment at Ball's Bluff in 1861, and William H. Hooper, Congressional delegate from Utah, were both old residents of the vicinity. At Hazel Green, Wisconsin, ten miles north, sleeps James G. Percival, the modest and lov- able poet, the accomplished linguist and savant. 172 A Clerk tn the Leather Store. [isgo. Grant's fatlier-in-law, Colonel Dent, was likewise famil- iar with Galena in early days, and erected one of the very first buildings. He traded with the miners, supplied the military posts above with provisions, and ascended to the Falls of St. Anthony on the first steamer which ever ven- tured up to that point. Indian warriors, squaws, papooses, and dogs, on the approach of the boat, fled to the nearest American fort, and reported that an evil spirit, belching fire and smoke, was coming to destroy them. Grant took the little dwelling shown in our picture. It is on the top of a picturesque bluff", and he had to climb stairs two hundred feet high every time he went home from the store. The leather-house had a capital of one hundred thousand dollars, and its annual business reached the same amount. It dealt in shoe-findings, saddlery hardware, French calf, fancy linings, and morocco, all bought in the East, and in domestic leather tanned in the chestnut oak-woods of Ohio, from hides purchased in Galena. The captain cheerfully began his new duties. He Avore a rough working dress and his favorite slouched hat, and smoked a clay pipe incessantly. He was temperate in every thing else, for he had totally abstained from drink for several years. He was courteous and popular with all who met him on business, but never sought acquaintances. He Avas a very j)Oor salesman, could not chaffer, and did not always know the price of an article. So, whenever a difficult or an important customer was to be dealt with, Orvil, Simpson, or one of the clerks took him in charge. He weighed leather for filling orders, and bought hides, which he frequently unloaded and carried into the store on his shoulders. One day Rowley, clerk of the Circuit Court, sent down for leather to cover a desk in liis office. The captain walked up to the court-house with the leather on his back, measured it, cut it, and tacked it on. A year and a lialf later. Grant was a major-general in the field, and Rowh'y a captain on his staff'. During one of the periodic depressions of western cur- rency, th(^ h()us<^ bouglit i)ork and shij^ped it to New York to pay Eastern bills, and save the enormous price of ex- ^^^<^^- — =sr tf>^T — — r— ^' ~^x RESIDENCE c«LE ^A -860 . CAPT GKANT IN t,AI.ENA. ]8.H) (i1 I860.] ^ Hard Struggle for a Living. 173 change. One day some farmers, wlio liad brought a load of pork, asked for gold instead of notes, to pay their taxes. The clerk offered it at a rate which Grant tlionght exorbi- tant, so he suggested that they go to the bank and learn the current premium. The result was that they saved twelve dollars. Could such a man be expected to succeed in trade ? In truth, Grant felt out of place. The life was distaste- ful to him. Jesse spent a few weeks in Galena every year, but the business was mainly in tlie hands of Orvil, thirteen years the younger, a fact which could not have been pleasant to the elder brother. An old neighbor remarks : — "Though very unnoticeable he attended to business faith- fully and talked a great deal, but always about places that he had seen — never of what he had read. His conversation was entertaining, but fact, and not fancy, interested him." "I first encountered him," says anotlier, "coming down the hill toward the store with Orvil. He wore a blue over- coat and old slouched hat, and looked like a private soldier. He had not more than three intimates in the whole toAvn." The bread and butter question was still a serious one. The rent of the dwelling was only one hundred and twenty- five dollars per annum. Much of the time Mrs. Grant had no servant, but took the whole care of her house and the four children. Her husband had no extravagant habits ; though not naturally frugal, he was now so perforce. Still, the six hundred dollars a year proved utterly in- adequate to support him. It was raised to eight hundred, but even upon this he was unable to live. The want of money hampered him, and he went to the war con- siderably in debt, but paid every dollar from his earliest earnings in the army. Who will ever forget the autumn of 1860 — the Presiden- tial campaign which stirred every county in the Union and proved the last before the great rebellion. The Lead Re- gion was thoroughly alive. Galena, — a democratic city, — was in the strongest republican Congressional district of the United States. Elihu B. Wasliburne, a leading public man of the Northwest had been its representative for 174 Geant is a Douglas Democrat, [iseo tliree 3'ears, but Captain Grant liis townsman, was so incon- spicnous a citizen that Washburne did not even know him. Tavo of the four Presidential candidates being popular Illinoisans, there were practically^ but two parties in that State — tlie Lincoln and the Douglas party. Each little town had its Douglas club, audits "Wide- Awake" or republi- can club. The Galena Wide-Awakes selected for their cajitain, John E. Smith, an old militia officer. The Douglas club, delighted that Grant's sympathies were democratic, Avhile his father and brother were both radical republicans, and also desiring the benefit of his pro- fessional training, elected Itini captain, but he absolutely declined to serve, alleging that he had not been long enough in Illinois to vote, and also that he wished to attend to business, and not meddle in politics. One evening, chancing to be in the hall where the Wide Awakes were drilling, he instructed them for a few minutes on the invitation of their captain. This was the only active part he took in the canvass, but liis proclivities were decidedly for Douglas. Before the end of the campaign, that candidate made a speech in Dubuque, and Grant went to hear him. After returning, he was silent, until asked : — " How did you like Judge Douglas T' " He is a very able, at least a very smart man," replied Grant, "but I can't say I like his ideas. If I had the legal right to vote I should be more undecided than ever." His frienqls inferred that he thought he detected some un- fairness or demagoguery. At all events, after this his sym- pathies tended towai-d republicanism. Rowley tried to convince him tliat he was a legal voter, as, computing his residence irom the day he arrived alone from St. Louis, he had been in Illinois a year ; but dating from his arrival with his family, it was less. Orvil interrupted : — " Now }'ou had better let Ulysses alone. If he were to vote he wouldn't voti^ our ticki^t." "[ don't know about that," replied the captain; "I don't (juite like the ])ositioii of either pai'ty. I never voted but once, and that was against Fremont." I860.] But is Converted to Republic aistism, 175 "You ought to be ashamed of having voted for Bu- chanan." " I didn't ; I voted against Fremont. I thought it would be a misfortune for the country if lie should be elected. Otherwise I have never meddled with politics." The election came. A party of young republicans sat up to receive the returns by telegrapli, and before midnight learned that Abraham Lincoln had been chosen President. Then they had a jollification at the leather store. The captain assisted his brothers to play the host, dispensing oj^sters and lienors, of which all except him partook. He seemed as much gratified^as any one at the result, and from that time was regarded by his friends as a moderate re- publican. Through the exciting winter which followed the election, Grant manifested far more interest in public affairs than ever before, and was positive in his condemnation of the inde- cision and imbecility of President Buchanan. In Decem- ber, he wrote a letter, of course not designed ever to be made public, but from wliicli I can not resist the temptation to take two or three extracts, as showing his personal hopes and his views on public affairs, expressed in the full frank- ness of intimate friendship : — "In my new employment I liave become pretty conversant, and am much pleased with it. I hope to be a partner soon, and am sanguine that a competency at least can be made out of the business. '•How do you all feel on the subject of Secession in St. Louis? The present troubles must affect business in yt)ur trade greatly. ^\ ith us the tlie oidy difference experienced as yet is the difficulty of obtaining Southern exchange. "It is hard to realize that a State or States should commit so suicidal an act as to secede from the Union, though from all the reports, I have no doubt but that at least five of them will do it. And then, with the present granny of an executive, some foolish policy will doubtless be pursued which will give the seceding States the support and sympathy of the Southern States that don't go out. The farce now going on in southern Kansas is, I jjresume, about at an end, and the St. Louis volunteer General Frost at their head, covered all over with glory. You will now have seven hundred men more in your midst, who will think themselves entitled to live on the public for all future time. You must jirovidc office for them, or some of thorn may declare Missouri out of the Union. It does seem as if just a f^w men have 176 BiSTUEBED ABOUT PUBLIC AFFAIRS. [18G0. produced all the present difficulty. I don''t see why hy the same rule a few hundred men could not carry Missouri out of the Union." Business was dull. In the daytime, friends lounged in tlie store, and during tlie long winter evenings there were euchre parties, at which Grant smoked his pipe, but not with his usual serenity. The national troubles weighed upon his mind, and he expressed gravest apprehensions for the future. A friend suggested :— "There's a great deal of bluster about the Southerners, but I don't think there's much tight in them." "Rowley," replied Grant, earnestly, "you are mis- taken ; there is a good deal of bluster ; that' s the result of their education ; but if they once get at it they will make a strong fight. You are a good deal like them in one respect — each side under-estimates the other and over-estimates itself." Few in either section believed that there was serious business at hand. The North thought the South would not fight, because it blustered so much ; the South thought the North would not, because it blustered so little. Our san- guine theorists believed that the diffusion of civilization and Christianity had turned the swords into plowshares — that hereafter diplomacy, and not war, was to be the final arbiter in great disputes. Our republicans laughed at conserva- tives, who had long been crying "Wolf, wolf!" and made "Union-saving" — because always synonymous with some dishonora))le concession to slavery — a term of reproacli. Conservatives replied with a feebleness which seemed to indicate that even they did not believe much in their own fears. Tliere was a portentous husli and expectancy. It was the quiet that presages the earthquake. 18G1.] FOET SUMTEE IS FlHED ON. Ill CHAPTER XIV. THE LONG ROLL. The emlDers so long smoldering l)lazed at last. On Friday, April twelfth, 1861, came news that South Carolina rebels had attacked Fort Sumter. Then, with clinched lips and flashing eyes. Galena, like the rest of the North, waited the issue for two days. Monday, the fifteenth, brought intelligence of the cap- ture of the little fortress. The "wolf" had come, and side by side old fearers and old scoffers sprang up to drive him aAvay. The prairies were on fire. In G-alena business was suspended. At the leather store, thronging visitors from town and country all talked of the one theme. The quiet captain had never been so excited. His conversation was no longer of horses, or adventures in the Mexican war. He said : — "I thought I had done with soldiering. I never ex- pected to be in military life again. But I was educated by the Government ; and if my knowledge and experience can be of any service, I think I ought to offer them." The next evening a meeting was called at the large stone court-house. Before the gathering, the town was paraded by a band of musicians, bearing the Stars and Stripes. Every- where they were received with enthusiastic cheers ; for it had just dawned u^Don the people that the American flag was something more than a pretty plaything— that it Avas the symbol of national unity and free government — of the fruition of all that the fathers hoped, struggled, and died for. Among others on the way to the meeting was John A. Rawlins, a young Galena lawyer, of humble birth and self- education. Though recently admitted to the bar, he had already gained a large practice, and was the most popular 178 Meeting in^ the Galexa Couet-House. [is^i. man in liis Congressional district. In tlie Presidential cam- paign, just ended, he had been the Douglas candidate for elector; and in "stumping" with his republican competi- tor, he had won high reputation as a popular orator. Douglas Avas the leader, the very soul of the North- western democracy, and as yet Douglas had not been heard from. Friends said to Rawlins : — " It is an abolition fight ; do not mix in ; if you do, you will injure our party." ' ' I don' t know any thing about party now, ' ' he replied, ' ' All I know is, traitors have fired on our flag. ' ' The hall was filled to overflowing. Mayor Brand, a democrat, was called to the chair. In taking it he intima- ted that the republicans had brought on the threatened national convulsion. He favored some "honorable com- promise," and ©Imposed making war upon any portion of our common country. His weak-kneed honor sat down. Eliliu B. Wasli- burne, the sturdy representative of tlie district in Congress, sprang to his feet and began fervidly : — " Mr, Chairman, any man wlio will try to stir party pre- judices at such a time as this, is a traitor !" Shouts of applause followed. Then Washburne offered a series of resolutions, pledging the people to support the Government in maintaining the integrity of the Union and the supremacy of the flag, recommending the immediate formation of military companies, ready for any call, and, concluding :^- "Fiiiiill}-, we solemnly rosolve, thiit linviiiij lived under tlie Stars and Stripes, by the blcssinj^ of God we pro])ose to die under them I"' Amid loud cheering Washburne took his seat. Then on every side rose the cry, " Rawlins !" " Rawlins !" The slender, erect, young lawj^er, elbowed his Ava}^ through the dense throng, u]) to the little open space on the platform, Avhere liis ])ale face, coal-bku'k liair, and flashing- eyes, couhl be seen b}^ the entii-e audience. He was still thoroughly augiy at the advice of his ])olitical friends. He spoke in a dee]), rich A'oice, which Avoiild have filled a hall 1861.] A Ghand Speech from Rawlins. 179 ten times as large. For three-quarters of an liour, amid profoundest silence, lie reviewed the past ; the real or fan- cied wrongs of the slave-holders ; the good faith in which the northern democracy had fought their battles under the constitution ; the blood and toil expended in the founding and defending of tlie Republic ; the cheerfulness with which minorities, hitherto out-voted, had submitted to the will of tlie majority — as on the Missouri Compromise, the Mexican war, and the Kansas-Nebraska bill. Tliat was the American way — to trust the future, the good sense, justice, and sober second thought of the people. Warming with his subject, he made a most cogent and stirring argu. ment. Finally, his voice filling every corner of tlie old court-house, and ringing out like a trumpet over narrow, winding streets, and sharp hills, he rose to his climax : — " I have been a democrat all my life ; but this is no lon- ger a question of politics. It is simply country or no country. I have ftivored every honorable compromise ; but the day for compromise is passed. Only one course is left for us. We will stais^d by the flag of our country, AND APPEAL TO THE GOD OF BATTLES ! " The effect was electric. The audience sprang to their feet, and gave cheer after cheer for the old flag, for Major Ander- son, and for the maintenance of the Union at whatever cost. Captain Grant was present. Though he had known Rawlins as the attorney for the leather-house, he had no intimate acquaintance with him, but this speech so thoroughly expressed his own feelings, that, from that hour, his heart went out to the young orator. As they walked homeward, he said to Orvil : — " I think I ought to go into the service." "I think so too," replied his brother. "Go, if you like, and I will stay at home and attend to the store." Two evenings later (Thursday), witnessed another meet- ing for raising volunteers, and again the court-house was crowded. At the hour, John E. Smith, the militia captain, arose, thumped on a seat, and said :— " The meeting will come to order. I nominate for chainnan Captain Ulysses S. Grant." 180 Geant Presides at another Meeting. [isgi. The motion was carried. Many citizens were familiar with Grrant's name since his election as president of the Douglas club, but not a hundred persons in Galena knew him by sight. The audience looked on with cuiiosity, while a small stooping gentleman, in an old blue army over- coat, with a rusty black hat in his hand and his head thrown a little awkwardly on one side, passed through the crowd up to the platforai. He took the chair with a few remarks, during which all were struck by his composure and fluency of speech — qual- ities which he has never exhibited since when called before the i^ublic. But then, like every one else, he was nerved up by the great occasion. He stated that the object of the meeting was to raise and equip a company, and in reply to a question about military organization — of which nine- teen-twentieths of the people were entirely ignorant — he explained the number of men and officers in a company and regiment, and the duties and pay of each. Rolls were immediately opened for volunteers. A. L. Chetlain— afterward brigadier-general — and nine or ten others, recorded their names. Rawlins suggested that the original list be carefully preserved, as autographs of the men who first enlisted niiglit one day be valuable. In twenty-four hoars there were fifty-one volunteers, and within a week the roll was full, and two hundred had been rejected. The company joined the Twelfth Illinois regiment of three months' men. On Saturday morning, Rowley, entering Grant's store, said : — " Cax)tain, there's to be a meeting for raising volunteers at Hanover to-night, and Rawlins and I are going. Su2)pose you go with us." " I think I will. Come down after dinner, and Orvil and I will take the ponies and drive you over." The meeting was held in a school-house, and Grant presided. After excellent speeches by Rawlins and others, the captain, for the first time in his life, was asked to address an audience. He replied in his matter- of-fact way : — 1861.] He makes his First Speech. 181 "I don't know any tiling about making speeches; that is not in my line ; but we are forming a company in Galena, and mean to do what we can for putting down the rebellion. If any of you feel like enlisting, I will give you all the in- formation and help I can." Many names were enrolled. At eleven o'clock the meet- ing closed. On the way home the young men talked about military life and the rebellion. Rowley. — "I guess the seventy -five thousand troops the President has called for will stop all the row." Grant. — " I think this is a bigger thing than you sup- pose. Those fellows mean fight, and Uncle Sam has a heavy job on his hands. If I am needed I shall go." Rawlit^s (jestingly). — " Captain Grant, suppose we get up a company for the war ; you shall be captain, and Row- ley and I will toss up to see which shall be first lieutenant and which second." Grant replied that he thought himself competent to com- mand a company. No one could tell how long the war might last, as the rebels were brave and desperate. Many West-Pointers who sympathized with them had good natural talents, in addition to the very great advantage of a military education, and would make excellent officers. The Galena recruits, ignorant of military outfit and du- ties, constantly consulted Grant, who gave all the desired information, and devoted four days to drilling them. He was their first choice for captain, but he declined to run ; so Chetlain, who aspired to tlie position, was elected. Wash- burne, busy about many things, as yet knew little of Grant ; but one day, Collins, Jesse's old partner — a peace democrat — accosted him on the street : — " A pretty set of fellows your soldiers are, to elect Chet- lain for captain !" "Why not?" "Oh, Chetlain is well enough, but he hasn't had any experience. They were foolish to take him when they could get such a man as Grant." " What's Grant's history ?" " Why, he is old man Grant's son, was educated at West 182 Goes with Washbuene to Speingfield. [isei. Point, served in tlie army eleven years, and came out with the very best reputation." Washburne called uj)on the ex-officer, and tliey had a talk. Grant said : — " I left the army, expecting never to return. I am no seeker for position, but the country, which educated me, is in sore peril, and, as a man of honor, I feel bound to offer my services for whatever they are worth." "Captain," replied Washburne, "we need just such men as you — men of military education and experience. The Legislature meets next Tuesday ;* several of us are going to Springfield ; come along — you will surely be wanted." " I guess you Avill have to get along without me hereaf- ter," Grant said to his brothers. " Uncle Sam educated me for the arm}', and, though I have sei'ved through one war, I am still indebted to him. Now he is likely to want all the help he can get." To Springfield the captain went with Washburne, Rus- sell Jones, and another leading republican, all particularly glad to secure him, because he had sympathized with tlie democracy. The Legislature met. Grant took quarters at the Cheney House, and waited for events. All was confusion. Officers in uniform rushed hither and thitlier, sending off telegrams, and giving orders excitedly, without sj^stiMu or organization. Th(; military hero of the hour and the State, Captain John Pope, could bring no order out of this chaos. Washburne and his friends urg(^d Governor Yates to give Grant a i^osition ; but other men had political claims, and in the bewildering scramble ther(3 was mucli delay. G]-ant, simple-hearted and iins(^lfish, was shocked and dis- gusted at tlie self-seeking all around. He said, vehemently : ' ' This is no place for me. I wil 1 go home to Galena. I will not be an office-seeker, and I can't afi'ord to stayliere idle." "Hold on a little, captain,'' re])lied AVashburne ; "every thing can't be done in a moment. Have patience." * April 23d. 1801.] A Clerk in the Goverk^or's Office. 183 Tims, day after day, Grant' s restlessness was soothed. %ie prospect was discouraging. Already he had tendered his services to the Government at AVashington, and the adjutant-general had not even the grace to ansAver his let- ter. His name had T3een mentioned to the governor of his native Ohio, but no commission had been offered. Now, in his adopted Illinois, there seemed to be no place for him. His Galena friends kept him in Sji ring-field with the greatest difiicult}^ Finally, about the first of May, Gov- ernor Yates, after asking him if he could tell how many men and officers there were in a company and in a regi- ment — Avliich was more than his excellency 3"et kneAV — took Grant into his office as clerk and military adviser to him- self and his adjutant-general. The latter had no j^i'inted forms for transacting the important business of his office. Grant ruled sheets of paper until blanks could be printed, systematized the whole business, and turned it off with the greatest ease. He consulted no books, having at his finger- ends all needed information ; yet he did his work so un- demonstratively that neither governor nor adjutant-general was particularly impressed with his capacity. The office work once reduced to mere clerical routine, Grant assumed more important duties. On the fourth of May he was put in command of Camp Yates, during the tempo- rary absence of Captain Pope. ISText he mustered in several new regiments, including the Twenty-first, at Mattoon. He was called "caj)tain," but he had neither uniform nor commission. T/ie Yicltsburg Sun, of May thirteenth, commented with glee upon a report of "one Captain U. S. Grant," to the governor, that Illinois boasted just nine hundred muskets, of which only sixty were in serviceable condition. It drew a ludicrous picture of the Prairie State and her ex-captain, with three-score rusty guns, coming to conquer the South. They learned something more in Vicksburg, by and by, of "one Captain U. S. Grant" and of Illinois soldiers. Toward the close of May, he went home on a brief visit. On his way back to Springfield, a friend asked :— "A\Tiy don't you put in for one of these Illinois regi- 184 Made CoLoisrEL of the Twenty-fiest. [i8<5i. ments 1 As things are going, I don' t know why you are not as much entitled to a colonelcy as any one." "To tell you the truth," replied Grant, after a moment's hesitation, "I would rather like a regiment, pet there are few men really competent to command a thousand soldiers^ and I doubt whether I am one of them.'''' By the tenth of June all the regiments had been muster- ed in, and Grant went on a visit to his father, in Covington. His old friend McClellan, was in command at Cincinnati, just across the river, and Grant called upon him twice. He did not propose to ask for an appointment, but thought that McClellan might invite him to come on his staff. For- tunately, he did not find that general at his office on either occasion. Meanwhile there was trouble in the TAventy-first Illinois Infantry, at Camp Yates. Colonel Goode, its commander, a large, fine-looking man, a Kentuckian by birth, had been in the Mexican war, the Lopez expedition against Cuba, and the Kansas border troubles. At the outbreak of the re- bellion he was city clerk at Decatur, Illinois. He raised a company, and finally rose to the colonelcy of the Twenty- first. But what experience ever taught one, not born to it, to control men % The troops became insubordinate ; many deserted ; and it became evident that the colonel Avas utterly incompetent. The governor, therefore^, refused to commission him,'"' and about this time, meeting a book-keeper from the Galena store, asked : — " AVhat kind of a man is tliis Captain Grant? Thougli anxious to serve, he seems reluctant to take an}^ high posi- tion. He even declined my offer to recommend him to Washingtcjn for a brigadier-genei'alship, saying he didn't want oflice till he liad earned it. AVhat does he want ?" "The way to deal with him," replied the book-keeper, "is to ask him no (piestions. but simply order liiiu to duty. IL; will ol)(*y ])i-()iiiptly." * Ooodo afterward t;(jughl to ro-cntcr the regiment as a private, but was refused. He then became a Peace Democrat, and in 1868 met his death in a personal rencoun- ter in Missouri. 1861.] His Men Like Falstaff's Soldiers. 185 Thereupon the governor dispatched to Grant :— " You are this day appointed colonel of the Twenty- first Illinois ^^olunteers, and requested to take command at once." This was on Saturday. Before the telegram reached Cov- ington, Grant had started on his return. Spending Sunday with his old classmate, J. J. Reynolds, at ^erre- Haute, In- diana, he was again in Springfield on Monday morning, and immediately began the duties of his new position. Of his commission, dated on the sixteenth of June, Yates declares : "It was the most glorious day of my life when I signed it." Colonel Grant found his new regiment in the worst pos- sible condition. The men mostly without tents, without uniforms, and as ragged as Falstaff's recruits, wore their oldest clothes, after the manner of volunteers about to get new suits from the Government. They were chiefly farmers' sons, of fine physique— the best raw material for good sol- diers, but utterly demoralized by want of discipline. Gen- eral John E. Smith* says of the colonel's first visit to his command — " I went with liim to camp, and shall never forget the scene when his men first saw him. Grant was dressed in citizen's clothes, an oLd coat worn out at the elbows, and a badly damaged hat. His men, thougli ragged and barefooted themselves, had formed a high estimate of what a colonel sliould be, and when Grant walked in among them, they began making fan of him. They cried in derision, 'What a colonel!' 'D— n such a colonel,' and made all sorts of fnn of him. And one of tliem, to show oif to the others, got behind his back and commenced sparring at him, and wliile he was doing this another gave him such a push that he hit Grant between tlie shoulders.'''' The soldiers soon learned that theii' quiet commander was not to be trifled with. One of the first morning roll-calls was an hour late. Grant observing it, simply sent them back to their quarters. There being no morning report, no rations came in that day ; so they begged, borrowed, and bought food wherever they could find it. At the first dress parade several officers appeared without coats. Said Grant, sharply : — * Pepper's Personal Recollections of Sherman's Campaigns. J 186 Begi]!«^ning of Washbueiste' s Friendship. [isei. ' ' Tliis is a dress parade. Officers are expected to Avear their clothes. Dismiss the men to quarters." He turned and walked away without another word. A few of these sharp penalties and admonitions brought men and officers to their duty In ten days there was tolerably good discipline, and ultimately the regiment became one of the best in the service. ISTotwith standing his severity, the men grew attached to him, as soldiers always do to officers who are just, self-controlled, and "know their business." Before taking the field, Grant paid another flying visit to Galena. He must liave an outfit, and no gifts of swords, horses, or money, poured in during these days of obscurity. With genuine human nature, instead of applying to his kindred, he procured tlie indorsement of Collins, his father's old partner, to his note for three hundred dollars, and with the proceeds bought horse and uniform. One Sunday afternoon, during this visit, he rode over to Washburne's, in whose library the two talked for several hours, about the rebellion and the means necessary to crush it. Grant's intelligence, self-abnegation, and clear-headed- ness were so palpable, that they won for him a powerful and enthusiastic friendshiji, which was never to be shaken in dark days yet to come. The r(>giment had been mustered in for onl}^ thirty days, but it re-enlisted for the war. Soon after Missouri called for aid. Governor Yates said : — "I would send another regiment, if I had transporta- tion." "Ordcn- mine," replied Grant ; "I will find transporta- tion." Yates did order it to Mexico, in northern Missouri, and Grant marched his men across tlie countr}^, as tlie shortest and best Avay to niakc^ soldici's of them. Tliey started in high featliei', a good deal more troubh^some to their friends than they seenie(l likely evov to be to their en(mii(^s. But the colonel soon ])iit a stop to depredations. The first night he had a iiiiinber of men tied up l)^' tlie thumbs, and in a few days they M'ere as disciplined and orderly on the march as of late they had been in camp. 18G1.] His Heart Tender and Lenient. 187 In a T^'eek tliey readied tlieir destination. Pope Avas in command of north Missouri. Grant, tliough a junior colo- nel, "was placed in charge of a brigade. His men had noth- ing to do but guard railway trains and bridges, and occa- sionally make short marches in pursuit of the swarming bushwhackers. On one excursion, several soldiers obtained whisky, and soon began to stagger. Grant immediately halted the regiment, went through the ranks, examined each canteen and emptied out liquor wherever he found it. He had the men tied behind baggage wagons till the}^ grew sober, and sharply reprimanded the officers for permitting such a gross abuse. While in civil life, he once said to a friend : — "If a man wants promotion in the arni}^, he should re- sign and take advantage of the first war to go in for promotion. He is morally sure of a higher position." Now, encountering Grant in the field, this friend asked : — ' ' Well, are you going in for promotion now ?' ' "No, I am nicely fixed at Galena. To tell you the truth, I would not go back to the regular army short of a colonelcy, and I know very well that I could not get that." Notwithstanding his love of discipline, his heart was tender and lenient. A colonel asked his counsel as to how he should deal with a boyish volunteer who had left an excellent home, but was now falling into bad company, gambling, and neglect of duty. Grant rejDlied : — " The army is a hard place. It will ruin a great many young men. Talk to him and try to teach him more self- control. Do every thing to counteract the evil influences of camp-life, but dont punish him, unless you find it ab- solutely necessarj^, for that brings a sense of degradation." The regimental chaplain was in the head-quarters mess. Shortly after he joined the regiment. Grant said to him : — "Chaplain, when I was at home, and ministers stopped at my house, I always invited them to ask a blessing at the tabh^. I suppose it is quite as much needed liere as there, and I shall be glad to have you do it Avhenever we sit down to a medl." In July began a special session of Congress. Illinois 188 Made Bkigadiek-Genekal. [isei. had tliirty-six regiments in the field. President Lincoln sent a printed notice to each of her senators and represent- atives, requesting them to recommend four soldiers for briga- diers, in the desired order of rank. The delegation met at file parlor of Senator Trumbull, in Eighth Street. Washburne, urging that the northwest cor- ner of the State had sent many troops, and was entitled to a brigadier, placed Grant in nomination. Then the delega- tion voted for each candidate separately. Grant was the only one who received every vote, therefore he stood at the top of the list. Hurlbut, Prentiss, and McClernand fol- lowed in the order named. Nearly forty other api^ointments were made the same da}^, the seventh of August, but the commissions dated back to the seventeenth of May. Grant stood number seventeen on the list. Above him were Franklin, Sherman, Buell, Pope, Hooker, Kearny, and Fitz John Porter. He knew nothing of his good fortune until one morning the chaplain, brought him a morning paper from St. Louis, saying : — ' ' Colonel, I have some news here that will interest you." "What is it?" " You are made brigadier-general." Grant read the announcement and replied : — "I had no suspicion of it. It never came from any re- quest of mine. It must be some of AVashburne's work." Thus, after two months of command. Grant's connection with the Twenty-first regiment ended. An account of it from his own hand, concludes : — "We did make one inarcli, liowever, from Salt River, Mo., to Flor- ida, Mo., and return, in seiircli of Tona Harris, who was reported in tliat neighborhood witli ;i hundt'iil of rebels. It was impossible to gi-t nearer than a day's march of liini. From Salt River the regiment went to Mexico, Mo., wliere it remained for two weeks, thence to Ironton, passing tlirongli St. Louis on the seventh of August, where I was as- signed to duty as a brigadier-general, and turned over the coniuiand of the regiment to that gallant and Christian officer, Colonel Alexander, who afterward yielded up his life while nobly leading it in the battle of Chicka- mauga." 1861.] Hillyer's Enthusiastic Client. 189 CHAPTER XV. BRIGADIER-GENERAL. Fremont commanded the department, and to Mm the new brigadier reported. The forces near Pilot Knob were r expecting to be attacked ; so Grant was placed in charge, and built fortifications. After remaining ten days, and see- ing nothing of the enemy, he was suddenly ordered to Jef- ferson, the State capital, which was also threatened. His old friend Hillyer was still in the St. Louis law office. During one of the hottest of dog days in that hottest of cities, while he was lounging at his desk, in rushed William Truesdail,* an old client of the firm, a man of tremendous energy, who had been every thing everywhere — merchant, sheriff, real estate speculator, bank-teller, and contractor on New York, Panama, and Texan railways. " Ah ! Hillyer," exclaimed the breathless visitor, " glad to see 3^011 — been looking everywhere for you — remember Grant 1 — used to be clerk in your office, you know — briga- dier-general now — commanding at Jefi\3rson City — been there to see him — got a big contract for you and me — told him we were in partnership — he said, ' I'll do any thing I can for Hillyer ;' and gave me letter to Hunterschott, the com- missary ; so, I've got a splendid contract— papers all ready — come out and sign them with me. By the way. Grant said he wanted to see you." Hillyer looked into the contract, signed it, and a day or two after received a telegraphic request from the General, to accept a place on his staft*. Without the least idea of entering the army, but desirous of seeing his okl friend, he took a train for Jefferson. But Grant had been * Afterward widely known as chief of secret service in the Army of the Cum- berland. 190 A Teap for Jeff Thompsots\ [^sei. summoned back to St. Louis, and had left word for liim to follow immediately. He did so, and at the Planter's House found the General, who, seemingly infected by the bustling Truesdail, accosted him : — "Come, Hillyer, here's your horse all ready. I have kept a steamer waiting for you three hours. I am going to Cape Girardeau, and want you to go with me on my staff." " Why, I haven't enlisted !" " No matter for that ; you can enlist on the way." ' ' But r ve got no clothes, and no money ; my wife ex- pects me liome to tea, and my business needs attending to." " Well, I owe 3"ou fifty dollars, and here it is — that will do for money. As for clothes, I guess we have enough among us to supply you. We're ordered to the field, and expect a fight with Jeff Thompson. If you survive it, I'll give 3^ou leave of absence to come home and settle your business." "But I've just taken a beef contract. I can't keep that and be on your staff." " That's a fact ; so you had better give it up and come along." Hillyer turned over the contract to a friend, and started down tlie river. "By the way, General," he asked, after they had em- barked, " what's to be my rank — and have you got a com- mission for me V "Well, not exactly; but Fremont, who has authority from the Government,, promises me he will appoint you. Of course I shall get you the best rank I can. For the present we will call you captain." In the evening the two studiinl minutely the elaborate instructions which had been given to Grant. Jeff Thomp- son's cam]) was to be suiTounded, McClernand coming up fiTtiii ())!(' (lii-('c(i()ii, Prentiss from another, a tliird I'nion column IVom anotlicr, and (irant Ironi Cape Girardeau. '• Well," said tlie Ccnci-al, laugliing heartily, ''this plan Avill \vork, excc])t in one contingencj'. If Jeft* Thom])Son stays where he is, we sliall close in upon him beautifully ; 1861.] First Newspapee Description of Grant. 191 but if he happens to move ten or twelve miles, we haven't the least chance of catching him.'' On the steamer Avas a young journalist, Thomas W. Knox, of the New York Herald, who had just begun liis campaigning. Most correspondents, fearing that the war would be over before tliey could witness actual conflict, envied Knox, wlio had had the good luck to be present at Booneville and Wilson Creek, the first slvirmisli and the first battle of the West. JN'ow expecting a fight at Cape Gi- rardeau, he meant to be "there to see." In the evening, he wrote to his journal some account of Granfs personal appearance — the first newspaper description of liim which ever aj^peared — closing with an apology for saying so much about an unknown brigadier : — " The General is decidedly uninartial in appearance, and would be the last man among the twenty occupants of the cabin who would be selected as superior ofBcer of all. He is about forty-five years of age, not more than five feet eight inches in height, and of ordinary frame, with a slight tendency to corpulency. The expression of his face is pleasant, and a smile is almost continually playing around his eyes. * * * J'/ms much I have said con- cerning him^ as it is jjossihle he may figure prominently in action icfore many weeks.'''' On the night after Grant reached Girardeau, a German regiment came with its band, and gave him his first serenade. Hillyer, requested by his chief to acknowledge the courtesy, responded in genuine American rhetoric, telling his martial hearers, very few of whom comprehended English at all, that it was the time for deeds, not w^ords. He apj)ealed to their patriotism, and pointed his climax with the lines : — " Strike for your altars and your fires, Strike for the green graves of your sires, God and your native land .'" Probably not one man in the regiment was born in the United States, so Hillyer' s quotation caused much merri- ment, which he enjoyed quite as much as anybody. On Grant's approach the Avilj' Jeff slipped away, and in two or three days the General went to Cairo, head-quarters 192 Occupies Paducaii Without Okdeks. [is^i. of the district wliicli had been placed under him. It included Southern Illinois, Western Kentucky and Ten- nessee, and the mouths of three important rivers, the Ohio, the Tennessee, and the Cumberland. When Gfrant assumed command on the fourth of Septem- ber, he superseded Brigadier-General B. M. Prentiss. Their commissions bore the same date, but Grant stood first on the list, and had been a captain in the regular army. Prentiss, however, claimed seniority on the novel ground that he had been a brigadier -general of militia. I remember meeting him in St. Louis one day, and expressing my surprise that lie had come away from Cairo. He replied, bitterly : — "Yes, I have left. I will not serve under a drunkard." Of course, the question of rank was decided against him, and he was sent to anotlier field. Grant had eight thousand soldiers in his district, three little wooden gun-boats patrol- ling the river, and several iron-clads building at Mound City, six miles above Cairo. Fortifications were begun at the latter ague-stricken city, at Bird's Point opposite, on the Missouri shore, and at Fort Holt, on the Ken- tucky shore. The rebel commander in that region was Polk, a bishop of the Episcopal Church, who had exchanged the crozier for the sword. Grant soon learned that Polk was marching a force upon Paducah, Kentucky, a few miles above Cairo, and a most important point, because at the moutli of the Tennessee. He instantly telegraphtMl Fremont, asking permission to seize the town. As there was no time to waste, he- fitted up an expedition, and, failing to get an answer, dispatched a second time to Fremont: — "I am nearly ready to go to Paducah, and shall start should not a telegram arrive preventing the movement." Still no an- swer. Grant lingered impatiently until ten that night, and then said to his staft" : — "Come on ; I can wait no longer. I will go if it costs me my commission." His foi'ces, three regiments and a light battery, steamed up the river, and early next morning took possession of Paducah without fii-iug a gun. AVhile they were landing, the rebel General Tilghmaii and staff, with a comj)any of 1861.] Eawlixs Joins his Staff. 193 recruits, liiirried out of town by railway. A force of the euemy four thousand strong, approacliing from the south, and within three hours of the city, turned "back on learning of Grant's arrival. Rebel flags were flying from several houses. The moment the troops entered, loyal citizens be- gan to tear these down and to run up the Stars and Stripes. The General captured a great quantity of bacon, leather, and other Confederate stores ; and issued an order encouraging the citizens to pursue their usual avocations without fear, and adding, "/ liaise notlilng to do loitli oijinions^ and shall deal only with armed rebellion^ and its aiders and abettors y Grant, remaining but a few hours, left a garrison and returned to Cairo. There he found a dispatch from Fre- mont, "Take Paducah if you are strong enough." His prompt action without orders was of great importance. Twelve hours' dela}^ would have given the rebels the mouths of the Tennessee and the Cumberland, points which we could never have wrested away without hard fighting. On the fifteenth of September, his Galena friend, Raw- lins, reported for staft' duty at Cairo as assistant adjutant- general, with the rank of captain. From the evening of Rawlins' speech, in April, the General had been pressing him to enter the service in some such capacity, and had fre- quently assured him that he thought he would make a good regimental adjutant ! The securing of Rawlins on his own staff proved most happy. To great promptness and singularly clear judgment, he added unselfish patriotism and heartiest loyalty to his chief. Of all the able and devo- ted soldiers, whom Grant's sagacious knowledge of men has called to responsible and difficult positions, few have done the country such signal service as John A. Rawlins.* Grant's peculiar aptitude for military life, soon made it- self felt at Cairo. New-fledged colonels and captains, bril- liant in gold and feathers and fresh uniforms, Avere, at first, merry about the shabby civilian suit and rusty stove-pipe * Now brigadier-general in the regular service, and chief-of-staff of tlie armies of the United States. 194 How TjrE General Transacted Business, [^sgi. hat in wliicli the General appeared when not on parade, but soon saw that he was a thoroughly practical and accomplished soldier. Two qualities were strongly marked : (1.) What- ever he did was done on his oion judgment. He shoAved unusual modesty of opinion and unusual confidence of action. He heard all friendly suggestions with unvarying politeness, and then did — exactly as he saw fit. (2.) He trusted sub- ordinates thoroughly, giving only general dhections, not hampering them with petty instructions. He never consulted authorities, but, seeming to have the Army Regulations at his tongue' s end, disposed instantly and methodically of every question. No papers accumulated. The moment one came in, it was indorsed and referred to the proper subordinate, or, if valueless, torn in pieces and thrown on the floor. Though keeping no books, lie was thoroughly acquaint- ed with the minutest affairs of his entii-e command, and surprised both old and new friends by the ease, precision, rapidity, and efficiency with which he turned off business. His friend Washburne paid him a visit in October, and was deeply impressed with his promptness and ability. From that hour, Washburne maintained so earnestly that our General Avas the ' ' coming man ' ' of the war, that even his friends used laughingly to accuse him of having " Grant on the brain," and being a little out of his wits. He was not alone in liis estimate. The rebel officers con- gratulated themselves that they had on their side the floAver of the old artny. But once, in discussing the matter at Rich- mond, Ewell said : — "There is one West Pointed", I think in Missouii, little known, and whom I hope the Northern people will not find oul. 1 mean Sam Grant. I knew liini well at the Academy :ind in Mexico. I should fear him more than any of their oflicei'S I hav(^ yet heai'd of. He is not a man of genius, but he is clear-lu'aded, quick, and daring." Colonel Richard J. Oglesby* Avas commanding at Bird's * Aflcrwani major-greueral, wounded in the battlo of Corinth, and governor of Illinois from 18G4 to 18G8. I 1801.] A Stoky of "Samaritan Oglesby." 195 Point. So easy was lie in giving passes to the people about liini to cross to Cairo and purchase goods, that his soldiers called him "Samaritan Oglesby." Grant was finally com- pelled to issue an order that no one should cross from Ken- tucky or Missouri, without a pass from himself, as sup- plies could be freely purchased in Cairo, and many went directly to the rebel army. But the applicants, like Rich- ard, had "a tongue that could wheedle with the devil," and their importunities were so pressing that the colonel was con- stantly seconding their appeals, each one of which seemed to him a "peculiar case." One afternoon, however, Oglesby appeared at head-quarters, and said vehemently : — " General, you have no idea how these people annoy me ; they tlirong my office in a perfect mob ; they keep me em- ployed from morning till night. Why, I don't even get time to talk!" ' ' Really, colonel, ' ' replied Grant, with a smile, ' ' that must be a severe restriction upon 3'ou." However, the order did not accomplish its purpose, so it was soon revoked. Grant's trooj)s were learning his worth. Chetlain, serv- ing under him as lieutenant-colonel, wrote back to his Galena friends, "This man is the pure gold." Still he was not exempt from scandal. He abstained wholly from liquor, save for a few days after an attack of ague, when he took it by order of his surgeon. But a ring of contractors, whose hostility he had provoked, made this the excuse for reviving the old story of drunkenness. Washburne, reading it in the newspapers, and altogether ignorant of Grant's personal habits, inquired of Rawlins by letter whether there were any grains of truth in the story. The aid replied, explain- ing the only fact that had given color to it, and adding, that as much as he loved Grant, he loved the country more, and if, at an}^ time, from any cause, he should see his chief unfit for the position he occupied, he should deem it his duty to inform Washburne at once. Before mailing the letter, he handed it to Grant. The General, who had sufi'ered keenly from these reports, read it with much feeling, and said, em- phatically : — 196 Gkaxt has Independence and Oppoetunity. [isgi. ' ' Yes, that' s riglit ; exactly right. Send it by all means." The staff telegraphed to Washburne that Pope' s friends were urging his promotion to a major-generalship, "where- upon assurances were obtained from tlie President that no major-general would be appointed from Illinois until some brigadier earned promotion in the field. •' Of course," replied Washburne, "that's all we want." On the thirteenth of October, in a flag of truce letter, Polk proposed an exchange of the prisoners held by the Southern Confederacy. Grant replied : — " I have not the power to make any exchange of prisoners. I recognize no Soutliern Confederacy myself, but will communicate with the higher authorities for their views." Fortune had been kind in giving the General a detached, and therefore a comparatively independent command, and in placing that command at a most important strategic point. The East does not at all comprehend the passionate enthu- siasm of the peo^ile of the Northwest for the Mississippi. If they do not wed it annually with ring and stately cere- monial, they still love the muddy river as old Venetians did the shining Adriatic. Even before the purchase of Louisi- ana, when France, who owned that province, placed some obstructions on commerce at the river mouth, the whole West was ready to fight for it. At the outset of our war, the one great cry west of the Alleghanies was, "We must have the Mississippi. Neither its mouth nor its l)anks must ever be under the jurisdiction of any other Government than our own." Even the banners of recruits bore the inscription : — "The rebels have closed the Mississippi. We must cut our way to the Gulf with our swords." So accident had given Grant the two great keys to suc- cess—independence and opportunity. Bid he possess the third, without which all others are worthless \ 1861.] Oedeeed to Move a.t Last. 197 CHAPTER XVI. BELMONT. The rebels held the Great River from the G-ulf almost to Cairo. They had strongly fortified Columbus, Kentucky, only twenty miles below Grant's head-quarters, an extremely defensible position on the east bank, with bluffs two hun- dred feet high. The General, restive at having the enemy so near him, had several times earnestly asked for permission to attack, but it was refused. His long-coveted opportunity for action came at last. On the first of November, Fremont, who was in southwest Missouri expecting daily an attack from Price's army, ordered him to make demonstrations below Cairo, on both sides of the Mississippi, that Polk might not send Price re-enforcements. Grant immediately started one command under Oglesby down the Missouri shore, and another under Charles F. Smith along the Kentucky shore to the rear of Columbus. At ten o'clock on the night of the sixth he started in person down the river, with three thousand men, upon five transports protected by two wooden gun-boats. The troops were entirely raw ; several hundred had not received their muskets until two days before. Probably not a dozen officers and men all told had ever heard a liostile gun fired. Nine miles below Cairo the boats tied up for the night at tlie Kentucky shore. The head-quarters steamer was so crowded with men, that there was no opportunity for lying down, so the General and staff slept in their chairs in the cabin. About midnight came a note from W. H. L. Wal- lace, in Charleston, Missouri, announcing that the rebels were crossing from Columbus, and had already thrown sev- eral regiments into Belmont, apparently to intercept Oglesby and re-enforce Price. Grant immediately said : — 198 Determhstes to Attack the Enemy. [1861. "The only way now to make this expedition of any value is, to attack. Besides a skirmish will give our men confidence. They enlisted to fight ; if we bring them back without an engagement, they will think we are afraid to pit them against the enemy. The rebels will think so too, for in all our flag-of-truce meetings they have been a little supercilious. It is time for them to find out whether we fear them." ■RONTON Belmont, Fout Hexut, Donelson, Shiloh, Corinth, and Iuka. Early next morning, Grant landed his little force in Mis- souri, four milrs above Belmont, and at thc^ lowest 2)oint out of reach of the Columbus batteries. Hauling the cannon uj) the steep bank, and leaving the transports under guard of the gun-boats and a battalion of infantry, our troops moved forward a mile and formed in line of battle. 1861.] The Battle of Belmont Begins. 199 Soon after nine, a. m., a mile and a half above Belmont, the fight began, in a swampy forest. The soldiers, never ■under fire before, got behind trees and blazed away quite at random, but Grant, with his staff and Logan, rode along the front, encouraging them and rallying them from their hiding- places, but never roughly, remembering that habit alone can bring discipline. When the enemy had fallen back, Gfrant cried out to his adjutant : — " Stop the men, they are wasting ammunition." Rawlins has a stentorian voice ; but as he tried to repeat this order to the colonels, it was lost in "the thunder of the captains and the shouting." Grant, likewise, bending down from his horse to bring his mouth as near as possible to the ears of his men, screamed : — " Don't fire till you see somebody, and then take good aim." As they pressed forward, rebel bullets began to hum again like the noise of a cotton factory. A shot in the stifle- joint disabled Grant's horse. Hillyer immediately gave the General his own and took Grant's pony, Avhicli his negro servant. Bob, was riding for a reserve ; but the Yiony was fidiculousl}'^ small for a war-horse, so Hillyer soon returned him to Bob, and obtained another steed. Two of our soldiers in the woods got in the rear of a long, lank, loose-jointed rebel, who had become so interested in shooting as to remain behind a tree until cut off from his command. The frightened prisoner said he belonged to the Second Tennessee regiment. Grant asked : — " How large is the force fighting against us ?" " To God, stranger," exclaimed the terrified Tennessean, lifting both his hands above his head, "I can't tell. This yer ground was just kivered with men this morning. Swar me in, stranger; I'll fight for j'ou ; swar me in, but do^i't kill me." The confiict waxed hot. Our green soldiers gained confi- dence, and drove back the enemy from tree to tree. At noon Grant said to his staff: — "There has been just about fighting enough to do the troops good and inspire them with confidence. I should be 200 Enemy Deiven and his Camp Captured. [isgi. glad to withdraw now, but that's out of the question, and we must press on." Press on they did for four hours, until they charged through the abatis right into the enemy' s camp at Belmont, capturing six pieces of artillery, several hundred prisoners, and the tents and personal baggage of two thousand men. Hundreds of muskets were lying on the ground, and scores of horses running about. Tlie rebels had fled in all direc- tions, but chiefly down behind the river bank. Grant's little force had fought splendidly, but victory proved too much for it. Bands played the national airs, the pursuit of the enemy ceased, and the boys devoted them- selves to giving cheers for the Union, and to plundering. One succeeded in lifting an enormous canvas-covered trunk on the back of a captured horse, and riding off with it, — a feat worthy of Blondin. Eawlins said to a sergeant, who was rolling up a bundle of clothing at the door of a tent : — " Collect your men at once ; we must get out of this." "What," asked the surprised sergeant, " and give up the position?" All the troops supposed that Grant was to hold Belmont ; but he had no such intention, as it was completely com- manded by the Columbus batteries on the opposite shore, and infantry could cross at any moment from Polk's large army. Belmont is half a mile back from a sliai-p bend of the river. Toward the hollow of this bend, through heavy timber, most. of the rebels had retreated. Colonel Dougherty suggested tliat they had not crossed to Columbus, but were probably hidd('n under the steej) bank. ' ' No doubt they are, ' ' replied Grant. ' ' AVe have accom- plished all we want, and we must get awa}^ just as soon us wc can." Oil llic Cdlmiibus bank, in full view, long lines of troops in ij;n\y were niaicliiiig toward the rebel transports, to be feriicd over, while it was iiiii)()ssible to tell how many had crossed alread}'. Tliis made Grant extremely anxious, and he did not Join in tlic gcTUM-al jubilation. In vain did he order his men away. Some were busily rifling trunks, cap- 18G1.] "We'll Cut Our Way Out." 20.1 taring horses, and clianging tlieir guns for those left by the flying enemy, while McClernand, from his saddle, was mak- ing a spread-eagle speech to the rest, Finall}", hy order of his chief, an aide set the camp on fire. As the tents "blazed up, the shells from Columbus, which had been all the while shrieking far overhead, dropped nearer and nearer, for the rebel gunners had almost obtained the range. The father of Frederick the Great had a pleasant habit of kicking subordinates out of his tent, when he could not refute theu' logic. One day an officer steadfastly refused to be drawn into a controversy. The king asked why, and the officer replied : — " Sire, your arguments are too convincing." So our hitherto immovable soldiers yielded promptly to the incontrovertible logic of these shells, and the General soon had the men marching briskl}^, though without much order, toward their boats. But before they had gone far, rebel troops, in line of battle and -with flags flying defiantly, appeared on Grant's right flank, marching from the river to intercept him. Al- most at the same moment another confederate column emerged from the woods and appeared on his left. Dire confusion and sharp fighting followed. One of the staff, who had never been under fire before, exclaimed : — "Whj", General, we're entirely lost? The}^ have sur- rounded us." "Well, then," replied Grant, with unmoved serenity, "we will cut our way out. We have whipped them once to-day, and I think we can again." Subjected to the most appalling form of attack — an enemy hanging on both flanks — the troops behaved admirably, and finally reached the boats. When they were on board, the entire rebel force, having concentrated back from the river, appeared in line of battle, in a corn-field, within a hundred yards of Grant. He said, earnestly : — " One good fire would disperse those fellows. If I had a hundred and fifty men at command I could whip them. Logan, can't you get your regiment off the boat?" "I could," replied Logan, "but the men are so demoral- 202 Grant has a Nareow Escape. [isei. ized already tliat I fear we might not get tliem on again. I think we had better let them alone." Grant reluctantly assented, and he and Rawlins rode down the hank a quarter of a mile to bring wp a battalion left to guard the boats. But it had withdrawn without orders ; so the chief and his adjutant-general found them- selves quite outside of the Union lines. As they rode leisurely back, on rounding a bend of the river they came in full view of the rebel force, witliin fifty yards of them. Grant walked his horse, that he might not show alarm. He wore no mark of rank except his sash, which was concealed by the blue overcoat of a private, so he was not recognized as an officer. General Polk, with the enemy's advance, noticed him, and said to his sharp-shooters : — "There's a Yankee, if you want to try your aim." But the men were all firing at the crowded Union trans- ports, and nobody thoirght the single soldier worthy of notice. It was no time for loitering, and the two put their horses on a run for tlie boat. Rawlins' happened to be faster than Grant' s, so he left the General behind. In the midst of that close race for life, along came black Bob, not on Grant's pony, which he had lost, but on another which he had cap- tured. His hat Hew from his head, and the Intelligent Con- traband, with shells bursting all around him, was frightened almost to death. Gil pin-like he ran a race, and Gilpin-like he won it, too, for he passed both Rawlins and Grant, and first rt^ached the head -quarters boat. Rawlins rode on next, and, in tlie con- fusion, under tliat hot fire, the plank was drawn in and the steamer started. Just then Grant appeared on the bank. The captain of the steam(>r did not know the quiet, rougli- looking soldier, apparently a private, who stood there amid whistling bulU'ts, but an aide explained that it Avas the Gen- eral commanding. So the plank was again run out. Grant rode his liorse up it, and the trans})()rt pushed off. The rebels were now so nrai- tliat our gun-boats opened upon them with grape and canister, cutting givat gaps in their colunms. But from the best cover they could find, 1861.] "NiGGEE WUF MoRE TO Me." 203 they poured a vicious musketry fire into our crowded trans- ports. The next day their Columbus papers stated that our men were slaughtered until streams of blood poured from the transports and crimsoned the Mississippi, and Polk ordered the firing stopped, declaring that this was too much shedding of blood, even though it flowed from the invaders of their soil ! Actually, not a man was killed, and only two soldiers and one deck-hand wounded. The reason — over- shooting — was a common one, as the assailants were on higher ground than the steamers. It was five o'clock when the little Union fieet got off". On the head-quarters boat, Hillyer was missed, and it was feared he was killed ; but he turned up uninjured. The next question was. What had been done with the General' s horse 1 While it was being discussed, and Bob kept him- self safely out of sight, a quartermaster invited Grant to the lower deck, saying : — "Come, General, and see what a pretty rebel pony I have captured." Grant, upon viewing it, seemed greatly surprised, and then said, smilingly : — ' ' Why, captain, this is Tny pony ; I am very glad you saved him for me." Just then Bob came up with a most sheepish expression. "You rascal," asked Rawlins, sternly, "why didn't you take better care of the General's pony ?" The darkey, who stammered badly, replied as quick as he could get the unwilling words out : — " I reckon General Grant thinks a horse wuf more'n a nigger, but a nigger'' s icvf more to QneP'' Next day Grant sent a flag of truce party to look after his wounded. It was accompanied by the wife of a lieutenant- colonel who had failed to return with his regiment. She suddenly came upon his dead body on the field, gazed a mo- ment, then exclaimed agonizingly, "Poor, poor soul! is it gone ?" and fell prostrate upon it, while every looker-on, friend and foe, was moved to tears. Grant' s total loss was four hundred and eighty-five men, 204 Graxt Delighted with his Teoops. [isei. only eiglity-four of them killed. He brought away two caj)tured field-pieces and one hundred and seventy-five prisoners, and destroyed the entire camp equipage of the en- emy. The rebel general reported his loss at six hundred and forty-two. Of course, both parties claimed the victory, the foe Avitli the more reason, as he held the ground at the close of the engagement. Polk said in his report : " The enemy were thoroughly routed. We pursued tliem to their boats seven miles, then drove their boats before us. The road was strewn with their dead and wounded, guns, ammunition, and eqrnpments. Our loss con- siderable ; theirs heavy." Still Grant was content with the result, and delighted at the conduct of his soldiers. In a congratulatory order he said that, during all the battles of the Mexican war, he ' * never saw one more hotly contested, or where troops be- haved with greater gallantry," and he wrote to his father, " I feel proud to command such men." Never before had he taken into battle a force larger than one company. Now he had handled successfully three thousand men in a difficult position. Both he and they had gained confidence. Their conduct had strengthened him in the belief that our true policy was to move at once and everywhere on the enemy, and not wait to drill and disci- pline troops, as the rebels could profit by that delay quite as much as we. The battle made his name a little known to the country. In Virginia it would have excited universal attention and newspaper comment, but as it was fought in remote Mis- souri, the people knew little about it. They had the general impression tliat it was a decided defeat, yet tliey were so utterly wi-arj- of Buell's and McClellan's delays that they were deliglited to hear of one unknown Western general who thouglit that war meant fighting, and had availed him- self of his earliest opportunity to stir up the enemy. 1861.] Halleck's " Order IS'uMBER Theee." 205 CHAPTER XVII. FORT HENRY, The battle of Belmont resulted from a demonstration ordered by Fremont, but before it was fouglit he had been removed. Halleck, who succeeded him, had some reputation as a writer on military science, an army engineer, and a successful California politician and lawyer. Grant, with the exaggerated respect of a man not fiicile with the pen for one who writes "like a book," over-estimated his ability, and long before his appointment, said : — " McClellan is in his right place in the East, and I hope they will order Halleck here. He is the best man for the West." Halleck proved a soldier with some strong points, but excessively dogmatic and rude to visitors. A good military theorist, but so timid that he would never attack without a "sure thing;" the truth, "nothing risk, nothing win," had never dawned upon his opaque brain. He did not even seem to know what the war was about. " Ours not to reason why, Ours but to do or die," is a good principle for the private soldier, but no general could succeed as commander-in-chief, who had not one glow of sympathy with the hopes and fears of the loj^al people. The lower branch of Congress had already, " Resolved^ That in the judgment of this House, it is no part of the duty of soldiers to ca^Dture and restore fugitive slaves." Notwithstanding this, one of Halleck's earliest official acts, was to issue his infamous "General Order Number Three," alleging that fugitive slaves harbored in our 206 Grant Avoids the Appeaeance of Evil. [is^i. camps carried military information to the enemy, and direct- ing their expulsion and absolute exclusion from our lines. In this, as in all other cases, want of decency was want of sense. The charge, utterly false, returned to plague its inventor. Though serving the country faithfully and effi- ciently afterward, he never recovered from the damage it inflicted upon his reputation for truthfulness. On the principle of letting well enough alone, Halleck retained our General in command at Cairo. A friend soon wrote Grant that President Lincoln was willing to make him a major-general. He replied : — " 'No ; I do not want promotion till I have earned it." During their years of struggle, his wife had more than once brought a smile to the faces of her friends by the re- mark : — "Mr. Grant has great natural ability. He Avould fill any public position well if he once had a chance." Now that his promotion was talked of, one of his own relatives said to her : — " Ulj'sses may get along as a brigadier, but he had better be satisfied with that, and not seek to rise higher ' ' ' There is no danger of his reaching a position above his capacity," she replied indignantly. " He is equal to a much higher one than this, and will certainly win it if he lives." Unlike some of our prominent generals, he avoided even the appearance of evil. When a near relative asked that a contract for supplying the District of Cairo with harness and leather might be given to him. Grant indorsed upon the petition a request that it might fwl be granted, as the applicant was his kinsman. Colonel Ross, commanding at Cape Gira^rdeau, asked permission to suppress The Eagle newspaper, which, not daiing to publish original treason, copied columns of articles hostile to the Government from "copperhead" journals of Cincinnati and Chicago. But Grant refused, on the ground that, however objectionable these might be, whatever could be published in Ohio or Illinois must also be permitted in Missouri. During his entire cadetship at West Point, Charles F. Smith had been one of his instructors. Smith was then an 1861.] His Loyalty to His Old Insteuctoe. 207 ideal soldier — one of the finest-looking men in our whole army. Officers respected him, cadets idolized him. Grant esteemed him, next to Scott, the greatest man in all the ■world. In the Mexican war, afterward, his brilliant ex- ploits fired anew the enthusiasm of his former pupil. Smith was now a brigadier-general of volunteers, in com- mand at Paducali. On the way thither he had reported to Grant. He was still a soldier of striking appearance — erect and graceful, with a fine face, and hair and beard white as snow. Grant received him with enthusiastic affection, though with great embarrassment at finding their positions reversed. It seemed almost impossible for him to give an order to his old instructor, and he could no more have reprimanded him than an affectionate son could rebuke his father. During the autumn, in a visit to Paducali, Grant's deference was so obvious and painful, that Smith said : — " General, I am now a subordinate. I know a soldier's duty. Pray, feel no awkwardness whatever about our new relations." Smith had come from the East in disgrace. He some- times drank to excess ; and, while serving in Virginia, his loyalty had been most unjustly questioned. He had even been publicly charged in Congress with drunkenness on tlje field of battle — a slander which almost justified the declara- tion of Richardson of Illinois : — " I feel this day that our armies would do better, and gain more and greater victories, if the riot act could be read, and both houses of Congress dispersed to their homes at the earliest possible moment." Scott was hostile to Smith, and had once seen him in- toxicated in Washington. But for this he would probably have been general-in- chief instead of McClellan, and not serving as a subordinate under his former pupil. Grant, always indulgent to his friends, and ready to forgive seventy times seven offenses, was only the more zealous in his attachment now the veteran was in trouble. The stories of Smith's disloyalty probably arose from the "conservative" tendencies which he had in common with 208 His IS'arrow Escape from Guerrillas. [isgi. all our old regular officers. Dispatches from Cairo to the Northern press charged him with neglecting his duty in Paducah, and also with returning fugitive slaves. Grant instructed Eawlins, who supervised all newspaper tele- grams, to expunge every thing derogatory to him. Raw- lins reported that though he could stop these rumors from going over the wires, he could not prevent their "being sent by mail. "Never mind," replied Grant, "any report against Smith must be a lie. Stop it anyhow ; that will make it twenty-four hours later in seeing the light." The steamers between St. Louis and Cairo gave aid and comfort to the rebels. One day at Commerce, Missouri, the Platte Valley was stopped by Jeff Thompson with a six- pounder. The guerrillas rushed on board, asking : — " Where is Grant ? Where is the paymaster 1" Grant had intended to go up to Cape Girardeau that day with a paymaster, but they were prevented by some pressing business. It was suspected that the captain of the boat had given information. The guerrillas captured eight or ten Union officers on board, but were sorely dis- appointed at not bagging more important game. Several occurrences of this nature induced Grant in November to recommend to Halleck that the carrying trade be- tween Cairo and St. Louis "be performed by Government, charging uniform rates," and commerce "be cut off from all points south of Cape Girardeau." The letter con- cluded : — "There is not .a sufficiency of Union sentiment in this portion of the State to save Sodom. "This is sliown from the fact tliat Jeff Thompson, or any of the rebels, can go into Charleston and spend hours, or encamp for the niglit, on their way north to depredate npon Union men, and not one loyalist is found to report the fact to our picket, stationed but one and a half miles oif." The suggestion was promptly carried out. The next cause of serious embarrassment was Halleck' s order to expel fugitive slaves. Rawlins often found in the newspaper dispat(Oi(>s submitted to him for revision, informa- tion which had not yet reached head-quarters. His rule 1861.] A Little Newspaper Rivaley. 209 was, to strike out nothing that was true, unless it would in- terfere with early military movements. On one occasion, the Chicago Tribune' s dispatch alleged that three negroes who sought i)rotection in our lines at Bird's Point, had been sent out by Colonel Oglesby, in accordance with Hal- leck's order. Rawlins, not having heard of the occurrence, expunged the statement. A few minutes later in came the representative of the Chicago Times with a dispatch repeat- ing the allegation. Rawlins erased it again. The correspond- ent said : — "I know it's true ; I saw it done myself." " That may be," replied the aide, " but I can't let it go until we receive information of it. ' ' Grrant, who from the next room had overheard the con- versation, stepped out, and asked : — "What is it?" Rawlins explained, and the General inquired : — " Is the story true ?" "Yes," replied the correspondent, "I am sure of it." " Yery well, let it go." The journalist promised to notify his fellow quill-driver that both papers might be fairly treated. But thi'ough some mistake, which persons familiar with journalistic rivalry may possibly comprehend, the Tribune man was not in- formed, and his journal did not receive the dispatch until one day later. Thereupon that emphatic newspaper de- nounced Grant bitterly for suppressing news and carrying out Halleck's infamous order. The truth was, the three negroes had brought valuable information about Jeff Thompson's movements and strength. After receiving it, Oglesby obeyed technically Halleck's order and sent them away, but he understood very well that just outside of camp some of his officers were wait- ing for them. The fugitives were ferried over the river into Illinois, and, before the Tribune'' s publication, were safe in Ohio. Kentucky, West Virginia, and Missouri, were all ranged on the Union side, and had many slave-holders fighting in the national army. Therefore, all along the border fugitive- 210 Deals with Fugitive-Slave Cases. [is^^- slave cases brought countless annoyances. Grant, the most subordinate and law-abiding of men, was sometimes puzzled to know how to deal with them. An old Kentuckian, who had often given valuable information about rebel move- ments, and had endured imprisonment at Columbus for being a Unionist, lost several negroes. On endeavoring to reclaim them from our camp opposite Cairo, he was arrested as a sp3^ Grant, December twenty-fifth, instructed Colo- nel Cook, commanding at Fort Holt : — " Your communication in relation to Mr. Mercer is received. I will see that he does not trouble your camp in future so frequently as formerly. I am satisfied, however, from other evidence than his own, of his loyalty, and regret that he should have come so much under your suspicion. "While we wish to keep every thing from the enemy, it is our duty to alleviate the hardships-consequent upon a state of war— of our Union friends in the border States as far as practicable. I gave permission for a man to go into your camp for the purpose of recovering his fugitive slaves. If General Order Number Three, from head-quarters Department of the Mis- souri had been complied with, this would not have been necessary. Mr. Mercer now reports to me that these negroes were found concealed in one of the huts at Fort Holt, and that the owner was forcibly prevented trom recovering his property. -If true, this is treating law, the orders of the commander of .he department, and my orders, with contempt. Mr. Mercer does not charge that this was by your order; but after your attention was called to the fact that fugitive slaves were in your camp, as the pass over my signature in- formed you was probably the fact, an investigation should have been had, and the negroes driven out. I do not want the army used as a negro-catcher ; but still less do I wish to see it used as a cloak to cover their escape, ^o matter what our private mews may le, there are in this department positive orders on the subject, and these orders must le oheyed. -I direct, therefore, that you have a search made; and if you find these or any other fugitive slaves in camp at Fort Holt, you have them expelled from camp; and if, hereafter, you find any have been concealed, or de- tained, you bring the party so detaining them to punishment." But the loyalty of the negroes was uniform and z(>alous, and it was impossibk^ to expel from the camps the only class in the South friendly to our cause. With the country in general. Grant was advancing. Less than two weeks after writing the above, he made another decision, which showed whither his sympathies were tend- 18G2.] BiTTEE HOSTILITY TO CONTEACTORS. 211 ing. The agent of one Doctor Henderson, applied to Ross, the Union commandant at Cape Girardeau, to have Hen- derson's errant negro returned. The law only required that slaves who had worked upon fortifications, or otherwise in direct connection with rehel armies, should be retained and treated as freemen. But Ross declined to return this one, because, though remaining at home, he had been working for his master, Avho was in the rebel army. To his report of the case, Grant* dictated a reply sustaining him, and taking ground quite in advance of legislation up to that time. It concluded : — "While it is not the iiolicy of the military arm of the Government to ignore or in any manner interfere with the constitutional rights of loyal citizens, except when a military necessity makes individuals subservient to the public interests, it certainly is not the policy of our army in any manner to aid those who in any manner aid the rebellion. If such a master has a civil right to reclaim such property, he must resort to the civil authorities to enforce that right. The General commanding does not feel it his duty to feed the foe, or in any m'anner contribute to their comfort. If Dr. Hender- son has given aid and comfort to the enemy, neither he nor his agents have any right to come within our lines, much less to invoke our aid and assist- ance for any purpose whatever." The hostility of speculators still continued, because Grant' s long experience as quartermaster, and his inflexible integrity' caused the exposure and defeat of several ingeni- ous devices to cheat the Government. On his suggestion it was finally ordered that the quartermaster at Cairo should buy hay and grain, as was needed, direct from the neigh- boring farmers without any intervention whatever by middle men. The enraged contractors traduced Grant, and reiterated formally the old charges of drunkenness. Meanwhile he suggested officially to Halleck the neces- sity of a law, providing that '•'• all fraudulent contractors he impressed into tlie ranks, or, still better, into the gun- boat service, where they could hate no chance of deserting.'''' Such a general could not fail to make bitter and unscru- pulous enemies. Buckner commanded the rebel army near Bowling * January fifth. 212 An Expedition into Kentucky. [i8C2. Green, and Buell expected a figlit witli liim. There Avere fears that Polk might send Buckner additional troops, so in January Halleck directed Grant to TDegin threatening demonstrations in western Kentucky, sufficient to keep the Columbus rebels at home. He added : — ■ " Make a great fuss about moving all your forces toward Nashville, and let it be so reported in tlie newspapers. Let no one, not even a member of 3'our staff, know the real object. Let it be understood that twenty thousand or thirty thousand men are expected from Missouri — that your force is merely the advance guard. The object is to prevent re-enforcements being sent to Buckner. Having accomnlishod this, slowly retire to your former position." These instructions were obeyed to the letter. Hundreds of visitors, and a score of correspondents, flocked to Cairo to accompany the important movement. Horses could not be bought or hired, so the members of the- press modestly insisted that army liorses should be detailed for their use. But steeds were scarce even at head-quarters, and these pressing requests finally exhausted the patience of Rawlins, who said : — "You can't get horses here, that's all there is about it. General Grant doesn't keep a livery stable." The journalists were nothing if they were not cynical, and as they walked away one murmured the retort : — " Well, he might well enough, from the number of asses about his head-quarters !" Of course the secret of the real nature of the expedition could not be kept from all the correspondents. Having the good fortune to be told confidentially hut autlioritatively that th(* movement was only a feint, I returned to St. Louis, and so avoided the comfortless winter journey. On the thirteenth of January the force, six thousand strong, started through the Kentuck}- mud. Discipline was very strict. Straggling Avas forbidden ; and a stringent order directed that any soldier taking or dc^stroying private pro- perty should suffer severest punishment, and any officer aiding or countenancing it be deprived of his sword and exi")ell('d fi'om the army. One morning the good woman of a house where the General 1862.] "Wjio Stole the Honey?" 213 and liis stuff had spent the night, complained that the Twenty-second Illinois Volunteers had stolen the honey- comb from her bee-hives, and Grant indignantly ordered that they be punished. The regiment was drawn up in a hollow square, and Hillyer in a speech of j)i'oper rhetoric told the men that the General, who had admired their bravery at Belmont, was deeply grieved at their present misconduct. A fine of five dollars was imposed upon each ofiicer, and one dollar upon each private. When the march was renewed, Grant rode along to the front and was greeted with cheers by regiment after regi- ment. But the Twenty-second received him with ominous silence, and when he had passed on gave an illustration of the democratic spirit of volunteers. The men shouted : — " Who stole the honey ?" Then they answered in deep tones : — " General Grant's body-guard." "Who ate it?" "General Grant's staff." " Who paid for it ?" " The Twenty-second Illinois." (Groans.) They were right, at least in part. Months afterward it was discovered that the body-guard were the real culprits. The command remained out for a week. Its object was accomj)lished. No re-enforcements were sent to Buckner, and though Buell himself was not drawn into fighting, liis subordinate, George H. Thomas, won the battle of Mill Spring, the first of his many soldierly achievements. The Tennessee and Cumberland rivers, great highways to the heart of the South, enter the Ohio at Smithland and Paducah, a few miles above Cairo. On the Tennessee, sixty-five miles above its mouth, was the rebel post, called Fort Henry, of which little was known. A few miles east, on the Cumberland, was Fort Donelson." The project of attacking Henry, had long been talked of East and West. Grant had asked Halleck' s pemiission repeatedly but un- availingly, and Commodore Foote, commanding our gun-boat * Map, page 198. 214 Grant has Permission to Move. [I862. fleet, was equally eager. On the twenty-thii'd of January tlie General went to St. Louis to gain Halleck's consent, "but received instead a rebuke for meddling, and an order to return to Cairo. He took time, however, to visit liis aged father-in-law. At the outset of the war Colonel Dent was a rebel sympa- thizer, and when Grant spoke of entering the service, he replied : "Yes, you were educated for the army, audit's your most natural way to support your family. Go into it and rise as high as you can, but if your troops ever come on this side of the river I would shoot them.'" This, however, was only vehemence of expression from an old planter, whose interests and associations had al- ways been with the slave-holders. Now Grant i-ode out to Gravois, and found the colonel delighted to see him. JSTegroes were growing scarce on the family estate ; most had already gone, in anticipation of the coming millennium. Those who remained were ordered to kill a turkey, and get the best dinner possible for the General. Dent asked about the fight at Belmont, and listened to an account of it with hearty satisfaction. In spite of Halleck' s rebuff Grant clung tenaciously to his purpose, and on the last of January he and Foote both earnestly urged again that they be i)ermitted to go on the expedition. Grant wrote that it would liave an admii-able effect upon the troojis, besides establishing a good point for operations against Memphis, Columbus, and Nashville. His chief-of-staff said : — " I think tlie capture of Fort Ht^nry much more import- ant than it seeuK^l to me at first." "Yes," replied the General, " I think so too. We will get r«'ady at once to move against it." On tlic first of February permission came. Grant and Foot<^ Avere already nearly prepared. Newspaper telegrams wero no longer su})ervised by Rawlins, T)ut by Colonel Kiggin, a volunteer aide, who reversed Rawlins' practice and allowed every thing untrue to pass, on the ground that it could only mislead the enemy. Halleck was so anxious to 18G2.] A Xew Rule for the Correspondents. 215 keep this exjDedition secret that he had instructed Grant not to let even his own staff know of it. Only those who aided in the ])reparations were informed, and Riggin was still in the bonds of ignorance. Late on a dark Sunday night, a Chicago correspondent chanced to see two gun-boats back out from the landing and move noiselessly up the river. This was enough for the imaginative reporter. As Agassiz can describe a fish from one fin, so this professor of the quill knew all about the expedition from two gun-boats. He instantly telegraphed to his journal that a great movement was on foot, which would startle the enemy and electrify the loyal countr}^. Riggin, supposing it a canard, permitted the dispatch to go. It was widely published, and came back to Cairo be- fore the main expedition started. Grant, seeing that such blunders were inevitable, then made a new rule for news- paper correspondents, which he always followed afterward. He simply instructed each :— " You yourself must determine what it is proper to send. I trust your discretion and your honor to give no informa- tion of value to the enemy." This worked admirably ; the confidence he reposed in the journalists was never broken, save in one single in- stance. The correspondents at Cairo learned of the movement, but gave no publicity to it. I chanced to be in St. Louis when one telegraphed me: — ^" You can not come too soon — take the first train." I arrived just after the expedition had started, and, overtaking it at Smithland, was received on the head-quarters' boat, where for several days I saw much of the General and his staff. Commodore Foote was an officer of great simplicity of character, and earnest, unaffected piety. He always asked a blessing upon meals in his cabin, and when lying in port was prominent at church and Sunday-school. His gun- boats, new in warfare, had just been completed. They were low, sheathed with iron, looked like enormous turtles, and were manned chiefly by men hitherto employed on river 216 The Gun-boats Capture Foet Henry. [isg2. transports. Tliey had never been tested, and their first trial was looked upon with great anxiety. Our land forces, debarkino- three miles below Fort Henry, were the first Union soldiers, coming from the North, who had penetrated a Cotton State. At noon, on the sixth of February, after safely removing the torpedoes, with which, as our scouts learned from a loquacious rebel woman, the enemy had planted the river, Foote moved out with his steamers, and opened fire on the fort. Grant dared delay the attack no longer, as he knew that heavy rebel re-en- forcements were approaching. The iron-clads worked to a charm, turning off the ene- my's shots as a roof turns off hail, and firing with great pre- cision, while they steamed forward within three hundred yards of the w^ork. In one hour and fifteen minutes after Foote fired his first shot, the fort struck its flag. Grant' s troops, sent to invest it in the rear, were so de- layed by mud and swollen streams, that they did not get up until after its surrender ; hence the rebel infantry escaped to Donelson. General Lloyd Tilghman, his staff, sixt}^ ar- tillerists, and fifteen guns, were captured with the fort. The fight being only with artillery, the killed and wounded on both sides were less than a hundred. Tlie garrison had left in such haste that camp fires were blazing, meat boiling, bread half mixed, and letters, and packs of cards from games inteiTupted, were lying upon the tables. Our d(^liglited troops donnt^d rebel pantaloons and coats, hats and shirts, and some oven grew demonstrative on rebel whisky. Among our pi-isoners was a lieutenant of artillery, born and learcd in tlie North. Tlie night after tlic capture, while enjoying the hospitalities of the General and start* on the head-cpiartcrs' steamer, he talk(Ml so insolentlj' about the "Vandal hoide" and "invading our country," that Grant, cvci- lenient to Southern rebels, but bitter upon their Northern sympathizers, confined him in the hold. 1862.] Gkant Starts for Donelson. 217 CHAPTER XVIII. DOXELSOJf. Being suddenly called to New York, after the capture of Fort Henrj-, I stepped into the General's oflSce on the steamer to say " good-bye." He replied : — " You had better wait a day or two." "Why?" " I am going over to attack Fort Donelson to-morrow." Feeling that this gave me some liberty of questioning, I asked : — " Do you know how strong it is ?" " Not exactly ; but I think we can take it ; at all events, we can try." The next day and other days passed, but tlie command was powerless. The country was under water, infantry could hardl}^ march, and it Avas impossible to move artillery. Grant chafed sadly. Halleck telegraphed : — "Hold on to Fort Henry at all hazards. Picks and shovels are sent, and large re-enforcements will be sent immediately." This was thoroughly characteristic of the two men. While Halleck was talking about spades and re-enforce- ments, Grant seriously contemplated moving upon a strong fort which he knew next to nothing about, with infantry and cavalry, and without a single field-piece. Finally the roads becoming barely passable for artillery, on Wednesday, February twelfth, he started with eight light batteries, and fifteen thousand troops — without tents or baggage — for Donelson, on the Cumberland, twelve miles across from Fort Henry. It was named in honor of a nephew of Andrew Jackson — a rebel, though his uncle had bequeathed a sword to him with the injunction, 218 Invests it With an Inferior Force. [1862. " TLat lie fuil not to use it wlien necessary in support and protection of our jrlorious Union, and for tlie protection of the constitutional rights of our beloved country, let them be assailed by foreign enemies or domestic traitors.'''' Before noon our troops drove in the rebel pickets. The fort proper covered about a Imndred acres, its outworks spread over several miles. The approaches "svere over rocky hills, obstructed by fallen trees. Grant's men ad- vanced cautiously through thick "woods, and after con- siderable skirmishing invested the post on all its land sides before dark. Their arched line from the river above nearly to the river below, was like an over-bent bow, the stream answering for the string. At the lower end, on our left, were Footers gun-boats and Grant's transports, which had come up the Cumberland with rations. At the upper end in front of our right, but within the rebel lines, was the little town of Dover. Only the promptitude of Grant' s movements made them successful. The rebels had already determined to evacuate Columbus, and hold the Tennessee and Cumberland at all hazards. Beauregard was bringing up troops from Colum- bus when he learned that Fort Henry had fallen. Albert Sidney Johnston, commanding all the confederate troojDS in the "West, said, on hearing the news : — " Then I will defend Nashville at Donelson." lie strengthened the fort, until twenty-one thousand men, with sixty-five pieces of artillery, garrisoned it. Grant was attacking an army one-third larger than his own, and pro- tected by formidable works ! Thursday was spent in reconnoitering, and pushing for- w^ard our lines. There were sharp skirmishes over the yel- low earth of many fresh works. The rebels were digging like beavei's, l)ut the spade was of little use now. Their fatal mistake had been in not resisting Grant as he approached over the diflicult roads fi-oni Foi't Ileniy. By sundown wi> had lost four hundred men. The night was terrible. Th(3 mercury was only ten degrees above zero. AVith the improvid(MU'e of raAV soldiers, many of our troops had thrown away blankets and overcoats on the 1862.] Our Girx-BOATS Damaged and Repulsed. 219 march. Xow tlie}^ suffered intensely from cold, Laving no ^tents or protection of any kind, and being unable to build fires, within musket range of the enemy. Before morning, a driving snow-storm began. Many were frozen. The wounded, shivering on the ground between the two lines, cried agonizingly for water. Many were delirious. Some had arms or legs torn otf, and in the ghastly light of the snow one old, white-haired man in gray homespun, was seen lying against a tree with his scalp torn off by a shot, and hanging over his face. The snow was crimsoned with blood, and during the night angry picket-firing was kept up. / Friday morning brought re-enforcements under Lew Wallace, Avhicli made Grant' s force nearly as large as that of the enemy. The weather continued horrible for cam- paigning. Guns, caissons, and wagons were frozen in the earth, the men were so stiff that they could hardly walk, and many suffered from hunger, as bad roads and frequent changes in position had interfered with the distribution of rations. There was steady cannonading, aggravated by the horrors of sharp-shooting. Our riflemen kept several of the enemy's batteries quite unmanned. Now and then the rebels would deceive them by sticking up a cap, or a dum- my, to draw their fire, and then, seeing their whereabouts, would send back a volley. The gun-boats had arrived. Grant, who had great confi- dence in them, suggested that Commodore Foote run past the fort to get above it, and compel its evacuation. But we had not then learned how safely armored vessels can run the heaviest batteries, and Foote declined the risk. vHad he assumed it, he, not Grant, would have been the hero of Donelson. ^But the commodore was eager enough for an old-fashioned fight. That afternoon his fleet attacked at only forty 3-ards. Fort Henry, very low, had been easily raked by his guns, but it was hard to damage the Donelson batteries, thirty feet above the Avater. Our soldiers on shore listened with keen interest to the shots rattling against the ringing iron of the boats, and were ready to assault all along the line if Foote should succeed. But the gallant 220 A Naerow Escape from Defeat. [i862. commodore failed. After "being under fire an hour and a half, he had only twelve practicable guns left in his whole fleet, and had lost fifty-four men, chiefly wounded. His flagship had been struck fiftj^-nine times, and his other boats had received twenty-five or thirty shots apiece. He turned sadly away, and his disabled boats drifted down stream. Grant was extremely anxious. He feared he miglit have to fortify, and capture the place by a regular siege. The severity of the weather still increased. During tlie snowy, sleeting, intensely cold night, several of the wounded froze to death, and many soldiers were tortured with hunger, but exhibited unshaken fortitude. Before dayliglit on Saturday, came a note from Foote, written on his flagship, and asking of Grant : — " "Will you do me the favor to come on board at your earliest eonveaieuce, as I am disabled from walking by a contusion, and I can not possibly get to see you about the disposition of these vessels, all of which are more or less disabled." At dawn the General rode down two miles to the land- ing, and held a long conference with Foote. It convinced him that tlie fleet must go back to Cairo for repairs. While he was on the flagship, lively work began on the field. Our lines stood : — I,EFT. CENTER. EIGUT. C. F. Smith. Lew Wallace. McClernand. The rebels tried to do Avhat the}^ might have done suc- cessfully two days before. They massed heavily on our right, and attacked furiously at daylight. They expiM'ted their charge to be a surprise, but McClernand'smen rccMnved it with ])i-()inpt and hot resistance. Though the enemy's force at tliat ])()int was three times as large as ours, the troops lif'id tlicii- ground admirably through foui- hours' hard fighting with artillcr}' and niuskctiy. Ihit the odds were too gi-cat, and oui- whole right wing and right c('nt<'r were driven Car back, and almost rolled up. At that mo- ment the rebels, who wer(> trying to cut their way out, might have escaped but for Dickey's Illinois cavalry, which, 1862.] " Aee TiiEiE Haveesacks Full ?" 221 "by the merest cliance, was drawn up across the road before them. SupjDOsing it as strong on each side, in the woods, as across that narrow road, the enemy, wearied by hard fighting, came to a halt. Never was man wanted more sorely than Grant. He had heard the guns, and was galloping up when he met an aide, who told him the situation. At nine o'clock he reached our left. The battle was then suspended. Both sides were hesitating, and the enemy had one of our bat- teries. Smith explained that the fighting had been exclu- sively on our right. Grant instantly replied : — "If the enemy has massed so heavily on our right, he must have weakened his front, here on our left. Hold your- self in readiness to attack with your whole command. Look out for a place to make the assault, while I go over and see McClernand and Wallace." "I will be ready to advance," replied Smith, "when- ever 3^ou give the order." Grant rode on to the right. He found our troops dis- ordered and desponding. They had fought splendidly, but imagined the enemy in overwhelming force. A slight alarm might have driven the whole line back in panic. AYhile the General was conversing with McClernand he heard a soldier say : — " The rebels have come out to fight several da^^s. They have their knapsacks on, and their haversacks are full of 'grub.' " "Are their haversacks full?" asked Grant eagerly, on catching this casual remark. Hard by was a little group of rebel prisoners in gray. Two or three oflicers examined their haversacks, and brought one to the General. It contained three days' rations. The enemy's purpose and condition flashed upon him. He said hurriedly : — "Men defending a fort dotft carry three days' rations, especially when making a charge, unless they are trying to get away. The rebels have been endeavoring to cut their way out, and wouldn't hesitate now if they were not badly damaged. Whichever party attacks now will whip." 222 "Tell Get^eral Grant I'll Do It." [i862. The "sight of tlie master" detected that this was the supreme moment. In brief, earnest words he ordered McCh^rnand and Wallace to be ready to assault the moment they should hear Smith's guns on the left, and he sent a re- quest to Foote to come up with his gun-boats and make a show of attacking to add to the enemy' s fears. Then he put spurs to his horse and galloped back to the left with the staff, pausing at each knot of straggling soldiers, to say : — " Prepare to attack. Get ready to go in at once. The enemy is growing desperate and trying to retreat. If we push him the victory is ours." The men did not believe much in the enemy's retreat- ing ; still, witli freshened courage, they hurried toward the front. On reaching the left Grant found Smith, to whom Rawlins said : — "• McClernand wants re-enforcements ; can't you send him some more troops ? " "He has been wanting them all day, and I've just sent him three regiments, which are as many as he needs," re- plied the old regular, in a tone indicative of no deep respect. Wellington, once asked if he gave the famous order at Waterloo, "Up, Guards, and at them," replied: — "ISTo. I don't remember what I said ; but I made no such foolish speech as that. I suppose I simply directed: — 'Advance the line.' " So Grant and Smith now conversed on a move- ment Avhich was to be historic, not in high heroics, but like two men talking over any business matter. " I tliink you liad bett(n' make tlie main assault here," said the one. " I will try, sir," replied tlu? otlu^r. By fonr o'clock all was ready. Two gun-boats had run up and were throwing shells at long range. Grant, who had now richh'ii toward the center, sent word to Smith to .attack. He replied sententiously : — "Tell Gimeral Grant I'll do it." Tlien tlie veteran turned to his men, and briefly gave them orders. Tlie Second Iowa was to lead. Smitli formed it in two lines, thirty paces apart, took his place between them, and gave the word, " Forward ! " 18G2.] The Stars axd Stripes Go Up. 223 They went with a dash. While the artillery was pour- ing a hot fire into the rebel works, they rushed up, like school-boys on a race, over the roughest ground. Smith's eyes flashed with delight. This was the work he loved. In the teeth of a pattering shower of bullets, wliich soon grew to a terrible storm of grape and canister— through dense underbrush — up a steep hill — climbing fallen timber, slip- ping back on the snow, scrambling over slippery rocks, the column pushed forward. The flag-staff was almost shot off*; the flag itself was cut with fourteen bullets, and five succes- sive color-bearers dropped, one after another ; but a sixth bore forward the undying banner, and the men never wavered. Right behind the advance rode Smith, hat in hand, his white hair and beard streaming in the wind, as he shouted words of encouragement. The rebels would fain have strengthened their right again, but Grant's assault was so severe along the entire line, that they could not spare a man for the weakened point. Smith's men needed no encouragement. Without firing a single musket, they reached the ditch, poured down into it, then up the side and over tlie paj-apet, first by twos and threes, and then in squads. For brief minutes there was sharp hand to hand fighting, then the last Graj^-coats, who were not captured, had fled, and the Blue-coats rent the heavens with their wild cheers, as the Stars and Stripes flew up. Tlie moment the work was ours, its reversed guns, and our own pieces, which had dashed in behind steaming hoi-ses on a full run, were throwing shells among the retreating rebels, whom they compelled to fall back almost a mile, into the outworks of the fort itself. Darkness ended the fight. Smith had gained a position not absolutely commanding the fort, but holding the key to it, and enabling our artil- lerists to take nearly all the enemy's works in reverse. Meanwhile, on our riglit and center, McClernand and Wal- lace had recovered the ground and guns lost in the morning. That night, Grant and staff slept in a negro shanty on the left of our lines. They said, gleefully : — 224 COI^STERTTATIO'N" I^ THE ReBEL CaMP. [1862. "We may liave to figlit a couple of hours or so to-mor- row, iDut that will be all." They were conliclent of getting a position early in the morning where they would have a jolunging fire on the fort itself. After dark, Smith came into the little hut and gave an account of his charge. AVith the habit of our army in Flanders and elsewhere, he was always full of strange oaths. Now flushed with success, his narration was unusually rich in expletives. He said : — " I took the lirst regiment I came to, the Second Iowa, and divided it into two lines, ready to charge. Then I preached to the men. I made them a speech — the first I ever made in my life. I cheered with them ; I swore at them ; and, by — , I would have prayed with them if neces- sary. I told them, ' Fighting is my business ; I am here to do it, because the Government sent me. But you have volun- teered. You are here because you chose to be ; and now I expect you to go in and do your duty.' And, b}^ — , they did go in, and they did just as well as any regulars I ever saw in my life." The night Avitnessed consternation in the rebel camp. John B. Floyd, of Virginia, was in command. As Secretary of War under Buchanan he had atrociously betrayed his trust, by storing large quantities of Government arms in the South, that the rebels, in whose counsels he was, might seize them Avhen ready to begin the Avar. Floyd had ar- rived l)ut two days before and knew little of the fort. The second offi(U'r in rank was Gide(m J. Pillow, a weak and bombastic Tennessean, Avliom Floyd had superseded, and who had been there only five days. The third was Simeon B. Biickncr, a Kentuckian, avIio had ccmimanded the post bl'><^se to move immediately upon your works," was not in the least "buncombe," but literally expressed Grant's intentions. The moment Smith left, he dispatched Riggin to McClernand and Wallace, with in- structions to press forward right into the enemy's works 1862.] FOET DONELSON SUEEENDEES. -227 as soon as the signal should be given. But Buckner made haste to reply : — " Head-quarters, Dovek, Tenn., February 16, 1S62. "To Brig.-Gea. U. S. Grant, U. S. Army :— " SiK : — The distribution of the forces under my command, incident to an unexpected change of commanders, and the overwhehning force under your command, compel me, notwithstanding the brilliant success of the Confed- erate arms yesterday, to accept the ungenerous and unchivalrous terms which you propose. " I am, sir, your A'ery obedient servant, "S. B. BucKNEE, Brig.-Gen., 0. S. A." Grant received this with liis usual serenity, ordered his horse, and with his staff rode over to Buckner, whom he had known at the Military Academy, Buckner invited his guests to breakfast, and gave them some vile Confederate coffee. Then the two enemies of an hour before, smoking pacifically, discussed the surrender. Buckner asked sub- sistence for his men, and kindnesses for some wounded offi- cers. Grant acceded to these requests. He decided, also, that officers might retain their side-arms and personal bag- gage, but that horses and all public property must be given up. Buckner was annoyed that Grant had been able to invest Donelson with so small a force. " If I had been in command," said he, " you would not have reached the fort so easily." "If you had," replied Grant, "I should have waited for re-enforcements. But I knew Pillow would never come out of his works to fight." Smith soon arrived. Buckner, being an old army ofiicer, had known him well, and as they shook hands he said : " That charge of ^''ours last night, was a splendid afiair." " Yes, yes," replied the veteran ; " the men did well — they did well ; but it was no afiair of mine ; I simply obeyed General Grant's orders." Grant permitted the Second Iowa, in recognition of its gallantry, to raise its flag over the captured fort. Before noon our troops, in bright blue, marched in from three points, with streaming banners, gleaming muskets, bands playing, men singing and cheering, and the gun-boats firing a salute. 228 [1862. 1S62.] Immediately Upon your Woeks.' 229 230 "—Compel me to Accept the [1862 "^ W «: 1862.] Ungeneeous and Unchivalrous Teems." 231 232 WONDEE OF THE CONFEDEKATE TeOOPS. [1862. The rebels, in faded gray, stood mournfully beside their great piles of muskets and shot-guns, wondering at the "Northern horde." Many, from the mountains of Tennes- see and Kentucky, were Union men at heart. Their garb was motley. Some had blankets wrapped around them; others, old pieces of carpet, quilts, and buffalo robes. Their arms consisted of single and double barreled shot- guns, old Kentucky rifles, and flint-lock muskets, with here and there a modern piece. All the flghting had been in the woods. ' There were some leaves still on the trees, and the confederates in gray were so near the color of the landscape that it was difficult to detect them. Our men came unsuspectingly right upon them, to meet deadly reception from their double-barreled shot-guns, the most effective weapons in a close contest. The rebel water-battery was very strong, but the fort itself was a wilderness of zigzags and abatis spreading over a large area, formidable to the eye but really weak, and not bearing any logical relation to each other. The hills and ravines, so lately torn and crimsoned by fierce fighting, are now smoothed by rains and overgrown with shrubs and vines. The tremendous fortifications can hardly be seen, and ere long it will be impossible to trace their outlines. The thick mounds, too, have almost disap- peared. AVhere they sleep who died for us, kindly Nature strews her waving grass and her springing flowers, just as she covers the scars and wounds in our hearts with her fragrant lilies of resignation and her tender willows of memory. 1362] j^ Emphatic Rebuke to Bucknee. 233 CHAPTER XIX. CURBED. Buckner was a good-looking, stout gentleman, of middle age, with low forehead, and thin iron-gray hair, mustaches, and whiskers. He wore an overcoat of light hlne with an enormous cape and sleeves laced with gold, and a black hat with a tall plume. Notwithstanding his martial cos- tume, his manner and tone were those of a Methodist exhorter rather than a soldier. The prisoners were treated with great kindness. A steamer was assigned to Buckner and his staflf, and supplies issued to his men on his own requisition. But Grant ordered that they should only be allowed one blanket apiece. The extra ones, chiefly captured in our camps when Pillow was trying to cut his way out, were distributed among Union soldiers, many of whom were without any. Grant also ordered the side-arms, which some of the prisoners had misused, to be taken from them and kept until they should reach Cairo. The next evening Buckner entered head-quar- ters, dropped into a chair, and began this conversation : — Buckner. — " Put me in irons, General ; put me in irons !" Grant. — "What do you mean ? " Buckner. — " Your troops are simply robbing my men. They are stripping tliem of every thing. Tliey are taking the officers' arms, which, by your agreement, they were to retain. They are even stealing their blankets, and declare that it is by your orders." Grant. — " This compels me to say things which I hoped to avoid speaking of, because I wanted to save your feelings. Your men have committed the grossest outrages. I know you can not approve of them, and I suppose you could 234 A Great Panic in Nashville. [i862. scarcely prevent tliem. But on the morning of the surren- der, one of your officers, growing angry in discussion, shot Major Mudd, of the Second Illinois Cavalry, in the back. Your soldiers have stripped my dead, and left them naked on the field, while it was in your possession. They have taken every blanket from prisoners, and been guilty of many other things which I do not feel like detailing. The weather is cold, and my troops need these blankets. By the laws of war they are entitled to them ; for in an unconditional surrender, every thing belongs to the victors. They are to remain in the field. Your men are going to Cairo, where the Grovernment has plenty of supplies, and will see them properly cared for. Our soldiers, falling into Confederate hands, have been almost starved, and are kept in the foulest prisons. Yours receive here the same accommodations and fare as my own. I have simply disarmed them, because I don't want my officers assassin- ated. They can get their side-arms again by applying for them at Cairo." Grant' s staff" had never heard him speak so vehemently on any subject. Buckner was completely silenced. He sat a few minutes without a word, then got up, said "good evening," returned to his quarters, and made no fur- ther complaints. The capture of Fort Donelson carried consternation through the South. At first, a rebel victory was reported. Nashville, being most deeply interested, first comprehended the disaster. Its papers, on Sunday morning, headed their news : — "Enemy Il(itreating — Glorious Result — Our Boys Fol- lowing and Peppering their Rear — A Complete Victory." But just as the; worsliipers were going to church, exult- ant witli th(;se tidings, came word that tlicn^ was a dread- ful mistake, and that thniand, and Pren- tiss bet^vc 'cn. 1 1 was now half- j)ast eight. In the dense forests on the front lighting was already fierce, and the wounded * Badeau's " Military History of Graut." 18u2.J YlGOE OF THE ReBEL AsSAULT. 247 and fugitives began to tlirong back toward the river. Grant, expecting Nelson' s division to come up witliin two liours, was altogether at ease. Every aide being busy, he said to Captiiin Baxter, liis quartermaster : — ' ' You will have to do staff duty. Go down to Crump' s, and tell Lew Wallace to move up at once by the river road, leaving only guard enough for his boats and baggage." At Baxter' s request this order was put in writing. Smith had posted our army, with the river and the creeks so protecting its rear and flanks, that it was vulnerable only on the front. There the rebels assaulted with great vigor, first encountering Prentiss' la^west regiments. At dawn an officer of the day, detecting rebel cavalry near our pickets, sent out two infantry companies to disperse it. In five min- utes the men came back pell-mell, pursued by the enemy. Many of our troops were yet asleep, but officers were alert ; the long roll was beaten ; and all along the line were heard the shouts " Turn out ! Fall in !" The troops of Prentiss, Sherman, and McClernand took their places with exceeding promptness, but an overwhelm- ing force soon swept them away. Sherman's right on Snake Creek held the key point. To that he clung with the grip of death, and upon it, as upon a pivot, the rest of our line swung far back, until almost at right angles with its original position. Grant was all along the front, encouraging his division generals, but hampering them with few instructions. At ten o'clock he rode to Sherman, whose gallantry and cool- ness deserved and received his enthusiastic praise. " I fear we shall run out of cartridges," said Sherman. " Oh !" replied the chief, " I have provided for that." Failure in this would have been failure in every thing ; but all day, over the narrow, crowded roads from the river, ammunition wagons, under Pride, of the staff, came promptly forward. Grant rode over to the left. About eleven o' clock, Row- ley, returning to Sherman, found him standing among his troops with his left hand resting on a tree, while he gazed eagerly forward toward the skirmishers. 248 Sherman- Wiis^s Green Laurels. [1862. Rowley. — " General Grant sent me to see how you are getting along." Sherman, — " Tell liim, if lie lias any men to spare I can use them ; if not, I will do the best I can. We are holding them pretty well just now — pretty well — but if s as hot as ." Rowley, noticing a white handkerchief wrapped about Sherman' s hand, asked : — ' ' Why, general, are you wounded V ' Sherman looked down wonderingly as if he had just dis- covered it, and answered : — " Well, yes ; but that don't begin to hurt like this d — d thing on my shoulder, which I suppose liasn' t left any mark whatever." A spent ball had struck his shoulder-straj). His horse, too, had been shot under liim, but he was the animating spirit of the entire right-front and center.* If lie was insane, it was with the inspired madness of heroes and martyrs. All around him were excited orderlies and officers, but, though his face was besmeared with powder and blood, battle seemed to have cooled his usually hot nerves. Our line was steadily giving way. After returning to Grant, Rowley said : — " General, this thing looks pretty squally, don't it f ' " Well, not so very bad. We've got to light against time now. Wallace must be here very soon." Firing grew sharp upon the left, where our troops were breaking badly. Tlie chief and his staft' galloped to a little open lield in front of a deserted cabin. Across the lield was a rebel battery, which instantly opened on them. The first shell struck just in front of the General. Grant (si)mTing iii)).— " We must ride fast here." As lie spoke, " zip " came another shell passing under his steed. Grant. — " Pretty loud call that for my horse's legs." Rowley. — "I think it's a pretty loud call for t/oht legs." * Ho was promptly mado a major-general, his commission tlating on thai day. 1862.]"! Haven't Despaieed of Whipping Them." 249 The party rode behind the house a moment, but shells crashed through the roof covering them with shingles. Grant — " The old building don't seem to be very good shelter ; suppose we move on." As tliey did so, a bullet struck the General' s scabbard and threw it up into the air. The sword dropped out and was never recovered. Beyond the field in the edge of a wood they found our troops. Men fought from tree to tree only a few yards apart, the rebels shouting: "How about Bull Run ?" and our men retorting : " How about Fort Donelson ?" Our lines steadily contracted. Organizations were utterly shattered. The destruction of life had been enormous. That fiery front witnessed more sturdy and obstinate light- ing than any other battle of the war. But the rear saw dis- graceful scenes. Panic-stricken fugitives, shut in between the creeks and the river, swarmed to the Landing by thou- sands. Grant sent back Rowley with orders to try and per- suade them forward, and then return to his chief. Rowley. — "Where shall I find you f Grant. — "Probably at head-quarters.* If you don't, come to the front wliereiaer you hear the lieaxiestfirmgy It was noAV past noon. Where were the re-enforcements ? Nelson had not been heard from, and a second messenger Avho had been sent several hours later than Baxter, re- turned and reported tliat Lew. AVallace — owing to some inexplicable misunderstanding about his orders — had not yet left Crump's. Grant replied sharply that a division general ought to take his troops wherever the firing was, even without orders, and dispatched first Rowley, and then Rawlins and McPherson to hurry him forward, bidding them not to spare their horses. At two, p. :m., hearing that Buell had arrived. Grant rode down and found him upon the Tigress. After liurried greet- ings the two generals forced their way througli the sicken- ing crowd up the river bank. In vain did they beg the stragglers to go to the front, and assure them of victory. * The little log-building near the river. 250 Death of Albert Sidney Johnston. [18G2. The officers hid, but the men faced their shame. Buell asked : — " What preparations have you made for retreating — " "Why," interrupted Grant eagerly, "I haven't de- spaired of whijiping them yet." " Of course ; but in case of defeat ? " "Well, we could make a bridge across the river with these boats and protect it with artillery. But if we do have to retreat, there won't be many men left to cross." Buell glanced at the field, then rode back to hurry up his own troops ; and through the battle gave to Grant zealous and soldierly co-operation. At three o'clock the rebels met with a sore misfortune. While directing a desperate charge on our left, JolTnston, their commander, sitting upon his horse near McClernand's captured quarters, Avas struck in the thigh by a piece of shell, which cut a deep gash. He paid no attention to it, but continued to give orders until he turned pale and reeled in the saddle. " Are you hurt?" asked an aide and relative. ' ' Yes, I fear mortally. ' ' A moment after he fell from his horse, and died in the arms of his friend. Beauregard succeeded to the command. Our troops re- coiled before the charge, which was still pressed, thougli with less vigor. In that dense wood, Prentiss' division, failing to learn that the rest of the line had ftillen back, was sur- rounded, and the general aaid twenty-two hundred men — all that were left— captured. At the same time, W. II. L. AVal- lace, one of our ablest officers, fell mortally wounded, on the front of his bleeding and shattered division. This was the gloomiest moment of the day. All Grant's subordinates were depressed and anxious. On the right, Sherman still clung to Snake Creek, though farther back than iji Hk; juorning, but the rest of the line, shortened more than one-half, liad swung around until its left rested on the river, two miles in iho. rear of its first position. Just in front a ravine now aftbrdcd adniirabh; ground for de- fense, and liere Webster hud opportunely planted sixty field- 1S62.] Ui^ioN Tkoops make a Fii^al Stand. 251 pieces and siege guns. The enemy, flnslied witli victory, came charging forward. But he had now approached within easy range of the gun-boats, and they opened furi- ously upon him. Our infantry, also, made vigorous resist- ance, and Webster, riding along behind the artillery, shouted encouragingly : — " Stand firm, boys ; they can never carry this line in the world." The boys did stand firm, and though neither the land nor gun-boat cannons did much damage, the worn-out rebels hesi- tated. This was extremely significant, and the chief, hitherto unmoved, showed his satisfaction by a sigh of relief and a faint smile. Then he went over to the cheerful Sherman, to whom he said : — "We will hold on for the rest of the day, and Buell will be up very soon." Both agreed that the enemy had expended his fury ; and Grant remarked that during a similar period of hesitancy on both sides, at Donelson, he had ordered Smith' s charge and won the victory. At five o'clock, he was standing among the wounded and dying, just behind the batteries, and conversing with an officer, when Carson, his scout, reported to him, and then fell back a few feet. A moment after, a shot knocked off the scout's head, bespattering the clothing of the serene General with blood. Misai)prehensions on the part of two subordinates — both excellent and patriotic soldiers — had proved serious and well nigh fatal. Nelson did not leave Savanna until an hour after noon, but now he arrived with his splendid troops. "Here we are, General," he said, with the military salute, "we don't know many fine j)oints or nice evolu- tions, but if you want stupidity and hard fighting, I reckon we are the men for you."* * Xelson, a Kentuckian, formerly of the navy, was an able general, but extremely irascible and violent. Six months after this battle, in the Gait House, Louisville, he was grossly abusive to a subordinate, General Jeff. C. Davis, and finally struck him in the face. Davis procured a revolver in the next room and shot Nelson dead ; and a court-martial acquitted him. 252 The Night After the Battle. 1862.] They were placed in. position, but only fired a few shots that night. After dark, Lew. Wallace — who had got on a wrong road — also reached the field. Had lie and Nelson been present earlier, precious lives would have been saved, and a narrow escape converted into an overwhelming triumph. The firing died away. The long April Sunday was ended. The fight had continued for eleven hours. "The enem}^ drove us all day, but it took him all day to drive ns." Beauregard fulfilled his promise — his men did sleep in our camps. They had taken many prisoners and field- pieces, and driven our lines back to the river. But they had also lost thousands of comrades, besides their general, — who was a host in himself, — and had made two fatal mistakes : — 1. The rich plunder of our camps scattered and demoralized them, and took away half their efficiency. 2. They faltered at the supreme moment. Their assault after Johnston's death was feeble. Had they pressed that attack with the vigor of their morning onset, they might have changed the fortunes of the day, and perhaps of the nation. " It is always a great advantage," said Grant, after night- fall, " to be the attacking party. We must fire the first gun to-morrow morning." Though still in excessive pain, and unable to monnt alone, he rode to every division commander, and nrged the ut- most promptness. Before midnight he was back at the old cabin which had been turned into a hospital. With Raw- lins and llowley he stretched himself upon the hay behind it, and the three were soon asleep with their heads resting on logs. After a great battle comes a great rain ; and during the night welcome torrents l)egan to pour. They quenched the fires raging in the woods, which had alread}^ burned many wounded men to death. Both armies lay on their arms, near enougli to cadi other to hear ordinaiy conver- sation, during lulls of tii«' cannonade. But the thunder of the gun-boats and groans of the wounded forbade much Bleeping. 1SG2.] Second Day— "The Last of Them." 253 Before dajliglit on Monday, the lame General, who had been lifted into his saddle, directed his staff: — " Ride along the line, and see that every division moves up to attack and j)ress the enemy hard, the minute it is light enough." At dawn, the guns began to crack. Our men were in excellent spirits, for the arrival of Wallace and Buell had almost doubled their numbers. Of the enemy's side, Brax- ton Bragg' s official report says : — " Our troops, exhausted by days of excessive fatigue and want of rest, with ranks thinned by killed, wounded, and stragglers, amounting in the whole to nearly half our force, fought bravely, but with the want of that animation and spirit which characterized them on the fjreceding day." This is, doubtless, an over-statement. The rebels still confronted us with more than half their original force. During the night they had fallen back a little, but now they disputed the ground, inch by inch, w^itli dogged obstinacy. Still, our soldiers pressed steadily forward. Grant was first with Lew. Wallace, on the extreme right, directing a column -which took the confederates on the flank and cut them down as with a scythe. Then he rode over to the left, where Buell was handling his men with great effect. For several minutes the two generals conferred, sitting upon their horses, a few feet from the front line, as much exposed as the privates who were falling all around them. At one, p. M., the rebels made a desperate stand, near Shiloli Chapel, which soon drew Grant to that point. Encountering two regiments, on their way to re-enforce a wavering brigade, but themselves hesitating before the hot fire, he shouted to the men, "Come on," placed himself at their head, and led them up to the battle line, where they charged vigorously, while he fell back. In front of the church were several Parrott guns. To the sergeant in charge of them Sherman shouted : — "Drop 3^our shots right over there." His shells began to fall among the gray mass of rebels on the opposite crest, and they disappeared in confusion. " That's the last of them," said Grant. "They will not make another stand." 254 Beauregard's Bitter Disappointment. [ i862. Then he rode over to the left and shook hands with Thomas, who commanded one of Buell's divisions, and whom he had not met since the beginning of tlie war. Grant. — " General, those fellows are completely demor- alized. Take your division and another, arid pursue. We can cut them all to pieces and capture a great many." Thomas. — "My men are completely used up. They marched all Saturday and Sunday, and have been fighting all day. If you say so, of course, they shall march, but they are hardly able to move." Crittenden and McCook made similar representations. Night approached and it was raining hard and growing cold. Grant' s own men were much more worn than Buell' s, so lie reluctantly^ gave up his hope of pursuing before morning, and rode back to the Tigress. There he found an order from Hal- leck, dated on the fifth, instruc|ing him to remain wliere he was, and not fight under any circumstances, unless attacked. The General, giving himself no rest, through the two days of battle had suffered intensely from his sprained ankle. Now, the excitement being over, he was greatly wearied and depressed, and felt that this order was peculiarly cruel. After dark, during a terrific thunder-storm, Sherman was in his tent, lying upon the ground, with his candle stuck in the mud and his head on a saddle, reading a Corinth paper, and documents left behind by Breckinridge during his oc- cupancy twenty-four hours before. One of Grant' s aides called to tell him that the adjoining division-commander re- ported the rebels strong and threatening upon his front. He replied : — "Tut, tut; they won't trouble us if we don't trouble them ; they have had fighting enough for the last two daj^s." Sore and bitter must have been the disappointment of Beauregard as he turned his shattered army back toward Corinth. But, true to his Gascon blood, he telegraphed to Riclinumd : — " We have piiined a great ami glorious victory, eight to ten thousand prisoners, and tiiirty-six pieces of cannon, l^noll re-enforced Grant, and we retired to our intrenchments at Corintli, wliich we can hold. Loss heavy on both sides." [18G2. The Summing up of Siiiloii. 255 The same day, in a letter to Grant asking permission to send a flag-of-truce party on the field to bury his dead, he prefaced his request : — " At the dose of the conflict yesterday, my forces being exhausted by the extraordinary length of the time during which they were engaged with yours on that and the preceding day, and it being apparent tliat yon had re- ceived, and were still receiving, re-enforcements, //e?4 i< my duty to with- draw my trooj)s from the iynmediate scene of tiie conflict.'''' Grant laughed heartily at such a communication from a foe, and was half inclined to reply that no apologies were necessary. But he responded that the dead were already buried ; otherwise he should have been glad to extend ''this or any courtesy consistent with duty and dictated by hu- manity. ' ' During the battle C. F. Smith was lying prostrate at Sa- vanna. A few days later he died, and his remains Avere taken to Philadelphia, wiiere they were followed to the grave by thousands of admirers and friends. Grant's and Beauregard's official reports exhibited their losses as follows : — Killed. Grant 1700 Beauregard 1728 Military critics will always differ about the battle of Shiloh, but the general verdict of history will probably be — (1.) that the ground was admirably defensible ; (2.) that \\dtliin twenty-five miles of a concentrating enemy our troops ought to have been intrenched ; (3.) that Grant conducted the battle with skill, and inspired the whole army with his in- domitable faith in success, and (4.) that his army, despite the stragglers, did the most creditable fighting of any Union troops during the war. For two days, Avithout intrenchments on either side, two armies faced each other in stubborn stand-up fighting, the only instance during our conflict. "It was the first hurling together of the two peoples upon a large scale in a hand to-hand fight, and when the enemy retreated from that ^ounded. Missing. Total 7495 . . 3022 . 12217 8012 . 957 . 10G99 256 Hue and Cry Against Grant. [i862. "broken and goiy field, lie retreated with his arrogance tamed, and his dream of invincibility dispelled forever." * In preparation for it the enemy had stripped the entire Southwest. Its momentous consequences were soon ap- parent. It threw New Orleans into our hands ; it opened the Mississippi to Memphis ; it was sucli a deadly blow that never again in the West did the rebels take tlie offensive with their old vigor. At first, news of the victory caused great rejoicing in the North ; the President apj)ointed a day of thanks- giving, and new luster was added to the fame Grant had earned at Donelson. But a storm of injurious rej)orts fol- lowed, caused by the jealousy of ofiicers sore at being over- topped by him ; the old hatred of the contractors, and the rivalry of BuelFs troops, who, seeing all the array of strag- glers, and thinking that they had saved the day, were aggrieved that Grant did not give them the chief credit in his dispatches. These slanders, repeated by the press and in both branches of Congn^ss, asserted that Grant was drunk, and did not reach the field until the battle was nearly over ; that Pren- tiss was captured in his shirt early in tlie morning; tliat thous- ands of our men were bayoneted in their tents, and that if Buell had not arrived Grant' s whole army must have sur- rendered. With no less injustice, also, it was related tliat Buell had remained behind purjDOsely that a rival general might be ruined. Grant took no puT)lic notice of the hue and cry against him, but in a letter to his father he explained how grossly the facts were misrepresented, and added : — "I will go on and do my dnty to tlio very best of my ability, and do all I can to bring this war to a speedy close. I am not an aspirant for any tiling at tlio cl(;so of the war. * * * One thing I am well assured of — I have the conrKlfnco of every man in my command." Tlie letter was 2)ul)lish('d, and also some from one of the staff. As soon as ({rant saw them in the papers he telegraphed instructions that no more be allowed to go into l)rint. ♦Uenry C. iJeniiiig. 18G2.] Halleck Removes Him From Command. 257 CHAPTER XXI. SHACKLED. Halleck soon came to the field and took command in person. Grant seemed quite as much in disfavor with him as in Congress and the newsi)apers, and it was currently re- ported that the department commander had placed Inm un- der arrest. This was untrue ; but he did shelve him by a bit of pettifogging worthy of a little soul. After profound study Halleck issued an order * placing Thomas in com- mand of the right wing of the army, keeping Buell in command of the center, and Pope of the left, and 2:)utting the reserves under McClernand. It concluded : — " Major-General Grant will retain the general command of tlie District ofWest Tennessee, including the Array Corps of the Tennessee, and reports will be made to him as heretofore, but in the present movement he will act as second in command under the major-general commanding the depart- ment." Halleck assumed to Grant that this was a promotion, — that it was necessary to have a second in command, who, if the general-in-chief should be killed or disabled, would be ready to succeed him. Halleck took such excel- lent care of his precious person that there seemed little danger of such a contingency. Grant, himself frank, was slow to suspect duplicity, but he was sore and disappointed, though the smooth-tongued lawyer sometimes talked him into a good humor. For four or five weeks after Shiloh, my friend Thomas W. Knox and myself, messed at Grant' s head-quarters with the chief of staff. Our tent was always near the General's. Each evening he reclined on the logs, or stood before the * April thirtieth. 258 The Jouexalists ix the Field. . [is62. camp fire, smoking and talking of the Mexican war, or of Shiloli ; or sat for liours in the tent beside lis, while we played whist or "twenty-one," oifering an occasional sug- gestion about the game, but never touching a card or a glass of liquor. These were dark days. Halleck issued orders to sub- ordinates directly over Grant' s head. Chicago and Cincin- nati papers assailed him bitterly. I never but once knew him to allude to these unjust attacks. Then he said to a friend of his, a journalist : — "After we have all done our best, to have such a torrent of obloquy and falsehood poured among my own troops is too much. I am not going to lay off my shoulder-straps until the close of the war, but I should like to go to New Mexico, or some other remote place, and have a small com- mand out of the reach of the newspapers." There were now twenty or thirty correspondents in the field. They hunted in couples. When in riding about the camps — their custom always of an afternoon — one pair met another, the four would dismount, tie their horses, and sit upon logs or lie under the trees and discuss the situation. The group would soon be swelled by other passing journal- ists and officers. Whatever the conversation began about, it soon drifted to Grant, concerning whose recent battle, though enjojdng every facility for learning tlie facts, tliey were about equally divided. Halleck gathered a huudivd and twenty thousand men, the largest arpiy ever seen in the West, and three times greater than Beauregard's on his front. As has been aptly said, " Nai)oleon might as well have intrenched on the field of Austerlitz, or Wellington on the eve of Waterloo." But the battle of Shiloh had developc^d the natural caution of a military theorist into incredible timidity, and our army with a front ten miles long, crept toward Corinth at a snaiF s ])ace. Grant had not lost his keen sense of the ludicrous. Baw- lins was i)roud of a s])lendid bay horse, i)resented to him by Galena friends, and took s])e('ial ])leasure in coutcmjjlating its long showy tail. But one moniing he found tliis reduced to the semblance of an old blacking-brush. Not a single 1SG2.] A Couple of Horse Stoeies. 259 liair "was left more than two inches long. He could liardly recognize the noble charger thus shorn of his glory. Swear- ing that some enemy had done this, he started for a pistol, vowing to shoot the offender, whom he supposed to be some oi'derly angered at a hasty rebuke. Grant, stand- ing in his favorite position outside his tent, with hands in pockets and smoking his after-breakfast cigar, happened to be looking on. Learned in the waj^s of horses and their kind, he comprehended that not the shears of an angry sol- dier, but the teeth of some vagrant mule, had taken this liberty with the flowing apj)endage. Rawlins' consternation and indignation were irresistibly droll, and the chief roared with laughter. This was too much, and the adjutant remem- bering Grant's favorite cream-colored steed, retorted: — " "Well, General, I hope that some night a mule will eat off the tail of your old yellow horse — and then see how you'll like it." For months afterward, whenever the aide rode in ad- vance, the ill-treated tail provoked the General to new cachinations. But he came near being served Avitli poetic justice. Meeting, one day, his old Twenty-first regiment, the men greeted him with cheer after cheer, and, flocking about him, each cut, not " ahair," buta lock " for memory" from his horse's tail and mane. Rawlins' wicked wish woukl soon have been gratified, had not Grant made haste to escape from the sentimental soldiers. "Love me, love my horse," was his maxim. Jocose friends used to say, that to disparage his charger or to ride a better one was a sure way to lose favor. A bo}', who had been a great favorite, once struck the cream-colored steed, and its master never forgave him. The pleasant spring days among snowy tents in those deep old woods — how long ago they seem ! How defiant were the rebels, and how dark the prospect of subduing them ! But one ray of light came. Knox and myself were riding through the forest when a friend met us and shoute^ "Hurrah! Butler has taken New Orleans! Oh, you needn't hwk incredulous ; there's no doubt about it. I have just read it in a rebel newspaper." 260 Halleck's Snail-like Movement. [i862. New Orleans, the great city of the Confederacy, gave us the mouth of the Mississippi, and it appeared compara- tively easy to get the rest. "After the war is over," said Grant, in one of his late evening talks — "and I wish it might be over soon — I want to go l3ack to Galena and live. I am saving money from my pay now, and shall be able to educate my children." But he did not believe the conflict was to be short. The rebels seemed little disheartened notwithstanding enormous losses of territory and life. Hitherto he had fancied that a few great battles would end the war, but now he was satisfied that ]io maneuvering, no capturing of their cities — nothing but the absolute destruction of their annies, Avould finish the contest. Therefore he believed that wise policy required us to 2:)ush forward and strike heavy blows wherever an enemy could be found. But llalleck, apostle of the sj^ade, made liis great ai-my an vjjmy of ditchers. He beheld Beauregard as a lion in his patli. T]iat wary general, knowing thoroughly the man he dealt with, made a great flourisli of trumpets, and issued an order* to his soldiers, which began : — '•We are about to meet once more, in the sliock of battle, the invaders of our soil, the despoilers of our lioines, the disturbers of our family ties, face to face, hand to hand." Its only purpose seems to have been to frighten Halleck, and it accomplished tliat. So creeping up through pleasant woods, and apph^ and choi-ry orcliards fragrant with blos- soms, our men dug like beavers, and had daily skirmislies, which cost fifty or a hundred lives. All idle armies suffer from sicdvness. The spade is more destructive than th(^ mus- ket, for turning up the soil loads the air with miasma. Thou- sands upon thousands died from dysentery and fevers. llalleck believed tliat our left was the place for attack- ing, if we attacked at all. Grant, fiimiliar Avith the ground, was conruli'iit lliut an advance on our right would easily drivt* the enemy back. Sherman and McPlierson agreed with him. Returning once from lu^ad-quarters, in evident * May eighth. 1862.] Divulging Military Information-. 261 agitation, he answered an inquiring look from his chief-of- stafF, while his lip quivered with emotion : — "You know what we have always talked about — that the way to attack Corinth is on the right?" " Yes, by this road," " Well, I suggested it to Halleck, and he treated it with contempt. He pooh-poohed it, and left me to understand that he wanted no suggestions from me." One day, in an unusually gracious mood, Halleck con- ferred Avith Grant about a proposed movement. Shortly after, a letter in the Chicago Times related the subject of their conversation witli considerable accuracy, and the chief complained that some of the subordinate's aides must be disclosing military secrets. Grant immediately summoned the staff to his tent, and asked : — ' ' ISTow, gentlemen, has any one of 3^ou given this infor- mation V ' All indignantly replied that they had not. While they were talking, Grant noticed that the date of the paper rendered it impossible for an account of the conversation with Halleck to have reached Chicago before it was issued. So he called Halleck' s attention to this fact, and the chief, who was nothing if he was not mathematical, promptly ad- mitted his mistake. Probably one of his own aides or some general officer, had incidentally mentioned that such a movement was in contemplation, and the imaginative jour- nalist, drawing his bow at a venture, had happened to hit the exact truth about the conference. Tliough deeply depressed, Grant held his peace. At his head-quarters not a syllable was heard in crimination of other generals, or of the chief. Doubtless his reticence and patience at this most trying moment saved him from ruin. The pressure against him was already so strong that a little additional hostility miglit have turned the scale. On the eleventh of May, he wrote a letter to his cliief so personal in its character, that he sent it direct to Halleck, and not through the adjutant-general. It stated, that ever since the publication of the order relieving him from com- mand of the Army of the Tennessee, he had been deter- 262 Graft Demat^ds a Defined Positioist. [1862. mined to have his anomalous position corrected the moment they should be no longer "in the face of the enemy." But as it was now understood through the army, that his position was "but little different from being under arrest," he sug- gested that enemies must be working against him with Halleck, or that Halleck "must be acting under higher authority," and respectfully asked to be altogether relieved from duty in the department, or to have his position defined. Halleck replied the next day, in a soothing note, alleg- ing that he had placed Grant in the highest position next his own, as Beauregard had been second under Albert Sid- ney Johnston ; and had sent orders direct to corps com- manders, — as was his right, — out of no disrespect to him, but to facilitate business. Soon after, moved to anger at some comments upon his military conduct, Halleck expelled the correspondents from his army. He lacked the sense to see how much the pre'ss — ■ always far more important in our own countr}^ than in any other — had grown since the beginning of the conflict, and how universally the people at home regarded it as their most trustworthy source of information about their soldier sons and brothers. The five hundred correspondents with our various national armies came from every calling. Many were unfit for their work, and all had to be educated to it. Gradually the unworthy were weeded out, and the others learned something of the precision, candor, and moderation needed. The thirty in Halleck' s command, witli proper pride in their own profession, and believing that they were there as legitimiately as the general himself, declined to hide in his camps like criminals and fugitives, but withdrew in a body, and waited for events. Ilalk'ck having accomplished just fifteen miles in six Aveeks Avas now approaching Corinth, Yery many of his ofiicers believed tliat the rebels had evacuated it. Pope, endeavored repeatedly to bring on a general engagement, but was kept too tightly curbed. No man was more dis- satisfied than Grant. He said : — " If I were in command, I would push in and win or lose. I may be rash, but I would not wait here always." 18G2.] "You Fought the Battle of CoPvInth." 263 On the twenty-nintli of May, a tremendous explosion was heard from the town. The rebels were blowing up their works. Halleck, either to hide his blunder, or tlirougli sheer stupidity, issued an order alleging that there was every indication that the enemy would attack in force the next morning. Tlie army was drawn up in line of battle to receive an assault. At that very moment the rebel rear- guard was marching out, after an evacuation so clean that hardly a canteen or a knapsack was left behind ! Beaure- gard' s preparations had been going on for weeks, during which he had befooled Halleck. Early on the morning of the thirtieth, Logan was ordered to advance and intrench, though he reported that no rebels confronted his division. So his Illinois soldiers being a little off the main road, and no notice being sent them, spaded for hours after the rest of our army had entered Corintli. AVhen Logan learned how he had been served he grew furious. That night a number of j^oung officers grew hilari- ous over the discomfiture of Halleck ; and Logan was with difficulty restrained from telling that stolid chief, that his division should never dig another ditch, unless it were one to bury lilmi in ! Halleck, at last forced into giving his ill-used subordi- nate some credit, said to Grant : — "After all, you fought the battle of Corintli at Pittsburg Landing." The journalists were revenged. Word was sent to Cairo that they might come to the front. Some, not waiting for permission, had gone into the deserted town with the advance, and they reported its condition, without covering up tenderly the great blunder. Halleck sent Buell and Pope in feeble pursuit, still leav- ing Grant in camp. In a cavalry raid to the enemy's rear, an unknown young quartermaster from the regular army, appointed colonel of the Second Michigan Cavalry only five days before, made a magnificent dash upon five thousand rebel horse, whom he followed twenty miles with only two thousand of his own troopers, capturing many prisoners. The exploit brought him to Grant's notice, and made him a 264 The Guerrillas After Grant. [is62. brigadier-general of volunteers. His name was Phil. Slier- idan. The evacuation of Corinth uncovered Memi^his, and, six days later, it was captured by our gun-boats after the most stirring river battle of the war, fonght just after sunrise in front of the city, and witnessed by ten thousand spectators from the shore. On the rebel side, every boat, save one, was sunk, blown up, or captured, and many lives were lost, but on our fleet only one man was injured. So Grant's victory at Shiloh had thrown the second city of the South into our hands, and, thanks to him, the Union was still ' ' going along. ' ' A letter from Corinth, written by one of the staff to a comrade at home, depicts the general feeling of the army : — " Immediately after the evacuation of Corinth, General Grant made ap- plication for leave of absence for twenty days, for himself and staff. It was granted, but he was requested to wait a few days to see what would turn up. We were all packed, and waiting to be off every day for a week, when the General was informed that he could not be spared. " Since you left, the great battle of Corinth has been fought. How terri- bly 'Old Brains' was sold, you can not tell until you return. * * * When we entered in the morning, Corinth was completely deserted. The last soldier was gone. Twenty houses were on fire, and the long platform of the railway was burning. Beans and rice were in the street and beef barrels cut open and exposed to tlio sun and flies. "The buildings on fire were consumed, but the flames spread no farther. The railway track was not destroyed, and McPherson, with a party of men, went hunting and repairing locomotives. Six or seven are now running, and trains i)ass our camp, going down the Memphis branch forty-five miles. We are domiciled in this pleasant town, which has houses enough for eighteen hundred inhabitants. The weather is delightful, the nights being 80 cool that we sleep under blankets." ]jU('11 was sent to Chattanooga. Halleck remained in command of the department, and Grant was placed in charge of the District of West Tennessee. On the morning of the twenty-third of June, after spending two days with Slicrman, ho left Moscow, on horseback, forMempliis, tliirty- ninc^ miles distant, accompanied by only thnn^ officers and ten cavalry-men. Tlie country swai-med with guerrillas. One rebel party of fifteen, learning who the travelers were, 1862.J The Fourth of July Dinner in Memphis. 265 rode hard, and five miles from the city came in by a side road, expecting to intercept them. Fortunately, the General had passed a few minutes before. They pursued no farther, as there was nothing to gain by attacking in the rear ; and Grant's habitual exposure of himself received no punish- ment. Reaching Memphis, he superseded Lew. "Wallace, who was commanding the town. AVallace had placed Knox and myself in charge of the Argus, a most offensive rebel paper. We had been running it for two weeks, making sure that its patrons should read sound Union doctrine for once. The former editors waited upon Grant, and begged that they might be allowed to resume control. He promptly acqui- esced. They asked : — " Will any censorship be established over us ?" " Oh, no ; manage your paper as you please ; but the very first morning that any thing disloyal appears I shall stop it and place you under arrest." They were careful for the future. Another fire-eating journal, the Avalanche, was apparently seeking to pro- voke a riot, and Grant suppressed it, but finally permitted it to resume, on the withdrawal of the obnoxious editor. It immediately changed its tune to a zealous advocacy of the Union cause. The Fourth of July was celebrated with due j^omp and circumstance, Brigadier-General John M. Thayer* giving a bountiful entertainment in the garden of his head-quarters, a deserted rebel residence. Charles A. Dana spoke fervently in praise of "Honest Abraham Lincoln." Thayer compli- mented Grant as the hero of Donelson, who had broken the back of the rebellion, and the band struck up, " See, the Conquering Hero Comes." The General only bowed his acknowledgments, and remarked that in speech-making his early education had been neglected. To the toast "The Press," I responded in earnest praise of Grant, more deserved than appropriate to my theme, as many news- papers still persisted in abusing him. So we made the most * Now United States Senator from Nebraska. 266 Halleck Leaves Gra-n-t in Command. [i862. of tlie occasion, and crowned our hero with his well-earned laurels. On the eleventh of June, Grant returned to Corinth, where his chief, with unusual kindness, said to him : — "I suppose I shall have to give the job of capturing Vickshurg to you." A feAV days later, Halleck, ordered East, offered the com- mand of his troops to a quartermaster, Colonel Robert Allen, who declined it. Tlien he telegraphed to the Secre- tary of War: — " Will you designate a commander to this army, or shall I turn it over to the next in rank V ' Ordered in reply, to turn it over to the next in rank, he left Grant in charge, and started for Washington, where he was made general-in- chief of all the land forces of the United States. Grant still ftmcying that his captious superior might assign some one to duty over him, said : — " There are two men in this army whom I would just as soon serve under as to have them serve under me. One is Sherman, the other is 'Rosy.' " He always spoke of Rosecrans by this familiar name, and continued to esteem him highly for months afterward. Rosecrans, he said admiringly, could sit down and write a lecture, or even a book, upon any desired topic. The practical world shouts always for the man of deeds ; yet how often does the actor slow of speech envy the fluent writer or orator ! Wolfe, reconnoitering in a skiff, with mufiic^d oars, the night before he won immortality on the Heights of Abraham, recited a stanza from Gray's Elegy, to his companions, and added : "I would rather have writ- ten tliat poem than beat the French to-morrow." But grudging Nature, who denies brilliant plumage to her sweetest song-birds, decrees that the great of deed shall not be great in word. Whom did she ever endow as soldier, orator, and writer, all in one and foremost in all, save Julius Caesar, her ])etted darling ? And then to what end, beyond " a name at which tho world grew pale, To poiut a moral or adorn a tale ?" 1862.] ^\x Order About Contrabands. 267 CHAPTER XXII. lUKA AND CORINTH. Corinth was the strategic point in Grant' s department. The Tennessee River being too low for steamers in summer, he drew his supplies from Columbus, Kentucky, which compelled him to keep open one hundred and fifty miles of railway through a guerrilla-infested region. Garrisoning Corinth, Bolivar, and Jackson, all impor- tant points, his force was too small to defend easily his great department, much less to take the offensive. Bragg, with a large army, was now moving toward Kentucky, so every man that could be spared was taken from Grant, while Van Dorn and Price constantly threatened him. He was sadly hampered and harassed, but watched the enemy vigilantly, and remodeled and strengthened the Corinth for- tifications — a fact soon to prove of vital importance. Slaves still flocked to our camps. Congress had prohib- ited officers or soldiers from returning them to their masters, under pain of dismissal from the service. Per contra^ Hal- leck' s Order IS'umber Three was still in force. Of course, it was impossible to harmonize instructions which conflicted so positively ; but Grant, with characteristic subordination, attempted it, and issued the following : — * " Recent acts of Congress proliibit the army from returning fugitives from labor to tlieir claimants, and authorize the employment of such persons in the service of the Government. The following orders are therefore pub-, lished for tlie guidance of the army in this military district in this matter: — "T. — All fugitives thus employed must be registered, the names of the fugitive and claimants given, and must be borne upon the morning reports of the command in which they are kept, showing how they are employed. " 11. — Fugitive slaves may be employed as laborers in the quartermaster's, subsistence, and engineer departments, and whenever by such employment a soldier may be saved to the ranks. They may be employed as teamsters, * Aiigust eleventh. I 268 The Battle of Iuka. [1862 as company cooks (not exceeding four to a company), or as hospital attend- ants and nurses. Officers may employ tliem as private servants, in which latter case the fugitive will not be paid or rationed by the Government. Isegroes not thus employed will be deemed "unauthorized persons," and iimst be excluded from the can)ps. " III. Officers and soldiers are positively prohibited from enticing slaves to leave their masters. When it becomes necessary to employ this kind of labor, commanding officers of posts or troops must send details (always under the charge of a suitable commissioned officer), to press into service the slaves of disloyal persons to the number required." Headquarters were at Corinth, the depot of national supplies and munitions. One day Grant and staff, riding down to drink from a sulphur spring a mile south, heard a musket shot from a log house near by. A mother and her daughter came rushing out, pursued by a Union soldier who had fired his gun to terrify them, and then attempted violence. Quick as thought the General sprang from his horse, wrenched away the musket, and with the butt of it felled the brute to the earth, where he lay with no sign of life except a little quivering of the foot, Rawlins. — " I guess you have killed him General.'' Grant. — " If I have, it has only served him right." But the miscreant recovered and was taken back to his quarters. September opened gloomily. In Virginia, Pojie had been badly defeated. In Kentucky, Bragg had penetrated nortliward till he boldly threatened the free State of Ohio. Sterling Price, seized Iuka. [Map, page 198.] Grant determining to destroy him before Van Dorn — approaching from the southwest with anotlier force — could join him, sent Rosecrans and Ord, to attack Price. On the nineteenth of September, Rosecrans encountered him two miles south of Iiika. Fighting continued from four o'clock until tim, Rosecrans losing seven hundrtnl in kilhxl and wound(»d. The next morning, Ord, approaching from tlui north, pushed into Iuka, but the rebels liad lied. Tlie inde(;isive battle only crippled the enemy. Price joined Van Dorn, which rendered Grant's position very pre- cai'ious. Oil llie tAventy-tliird, leaving Rosecrans in com- mand at Corinth, and Ord at Bolivar, he removed his own 18C2.] The Battle of Corinth. 269 liead-quarters to Jackson, Tennessee, a better point for over- looking liis whole department. It ^Yas difScult to surmise where the enemy would strike, and he was harassed and absorbed. Several Galena gen- tlemen now spent a few days with him. One morning Washburne, rising very early, found Grant at his desk : — " You are up early. General ?" "Yes ; I got up at two o'clock, and have been working ever since, trying to study out the plans of old Pap Price." * Price retreating southward, formed a junction with Van Dorn. Indications soon pointed to Corinth as the place aimed at by their united armies, and Grant ordered Rose- crans to call in his outlying forces, and sent Ord and Hurlbut to strike the rebels in flank or rear. Rosecrans had nineteen thousand men. On the third of October, Van Dorn, commanding his own and Price's troops, reported at eighteen thousand in all, approached Corinth from the north. Five miles out he met Rosecrans. A fierce battle followed, and before night Rosecrans was driven back into his fortifications. The elated rebels slept on their arms, within a hundred yards of our works, and early next morning made a des- perate assault. But they were doing exactly what we had done so often — rushing upon strong, well-defended works. They fought with extreme gallantry, closing up the great gaps which our artillery cut in their ranks, averting their faces at the pelting bullets, and charging magnificently across very difficult ground. They even obtained jDOsses- sion of one of our forts, for a moment, but Rosecrans rallied his men in person and drove them back. From dawn until noon their assaults continued. Some even got into the town, but were soon captured or driven out. Finally, at noon the wearied and shattered enemy paused, and Rosecrans gave the order to charge. His troops sallied out and chased the swarming fugitives into the woods, capturing many prisoners and arms. * A name originally given by Price's soldiers on account of his gravity and paternal kindness. 270 The Historic Wisconsin Eagle. [i862. Early the next morning, ten miles south of Corinth, in pursuance of Grant's far-seeing plan, Hurlbut and Ord struck the retreating rebels on the flank as they Avere cross- ing a river, and captured a battery and hundreds of prison- ers. Ord was badly wounded, otherwise the enemy would have been utterly destroyed. The Union loss in this battle and pursuit, was three hun- dred killed, eighteen hundred wounded, and two hundred missing. The rebels lost two thousand two hundred prison- ers, and far more killed and wounded than we, as they were fairly mown down while charging impregnable positions. President Lincoln telegraphed, congratulating Grant, and asking : — ' ' How does it all sum u]3 V ' The way it summed up was, that West Tennessee was relieved from immediate danger, and the country reassured. That the enemy attacked upon the north side was prob- ably the result of a letter from a feminine spy in Corinth, who wrote to Van Dorn that our fortifications on that side were weak and poorly manned. Ord intercepted and read the missive, and then sent it forward to the unsuspecting rebel general, but promptly strengthened the north works for it. During the battle an enormous black eagle, '^ borne upon a standard by the Eightli Wisconsin Volunteers, excited admiration and delight. He had been cauc;ht in Northern Wisconsin, by an Indian, and presented to the regiment. Through every subsequent battle of the war the men bore * "Red as blood o'er tlie town Tlie angry snn went down, Firing tlag-stair and vane. And our eagle — as for him There all niflled and prim llo sat o'er-looking the slain. "No mother to mourn or search, No priest to bless or pray, Wo buried them where they lay "Without the rite of the church. But our eagle all that da)' Stood solemn and stdl on his perch." JI. n. Brownell. 1862.] Grant Occupies La Grange. 271 him beside tlieir colors. Tiiey said that whenever the band began to play or the guns to pound, he would screech with delight. Despite his martial tastes, he had the good fortune never to be wounded. In quiet times he would frolic in the water, run races with little darkies, lounge about the sutler's tent, and pick up chickens from rebel barn-yards. At this period, Grant frequently remarked that he dis- liked to hold slaves, but would not sell a negro. Mrs. Grant visited him at Jackson, and during her stay, ' ' Black Julia" removed his perplexity by running away. The General was delighted, and forbade any attempt to bring her back, ex- pressing the wish that he could get rid of his two other "chattels" in the same way. Nothing pleased him more than to have some one play upon the piano at head-quarters, while the staff and visitors sang "The Star Spangled Banner," or "Rally Round the Flag, Boys." Sometimes he ventured to join in, but always soito voce. He certainly could never have imposed himself upon the enemy as a minstrel, like "good King Alfred." While Halleck, with characteristic timidity, was counsel- ing Grant to prepare for an attack, his army, thirty thou- sand strong, the right wing commanded by McPherson and the left by C. S. Hamilton, started southward from Jack- son, Tennessee, and took possession of La Grange.* The General, riding his favorite cream-colored "Jack," and delighted to be again moving on the enemy's works, relieved the tedium of the road with reminiscences of the Mexican war and garrison life in peace times. The country was parched for want of autumn rains, and from little army fires the flames, catching at tlie dried grass, spread for miles over fences, forests, and sometimes houses. Caissons and ammunition wagons Avere comp(^lled to go ten miles out of the direct road to avoid the conflagra- tion. Grant was sorely annoyed. Fires were strictly for- bidden, and disobedience punished by arrest when the offenders could be caught, but the flames marched with the troops, for the thoughtless soldier cared more for his pot of coffee than for the property of the enemy. * November fourth. 272 Depkedations by the Soldiers. [I862. In portions of the command, not under the General' s eye, there was worse tlian thonghtlessness. At Jackson, the Twenty-fourth Illinois liad robbed a store, destroying and carrying off macli property. Tlie guilty individuals Avere undiscovered ; so Grant assessed the loss — twelve hundred and forty-two dollars — upon the whole regiment, and sum- marily dismissed two captains from the service for willful neglect of duty. On another line, lawless soldiers burnt a church and dwellings, and even sacked the cabin of a poor woman, and brouglit away upon the points of their bayonets the clothing prepared for her unborn child. Details of these outrages were given in the correspondence of a Chicago newspaper. Grant, soon after, met its writer at head-quar- ters, and inviting him into his room, said, while hunting about the mantel-piece for a match to light his cigar : — "Did you write this letter to the Times .^" "Yes." "Well — sit down. I simply Avant to say that if you always stick as close to the truth as you have here, v^e shall never quarrel. The troops did behave shamefully. I have issued the most stringent orders, but subordinate com- manders will not enforce them. If I could identify any man committing one of these outrages, my impulse would be to shoot liim. I don't suppose I should, but I would punisli him severely. I am as bitterly opposed to depreda- tions as you, or any one else, can be." Before the batth; of Corinth, McPherson, very anxious to partici])ate, liad been sent to Ilos<'craus witli a liastily- formed brigade. Thougli making a skillful aiid rapid march, lie did not reach the field until the enemy was retreating. But Grant, knowing tliat several major-generalsliips Avould be conferred for that battle, and liaving the utmost faith in his friend's soldierly ability, asked that lie might take the precedence". The President, on Ilalleck's recommenda- tion, granted thi; requc^st ; so McPherson was now a major- general, his commission dating earlier than any of the others. The generous and lovabh^ young officer, in turn, Avrote to llalleck, witli wliom he Avas a special favorite, urging that Grant be appointed a brigadier in the regular army, and 1862] The IIumors of Cipher-Telegraphing. 273 the general-in-cliief replied that he would press his claims the moment a vacancy occurred. It is pleasant to record here that always after going to AVashington — as if in atone- ment for his former ungraciousness — Halleck gave to Grant entire and hearty support, and worked earnestly and unre- mittingly for the good of the service. Grant felt keenly the newspaper denunciation of which he had been the victim, hut very seldom alluded to it. Once he said to a Cincinnati correspondent : — " Your paper has made many false statements about me, and I presume will continue to do so. Go on in that way if you like, but it is hard treatment for a man trying to do his duty in the field. I am willing to be judged by my acts, but not to have them misrepresented or falsified." At La Grange he remained for a month waiting repairs upon the railway on his front. The rebel forces he thought as strong as his own, but he telegraphed to Washington that he could "handle them without gloves." This telegraphing led sometimes to serious results, and sometimes to ludicrous blunders. AVhile Halleck com- manded at Corinth, the wire to Memphis ran through the country of the rebels. They tapped it, and took off impor- tant messages about the number and disposition of troops. To prevent this, ciphers were resorted to and usually with success. One day Grant, explaining the system to an old classmate, C. S. Hamilton, whose head-quarters, two miles off, were connected with his by a wire, proposed that they should have a cipher of their own ; and he prepared one at once. A day or two later Hamilton telegraphed the result of a reconnoissance to him in the new cipher, and asked for fur- ther orders. During the night a long dispatch came in reply, which Hamilton got out of bed to read. For two hours he puzzled over it in vain, when he became suddenly conscious of being nearly frozen, as the weather was excessively cold, and he had nothing on but his night-shirt. He gave it up, telegraphed back to Grant that the dispatch was unintelligible, and asked for his mother-tongue. Grant in vain tried to decipher his own message, getting out of 274 The Country Slow to Appreciate Grant. i8G2.] "bed for that purpose, and in turn he also became almost frozen over the perplexing conundrum. The next day it was discovered that one polysyllabled word of the cipher, divided at the end of a line, had been rendered as two words, making nonsense of the whole message. It was now mid-winter. The summer and fall campaigns had been of service to Grant. His men, no longer demoral- ized by injurious reports, had full confidence in him. Un- der difficult circumstances he had protected his large depart- ment, and fought two of the most creditable battles of his life. Still, neither the country nor the Government thoroughly appreciated him. Our dramatic people were slow to com- prehend that a man who was called "common-place," and had no rhetoric to tickle tlieir ears, could be one of the world's great generals. They were prone to tliink rather that, though possessing energy and patriotism, he had won great successes through great good fortune. In a few minor points the career of our unpretend- ing General resembled Napoleon' s, w^ho likewise began as a second-lieutenant, wore a rough coat and clumsy boots, was called "the Spartan" by his classmates, and "Father Thoughtful" by his soldiers, accepted every promotion as a matter of course, and had absolute conhdence in his destiny to succeed. Grant had not run away from his first battle, like Frederic, nor was he corrupt, like Marlborough, nor boastful, like Alexander and Xerxes. He had given us ahnost every great success yet gained in the war. ^ But he was unimaginative and unrhetorical, and Americans instinct- ively infer that these qualities come from stupidity^ Once the impatient and vain John Adams pointed at Washing- ton's portrait, exclaiming, "No one will ever know how often that old wooden head obtained credit for wisdoni by simply holding his tongue? Avhen he had nothing to say." Every school-boy could have named heroes and states- men from Cato to Jeft'erson, who wen; not glib of tongue. But the lessons of history are unheeded until each genera- tion learns them yet anew. So tliere were sharp trials and imminent perils yet in store for our GeiuM-al before tlie na- tion should comprehend his virtues or his genius. 1S62.] Grant Sets the Contrabands to Work. 275 Grant was noAV" fairly in the cotton country. Cotton buyers swarmed in his department. He was bitterly op- posed to them, as to everybody else trying to make money out of the misfortunes of the country. They demoralized the army. Cotton was worth a dollar a pound in the North, a price which brought large profits — particularly when the seller had stolen it to begin with. Specula- tors could pay liberally for expeditions into the rebel lines to bring out this crop. Some officers — chiefly vol- unteers, as regulars had soldierly ideas on this sub- ject* — accumulated many thousands of dollars. They de- fended themselves, saying: — "Why should not we take this profit, who are periling our lives for the country, rather than speculators, who are here solely from mercenary con- siderations?" Grant disapproved the whole system, and thought that all cotton should be confiscated by Government, or else that the profit on it should go to the producer, and not to the middle-men. He put all possible hinderances in the way of speculators, and would have kept them wholly out of the army if he could. Every officer whom he suspected of dabbling in cotton was looked upon with disapprobation, and the surest passport to his esteem was to be proof against cotton-buyers and trade-permits from Washington. When asked to name honest and discreet Union men, to sell goods to the inhabitants in his department for their immediate needs and at a fair price, he replied : — " I will do no such thing. If I did, it would be charged in less than a week that I was a partner of every one of the persons trading under my authority." When Betse}^ Trotwood asked what she should do with her nephew, David Copperfield, unexpectedly thrown upon her hands, the worthy Mr. Dick replied: — "Wash him." Grant dealt with the fugitives who swarmed to his camp in an equally practical way. Through the large region which his southward march had thrown into the Union lines, the * At Nashville, in 18G4, it was said that one general of the old army, thougli a poor man, rofuscd an offer of a hundred thousand dollars, simply to load with cotton one of his empty trains as it returned from taking supplies to the front. 276 History of the Jew Order. [is62. staple crop of the South was yet standing in the fields. He issued an order,* directing that the contrabands be properly cared for, organized, and " Set to work picking, ginning, and baling the cotton now ungathered. * * * Suitable guards will be detailed to protect them from molestation. For further instructions, the officers in charge of these laborers will call at these head-quarters." The rebel General Pemberton, commanding the region upon his front, was compelled to fall back by a Union cavalry raid, which crossed the Mississippi from Helena, Arkansas, and cut the railway in his rear. Grant, pursu- ing, had sharp skirmishing, in which several hundred pris- oners were captured, and his cavalry drove the enemy to Grenada. As our lines advanced southward the regulation of trade grew more perplexing. At Corinth, f Grant had issued an order prohibiting the carrying of coin south of Cairo or Columbus, except for Government purposes. It was at first countermanded by the Treasury Department. A few weeks later, however, that repentant authority not only confirmed it, but extended it over all the rebel territory which had fallen into our hands. To enforce it, and also to keep information from the enemy, as military movements of the utmost importance were beginning. Grant ordered that persons going south from Columbus and Memphis, should be satisfactorily vouched for and tlieir persons searched. At both places, traders were detected trying to get through with gold, and also to smuggle quinine, groceries, clotliing, and boots and shoes. These offenders and most of th(^ cotton-buyers were Jews. The department swarmed with tlicm. 'I'Ik^ long dining-hall of the principal hotel at Memphis, looked at uK^al-tiniPS like a Feast of the Pass- over. Head-quarters were at Oxford. Colonel Dubois, com- manding at Holly S])i-ings, twenty-five miles nortli, found these people so troublesome that he issued an order expel- ♦ Novomber thirteenth. f August sixth. 1862.] The President Countermands It. 277 ling "vagrants and Jews" from his district. When Grant received it he said : — "This is manifestly unjust. We can not exclude any whole class, or any religious denomination as such." Thereupon he countermanded the order. But a few days later"'^ one of his relatives arrived, having first tele- graphed him from Holly Springs, and secured passes to the front for himself and " a friend." The friend proved to be a cotton buyer of Israel. Grant was excessively angered, especially as that day's mail brought a batch of letters, some anonymous and others signed by the writers, which Halleck had referred to him, and which represented that Jew speculators had full sway in the department. Grant instantly issued this order: — " The Jews, as a class, violating every regulation of trade established by the Treasury Department, also department orders, are hereby expelled from the department within twenty-four hours from the receipt of this order by post commanders. They will see that all this class of people are furnished with passes and reijuired to leave, and any one returning after such notifica- tion will be arrested and held in confinement until an opportunity occurs of sending them out as prisoners, unless furnished with permits from these head-quarters. No passes will be given these people to visit head-quarters for the purpose of making personal application for trade-permits." When he handed it to his adjutant-general for promul- gation, that subordinate said : — " You countermanded such an order two weeks ago." "Well," he replied, "they can countermand this from Washington if they like, but we will issue it any how." The purpose was not to expel Jews residing within our lines. Those, engaged in legitimate business were generally loyal and patriotic ; many had helped the Union cause with their money, and some with their muskets. But the Gen- eral determined to cut off the speculators and smugglers by a rule so stringent that it could not possibly be evaded, and to make exceptions of all individuals who could bring satis- factory proof that they were in any honest pursuit, and could be relied upon not to give aid and comfort to tlie * December seventeenth. 278 A Grievance for Peace Democrats. [i862. enemy. The order was sent to Columbus and Corinth, but to no other posts. So many representations of its injustice poured in that Grant was about to withdraw it, when the President coun- termanded it. But it furnished northern peace democrats with a griev- ance. In Congress George H. Pendleton, of Ohio, intro- duced a resolution pronouncing it "illegal, unjust, and deserving the sternest condemnation," and declaring its execution " tyrannical and cruel." The House, however, made short work of it. Washburne said : — "This resolution censures one of our best generals without a liearing, and I move that it be laid on the table." This was done by a vote of sixty-three to fifty-six. In the Senate, Powell, of Kentucky, a half-hearted Union man, introduced a similar resolution, with a preamble set- ting forth that lo^^al citizens of Paducah, including two who had served in the army, were expelled from their homes. Before it came up for consideration the President had coun- termanded the order, but Powell still pressed his resolu- tion, insisting that though Grant was " a most brave and gallant soldier," the Senate ought to put its condemnation upon "this most atrocious, illegal, inhuman, and monstrous order." A long debate followed. Clark, of IS'ew Hamp- shire urged : — " I do not believe it would be wise to condemn the brave General Grant unheard * * * when he and his soldiers are struggling in the field to put this rebellion down." Wilson, of Massachusetts, added : — " I dare say tiiat the rules and regulations of the army were interfered with in General Grant's department by i)ersons calling themselves Jews, who ouglit to have been excluded ; but I think tlie order excluding a whole class of men is utterly indefensible. It was at once and promptly revoked by tlie commander-in-cliief of the army, to the satisfaction of the whole people of the country, and tliere, it seems to me, the matter may rest." And the Senate, thirty to seven, tabled the resolution. 1862] Purpose of Grant's Movement. 279 CHAPTER XXIII. VICKSBURG SEVEX ATTEMPTS. The General looked witli longing eyes at Vicksburg. It was the only point, except Port Hudson, tAvo hundred and forty miles Ibelow, where the rebels now commanded the Mississippi ; and, when it fell, Port Hudson would fall with it. As Sherman said, the possession of Yicksburg was the possession of America. So long as the rebels held it they could keep a long section of the river free from our gun-boats, and secure open communication with the rich pasture lands of Texas. Fully alive to its vital importance, they had been strengthening its fortifications and increasing its garrison all summer. I. — Holly Springs, Ever since the fall of Sumter, the Northwest had be- lieved that when the Mississippi was opened the war would be ended. Grant, therefore, looked upon it both with the desire of a soldier and the enthusiasm of a Western man. His original purpose in this campaign had been to move down by land to the rear of Yicksburg, and compel its evacuation. He still drew his supplies by rail from Columbus, Ken- tucky, two hundred miles in his rear ; and the difficulty of keeping this long line open had already confirmed him in the soundness of an opinion he originally held, that the proper line of advance upon Vicksburg was by the Missis- sippi River. Determined to adopt it, first by a detachment, and if that failed, with his entire army, he had telegraphed Halleck* :— " How far South would you like rae to go? * * * With our present force it would not be prudent to go beyond Grenada, and to continue to hold our present line of communication." * December third. 280 ViCKSBURG AXD ITS APPEOACHES. [1862. The Skven Campaigns against Vicksburg. 1862.] Sheeman Ordered to Take It. 281 COLUMBUS, KENTUCKY, TO Miles. Jackson, Tenn 8(5 La Grange 136 Corinth, Miss 143 Miles. Holly Springs 158 Oxford 187 Grenada 235 FROM VIOKSBUKG UP, BY RIVEK. Miles. Young's Point, mouth of Yazoo 11 Milliken's Bend 25 Lake Providence 70 Moon Lake 320 Miles. Memphis 410 Cairo GOO St. Louis 860 St. Paul 1651 FROM VICKSBURG DOWN, BY RIVER. Miles. "WaiTenton 10 New Carthage 35 Hard Times, mouth of Big Black 50 Grand Gulf 55 De Shroon's 58 Bruinsburg 70 Miles. Rodney 83 Mouth of Red River 190 Port Hudson 240 Baton Rouge 260 New Orleans , 390 Gulf of Mexico 490 FROM VICKSBURG, BY LAND. Port Gibson (southeast) 30 Hankinson's Ferry (south) .... 20 Crossing of Big Black (east). . . 10 Edwards Station 18 Miles. Champion's Hill 28 Bolton 28 Clinton 85 Jackson, Miss 45 Always willing to forego personal glory, after first ob- taining permission from Halleck, he had instructed Sherman* to proceed with thirty thousand men, drawn from Memphis and Helena, and aided by the gun-boat fleet, "to the reduction of Vicksburg, in such a manner as circumstances and your own judgment may dictate. * * * j ^,[]i ],old the forces here in readiness to co-operate with you in such a manner as the movements of the enemy may make necessary." But while thus holding his forces and keeping garrisons at Columbus, Jackson (Tennessee), Bolivar, Corinth, Holly * December eighth. 282 The Rebels Threaten Grant, [i862. Springs, and other points along the line in his rear, he met with serious disaster. Colonel Dickey, sent from Oxford on a cavalry raid against the Mobile and Ohio Railway, re- turned one afternoon* and reported that he had effectually destroyed many miles of the road. He had torn up the track between several stations, burned such and such bridges and marched thus and thus. Grant listened courteously, but with little seeming in- terest, until Dickey related, that near Pontotoc he had crossed the rear of a rebel column, variously reported by negroes at from five to fifteen thousand strong, and rapidly moving northward. At this the General's indifference in- stantly disappeared. Leaving the travel- stained colonel in the middle of a sentence, he sprang up, hurried to the tele- graph office half a mile away, and, seating himself beside the operator, wrote sheet after sheet with exceeding rapidit}", directing all commanders northward to call in their detach- ments which were out guarding bridges and railways, and to patrol roads, exercise the utmost vigilance, and hold their posts at whatever cost. Colonel Murphy, of Wisconsin, commanding at Holly Springs, received these orders while at dinner. He ac- knowledged them, and gave directions to have them carried out — the next morning. How often is the difference between this moment and to- morrow morning the difference between easy escape and irretrievable ruin! That very evening, Bowers, of Grant's staff, on special duty at Holly Springs, said to a friend : — "I don't like the condition of things here. Murphy is utterly unfit to command. Everything is at loose ends ; and if the rad to get his dispatches about the disaster through to the North, in advance of all other information. Guerrillas frequently shot at, and finally captured him ; but on learning his * (iraiit lias told mc, wlicii discussing this campaign, that had ho known tlien, what ho soon afterward learned, tlio possibility of subsisting an army of thirty thou- sand men without sup|)lies other than those drawn from the enemy's country, he could at that time have pushed on to the rear of Yicksliuro:, and probably have succeeded in capturing the place. But no experience of former wars, nor of the war of the rebellion, warranted him in supposing liiat ho could feed his army exclusively from the country. — Badcau. 1362.] Sherman's Repulse at Ciiickasa^v Bayou. 285 vocation and what journal he served, they released him, not even taking his horse. So his reports were the earliest, and proved a tall feather for his cap. II. — Chickasaw Bayou. Sherman's attempt upon Vicksburg had been a disas- trous failure. Neither he nor Grant expected it to succeed unless the latter could keep Pemberton's army in the inte- rior while the former surprised Vicksburg. But Pember- ton, with great celerity, led to Vicksburg the troops with whom he had been confronting Grant ; while, by some inex- plicable mj^stery, Sherman heard nothing of the capture of Holly Springs. Nine days after the rebels occupied that place and cut Grant's communications, Sherman made an attack^* at Chickasaw Bayou, a few miles up the Yazoo. Taking his command through a most difficult and swampy region, f he charged up the steep bluffs, feeling sure lie could find a weak place somewhere in the long line. His troops be- haved with the utmost gallantry ; but they were repulsed with great slaughter, losing over eighteen Inindred men — nine times more than the enemy. They buried their dead and carried off their wounded under a flag of truce. This second disaster excited loud complaint throughout the North, and both generals were denounced as utterly unfit to be intrusted with the lives of soldiers. Grant, though grieved at the repulse, defended his subordinate. " Was not Sherman to blame ?" asked a friend. " Not at all," was his prompt reply. " He did exactly what he was told to do, and no man could have done it better." " He was badly defeated." " True ; but that was not his fault nor mine ; it was one of the inevitable accidents of war." McClernand, an old Illinois politician, and a personal * December twenty-ninth. f "Agreeably (to alligators) diversified by swamps, sloughs, lagoous, and bayous — a mire upoa quicksands." — Greeley's American Conflict. 286 Grant Takes Command of the Feont. [1863. friend of Lincoln, declared himself ' ' tired of furnishing brains for the Army of the Tennessee," and induced the amiable President, against Halleck's earnest protest, to give him charge of an independent expedition against Vicks- bui'g. He arrived at Young's Point just after Sherman's repulse, and that patriotic soldier promptly turned over the command to him. Grant had no confidence in McClernand, and would fain have given Sherman a chance to retrieve his injured reputa- tion ; but the seniority of McClernand rendered it impossi- ble. So Grant, who ranked every other general in the West, went to Young's Point, assumed command in per- son'^, and put the protesting McClernand at the head of the Twelfth Corps. Our General at length commanded resources practi- cally unlimited for the capture of Vicksburg. His expedi- tion consisted of fifty thousand men, encamped at Young's Point and at Milliken's Bend ; and Admiral Porter's co-ope- rating fleet of sixty steam-vessels, carrying eight hundred men and two hundred and eighty guns. For several hundred miles above the mouth of the Mis- sissippi the cotton and sugar plantations and their build- ings are lower than the surface of the river, which is only kept in its bed by levees on each bank from four to ten feet wide and from ten to fifteen high. Our forces were en- camped upon the levee, on the west side. Head-quarters were on the Magnolia ; and the quartermaster and com- missary officers also occupi<.^d steamers. Small-pox prevailed, and at one time a tliird of the army was on the sick-list. The season had been so unusually wet that tlieri' was no dry land excejit upon the levee, and that was full of graves. The road for supplies ran along at the water's edge, and tlu^ river, steadily rising, encroached more and more upon these r(>sting-places of the sleepers. AYagon- whecls would sometimes cut off the end of a coffin, or throw it altogether out of its shallow bed — a ghastly spectacle. Tlie empty coffin of a siiiall-iiox i)atient, Avhose body had ♦ January tliirlioth. 1863.] A New Bed for the Mississippi. 287 been sent north, was found hy a head-quarters negro, and he not knowing its original use, and apparently unacquainted with such a luxury for the dead, made his bed in it for several nights, to the horror of the staff when they learned of it. The unfastidious African never recovered his popu- larity after bringing the walls of that undesirable bed- chamber betwixt the wind and his nobility. How should Yicksburg he taken ? Its front was very strongly defended, so the lirst step must be to effect a lodg- ment in the rear. This miglit be done (1), by going up the Yazoo, and marching behind the city from the north ; or, (2), by going down the Mississippi, and coming up from the south. And the two ways had their two difficulties. To ascend the Yazoo, Haine's Bluff, ten miles from the mouth, and thorouglily fortified, must be captured or turned. To go down the Mississippi, the formidable batteries of the main stronghold must be passed. Three months were spent in endeavors to get behind the town. These attempts shall be described separately, though two or three of them were being made simultaneously. III. — Williams' Canal, or Cut-off. Yicksburg is at the extreme point or toe of a long, nar- row peninsuLa, shaped like a foot, around which the Mis- sissippi bends. It was proposed to cut a canal across the land at the heel of this foot, with sufficient depth of water for steamers to run through it to the river below, passing three miles and a half west of the Yicksburg batteries, and just out of range. The plan seemed feasible. The crooked lower JNIissis- sippi frequently breaks its banks, and makes a cut-off of ten or twenty miles across the country, quite abandoning the old bed. AYas Nature a better engineer than West Point could turn out ? Were not her forces, directed by skilled human intelligence, strong(>r than her forces acting blindly? General Williams, coming up from New Orleans, had already begun this cut-off, ten feet wide and six deep, which 288 The Mississippi Declines It. [isgs. was to be scooped out by the entering current into a new bed for the river, leaving Yicksburg higli and dry three miles and a half from everywhere. President Lincoln believed in it. The Father of Waters, however, did not, for he only sent a tantalizing rill trickling through the ditch. Tlie engineers had not hit upon the proper relation of angles between the canal and the stream. On Grant's arrival, lie visited the ditch with his staff. The aides laughed at it, the older engineers significantly shrugged their shoulders, and the General reported to Hal- leck that it was not likely to succeed. But work kept the soldiers out of mischief, and no possibility must be neglect- ed. So four thousand men were employed to enlarge it, and cut a new mouth to catch the current at the right angle. It did " catch it." The waters rose rapidly until* they burst through the dam at the upper end, filled the canal so that no further work could be done upon it, overflowed the peninsula, drowned many horses, and sAvept away tools and tents, the men saving their lives with difficulty. Attempts to rejDair the dam were fruitless, and the "big ditch" was abandoned, to the great relief of the rebels. lY. — Lake Providence. On the west, or Louisiana, side of the Mississippi, seventy miles above Vicksburg, is Lake Providence, six miles long. South of it, for six hundred miles to the Gulf, stretches a labyrinthine net-work of little bayous or creeks, which have been the beds of lai'ge streams in times past, and in that shifting alluvium frequently become so again. Tlie lake itself is but a fragment of the old bed of the Great River. From its west end the bayous communicate with head- waters of tlu! lied River. If a channel were cut one mile from tlie Mississippi to tlu^ lake, could not steamers pass down the Red, and thence into the Mississipj^ti tAVO hundred miles beloAV Vicksburg ? This would enable troops to come up and attack th(3 toAvn from the south. The gaining of twenty miles doAvn the river would involve seven hundred * March eiglith. 18G3.] Toiling amots^g the Swamps. 289 miles of roundabout navigation, but steamboat transporta- tion was cheap, and the prize tempting. The canal was cut and boats passed into Lake Provi- dence. Lo ! the bayous below were choked with obstinate cypresses. For two weeks McPherson's men toiled like beavers, but were unable to open them far, though little steamers did thread them for a short distance. The rebels feared that the whole river might be turned into the Red, and thence into the Atchafalaya, opening a new channel to the Gulf, and leaving Vicksburg, Natchez, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans, insignificant inland towns. But Grant never had much faith in the project, which proved a dead failure.* V. — Yazoo Pass. Three hundred and twenty miles above Vicksburg, and a few miles east of the Mississippi — with which a tortuous channel connects it — is Moon Lake, also a former bed of the river. A bayou leads from it into the Cold water, and thence into the Tallahatchee, which empties into the Yazoo. Could this channel be opened our boats might reach the Yazoo, and go down that river to establish a base above Haine' s Blufi\, from which Vicksburg could be taken in the rear. This route seemed to Grant more feasible than any of the others, for in former years, trading boats from the Mis- sissippi had frequently navigated the lake and bayous, which were therefore named "the Yazoo Pass.'' The levee was cut and steamers passed into Moon Lake.f Thence to the Coldwater fifteen miles, the bayou required clearing out. This would have been easy had a force gone forward instantly to take possession of its eastern end. But that precaution was neglected, and the vigilant rebels, impressing hundreds of negroes into the service, instantly began to fill its bed with enormous trees. The stream proved as crooked as a worm fence, and the region impenetrable as an Indian jungle or the Dismal Swamp of Virginia. Constant rains flooded the country, * March twenty-seyenth. f February fourth. T 290 Repulsed at Fort PEMBERTOisr. [i863. but the Union soldiers -worked cheerily in water up to their necks, clearing out obstructions which the rebels a mile or two in advance were putting in with equal zeal. Finally the channel was opened, and after a vexatious delay in procuring light transports and gun-boats. General Koss with forty-five liundred men reached the Coldwater. Thence through dense forests the expedition moved cau- tiously down the river for two hundred and fifty miles, protected from guerrillas by floods which inundated the country for miles from the shore. In ten days it reached the Tallahatchee. So far so good. At last the way seemed clear, and Grant gave orders for forwarding his whole army. But while it was delayed for steamers of draft light enough to navi- gate the shallow waters, the rebels improved the precious minutes in strengthening Fort Pemberton, where the Talla- hatchie and the Yallabusha unite to form the Yazoo. | This work had only two guns, but they commanded both rivers completely. The ground on its entire front was under water, and the post utterly unapproachable for infantry. Fort Pemberton must be captured by the navy or not at all. Our gun-boats bombarded it* until one was disabled, and six men were killed and twenty-five wounded, with- out any perceptible effect upon the enemy. The case ap- peared hopeless, and the fleet withdrew. Had the attack continued but one hour longer the post would have surrendered, as the rebels were almost out of ammunition. But it was a fortunate failure, for success would have insured only the evacuation of Vicksburg, not the destruction of Pemberton' s army. YL— Steele's Bayou. Meanwhile, the sleepless foe, over his interior line from Vicksburg, threw heavy re-enforcements toward Fort Pem- berton, until Grant had grave appreliensions tliat Ross's force wouhl be cut ofl' among those dense forests and in- tricate bayous. * March elevcuth and thirteenth. 1863.] The Pleasures of Bayou Navigation. 291 He adopted anotlier plan, with the twofold purpose of making a diversion to assure the escape of Ross, and — the end his steady eye never lost sight of — reaching the rear of Vicksburg. Seven miles up the Yazoo, and just below Haiue's Bluff, is the mouth of Steele's Bayou, which, con- necting with Black Bayou and Deer Creek, forms part of a continuous route into the Sunflower. Could our iron-clads and transports reach the latter, they might float down to the Yazoo, cutting ofi" re-enforcements for Fort Pemberton, per- mitting Ross to fall back or advance at pleasure, and getting behind the much-coveted city. By this route the whole distance would be but one hundred and fifty miles. Admiral Porter, supported by Sherman, starting up Steele's Bayou with little steamers and gun-boats, found it almost impossible to penetrate through the drift-wood and overhanging trees. Low branches overhead tore off chim- neys, guards, and pilot-houses, and growing cypresses and willows obstructed the bed of the stream. The men toiled as if their salvation depended upon it, sawing off" stumps under water, and pulling up trees by the roots. But the rebels repeated their old game, felling trees and filling up the bed of the stream with bricks. Deer Creek is very narrow. Overlapping branches formed a complete roof above the steamers, while on both sides parts of trunks had to be sawed off to let them squeeze through. From the guards of transports one could step directly ashore, and the gun-boats had to be worked around sharp bends by hand. The confederates not only harassed the expedition with musketry, artiller}^, and fallen trees on Porter's front, but also began to fell trees in his rear, making it as impossible to return as to go forward, Sherman's infantry, however, came up and drove them away, and the boats backed slowly down, there being no room to turn. This expedi- tion also was a failure. Cadwallader, the vigilant, did not wait for the steamers, but induced two negroes to steal a skiff, upon which the three floated seventy-five miles down the river through the enemy's countiy, enabling the journalist to get off his dis- patches two days in advance of all rivals. 292 "I Rathee Like the Man." [ises. Grant returned to Milliken's Bend* keenly disappointed at tlie failure of the Yazoo Pass and Steele Bayou move- ments. These attempts had proved the wonderful vigilance of the rebels. Whenever he penetrated into their remotest swamps and forests, he was sure to find them at the vital point, offering vigorous and effective resistance. They showed how earnestness can make an idle, uninventive, un- enterprizing people watchful, ingenious, and tireless. VII. — Milliken's Bend and New Carthage Cut-off. Bayous connect New Carthage — thirty-five miles below Vicksburg — with Milliken' s Bend, twenty-five miles above. Grant had now detennined in some way to throw his force below, and cross the Mississippi. He cut a short canal, cleared out the bayous with dredg- ing machines, and marched his advance to New Carthage, f The entire army was about to follow, when a rise in the river broke through the levee, deluged the country, and left New Carthage an island. But our troops, accustomed to every sort of obstacle, laid four bridges, two of them six hundred feet long, across the waters, for infantry to march upon ; and one steamer had already passed through the bayous and canal, when the erratic river suddenly fell again, and quite destroyed the value of this cut-off. So ended the seventh attempt. Had any one of them succeeded, the world would have called it sagacious and dazzling ; but now exultant Southern rebels and carping Northern peace men declared them all impracticable, and worthy only of an incompetent and drunken general. Again the country grew chimorous. Strenuous efforts were made to induce the President to remove Grant, and the newspapers named half a dozen successors for liim. But, though sorely impatient at heart, he replied : — "No, I rather like the man, and I think I will try him a little longer." Was ever trust more deserved? Was ever patience more Avise? * March twonty-BOventh. f April sixth. 1863.] Geant Favoring Negeo Kegiments. 293 CHAPTER XXIV. ALL OR NOTIIIXG. Adjutant-General Lorenzo Thomas now came from Wasliington to organize negro regiments. Grant liad already paved the way for this, in obedience to the Presi- dent' s wish that commanders should help remove the pre- judices of our white troops against them. He had iskied an order* adding three hundred contrabands to the pioneer corps of each division. They were paid ten dollars a month, with the same rations and clothing as enlisted men, and were "used for the purpose of saving every soldier, as far as possible, for the ranks." The plan had worked to a charm. The blacks proved unexpectedly faithful, zealous, and tractable ; the whites, already quite willing to arm them with the spade, were los- ing their old antipathy against arming them with the musket. Thomas enlisted all these pioneers in his negro regiments except those of the vehement Logan, who swore that he would not give his up — and did not. Grant did nothing in a half-hearted way, but entered zealously into the move- ment, and reported to Halleck : — f " At least three of my corps commauders take hold of the new policy of arming the negroes, and using them against the enemy, with a will. They at least are so much of soldiers as to feel themselves under obligations to carry out a policy which they would not inaugurate, in the same good faith and with the Scime zeal as if it were of their own choosing. You may rely on my carrying oxit any x>olicy ordered ly proper authority to the best of my ability.^'' The General, conscious that he might be removed any day, was also thoroughly confident of ultimate success if "let alone." He wrote to his father: — "The Government asks a good deal of me, but not more than I feel fully able to perform." * March seventh, f April nineteeatli. 294 His Anxiety About Yicksburg. [ises. A friend calling one evening, found Grant alone in Ms office, the ladies' cabin of the Magnolia. He said : — "•The problem is a difficult one, but I shall certainly solve it. Yicksburg can be taken. I shall give my days and nights to it, and shall surely take it." He made the remark with peculiar earnestness, and in his half-abstracted wa}^, as if answering impatient criticisms or his own misgivings, rather than those of his visitor. But his doubts were never traitors to make him lose the good he else might win by fearing to attempt. At this period a letter-writer thus pictured him : — " Grant is more approachable and liable to interruption than a merchant would allow himself to be in his store. Citizens come in, introduce them- selves, and say, as I heard one man : — ' I have no business with j'ou, General, but just wanted to have a little talk with you, because folks at home will ask me if I did.' He is one of the most engaging men I ever saw — quiet, gentle, extremely, even uncomfortably modest; but confiding, and of an exceedingly kind disposition. He gives the impression of a man of strong will and capacity underlying these feminine traits." Hurlbut commanding the district of Memphis, through which mails passed to the army, had forbidden the Chicago Times to be brought into it, and thus the paper was kept out of our camj)s. The Times was nearer being an out-and- out rebel advocate than any other Northern journal pub- lished outside of New York. But Illinois democratic soldiers who had no sympathy with its extreme views, desired to read it. Grant, though bitterly hostile to that class of journals, countei'manded Hurlbut' s order, on tlie grounds that any paper which the AYar Department tolerated in tlie North should also be allowed to circulate in the army ; and that ev<'Ji if to be suppressed, it must be done by department, and not district commanders. Notwithstanding tlie dejiression caused by the imminent danger of their chiefs removal, there was merriment enough among the staff. Logan, Steele, and several other generals visited head-(pia7"ters one night, and remained until it grew late. Grant urged them to stay, but Steele only accepted. 1863.] "You WILL Sleep here, Steele." 295 Colonel Riggin was absent, and wlien bedtime came, Grant conducted Steele to Riggin's state-room, expecting to offer him choicest quarters, for the aide was of fastidious and luxurious tastes. The host opened the door, saying : — " You will sleep here, Steele." But there, ensconced between Riggin's fine white sheets, lay his huge, black, not over-clean, bodj^-servant ! This was too much for an equanimity which had proved equal to sorest trials. The angry General stirred up the dark}^, and peremp- torily ordered him to leave the boat and never to return. Next morning the order was not enforced, but one aide, at least, enjoyed his chiefs vexation quite as much as, a year earlier, the chief had enjoyed the clij)ping of the tail of Rawlins's war-horse. A lady connected with the Sanitary Commission, who spent much time at the front during these months, writes : — " At a celebration on the twenty-second of February, while all around were drinking toasts in sparkling champagne, I saw Grant push aside a glass of wine, and, taking up a glass of Mississippi water, with the remark, ' This suits the matter in hand,' drink to the toast, ' God gave us Lincoln and Liberty ; let us fight for both.' * * * " On board the head-quarters boat at Milliken's Bend, a lively gathering of officers and ladies had assembled. Cards and music were the order of the evening. Grant sat in the ladies' cabin, leaning upon a table covered with innumerable maps and routes to Vicksburg, wholly absorbed in contemplation of the great work before him. lie paid no attention to what was going on around, neither did any one dare to interrupt him. For hours he sat thus, until the loved and lamented McPherson stepped up to him with a glass of liquor in his hand, and said, 'General, this won't do; yon are injuring yourself; join with us in a few toasts, and throw this burden off your miud.' Looking up and smiling, he replied: 'Mac, you know your whisky won't help me to think ; give me a dozen of the best cigars you can find, and, if the ladies will excuse me for smoking, I think by the time I have finished them I shall have this job pretty nearly planned.' Thus he sat; and when the company retired we left him there, still smoking and thinking." The repeated disappointments of the past only stimulated him to a new endeavor. No previous project had seemed 80 impracticable, none had been so daring. It was in the old heroic spirit : — 296 A New and Daeing Plan. [is^s. " He either fears liis fate too much Or his deserts are small, Who dares not put it to the touch, To wiu or lose it all." He staked every tiling upon it ; and relenting Fortune, tired of battling against one w^liom no disapi>ointment could check, crowned it with lier approving smiles. It was no sudden inspiration. For months the General had thought of it as a last resort. When he and the staff, three months earlier, first visited the Williams Cut-oif, Raw- lins, after contemplating the tiny rill which trickled through it, exclaimed : — " What's the use of a canal unless it can be dug at least fifty feet deeper? This ditch will never wash out large enough in all the ages to admit our steamboats." Two days later, at head-quarters, when several generals and engineers were considering plans, the staif officer again remarked : — "Wilson and I have a project of our own, for taking Vicksburg. ' ' " What is it f asked Sherman. "Why, not to dig a ditch, but to use the great one already dug by Nature — the Mississippi River ; protect our transports with cotton-bales, run them by the batteries at night, and march tlu^ men down the Louisiana shore, ready to be ferried across." "What!" replied Sherman ; "these boats? these trans- ports? these mere shells? They wouldn't live a minute in the face of the; enemy's guns." Grant, though listening intently, said never a word. But, subsequently, while the expeditions ali-eady describcnl were going on, the lAvm was oft(.;n discussed. Some river-men insisted that running the batteries was feasible, even for the frail trans})Oi-ts. The General asked many practical ques- tions, but kept his thoughts to himself. Porter, who commanded the co-operating naval force, gave to every movement his enthusiastic support. He is the son of Commodore David Porter, who died in 1843, after the most brilliant naval career in American history, and he 1SG3.] The Rebels Fkightened by a Barge. 297 inherits in full liis fatlier' s professional skill and indomitalble bravery. Our great conflict developed no other marked instance of hereditary military or naval capacity on either side, except in the case of Robert E. Lee. How rarely is any shining gift transmitted to the next generation ! ' ' Helen' s daughter shall not be more fair, nor Solomon's son more wise." Leveling Nature makes the poet's heir a commis- sioner of statistics, the flat-boatman's boy a statesman, and the statesman's — a simpleton. Before the tragedy of the campaign. Porter diverted the army with a little comedy. He rigged up an old coal barge into the semblance of a steam monitor, with smoke-stack made of pork barrels and furnaces of mud. One dark night she was towed within two miles of the Vicksburg batteries, and then left to float. The rebels opened on her with their heavy guns, and one of their rams fled in wild alarm at her approach. Our powerful iron-clad Indianola^ after running their batteries successfully, had lately been cap- tured by them, and was now tied up for repairs at Warrenton. To prevent her from being retaken by this direful monster, they blew her up. Next morning, discovering how effectu- ally a worn-out scow had avenged their wooden guns at Manassas, their disgust and rage knew no bounds. Already Ellet's little wooden ram, Queen of the West, had run the gantlet. One morning, just as the rising sun was driving the darkness before it down tlie river, the Queen, with no sign of life on board except the columns of black smoke that rolled from her chimneys, steamed silently toward Vicksburg. The moment she approached within range the upper batteries opened on her, but, though one hundred guns were almost instantly directed against her from every point of defense, only four shots struck her be- fore she was opposite the town. Th(^re she suddenly turned toward the rebel gun-boat City of Vickshurg, which was tied up at the bank. The enemy's artillerists and infantry, thinking her disabled and about to surrender, sent up a tremendous shout. But, to their consternation, she dashed right into their iron-clad, damaging it severely, and firing shots from all her guns. 298 The "Quee^" Passes their Batteries. [isgs. Tlie cotton bales protecting lier boiler now took fire and a dozen sliots penetrated lier, but slie got out of range with little injury, and afterward played liavoc with rebel trans- ports and supplies on Red River and the lower Mississippi. She was finally stranded and captured, but not until her captain and three enterprising journalists had succeeded in escaping. After Ellet's gallant feat, the river-men about head-quarters were wont to say : — ""Any of these boats could run by just as well as the Queen.'*'' Still, Grant pondered and asked questions, mentally sticking a pin in the two facts, that fragile steamers could pass the batteries on tlie front of Yicksburg, and that a large army could subsist upon the country in its rear. He was evolving a plan in which, though listening cour- teously to suggestions from many, he asked counsel of none. After maturing it, he heard patiently the adverse arguments of his most trusted lieutenant, but they did not swerve him a hair's breadth. Sherman, seeing only ruin in the new method, and firmly believing that Yicksburg should be attacked in the rear by an army marching overland from Memphis, said : — "Of course, I shall give the movement iwy heartiest sup- port, but I feel it my duty to protest in writing." "Very well," replied the General, "send along your protest." Next day,* Sherman addressed Rawlins, the adjutant- general, earnestly suggesting that Grant call on his corps commanders — McClernand, McPherson, and himself — for their ()])inions, and adding: — "Unless this be done, there are men avIio will, in any result falling below the popular standard, claim that their advice was unheeded, and that fatal consequences residted therefrom. * * * I make these suggestions with the request that General Grant simply read them, and give them, as I know he will, a share of his thoughts. I would prefer ho should not answer, but merely give thein as much or as little weight as they deserve. * * * What- ever plan of action ho may adopt, will receive from mo the same zealous co-operatiou and energetic support as tlioiigh couceived by myself." April eighth. 1863.] Varied Capacity of each Regiment, 299 Grant read Sherman's letter, and, without a word to any- "body, put it in his pocket. Months later, after Vicksburg was captured, haj)pening to find it one day, he handed it back to its author, remarking : — ' ' By the way, Sherman, here is something which will interest you." Other trusted subordinates earnestly opposed the plan, but the captious McClernand, the sanguine McPherson, the energetic Logan, and the clear-headed Rawlins, gave it hearty support. After marcliing his army down the west bank below Yicksburg, Grant would need there (1) gun-boats to cap- ture the batteries on the east bank, (2) supplies to feed his men, and (3) steamers to ferry them across the river. The troops reached New Carthage. Transports — their boilers protected by hay and cotton-bales — loaded with rations and forage, and towing barges which also carried supplies, were sent by night past the batteries, under cover of Porter' s iron-clads. The officers and crews of all the transports but two, working only on wages, and not sworn into the service, de- clined so hazardous an enterprize. But volunteers were not wanting ; when were they in our conflict, however fool- hardy the venture 1 Ten times as many offered as were needed, and to those who were so fortunate as to be selected, others offered ten dollars for the privilege of risking their lives in this midnight gantlet. President Lincoln once asserted that there was prob- ably no regiment in the Union armies which did not contain men capable of carrying on successfully all the departments of our Government — executive, legislative, ju- dicial. Every regiment, at least, had inventors and arti- sans who could do any thing, and Grant now found in his ranks pilots, engineers, and captains, thoroughly fa- miliar with steamers and machinery, and the river's chan- nel. On a dark night, * the first expedition started to run the * April sixteenth. 300 Seven Teaitsports Run" the Gantlet. [isss. rebel batteries. Before midnight, Porter's flag-ship, the Benton^ wliich led the fleet, was discovered by the enemy. Instantly an alarm-rocket shot up, the guns opened, and for miles up and down the river, the Mississippi bank was ablaze. Our iron-clads promptly replied with their heaviest guns, while the transports, hugging the Louisiana shore, ran by as fast as possible. Tlie rebels burned houses, making the night as light as day. Again and again the transports were struck. The Henry Clay was fired by an exploding shell ; but her crew took to their yawls and were saved. Through the other fragile steamers, whose sides were like pasteboard, shots crashed and tore, but the men stood gallantly at their j^osts, and two hours and a half after Porter drew the first fire, the last vessel passed out of range. On the gun-boats not a man was killed, and onl}' eight were wounded. On the steamers and barges nobody was even liit. Before daylight the entire fleet, save tlie ill-fated Henry Clay^ was received at New Carthage by Grant' s in- fantry with shouts of delight. To the soldiers who had run the steamers on this daring race, the General promptly gave furloughs for forty days, and transportation to and from home. A second midnight expedition of six transports and twelve barges passed the batteries six days later, with the loss of one steamer and six barges sunk, one man killed and half a dozen wounded. The 2:)eople of tlie East, knowing about as much of the geography of the region of Grant' s meanderings as tlit^y did of Japan, were utterly bewildered by the fragmentary and "mixcd-up" newspaper telegrams about Laki^ Providence, Moon Lake, Steele's Bayou, AVilliams' Cut-off, the Ya- zoo, the Yallabusha, the Tallahatchie, and the Atchafalaya. They only knew that months dragged wearily by ; that there had Ix'cn disaster at Holly Springs, and bloody re- pulse at Chickasaw Bayou ; that several later attempts had failed ; that the soldiers were reported djdng from disease, and that the country was heart-sick for victory. Our General, alternately the public idol and the jiublic scape- 1863.] "Where Does He Get His Whisky?" 301 goat, was still in deep disfavor. His canal and l3ayou projects were mercilessly ridiculed. The ever-convenient charges of drunkenness were revived. AVhen one grumbler demanded his removal, President Lincoln asked : — " For what reason ?" " Because he drinks so much whisky." "Ah! yes;" (thoughtfully) "by the way can you tell me where he gets his whisky ? He has given us about all our successes, and if his whisky does it, I should like to send a barrel of the same brand to every general in the field."* Grant never wasted energy. When there was nothing important to do, he appeared indolent. To subordinates he merely said, " Do this," leaving them to obey in their own manner. But now, no details were too minute for him, no trouble too great. While so ill from boils that he could hardly sit in the saddle, he rode forty miles one sweltering day, to give oral instructions to McClernand at New Carthage. On the east bank, the few points where good roads leave the river, were all defended by heavy guns. How could he gain a foot-hold ? He determined to capture Grand Gulf, a bold promontory, below Yicksburg. Porter was to silence the batteries, then infantry were to storm the works. Ten thousand of McClernand' s men being embarked on transports and barges ready for landing. Porter, with seven iron-clads and a wooden gun-boat, started on the morning of April twenty-ninth, leading personally with his flag-ship. At the appointed moment, eight o'clock, he fired his first gun. AVith equal promptitude the enemj^ replied, and for five hours battle raged, the gun-boats running round in a circle, * Oa a very few occasions after re-entering the service, the General was percep- tibly under the influence of liquor — solely from his extreme susceptibility to it; for ordinarily he did not touch it ; and during the entire conflict he probably consumed less than any other officer who tasted it at all. He was never under its sway to the direct or indirect detriment of the service for a single moment. And his development was as unique in this as in any other respect. He exhibited the remarkable specta- cle of a man in middle life, steadily gaining in self-control till apropensity once too strong was absolutely mastered. Ho yielded to it less and less, and finally— after the restoration of pcac«— planted his feet on the safe and solid ground of total absti- nence. 302 Poeter's Repulse at Geand Gulf. [^863. and pouring in their broadsides successively, at pistol-shot distance from the rebel cannon at the water' s edge. The eifort was useless. Porter easily silenced the lower or water batteries, but the works upon Grand Gulf proper were so high that he could make no impression. He did not disable a single gun. Every vessel of his fleet was fre- quently struck — one fifty times — and his loss was eighteen killed and fifty-six wounded. His flag-ship turned sullenly up the river, and the other iron-clads dropped below. The Benton was badly cut up ; strips of her iron armor were torn off", her deck was covered with splinters and red with blood, and her cabin full of dead and wounded. Grant, who had watched the fight from a little tug, now boarded the admiral's vessel with his staff, and Washburne, who had come down on his invitation to accompany the movement. Porter said : — "It's of no use. General. The thing has failed. It's im- possible to take that battery with our boats." With that quickness of resource which is Grant' s great strength, he had a second plan ready the moment the first failed. He answered : — " Very well. You may attack again after dark to-night. Under the noise of your firing, the transports can run by. I will march the soldiers down opposite Rodney, or to some other convenient point where we can cross and take Grand Gulf in the rear." Half an hour aftcn- Porter had fired his last gun, a steamer ran her plank out to land tlie first d(>tacliment of troops at Hard Times, on the Louisiana side, above Grand Gulf. Hard Times, so called from its forlorn appearance, Avas only a cluster of tumble-down cabins. Not a white person was left, but twenty or thirty delighted negroes welcomed the troops. Tli(3 first man to step ashore was Colonel Slack, of an Indiana regiment — a boisterous, good fellow but a life- long democrat, knoAvn to nearly all the anny for his violent antipatliy to negroes and abolitionists. Nevertheless, Slack was thoroughly devoted to the flag he fought for. As he Bet foot on shore, a bouncing negress, with her head wrap- ped in a flaming kerchief, seized his hand with both her 1S63.] Thoeougii Loyalty of the Negeoes. 303 own, and sliook it long and vigorously in hearty welcome, wliile she shouted : — " Bress de Lord ! Bress de Lord !" The troops from a dozen transports witnessed the colo- nel's novel and rather embarrassing situation, and cheered and yelled with delight. Slack, looking extremely sheep- ish, accepted his blushing honors as gracefully as he could, and I never heard of his denouncing negroes afterward. Grant ordered the troops to march down the levee to De Shroon' s, also on the west bank, and three miles below Grand Gulf. He remained at Hard Times to superintend the debarkation, while Washburne, who had borrowed a horse from some negroes, rode on ahead. De Shroon' s Land- ing had one pleasant balconied white house, shaded by glossy magnolias. It belonged to a French planter, who had de- camped with all his slaves, except one gray-haired, tottering negro and his wife. Washburne, who found the old couple in their little cabin back of the house, was the first Yankee they had ever seen, and they plied him with endless ques- tions about the North, "Mass'r Linkum's troops," and "Mass'r Linkum's flag." " The Congressman, once on liis talking legs, Stirs up his knowledge to its thickest dregs;" but this one, instead of drawing upon his own lore, cheered their faithful hearts by good tidings about the war. In the midst of their earnest inquiries, Grant's advance came in sight, — a long line of blue, crowned with gleaming mus- kets, and bearing the Starry Flag. The old negress threw Tip her hands, and jumped up and down, shouting, while tears streamed down her wrinkled clieeks : — ' ' Dar come Mass' r Linkuni' s sogers ! Dar comes Mass' r Linkum' s flag. My God ! I neber spected to lib to see dat !" Grant ordered explorations on the eastern shore, sending out a lieutenant to find somebody who could give minute information. In the course of the night the oflicer returned, bringing an intelligent mulatto — a native of the vicinity— wliQ had been that day in the confederates camp at Grand Gulf selling home-made beer. He said that at Bruinsburg, 304 The Hiver Crossed at Last. [isss. six miles below, on tlie east bank, tliere was a capital landing, and tlience to Port Gibson — toward the rear of Grand Gulf and Yicksbnrg — an excellent road obstructed by no swamps. This corroborated previous information ; and he seemed so clear-headed and truthful, that Grant and Porter steamed down to Bruinsburg, where they found a good landing and a capital thoroughfare. Tliere the General determined to land, instead of going to Rodney, fifteen miles below. That night, under cover of a fierce artillery attack from Porter, our transports, one by one, ran the Grand Gulf bat- teries. The troops, who were bivouacked in the broad, fair fields back of De Shroon' s house, could hear the cannonade, and anxiously waited the issue. When the first steamer came in sight, those nearest the river greeted her with a ringing cheer, which was carried back through all the lines. Each succeeding vessel was received with shouts, till all had arrived in safety. The beginning was auspicious ; but it was of tlie utmost importance that Grant should cross to the east bank of the Mississippi before the enemy comprehended his movement. Early next morning,''* therefore, his troops embarked in the lightest marching order, and supplied with only three days' rations. The gun-boats of the zealous Porter assisted the transports in ferrying them over. Villages are few in that region, and Bruinsburg was only a landing at another deserted plantation. The General, the first man to step ashore, was welcomed by an aged negro with wide, wondering eyes, and his "heart in his voice," who confirmed the statement that the road to Port Gibson was high, dry, and good. So the advance marched forward a few miles and encamped, while the troojDS still arriving bivouackcnl at the landing for the rest of the day. Rlictoric followed tlie flag. On that pleasant summer night t]ie army formed around a hollow square, while AVasli- burne, Logan, Governor Yates, and others, standing upon a cart, regaled it with patriotic eloquence. * April thirtieth. 18G3.] Grant's Baggage for the Campaign. 305 CHAPTER XXV. THE I)0tii('ss and enterprise. At night our advance reached llankinson's Ferry, on the Big Black, fifteen miles nortli of Port Gibson, and had sent several hundred prison- ers to the rear. For five da^'s and nights Grant had not changed a gar- ment, or, indeed, taken off his clothing. Now, after dark, with a small escort, he galloped twenty miles into Grand Gulf, which the rebels had evacuated ; went down the river, conferred with Porter, returned and wrote letters and dis- patches to Washington until midnight, and then treated him- self to a borrowed shirt and a few hours of slumber. 1863.] Griersox's Darixg Cavalry Raid. 311 On this Sunday night, two friends and myself, anxious to get to the front, left Young's Point upon a tug towing two barges of forage and provisions, which Grant had ordered to run the batteries. After we had been under fire from the Yicksburg guns for three-quarters of an hour, and were almost out of range, a shot exploded and sunk our tug and fired our barges. Sixteen of us — out of the thirtj^-fiye on board — had the good fortune to be picked up in the river by the enemy, and one comrade and myself had the ill for- tune, for nearly two years thereafter, to study the Avar and rejoice in Grant' s victories from successive Southern prisons. After they reached the magic number of seven, we luckily escaped. On our abrupt advent into Yicksburg, the rebel oflicers cheerfully assured us that they expected to see Grant a prisoner there within a few days. We replied that they would undoubtedly see him, but not exactly in the capacity of a captive. Colonel Grierson, who had left La Grange, Tennessee, with seventeen hundred cavalry, after traversing the Missis- sippi lengthwise, destroying stores, and arms, tearing up railway's, burning bridges, caj^turing militia, and carrying consternation through the entire State, reached our lines at Baton Rouge, ^^ having traveled six hundred miles in fifteen days, and lost less than thirty men in sick, wounded, and missing. Nowhere did he meet with any serious resistance, and his daring raid convinced Grant that the confederacy had become "a mere shell with all its resisting power on the outer edge." The General, now at the Big Black, and facing northward, was between two Avings of the enemy. On his left Pt^n- berton held Yicksburg and vicinity with fifty tliousand men. On the right rebel re-enforcements were approaching in unknown numbers. To annihilate this force before it could join Pemberton, and still be able to cope with tlie latter, would require rapid marching and more men than he had, if he should attempt to keep open communication with Grand Gulf, his present depot of supplies. * May second. 312 The Battle of Eaymond. [ises. Bearing in mind Scott' s brilliant campaign from Pnebla to Mexico, sixteen years before — a campaign which taught him the most valuable lessons he ever learned in the art of ■war, except those from his own experience — he determined to abandon his base, and taking as many rations as his men could conveniently carry, destroy the approaching re-en- forcements, and then turn to invest Vicksburg. Nothing but good combinations and rapid movements could insure success to this daring plan. He cut loose altogether, writing to the general-in-chief : — * " I shall communicate witli Grand Gulf no more, except as it becomes necessary to send a train under heavy escort. You may not hear from me for several days." The course of the Big Black is southwest. From Han- kinson's Ferry, twenty miles due south of Vicksburg, Grant marched up on the east side of the river, which, running be- tween him and Femberton, protected his left flank. He made perplexing feints in all directions, which it was impos- sible for his weak adversary to distinguish from the real movement. His first object was to stop supplies from pour- ing into Vicksburg, by cutting the railway which runs west from Jackson, the capital of the State. Early in the morning,! McPherson, who held the extreme right, approaching the little town of Raymond, encountered five thousand rebels under Gregg, very strongly posted. The Union force was much the larger, but not until after three hours of stubborn fighting was the enemy driven back with a loss of three hundred killed and wounded, and many prisoners. Grant, concentrating his main force to meet Pemberton's army at Edwards Depot and Bolton north of him, had designed sending only a little expc^iition (^astwai-d into Jack- son to destroy confederates stones. But now Rawlins and Wilson rode back to inform him that the enemy on McPher- son' s front had reti-(\ited, )i(»t upon Vicksburg, but toward Jackson. He instantly surmised that re-enforcements enough to swell Gregg's command to twelve or fourteen * May eleventh. f May twelfth. 1861^.] Graistt Cuts Loose from His Base. 313 thousand must Ibe concentrating in that direction. Even if he should whip Pemberton it would never do to turn toward Vicksburg, leaving this his enemy in the rear. Simply asking one or two questions, and without rising from his chair, he wrote orders to turn the entire army toward Jackson. Tips readiness to modify an old jDlan, or substitute a new one on the instant when emergencies re- quired it, was one of his strongest and most cliaracteristic points. On cutting loose from Grand Gulf, he said : — ' ' I think we can reduce Jackson, and re-open communi- cations with the fleet above Vicksburg in about five days.'''' It was like Cortez burning his ships. Grant sent out expeditions on every side for food and forage, and ordering no more supplies sent to his rear, turned back his extra wagons, and left his field hospitals at Port Gibson and Ray- mond in charge of Federal surgeons with flags of truce. He found in the country enough of provisions and forage, abundance of horse and mule teams, and no end of negroes delighted to drive them ; and thenceforth multitudes of cattle, sheep, turkeys, chickens, and pigs, indiscriminately mingled, followed in the wake of his army. McPherson struck the railroad at Clinton, tore up the track, burned bridges, and captured dispatches showing that Pemberton was still at Edwards Station, eighteen miles east of Vicksburg, expecting an attack. Sherman, after making a feint at Haine' s Bluff to deceive Pemberton, and then moving rapidly along the circuitous land and river route upon which the rest of the army pre- ceded him, had now arrived with liis fine corps eager for work. He and McPherson were ordered to reduce Jackson. On the morning of May fourteenth both were marching upon the town, McPherson along the railway from Clinton, ten miles west, and Sherman across the country from a point fourteen miles southwest. They expected to arrive at the same moment, but Sherman's roads were so muddy that it was almost impossible to move artillery. His men, however, throwing away their boots and shoes, and floundering through the mud up to their knees, shouted, laughed, and sang, in the most exuberant spirits. 314 The Battle of Jackson. [ises. All liour before noon, in the midst of a driving rain, they approached the city from the south, and were stopped Iby a battery of six pounders in a strip of woods, two miles out. Artillery skirmishing followed. Among the troops lying in a field a shell exploded now and then, and with natural scruples about keeping quiet to be murdered many jumped up and ran to the rear. Grant and staff, sitting twenty paces behind them, under some spreading trees for protection from the i-ain, persuaded them to return, until the storm of Waaler grew so much more uncomfortable than the storm of shot, that they sought shelter in some old shanties a hundred yards away. What virtue in a general is equal to promptness ? What general ever had it in a higher degree than Grant ? Only the night before, Joseph E. Johnston, a most able rebel com- mander, had arrived on his front. Very soon Johnston would have concentrated the scattered confederates, and struck Grant on the flank before uniting with Pemberton, for Avhom he was amply competent to furnisli brains. But our General falling upon him so unexpectedly quite S]3oiled his game. McPherson, after three hours' fighting on the west side, had already driven in the enemy, and Sher- man soon swept forward. The rebel cannoneers stood their ground until his infantry were within six feet of them. Then they flung down their rammers and surrendered, both they and their captors, including Grant, laughing heartily at their dare-devil tenacity. Soldiers soon get on familiar terms with death, and tlie tragedy of w^ar has frequent interludes of comedy. Though squads of rebel cavalry w^ere still in sight, and thougli th(i staff expostulated, the chief, remarking tliat he guessed there was no danger, galloped forward into the city. Fred rod(3 with the party, and entered Jackson at the head of it. The streets Avere full of gleeful negroes, while from windows and half-open doors peered some anx- ious, pallid faces. But snowy flags flew from the houses, and man}^ white families seemed overjoyed, for there Avas a good deal of Union sentiment. Grant and stall' rode to the leading hotel — a large build- 1863.] Grant ix the Capital of Mississippi. 315 ing, near the capitol, where Johnston had slept the night before. They fancied themselves the first Yankees in Jack- son, but private enterprise had outrun official routine, and the muskets were ahead of the shoulder-straps. Three of McPherson's cavalrymen were already raising the Stars and Stripes upon the State-House. The people flocked about the light-bearded, mud-stained General — who bore no mark of his rank — with all sorts of petitions, in response to one of which he instantly stationed guards to protect the inmates of the large Catholic convent. The public stores had been left open, and the ransomed black sinners, confident that their year of jubilee had come, were making a haul of clothing and provisions. One, stag- gering under an enormous burden of garments, was accosted by a staff officer : — ' ' Hallo, uncle ; haven' t you got more than your share of coats?" "Dunno, mass'r ; if you likes one, take it." The next morning details were sent out to destroy all railways, machine shops, manufactories, and public stores. A large cotton factory was reported filled with duck. The owner piteously begged the General to spare it. Grant. — " AVhom are you making duck for?" The proprietor answered, in evident embarrassment, that his customers were many. Grant. — "Wilson, did you see any mark on that duck?" Wilson.— "Yes ; it bears the stamp 'C. S. A.' " Grant. — "Then, sir, I guess your factory must be burned with the rest." Many alarmed citizens begged the General not to destroy the town. He replied, that while every thing belonging to the confederacy and all stores which could help it must be burned, he would do all in his power to protect private property. But he could not save it altogether. Our troops, for once, deserved the favorite epithet of the rebels, " Nortli- ern Vandals," for they pillaged houses and fired a hotel and a church. It has been urged in extenuation, that several had previously suffered gross indignities while prisoners iu Jackson. 316 Why the Rebels Burned a Hotel. [isgs. "What's our billT' asked Dana, as the chief and his })arty were leaving. "Ninety dollars," replied the landlord. A hundred-dollar confederate note being proffered, Boni- face said, hesitatingly : — " I didn't know you were going to pay in that money, or I sliould have charged more." ' ' Yery well ; charge whatever you like. We do pro- pose to pay in this money." Confederate currency was cheap, for our forces had cap- tured a large quantity at Port Gibson. The bill was settled for two hundred confederate dollars. When the rebels re- entered the town they actually burned the hotel because its lessee had refused to take the Southern currency from Grant' s party at the same rate as greenbacks ! They were as wise as some other political economists of more expe- rience and higher pretensions ! 1863.] Grant Inteecepts a Rebel Dispatch. 317 CHAPTER XXVI. THE GAME AT BAY. Months before, Hurlbut, witli great ado and sliow of disgrace, liad drummed a man out of Memphis on tlie alle- gation that he was a rebel. Actually he was a Union spy, and this expulsion secured him the confidence of leading confederates. Now he brought to Grant a dispatch which Johnston had intrusted to him, instructing Pemberton to attack Sherman, Avho was at Clinton.* From the feeble Pemberton there was not much to fear, but Johnston had retreated northward, and Grant Avas anxious lest lie might form a junction with Pemberton, or the latter might escape. IS ot Vicksburg, but the main rebel army, was now the prize he sought. ^STeither Johnston nor Pemberton sus23ected that the General had cut loose from his base, and Pemberton was making a fruitless attempt to sever his communications ! Though repeatedly ordered by Johnston to evacuate Vicks- burg lest he should be shut up in it, Pemberton had as often disobeyed. At last, when it was too late, he saw liis danger, and determined to get north of the railroad and escape. But two of his men deserted to onr lines witli the information, whereupon Grant sent emphatic orders to his corps commanders to concentrate instantly on the rebel front. From all quarters our hard-worked men, now thor- oughly enthusiastic, came marching forward with ringing cheers. About three in the morning, fas Pemberton was be- ginning to move, our advance encountered him at Champion Hill, on the railway, half way between Jackson and Vicks- burg. The rebel general, utterly unsuspicious that Grant's * Map, page 280. f May sixteeuth. 318 The Battle of Champion Hill. Dses. army was in the neigliborliood, tliouglit he had encountered only a small detachment. His position, on a ridge several hundred feet high, gashed with ravines and covered with dense undergrowth, was exceedingly strong. Through the morning there was hot skirmishing. Grant, with his staif and son, was under fire, though a little pro- tected by a hill. On its farther side, Hovey, commanding our advance, Avas driven back across a ravine and up toward the crest. An ubiquitous correspondent witnessing this, rode back to get out of a hot place and to inform Grant. On the way he passed a detachment of Union soldiers with two guns, which they had just captured, pouring shells into the enemy, while a feAV hundred yards away, the rebels were replying with the four remaining pieces of the battery. The General was told that Hovey was repulsed. GrAoS^t. — "I guess not." Journalist. — "He is — pouring back pell-mell." Grant. — " Did you see it ?" Journalist. — " Yes." Grant (to McPherson, who had just come up).— "Cad- wallader reports that Hovey is being driven back." McPiiERSON. — "Yes, I understand so." Grant (speaking with great quickness and precision). — "Then I think I would move Quinby right up. Form a line here. Just put a battery in there and another over there." These dispositions were completed just as Hovey' s stamj)eding men ])Our(Ml over the crest. The two batteries opened on the pursuing reb(4s, staggered them, and shortly drove them back, our mon y calling and chasing in turn, ov(n' heaps of d<»ad and wounded. Grant had delayed the battle as long as possible, that McClernand might come up. AYhile it raged he was con- stantly s<']iding messages to that commander — a few miles southward, and detained by a small rebel force — to press forward at all hazards. The General directed operations on the front, through hours of fierce fighting, hardly equaled during the war, ex(!ept at Shiloh and Spottsylvania. Ilovey, Logan, and Crocker took the brunt of it. The ground was 1863] Grant Reaches the Bm Black, 319 so covered Avith torn and blackened corpses that our soldiers called it the " Hill of Death." At four P. M. Logan's division, by a skillful movement on our right, got almost in the rear of the weary confeder- ates, causing an alarm which, increased by a vigorous charge in front, sent them flying westward — toward the railway- crossing of the Big Black, ten miles out of Yicksburg, — for it was impossible for them to move north. Out of fifteen thousand men engaged, the Union army had twenty-three hundred killed and ^vounded, but only two hundred missing. The rebels lost as many from wounds, beside three thousand prisoners and many field- pieces. General Lloyd Tilghman, whom Grant had cap- tured at Fort Henry two years before, was among their killed. Just after the last gun was fired, McClernand's corps reached the field. Its delay was owing solely to its com- mander, for only a handful of men had been lost. Loriug, a one-armed rebel general, imitating the insubor- dination of his chief, disobeyed Pemberton's order to fall back toward Yicksburg. He led his division southward, around our forces, and after ten days of hard and costly marching, succeeded in reaching Johnston's army. Grant, leaving a detail to bury his dead, followed the shattered enemy in close chase, securing twelve heavy guns, many small-arms, and hundreds of stragglers, who surren- dered themselves voluntarily. After dark the enemy halted at the Big Black, and head- (piarters were established at a farm-house, half a mile in the rear. It was still occupied by wounded rebels, one of whom walked raving about witli his brains j^rotruding tlirough a bullet-hole. Grant had carried out his hazardous plan of cutting loose from his base of supplies without consulting the Washing- ton authorities. Confident that they would not a2)prove it, lie had not telegraphed the general-in-cliief until just before starting. Cairo was the nearest station, so he could not receive a countermanding order under ten days. To-night came a dispatch from Halleck, written on learning of his 3i0 Lawler makes a Brilliant Charge. [ises. plan, and counseling him to effect a junction with Banks be- fore moving on Vicksburg. He read it with a smile, doubt- less wondering what the military theorist would think on learning of this bit of military practice by a once despised subordinate. Tlie General and staff slept on their blankets, under the porch, as well as the groans of the sufferers within would permit. Sunday morning* found the rebel army west of the river. But two brigades were left upon a sort of island, on the east side, to protect tlie bridge-head for Loring's division, which was still expected. Between our front and this island ran a broad mudd}^ bayou full of reeds, and seemingly impassable. Just beyond were the well-manned rifle-pits of the enemy. Our line here was held by the brigade of "Mike Law- ler," an impetuous Illinois brigadier. Months earlier at Cairo, Lawler liad summarily court-martialed and hanged one of his men for an outrage upon a woman. The punish- ment was utterl}^ beyond his authority, but the victim being undouljtedly guilty, Grant let off his subordinate with a sharp reprimand. Lawler, full of energy and pluck, had exceeded his autliority on two or three later occasions, and was still in disfavor. But now his zeal proved opportune. Glancing over the cotton field and tlie reedy bayou at the rebel work, he said : — "Boys, here's a chance to go in." Starting at thc^ word they charg(^d j^elling across the cleared land, and through the water up to the arm-pits, pushing away obstructions, and many losing their muskets. Unchecked by the brief shower of bullets they reached the opposite shorty went down into the trenches, then over the breastworks, and the cam]) was theirs ! Had not th(^ enemy been uttei'ly demoralized he Avould liave eaten them up, but they lost only two liundred and fifty ukmi. Tlu^ flying confcdci-ates ci-owded upon the bridge, until their comrades on the other side, panic-stricken lest our men * May seventeenth. 18G3.] The Game Entekixg the Thap. 321 should pursue, set it on fire. Many jumping into the water were drowned, and the rest instantly surrendered. Lawler had captured almost eighteen hundred men — a force larger than his own — with their equipage and artil- lery. The moment Grant heard of the most gallant exploit he rode forward with his staff. The day was excessively hot, and Lawler, who weighed three hundred pounds was stooping in a fence corner beside his orderly and cook, with his coat and waistcoat off, and his shirt thrown open at the neck, trying to build a fire to boil his pot of coffee. His wounded were just passing back on stretchers and blankets. The General, thanking him in the most emphatic terms, went all over the ground asking many questions ; and from that hour looked upon Lawler with warm and unvarying favor. After dark three bridges were built, one of cotton bales tied together, one of timbers and planks, and a third of Sherman's pontoons. The army was ordered to cross at daylight in the teeth of the enemy. But the enemy's teeth were drawn. On that Sunday night, Pemberton's shattered command poured back into the strong defenses of Yicksburg. The game was entering the trap ! On Monday, Grant pushed forward. During tlio cam- paign thus far Sherman had expressed his incredulity freely, though co-operating Avith the utmost zeal. Many another general would have talked less without working half so well. Now from an elevation above Vicksburs:, in full view of the scene of his own failure, four months earlier, he said abruptly to his chief : — " Until this moment I never thought that 3'our expedition would be a success ; I never could see the end clearly ; but tJiis is a campaign, — this is a success if we never take the town."* The party had just passed a rude cabin, when a woman came out swinging her tattered bonnet. "Go back and see what she wants," said the General. "She and her husband," reported the returning aide, * Badeau. W 322 ViCKSBURG Invested. [ises. "came here from Cairo, just before the war. He was im- pressed into the rebel service, but liis health breaking down, he has been confined to the house for moi^e than a year, and is very poor. They are Union people, and she only wanted to welcome our army, and get a look at you." After cross questioning her a little Grant rode on for five minutes, when he suddenly directed : — ' ' Captain, leave a guard at that house to protect those poor people." The order was obeyed. Going a little fartlier in silence, he again said, abruptly, as if a fresh thought had struck him : — "Send back a surgeon to that sick man, Avith instruc- tions to report his condition to me." This, also, was done. The cavalcade went on a few min- utes longer, when the General gave a third order : — "Have the commissary leave a few rations, that the woman and her husband need not suffer." Tlie family was protected and fed. In due time the inva- lid was cured, and Grant furnished them with free ti-ans- portation to the Nortli. That night* our investing lines in the rear of Vicksburg were formed, in a half circle, from the river above almost to the river below, Sherman holding tlie right, McPherson the center, and McClernand the left, Haine's Bluff was already evacuated, and our gun-boats and transports from Young's Point steamed up the Yazoo. Before midnight, wagon loads of provision and forage reached Grant's hungry ai-my. His anticipations had been fulfilled to the letter. This was the fifth night. After riding the lines until midnight, he and thi; stalf slept at a iiouse where the negroes in possession supped tliem u])()ii the only turkey whicli the desohition of Avar liad spared. Tliere Avas no s:ilt, l>r(>ad, nor vegetal)les, but the party ate eagerly, for tliey liad fasted since daylight, It AA^as nearly daAvn Avhcn tlicy Avent to bed Avitli liglit hearts. * May eighleeuUi. 1863.J Two Unsuccessful Assaults. 323 Grant's operations since leaving New Carthage, liad rarely been equaled by the most illustrious captains of his- tory. In twenty days he had marclied two hundred miles, and fought live battles, taking ninet}^ guns, capturing six thousand of the enemy, and killing and wounding many more. He had destroyed Pemberton's communications, stopped liim from escaping, and finally driven him to the wall. And his total loss in killed, wounded, and missing, footed up only four thousand. In three or four days the investment was complete. Our semicircular line, inclosing the city and defenses — about four hundred yards from that of the rebels — was eight miles long. In the enormous ravines protecting Vicksburg in the rear, our troops found shelter, but the moment they ventured forwai-d on a crest, vigihant sharp-shooters picked them off. Grant established his head-quarters just out of range, on Sherman' s left. His two favorite lieutenants, both near by, spent much time Avith their chief. McPherson — tall and slender, with dark hair, beard, and eyes, bat a very fair complexion— lounged every day at head-quarters, where he was a universal favorite. Supposing the rebel force much smaller than it really was, the chief ordered a general assault,* and at two p. m., three artillery volleys being fired as a signal, our troops, all along the line, streamed over the crests, and succeeded in capturing two or three outworks and some prisoners. But they were repelled, with a loss of five hundred. The men, however, were confident that they could carry the place by storm, and Grant feared that Johnston might collect a force large enough to attack him in the rear. So, after his siege-pieces and Porter's gun-boats and mortars from the river had dropped shells into the town througli an entire night, the troops made another more vigorous as- sault, f Starting at ten a. m., they swept gallantly over fallen timbers and gullied hills, until checked by a deadly fire of musketry and artillery. The day saw desperate hand-to-hand fighting and many deeds of valor. Field- * May ninetecnlL f May twenty-second. 324 A Tkuce foe Bueying the Dead, [isg3, pieces were dragged by the men themselves to points where horses could not live for a moment, and ammunition was carried forward in haversacks, Griffith, an Iowa ser- geant of nineteen, getting into an outwork of the enemy after all his comrades had been shot down, found a rebel lieutenant and fifteen soldiers exposed to the fire from both sides. He shouted : — ' ' This place is too hot for any man to stay in. Come with me." The whole sixteen obeyed ; but he brought in only twelve, the rest being killed by the enemy's shots while climbing over the parapet, Griffith was made a lieutenant, and afterward appointed a cadet at West Point, McClernand, reporting in several dispatches that he had carried portions of two forts, begged for re-enforcements, and for a vigorous assault along the entire line, to weaken the resistance on his front. Grant finally sent him troops, and ordered the assault, but it was bloodily repulsed. McClernand' s enthusiasm was caused by the fact that twenty or thirty of his men had got into a ditch and planted their colors on the outer face of the parapet. They were unable to retreat until after dark, and then left tAVo or three Hags. At night, when the battle ended, our anny had lost three thousand men. After desultory figliting for two daj's longer, the air grew so foul from the Avounded and corpses, that Pemberton granted tlie General an armistice for two hours and a half, to bring away his dead and the few living who were yet un- cared for. Simultaneously tlie rebels removed tlie putrefy- ing horses, which greatly affected their healtli and comfort. During this truce both armies fraternized, perhaps softened by tlie peaceful sleep of friend and foe side by side on that bloody field. Beardless boys lay among the confederate dead, and a rebel and a Union man, lying stark, were found gras])iiig a rilh^ which they had been contending for when one shot killed them ])oth. The spade now took the place of the musket. Slowly our linos contractt'd as the soldiers dug forward. Sharp- ehooting grew deadly on both sides. No artillerists loaded 1863.] The Opposing Pickets Converse. 325 their pieces so quick, but that the bullets would "ping, ping," about their ears before they could spring back to their bomb-proofs. The ditches were so near that con- versations between the pickets were familiar, and sometimes witty. This is an authentic example : — Rebel Picket. — "What are you uns doing out there ?" Union Picket. — " Guarding thirty thousand of you prisoners, and making you board yourselves !" Rebel. — "Why don't you come and take Yicksburg?" Union. — "Oh, we're in no hurry! Grant hasn't got transportation yet to send you up North." Rebel. — "We have a lot of yonv d d old Hags in here." Union. — " Make shirts of them ; they'll look better than that butternut !" Rebel. — " Will j^ou trade some coffee for corn meal ?" Union. — "Yes, just to oblige you ; iling it over here." Though Pemberton was heart and soul with the rebels, they ungenerously questioned his fidelit}^ because of his Northern birth. According to their newspapers, he replied, in a fire-eating speech, to his men :— ' ' You have heard that I was incompetent and a traitor, and that it was my intention to sell Yicksburg. When the last pound of beef, bacon, and flour ; the last grain of corn ; the last cow, and hog, and horse, and dog shall have been consumed, and the last man shall have perished in the trenches, then, and only then, will I sell Yicksburg !" AlcClernand had some good and soldierly qualities ; but his insubordination at last culminated in innuendos against the ability of his chief, circulated in a congratulatorj^ order to liis corps. Grant promptly removed him,* and appointed the faithful Ord in his stead. Famine proved a powerful coadjutor of the Union arm}-. The soldiers and citizens of Yicksburg were on less than half rations. Flour commanded a thousand dollars pen- barrel, and meat t^^'o hundred and fifty dollars per pound, in rebel currency. Fatal dysentery and fevers, caused by ♦June eighteenth. 326 " A Good Moral Drink." [isss. hunger and fatigue, sharpened the horrors of the besieged city. Women and children in their houses, and soldiers in the liospitals, were killed by our shells ; and the hapless citizens, bond and free, called on the rocks to fall upon them and the mountains to cover them. Caves dug in the bluffs, tlirough which the streets are cut, afforded the best shelter ; but even these Avere sometimes penetrated ; and in one a babe, sleeping peacefully by its mother, was torn to fragments. On the Union side, during long summer evenings, the chief chatted of every thing, though great military opera- tions were his favorite theme. He never Avearied of ex- plaining where he ought to have done better, Avhere For- tune had happily served him, and where, affronted by mis- takes of his own or of others, the fickle goddess had baffled him. With his usual flow of spirits he always had his jest, continually bantering some one of the staff, and taking his pay in the same coin Avith invariable good-humor. But his familiarity never bred contempt. Xo one presumed on him. The abrupt Sherman and the more stately and formal Thomas called him "Grant," but no other subordinate ever addressed him except by his title. The plantation of the rebel president, near NeAV Carthage, fell into our hands, and a black x^o^^y brought from it Avas presented to Grant, "Jeff. DaAas," as he named the steed, soon shoAved extraordinary speed and endurance. The General rode him through the rest of the Avar, and still keeps the favorite horse- Oar troops suffered from diarrhea and dysenter}^, caused by the unAvholesome lime-Avater springs of the hills. Some of the head-quarters officers Avere sick nearly all the time. .Vn old negro to the manner born, Avho sold them bhick- 1)erries, one day brought a tpiantity of roots and herbs, Avhich he offered as specifics. One knoAvn as dittany he i-ecommended enthusiasti(;ally : — "Dis makes a good moral drink. It ahvays cures de miseiy in de bowels !" The plant, largely used for tea through portions of the 1863.] Mine Explosion under Foht Hill. 327 South, proved a welcome medicinal agent, if not an infallible panacea. Grant, though exceedingly active, and riding the lines daily, displayed his extraordinary faculty of delegating labor. He Avas never hurried or "fussy," and gave few directions ; but he knew his men, and the work was always done. Ditching being tlie order of the day, he employed every West Pointer in his army below the rank of general on engineering duty. One made an ingenious and exceedingly safe reconnoissance of the interior of a rebel work, by eleva- ting a mirror upon a pole, and inclining the top forward. One day our men, preparing the ground for a new bat- tery in front of Logan's division, were sorely harassed by sharp-shooters. They dodged at every discharge, and seemed inclined to run. Grant, therefore, sat down upon a pile of rails coolly giving orders, and whittling a stick for ten minutes, while bullets whistled about his ears. His ex- ample restored courage, and the work was completed. Having now two hundred heavy guns in position, and twelve miles of trenches dug, he prepared a mine under JPort Hill, an important rebel work. In subterranean gal- leries as large as a railway car, fifteen hundred pounds of powder — in kegs with the heads knocked out and with loose powder scattered about them — was deposited, and the earth strengthened by timbers, and sand-bags firmly rammed in. Under a tremendous artillery fire the fuse was lighted. As usual only a small portion of the powder burned, and the slight noise of the explosion was not heard half a mile away. First a boundless mass of snow-white smoke puffed up. Yast clouds of brown smoke mingled with dust, and rapidly turning to jet black, followed, spreading in all directions like spray from a Titanic fountain. The whole heavens were darkened with enormous rocks and timbers, which began to drop in both lines Avith ruthless disregard for the safety of the individual. A part of the fort was blown up, but the debris falling around the crater, made entering difficult. The rebels, though recoiling in terror for a moment, were again in post- 328 "The Lord axd Joe Jouxstox." [isgs. tion three minutes later, as our troops swarmed in through the gap which was twenty feet wide. Tlien followed close fighting with bayonets, clubbed muskets, and stones. The enemy dragged up a six-pounder, and fired right into the assailants, but our soldiers instead of retiring shoveled up a little breastwork. Hand-grenades were thrown over on both sides as long as they lasted. Then the men cut off and lighted the fuses of bomb-shells, and at the right moment pitched them, with their hands, among the rebels. Frequently a Union soldier tlirew cnie of those ugly missiles a few seconds too soon ; then tlie confederates flung it back, and it would pass to and fro several times before exploding. Many Avere torn to atoms. Greek had met Greek. Our soldiers remained through the night and part of the next day, but then fell back. They named the crater the "Death Hole.'' Six mines were sprung afterward during the siege, but without important results. The days dragged on. A rebel woman tauntingly asked Grant : — '* "When do you expect to get YicksburgT' " I can't tell exactly," he replied, " but I shall stay until I do, if it takes thirty years.'' Captured dispatches between Pemberton and Johnston, showed that the latter was hoping to get up in our rear. But though the General had received many re-enforcements, he woukl not detach a man while the stronghold continued to defy lum. A rebel inside wrote in a letter to his wife which our officers intercepted: — "AVe put our trust in the Lord. * * * ^Xe expect Joe Johnston to come to our relief," Grant, ordering Sherman to be ready to march tlie mo- ment the siege should end, observed : — "Tliey seem to put a good deal of faith in the Lord and Joe Johnston, but you must whip Johnston at least fifteen mUes from here." 18G3.] PeMBERTOX PROPOSES TO CAPITULATE. 329 CHAPTER XXII. 10 TKIUMPHE I July came. The arm}- was growing weary. Our lines were close np to those of the eneni}-, but we had made no percej)tible impression npon his main works. Johnston's force, already twenty-fire tliousand strong, might attack soon, so Grant determined to make another vigorous assault on Independence Day. Pemberton rendered it unnecessary. On the morning of the tliird a white tiag appeared on the confederate works. Firing ceased at that point, and the rebel Greneral Bowen advanced to the national lines. He was blindfolded and brought to A. J. Smith. He requested an interview with Grant, but, this being denied, delivered the following : — " Head-quakteks, Vickshueg, Juhj 3, 1S63. ''Major-General Grant, commanding United States forces: — '' General — I have the honor to propose to you an armistice of — hours, with a view to arranging terms for the capitulation of Vicksburg. To this end, if agreeable to you, I will appoint tliree commissioners, to meet a like number to be named by yourself, at such place and hour as you may find convenient. I make this proposition to save the further effusion of blood, wJiich must otherwise be shed to a frightful extent, feeling myself fully able to maintain my position for a yet indefinite periud. Tliis commu- nication will be handed you, under a flag of truce, by Major-General John S. Bowen, " Very respectfully, your obedient servant, " J. C. Pemberton." The General expressed orally his willingness to meet Pemberton between the lines, and responded in writing : — "IIeaD-QITARTEKS, DeI'AKTMENT of TESXESSE3, I In the i'lELD, neau Vicksburg, July i, 1S63. ( "Lieutenant-General J. C. Pemberton, commanding confederate forces, «fec. : " General — Your note of this date, is just received, proposing an armis- tice for several liours, for the purpose of arranging terms of capitulation through commissioners to be appointed, &C. The useless effusion of blood 330 Gra:n"t Meets Him betweeist the Lines. [isss. you propose stopping by this course, can be ended at any time you may choose, by the unconditional surrender of tlie city and garrison. Men who have shown so much endurance and courage as those now in Vicksburg, will always cliallenge the respect of an adversary, and, I can assure you, will be treated witli all the respect due prisoners of war. I do not favor the prop- osition of appointing commissioners to arrange the terms of capitulation, be- cause I have no terms other than those indicated above. " I am, general, very respectfully, your obedient servant, "U. S. Grant, Major-General." At tliree p. x., wliile eager-faced soldiers peered over the parapets on "both sides, Grant, Rawlins, Logan, McPher- son, Ord, and A. J. Smith, rode forward from our trenches, dismounted, and sat down upon the greensward under a live oak. In ten minutes the rebel commander appeared, accompanied by Bowen and a staff officer. Grant, who had known Pemberton in Mexico, and Bowen in St. Louis, shook hands with both, and Bowen introduced the other Union officers to his chief. Tlie latter, tall, well built, with swarthy face rather sin- ister in expression, black hair and eyes, and close-cut chin whiskers, was carefully dressed in dark-blue pantaloons and gray military coat. He began a little haughtily : — Pemberton. — " I have come to see if we can arrange terms for the capitulation of Vicksburg. What do you demand V ' Grant. — "All the terms I have are stated in my letter of this morning." Pemberton (drawing himself up stiffly). — "If that is so, the conference may terminate and hostilities be resumed." Grant. — "Very well. My army was never in better condition to prosecute the siege." The subordinates on both sides — all tired of fighting, since the result Avas a foregone conclusion — were disturbed at this, and BowiMi urged a furtlier conference. Grant. — " Suppose we do talk the matter over?" He and tlie confederate chief sat down aside from the rest, Grant serenely smoking, and Pemberton nervously ]»iiirnii;- u}) and scattering blades of grass. After they had conversed a few minutes. Grant called up McPherson and A. J. Smith, wliile Pemberton summoned Bowen, and the three likewise went aside to confer. 1803.] Result of the Interview. 331 Pemberton, urging that the place and armament ought to satisfy the Union commander, asked that his men might be allowed to march out with their arms and accouterments. Grant refused, but finally, Bowen, McPherson, and Smith joining in tlie discussion, the conditions were settled. After the five rejoined the rest under the tree, there was some further general conversation, and then a little colloquy :- Grant. — 'Til go home and write out the terms agreed upon. General, you can have rations for your men if you desire them." Pembertox. — "Oh, no, we will use our own; we have plenty." This was a bit of boasting. The rebels had barel}^ the scantiest supx)lies for three days. During the interview both armies had been quiet, but the gun-boats now opened in one of the fiercest bombard- ments of the siege. Grant. — ' ' This is a mistake. I will send to Admiral Porter, and have the firing stopped." Pemberton. — "Never mind, let it go on. It Avon't hurt anybody ; the gun-boats never hurt anybody !" If the confederate leader meant this in jest, it was good, but if in braggadocia the scenes witnessed after our troops entered the city j)roved it a sorry attempt. The two commanders returned to their respective lines. Grant conferred with most of his corps and division gen- erals. All except Steele thought his j^roposed terms quite too lenient, but he sent them forward : — ' Head-Quarters Departmknt op Tennessee, i Near Vicksburq, July S, 1S63. j "Lieutenant-General J. C. Pembertox, Commanding confederate forces, Vlcksburg, Miss. : — "General — In conformity with agreement of tliis afternoon, I will sub- mit the following proposition for the surrender of the city of Vicksburg, public stores, etc. On your accepting tlie terms proposed, I will inarch in one division as a guard, and take possession at eight a. m. to-morrow. As soon as rolls can be made out and paroles signed by officers and men, you will be allowed to inarch out of our lines, the officers taking with them their side- arms and clothing, and the field, staif, and cavalry officers one horse each. Tlie rank and file will be allowed all their clothing, but no other property. 332 Grant's Instructions to nis Pickets. [isos. " If these conditions are accepted, any amount of rations you may deem necessary can be taken from the stores you now have, and also the necessary cooking utensils for preparing them. Thirty wagons also, counting two two- horse or mule teams as one, will be allowed to transport such articles as can not be carried along. The same conditions will be allowed to all sick and wounded officers and soldiers, as fast as they become able to travel. The paroles for these hitter must be signed, however, whilst officers are present, authorized to sign the roll of prisoners. "I am, general, very respectfully, "Your obedient servant, " U. S. Grant, Major-General." With cliaracteristic promptness, Grant now directed Sherman to march upon Johnston and destroy him, the moment tlie surrender should "be consummated. And, de- termined to render it impossible for Pemberton to decline his terms, he instructed corps commanders to put intelli- gent and discreet men on picket with instructions to assure the rebels on their front, that in case of capitulation officers and men would he paroled, and allowed to return to their homes. Of course this news spread like wild-fire through the confederate ranks. But the precaution was not needed. During the night came Pemberton' s response : — " IlEAI>-QirAUTERS, YlOKSBUKC, JitJy 3, 1SG8. "Major-General Grant, " Commanding United States forces : — " General — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your com- munication of this date, proposing terms of capitulation for this garrison and post. In the main, your terms are accepted ; but in justice both to the honor and spirit of my troops, manifested in the defense of Vicksburg, I liave to submit the following amendments, which, if acceded to by you, will perfect the agrepment between us. At ten o'clock, a. m., to-morrow I jiro- pose to evacuate the works in and around Vicksburg, and to surrender tlie city and garrison under my command by marching out witli my coUirs and arms, stacking them in front of my present lines, after which you will take possession ; officers to retain their side-arms and jjcrsonal jjroperty, and the Y.^c..>ji**S^'^^ '^'"^ pr(>i)erty of citizens to be respected. "1 am, general, yours, very respectfully, "J. 0. Pemheutox, Lieutenant-General." Grant rejilied soon after suniise : — " llKAIi-QrAr.TKKS, DkPAKTMENT op TENNK.S8EK, ) ItKKOltK VlCKSm-RO, JtlllJ 4, 1&{V3. ' "Lieutenant-General rEMiiEnTiix, ('(jininanding forces in Vicksburg: — 1 1863.] The Uniot^ Akmy enters Vicksburg. 333 " General — I Lave the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your com- munication of 3d July. The amendment proposed by you can not be acceded to in full. It will be necessary to furnish every otRcer and man with a parole signed by himself, winch, with the completion of the roll of pris- oners, will necessarily take some time. Again, I can make no stipulations with regard to the treatment of citizens and their private property. While I do not propose to cause them any undue annoyance or loss, I can not con- sent to leave myself under any restraint by stii)ulations. The property which officers will be allowed to take witli them will be as stated in my proposi- tion of last evening — that is, officers will be allowed their private bag- gage and side-arms, and mounted officers one horse each. If you mean by your proposition for each brigade to march to the front of the lines now occupied by it, and stack arms at ten o'clock, a. m., and then return to the inside and there remain as prisoners until properly paroled, I will make no objection to it. Should no notification be received of your acceptance of my terms by nine o'clock, a. m., I shall regard them as having been rejected, and shall act accordingly. Should these terms be accepted, white flags should be displayed along your lines to prevent such of ray troops as may not have been notified from firing upon your men. "I am, general, very respectfully, " Your obedient servant, " U. S. Geant, Major-General U. S, A." At ten o'clock on the morning of our National Anni- versary, the ragged, attenuated rebels who had defended Vicksburg so stanchly, marched out of their intrencli- ments. With sad faces the men of each regiment stacked their arms, threw down upon them knapsacks, belts, cart- ridge-boxes, and cap-pouches, and then tenderly crowned the piles with their faded and riddled colors. For two hours long tiles in gray performed this duty in mournful silence, while their captors in blue loolved on with soldierly sympathy, never uttering a taunt. Logan's division, in recognition of its gallantry, occupied the post of honor on our advance, and raised the ilag upon the court-house. When the army saw its triumphant ban- ner planted at last, regiment after regiment made the gashed streets ring with the favorite chorus of the national troops : — " Yes, we'll rally round the flag, boys, we'll rally once again, Shouting the battle-cry of freedom ; We'll rally from the hill-side, we'll gather from the plain, Shouting the battle-cry of freedom." 334 Humors of the iialf-stap.a^ed Eebels. Iisgs. Grant courteously went with liis staff to call on his dis- comfited opponent. In the streets the party found con- federates and Yankees mingling indiscriminately, sharing rations, playing euchre, and discussing the war, generally in entire friendliness. Pemberton and his subordinates re- ceived their visitors with marked rudeness. All were sit- ting upon the porch of the late rebel head- quarters, and not one arose to offer Grant a seat until tliey had divided into knots of two and four, and conversed stiffly for fifteen minutes. Soon after, the General, thirsty from his hot ride, asked for a drink of Avater. Pemberton pointed silently to the rear of the house, where, on stepping out, he discovered some negroes at the well. 'No coldness among iJie^Ji, but eager rivalry in serving him. Returning to the group, he found his chair occupied again, and remained standing. When the party left, the staff gave vent to their anger ; but Grant said, laughingly : — "Well, if Pemberton can stand it, under the circum- stances, I can." During the dreary siege the half-starved rebel soldiers had shown the genuine national humor. These extracts are from a document found in one of their camps : — HOTEL DE YICKSBURG. BILL OF FAKE FOK JUI-Y, 1803. SOUP. Mule tail. BOILED. Mule bacon with poke greens. Mule ham canvassed. no A ST. Mule sirloin. I1E88ERT. Wiiite-oak acorns. Blackberry-leaf tea. Beech-nuts. Genuine confederate cofTee. Parties arriving by tlie river, or Grant's Inland Route, will find Orapo, Canister iV Conipaiiy's carria;j:es at the landing, or any depi>t t>n the lino of iiiti'cnchincnts. Uuf daily ])ap('r liad coiitiinu'd publication, though re- duced to sore shifts. Toward tiie end, its fair proportions were reduced to a foot square. All tlie printing, writing, 18G3.] The Gkeatest Captuhe eveu Made. 335 and wrapping paper of the town was exhausted, so it was worked off upon the blank side of wall-paper. When Pem- berton surrendered, the form, all ready for the press, con- tained the paragraph : — " On' Dit. — That the great Ulysses — the Yankee Generalisshno, surriamefl Grant — has expressed liis intention of dining in Vicksburg on Saturday next, and celebrating the Fourth of July by a grand dinner, and so forth. "Wlien asked if he would invite General Jo. Johnston to join, he said, ' No ! for fear there will be a row at the table.' Ulysses must get into the city before he dines in it. The way to cook a rabbit is, ' first catch the rabbit.' " The Union typos promptly issued the paper, after add- ing, in a postscript of four lines, that the rabbit Avas caught, and that "the Yankee Generalissimo" did take his Fourth- of-July dinner in Yicksburg. The adjacent country was so stripped of eatables, that the General issued to the people ten days' rations for adults and half rations for children. Hundreds came miles for the pro- visions, including "first families*' in their carriages. In the capitulation. Grant received fifteen generals, thirty- one thousand six hundred soldiers, and one hundred and seventy-two cannon — the greatest capture of men and arma- ment ever made at one time since the invention of gunpow- der, if not since the creation. Adding prisoners previously taken, his captures since the first of May were swelled to forty -two thousand and fifty-nine men.* That one who could speak in such deeds should envy any mere talking or writing fluency, is only a fresh proof for ]Mrs. Stowe' s hero, that "as long as folks is folks they will be folksy." The country, though electrified by this unparalleled suc- cess, feared that the rebels might be put in the ranks again * As Grant lost in that time nearly niuo thousand men in killed and wounded, it is fair to suppose that Pembertoa and Johnston, so repeatedly and disastrously beaten, lost twelve thousand. Any one who has seen war is aware how small an estimate six thousand is for the stragglers in an unsuccessful campaign. The calcu- lation is simple : — Prisoners 42,000 Killed and wounded 1 2,000 Stragglers tJ.OOO Total rebel loss in the campaign G0,000 Badeau. 336 Sher:ha^ disperses Jonif stop's Army. [isgs. l^efore tlieir exchange, cand at first shared the feeling of a gentleman who said to Abraham Lincoln : — " I don't like Grant's ^^f/ro?/;?// these prisoners. We had better feed them than fight them." "Well," replied the President, "he has accomplished so much that we won't quarrel with him about this matter." 15 ut the General did not mean to have his captives do the enemy much good in future. To the indignation of Pemberton, who declared it all a Yankee trick, he would not deliver them within the rebel lines, or furnish arms that the faithful might keep the unfaithful from deserting on the way thither ; but he simply turned them loose at Vlcks- burg, permitting all who desired to go North under guard. Many did desert, others remained at their homes within our lines, and only a few of the whole ever again carried mus- kets for the confederacy. Slierman's troops, not even waiting to enter the city which they had so zealously helped to capture, turned their faces toward the interior, destroying bridges and railway's, and dispersing Johnston's army to the four winds. Grant's brilliant campaign — made easier by Pemberton' s glaring weakness — had opened the Great River from the Falls of St. Anthony to the southern sea ! AVhen the result became known, tlie Northwest was wild witli delight. Yet the tidings traveled slowly. In Washington, before tliey arrived, there was gravx^ anxiety. But one evening, Joseph A. Ware, editor of Forney's Chronicle^ Avent to the White House, and was ushered in. Journalist. — "Mr. President, liave you any neAVS to give me to-night?" President. — "Yes, great news ; but 3'ou must hurry up, for I liave company down-stairs, and can' t wait long. Grant 3) as taken Vickslnirg ! Here are two dispatches, one from ilawlins, the other from Ilurlbut. Don't stop to read them, but ril copy the short one Avhile you copy the long one, as you can Avrite fast<'r than I," JouRNAr.isT(art»'r the copying). — "Mr. Lincoln, this must be most gratifying to you, after standing by Grant so stead- fastly." 1863.] Abraham Lixcolx's Letter to Grant. 337 President. — " Yes, it is. No man will ever know how much trouble I have had to carry my point about him. The opposition from several of our best republicans has been so bitter that I could hardly resist it." Journalist. — "The newspapers assailed him outrage- ously." President. — "True, but that wasn't half the trouble. Why, after Shiloh, a republican senator from Iowa de- nounced him to me as bloodthirsty, reckless of human life, and utterly unfit to lead troops ; and because I wouldn't sit down and dismiss him at once, went out in a rage, slamming the door after him. Even within the last two days, senators have demanded his immediate removal." The Chief Magistrate, wlio never did things by halves, promptly sent this remarkable autograph letter : — "Executive Mansion, 'Washington, tTult/ 16, 1S63. " To Major-General Grant: " My Deak Gexeeal : — I do uot remember that you and I ever met per- sonally. I write this now as a grateful acknowledgment for the almost ines- timable service you have done the country. I wish to say a "word further. When you first reached the vicinity of Yicksburg, I thought you should do what you finally did — march the troops across the neck, run the batteries with the transports, and thus go below ; and I never had any faith, except a general hope that you knew better than I, that the Yazoo Pass expedition and the like could succeed. When you got below and took Port Gibson, Grand Gulf, and vicinity, I thought you should go down the river and join General Banks; and when you turned northward east of the Big Black, I feared it was a mistake. I now wish to make the personal acknowledg- ment that you were right and I was wrong. " Yours very truly, A. Lixcoln." Halleck, stirred to unwonted enthusiasm, also wrote : — " In boldness of plan, rapidity of execution, and brilliancy of routes, these operations will compare most favorably with those of Napoleon about Ulin. You and your army have well deserved the gratitude of your country, and it will be the boast of your children, that their fathers were the heroic army which reopened the Mississippi River." Southern newspapers seemed panic-stricken and ap- palled. Northern journals abounded in eff'usions, of which these lines by Alfred B. Street, afford a specimen :— X 338 " A Geateful Acknowledgment )3 [1863. 1863.] ''You WERE RiGIIT AXD I WAS WrONG." 339 340 Monument in Memory of the Surrendee. [ises. Vicksburg is ours! Hurrah ! Treachery cowers ! Hurrah ! Down reels the rebel rag! Up shoots the starry flag! ***** Vicksburg is ours' Hurrah ! Arch the green bowers! Hurrah ! Arch o'er the hero, who Nearer and nearer drew, Letting wise ])atience sway, Till, from his brave delay. Swift as the lightning's ray, Bounded he to the fray, Full on his fated prey, ***** Till the dread work was done, Till the grand wreath was won. Triumph is ours! Hurrah ! Ere many months, curiosity-seekers had carried away every fragment of the trunk and branches of the live oak overspreading the site of Grant and Pemberton's historic interview, and had even removed tlie roots for ten feet be- low the surface. An obelisk of white marble, twelve feet liigh, and surmounted by a globe, was afterward reared on the spot. It bore the inscription : — " To tlie mciriory of the surrender of Vicksburg by Lieutenant-General J. 0. Pembcrton, to Major-General U. S. Grant, United States Army, on the fourth of July, 1863." Two years later, unreconstructed Southrons and traveling NortlK^rn Vandals liad obliterated the Avords and taken away a larg(3 jiortion of the monument itself. It has therefore been replaced by an immense cannon standing upright, with a hug(3 sIk^II on to]) — iitting memento of a day forever mem- orabhi in th(; history of military science, of popular govern- ment, and of a race "redeemed, regi^nerated, disenthralled, by the irresistible genius of universal Emancipation." 1863.] Major-General in the Regular Army. 341 CHAPTER XXVIII. PROMOTED. Weeks earlier the general-in-chief had advised Grant of the President's determination to confer the vacant major- generalship in the regular army upon the first commander who should win a great success. The General was just in time ; a few days later Meade would have gained it, for only one day after the surrender of Vicksburg, news of the vic- tory of Gettysburg fanned Northern exultation into a con- tinental bonfire from Maine to California. After each of Grant's previous successes, the air had been filled with clamorous slanders ; but this crowning tri- umph silenced them forever. Nobody could make "plain people" believe that the captor of Vicksburg was either a drunken or an incapable soldier, and East vied with West in lauding the man whose name, inseparably coupled with victory, had become a household word. Sunday-school medals, swords, horses, degrees from universities, and hon- orary memberships in all sorts of societies, were showered upon him. His wife, in St. Louis, was serenaded by an im- mense throng, and when she appeared on the hotel balcony, leaning upon the arm of General Strong, was greeted Avitli rousing cheers. As he had borne injustice and misrepresentation with- out a murmur, he bore this success, which would have turned most heads, with serene and unaffected modesty. He did not chime in with those writers and talkers who — crammed with a little military learning — can not describe two soldiers crossing a street or going around a comer ex- cept as "moving by the flank" or "turning the enemy's line." To a visitor who spoke pretentiously of "grand logistics" and his " brilliant strategy," he replied: — 342 A Lesson for Steamboat Men. [isgs. "Oil, I don't know mucli about that. I had as many men as I wanted, and simply pounded away till I pounded the place do-\yn !" In less than a year a President was to be nominated, and newspapers suggested his name. Politicians, too, began to tender their " influence." But the General, refusing to talk at all on the subject, continued quietly doing his duty. He was ever mindful of the welfare of his men. Raw- lins, on his way to Washington with the official report of the capture of Vicksburg, found that Mississippi River steamers were exacting enormoi/s prices for the transporta- tion of soldiers going home on furlough. He reported the facts to his chief, who thereupon issued an order, restrict- ing charges to the rate per mile which the Government paid for transporting troops. This cut them down more than two-thirds. Shortly afterward, the Ilope^ about leaving Vicksburg for Cairo, took on board twelve hundred officers and men, charging them each from ten to twenty-five dollars passage money. Down came an order, enforced by a file of soldiers, requiring her captain to refund to every enlisted man the excess he had paid above five dollars, and to each officer the excess above seven dollars. The passengers cheered until they were hoarse, and Grant did not permit the boat to leave until the last dollar was paid back. " I will teach these steamboat men," he said, " that sol- diers who have periled their lives to open the Mississippi for their benefit must not be imposed upon." Charges by the mile proved a little confusing, so he sub- sequently established the rates : — From St. Louis to Cairo, four dollars ; to Memphis, ten dollars ; to Vicksburg, six- teen dollars; to Port Hudson, twenty dollars. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury', favored the immediate resumption of trade with the conquered regions. Grant opposed it, ill a letter to the Government, on the ground that it was prematui-e, and would demoralize our army, and hel}) the rebels. He achled : — " Bui no theory of my own will ever utaiul in the iray of my executing in good faith any order I may receive from those in authority over me.'''' 18G3.] Grant Deals with a Cotton-Buyer. 343 One day a stranger presented himself with a recommenda- tion, signed by several members of Congress, and other Nortli- ern politicians. Glancing at it, the General — who was wont to declare that he had not yet found one honest man follow- ing the army as a trader — asked impatiently : — " This is for a permit to buy cotton, is it not ?" "Yes." "Well, 3^ou can take it, and leave these head-quarters at once. If I find 3'ou here again, I'll have you arrested. Men of your class are doing more to corrupt this army than all other kinds of rascality put together." The speculator ingloriously decamped. The enormous fortunes made by this dubious traffic naturally excited the bitterness of conscientious officers working hard for slender remuneration and the privilege of being shot at. One evening, the staff sat idly in front of head-quarters. Bowers (vehemently). — " I'm a fool. I have mistaken my vocation. I think I'll go into cotton-stealing, as the only only way to prosper." Grant (laughing). — "I don't know about that. I don't believe it does prosper generally, though there are streaks of success in roguery, as in every thing else." Bowers. — "Well, I think I'll resign and go into cotton. At least I would if I had the money. You know when I drew my pay last ; here is all I have left." And from the depths of his pocket the aide produced a solitary penny. The General, fumbling in his own pocket, seemed, likewise, unable to find any memento of pay-day ; but at last he brought to the surface a silver half-dollar, and tossing it to his young friend, said : — " Here, Joe, take this for a 'stake.' " Bowers had these words engraved upon the coin, and always carried it. After his tragic death it was found in his pocket. Grant recommended several colonels and brigadiers for promotion, and the Government, now very gracious, acceded in every case. Among them was the zealous and able Raw- lins. Never had commander a more loyal and efficient helper, or one more heartily appreciated and loved. 344 Soldiers to Yote as they Pleased. [iscs. In no form was the General's genius more conspicuous than in his quick recognition of any special capacity, and his knowing exactly where to put it, E. S. Parker — an- other strong man, of unusual culture and accomplishments, though of unmixed Indian blood — soon afterward joined the staff, and has since continued a leading and valuable member.* The President desired to organize one hundred thousand negro soldiers in the Mississippi Valley. Grant zealously co-operated, stating, as the result of his observation, that negroes were more easily discij^lined than white troops, and asking that as many as possible might be placed under him. At every post he established a camp for contrabands out of employment, and allowed them to work for planters who could give satisfactory bonds for their pay and kind treat- ment. Most Northern States passed laws allowing their soldiers in the field to vote. Grant respondedf to an inquiry : — "Your letter, asking if citizens of the State of Iowa will be allowed to visit this array and distribute tickets when the election is held for soldiers to vote, is just received. In reply I will state that loyal citizens of Northern States will be allowed to visit the troops from their States at any time. Electioneering, or any course calculated to arouse discordant feelings, will be prohibited. The volunteer soldiers of the array will be allowed to hold an election, if the law gives them the right to vote, and no poioer shall jjr event them from voting the ticket of their choice.'''' * Brigadier-General Parker is descended from that portion of the Indian race known as the Iroquois, or Six Nations, originally the most powerful confederacy of Indian tribes on our continent. Indeed, speculative writers liave claimed that tho alliance under which the American colonies fought tho war for Independence, and which afterward ripened into the United States, was based upon it. Since the Revo- lution, the Six Nations have declined in numbers and power, though they still main- tain a quasi national existence. General Parker spent his early days with them in their wild life, not beginning his English education until he had nearly reached manhood. After spending three years at school and two in studying law, ho practiced civil engineering, first in the service of the State of Now York, and afterward under the National Government. In the fall of ISO:?, ho was ordered to duty on Grant's staff, with the rank of captain and assistant-adjutant-gencral. Ho was in tho Chattanooga campaign, and the Virginia battles of 18r.l-5. He has had several lionorablo comuiissions to treat with refractory Indian tribes, and has performed other valuable public services. f .August fourth. I 1863.] His Yiew o:n- the Slavery Question. 345 But while determined tlicat troops should vote as they pleased, his own views were very emphatic. To Lo- gan, at home — "stumping" for the Union candidates — he wi'ote : — "I send you ten days' extension of leave, and will give you as many more as you require. I have read your speeches in Illinois, and feel that you are really doing more good there than you could possibly here, while your com- mand is lying idle." Senator Henry Wilson, in a letter to Washburne, alluded to rumors that the General would be called East, and also expressed the hope that his large influence would be thrown against the prime cause and strength of the rebellion. The note was forwarded to him, and he replied : — * " I fully appreciate all Senator Wilson says. Had it not been for General Halleck, and Dana, I think it altogether likely I would have been ordered to the Potomac, My going could do no possible good. They have there able oflBcers who have been brought up with that army ; and to imi)ort a com- mander to place over them, certainly could produce no good. " Whilst I would not positively disobey an order, I would have objected most vehemently to taking that command, or any otlier, except the one I have. I can do more with this army than it would be possible for me to do with any other, without time to make the same acquaintance with others I have with this. I know that the soldiers of the Army of the Tennessee can be relied on to the fullest extent. I believe I know the exact capacity of every general in my command to command troops, and just wliere to place them, to get from them their best services. This is a matter of no small consequence. * * * " The people of the North need not quarrel over the institution of slavery. What Vice-President Stephens acknowledges as the corner- stone of the confederacy is already knocked out. Slavery is already dead, and can not be resurrected. It would take a standing army to maintain slavery in the South if we were to make peace to-day guaranteeing to the South all their former constitutional privileges. " I never was an abolitionist — not even what could be called anti-slavery — but I try to judge fairly and honestly; and it became patent to my mind early in the rebellion, that the North and South could never live in peace with each other except as one nation. As anxious as I am to see peace, and that without slavery, re-established, I would not therefore be willing to see any settlement until this question is forever settled. * August thirtieth. 346 A Very Moderate Ambition. [isgs. " Rawlins and Maltby have been appointed brigadier-generals. These are richly deserved promotions. Rawlins especially is no ordinary man. The fact is, had he started in this war in the line instead of in the staff, there is every proiahility he icould he to-day one of our shining lights. As it is, he is better and more favorably known than probably any other officer in the army, who has filled only staff appointments. Some men — too many of them — are only made by their staff appointments, whilst others give respecta- bility to the position. Rawlins is of the latter class. My kind regards to the citizens of Galena." Grant, always cliafing at inactivity, repeatedly asked permission to capture Mobile, now feebly defended. But, in view of the flagrant intervention of France and Great Britain in the affairs of Mexico, the President wished to send a force to the Rio Grande, and stripped him of troops to supply Banks and other Western commanders. Sherman, under his cliief's instructions to conciliate the people, supplied sick and wounded rebels — soldiers and civilians — in the interior of Mississippi, with medicines and provisions. This kindness helped to dispel the illusion of the ignorant about the harshness of the nation toward its conquered foes, and largely increased the already frequent desertions from the confederate service. During these idle days, an old acquaintance asked the General : — " What do 3'ou think now about going back to Galena and to civil life ?" ''Well, my position in the army seems to be assured, and I sliall- be quite satisfied if I can educate my children properly, "■ and keep a saddle-horse for myself, and a pair of carriage-horses for my wife." " You are liable to be ordered from place to place, which is unpleasant and inconvenient." "True; but hereafter the Government will hardly be likely to send me where I don't wish to go." During a brii^f trip to Memphis, -f a banquet was offered liim by tlie Board of Trade, and another by the municipal * He had already invested in Chicago three thousand dollars, saved since the beginning of the war. f August twenty-third. GEX. JOIIX A. IJAWLINS, ( IIIEF f>r STAFF, AKMV OF t . S. 1863.] Grant Feted in Memphis. 347. authorities. Such displays were not at all to his taste, but he accepted both, in recognition of the first exhibition of loyalty in that city. Though always writing his own official papers, civil and military, with great clearness and rapidity, seldom changing a word from the first draft, any merely formal note or speech confounded him. On receiving the proffer of the first ban- quet, he remarked to a friend : — " I don't see how I can find time to write an answer to this invitation." " Shall I write it ?" "I wish you would." AVhen it was prepared, he approved and signed it. After submitting to an hour of hand- shaking, he sat down with the company at the Gayoso House. AVhen he was toasted, a member of his staff replied for him in words fit but few : — " General Grant believes that he has no more than done his duty — for which no particular honor is due." At the second banquet, the cup which cheers and also inebriates, inspired new-born cordiality in the city fatliers and the mayor. The latter functionary, in zealous but un- manageable hospitality, first emptied a plate of soup into the lap of Adjutant-General Lorenzo Thomas, and then showered a bottle of champagne upon his venerable crown. This latter blessing in disguise kindled such uuAvonted wrath in the amiable old gentleman, that his honor's retirement from th(^ festive scene was accelerated by a well-grounded fear of having " his head punched." On the wa}^ back to Vicksburg, the persistent persuasion of a young lady — also a passenger on the boat — induced the General, for the first time since re-entering the service, to join in a game of cards. Her supplementary pleadings that he would appoint her father — a surgeon — to the charge of a Memphis hospital, he steadfastly resisted, saying : — " In such a matter I will not interfere witli my medical director." During the last days of August, Grant visited New Orleans for a military conference with Banks. Hundreds of 348 YisiTs New Oeleans. [^^gs. citizens and soldiers flocked to see him at the St. Charles Hotel, and, when the shades of night were falling fast, gave him a serenade, and clamored for a speech. At his request, a friend responded in remarks occupying a quarter of a minute : — " Gentlemen: General Grant never speaks in public, hut he desires me to thank you for your beautiful serenade, and to congratulate you that communication is at last open between Cairo and New Orleans." How many another general would have devoted an hour to the vindicating of himself from past charges and the ex- pounding of his military and civil "policy !" The next morning Banks called to invite him to a ride, but found that he had already procured a team. Taking Banks in the vehicle with him, and holding the lines for the first time since leaving Galena, he put the two spanking bays upon their mettle, and left every thing else behind on "the shell road." AYhen the bays were sent back to the livery stable thek owner exclaimed : — "That General Grant must be a terrible driver; these horses steam like a locomotive." The next day the generals attended a grand review at the suburb of Carrollton. " The street was crowded to witness the departure of these officers, all present being desirous of seeing Grant. He was in undress uniform, witliout Bword, sash, or belt; coat unbuttoned, a low-crowned black felt hat, without any mark upon it of military rank; a pair of kid gloves, and a cigar in his mouth." The display was magnificent, and the Thirteenth Corps, whose colors had been on tlie front at Belmont, Donelson, Shiloh, and Vicksburg, passing their old chief who sat upon his liorse, sliielded by a live oak from the broiling sun, greeted liim Avitli thundering clieers. In compliment to Grant's equestrian skill. Banks had provided him with a very large and spirited horse which he couhl luiJ-dly restrain while galloping along tlie lines. On starting back to tlie city, the charger grew quite unmanage- able, and flew like the wind, leaving the cavalcade far be- 1863.] A Bad Fall fho.m his Hoese. 349 hind. Near the Carrollton Hotel, taking fright at a steam whistle, he dashed against a carriage, and fell heavily with his whole weight upon Grant's leg and hip. The General was carried on a litter back to the St. Charles, and propped up in bed with pillows. For two weeks he lay there with characteristic serenity, uttering no impatient word, but amusing himself with conversation, and with that drollest of American books, "Phcenixana." He was kept in bed for twenty days, and used crutches for two months. But he continued to make the best of it, And described the accident to a friend as an attempt by his steed to run through a heavy coach, which failed because the horse proved "the weaker vessel." He returned to Vicksburg, where Mrs. Grant and the children* now spent some weeks with him at head-quarters, a pleasant residence on the bluff, with a grassy yard full of shading trees and snowy tents, and commanding a splen- did view for miles up the river. Grant's administration in the far West was now at an end. He had been the most successful, the most economical, and the most humane of our generals. His army had written Donelson, Shiloh, Corinth, and Vicksburg upon its banners in letters that no coming time could efface. It had cost the Government far less for food and trans- portation than any other equal number of troops. It had not seen a single man hanged or shot by the orders of its commander. At an early day deserters, guer- rillas, and spies were sentenced to death, but the law then prohibited the execution of any military criminal until the President should order it, after first examining the case. At Grant's head-quarters all capital sentences were revoked if any error or informality could be found in the trial. When those in which no flaw could be picked were sent to Washington, the aides used to remark :— * After ho entered the service in 18G1 they remained for a year in Galena, and afterward with her family in St. Louis, and with his father in Covington, until the spring of 1864. When the General was ordered East he established them in a pleasant village near Philadelphia, that he might be able to sec them often. 350 Inflicts no Death Penalties. [isss. ' ' These fellows are safe enough. Uncle Abe is never going to shoot them." He never did. Finally, Congress believing his soft- heartedness injurious to discipline, changed the law, and authorized army commanders to inflict the death penalty. Then forty or fifty capital sentences which had not been acted upon were sent back for execution. Some of them were already eiglit months old, and the General suspended them until Rawlins could submit to the Government the legal doubt whether he had any right to hang or shoot these men, when the law existing at the time of their trial required the President's approval of their condemnation. As no answer ever came, the culprits went scot free. A few soldiers deserted, because they could not obtain furloughs, or disliked their officers, or disapproved of the emancipation policy. But Grant gave leaves of absence freely, his army was always successful, which kept its tone excellent, and there were less desertions proportionately than from any other command in the Union. It is equally true of soldier as of civilian, that the worst possible use society can put a man to is to hang him. I 1863.] The Peril in Tennessee. 351 CHAPTER XXIX. A NEW FIELD. In Tennessee there was trouble and peril. Rosecrans, by skillful movements, had driven Bragg south of the Tennes- see River, but the rebel general, being re-enforced, resumed the offensive, and about the middle of September brought on the great battle of Chickamauga.* Rosecrans, who went into it with overweening confidence, lost sixteen thousand men and fifty-five guns, and was only saved from annihi- lation by the pluck and generalship of Thomas, who held his little force so firmly against the whole rebel onset, that our soldiers named him "The Rock of Chickamauga." Bragg seized all Rosecrans' communications except one difficult mountain wagon-road, and kept him, practically be- sieged and in imminent danger of starvation, in Chatta- nooga, the only point he held south of the Tennessee, except the head of his pontoon-bridge at Bridgeport, twenty- eight miles below. Sherman' s corps was ordered to march from Mempliis to co-operate with Rosecrans. Just before it started, Sher- man' s little boy died. The bereaved father wrote : " Consistent with a sense of duty to my profession and office, I could not leave my post, and so I sent to my family to come to me in that fatal cli- mate and in that sickly period of the year, and behold the result! The child that bore my name, and in whose future I reposed with more confi- dence than I did in my own plans of life, now floats a mere corpse, seeking a grave in a distant land. * * * God only knows why he should die thus young!" At mid-day on the tenth of October, the captor of Yicks- burg, barely able to hobble on crutches, received a dis- patch from Halleck : — * Indian, "stagnant stream," or "bad water;" — poetically translated by our writer. The River of Death. 352 The Whole West undee Geant. [isgs. " It is the wish of the Secretary of "War that as soon as General Grant is able to take the field he will go to Cairo and report by telegraph." He started the same niglit, and arriving at Cairo,"'*' found a second order : — " Proceed, by the way of Indianapolis, to the Gait House, Louisville, Kentucky, where you will meet an officer of the "War Department with your orders and instructions. You will take with you your staff for imme- diate operations in the field." At Indianapolis, Stanton, Secretary of War, met the party, and accompanied it to Louisville, where he spent twenty-four hours with the General. His visit was partly from curiosity and partly for conference. The West con- tained the departments of the Ohio under Burnside, the Ten- nessee under Grant, and the Cumberland under Rosecrans. The Government, after many representations from various sources, had been stimulated into making a change at Chat- tanooga, by a letter from Garfield, Rosecrans' chief of staff, to Secretary Chase, setting forth the desperate situation. Stanton brought an order from the President consolida- ting the three departments into the Grand Military Division of the Mississippi, to be under Grant, with head-quarters in the field. He offered tlie General his choice between two further orders, one continuing Rosecrans in command, and the other substituting Thomas. Grant, who had lost faith in Rosecrans since his dilatoriness in pursuing, after Cor- inth, and had also been hurt by his intemperate criticisms, chose the latter, Stanton offered to issue the order, but he took the responsibility. There were fears that Rosecrans would abandon the posi- tion, though it would have been impossible for his reduced and weakened animals to remove all his wagons and artil- lery, sick and wounded. Grant teh^graphed to Thomas, informing him of the change, and adding: — "Hold Chatta- nooga at all hazards. I will be there as soon as possible." The stanch subordinate replied: — "We will hold tlie town until we starve." * October sixteenth. 18G3.] Hard Jourxey to Chattanooga. 353 Southern jonrnals, assuming a sanguineness though they had it not, decLared that Lincohi had supj^lanted one hero — Rosecrans— with two fools— Grant and Thomas. The Presi- dent, seeing the paragraph, said. Laughingly : — "AVith one more fool like Grant we should make short woi'k of them !'''' The General was thoroughly aroused for his new work. Reaching N'ashyille at midnight,* he sent dispatches to Burn- side, to Admiral Porter, and to Thomas, ordering prepara- tions for movements he already contemplated. At the same place he encountered Charles A. Dana, who had been at Chattanooga representing the War Department, and whom he induced to return, that he might avail himself of Dana's knowledge of affairs. At Stevenson, the next day, he met Rosecrans on his way north. The retiring general greeted his successor :— " How are you, Sam V Then the two talked for a few minutes, Rosecrans, with hearty patriotism, giving all the information in his power. Hooker was with the Eleventh Corps, under Howard, and the Twelfth, under Slocum, at Stevenson and Bridge- port. He had come to re-enforce Rosecrans, but kept his troops along the railway, that they might not share and aggravate the suffering at Chattanooga. Hooker came on hoard the train, and the two officers, who had not met since they were stationed in California, conversed for a few min- utes, though one obviously felt that the wrong relation existed between them. The next day was very rainy, but the General and staff rode from Bridgeport to Chattanooga, sixty miles as their road meandered. Tliey found it crowded with wagons and strewn with dead mules. The chief, still so lame that any luiusual exercise tortured him, started in an ambulance, but soon took to his horse. Soldiers bore him in their arms over the roughest places. At every telegraph station he dispatched instructions to distant subordinates. Compre- hending, as if by intuition, the condition and needs of his * October twentieth. 354 Phil. Sheridan becoming Known. [1^63. scattered forces, lie inspired every subordinate with some- thing of his own zeal and vigor. Just before reaching Chattanooga, for the first time since his injury, he walked alone for a few yards, and even remounted without assistance. But a moment after, his horse stumbled, and fell upon his unfortunate hip, causing intense pain, but, happily, no permanent harm. After dark the party entered the town, chilled, hungry, and utterly exhausted. Dana and Wilson, who had taken a short cut and ridden hard, were already there. The former called to congratu- late Thomas. A month before, under instructions from Washington, he had expressed to that admirable officer the Government's appreciation of his important services at Chickamauga and Stone River, and assured him that an independent command would be tendered him at the earliest favorable opportunity. Thomas replied :— " I should be glad of one, if I could organize and disci- pline the army for myself; but I should not like to take a command, already having a distinctive character acquired in active service." Now, Thomas protested laughingly that his wishes had not been regarded. Dana answered :— " The Government seems to have thought, very properly, that you were not to be consulted in this change.'' Sheridan was becoming a little known, from his conspic- uous gallantry at Stone River, where he commanded a divi- sion in a cedar thicket. " I thought it was infernally hot there before I got in," said Rousseau; "but I knew it when I saw Phil. Sheridan, with hat in one hand and sword in the other, fighting as if he were a devil incarnate." Quartermaster service was the sorest need now, and Halleck* telegraphed : — " Sheridan is ono of tlic best officers in the army to regulate transporta- tion and snpijlies. He fully supplied Curtis's army in mid-winter over the most liorrible roads." The General and liis aides took their first meals with * October twenty-socond. 1863] The Army almost Starving. 355 Thomas. He welcomed them cordially, though his staff- officers were a little sore at seeing a superior placed over their chief. In two or three days the servants came up, and Grant established head-quarters in a pleasant dwelling on a little bluff overlooking the river and the main street. Forage was so scarce that all the horses, except two or three for orderlies, were sent back to Stevenson. For ten days the party lived on coffee, "hard tack," and dessicated vegetables, with two or three meals of salt meat. The army was starving. Some fortunate brigades received a little fresh beef, and corn, counted out by the ear. Hungry sol- diers eagerly collected and ate kernels of corn which the mules had left while it was yet plentiful. Chattanooga,* an important railway junction in Tennes- see, near the corners of Georgia and Alabama, nestles high in a mountain pass, the counterpart of " Many a lonely banilet, Which, hid by beech and pine, Like an eagle's nest, hangs on the crest Of purple Apennine." Two miles east passes Missionary Ridge, four hundred feet high — the site of schools and churches established years ago by Catholic missionaries among the Cherokee Indians. Three miles southwest is Lookout Mountam,t two thou- sand feet above sea level, and fourteen hundred above the Tennessee, which washes its base. The summit affords a grand view of portions of Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Virginia, and thirty miles of the silvery Tennessee, winding through a cool, green landscape. The north side counterfeits a human face, with a pointed ledge for the nose. Surmounting palisades of * Indian, " Crow's nest," dignified by writers into " Eagle's nest." f Lookout Mountain is properly a continuation of the range of mountains which, beginning in Pennsylvania, extends in a southwesterly direction through Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama ; and which is known in the East as the Allegha- nies, in the West as the Cumberland, and in the South as Lookout Mountain. Tlie range would be an unbroken chain from the Susquehanna to the Coosa, from the iron and coal fields of Pennsylvania to the gold region of Georgia, if it were not for the existence of the Tennessee River. — William P. G. Shanks. 356 The Town It«-vested by Beagg. [1863- gray rock encircle the brow like a crown, and at times soft, fleecy clouds envelop it like the snowy locks of age. „uiuumnuuuii!i«"""WASHVItLE ><^' KNQXYJUE (SIE®. THE CHATTANOOGA CAMPAIGN. Chattanooga was too strongly fortified for Bragg to carry it by storm, but his arching line, from the river above to the river below, completely invested the southeast side, and inclosed Missionary Ridge and Lookout, whose batteries dropped shells into the city every day. Streets and yards were gashed with rifle pits, and so much fresh dirt was spaded up among the board huts of the soldiers, that Chat- tanooga seemed like some enormous prairie-dog town. Our army was on quarter rations. Three tliousand sick and wounded soldiers suffered for the common necessities of lif(?. The animals were utterly worn out, the artillery horses were back at the railroad, and there were believed to be ten thousand dead mules on the road to Bridgeport. Ammunition was almost expended, and the troops were short of clothing. But they toiled away, and, trying to keep jolly under adverse circumstances, named the solid squares of liard bread, which were their chief subsistence, "Lincoln pkitform." Jefferson Davis, visiting Bragg' s army, ascended Look- out, and niad(^ a i-( 'assuring speech to his soldiers, from a ledge known as Pulpit Rock, but called by our men the "Devil's Pulpit," after his visit. 1863.] Grant Seizes Lookout Valley. 357 The Union position was difficiili and perilous. The rail- way brought supplies to Bridgeport. Thence up to Chat- tanooga the river is navigable, but the enemy held it. Rosecrans' original wagon road from Bridgeport to Chatta- nooga hugged the south bank of the river for several miles near Lookout Mountain, and the rebels soon captured it. Then he used the road north of the Tennessee, sixty miles long, and also touching the stream in several places. Sharp- shooters on the south bank made these exposed points im- practicable. So a route still longer and farther north was opened ; and even this suffered from the enemy's cavalry. It was necessary to send heavy guards with every train to protect it. The road, washed by unusual rains, and compelled to find new tracks, stretched at last to seventy miles. The trip to Bridgeport and back sometimes occupied four weeks. Trains returned empty, all the food and forage they started with having been eaten by the guards and the weakened animals. Others were so long exposed to the rain that when they reached Chattanooga the provisions were spoiled and had to be thrown away in sight of the starving soldiers. Rosecrans, and afterward Thomas, had been hauling sup- plies for fifty thousand men over this route, at some points through fathomless mire, and at others along mountain shelves so narrow that if a single wagon broke down, all behind it must stop and wait. Bragg' s possession of Lookout Valley rendered it impos- sible to shorten this tortuous road. Rosecrans, and W. F. Smith, his chief engineer, had already originated a i:)lan for driving him out, but without taking any active steps. Thomas, however, issued orders for executing it before Grant's arrival. These orders the General promptly con- firmed. In pursuance of them. Hooker crossed at Bridgeport and started through the mountains to get into Lookout \ alley. A few hours later, at three o'clock, on a very dark morning,* pontoon boats, each containing thirty soldiers ♦ October twenty-Bixth, 358 The Chaege of the Mule Brigade. [1863. of Smitli's command, pushed off from Chattanooga, floated silently down for six miles, passing the rebel sentinels nnobserved, and landed on the south "bank, at the mouth of the valley, capturing the enemy' s pickets. Before morning, Smith' s men had cut the timber from the hills commanding Lookout Valley on the west, planted artillery, and intrench- ed themselves. They immediately built a pontoon bridge from the north bank, which would enable Grant, in case of battle, to re-enforce them from Chattanooga, quicker than Bragg could re-enforce Lookout Mountain from Missionary Ridge. The next evening, from the overlooking summit. Long- street saw the fires of Geary, one of Hooker' s corps com- manders, encamped in the valley near Wauhatchie. A glance showed him that this movement, if not prevented, would end the siege of Chattanooga, and he sent his troops to dislodge Geary at all hazards. At midnight they fell upon him. It was so dark that the Union soldiers could hardly distinguish each other from the rebels. For three hours there was fierce fighting. A large number of mules added to the confusion by breaking from their wagons and running in wild stampede toward the enemy, who, fancying it a cavalry charge, fled in panic. The droll incident provoked the joarody : — "Mules to tlie right of them, Mules to the left of them, Mules in front of them, Pawed, brayed, and thundered. ' Breaking their own confines. Breaking through Longstreet's lines, Into the Georgia troops. Stormed the two hundred. "Wild all their eyes did glare, Whisked all their tails in air, Scattering the ' Chivalry' there, All the world wondered!" Longstreet' s force was much the larger, but he directed its movements by torches from tlui mountain, and our officers, who had fortunately learned his signal code, read each successive order and repeated it to Geary, enabling 1863.] The Question of Supplies Settled. 359 the Union general to anticipate and repulse every attack. Before daylight the discomfited rebels fell back. "No more starvation for the Union troops ! Supplies could come up from Bridgeport on scows and a little steamer, which the soldiers had built, to Kelly's Ferry, and thence by wagon to Chattanooga, or by wagon all the way. Within one week Grant had raised the siege. He gave his subordinate full credit, telegraphing to Halleck :— "^ " General Thomas'' plan for securing the river and south-side road to Bridgeport has proven eminently successful. The question of supplies may now be regarded as settled." Grant' s military division — the largest ever yet given to an American general — stretched from the lower Mississippi to the east line of Tennessee, and was guarded by two hun- dred thousand soldiers. Sherman, who had succeeded to the command of the Department of the Tennessee, was making for Chattanooga as fast as building bridges, repairing railways, and driving the enemy from his front permitted ; and Grant was waiting his arrival, that he might attack the rebel army with cer- tainty of success. Burnside was at Knoxville, a hundred miles northeast of Chattanooga, with twenty-five thousand hungry soldiers, compelled to haul their supplies one hundred miles, after little steamers had carried them up the Cumberland for five hundred. Bragg, never imagining that he could be dislodged from his mountain positions, detached Longstreet's corj^Sjf and afterward Buckner' s division, to destroy Burnside. Grant, learning of it from deserters — unusually numerous and friendly, being Union mountaineers whom the rebels had impressed— pronounced it the weakest act he had ever known in a military leader. Bragg was jeopardizing his main army for the chance of a trivial and partial success. But the defeat of Burnside would involve the loss of all ♦ October ninth. j November third. 360 Grant Prepares for Battle. [i8<53. East Tennessee. So Grant instructed Thomas to attack Missionary Ridge vigorously, for the purpose of calling Longstreet back. He wrote : — "Where there are not horses to move the artillery, mules must be taken from the trains or horses from ambulances, or, if necessary, officers dis- mounted and their horses taken. * * * The movement should not be made a moment later than to-morrow morning." Lack of horses rendered it utterly impossible for Thomas to move, and the General telegraphed Burnside : — "It is of the utmost importance that East Tennessee should be held. * * * I can hardly conceive the necessity of retreating. If I did so at all, it tcould he after losing most of the army.'''' The welcome form of Sherman soon appeared at head- quarters. He came in with restored cheerfulness, and, after the usual off-hand greetings, Grant gave him the only chair which his office afforded. The two chatted a little as to which was the older man, and, therefore, entitled to the seat ; then fell into grave military discussion. The next day* Grant issued orders for battle. f On our right was Hooker, extending to the west side of Lookout Mountain; in the center, Thomas, facing Missionary Ridge and covering the city. Bragg supposed our main attack would be on Lookout, and Grant encouraged this be- lief by fictitious camp-fires and displays of troops, and ad- vancing his line up the western slope. At the same time, Sherman' s force was on the north side of the river, behind a range of hills, creeping toward Missionary Ridge, and kindling no. fires, lest the smoke should betray it to the enemy. Slierman was to hold our extreme left, with How- ard's corps filling the gap between him and Thomas. The army faced southwest. t * November sixteenth. f All of Grant's letters of instructions to his commanders have been noticeable for their completeness, thoir quiet, conversational tone, and the absence of any rlie- torical display in .'^ ^ .^'^^ ^-f > r-<. 'siiii 1863.] ''How DO YOU DO, SOUTHERN CONFEDEEACY." 369 "Just as the sun, weary of the scene, was sinking out of sight, the ad- vance surged over the crest with magnificent bursts all along the line, exactly as you have seen the crested waves leap up at the breakwater. In a minute those flags fluttered along the fringe where fifty rebel guns were kenneled. What colors were the first on the mountain battlement one dare not try to say. Bright Honor itself might be proud to bear, nay, to follow the hind- most. Foot by foot they had fought up the steep, slippery with much blood; let them go to glory togetlier!" The enemy had barely time to explode three or four of his caissons before national flags fluttered upon the crest, and national troops were bayoneting his men in their rifle- pits. Sheridan, with the advance, was suddenly flung to the ground ; his horse had been shot under him. He sprang upon a captured gun, to catch the attention of the crazy throng, and ordered immediate pursuit. The rebels had fan- cied us in a trap the moment we occupied their lower rifle- pits. Now, utterly bewildered, most of them fled, the Union soldiers driving them with unceasing yells. One astounded confederate, after seeing his comrades swept from the crest, and being run over himself by the pursuing throng, rose, brushed otf the dnst, mounted a high rock, and regarding the vanishing crowd, asked : — '^ HoiD do you do, Southern Confederacy f The health of the "so-called" was in a condition to cause anxiety. On the summit, Quartermaster-General Meigs was load- ing and firing upon the retreating foe two Parrott guns which the rebels had named "Lady Davis" and "Lady Breckinridge," while Rawlins, apostrophized the captured pieces : — "Turning upon your friends, are you ? Well, give them ! You are doing more good than you ever did in your lives before." Grant was known personally to few of these troops. But just now, riding to post a division, he was recognized by one or two men, who passed the Avord, and in three minutes hundreds of soldiers thronged ai-ound him, grasping his hands, embracing his legs, and shouting : " Noio we have a general ! We have paid them up for Chickamauga." 370 En^d of the Wonderful Battle. [ises. In fifty-five minutes after starting on their first charge they had swept the crest clean of every rebel, except the prisoners. Nobody was more astounded than Bragg. In vain did he attempt to form a new line. The rout was so v/ild* that he himself narrowly escaped capture. Several of the staff were slightly wounded, but the Gen- eral who had been under fire all day was unharmed. Direct- ing every thing in person, he had fought a wonderful battle. It .was a game of chess — every movement made at the right moment. Grant compelling the enemy to do what he wished almost as invariably as if the rebel army had been un- der his command. It was a conflict of brains, and he com- pletely out-generaled Bragg. Bnt never was commander so well aided by his soldiers. The campaign was his ; the charge on Missionary Ridge was " the Privates' Vic- tory." Sheridan's division had lost in killed and wounded one- fifth of its six thonsand men, before reaching the crest. But Sheridan pushed forward alone and without orders, fighting until two in the morning, and capturing hundreds of prison- ers. Tliis proved him an officer after Grant's own heart, and was rewarded by an early opportunity to serve the country and win a name as the greatest cavalry general of the age. Grant modestly telegraphed to Halleck : — "Although the battle lusted from early dawn till dark this evening, / ieiieve l am not jj)'cmature in announcing a complete victory over Bragg.'''' Bragg retreated to Cliickamanga Station, burning wag- ons, caissons, pontoons, and enormous quantities of corn. He telegraphed to Richmond this mild statement of his ill- fortune : — * " Tliough greatly outnumbered, such was the strength of our position that no doubt was entertiiincd of our ability to hold it. * * * A panic, which I had never before witnessed, seemed to liavo seized upon officers and men, and each seemed to be strugghng for Ids i)ersonal safety, regardless of his duty or his character. * * * No satisfactory excuse can possibly bo given for tlie shameful conduct of our troops. * * * * Tlioso [IJiiion soldiers] wlio reached the ridge did so in a condition of exhaustion, from the great physical exertion in climbing, which rendered them powerless, and the slightest eflbrt would have destroyed them." — Bragg's Official Report. 1863.] Bragg Retreats ikto Georgia. 371 "After several unsuccessful assaults on our lines to-day, the enemy car- ried tlie left center about four o'clock. The whole left soon gave way in considcrahle disorder. The right maintained its ground, and repelled every attack. I am withdrawing all to this point." After lieav}^ skirmishing witli Hooker lie soon fell back into Georgia. The respective official reports thus summed up the losses : — KILLED. WOUNDED. MISSING. TOTAL. Grant — 757 4529 330 5616 Bragg — 361 2180 4146 6687 Bragg' s fortifications and strongholds made his killed and wounded less than ours. He greatly understated his missing, for Grant was compelled to issue rations for up- ward of six thousand prisoners. The entire Union force was a little more than sixty thou- sand ; that of the rebels about forty-five thousand, with in- comparable advantages of position. The charge on Mission ary Ridge was less perilou sthan it seemed. Bragg had left only a weak force there, and even that was a good deal de- moralized. Still few generals Avould have had the temerity to order the daring assault. Fewer would have managed by such skillful dispositions to weaken the seemingly invul- nerable center of the foe, and then detected the moment for profiting by it with unerring accuracy. A brave young Irish colonel, who during Van Dorn' s raid, a year earlier, had defended his post north of Holly Springs with such marked and successful valor that Grant publicly thanked him, was among the killed. The General on hearing of it rode down to the landing and had the coffin opened tliat he might take a final look at the remains of the faithful soldier. Sherman was now ordered to the relief of Knoxville, and Grant addressed a dispatch to Burnside in duplicate : — " Do not be forced into a surrender by short rations. Take all the citi- zens have to enable you to hold out a few days longer. * * * There are now three columns in motion for your relief. * * * These will be able to crush Longstreet's force, or drive them from the valley, and must be within tweuty-four hours' march of you, by the time this reaches you." 372 LONGSTREET IS DEFEATED AT KnOXVILLE. [1863. He directed that one copy "be forwarded to Burnside at the earliest possible moment, and the other allowed to fall into the hands of the rebels, as the truth just then was ex- actly what he wished them to know. Longstreet, hearing of Bragg' s defeat, finally attacked the Knoxville fortifications,* his infantry charging at a full run. It reached the ditch, but was checked with great slaughter while climbing the first parapet. Only one con- federate got over alive, and five hundred, unable to retreat, surrendered themselves. The garrison lost only thii'teen men, the assailants about one thousand. Burnside, who had borne himself in his difficult position with great sagacity and pluck, received Grant's dispatch "by a scout, who brought it inserted in a hollow half eagle. Before the prompt Sherman could arrive, Longstreet had retreated toward Virginia. President Lincoln, on learning the result of the brilliant campaign, recommended a national thanksgiving, and tele- graphed to Grant with unusual warmth : — "Understanding that your lodgment at Chattanooga and at Knoxville is now secure, I wish to tender yon, and all under your command, my more than thanks — my ])rofoundest gratitude — for the skill, courage, and perse- verance witli which you and they, over so great difficulties, have effected that important object! God bless you all!" Halleck pronounced Chattanooga ' ' the most remarkable battle of history." Grant wrote of it to a friend : — " I presume' a battle never took place on so large a scale whore so much of it could be seen, or where every move proved so successful." Tlie army and the country were more than satisfied, and named our General, as the ^Mamalukes named Napoleon, "The Favorite of Victory." * November twonty-niuth. 1864.] A Mountain Ride in Winter. 373 CHAPTER XXXI. LIEUTENANT-GEXEEAL. Grant made a new request for permission to undertake the capture of Mobile, and met Avitli a new denial. He then established his head-quarters at Nashville, in a large brick dwelling whose rebel owner had fled southward. He visited Knoxville to look after the little Union army there, and afterward, though it was mid-winter, rode on horseback through Cumberland Gap, which had been re- peatedly lost and won during the war, and through which supplies were now hauled for our troops in East Tennessee. The thermometer indicated ten degrees below zero ; cmd though he was still exceedingly lame, deep snows, and long stretches of ice on steep hill- sides compelled him to walk and lead his horse for many miles of the severe journey. After emerging from the mountains, he was received with enthusiasm by the Union people of Lexington and Louisville, and he reached Nashville again on the thirteenth of January. McPherson and Sherman were playing havoc with the enemy's communications and supplies in Missis- sippi, and through the greater part of Grant's military divi- sion a national ofhcer in uniform could ride alone with safety. Politicians beset him more than ever, but found him an unpromising subject. He said : — " I never aspired to but one office in my life. I should like to be mayor of Galena — to build a new sidewalk from my house to the depot." But when Isaac N. Morris, of Illinois — son of the Ohio senator who had caused his appointment to the Military Academy a quarter of a century before — inquired whether 374 A Letter about the Presidency. [i864. lie would permit the use of his name for tlie Presidency, under any circumstances, lie responded : — "^ " Your letter of the twenty-ninth of December I did not see until two days ago. I receive many such, but do not answer. Yours, however, is written in such a kindly spirit, and as you ask for an answer confidentially, I will not withhold it. " Allow me to say, however, that I am not a politician, never was, and I hope never to be, and could not write a political letter. My only desire is to serve the country in her present trials. To do this efficiently it is necessary to have the confidence of the army and the people. I know no way to better secure this end than by a faithful performance of my duties. " So long as I hold my present position, I do not believe I have the right to criticise the policy or orders of those above me, or to give utterance to views of my own, except to the authorities at Washington, and the general- in-chief of the army. In this respect I know I have proven myself a good soldier. " In your letter you say that I have it in my power to be the next Presi- dent. This is the last thing in the world I desire. I would regard such a consummation, as highly unfortunate for myself, if not for the country. Through Providence I have attained to more than I ever hoped, and, with the position I now hold in the regular army, if allowed to retain it, will be more than satisfied. " I certainly shall never state a sentiment, or the expression of a thought ■with the view to being a candidate for office. I scarcely know the induce- ment that could be held out to me to accept office, and unhesitatingly say that I infinitely prefer my present position to that of any civil office within the gift of the people. "This is a private letter to you, and not intended for others to see, or read, because I want to avoid being heard from by the public except through my acts, in the performance of my legitimate duties." Sherman, always a little haunted by regrets that Grant was not a hook-soldier, observed to some acquaintances : — "The General is not a man of remarkable learning, but he is one of the bravest I ever saw. I do not say he is a hero— I do not believe in heroes ; but I know he is a gentle- man, and a good man." On the other hand Grant remarked of his friend : — "I alwa3^s find it the best way to turn Sherman out like a young colt, and let him kick up his heels. I have great confidence that he will come in all right in due time." * January twentieth. 1SG4.] The General Visits St. Louis. 375 The General's military wishes were now treated as law "by the Government and the country. "Golden Honor showered all her stars." The legislatures of the great States of New York and Oliio voted him their enthu- siastic thanks ; and Congress complimented him with a gold medal in the name of the people of the United States. One side bore his laureled profile ; the other, a figure of Fame, bearing a scroll inscribed with a list of liis victories, and the motto :—" Proclaim liberty throughout the land." Gifts poured in from all quarters, but the one he seemed to prize most was a brier- wood cigar-case from a Lookout Mountain tree whittled out and presented by a soldier with- out hope or desire of any return. Fred, was with the family of Grant' s old partner, prostrate from lingering pneumonia and d3^sentery, contracted in the Yicksburg campaign. On receiving a dispatch that his condition was alarming, the father — first obtaining leave from Washington— visited St. Louis, but happily found him, out of danger. The next evening, with his family and Mrs. Boggs, Grant witnessed a representation of "Richelieu," at the St. Louis Theater, the party riding down town in a democratic street car. They occupied a private box, the General sitting back out of sight. At the close of the first act the audience shouted : — " Grant ! Grant ! Get up." He came forward, bowed uneasily, and abruptly re- turned to his seat. This only provoked new cries, which would not be silenced until he moved his chair to the front of the box. Then there were lusty cheers and vain calls for a sj)eecli. Leading citizens and soldiers gave him a public din- ner, " to meet old acquaintances and form new ones." The spacious dining-hall of the Lindell House* was crowded with gentlemen eager to honor the soldier whom, a few years before, many had known as a farmer hauling wood, or an agent collecting rents. Rosecrans, Schofield, Fisk, and other generals, and also his white-haired father-in-law, sat near * The largest hotel in the world — since burned. 376 Declines to Make any Speeches. [is64. Mm. At the toast "To onr distinguished guest," the band played "Hail to the Chief!" There were enthusiastic huzzas as Grant arose and said : — "Gentlemen: In response, it will "be. impossible forme to do more than thank you." The festivity passed off pleasantly, though the ladies, in brilliant array, looking on from an adjoining parlor, were with it, but not of it ; for even Americans are not yet civil- ized enough to admit women to public dinners. At its close, the neighboring streets, bright with bonfires and rockets, were densely thronged ; and notwithstanding persistent denials, the crowd continued to beg for oratory. A Bystander. — "General, do make them a little speech." Grant. — " I can't." Bystander. — "Then tell them you can't." Grant. — " Oh ! they know that already." But still they shouted until he appeared on the hotel loalcony, cigar in hand, and replied : — "Gentlemen: Making speeches is not my business. I never did it in my life, and never will. I thank you, how- ever, for your attendance here." The city council — in amusing contrast to the action of the county commissioners five years before — thanked him, in a series of resolutions, for his "mighty successes in be- half of the Government." He remained at the residence of his former partner two or three weeks, visited by many friends and strangers, whom he received with old-time modesty and cordiality. "I used to have a good deal of Southern feeling against the Republicans," he said, in reply to a question, "but now I know of only two parties, and I am for the party of the Union." One day, after his return to Nashville, his chief-of-engi- neers was walking to and fro at head-quarters, absorbed in thought : — Mkigs. — " Baldy Smith se(^m3 to be studying strat- egy." (ir.ANT. — "I dont believe in strategy, in the popular understanding of the term. I believe in getting up just as 1864.] His Views on Strategy. 377 close to the enemy, and with just as little loss of life, as possible." Meigs.— " What then ?" Grant. — "Why then, 'Up guards, and at them.' " Nearly all our other generals, in their campaigns, had exhibited some glaring weakness of their own. Grant had invariably found and profited by some glaring weakness of his adversary. While he had practically ended the war in the West, the Army of the Potomac — the largest and most important of our armies^iad encountered little but failure and disaster. After three years of terrible conflict, rebel banners still floated defiantly almost at the gates of the national capital. The Northern people were utterly absorbed in the war. They cared nothing for antecedents. Men hitherto unpopu- lar, were now trusted and honored. Standing firm by the Union was sufficient to condone all old offenses, political or moral. Those, even, who had committed crimes were for- given, and afforded opportunity to win honorable distinc- tion in leading regiments and brigades, divisions and army corps. There was no past which the country would not pardon to all who were true in its present sore need. It j)resented the strange spectacle of patriots twice as numerous and twice as rich as their foes, waiting, dying for a leader — ready to lay all their magnificent resources, their treasures of life and of property, at the feet of any man who could so use them as to bring decisive victorj^ All eyes were looking toward our General. In the Senate, Howe, of AVisconsin, had already offered an im- practicable but significant resolution, instructing the Presi- dent to call out a million of new volunteers, for a few months, and place Grant in command of all the Union armies, with power to choose his own subordinates. In the House, Washburne introduced a bill reviving the grade of lieutenant-general, and authorizing the Executive to confer it upon some officer " not below the grade of major-general, most distinguislied for courage, skill, and ability ; and who * * * shall be authorized, under the direction of the President, to coramand the armies of the United States." 378 The Gkade of Lieutenant- General. [i£64. This liigli rank was originally created for Washington, in 1798, in anticipation of a war with France. When he died, it was discontinued. Several years after the close of the Mexican war it was conferred by brevet on Winfield Scott, No other Americans had ever held it. Long discussions followed, a few members urging post- ponement until the close of the conflict, on the grounds that the war nught yet develoj) some new general who would deserve tlie rank more than Grant, and that it would also be hazardous to call him from tlie field to office duty. But many more supported the measure. Washburne said : — "I am not here to speak for General CTraiit. No man, witli liis consent, has ever mentioned his name in connection with any position. * * * Every promotion he has received since he first entered the service to put down this rebellion, was moved without his knowledge or consent; and in regard to this very matter of lieutenant-general, after the bill was introduced and his name mentioned in connection therewith, he wrote me and admonished me that he had been liighly honored already by tlie Government, and did not ask or deserve any thing more in the shape of honors or promotion ; and that a success over the enemy was what he craved above every thing else." With pardonable pride he alluded to his early and almost solitary support of the Coming Man : — "I now appeal to history for my justification, and ask if Grant has not far transcended every thing that I claimed for liim. * * * Why necessary to recount that long list of victories from Belmont to Lookout ^fountain? Look at what this man has done for his country, for humanity and civiliza- sion — this modest and unpretending general whom gentlemen appear to be so much afraid of. lie has fouglit more battles and won more victories than any man living; he has captured more prisoners and taken more guns than any general of modern times." The House passed the bill, ninety-six to forty-one. In the upper branch of Congress there was still more d{d')ate. S(3veral siMiators expressed fears that the Pi-esident might appoint s()iu(^ one else beside Grant. Saulsbury, of Dela- ware, alleged that his opposition to the measure was ''For this simi)le reason, that in my capacity as a senator T will have nothing to do witli President-making." IIowAiu), of Michigan. — ''(Jive us, sir, a live general; give us some man who lias talent, who has character and force enough within him to give a 1864.] Views of Leading Senators. 379 successful direction to the enthusiasm of tlie armies of the United States, and •who will, if properly supported here, give us victory even upon the Kappa- hanriock, and not let us he draggling along under the influences Kuch as have presided over the Army of the Potomac for these last many tedious a7id weary months — an army oscillating alternately between the Rappahannock and the Potomac, defeated to-day and hardly successful to-morrow, with its comman- ders changed almost as frequently as the moon changes its face. Sir, for one I am tired of this ; and I tell you, and I tell senators here, that the country is getting weary of it." DooLiTTLE, of Wisconsin. — '• Grant has won seventeen battles, he has cap- tured one hundred thousand prisoners, he has taken five liundred pieces of artillery, and innumerable thousands of small-arms on all these fields. He has organized victory from the beginning, and I want him in a position where he can organize final victory and bring it to our armies and put an end to this rebellion." Grimes, of Iowa. — " I am the last man who would pluck a single leaf from the victor's chaplet that adorns General Grant's brow. But if I comprehend the character of that man, he is a man for action, for field service, for active duty, and not a man for the council chamber. * * * I am very well sat- isfied that a man can perform the duties of commanding an army just as well with the rank of major-general as with tlie rank of lieutenant-general. I be- lieve that the pay of six thousand dollars, which General Grant now receives, is adequate to the rank and to the position which he holds, and that it is not necessary for me to assist in running the hands of Congress into the national treasury, for the purpose of giving him between thirteen and fourteen thou- sand dollars a year." SuEKMAX, of Ohio. — '■^ I only know that the Army of the Potomac is now where it teas two years ago : not tlirough any lack of courage in the brave men who are fighting in that army; but for some reason, they have not won the honors of this war. But General Grant and the armies under liis com- mand have won those honors; and I think we should all, frankly and gen- erously, by a unanimous vote, tender tliem." Hale, of 'Sqw Hampshire. — " Let the people get a suspicion tliat, from any motives, the due tribute to the gallantry and self-sacrifice, and the great victories which General Grant has won is withheld, that there has been a feeling in favor of withholding from him the due reward of hisniorit and tlie prompt and generous acknowledgment of it — let that go abroad, and I tell you, sir, the people will put it riglit; they will rally, and they will not stop until, over the Senate, and over Congress, they have rendered the higiiest honors in tlieir power to General Grant. * * * What made General Jackson President of the United States? What made General Taylor Presi- dent of the United States?" Wilson, of Massachusetts. — " Has not General Grant rendered tran- scendent services to the country ? He has fougiit seven i ecu battles for the republic, and won them all ; he has taken more prisoners and 380 LiN-coLX Sends for Grant's Friend. [i864, more cannon than ever Washington or Scott saw on all their battle- fields." Fessenden, of Maine. — " I believe that he is a man of high moral quali- ties ; that he not only has physical courage, but moral courage ; that if he had heen at Antietam he would have /(Aloioed the retreating army at once and demolished it; that if he had heen at Gettyshitrg^ the army of Lee never would have crossed the river, because he would not have consulted those about him, and agreed with thera contrary to his own opinion ; he would have acted, he would have taken the responsibility." G-ARRET Davis, of Kentucky. — " General Grant has not achieved his whole work. He is about to enter upon a field of operations comparatively new to him, and what will be the amount and measure of his success nobody can conjecture. I believe that it will be attended with success, and probably with signal success; but I do not feel enough assurance of those results to create for him the high office of lieutenant-general, which, in my judgment, ought to be instituted only after the war is over, and then as a reward to crown the services and the genius of the best general that has appeared in the course of the war." The Senate passed the bill, AYith only six dissenting voices. The President used no influence either for or against it ; but, when it was a foregone conclusion, said : — ' ' I have never seen G-rant. Before I appoint him to the command of the armies, I want to learn all about him. Who of his friends knows hira best?" Washburne suggested Russell Jones, United States mar- shal for Illinois, and an acquaintance of Lincoln. Jones was thereupon summoned to the capital. A few weeks earlier lie liad written Grant, asking his views about the Presidency, for wliich many Journals were urging him. On his way to the station, he called at the Chicago post-office for his mail, and received a letter in reply. Reaching "Wash- ington, ]w reported himself at the White House, and tlie chief magistrate asked him many questions. Jonp:s. — "Mr. President, perliaps you would like to know wliether Grant is going to be a candidate for the Presidency." Lincoln. — "I confess I have a little curiosity on that point." Jones. — "Well, I have just received a reply from him to my questions on the subject. It is a private letter, but I 1864.] "This Presidential Grub." 381 see no impropriety in showing it to yoi;i, and it will he more satisfactory than any thing I could tell you." The President read the letter. In it Grant said, that nothing was further from his wislies tlian tliat high office ; and that, even if he had been ambitious for it, he would not then permit his name to be used, but was for Abraham Lincoln above all men, and under all circumstances. The Commander-in-Chief was much gratified. He said : — ''I wanted to know; for zoJieu this Presidential grub once gets to gnawing at a man, nobody can tell how far in it has got. It is generally a good deal deeper than he himself supposes." Jones left the letter with Lincohi. It is believed to be still among his papers, sealed up in a vault, at Blooming- ton, Illinois, and not to be opened for the present. The bill being passed, and Grant appointed and con- firmed lieutenant-general, Halleck telegraphed, requesting him to report to the War Department in person. Two months earlier Sherman had said in a letter to Grant : — " You occupy a position of more power than Halleck or the President. * * * Do as you have heretofore done, preserve a plain military character, and, let others maneuver as they will, you will beat them not only in fame, but in doing good in the closing scenes of this war, when somebody must heal and mend up the breaches made by the war." Now, on the evening before starting for Washington, the General wrote* to Sherman and McPherson — addressing it to the former — a peculiarly warm and generous letter : — "Dear General: — The bill reviving the grade of lieutenant-general in the army has become a law, and my name has been sent to the Senate for the place. I now receive orders to report to Washington immediately in person, which indicates a confirmation, or a likelihood of confirmation. I start in the morning to comply with the order. " Whilst I have been eminently successful in this war, in at least gaining the confidence of the public, no one feels more than I how much of this success is due to the energy, skill, and the harmonious putting forth of that energy and skill, of those whom it has been my good fortune to have occupy- ing subordinate positions under me. * March fifth. 382 Letter to Shermais" and McPherson. [i864. "There are many officers to whom these remarks are applicable, to a greater or less degree proportionate to their ability as soldiers ; but what I want, is, to express my thanks to you and McPherson, as the men to whom above all others I feel indebted for whatever I have had of success. How far your advice and assistance have been of help to me you know. How far your execution of whatever has been given to you to do, entitles you to the reward I am receiving, you can not know as well as I. " I feel all the gratitude this letter would express, giving it the most flattering construction. The word you I use in the plural, intending it for McPherson also. I should write to him, and will some day. But starting in the morning, I do not know that I will find time just now." Sherman replied from near Memphis : — * " Dear General : — I have your more than kind and characteristic letter of the fourth instant. I will send a copy to General McPherson at once. "You do yourself injustice, and us too much honor, in assigning to us too large a share of merits which liave led to your high advancement. I know yon approved the friendship I have ever professed to you, and will permit me to continue as heretofore to manifest it on all proper occasions. "You are now Washington's legitimate successor, and occupy a position of almost dangerous elevation. But if you can continue, as heretofore, to be yourself— simple, honest, and unpretending — you will enjoy through life the respect and love of friends, and the homage of millions of human beings, that will award you a large share in securing to them and their descendants a government of law and stability. "I repeat, you do General McPherson and myself too much honor. At Belmont you manifested your traits neither of us being near. At Donelson also you illustrated your whole character. I was not near, and General McPherson in too subordinate a capacity to influence you. "Until you had won Donelson, I confess I was almost cowed by tlie terrible array of anarchical elements that presented themselves at every point; but tluit admitted a ray of light I have followed since. " I believe you are as brave, patriotic, and just, as the great prototype, Wasliington — as unselfisli, kind-hearted, and honest, as a man should be. But the cliief ciiaracteristic is the simple faith in success you have always mani- fested, wliich I can liken to nothing else than the faith of a Christian has in the Saviour. " Tiiis faith gave you victory at Shiloh, and Vicksburg also. When you have completed your best preparations you go into battle without hesitation as at Cliattaiiooga — no doubts, no reserves; and I tell you it was this that made us act witli confidence. I knew wherever I was that you tliought of roe, and if I got in a tight place you would lielp mo out of it alive. "My only point of doubt was, in your knowledge of grand strategy, and * March sixteenth. 1864.] Sherman Sends a Reply, 383 of books of science and history ; but I confess your common sense seems to have supplied all these. " Now, as to the future. Don't stay in Washington. Come West. Take to yourself tlie whole Mississippi valley. Let us make it dead sure, — and I tell you tlie Atlantic slopes and Pacific shores will follow its destiny, assure as the limbs of a tree live or die with the main trunk. We have done much ; but still much remains; and time's influences are with us, we could almost aflford to sit still and let these influences work. " Here lies the seat of the coming empire, and from the west, when our task is done, we will make short work of Charleston and Eichmond, and the impoverished coast of the Atlantic." Grant started eastward, accompanied hy Rawlins and Duif of the staff. He traveled by special trains, but the people learning of his approach thronged to the stations. At Baltimore, a dense crowd gave him welcome. He shook hands with all whom he could not escape, but said to some who began to talk of politics : — "Beyond all things I am determined to avoid political demonstrations. My business is with war while it exists. AVhen the rebellion is put down, as it shortly will be, it may be a time for partisanship." At five P. M., on the eighth of March, he reached AVasli- ington, where he had never before spent more tlian a single day. After a hasty toilet, he entered the long dining-hall at Willard' s, and sat down to dinner. A gentleman near by asked liis neighbor : — "Who is that major-general ?'"' "Why that is Lieutenant-General Grant." The news flew from table to table. Up- sprang and out- spoke a Pennsylvania member of Congress : — " Ladies and Gentlemen : The hero of Donelson, of Vicksburg, and of Chattanooga is among us. I propose the health of Lieutenant-General Grant." Five hundred guests of both sexes were instantly on their feet, cheering, huzzaing, waving handkerchiefs and napkins, and a few enthusiasts dancing wildly, in reckless disregard of chairs, toes, and crockery. With evident em- barrassment Grant bowed, shook hands with those who crowded around him, and then attempted to return to his muttons. But in vain. He could not take his meal in peace, 384 Graj^tt's Reception in Washington. [i864. and finally retired abaslied before the crowd of loquacious men, and sliowily-dressed women. Late that evening he attended the President's reception. Lincoln, Seward, and Senator Wilson were standing in the Blue Room, surrounded by guests, when Cameron brought in Grant. The two men who had come from humble life in the West, one to lead the nation and the other the army, scanned each other curiously as they shook hands for the first time. After a little conversation the party repaired to the great East Room. There the throng of curious visitors made a rush for the General, fairly driving him to the wall. Seward pulled him upon a sofa, where he bowed his blushing ac- knoAvledgments. He afterward characterized this recep- tion as the hottest campaign he ever fought. He made the tour of the room with Mrs. Lincoln, and at an early hour returned to his hotel. The next day the President, attended by his private sec- retaries and cabinet, and Halleck and Owen Lovejoy, re- ceived him formally. Grant was accompanied only by Rawlins and Comstock of his staff, and his little son Fred. , Lincoln greeted him cordially, presented him to the by- standers, and then read the following : — " General Grant — The nation's appreciation of what you have donei and its reliance upon you for what remains to be done in the existing great struggle, are now presented with this commission, constituting you Liea- tenant-General in the Army of the United States. "With this high honor devolves upon you also a corresponding responsibility. As the country herein trusts you, so, under God, it will sustain you. I scarcely need to add, that with wliat I here speak for the nation, goes my own hearty personal con- currence." Grant also read his reply, written the evening before, in a public room of the hotel : — "Mr. President — I accept tlie commission, with gratitude for the higli honor conferred. With the aid of the noble armies that have fought on so many fields for our common country, it will be my earnest endeavor not to disappoint your expectation!?. I feel the full weight of the responsibilities now devolving on me; and I know that if they are met, it will be duo to those armicH, and, above all, to the favor of that Providence which leads both nations and men." 1864.] Visits the Akmy of the Potomac. 385 Half an hour" s conversation ended the simple interview. The General next visited the army of the Potomac, where Meade, glad to have the weighty responsibility removed from his own shoulders, welcomed him heartily. The corps and division generals calling to pay their respects, also greeted cordially the modest Western commander. Before coming East, Grant had urged strennonsly upon the Government the adoption of a new policy — perfect co- operation in time and purpose between all our armies, from the coast to the Rocky Mountains, and the striking of heavy blows simultaneously along the entire line, tliat the enemy might not be able to weaken one point to strengthen an- other. He had recommended the appointment of Sherman or W. F. Smith to the command of the Army of the Poto- mac, and had started for Washington, intending to keep his own head-quarters in the West, and return there shortly to lead a column from Chattanooga to the Atlantic. But now, on seeing the Eastern army for himself, he found that there was some prejudice against Smith, and that the appointment of a purely Western general like Sherman would excite sectional jealousy. The same objection existed to his assuming command. Meade, a native of Spain, but educated at AVest Point, was in most respects an excel- lent soldier, and enjoyed a good degree of popularity ; so Grant decided to retain him under his own general direc- tion. In view of the old bitter jealousies of that gallant but unfortunate army, this was undoubtedly the wiser mode ; it left the General actuallj^, but not nominally, in charge. Here was to be the crucial test. Here was a post which had proved the grave of many promising military reputations. Said Grant to a friend : — "If I had taken command of this army two years ago, I should have been very likely to fail ; but now I have had so much experience as colonel, brigadier-gen(n-al, and major- general, that I feel entire confidence in myself. McClellan's lack of that was a great cause of his failure ; and any man would have lacked it under the circumstances." On the evening of March eleventh, after a consultation with the President and Secretary of War, Grant was ready AA 386 Enough of the Show Business." [i864. to start West, wlien lie received an invitation from Mrs. Lincoln to a military dinner at the White House, given in his honor. Twelve other prominent generals were also to iDe present. He replied that he trusted she would excuse him, as he must return immediately to Nashville. Lincoln. — "I don't see how we can excuse you. It would be Hamlet with the Prince left out." Grant. — "I appreciate fully the honor Mrs. Lincoln would dome ; but time is precious ; and— really — Mr. Pres- ident, / have had enough of the shoio business.'' ' The dhmer was given, but the Lieutenant-General did not wait for it. He reached Cincinnati on a Sunday morn- ing. His father had sent a carriage to the station for him, and stood waiting at his gate for its return, when up walked the General, carpet-sack in hand, and wearing a plain army overcoat. The driver had failed to find him. On Monday morning he started for Nashville, where he found an order from the War Department, formally assign- ing him to the command of all the forces of the United States, with head-quarters in the field. Halleck was to continue at Washington as chief of staff' of the armies under him ; Sherman to succeed him in command of the JMilitary Divi- sion of the Mississippi, and McPherson to take Sherman's place at the head of the Army and the Department of the Tennessee. Grant had lifted u]^ liis lieutenants with him. On the way East again, Sherman, summoned by tele- graph, accompanied him from Nashville to Cincinnati for conference. He spent part of another day at his father's, where there were several visitors. Something being said about generals who had "failed," one of those little pit(;hers which liave long ears, asked : — "What is it to fail?" ' ' Well, my son," replied the Lieutenant-General, ' ' when you try to get a boy down, and can't — that's to fail." " I suppose now," said Jesse, "it's 'on to Richmond.' " " No ; on to Lee's army." "But how?" A puff* from the cigar and a shnig of the shoulders were the only answer. 1864.] The General begins his Task. 387 CHAPTER XXXII. WILDERNESS. On the twenty -third of March the Lieutenant- General reached Washington, accompanied by Mrs. Grant and the children, and by Rawlins, Bowers, Buff, Rowley, Leet, Parker, and Badeau, of his military family. The next day he began to reorganize the anny for the summer campaign. It was a long task, but, fortunately, he had not risen to the chief command until after sorest trials had educated the country into' patient trust in its leaders. Few other generals had so fully deserved this trust. Grant never complained, he never once asked for re-enforcements, but always did cheerfully the best he could with whatever the Government saw fit to give him. Some Western soldiers, proud of their unvarying suc- cesses, claimed superiority over their Eastern brethren. The latter were wont to reply : — "Tlie Western armies have never fought against the best rebel troops or the ablest generals. Let them face Lee a while and they w^ould sing another song." Tlie General himself said : — "The Army of the Potomac is a very fine one, and has shown tlie highest courage. Still, I think it has never fought its battles through." He did not mean to have it continue open to that criti- cism. He was preparing it for work. He suppressed three reduced corps, consolidating them with larger ones ; and sent away to other fields half a dozen subordinate genei-als, in whom Meade lacked confidence — a proceeding which Stanton termed "the slaughter of the innocents." A party of ladies asked Mrs. Grant's opinion of her hus- band's new responsibilities and prospects. 388 "Mr. Geant at^ Obstinate Man." [is64. "Mr. Grant has succeeded, tlms far," slie answered, "wherever the Government has placed him ; and he will do the best he can," " Do you think he will capture Richmond 1" " Yes, before he gets through. Mr. Grant always was a nery obstinate many To take the rebel capital — that had been the supreme desire of three blood-stained years. A gentleman, Avishing to enter the enemy's lines on business, asked the President for a pass to Richmond. " I should be glad to oblige you," replied Father Abra- ham, "but my permits are not respected. I have given a quarter of a million of men passes to Richmond, and not one has ever got there, except as a prisoner of war." In a letter* to Senator Henry Wilson, asking the confir- mation of his chief-of- staff as a brigadier-general, Grant said : — "General Rawlins has served with me from the beginning of the rebel- lion. 1 know he has most richly earned his present position. He comes the nearest being indispensable to me of any officer in the service. But if his confirmation is dependent on his commanding troops, he shall command troops at once. There is no department commander, near where he has served, that would not most gladly give him the very largest and most re- sponsible command his rank would entitle him to. * * * If he fails to he confii-med, beside the loss it will be to the service and to me personally, I shall feel that, by keeping with me a valuable officer, because he made himself valuable, I have worked him an injury." He wrote to Sherman the same day : — " You I i)ropose to move against Johnston's army, to break it up, and go into the interior of the enemy's country as far as you c.".n, inflicting all the daraace you can against their war resources. I donH propone to Itiy down for you a plfDi of the campaign, but simply to lay down the routes desirable, and to leave you free to execute in your own way. Submit to me, however, as early as you can, your jdan of operations." He visited Butler, Avho was at Fortress Monroe, com- manding the Army of tlio James. It was their first meet- ing. Grant, who liad kept his plan a secret, began to de- tail it, when Butler interrupted : — * April fourth. 1864.] NoRTHERisr Peace Party Growing. 389 " stop, General, please, and let me tell you what /think yon are going to do." Referring to a map upon the wall, he pointed out with minuteness, and, as it afterwards proved, with great accu- racy, what he surmised the movements would be. Grant returned to AVashington with a good deal of respect for Butler's clear-headedness and capacity. Success had become a necessity. The anti-war senti- ment in the JS'orth, no longer awed into silence, was grow- ing outspoken and defiant. In Congress, Alexander Long, a representative from Ohio, advocated the recognition of the Southern confederacy in an elaborate argument.* Speaker Colfax moved his expulsion, on the charge of having vio- lated his official oath, and given aid and comfort to the enemy. Several democratic members partially defended Long, and Harris, of Maryland, said : — "I am a peace man, — for peace, by the recognition of the Southern confederacy. Laugh as 3"ou may, you have got to come to that!" The House censured both Long and Harris as "un- worthy members," but could not muster a two-thirds vote to expel them. Southern newspapers heralded this as evidence that the North was weary of the conflict. But as a counterpoise, five noble Northwestern States — Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Indiana — true to the Ordinance of Eighty-seven which secured them to freedom — voluntarily furnished the Government with eighty-five thou- sand men without bounties. They did garrison duty for ninety days, enabling all the veterans to go to the front. Many leading and wealthy citizens carried muskets in this honorable service. One day the President asked the General : — " What do 3'ou think of our prospects V Grant began to explain his plans, but Lincoln, raising his hand, interrupted : — "No, no; don't tell me. Everybody will ask me, and I want to reply that I don't know what }'our in- * April eighth. 390 Lincoln and Grant Corkespond. [1864. tentions are. I only wish to know your opinion of the prospects." Grant modestly replied that he thought them good. He said his two chief purposes were to keep all the troops active, East and West, and, instead of guarding long lines of communication, to concentrate his supplies near the front, where our soldiers protecting them could be destroying the rebel country, and yet free from attack, unless the foe weakened his main army to liarass them. After his return to the front, the President wrote him* an assuring letter : — " Xot expecting to see you before the spring campaign opens, I wish to express in this way my entire satisfaction with what you have done up to this time, so far as I understand it. The particulars of your plans I neither know nor seek to know. You are vigilant and self-reliant, and, pleased with tliis, I wish not to obtrude any restraints or constraints upon you. Wliile I am very anxious that any great disaster or capture of our men in great numbers shall be avoided, I know that these points are less likely to escape your attention than they would mine. If there be any thing' wanting which is within my power to give, do not fail to let me know it. And now, with a brave army and a just cause, may God sustain you !" Grant replied : — " Your very kind letter of yesterday is just received. The confidence you expi'ess for the future, and satisfaction for the past, in my military adminis- tration, is acknowledged with pride. It shall be my earnest endeavor that you and the country sliall not be disappointed. From my first entrance into the volunteer service of the country to the present day, I have never had cause of complaint — have never expressed or implied a complaint against the Administration or the Secretary of War, for throwing any embarrassment in the way of my vigorously prosecuting wliat appeared to be my duty. In- deed, since tlie promotion wliich ])laced me in command of all the armies, and in view of the great responsibility and importance of success, I have been astonished at the readiness with wliicli every thing asl^ed for has been yielded, without even an explanation being asked. Should my success be less than I desire and expect, the least I can say is, tlie fault is not witli you." The thr<'(! corps constituting the Army of the Potomac were commanded by Hancock, Sedgwick, and Warren. Sheridan, whom Grant had brought from the West, was in * April tliirtieth. I 1864] What the G-eneral determined to do. 391 charge of all the cavalry. Burnside's splendid Ninth Corps — now containing several negro regiments — was brought from Annapolis to participate in the movement. Passing through Washington, it was reviewed by Lincoln from the balconv of Willard' s. The black soldiers greeted the Chief Magistrate with great enthusiasm, flinging up their caps, shouting and cheering. A shower came up, and by- standers urged the President, who wore a brown linen blouse, to go within, that he? might not get wet. He replied : " If tliey can stand it, I guess I can." Hitherto — in the words of Grant' s final report — our scat- tered armies " had acted independently and without concert, like a balky team, no two ever pulling together, enabling the enemy to use to great advantage his interior lines of communication for transporting troops from East to West, re- enfor- cing tlie army most vigorously pressed, and to furlough large numbers, during seasons of inactivity on our part, to go to their homes and do the work of producing, for the support of their armies. It was a question whether our numerical strength and resources were not more than balanced by these dis- advantages and the enemy's superior position. " I therefore determined, first, to use the greatest number of troops prac- ticable against the armed force of the enemy, preventing him from using the same force at different seasons, against first one and then another of our ar- mies, and the possibility of repose for refitting and producing necessary sup- plies for carrying on resistance; second, to hammer continuously against the armed force of the enemy and his resources, until by mere attrition, if in no other way, there should be nothing left to him but an equal submission with the loyal section of our common country to the constitution and laws." Along the whole line for twelve hundred miles, from the Atlantic to the Rio Grande, our forces were to advance simultaneously — Butler up the James, Grant and Meade across the Rapidan, Sigel up the Shenandoah, Averill in West Virginia, Sherman and Thomas from Chattanooga, and Banks up the Red River toward Texas. Every column was to be hurled simultaneously upon the foe. The heaviest movement, however, must be made against Lee, who had thus far withstood like a rock every assault from the Army of the Potomac. Grant said to Meade : — " Lee's army will be my objective point. Wherever he goes I will go also." 392 Why He Chose the Overland Rout^. [i864. The rebel chief "was at Orange Court- House, a few miles south of Grant. The two armies had not met in battle for nine months. Lee had interior lines and an admirably defen- sible country with which he was personally familiar. In it his father — "Light-Horse Harry," of the Revolution — had spent the closing years of his checkered life, and Lee him- self had defeated the Union army in two campaigns. His troops had the confidence in themselves born of habitual victory and a well-grounded faith in him which the Union Army could not feel in its untried commander. Grant was at Culpepper Court-House, just north of the the scene of Hooker's disastrous failure at Chancellorville, and a few miles from the ground of Burnside' s bloody re- pulse at Fredericksburg. His army was much larger than Lee's, but it was an army so accustomed to defeat that it fought with the mechanical sturdiness of manhood and mili- tary drill rather than the fiery zeal of predestined victory. He had determined to move toward Richmond — seventy miles, b}'^ the direct or land route — across a heavily-tim- ^ bered country, broken by many streams running at right angles with his line of march, and easily held against a su- perior force. Every mile of progress, too, would make the obtaining of supplies harder for him and easier for Lee. The liije of the James River was in many respects more " favorable, but President Lincoln had always believed this the bettt^r route, and Grant adopted it because it would en- able him to cover Washington, and was the more direct and convenient from the j)oint where he found the army. Had he abandoned Culpepper and gone around to the mouth of the James, it would have left the capital open to Lee for a month, and even if no disaster had followed, the seeming retreat could not have failed to dispirit his troops. Still, , lie was not altogether sanguine of success, and told his staff and Meade and Butler that in case of failure he should ultimately cross the James and attack Richmond from the south. On the evening of Tuesday, May third, Meade issued or- ders to strike tents, and s«^nt forward the pontoon trains 4tb lay bridges at Ely's Ford and Germania Ford. While 1864.] The Aemy once more in Motion. 393 Culpepper was noisy "vvitli rumbling wlieels, clattering hoofs, and tramping feet, Grant, Rawlins, and AVasliburne sat in the head-quarters tent until two in the morning, talking of history, literature, and politics. Then they rolled them- selves in their blankets. The troops started at midnight, inarching silently by the light of the stars. Next morning, the citizens were surprised to find the THE VIRGINIA CAMPAIGN OF 1864 army gone. The General and his staff breakfasted, and gal- loped away from the deserted village. At Germania they found the splendid soldiers of Warren and Sedgwick streaming over the Rapidan, in long lines of blue, tipped with shining bayonets and garlanded with starry Hags. At Ely's, Hancock's men were crossing, followed by the enor- mous supply train of four thousand wagons. Before night 394 Battle of the Wilderness Begins. [i864. the army was south of the river, encaraped on the historic field of Chancellorville and around the house to which Stonewall Jackson was borne, mortally wounded. At nine o'clock, all lights were put out. Grant, who had feared that the enemy might dispute his passage or fall upon his train, regarded the safe crossing as a great success, and now hoped to find a clear road. His immediate design was to get between the rebel capital and the rebel army, and lie had hopes even of crushing that army in one decisive battle. "It was my intention," says his final report, "to fight Lee between Culpepper and Richmond If lie loould stand.'''' Lee not only stood but he came. Early on Wednesday, from a high mountain station, his signal officers had notified him that the Union columns were moving. He started on the instant to strike their line of march at a right angle. Grant was facing south ; at dark Lee coming in from the westward, was close upon the national camps in the Wilderness^a great desolate region of worn-out and aban- doned tobacco fields — broken table-land, covered with scraggy oak, sassafras, hazel, and pine. It is intersected by narrow roads and deep ravines, and covered with under- growth so dense that a man on foot penetrates it with diffi- culty, and can see only a few feet before him. Grant did not mean to fight in this "darkling wood," but early on Thursday morning* an orderly came back with intelligence that Warren had encountered the enemy. Meade. — " Then the rebels have left a division here to fool us while they concentrate toward the North Anna." Shortly after came a dispatch from Sheridan's cavalry who were scouring the front. Meade. — "They think Lee intends to fight us here." Grant. — "Very well; let him be attacked vigorously wherever he appcuirs." The struggle was soon "vigorous" enough. Artillery could hardly be used in that tangled forest, and infantry had to move in by the compass, but it was soon engaged in the deadliest fighting. * May fifth. 1864] TeREIBLE but IjfDECISIVE CONFLICT. 395 Meade planted his head-quarters flag just out of range upon a knoll covered with dry pines, and pitched his tents back in a little open space overlooking an old quartz mill at the foot of a hill, Tlie day Avas intensely hot. In close, stifling ravines, in jungles of interlacing branches and vines, Death held high carnival. Every advance was into an ambush, where our soldiers found the rebels on their knees, awaiting them. Many received only trivial wounds from flattened bullets, which glanced from the trees ; but thousands were struck in lungs or stomach, and out of the dark forest began to flow interaiinable processions, bearing bleeding forms, upon blankets and stretchers. By 2 p. M. the entire army was engaged. Under a tree upon the knoll sat Grant, smoking, whittling, and talking quietly. Near him, stood Meade* — tall, slender, and stoop- ing, wearing spectacles, and looking more the scholar than the soldier — answering dispatches and issuing orders. A rumor came back that the skillful and gallant Hancock was repulsed, and our entire left wing giving way. "I don't believe it," insisted Grant, cutting at a root with his knife. "There must be some mistake about it." But finding it impossible to stay in the rear, the chief galloped forward to where the battle raged, and rode to and fro, consulting with officers, but giving no orders except general ones to Meade. Darkness closed upon an unfinished battle. Both armies had shown the utmost determination ; both had lost and won much ground over and over again. Lee telegraphed to Richmond, in his usual moderate vein : — "By the blessing of God we maintained our position against every effort, until night, when the conflict closed. We have to mourn the loss of many brave oflicers and men." Grant sent no dispatches, but ordered a general attack at half-past three the next morning. At midnight in his * In the pages following I speak of the Army of the Potomac sometimes as " Meade's " and sometimes as " Grant's." 396 Second Day — Lee's ISTarrow Escape. [1864. guarded tent he was awakened by an orderly witli a dis- patch from Meade, saying that at half-past three our men could not distinguish each other from the rebels, and sug- gesting six o'clock as a better hour. Grant (drowsily). — " Very well, let it be at six." A Staff Officer. — "Why, General, the sun is an hour and a half high at six o'clock !" Grant (rising and walking to get awake). — "True, that will be too late. Instruct Meade to delay the attack until a quarter-past four — not a minute later. It is of great impor- tance that we should begin the battle." Friday* dawned. Lee, with the same desire to secure for his soldiers the moral effect of the offensive, had likewise ordered a general assault the moment it should be light enough. The result was that Union troops fired the first gun on our left and center, and rebels the first on our right. The cloudless day was excessively hot. Both armies had intrenched. Grant's line faced westward, Sedgwick holding the right, Warren the center, and Hancock the left. Before nine a. m., Hancock impetuously drove the ene- my for two miles, almost overrunning Lee' s head-quarters. Had he pressed right on he would inevitably have cut the rebel army in twain, and ended the camj)aign then and there. But in that dense forest he was out of reach of his supports, his flanks were in danger, and he paused to readjust his line. Lee, seeing that he faltered, placed himself at the h^ad of a Texan division, to lead a charge and retrieve his des- perate fortunes. The rebels refused to budge a step with their favorite chief thus periling his life, but after he had taken his proper place in the rear, they pushed forward with new-born energy, and drove back the Union column. Already, James S. Wadsworth, a leading citizen of New York and a most gallant major-genei-al of volunteers, had had two liorses killed under liim ; and now he fell, shot through the head. Burnside's corps arrived, after a raj)id march, and took a position between Warren and Hancock. The rebels, also, were strengthened by Longstreet's corps, ♦ May sixth. 1864.] Grant Whittles and Smokes. 397 tlie advance reaching the ground in season to help drive Hancock back, and the rest during the forenoon. There "was desperate fighting from morning until niglit. "It was the longest day I ever passed," says one of the spectators. Grant, who was in military undress, without sash or sword, spent it chiefly at Meade' s head-quarters on the knoll, sitting quietly at the foot of a stunted tree, still whit- tling, but when the prospect grew darkest, letting the fire go out and chewing his cigar instead of smoking. There was grave cause for anxiety, but as each new rumor of dis- aster came, he invariably declared that he did not believe it. He said to a journalist : — " It has been my experience that though the Southerners fight desperately at first, yet when we hang on for a day or two we whip them awfully." In the afternoon the rebels concentrated, and began a vigorous charge to overwhelm Hancock. But at that mo- ment Longstreet and his staff, who had just reached the field, galloped down the road. The confederates, taking them for Union cavalry, fired upon them. Longstreet re- ceived a wound in the neck and shoulder, which kept him out of the field for nearly a year. The confusion caused by his fall delayed the attack until the Union line was strength- ened, and easily checked it. Hancock's escape was almost as narrow as Lee' s had been in the morning. Warren, Burnside, and Sedgwick likewise did superb fighting through the day, with alternate good and ill for- tune. One regiment rushed out of the woods toward head- quarters, in dire confusion. Grant sprang upon his horse and dashed forward to see what Avas the matter. It proved that a sudden panic had seized them, and they had become separated from their brigade. The General directed an aide to have the bridge upon which Burnside' s corps had crossed the Rapidan taken up and brought forward. To a suggestion that it might yet be needed, he answered : — "One bridge and the ford will be amply sufl[icient to cross all the men left, if we should have to fall back !" At four p. M., during another fierce assault upon our 398 A Talk before the Camp Fire. [i8g4. intrenched lines, tlie woods took fire. The smoke and flames blowing in the faces of our men, compelled them to fall back, and the rebels rushed forward and occupied their works. After the smoke subsided, our troops retook them, capturing many prisoners. Even darkness did not bring quiet. The confederate General Gordon, flinging his division upon our right flank, captured two brigades, and created a panic hitherto un- equaled. Surgeons fled from their hospitals in the old quartz mill, and soldiers came running back to head-quar- ters, declaring that all was lost. It was the most alarming moment of the campaign ; but Sedgwick checked the onset, and restored the line. Before midnight came yet another alarm, caused by mus- ketry and terrific yells from thousands of throats. Quarter- masters began to strike tents. The General said : — "They have broken through Warren's line. I don't know but we shall have to get out of this." It proved a voice and nothing more. Gordon, expect- ing an attack where his line was extremely weak, had ordered the yells, to give an exaggerated idea of its strength. After midnight, a correspondent who accompanied head- quarters sat by the camp fire, unable to sleep, and wonder- ing sadly if he had followed the chief to the Army of the Potomac only to chronicle his ruin. Looking up, he saw Grant, sitting on the other side of the blaze, his hat slouch- ing so low, and the colhir of his blue overcoat standing so high, that most of his face was hidden. He, too, was buried in tliouglit. Tlirougli the long, trying day his serenity liad appi^ared unshaken, but, now that he was alone, nervous sliiftijigs of one leg over the other, and worn, haggard looks, showed how deeply he was moved at the dreadful and seemingly fruitless shedding of blood. Still he would not admit, in tht? ])rofoundest recesses of his heai't, that there was any dangiu" of failure. He ex- pressed regi'cts to his friend at the appalling loss of life, but said that as Lee could chooser his own ground, we must fight him wherever we found him — often at great 1864.] A Leader found at Last. 399 disadvantage, but with absolute certainty of destroying him at last. After talking until two o'clock, he went to his cot. The battle of the Wilderness was over, and we had barely held our OAvn. Careless lookers-on doubted whetlier there were more men in the hospitals or on the field. But, the Union causalties actually footed up far less than it was at first expected. The rebels had fought with dauntless courage and tenacity. But in vain was their valor, in vain the skill of their chief. They might, indeed, check tlie Army of the Potomac, but never more were they to drive it back. It had found a leader at last ! During these anxious days, Frank B. Carpenter, the artist, j)ainting "the Signing of the Proclamation," at the White House, asked the Chief Magistrate : — "How does Grant impress you as compared with other leading generals ?" " The great thing about him," answered the President, "is cool j)ersistency of purpose. He is not easily excited, and he has the grip of a bull dog. When he once gets his teeth in^ nothing can shcike him o/T." Lincoln afterward said that any previous commander of the Array of the Potomac would have fallen back across the Rapidan, at the end of such a conflict. At Washington on tliat Friday night there was gravest apprehension. The Government having no dispatches from the General, was in complete ignorance of the result of the battle, and even of the whereabouts of the army. Among other rumors it was reported that the rebel trooper, Stuart, was making a raid, cutting off Grant's communications. At the request of Lincoln and Stanton, Dana, the Assistant Secretary of War, started for the front at midnight by a special train, to report tlie situation. After he reached Alexandria, a telegram called him back to tlie War Office, where he found the worn President and secretary still sitting. Lincoln. — "We are afraid to have you go to-night. The danger of your capture is too great." Dana.— " Then I'll go home to bed. Good night." Lincoln (hesitatingly). — "Are yoic afraid to make the journey?" 400 A Correspondent comes to Grief. [^864. Dana. — "Oli, no. I have a good escort, and two of Sedgwick's officers, who know every ford of the Rapidan, and every foot of the country." Lincoln (to Stanton). — "Then, I guess, we'd better let him go." Dana pushed forward, and though encountering swarms of stragglers, and all sorts of rumors, rode up to head- quarters at noon on Saturday, and found Grant and Meade, not only safe, but at their mid-day lunch of sandwiches. He remained at the front until the end of the campaign. Our old friend Cadwallader yearned to supply the North with news, and to make a hit for the New York Herald, which he now served. So he started across the country, carrying two huge sacks of letters from head- quarters, and his own dispatches which contained the names of many thousands of wounded copied from the hospital lists. At midnight, riding through the forest soutli of the Rappahannock, unaware of any enemy Avithin miles of him, he was suddenly hit upon the head by the butt-end of a musket and knocked off his steed. Tlie guerrillas had him ! Next morning, however, they encountered a little Union force near Fredericksburg. During tlie skirmish, by the gift of horse, saddle, bridle, and two hundred dollars in greenbacks, Cadwallader induced the sergeant who had him in charge to look one way while he walked off the other. After a day of starvation in the woods, and a voyage on tlie Potomac upon an improvised raft, he was picked up by a Union gun-boat, and reached Washington on Sunday night, lie had given unwitting comfort to the enemj^ The Richmond i)apers published copious extracts from his lists of killed and wounded, to show how " Grant the But- cher" was slauglitering his owii soldiers. 1364] "Not a Retreating Man." 401 CHAPTER XXXIII. SPOTTSYLVANIA TO COLD HARBOR. During all Saturday the two armies confronted' each other, both too much bruised and shattered to attack. They spent the day in removing the suffering and burying the peaceful sleepers, who lay in masses of mingled gray and blue. The soldiers on both sides were sobered, and the most profane forgot their oaths. Grant was sending back his wounded to Fredericksburg, and opening roads on his front. The smoke of his cigar was seen on every part of the field, but the smoker was more tacitu]"n than usual. In the rebel lines it was believed that our army was fall- ing back. Gordon said to Lee :— " I think there is no doubt but that Grant is retreating." "You are mistaken," replied the confederate chief, earnestly, ' ' quite mistaken. Grant is not retreating : lie is not a retreating man.'''' Forward, not back, was the word ! After dark, the tents were struck, and Grant and Meade, with their staffs and es- corts, started along a narrow road, lined with thousands of Hancock's sleeping men. At the sound of tramping hoofs, drowsy soldiers rubbed their eyes and asked : — "What's that?" Others, recognizing the chief, answered : — "That's Grant 'on to Richmond.' " This waked up the troojDS. They were not to ftill back this time, but actually to go on ! The welcome news was received with a chorus of cheers which, passing from regi- ment to regiment, accompanied the cavalcade for a mile and a half, till the ears of all the riders ached. Grant. — " Well, we are at least revenging ourselves ou the rebels for their yells of last night." 402 Sheridan" Ordered to March. [1864. Through the darkness he rode at a brisk gallop, and twice his party ran into hostile pickets, and shots were ex- changed. During a halt our pickets asked one of the head- quarters' party : — ' ' Where are you going V ' "To Spottsylvania." " Then you will have a skrimmage." "Why?" "Well, nothing, except that there are fifty thousand rebels in front of you, as Sheridan has found out." Reaching Todd's tavern, a dilapidated cross-road hos- tlery in the Wilderness, two hours after midniglit, the Gen- eral and staff rolled themselves in tlieir blankets and slept on the bar-room floor until daylight. "^^ Then they again moved forward and established head-quarters near Meade at " Piney Branch Church," in a pleasant grove. While they breakfasted under a tree, up rode Sheridan, Grant directed liim to start on a raid against Lee's communica- tions with Richmond. He received his orders, touclied his hat witli a bright smile, leaped upon his horse, and gallopted gayly away. The General had ordered the whole army forward. Had it moved promptly it would have reached Spottsylvania be- fore Lee, and interposed between him and Richmond, forcing him to fight for his communications. It had to march only twelve miles, but was delayed by various causes to the sore disappointment of the chief. Meanwhile Lee, divining Grant's plan, had already sent his engineers to open roads and ju'epare fortilications ; and wliiU; the Union rear-guard was firing its last gun at tlie Wildernt'ss, its advance came upon Lee's troops in front of his new works, three miles from Spottsylvania. Figiiting began at nine a. m., and lasted through the day. The enemy was driven back, but not until the delay had enabh'd liim to complete his strong works. Monday was devoted cliiefly to maneuvering, though there was some heavy figliting. Sedgwick on the front of * Sunday, May eighth. 1S64.] Sedgwick is Killed. 403 his corps, seeing his men dodge at occasional bullets from sharp-shooters, said hiughingly : — " Pooh, men, don't duck ; they couldn't hit an elephant at that distance." As he spoke a bullet pierced his brain, and the veteran fell dead, wearing liis usual calm smile. He was perhaps the best soldier in the Army of the Potomac. Grant re- ' garded his loss greater in a mere military view than the destruction of an entire division would have been. Hundreds of fugitives were pouring into Washington. Four runaway colonels even were taken to the War Depart- ment in irons, and the air was thick with rumors tliat Grant was in full retreat. This afternoon, however, receiv- ing a dispatch from Meade, the President issued the fol- lowing : — " To THE Friends of Union axd Liberty : — "Enough is known of tlie army operations within the hist five days to claim our especial gratitude to God. While what remains undone demands our most sincere prayers to and reliance upon Him (without whom all humau effort is vain), I recommend that all patriots, at their homes, in their places of public worship, and wherever tliey maybe, unite in common thanksgiving and prayer to Almighty God." On Tuesday morning * Meade's line was six miles long. The day saw hard fighting in deep ravines, in dense pine forests, and in pleasant sun-bathed fields. Once the woods took fire, and a number of wounded Avere burned to death. Just before dark under a thundering cannonade a charge was made by our entire line. Several rebel works were carried. A Vermont brigade captured an important one, but found itself without supports. The moment Grant heard of it he directed : — "Pile in the men and hold the work." But before this could be done the brigade had been withdrawn. Our forces failed to break the enemy's main line, but brought back more than a thousand prisoners. Little by little the Union troops were gaining upon the rebels. Grant * May tenth. 404 "Fight it Out ox this Lixe." [1864. kept with him his heavy siege trains for attacking Rich- mond, and replied to all desponding questions: — "AYe are going through ; there is no douht about it." On Wednesday morning,* after an early breakfast, Washburne, about starting for Washington, stood with the General and staff while his escort was getting ready, AVasiiburne.— " What word have you to send ?" GrEA]s^T. — " None I think, except that we are fighting away here." Washburne. — " Hadn't you better send Stanton just a scratch of the pen ?" Geant. — "Perhaps so." He stepped into his tent, and, witliout a moment' s re- flection, dashed off a note, apparently not even reading it after it was written : — " We liave now ended tlie sixth day of very hard fighting. The result, to this time, is much in our favor. Our losses have been heavy, as well as those of the enemy. I think the loss of the enemy must be greater. We liave taken over five thousand* prisoners in l)attle, while he has taken from ns but few, except stragglers. I liropose to fight it out on thisline^ if it tales all summer.''^ At ten that night Wasliburne delivered the note. Stan- ton forwarded it to Dix, " whose duty it was to deal infor- mation which the AYar Department cut for him," and Dix sent it to the j^ress of the country. It relieved the general suspense, and the italicized sentence was received with great enthusiasm. It gave expression to tlie popular desire to fight riglit througli to victor}', regardless of tlie cost. Wednesday was spent in skirmishing and maneuvering, Thursday"* brought a long and desperate 'battle. Late on the previous night, wliich was very dark and storni}^, Han- cock had m;issed his corps near the rebel left. At dawn he made a charge in the dense woods. On coming in sight of the enemy's works his troops burst into ringing cheers and brokc^- into a run. Tli(^y rushed over tlie abatis and into the breastworks, surprising the rebels at breakfast. Alter brief fighting with bayonets and clubbed muskets, * ilay olevcuth. f May twelfth. ^S''4] Haistcock's splendid Charge. 405 they sent back tliirt}^ stands of colors and over three thou- sand prisoners, including two generals — Edward Johnson and George H. Stewart. Hancock had known botli in the old army, and he shook hands courteously with Johnson, who said, with tears in his eyes, that he wished death had met him rather than such disaster. His fellow-captive Avas not in the melting mood. Hancock. — "How are 3-ou, Stewart?" Stewaet.— " Sir, I am General Stewart, of the confed- erate army, and, under present circumstances, I decline to take 3^our hand." Hancock. — "Under any other circumstances, general, I should not have offered it !" To Grant, Hancock wrote : — "I have finished up John- son, and am now going into Early." Suiting the action to the word, he puslied forward, and, in the face of sharp re- sistance, captured Early's riiie-pits. His corps was now a wedge, inserted between Lee's riglit and center. If the wedge had only been driven home ! This would have made short work of the rebellion. But, unfortunately, Hancock was unsupported, and the enemy rallied and checked him. Though heavy rain set in at mid-day, fierce fighting con- tinued until dark. In five vehement but unsuccessful charges Lee tried to regain his lost ground. Again and again, too, Meade made fruitless attempts to advance. Union and confederate colors were often planted on different sides of the same breastwork. At midnight, after twenty hours of obstinate combat, Lee drew back his bleeding columns to his second line of intrenchments. The field, the bloodiest of the war, was literally covered witli dead, and showed other evidences of the hardest figliting. The trunk of one tree, eighteen inches in diameter, was entirely cut off by bullets. Grant had lost eight thousand men ; but his army was beginning to acquire a habit of driving the enemy instead of being driven. After dark, he dispatched to Washington : — " The eighth day of battle closes, leaving between three and four thon- eand prisoners in our liands for the day's work, including two general officers. 406 Orders from Meade and Lee. [ises. ***** rpj^g enemy are obstinate, and seem to Lave found the last ditch." Next morning,* tlie main force of the enemy had fallen "back, but there was frequent skirmishing. Once the rebels suddenly poured out of the Avoods, and almost surrounded a house occupied by Meade. An engineer, familiar with the ground, took him out by a baclv door, and he safely reached the Lieutenant- General's head-quarters, from which his narrow escape had been seen. Grant (laughing). — " AVhat's the fuss over there ?" Meade. — "Nothing — only they came pretty near catch- ing the commander of the Army of the Potomac." The same day Meade issued a congratulatory order to his troops : — "For eight days and nights, without ahiiost any intermission, through rain and sunshine, you have been fighting a desperate foe, in positions naturally strong, and rendered doubly so by intrenchments. * * * Now he has abandoned the last intrenclied position, so tenaciously held, sxitfering in all a loss of eighteen guns, twenty-two colors, eight thousand prisoners, including two general officers. * * * Let us return thanks to God for the mercy thus shown us, earnestly ask for its continuance. * * * Tiie enemy must be pursued, and, if jjossible, overcome. * * * We shall soon receive re-enforcements, whicli he can not expect." The next day, in an order to his soldiers, Lee related that detachments of our army along the Shenandoah, on the Vir- ginia and Tennessee Railway, in Western Louisiana under Banks, at the northern defenses of Richmond under Sheri- dan, and on the south side of the James under Butler, had all been successfully repelled, with the loss of many prison- ers. He concluded : — " The lieroic valor of this army, with tlie blessing of Almighty God, has thus far checked tlio prineii)al army of tlie enemy, and inflicted upon it heavy losses. * * * Encouraged by tlie success that has been vouchsafed to us, and stimulated by tlio great interests that depend upon us, let every man re- solve to endure all and brave all ; until, by the assistance of a just and merci- ful God, the enemy shall be driven back, and peace secured to our country. Continue to emulate the valor of your comrades wlio liave fallen, and remem- ber that it depends upon you wlietlier they shall have died iu vain. It is in ♦Friday, May thirteenth. 18g:].] How Grant Received a Stranger. 407 your power, under Goil, to defeat the last great effort of the enemy, establisli the independence of your native land, and earn tl)e lasting love and gratitude of your countrymen, and the admiration of mankind." For several days the armies remained quiet, sending back their dead and wounded, and bringing up commissary stores. Grant, too, was receiving re-enforcements. A Maine gentleman, present to look after the sick and wounded, found head-quarters in a beautiful open grove. He thus describes his call : — " Dismounting and tying my horse to a sapling, I asked of the guard Avhere I could find an officer who would introduce me to the General. He replied: — 'No need of any introduction; just walk in.' I approached the open tent, made the best military salutation at my command — doubtless awkward enough — and asked: 'Is General Grant in?' 'That is my name,' answered a quiet officer sitting on his camp chair, and withdrawing his cigar from his mouth. ' I am all the v.-ay from Maine, General, and want to shake hands with you.' ' Well, well, come in — have a seat.' " I accepted his invitation only upon his assurance that there was time enough ; and sat and talked with him a few minutes, exceedingly gratified at his kindly manner toward a stranger in citizen's dress who came to him without puss or invitation." During one of these May evenings, Isaac N. Arnold, of Illinois, was at the White House, when allusion was made to pending attf.nupts to make Grant a candidate for the Presidency, The Union x><^^W^^ were for Lincoln ; but many politicians were not. He said to his visitor : — " If Grant could be more useful than I in putting down the rebellion, I would be quite content. He is fully committed to the policy of emancipation and employing negro soldiers ; and with this policy faithfully carried out, it will not make much difference who is President." Meade suggested that Hancock's corps, by attacking again on our right, might break the enemy's line. The General — who never discouraged any promising project — replied : — "Very well ; let him try." At dawn, on the eighteenth, the attempt was made. Han- cock' s men did all that men could do ; but were compelled to retire with a loss of twelve hundred. Grant— exceedingly 408 The Feeling in Meade's Aemt. [1864. tender liearted in spite of the favorite epithet of the enemy — was deeply grieved at the sacrifice • but Meade said, truth- fully :- " We can't do these things without risks — without heavy losses." The chief fully comprehended this, and his faith in the final result nevei^ faltered. Many men and some officers, approving of his fighting policy, said triumphantly : — " Lee no longer commands this army. It is under a gen- eral now who don't take orders from him." But there were others who declared : — " Grant finds his match at last. He encounters different troops and a different commander from those he met in the West." The Army of the Potomac fought splendidly and un- flinchingly. There was no conspicuous disloyalty ; and yet something of the old feeling yet lingered — the feeling that Grant was only a luck}^ general, who had climbed up by the shoulders of Sherman and McPherson ; and that Lee was a great chieftain, certain to accomplish what he attempted. Through this entire campaign, our army faced the West with its right toward AYashington, and its left toward Rich- mond. On the afternoon of the nineteenth Lee tried the flanking game. Ewell's corps got in the rear of the Union right, and assaulted vigorously, but was repulsed with heavy loss. The hammer was beginning to tell. Never afterward did the enemy leave his breastworks to attack, except in one or two desperate cases. On tlie night of May twenty-first, the national army left Spottsylvania and continued the movement toward our left, reaching the North Anna on the afternoon of the twenty- third. " The vigihmt Lee, anticipating tliis, had pushed for- ward ui)()n liis shorter line, and again confronted it. Gi'ant tlircw his troops across the river, Warren's men building a bridge of boards and timbers which tliey liad cut * That nif^ht Stanton telographod to tlio Northern press that heavy re -enforce- ments had been forwarded to Grant; twenty thousand sick and wounded from the fields received at the Wasliinffton liospitals; over eight thoasand rebels at the prison depots, and much captured artillery at the seat of Government. :.^' 1SG4.] Sheridan within the Enemy's Lines. 409 out in a captured rebel saw-mill. A thousand ijrisoners were captured, but Lee lield a salient extending down to the stream in tlie form of a letter Y, and could not be dislodged from it without great sacrifice of life. Grant fell back, therefore, to the north banlv, and a little quiet fol- lowed. On the twenty-fifth Sheridan rejoined the army, after sixteen days spent in "smashing things" within the ene- my's lines. From the beginning, the cavalry of tlie Army of the Potomac had been notoriously inefiicient. The in- fantry jeered at it, and Hooker offered twenty -five dollars for the bod}^ of any ti'ooper killed in a fight. When Slieridan took charge, he found it improved, but still engaged chiefly in picket and guard duty. He very soon gave it new char- acter. He kept it protecting the flanks and scouring the front of our army and liarassing the enemy. On cutting loose from Spottsylvania, he was in his ele- ment. He loved work, and the noise of fighting kindled in his face tlie expression of enjojanent which most counte- nances wear on hearing a good story. He captured supply trains, tore up railways, released four hundred Union prisoners, and at Yellow Tavern, within six iniles of Rich- mond, * defeated a large cavalry force, and mortally Avounded J. E, B. Stuart, Lee's ablest and most daring cavalry leader, and an eye-sore to the Army of the Potomac. Sheridan pursued the routed rebels into the defenses of Richmond, capturing a section of artillery and a hundred prisoners. His official report adds : — " For the balance of the day vre collected our wounded, buried our dead, grazed our horses, and read the Richmond papers : two small news-boys having, with commendable energy, entered our lines and sold them to the officers and men." Moving with great skill and daring — destroying bridges behind him and building them in front — he reached Haxairs, on the James; communicated with Butler, rested for several days, and started back. After amusing himself on the road by destroying another long stretch of railway * May eleventh. 410 Grats^t withdraws from North Ani^a. [i8G4. near Hanover, here he was again. He had kept Lee's cavahy utterly nnalble to molest our supply trains, made his arm of the service, for the first time, a terror to the enem}^, and cleared the road for a new advance. Grant withdrew at night * from North Anna, and moved forward, flanking again. Sheridan was not allowed a da}'' s rest. At noon, on the twenty-seventh, he held the crossing of the Pamunkey at Hanovertown, flfteen miles north of Richmond, and built a pontoon bridge, upon which the army crossed during that day and the next. In anticipation of this, supplies had already come up by steamers to White House, oil the Pamunkey. On Sunday, the twenty-ninth, our army again found Lee upon its front ; and there Avas heavy skirmishing that day and the next, as lie slowly fell back. On the thirty-flrst, Sheridan, on the advance, encountered stubborn resistance near Cold Harbor. Grant, receiving word tliat he was very liard pressed, directed him to hold the position at all hazards. So he threw up intrenchments, and fought sturdily until the next morning, when the infantry arrived to relieve him. Head-quarters were established at Cold Harborf— an old tavern, under a spreading catalpa — at the crossing of two roads, tAvelve miles from Richmond, and near the ground where McClellan and Lee had fought at Gaines' s Mill, two years before. Grant attacked heel;, to drive him south of the Chicka- liominy. The troops charged gallantly across an open held and through a strip of Avoods, taking a line of rifle-pits and several hundred prisoners. Further to our right they also effl'cted a lodgment, but the pitiless Are fi'om a redoubt on the (Micmy' s srcond line, compelled them to abandon it. Hot woik continued during the afternoon and night. Grant lost two thousand men ; Lee fewer, as breastworks protected him. * May twcnty-sixtli. f Often written -'Cnal n;irl)or," and "Cool Arbor." But in England, cold har- bor was once a coiumou uaino for a place by the roadside afifordiug shelter, but no fire. I June first. 1864] Terrible Fighting at Cold Harbor. 411 The next day was spent in posting troops and performing sad duties for the dead and wounded. At dawn on the third Grant assaulted again along the entire front. At many points our men puslied the enemy out of his first works ; but he rallied and drove them back, capturing prisoners and colors. The hot portions of the battle lasted only a few minutes, but proved terribly destructive. Lee, fighting be- hind breastworks, possessed great advantages. It was the most discouraging conflict of the year. Grant had merely ordered the assault, leaving details to Meade. There seems to have been no proper study of the ground or arrange- ment for supports — only the blind hurling of one corps at a time against the enemy. One of Hancock's divisions broke the rebel line, but finding itself without supports, had to withdraw. Ten thousand men to help follow up the advantage, would have brought victory instead of defeat. At a later hour, Meade ordered each corps commander to renew the attack, without reference to the troops on his right or left. But the men, willing to fight when fighting could avail, did not mean to give their lives for nothing, and when the hour came they did not move. Grant, in his final report, says of the day' s battle : — " Our loss was lieav}', while that of the enemy, I have reason to believe, was comparatively light. It was the only general attack made, from the Rapidau to the James, which did not inflict upon the enemy losses to com- ])ensate for our own. I would not be understood as saying that all previous attacks resulted in victories to our arms and accomplished as much as I had hoped, but they inflicted upon tlie enemy severe losses, which tended in the end to the complete overthrow of the rebels." The army intrenched, in the face of the defiant foe, and days of desultory skirmishing ensued. The confederates made two night attacks, but both were repulsed. Once there A\'^as an armistice of two hours, to bury the dead and remove the Avounded from the bullet-swept space between the lines. A few days ended the fighting of the "overland cam- paign." An official abstract of Meade's morning reports for April, 1864, made up in the Adjutant-General's office, shows that his aggregate force "present" at the outset numbered one hundred and twenty-two thousand four 412 Relative Strength of Grant and Lee. [i864. hundred and eighty-six. Deducting those on special service, sick, and under arrest, the officers and men, "present for duty, equipped," were eighty-nine thousand seven liundred and thirty-seven. The return of Burnside's Ninth Corps, for the same month, shows its numbers "present" to have been twenty tliousand four hundred and forty-four, but does not sttite how many of these were "present for duty, equip- ped." If his proportion of men unavailable for battle was the same as Meade's, he had fourteen thousand nine hun- dred and seventy-eight bearing muskets. One division of these, numbering about four tliousand, was with the wagon train until the army reached the James, Grant's effective force, therefore, after Burnside came up, in the Wilderness, did not vary more than a few hundred either way from one hundred and two thousand men. Lee's official field return, dated April twentieth, 1864, shows that his aggregate numbers ' ' present ' ' — exclusive of Longstreet's corps and Hoke's division, and two of Ewell's regiments, all detached and not reported — were sixty -two thousand eight hundred and twenty-five. Deducting those on special service, sick, and under arrest, the officers and men present and available for battle were fifty-four thou- sand two hundred and fifty-six. It is believed that this force was materiall}^ increased before Grant crossed the Rapidan ; but I find no official statement showing how mnch. Longstreet came up in the Wilderness with nineteen thousand effectives. Lee's army to Grant's, therefore— without estimating otlier re-enforce- ments — was as seventy- three to a hundred and two. Whether this disparity, in view of Lee's thorough familiar- ity with the country, and his fighting generally on tlie defensive and often in strong intrenchments, gave Grant any advantage over him, is a question wliich every reader must answci- for himself. Th«; sweet si)ring days had been days of harvest for tlie great Reaper. Still the frowning walls of the confederacy showed no rent nor seam ; and still the tireless arm Avas " haiumering away." Which would break first, the granite or the hammer ? 1864.] Lincoln's View of the Situation. 413 CHAPTER XXXIV. BEFORE PETEKSBURa. During tlie long June days, while Grant confronted Lee at Cold Harbor, Meade had the misfortune to excite tlie ire of the journalists. A Philadelphia correspondent wrote, tliat on the second night of the Wilderness battle he would have retreated had not Grant prevented it. Meade, with natural anger at this injurious statement, arrested its author, and, after compelling him to ride through the camps bearing tlie placard, ".1 Libder of Vie Press,'' expelled him from the army. Other journalists, though not at all excusing the offender, were so indignant at this degrading penalty, that by common impulse, both those in the field and those at Washington omitted Meade's name for months from all their dispatches. If he issued an order, they spoke of it merely as "from head-quarters." If he directed a movement, they gave credit to the officer commanding in person. A strano-er reading the papers would have been almost ignorant of Meade's existence. One day the Lieutenant- General told the President that lie proposed to keep Lee in the vicinity of Richmond, while Sherman marched, destroying the confederacy. Lincoln.— "I don't know much about military techni- calities, but, as near as I can understand, you propose to hold the leg, while Sherman takes off the skin !" Grant.— "Yes, that's exactly what I mean." A national convention of the Union republican party met at Baltimore to select a Presidential candidate. In vain did the politicians labor for Chase, and other eminent lead- ers ; the people loould have their favorite. When the roll was called, every State but one cast its entire vote for Abra- ham Lincoln. The Missouri delegation— under instructions 414 Grant Chae"ges his Base to the James. [1864. from their radical constituents, who fancied that tlie Presi- dent had not supported them zealously against the conser- vatives of the same party — gave their votes for Grant ; but afterward changed them, making Lincoln's nomination unanimous. A rumor was mentioned to the General that McClellan would be ordered to duty under him. He replied : — " I would as soon have him for a corps commander as any officer I know." Grant's final report says : — " My idea from the start had been to boat Lee's army north of Richmond, if possible ; then, after destroying communications north of the James River, to transport the army to the south side and besiege Lee in Richmond, or fol- low him sout]i if he should retreat." It had not proved "possible;" so, leaving Warren to hold Lee by a vigorous show of attacking, on the night of Sunday, June twelfth, Meade's troops moved swiftly across the Chickahominy, and over ground familiar to the sur- viving veterans of McClellan' s sanguinary battles. This most skillful and difficult of all the flanking move- ments completely surprised Lee. At first he supposed it a blow against Richmond from the north side. The moment he discovered that it was not, he fell back into the city. After a march of fifty-live miles, which occupied two days, our troops were across the peninsula, and struck the James near Charles City Court-IIouse. The pontoons were laid, and Grant directed Meade to j^ush Hancock forward to aid Butler's army in surprising and capturing Peters- burg — an important point at the head of navigation on the Appomattox, twenty-two miles from llichmond, and the focus of all the railways entering it from the south. He telegraphed to Halleck on the fourteenth : — " Our forces will commence crossing the James to-day. The eneiny shows no signs of yet having l)r()Ught troops to the south side of Richmond. I will have Petersburg secured, if possible, before tliey get there in much force. Our movement from Cold Harbor to tlie James River has been made with great celerity, and, so far, without loss or accident." Abraham Lincoln replied Avith liis own liand : — 1864] Smith's Failure at Petersburg. 415 " I have just received your dispatch of one p. m. yesterday. I begin to see it. You ^vill succeed. God bless you all I" Butler s orders were, to take Petersburg immediately. At seven p. m., on tlie fifteenth, AY. F. Smith attacked the northeast defenses, capturing a line of rifle-pits and several field-pieces, and dashing into the main works, where he secured three hundred prisoners and sixteen guns. Smith had delayed his attack until that late hour, await- ing Hancock' s arrival ; but, through some misunderstand- ing, Hancock received no order from Meade to advance until he had waited idly for several precious hours on the south bank of the James. When it came, he moved rapidly and was soon at the front. Being unacquainted with the region, he waived rank, and placed his corps under Smith's orders. It was bright moonlight, but Smith was ignorant of what lay beyond the captured works, and with a lack of continuous enterprise marvellous in so brilliant a soldier, he halted. He might have gone straight into Petersburg ! Xot only did he sjiend the night there, but the next morning he even waited for his men to breakfast. Then it was too late. Lee, learning by telegraph of his assault, instantly put every car to be found in Richmond upon the railway, and spent the night in throwing forward his troops to Petersburg. The next morning, from the strong fortifica- tions, his veterans made our second attemjit an utter failure. At six that evening. Grant having return(»d from the Army of the Potomac, which he had gone back to hurry up, Meade attacked again with two corps. Fighting con- tinued through the night, with the capture of a few rebel works, some artiller}^ and four hundred prisoners, but without any decisive result. The remainder of the army coming up, the attempt was renewed on the seventeenth and eighteenth : but it proved impossible to dislodge Lee, and our baffled army sat down before Petersburg. Grant was sorely disappointed. Butler — a volunteer officer — on first approaching the city, had given up his own project for attacking on the north side, in deference to the earnest counsel of two West Point subordinates. Actually, 416 Butler "in a Bottle, stro:ngly Corked." [i8G4. only two rebel regiments defended tlie town on that side, and it could have been carried easily. Shortly afterward the rallying enemy drove Butler back into his works, within the triangle between the James and the Ap]3oraattox, and intrenched strongly upon his front, protecting the railway and the city. Of his ]3osition, thus cribbed, coffined, and confined, Grant's final report says : — " His army, therefore, tliongli in .a position of great security, was as com- pletely sliut off from further operations directly against Richmond, as if he had heen in a bottle strongly corhed. It required comparatively a small foi-ce of the enemy to hokl him there." The expression "bottled up'' had been frequently ap- plied to Butler's condition. It did not originate with the chief, but he used it as the most fitting. Just after the Lieutenant- General arrived, Lee withdrew a part of his troops from Butler's front to help defend Petersburg. The rebel regiments which were to replace them did not get in j)rompt]y, and Butler pushed for- Avard, tearing up lialf a mile of railwa}^. Grant directed him to hold the position at whatever cost, and gave orders to throw in the whole army if necessary. But on the after- noon of the seventeenth the rebels rallied and recaptured their works. We never again broke their line between Petersburg and Richmond, until just before the final sur- render. Since starting from Culjiepper Court-House, Grant's losses had been heavy, but he had intiicted incalculable injury upon the enemy in killed and wounded, besides capturing thirteen tliousand prisoners. Rebel journal- ists, whistling to keep their courage up, exaggerated enor- mously the number of liis casualties, but regarded liim in their liearts as a relentless Fate, whose brooding shadow covered, inch by inch, more and more of their jiolitical firmament. Northern peace editors echoed their statements, and de- clared the change of base to the James a confession of the failure of Grant's ]ilan, and the wisdom of McClellan's, at- tempted two years' earlier. But friend and foe alike 1SG4.] Head-Quaeters at City Point. 417 conceded tliat lie had conducted liis marcliing and flanking movements with rare skill. During much of the time, he supplied more than a hundred thousand soldiers over roads so narrow that one wagon could not pass another, 3^et his men never suffered for food, nor did he lose a single wagon. He now established his head-quarters on the promontor}^, at the junction of the Appomattox and the James, known as City Point. There they were to remain nine months. Wharves and storehouses were built, and fleets of trans- ports brought up supplies, ammunition, and bountiful stores from the Sanitary and Christian commissions. For a few days there was active work. The rebels at- tacked north and south of the James, but were easily re- pulsed. They fell upon Sheridan — on his return from tearing up railways near Gordonsville, and fighting Wade Hamil- ton's cavalry — but, as usual, found him an ugly customer, and were glad to withdraw after losing five hundred prison- ers. They attacked another cavalry general — J. H. Wil- son — who had been destroying the Weldon, Southside, and Danville railroads, with better fortune. They captured his artillery and supply wagons, many prisoners, and a large number of negroes who were following him — but not until he had punished them severely, and had so broken their railways that it took two months to re-open them. An infantry movement by Meade to grasp and hold the Weldon road was repulsed, after hard fighting. The enemy, getting into a gap between two corps of the Union army, captured standards and guns, and twenty-five hundred pris- oners, compelling the contraction of our left, and placing us on the defensive there for several weeks. A lull followed. After two months of terrible work the old troops wanted rest, and the re-enforcements required disciplining. On Grant's right, near Petersburg, he had already begun siege operations, and it was understood about head-quarters that no more general assaults would be made until the strength of the army should be greatly augmented. An officer writes of the early days of July : — « " Captains were sometimes commanding regiments, ami majors brigades, cc 418 A Letter from Winfield Scott. [i864. The men, missing the familiar forms and voices that had led them to the charge, would complain that they had not their old officers to follow. More than one leader of a storming party was forced to say, as l.ie came back from an unsuccessful attempt against the outworks of Petersburg, "My men do not charge as they did thirty days ago." The enemy meant to figlit in future only "beliind strong intrencliments, and Grant said: — "To take such is a work of time, or else involves terrible destruction of human life." He reminded ISTorthern friends that nearly all the rebel forces were now in two grand armies, both besieged, and neither daring to risk a battle outside of their fortifications ; that the enemy had put his last man in the field — that every day his troops were deserting, dying of disease and of wounds, and being captured, and that their loss could never be replaced. He added : — ' ' If the rebellion is not perfectly and thoroughly crushed, it will be the fault and through the weakness of the people of the North. Be of good cheer, and rest assured that all will come right-" The veteran Winfield Scott, who still held tlie brevet rank of lieutenant-general, knew from experience in his younger days the embarrassments of an officer in the field, and would not be used to increase them. In July he wrote from West Point to Washburne : — "I heard, a short time ago, tliat some one had informed Licutenant-Gen- eral Grant that I had spoken sligiitly of him as an officer. As it is probable that your frank may enable this letter to reach him, I beg leave to say- through you, that I have never uttered an unkind word about him. "The inquiry has frequently been addressed to me, 'Do you know Gen- eral Grant?' I have answered that ho made the campaign of Mexico with me, and was considered by me, and I suppose by all his brotliers in commis- sion, a good officer, and one who attained special distinction at Molino del Eey. Of his more recent services, I have uniformly spoken in terms of the highest admiration, and added that, in my opinion, he had richly earned his present rank. I hope he may speedily put down the rebellion." Tj(^o always had an itching to invade the North. In des- perate straits hitlierto, he had forced tlie Arm}^ of the Poto- mac to fall back and cover Washington whenever he threatened it. Longstreet states that he frequently spoke of 1864.] Eaely Invades Maeyland. 419 " swapping queens" with Grant — capturing the national capital and uncovering Richmond to his adversary ; but that Jefferson Davis would never permit it. Now he improved the lull by detaching Early, who, passing down the Shenandoah Valley, entered Maryland, cutting railways; capturing trains between Baltimore and Philadelphia ; comj^elling Hagerstown to pay tribute to him ; and defeating a Union force on the Monocacy nine thousand strong. He threatened Baltimore ; burned houses five miles from Washington, and even had a skirmish at the outer fortifications of the capital. Had he dashed in promptly with his whole force, he might have held the seat of Govern- ment for a few hours, and secured immense prestige for the rebels with foreign nations. The panic he caused brought a strong pressure upon Grant to induce him to move his army at once to Washing- ton. But Lee was dealing with a new man. The Lieutenant- General detached one of Meade's corps, and ordered another which had just reached Fortress Monroe from New Orleans, to the defense of the capital, but he did not budge from City Point. A correspondent visiting head-quarters, found him strolling among the tents, his thumbs in the arm-holes of his waistcoat, and his face serene as ever. Ax Aide. — "They are having a little scare in the North. It will do them good." Journalist. — "How large a force have the rebels in Maryland r' Aide. — "Twenty-five to thirty thousand — raked and scraped from all their troops outside of Richmond. The}" will not affect operations here. Lee expected to send Grant post-haste to Washington, but this siege will go on." Early, finding himself in danger, and unable to move the obstinate Lieutenant-General, returned to Virginia with an immense train of horses, cattle, hogs, sheep, and wagons loaded with grain, groceries, and clothing. He also carried away two hundred thousand dollars — a forced contribution from the people of Fredericksburg, Maryland, to save their town from the torch. But our troops fell upon his rear at 420 Geneeal McPherson is Killed. [i864. Winchester, and after a sharp fight, captured four j)ieces of artillery and several hundred prisoners. Sir Charles Napier once wrote, on the eve of battle : — "If I survive I shall soon be with those I love ; if I fall, I shall be with those I have loved." A prized and trusted lieutenant of the General now joined those he Tiad loved. McPherson was always upon the front when battle raged ; again and again his large form and his splendid black charger had made liim tlie mark of sharp-shooters. On the twenty-third of July, figliting under Sherman near Atlanta, Georgia, while riding alone in the woods he suddenly came upon a party of rebels. Turning his steed and striking in the spurs, he smiling touched his hat to the enemy. A dozen rifles replied, one minie-ball passing through him near the heart. He hardly spoke afterward, and in less than an hour he was dead. Sherman burst into tears at the sight of his lifeless form. Grant, learning of his death, exclaimed ; — " The country has lost one of its best soldiers, and" (his voice breaking and his eyes filling) " I have lost my best friend." McPherson, only thirty-five, had won the hearty love of the army and the country. He was a member of the Meth- odist church, and brought no discredit upon his profession. He was the most courteous and gentle of men, never pro- fane, never countenancing plunder or lawlessness. Three montlis before his death, he Avas to have married a young lady in Baltimore, but duty had kept him in the field. The General received a touching letter, written from Clyde, Ohio, on the third of August : — '■ r liopc you will purdi)!! me fur troiibliii;^ you witli the pernsal of these few lines from the trembling liand of the aged grandmother of our beloved (ronerfd James ?>. ^fcPherson, wlio fell in battle. When it was announced at his I'uniTal, froiii tiu> piibrK! prints, that when General Grant heard of his deatii ho went into liis tent and wept like a cliild, my heart Avent out in thanks to you for the interest you manifested in liim while lie was with you. " 1 have watciicil his jirogress from infancy wy. \\\ chihlhood lie ^vas obedient and kind; in manhood interesting, noble, and persevering, looking to the wants of otliers. Since he entered the war, others can appreciate his worth hotter than I can. 1864] Letter from His Aged Grandmother. 421 " "Wheu it was announced to us by telegrapli that our loved one liad fallen, our hearts were almost rent asunder; but when we heard the com- mander-in-chief could weep with us too, we felt, sir, that you have been as a father to him ; and this whole nation is mourning his early death. I wisli to inform you that his remains were conducted by a kind guard to the very parlor where he spent a cheerful evening in 1861, with his widowed mother, two brotliers, only sister, and his aged grandma', who is now trying to write. In the morning he took his leave at six o'clock, little dreaming he should fall by a ball from the enemy. " His funeral services were attended in his mother's orchard, where his youthful feet had often pressed the soil to gather frnit, and his remains are resting in the silent grave, scarce half a mile from the place of his birth. Ilis grave is on an eminence but a few rods from where the funeral services were attended, and near the grave of his father. The grave, no doubt, will be marked, so that passers-by will often pause to drop a tear over the dear de- parted. "And now, dear friend, a few lines from you would be gratefully received by the afflicted friends. I pray that the God of battles may be with you, and go forth with your armies till the rebellion shall cease, the Union be re- stored, and the old flag wave over our entire land. " With much respect, I remain your friend, " Lydia Slocum, "Aged eighty-seven years and four months." He replied, on tlie tenth of August : — " Dear Madam : — Your very welcome letter of the third instant has reached me. I am glad to know the relatives of the lamented Major-Geueral McPherson are aware of the more than friendship existing between him and myself. A nation grieves at the loss of one so dear to our nation's cause. It is a selfish grief, because the nation had more to expect from him than from almost any one living. I join in this selfish grief, and add the grief of jier- sonal love for the departed. lie formed for some time one of my military family. I knew him well, and to know him was but to love him. " It may be some consolation to you, his aged grandmother, to know that every olficer and every soldier who served imder your grandson felt the highest reverence for his patriotism, his zeal, his great, almost unequaled ability, his amiability, and all the manly virtues that can adorn a com- mander. Your bereavement is great, but can not exceed mine." The summer days wore on. Our men rested in tlu^ir in- trenclied camps, or in bivouac among stretches of cool gret^i- sward, and shaded Virginia farm-houses. There was quiet at head -quarters. At night the General, always the last man to go to bed, entertained callers as long as they would stay, and then sauntering along the snowy tents to the quarters of 422 "You Must Thkow Away that Cigae." [i864. Bowers and Rawlins, greeted tliem :— "Ah, at work still ?" Then he would often chat until three in the morning, upon all sorts of subjects, army matters usually being the last. In one of his daily strolls about the camps and defenses, he approached a commissary warehouse, guarded by negroes. He was suddenly stopped by one of the sable guardians :— Sentry.— "You must throw away that cigar, sir." Grant.— "AVhy?" Sentry.—" My instructions are, not to let any man pass- my beat, who is smoking. If you want to go by you must throw away that cigar." The amused General obeyed and continued his walk. ^ Upon another afternoon a long, gaunt civilian wearing garments of rusty black, and a stove-pipe hat, walking up in the rear of head-quarters, was accosted by a hostler. Hostler (gruffly).— "Keep out of here." Visitor.—" Isn't this General Grant's tent ?" Hostler. — "Yes." Visitor (striding forward).—" Well, I reckon he will let me inside." Hostler. — " You Avill soon find out !" The agents of the Sanitary and Christian commissions, though of incalculable service in relieving the sufferings of soldiers, Avere unpopular at all head-quarters, perhaps, be- cause they found fault with every real or fancied abuse. As the stranger neared the tent, a guard mistook him for one of these grumblers : — Guard.—" No Sanitary folks allowed inside !" Visitor.— " I guess General Grant will see me." Guard.—" I can't let you pass, but I'll send him your name. AVhat is it ^" Visitor. — " Abraham Lincoln. The veteran almost dropping his musket in surprise, gave the military salute, and witli wide-staring eyes mo- tioned the Commander-in-Cliief to pass on. The President —visiting the army with his son "Tad" and a party of friends,— was warmly received within, where he related with keen enjoyment liis unexpected adventure, and the " little stories " of which it reminded him. 1864.] A Mii^E IS Exploded. 423 CHAPTEK XXXY. Sheridan's ride. Grant's great object ingoing soutli of the James liad been to cut liis adversary's communications, and isolate the rebel capital from the rest of the confederacy. The move- ment uncovered Washington ; but the Union army was so near Richmond that the enemy's forces were kept busy at home. There was little rest for Lee. Sheridan, with a large force, cut the railways north of Richmond, and so alarmed him for the safety of Early, in the Shenandoah valley, that he detached many troops to look after the troublesome general of cavalry, and so weakened his Petersburg front. This was exactly what Grant wanted. A month earlier, he had begun a mine, suggested by Colonel Pleasance, of a Pennsylvania mining-region regiment. He pushed it forward from a ravine in front of Burnside' s corps for five hundred feet, until it was under a formidable rebel fort upon "Cem- etery Ridge," which proved to be a singularly appropriate name. The tunnel — four and a half feet high, four feet wide at the bottom and narrowing toward the top — was twenty feet under ground when it reached the enemy's work. Wings were cut to the right and left, forming chambers, which were charged with four tons of gunpowder, heavily tamped with wood and sand-bags. Meade, whose lines here were only a hundred and fifty yards from Lee' s, prepared to open a cannonade with every gun on our front, the moment the mine should be fired, and also to throw a storming party through the gap to carry a strong crest in the rear of the fort, commanding Petersburg. At half- past three, on the morning of July thirtieth, the fuse was lighted, and the fire disappeared, hissing in the 424 HoEEiBLE Scenes in- the Cratee. [i864. earth. But the entrance was long and damp, and the army waited in vain. Finally, two brave soldiers went a hundred feet into the gallery and relit the fuse, Avliich had gone out at a splicing. Still the fire crept forward but slowly. Five o'clock, however, brought a tremendous thud, like the rumbling of an earthquake, repeated again and again, as successive chambers exploded. Instantaneously the air was darkened with human bodies, guns, caissons, and timbers, which rose mountain-higli like an enormous inverted cone ; seemed poised in the heavens for a moment ; and then fell all around, like the spray of a vast infernal fountain. Portions of sev- eral South Carolina regiments guarding the fort, were blown to atoms. Our guns opened, and, during the heaviest artillery thun- der ever heard on the continent, a Union column rushed in- to the crater, which was six hundred feet long, sixty wide, and thirty deep. But the division charged with this impor- tant duty — unfortunately selected by lot — proved the very worst in Burnside' s entire corps. It captured two hundred living prisoners; but, by some terrible mistake, halted in the pit instead of rushing forward upon the ridge. , The rebels, rallying almost instantly, poured a terrible fire into the crater, A second (negro) division, ordered out to support the first, had reached it, and our troops were huddled together, among their dead and dying foes. A third division, also, was flung into the imminent deadly breach, and a vain attempt made to carry the crest. But a cross- fire from works upon both flanks, raked the intervening ground, and also tlie strip of land in the rear, between the blown-up fort and our intrenchments. The crater proved a slaugliter-pen for both sides. Half- buiicd rebels cried out to the negroes, "Help! for God's sak<', lielp !" Hundreds of wounded begged ])iteously for water, and many were torn in j)ieces by confederate and Union guns. .About noon a r(4reat was ordered, and those wlio were fortunate enough to outlive tlie storm of flying missiles, got back to our line. The Avounded lay exposed for thirty- 1864.] ShEEIDAjS^ sent TO THE SlIENANDOAlI. 425 six liours, while Burnside' s request for a cessation of hos- tilities to relieve them was referred to Richmond. The rebels, meanwhile, had recaptured the fort ; and before re- ceiving an answer they j)ermitted our officers to give a drink of brandy and water to each sufferer, in the blazing sun be- tween the lines. They refused to let our men approach the crater, lest they should see exactly what damage had been done, and administered themselves to the wounded, white and black, who were lying there. The next day a truce of four liours was granted. But few survivors remained to be succored. The negroes had behaved with conspicuous gallantry, and lost four times as many as the whites. Ten minutes after the last dead were buried the firing re-opened. The General and the Government were deeply grieved at this bloody failure of the most promising attempt of the year. An investigating board of officers, reported as the chief causes : that the assaulting columns were not properly selected, nor all properly led ; that there was no competent directing head on the spot ; and that the advance halted in the crater, when it should have hurried forward to carry the crest. Again there was trouble from the Shenandoah. Again, Early marching down the valley crossed the Potomac, His cavalry occupied the undefended town of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and demanded a ransom of half a million of dollars. The people were unwilling or unable to pay, and the place was burned, in retaliation for alleged outrages in Virginia, by Union troops. As telegraphic communication between City Point and Washington was frequently broken, it became of vital im- portance to place an able general in charge of all the troops guarding the capital, and the great southern highway to the Potomac. By this time Sheridan had left little rebel cavalry worthy of the name, and his fighting and raiding had won wide-spread fame. Grant sent him to command the forces watching Early. During August, and the early days of September, he remained near Winchester, across the path of the enterprising rebel. By biding his time for 426 Great Explosiois' at City Point. [1864. weeks, until the opportunity came for a telling Mow, lie proved his discretion as he had already proved his valor. The General' s old regiment, the Fourth regular infantry, which had been terribly cut up during the Wilderness cam- paign, was now detailed as his body-guard. It did not con- tain a single man who had belonged to it in the days when he was lieutenant and captain, but all were zealous in serv- ing him, and plumed themselves not a little that he began his career as a soldier in the " Old Fourth," In August, as an ordnance boat at the City Point wharves was discharging ammunition, one case fell to the ground and the whole cargo exploded, killing many men, and destroy- ing several steamers, and two millions of dollars' worth of property. The thundering reports shook the earth for miles, and planks, fragments of human bodies, and clouds of other missiles dropped about head-quarters like rain. Terror- stricken officers and men ran wildly to and fro, wondering if the general destruction of the universe had come. Grant only stepped out of his tent, took his cigar from his mouth, glanced calmly around, and seeing that he could do no good, returned quietly to his camp chair. A few days later ^he wrote to Washburne: — " We are progressing here slowly. The weather has been intolerably warm, so much so that marching troops is nearly death. I state to all citi- zens who visit me, that all we want now to insure an early restoration of the Union, is a determined unity of sentiment North. The rebels have now in their ranks their last man. The little boys and old men are guarding prisoners, and railroad bridges, and forming a good part of their garrisons for intrenched i)ositions. " A man lout hy them can not he replaced. They have robbed the cradle and the grave equally to get their present force. Besides what they lose in frequent skirmishes and battles, they arenow losing from desertions and other causes, at least ojic regiment j)er day. " With tiiis drain upon them, the end is visible, if we bo but true to ourselves. Tlieir only hope now is in a divided North. This might give them re-enforcements from Tennessee, Kentucky, Maryland, and Missouri, while it would weaken us. With the draft (juietly enforced the enemy would become despondent, and would make but little resistance. "I have no doubt the enemy are exceedingly anxious to hold out until after the Presidential election. They have many hopes from its effects. ¥ 1864.] Fighting on the AVeldon Railway. 427 They hope for a counter-revolution ; they hope for the election of the peace candidate; in fact, like Micawber, they hope for something to turn up. "Our peace friends if they expect peace from separation, are much mis- taken. It would be but the beginning of war, with thousands of Northern men joining the South, because of our disgrace in allowing separation. To have ' peace on any terras,' the South would demand a restoration of their slaves already freed. They would demand indemnity for losses sustained, and they would demand a treaty which would make the North slave-hunters for the South, They would demand pay or the restoration of every slave escaping to the North." There were still fears that Lee had sent Early troops enough to endanger Sheridan and the capital, but the General announced his determination not to be seduced away from the front of Petersburg. The President re- plied : — * " I have seen your dispatch expressing your unwillingness to break your hold where you are. Neither am I willing. Hold on with a bull-dog grip, and chew and choke as much as possible." Grant did, however, send a force north of the James, which, though it failed to break the rebel lines, captured several hundred prisoners, and kept Lee from forwarding any more troops to Early. The heavy force, too, which Lee was compelled to throw out to meet it weakened his line, and made another opportunity on the south side. He could not be dislodged while holding his railway communications south of Petersburg, so on the eighteenth Grant sent War- ren' s corps to get possession of the Weldon road, Warren seized it, and the enemy made desperate but fruitless attempts to drive him away. On the twenty-fifth Hancock reached the railway at Reams Station, still farther south, but the vigilant enemy taking him in the flank, and capturing many prisoners compelled him to withdraw. Our entire losses reached four thousand. Still Grant obtained a firm grip on the road, forcing the rebels back until they were only three miles from Peters- burg, and advancing his own lines within half a mile of them. The advantage had cost heavily, but it was of great value. From this time to the end of the war, the most * August seventeenth. 428 Sherman Captures Atlanta. [i864. desperate fighting was over Lee's communications. Where tides of peaceful travel now flow, the railways were fringed with graves. In August a democratic national convention at Chicago resolved that the war was a failure, and as a logical sequence nominated George B. McClellan for the Presidency. The North was a good deal discouraged. Leading republicans, even, who had been very sanguine at the outset, half feared that the war was a failure. But the skies began to brighten. The first ray came all the v^2ky from Georgia. Sherman starting in May simul- taneously with Grant, had fought several brilliant battles, in one of which the rebel bishop-general, Leonidas Polk, was killed. Sherman drove Johnston to the defenses of Atlanta, and on the first of September captured that city— next to Richmond the most important in the South. His army at the beginning was a hundred thousand strong. His losses during the campaign reached about thirty thousand. News of the fall of Atlanta excited universal joy in the North. The President in a public order tendered the thanks of a grateful nation to Sherman and his soldiers. By Grant's order, at midnight in front of Petersburg, thirty-six shotted guns from eacli battery did the double duty of a salute and a bombardment, while the bands in the rear played " Hail Columbia," "The Star- Spangled Banner," and " The Red, White, and Blue," — all to the great wonder of the enemy. A draft was going on to till up our reduced armies. Grant wrote * to Stanton : — " We ought to have tlie whole number of men called for by the President in the shortest possible time. Prompt action in filling our armies will have more etiect upon the enemy than a victory over them. They profess to helieve, and mak-e their men believe, there is such a party North iii favor of recognizing Southern independence that the draft can not he enforced. Let them be undeceived. Deserters come into our lines daily, who tell us that the men are nearly universally tired of war, and that desertions would be much more frequent, hut that they believe peace will be negotiated after the fall elections. The enforcement of the draft, and the prompt filling up of our armies, will save the shedding of blood to an immense degree." * September lliirtoonth. 1864.] Sheridan is instructed to "Go ix." 429 Three days later the rebel cavalry getting into Meade' s rear, at Reams' Station, captured and drove back into their lines twenty-five hundred beeves, which grazed waiting for the butchers. It was a grand haul of supplies for the confederates, and many Northerners relished the joke. Early's raids from the Shenandoah still obstructed the Baltimore and Ohio Railway, and threatened Maryland and Pennsylvania. Grant knowing Sheridan's fondness for battle feared to order an attack without further knowledge. So he visited Sheridan, * and examined the ground for him- self. The General's final report says : — " I met him at Charleston, and he pointed out so distinctly how each army lay ; what he could do the moment he was authorized ; and expressed such confidence of success, that I saw there were but two words of instruc- tion necessary — ' Go in !' " This was as laconic as Wellington's "Sail or sell" to an officer who begged leave of absence on being ordered to India, or Napier's '•'■ PeccavV — " I have Scinde.'^ Sheridan did go in, and attacked vigorously, f Early, concentrating upon his center, attempted to cut his army in twain, and capture a ridge in his rear. Sheridan let him break the line, but it proved a deadly ambush. Early penetrated almost to the ridge, when waiting brigades sud- denly fell upon his flanks, capturing whole regiments, and the rebel army was soon flying. A soldier on the ground pictures the cavalry general : — " A mounted officer, followed by a single orderly, galloped up to us. As lie reined in his horse, a rebel shell — one of the many which were now tear- ing tlirough the right — burst within a few feet of hira, actually seeming to crown his head with its deadly halo of smoke and burning fragments. ' That's all right, boys,' lie said, with a careless laugh ; ' no matter, we can lick them.' The men laughed; a whisper ran along the ranks that it was Sheridan, and they burst into a spontaneous cheer. ' What regiment is that?' he asked, and dashed off toward the firing." He wrote as vehemently as he fought, telegraphing from the field to Washington : — * September sixteenth. * September nineteenth. 430 He sends Early "whirling" SouTinvARD. [ise-i. "TFe Jiavejust sent the enemy whirling through Winchester, and are after them to-morrow. This army behaved splendidly. We captured two thousand five hundred to three thousand prisoners, five pieces of artillery, nine battle- flags, and all the rebel dead and wounded. Their wounded in Winchester amount to some three thousand." Night only had saved the enemy from annihilation. The next day our pursuing army overtook Early, captured many of his men, and drove him through the gaps of the Blue Ridge. The Shenandoah Valley seemed to be clear again, so most of Sheridan's troops returned to the Array of the Potomac. Several of his staff had been killed by guerrillas. His cavalry, which rather enjoyed the rebel epithet of " Sheridan's robbers," destroj^ed thousands of barns filled with wheat, hay, and farming implements, burned mills, drove out all the cattle and sheep they could find, and made the rich valle}^ no longer capable of sustaining rebel armies lying in wait to spring upon the capital. As the general was falling back toward the Potomac, however, a detachment of rebel liorse harassed his rear. He halted for a single day, and, in his own language,* " drove it back on a jump" for twenty-six miles. The War Department formally thanked him ; the Presi- dent made him a brigadier in the regular army ; Grant fired a salute of one hundred guns in his honor ; and under en- thusiasm inspired by this victory, the Union party conduct- ed its campaign with new confidence and vigor. Grant heartily approved of the laws conferring the right of suffrage upon soldiers, but determined to keep the army free from a heated political canvass. He wrote to Stanton on file twenty-seventh of September : — " The exercise of the right of sulfrage by the officers and soldiers of armies in the field, is a novel thing ; it has, I believe, generally been consid- ered dangerous to constitutional liberty and subversive of military discipline. But our circumstances are novel and exceptional. A very large proportion of tlu' legal voters uf the United States are now cither under arms in the * Sheridan had as little patience as Grant with high-soundiug military phrases. To a compliment upon his " superb strategy," he replied : — " Oh, all a man wants to do, is to know his ground and fight his men." 1864.J Grant's Views on Soldiers Voting. 431 field, or in hospitals, or otherwise engaged in the military service of tlie Uni- ted States. Most of these men are not regular soldiers in the strict sense of that term; still less are they mercenaries, who give their services to the Gov- ernment simply for its pay, having little understanding of political questions, and feeling little or no interest in them. On the contrary, they are Ameri- can citizens, having still their homes and social and political ties binding them to the States and districts from which they came, and to which they expect to return. They have left tlieir homes tempi^rarily, to sustain tlie cause of their country in the hour of its trial. In performing this sacred duty, they should not be deprived of a most precious privilege. They have as much right to demand that their votes shall be counted in the choice of their rulers, as those citizens who remain at home. ISTay more, for they have sac- rificed more for their country. " I state these reasons in full, for tlie unusual thing of allowing armies in the field to vote, that I may urge on the other hand, tliat nothing more than the fullest exercise of this right should be allowed; for any thing not abso- lutely necess.ary to this exercise, can not but be dangerous to the liberties of the country. The officers and soldiers have every means of understanding the questions before the country. The newspapers are freely circulated, and so, I believe, are the documents prepared by both parties to set forth the mer- its and claims of their candidates. "Beyond this, nothing whatever should be allowed. No political meet- ings, no harangues, from soldier or citizen, and no canvassing of camps or regiments for votes. " I see not why a single individual, not belonging to the armies, should be admitted into their lines to deliver tickets. In my opinion, the tickets should be furnished by the chief provost-marshal of each army ; by them to the provost-marshal (or some other appointed officer) of each brigade or regi- ment, who shall, on the day of the election, deliver tickets, irrespective of party, to whoever may call for them. If, however, it shall be deemed expedient to admit citizens to deliver tickets, tlien it should be most positively prohib- ited tiiat such citizens should electioneer, harangue, or canvass the regiments in any way. Their business should be, and only be, to distribute on a cer- tain fixed day, tickets to whoever may call for them. " In the case of those States whose soldiers vote by proxy, proper State authority could be given to officers belonging to regiments so voting to receive and forward votes. " As it is intended that all soldiers entitled to vote shall exercise that privilege according to their own convictions of right, unmolested and unre- stricted, there will be no objection to each party sending to armies, easy of access, a number of respectable gentlemen to see that these views are fully carried out. To the army at Atlanta, and those armies on the sea-coast from Newbern to New Orleans, not to exceed three citizens of each party should be admitted." In September, a railway was completed from City Point 432 His Operations in September. [i864. to Grant's front, giving liim admirable facilities for supply- ing the army during the rainy season. It ran over a route of natuiie's grading, crossing deep ravines and ascending sharp hills. His lines were twenty miles long. He was continually feeling the enemy. Late in September, on his right, Butler threatened Richmond from the north, while on his left Ord attacked the works south of Petersburg. Ord' s negro sol- diers charged with great gallantry through the ditch and up into a fort, climbing over each other's shoulders. From the strong positions captured by both these advances, Lee desperately but vainly attempted to dislodge our troops. He retaliated* upon Grant's extreme right, driving back Kautz's cavalry, capturing artillery and prisoners ; but the infantry stopped him like a wall. Artillery firing was kept up along the entire line, though hottest in front of Petersburg, at Fort Sedgwick, which some soldiers named the ''Sore Point," and others "Fort Hell." Various expeditions were sent out, which kept the enemy anxious and harassed. The Shenandoah Valley witnessed more important opera- tions. For the last time. Early moved forward to a new position at Fisher's Hill, and Longstreet went to re-enforce liim. In obedience to a telegram from the War Depart- ment, Sheridan started to Washington for a consultation. On the way, lie received a dispatch from Wright, whom he had left in command, announcing that our olhcers had read this message going from Longstreet to Early on rebel signal flags : — " Be re;i(ly to move as soon as iny force joins you, and we will crush Sljeridun." Slicridan, though still incredulous, ordered back his cavalry — on the way to the Army of the Potomac — and instructed Wright to be very vigilant. He spent only six hours in Washington, and th(Mi started back. Early on the foggy morning of October nineteenth, the * October seventh. 1864.] Early Attacks Sheridan's Army. 433 rebels, who had crept up and spent the night within six hundred yards of Wright's unguarded front, charged, yell- ing, forward with impetuous vigor. These were not Early's demoralized men, but Longstreet's splendid sol- diers. They doubled up the Union line, swarmed into the trenches, captured the camps, with twenty-four pieces of artillery, and sent the Union troops flying down the valley for five miles. A re-enforcement was coming — a re-enforcement of one man ! Sheridan, who had slept at Winchester, twenty miles from his camp, breakfasted early, mounted his showy horse, and started leisurely for the front. Half a mile out he began to meet frightened stragglers. Telling the twenty troopers who escorted him to keep up if they could, he dashed the spurs into his coal-black steed, and flew over the ground. Larger and larger grew the sickening crowd. Without a word of anger or profanity, and without checking his charger, he swung his hat, exclaiming : — "Face the other way, boys ; face the other way. We're going back to our camps ; we're going to lick them out of their boots !" They turned back, with child-like confidence in the gen- eral, and when his foaming horse dashed into the new line which Wright had established, the troops, with one accord, gave him roaring cheers of welcome. He galloped along the front, rectifying the formation, and assuring the men : — " We're going back to our camps ; we're going to get a twist on them — the tightest twist you ever saw. We must have all those camps and guns back again." Just as the line was adjusted the pursuing enemy came up again, but was met and instantly checked by a solid line of infantry. "Thank God for that!" exclaimed Sheridan. "We'll get a tight twist on them pretty soon — the tightest twist they ever saw." This was at 3 p. m. An hour later our army moved for- ward. Early enveloped its right to strike its' flank. Sheri- dan instantly ordered a charge against the open angle, which dashed right through the enemy's line, cutting oft' and DD 434 SiiEEiDAN Arrives and Routs Him. [i864. capturing the flanking force, wliile a general advance swept back the whole rebel army, not only regaining our lost guns, but taking Early's camps, caissons, artillery, ambulances, and thousands of prisoners. Tlie country was stirred to the heart. Grant telegraphed to the Secretary of War : — " I had a salute of one hundred guns fired from each of the armies here. * * * * Turning what bid fair to be a disaster into a glorious victory, stamps Sheridan, what I have always thought him, one of the ablest of generals^ Lincoln promptly promoted him to a major-generalship in the regular army, made vacant by McClellan's resigna- tion, and publicly thanked him for ''organizing his routed army, averting a great national disaster, and achieving a brilliant victory, for the third time within thirty days." His forces never exceeded thirty thousand effectives ; but he had captured thirteen thousand prisoners during his most bril- liant campaign, with a loss of less than seventeen thousand in killed, wounded, and missing. Early's aggregate losses probably reached twenty- seven thousand men, besides one hundred pieces of artillery, many colors, a great amount of camp equipage, and thousands of small-arms. From that hour, in any public meeting in the North, Sheridan's name elicited hearty cheers. The victory made Lincoln's re-election a foregone conclusion, and checked the denunciations and slanders which had poured upon him — a torrent never equaled in American history, ex- cept by the obloquy which assailed Washington during his second term. Mrs. Grant afterward related, that though she knew Mr. Grant to be "a very firm man," and likely to fight th(j war tlirough successfully, these newspaper charges against tlie President sorely disturbed her, until she told her husband something of her fears. He replied emphati- cally : — "Lincoln is just the man of all others whom the country needs, and his defeat would be a great national calamity." "After that," said she, "I knew that it must be all right, and that my fears were groundless. I suppose the 186-1.] <1 7&4 344 6,478 185 1.177 764 844 1,458 484 249 168 60S 408 512 2 267 4 461 105 74 11,794 768 849 - 3 2,S03| 13,943 61 589 1,939 13.601 1,350 3.501 160 1,143 i.2 609 1,504 10,0.53 19| 266 601 898 1,615, 314 1,314 249, 17 483 570 3 6 16 7 9 04 2,013 1,936 2,153 2,273 2,009 610 200 1,284 1,103 730 8 394 23 647 192 153 8,761 19,485 1,622; 2.809 507 1,072 — 6T 19,911 1 82,720 "The above statement is made up from regimental records, except in the cases of general and general staff officers." War Departmknt, Adjutant-General's Office, ) Washington, May 19, 1868. J Brevet Major-General John A. Ra-wlins, Chief-of-Staff, Armies of the United States: General:— In compliance with your request of the 22d ult., I have to 494 Sheridan's Shezs^andoah Valley Losses. [is65. transmit herewith statement from the regimental records on file in this office, showing the losses sustained by the Army of the Potomac, in killed, wounded, and missing, from May 5th, 186-i, to April 9th, 1865; also state- ment from the regimental records on file, showing the losses sustained hy the Array of the James, in killed, wounded, and missing, from May 5th, 1804, to April 9th, 18G5, together with the recapitulation, showing a total of losses sustained by both armies during the period above named. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant-General. Sheridan's campaign in tlie Shenandoah Valley being also a part of the same operations, I append an official state- ment of his losses, as shown by his field returns. The regi- mental returns would reduce it materially, but were not applied for in season to have a table compiled. ^'■Losses sustamed hy the United States forces^ commanded hy Major- General P. II. Sheridan — Campaign in the Shenandoah Yal- ky, Va., 1864. COMMAND. BATTLE. DATK. 0. o B c. rt a. 5' as 1 Bixth ArmyCorpa 213 24 255 86 275 11 248 57 105 46 150 19 05 9 2; 85." 1,424 210 1,666 665 1,228 47 1,852 446 840 208 839 91 267 48 139 2.363 48 3 294 4^ 2 698 13 8 533 96 121 109 50 487 1,685 Fi.sli^T's Hill " 22 . . . October 19 September 19.... 22... October 19 Sept. 19 and 22.. October 19 October 19 September 19. . . October 9 " I'J 237 2,215 lU'counoissiinci'S niul minor 762 Nineteenth Army Corps 1,956 Kislu-r's Iliil 60 2,483 Ueconn()i8sance.s nnil minor 516 Army of West Virginia. OiKiiiKui and Fisher'.s Hill... 953 847 Ueconnoissances and minor 1,086 Oedivr Creek 281 441 57 (\d:ir C'rrek Twenty si.\ oilier anfrase- 2U 8.205 Total 1.98S 11,893 1 8.121 16,952 [Official. 1 T. W. C. MOORE, , Assistant Adjntant-Gcncr.al." Sh(M-ldan's raid froin AVinclu^ster to Petersburg, Febru- ary twenty-seventh to March twenty-sixth, I8G0, is not 18G5.] Rebel Prisoners Captured by Geant. 495 included in the above statements. His official rej^ort says, "My losses all told did not exceed one hundred." SUMMARY OF CASUALTIES IN GRANT'S ARMIES— 18G4-5. Army of tlie Potomac and James 82,720 Sheridan in Slienandoah Valley 10,952 Sheridan's Raid, Winchester to Petersburg 100 Grand Total 90,772 Exclusive of the slight loss during Sheridan' s raid, these were divided as follows : — Killed 14,601 Wounded 01,452 Missing 23,019 Lee's forces were dispersed so suddenly at last that the aggregate of their killed and wounded can only be I'eached by estimate. In 1864, Grant' s casualties in Eastern Virginia were much the greater ; but in the Shenandoah Valley Sheridan's were far less than Early's. In I860, Lee's killed and wounded, beginning with his disastrous assault upon Fort Steadman, were very largely in excess of Grant's. The complete official statements given below on another branch of the subject, are indispensable to any just judg- ment upon the comparative generalship of Grant and Lee : — "^AB Department, Adjutant-General's Offick, I Washington, May 6, ISCj. ( Brevet Major-General Jonx A. Rawlixs, Chief of Staff, Armies of the United States. Gkneral : — In reply to your inquiry of April 25, 18G8, I liave to inform you that the records of Rebel Prisoners of War, on file in tliis office, sliow that the number of prisoners captured by the Annies of the Potomac and the James, from May 1, 1864, to April 9, 1865, amounts to sixty-six thousand five hundred and twelve (66,512).* I am, General, very respectfully, your obedient servant, E. D. TowNSEND, Asst. Adjt.-Gen. IlBAD-qrAnTEKS, Mii.itauv Division of the QtTi,F, Office of tiik Cuief \ Signal Officer, New Orleans, La., Xovember 18, 1SG3. J Major-General P. H. Sheridan, U. S. Army. General: — I have the honor to report that the number of ooiUVderato prisoners received by the forces under your command, from August 1, 1864, to March 1, 1865, was about thirteen thousand (13,000). The names of * This includes captures by Sheridan's cavalry while operating witli the armies. 496 The Generalship He Displayed. [i865. nearly that number are recorded on the books recently used in the office of the proYost-marshal-general, Middle Military Division. Kespectfully submitted, E. B. Parsons, Late Provost-Marshal-General Middle Military Division* Official. T. W. C. Moore, Asst.-Adjt.-Gen'l. SUMMARY OF CAPTURES BY GRANT'S ARMIES— 1864-5. Captured by Sheridan in Shenandoah Valley, 1864 13,000 Sheridan's raid, Winchester to Petersburg, ending March 26, 1865. . 1,600 Armies of Potomac and James, May 1, 1864, to April 9, 1865 39,096 Lee's surrender, April 9, 1865 27,416 Grand Total 81,112 Grant's captures alone, after he assumed the chief com- mand, exceed eighty per cent, on the aggregate of his killed, wounded, and missing. Any reasonable estimate of the rebel killed and wounded swells Lee's losses enormously above his. Grant's military advantages lay chiefly in large superi- ority of resources in men and supplies. Lee's, in his acting on the defensive ; interior lines ; familiarity with the coun- try ; and armies fighting upon their own soil. The military student will always admire Lee's effective use of his slender means, his vigilance in divining the plans of his adversary, and his promptness and skill in throw- ing for('(^s to tlie right spot auci at the right moment, to baillc tlieni. He will also admire Grant's indomitable en- ergy, steadfast persistency, and unfaltering courage. But these will not ol)scure his higher qualities: the wonderful penetration which discovered in a modest young acting quartermaster — an unassuming lieutenant-colonel of engi- neers — and a biigadier-general of volunteers reputed crazy, three of the world' s great captains ; the unerring sagacity which intrusted to Slieridan all the cavalry in Sixty-four, and the perilous honor of the advance in Sixty-five ; the comprehensive judgment which directed every part of the masteily iinal cami)aign ; the quick perception which found the vulnerable heel tlie moment it was exposed, and turned Lee's one mistake — his remaining a little too long at Peters- 1865.] His Peeling at the Close. 497 "burg — into his irretrievalble ruin. It was simply a higher exhibition of the self-same generalship which took advan- tage of the more flagrant blunders of Pillow at Donelson, of Pemberton at Yicksburg, of Bragg at Chattanooga. The conflict ended, Grant was thoroughly satisfied, mag- nanimous, and hopeful. The conclusion of his admirable final report was an index of his feeling and his character :— " It has been my fortune to see the armies of both the West and tlie East fight battles, and from what I have seen I know there is no difference in their fighting qualities. All that it was possible for men to do in hattie they have done. The Western armies commenced their battles in the Mississippi Val- ley, and received the final surrender of the remnant of the principal army opposed to them in North Carolina. The armies of tlie East' commenced their battles on the river from which the Army of the Potomac derived its name, and received the final surrender of their old antagonist at AppoTnattox Court-House, Virginia. The splendid achievements of each have nationalized our victories, removed all sectional jealousies (of which -we have, unfortu- nately, experienced too much), and the cause of crimination and recrimina- tion that might have followed had either section failed in its duty. " All have a proud record, and all sections can well congratulate them- selves and each other for having done their full share in restoring the su- premacy of law over every foot of territory belonging to the United States. Let them hope /or perpetual peace and harmony with that enemy, whose vian- hood, however mistaken the cause^ drew forth such herculean deeds of valor y President Lincoln, arriving at AVashington after Lee' s surrender, was serenaded on the eleventh of ApYil, by an immense gathering. He responded in a conversational speech, favoring the early restoration of the rebel States to their political rights, on the bases of general amnesty, and impartial suffrage to black and white. Of a movement already begun to reorganize Louisiana, he said :— "Concede that the neAV government there is only to what it should be as the egg is to the fowl — toe shall sooner have tlie foiol hy hatching the egg than hy smash- ing it.'''' Grant reached the capital on the morning of the thir- teenth. He was extremely busy, and before night an or- der had been issued from the War Department directing Government agents to stop all drafting and recruiting, and all purchasing of ammunition, arms, and provisions. Evening brought an illumination of the public buildings HH 498 Attends a Cabinet Meeting. [i865. never equaled in Washington. The enthusiasm knew no bounds. It was the popular ratification of Lee's surren- der. At various points there were impromptu public meet- ings and speeches. At the President' s request, the General drove out with Mrs. Lincoln to look at the display. As soon as the people saw him, they gave him nine cheers, followed by nine more for Lincoln. This was repeated everywhere. The next day — the fourth anniversary of tlie capture of Fort Sumter by the rebels — was to be forever memorable in American history. The President, in unusually good spirits, breakfasted with his son Robert, listening to an account of Lee's surrender. Hearing that Schuyler Colfax was in the house, he hurried from the table to join him in the reception-room, and talked with him for an hour on his future policy. He also gave Colfax — just starting on an over- land journey to the Pacific — a written message to the miners. Then remarking that he was going to Ford' s Theater that night, to see " Our American Cousin," he asked : — " What sort of a play is that ?" Colfax replied that it was good to drive dull care away. At eleven o'clock there was the most clieerful cabinet meeting which had been held for many years. Grant was present by special invitation. All felt that the administra- tion had proved a great success, and talked over plans for the early restoration of the Soutli. Stanton made an elabo- rate argument to show that ample powers of reconstruction vested in the Executive, without tlie aid of Congress. Lincoln. — "Have you heard from Slierman ?" Grant. — "No, but I am expecting hourly a dispatch announcing Johnston's surrender." Lincoln. — "I am sure you will get important news soon." To tlie General's look of inqiiir}^ the President explained that usually before any exciting occuiTence — as Bull Run, Antit'tam, and Gettysburg — he had the same curious dream. " 1 had it again last night,'' he ccmtinued, "and, (turning to the Secretary of the Navy) it is in your line, too. I see a shij) sailing very rapidly, and it always precedes some important event." 1SG5.] Abraham Lincoln is Murdered. 499 After the meeting broke up, Grant returned to his office and to hard work. He hoped to leave that night, ma Philadelphia, for Burlington, New Jersey, where his chil- dren were at school. Mrs. Lincoln liad urged him and Mrs. Grant to accompany the President and herself and Secre- tary and Mrs. Stanton to the theater. During the day, however, Mrs. Grant packed their trunks at the hotel ; and, completing his labors just in season, the General sent a verbal message of excuse to Mrs. Lincoln, and drove with his wife to the station. It was afterward remembered that Wilkes Booth galloped beside the carriage for a few yards, looking in to see who the inmates were. Evening found the President weary, and longing to stay at home ; but it had been publicly announced that he and Grant would be present ; and, always unwilling to disap- point any one, he went to the theater. There, at half-past ten, while lie was leaning over the front of his private box, with his chin resting on his elbow and his eyes fixed upon the stage, John Wilkes Booth — one of the family of eminent actors — entered the box, shut the door behind him, and fired a revolver, with the muzzle press- ed to the back of the President's head. The ball penetrated the brain, and lodged just behind the right eye. Abraham Lincoln's head fell forward, his eyes closed, and he did not speak again. Though he lived for nine hours, he seemed to suffer no pain, and probably never knew in this world of the violence which hastened his passage to the next. The assassin struck with his dagger Major Eathbone, who attempted to restrain him ; and, shouting "aS/c semper tyrannis^'''' jumped from the box to the stage. His foot caught in the star-spangled banner which draped the fi-ont, and he fell, so spraining his ankle that ultimately his flight was crippled. The flag he hated proved the cause of his final doom. But now, springing up, he brandished his daggei-, and exclaimed, " The South is avenged !" Then, running out through the back door of the theater, he mounted his liorst*, which had been left with a boy, and galloped away toward 500 Profound Geief of the Countet. [i^es. Maryland, before the paralyzed spectators could compre- liend the great tragedy they had witnessed. At the same moment, Secretary Seward, recently thrown from his carriage, was lying in bed, with his lower jaw frac- tured and his right arm broken. Another assassin, known as Payne, entered his house, and, professing to be a messen- ger from the physician, found his way to the Secretary' s bed- side. He twice snapped a pistol at the invalid' s son, and finally flung him to the floor, fracturing his skull. He aimed three stabs at Seward's throat, cutting his face and neck terribly, but at tlie third blow the Secretar}^ of Stat<3 rolled out of bed on the farther side. Payne wounded an attendant who seized him, and then escaped, stabbing two more men who attempted to stop him. Arrangements had been perfected for murdering Grant also, but his unexpected departure frustrated them. He and Mrs. Grant, reaching Philadelphia at midnight, drove across the city in a carriage, and were taking luncheon in a little restaurant near the railway ferry, when a dispatch came from Stanton announcing the tragedy. The General went on to Burlington with his wife, and then returned to AVashington by special train. The next morning, when all the journals appeared with their columns in mourning, everywhere from ocean to ocean, business was suspended, and not only women and children, but strong men were moved to tears. Abraham Lincoln had won the hearts of the people, especially of the liumble people. No crowded city tenement was so squalid, no prairie log-cabin so rude that its inmates did not put on badge or ribl)on in mark of tlieir ])rofound sorrow. The saddest mourners were of the race lie had done so much to rede(^]n. On a West Indian island, a few months afterwai'd, ncgi-oes just from Afiica were found wi^aring on their bosoms j^hotograplis of Lincoln, and cherishing in their hearts a simple faith that he would yet return to enfranchise Ihcin. From govenimeiits and peoples in every quarter of tlu; glol)e came tributes to the memory of the great and good President, and words of sympathy to the bereaved nation. 1S65.] Frantic Demands for Severity. 601 CHAPTER XLII. THE FRENCH IN MEXICO. Before Lincoln's death, a large portion of the North — the hot blood of war doubly inflamed by the slow starvation of thousands of Union soldiers in Southern prisons — had been impatient at his mildness and lenity to the rebels. His murder brought frantic demands for severity and retaliation ; and the people congratulated themselves that Vice-Presi- dent Andrew Johnson, promoted to his vacant place by the assassin' s bullet, had "always breathed out threatenings and slaughter against rebels, and would be bloody, bold, and resolute. Grant had given his very liberal terms at Appomat- tox, partly from policy. He knew that if Lee declined them his troops could not be kept together after learn- ing their nature ; and that if he accepted, Johnston' s army also, learning their generosity, would grow clamorous for peace. He had given them partly from feeling. Like all our soldiers, he realized how fearfully the South had been punished ; and if the rebels were now willing to lay down their arms, obey the laws, and not oppress Union white men or Union black men at the South, he thought it unworth}'- of a great people to degrade or humiliate them. He wanted no more bloodshed, no vengeance, no requiring that men who had staked all should be glad that they had lost all, or manifest any sudden affection for their conquerors. The national authority restored ; those who had helped to restore it fully protected from their late foes ; and he was willing to leave the rest to the softening influences of time. But the demand of the moment that some at least of the rebel leaders be hanged "as an example to posterity," subjected him to considerable criticism. 502 Sheeman's Treaty Disappeoved. [isgs. Sherman, advancing in Nortli Carolina, received* a note from Joseph E, Johnston, looking toward a surrender. He granted an armistice, and — mindful only of President Lin- coln' s general lenity, and his recent permission to the Vir- ginia rebel legislature to convenef — agreed to articles of capitulation based upon tlie disbanding of the confederate armies, and submitting to the national authority on the one hand, and general amnesty and recognition of existing State governments in the insurgent districts on the other. These governments were Union in the States we already held — rebel in the rest. Sherman' s treaty stated upon its face that it would be null and void, unless approved by the Government. But he was confident that it would be satisfactory, and dispatched a staff- officer to Washington with a copy. The North — stirred to the heart by Lincoln' s assassina- tion ; a little dissatisfied with Grant's terms to Lee, and now in a condition to exact far severer ones — disapproved it utterly. President Johnson rejected it, and Stanton set forth the reasons in a public order, in terms needlessly offensive, and seemingly intended to disgrace — for one mis- take — the gallant and patriotic soldier who had added new luster to his country's fame, and done splendid service in her darkest liours. Grant, sent forward by the Government, reached Sher- man' s liead-quarters on the twenty-fourth of April, to in- form him that the terms Avere countermanded, and order him to resume liostilities under his own immediate super- vision. Tliougli disapproving Sherman' s conditional treaty, the Lieutenant-General had stood up manfully for him at Wasliington, and he now made this ungracious mission as agreeable as lie could. Sherman, joromptly acquiescing, demanded the surrender of Jolinston's army on tlie same terms wliich had been accorded to Lee. The demand Avas acceded to. Grant in- terfered in no details, and Johnston first learned of his presence from the indorsi^ment on the treaty : — "Approved. U. S. Grant, Lieutenant-General." * April fourteenth. f Page 475. 1865] Geant recommends Lee's Pardon-. 503 Grant established his head-quarters in Washington. On the sixth day of May he wrote to Halleck : — " Although it would meet with opposition in the North to allow Lee the benefit of amnesty, I think it would have the best possible eifect toward re- storing good feeling and peace in the South to have him come in. All the people, except a few political leaders in the South, will accept whatever he does as right, and will be guided to a great extent by his example." Lee, being afterward indicted for treason by a Virginia grand jury, the General* earnestly recommended that his application for amnesty and pardon be granted, and all similar indictments quashed. He urged : — " In my opinion, the oflBcers and men paroled at Appomattox Court- Honse, and since, upon the same terms given to Lee, can not be tried for treason so long as they observe the terms of their parole. This is my under- standing. Good faith, as well as true policy, dictates that we should observe the conditions of that convention. Bad faith on the part of the Government, or a construction of that convention subjecting the officers to trial for treason, would produce a feeling of insecurity in the minds of all the paroled officers and men. If so disposed, they might even regard such an infraction of terms by the Government as an entire release from all obligations on their part." The confederacy died hard. Sheridan, sent to knock it oflf its last legs in Texas, departed without a word of fare- well to his cavalry. Indeed, he never issued congratulatory orders, and was as little given to "the show business" as his chief. Before he reached the Southwest, however, the rebels had dispersed to their homes. The last gun in the war of the rebellion was fired in a skirmish near the Rio Grande on the thirteenth of May. On the sixteenth, the Government paroled and liberated all prisoners of war — sixt5''-tliree thousand. Those who surrendered with the various rebel commands numbered on paper one hundred and seventy-five thousand — actually about one hundred thousand. The rolls of our armies showed one million of men, of whom six hundred thousand were bearing muskets. Four months afterward, nearly five-sixths had been mustered out, and the country saw the wonderful spectacle of the quiet return of all these soldiers ♦ June sixteenth- 604 Faeewell Ordee to the Army. [isgs. to their farms and firesides, and to perfect subordination to tlie civil law. But first, Grant' s and Sherman' s armies were reviewed in Washington* by the Lieutenant-General, the President, and other high officials. It was the grandest military dis- play ever witnessed in America — perhaps in the world. Thousands of lookers-on. showered the tattered colors with flowers, and thousands of school children sang to the end- less processions of blue, ' ' When Johnny comes Marching Home," and other airs of welcome and congratulation. Banners were hung out from nearly all buildings, and the garlanded mottoes displayed : " Honor to the Brave !" " Welcome Soldiers !" and hundreds more. At the White House, the stand occupied by Johnson, Grant, and Sher- man, was festooned with starry flags, inscribed "Atlanta," "Wilderness," " Shiloh," "Vicksburg," and the rest. At the other end of the city, the bold, white wall of the capitol bore the inscription: '■''The only national debt we can never pay, is the debt we owe to the mctorious Union soldiers P ' On tlie second of June the Lieutenant-General issued this final order to the late defenders of the republic : — "Soldiers of the Akmy of the United States: — By your patriotic de- votion to your country in the hour of danger and alarm, your magnificent fighting, bravery, and endurance, you have maintained the supremacy of the Union and the Constitution, overthrown all armed opposition to the en- forcement of the laws, and of the proclamations forever abolishing slavery (the cause and pretext of the rebellion), and opened the way to the rightful authorities to restore order, and inaugurate peace on a permanent and en- during basis on every foot of American soil. " Your marches, sieges, and battles, in distance, duration, resolution, and brilliancy of results, dim the luster of the world's past military achieve- ments, and will be the patriot's precedent in defense of liberty and right in all time to come. " Tu obedience to your country's call, you left your homes and families and voliiiitfered in its defense. Victory has crowned your valor and secured tin' piirpiisc of your patriotic hearts; and with the gratitude of your coiintryriuii ami the highest honors a great and free nation can accord, you will soon be i)ermitted to return to your homes and families, conscious of having discharged the highest duty of American citizens. * May twenty-second — twenty-third. 1865.] Reception in New York. 505 " To achieve the glorious triuinpiis, and secure to yourselves, your fellow- countrymen, and posterity the blessings of free institutions, tens of thousands of your gallant comrades have fallen and sealed the priceless legacy with their lives. The graves of these, a grateful nation bedews with tears, honors their memories, and will ever cherish and support their stricken families." During the same montli, returning from a visit to West Point, Grant was the victim of a reception at the Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York. The throng was brilliant, and the long parlors decorated with tuberoses, jessamines, helio- tropes, and camellias in the form of an American flag, and inclosing the letters, " U. S. G." A writer who " assisted," pictures the scene : — "After one got safely away from the hat and badge rooms, and endured for an hour and a half the pressure of the crowd, he found himself at the door of the reception-room, on the very threshold of his desire. " Instantly he is caught by a committee-man, passed on to another, seized by a third, squeezed by a fourth, who asks his name. 'Wiggins,' he says ; ' Mr. Nichols,' says the committee-man. Guest bows to the General, but finds himself pushed in front of Mrs. Grant, who smiles, partly at his awkwardness, partly to reassure him. Before he fairly knows who he is, ■where he is, or what he is about, he is passed on by a deputation of excited committee-men—' Come now, my dear sir, hurry up, pass on ; this is no time for little speeches ' — and, embarrassed, perplexed, discomfited, and in every way miserable, on he goes. "In front of the flowers stood General Grant, with committees about him like bees about a lump of sugar. In front stretched the multitude, shouting, jostling, hot, tired, cross, and excited, bothered and badgered, pushed and pulled by the infelicitous committee. Some pious people offered prayers for the General as they passed. Others took tlie opportunity to make little speeches, such as, ' I'm so glad to see you. God bless and pre- serve you many years. This is my eldest son, William Mason— Willie, tell General Grant the little prayer you say for him every night.' Willie attempts, but is passed on by the relentless officials." Grant had been tried thus far in leading troops person- ally in the field ; in having the sole direction of a million of soldiers in a dozen different armies between the Atlantic and the Rocky Mountains ; and in counseling the Government- only when asked— upon its military and civil policy. Cir- cumstances now brought out, in unmistakable form, his views upon our foreign relations. 506 SiiETiiDAisr ON Mexican Affairs. [i8C5. Through the Pacific States a war to expel the troops of Louis Napoleon, who had invaded Mexico to establisli an imperial government, would have been universally popular. The whole nation, keenly felt that its traditional policy would never have been thus defied, that no foreign power would have ventured to interfere in affairs on this conti- nent, but for our weakness during the rebellion. Several leading spirits of the late confederacy now mi- grated to Mexico, and attempted to take many followers. Sheridan had voluminous correspondence with his chief on the subject : — New Orleans^ June fourth — Sheridan to Grant — Telegram. "There has been a great deal of discussion on the subject of going to Mexico, and there is an undoubted intention on the part of many to go. Some are for tlie imperial side and some for the liberals, and there is a very bad element in Texas. In view of the foregoing, which is unfavorable to quiet, peaceful pursuits, and to the fact that I have always believed that Max- imilian's advent into Mexico was a part of the rebellion, I will advise that a strong force be put into Texas, and will order the Fourth Corps there as soon as sea transportation can be prepared. Steele is off with his command to the Eio Grande, and Granger will get off as soon as transports ordered by the quartermaster-general get to Mobile. * * * This may seem like employ- ment of a large force, to you, but it is always best to go strong-handed. The imperial lists are strengthening at Matamoras now, and, according to reports, the confederate property at Brownsville, including fourteen pieces of artil- lery, has been taken across the river to that place." On the thirteenth Sheridan reported that without the Fourth Corps he should soon have in Texas thirty-two thousand soldiers, and added : — "To support a larger number of men in Texas will be very expensive, and I think, on due reflection, that the order for the Fourtli Corps had bet- ter be countermanded, unless our affairs are liable to become complicated with the imperial government of Mexico. I do not know -whether this may occur or not. My own opinion is, and has been, that Maximilian should leave that country, and that his establishment there was a part of the rebel- lion. My doubt as to the intention of the Government leads me to ask of the Lieutenant-General the decision as to whether the Fourth Corps will be sent or not." Washington, June fifteenth — Rawlins to Sheridan — Telegram. " The Fourth Corps is under orders for Texas, and the orders will not he revoked.'''' 1865.] Graj^t's Letter to the President. 507 * June fifteenth — Grant to Sheridan — Telegram. "Demand of the commander of French forces at Matamoras the delivery to an officer of the Government of the United States, the return of all arms and other munitions of war taken to Matamoras by tlie rebels, or obtained from tlieni since the date' of the surrender of Kirby Smith. You need not proceed to hostilities to obtain them, but report the reply received for fur- ther instructions." June nineteenth — Grant to Stanton. " Inclosed I send you a letter addressed to the President, on the subject of Mexican affairs, which I respectfully request to be laid before him. " The statement that French troops have fired upon our troops, in aid of the rebellion, is taken from a published letter from a member of an Indiana regiment. The statement of the sale of arms to French troops is from Gen- eral Steele's dispatch of the tenth of June. "My time is so occupied that I have not been able to draw up the in- closed letter with the care and pains to get at the exact facts, that I would like. The object, however, is to get this matter before the President and Cabinet in such a manner as to induce them to give the matter that study and attention its importance requires. This done, I shall feel confident that a course will be pursued, creditable to the country and people, to secure our rights on this continent." The following is the Lieutenant-General' s entire letter to the President — a striking example of his compact, forcible, luminous style : — "The great interest which I feel in securing an honorable and perma- nent peace, whilst we still have in service a force sufficient to insure it, and the danger and disgrace which, in my judgment, threaten us, unless positive and early measures are taken to avert it, induces me to lay my views before you in an official form. " In the first place, I regard the act of attempting to establish a monarcliical government on this continent in Mexico, by foreign bayonets, as an act of hostility against the Government of the United States. If allowed to go on until such a government is established, I see nothing before us but a long, expensive, and bloody war; one in which the enemies of this country will be joined by tens of thousands of disciplined soldiers, embittered against their government by the experience of the last four years. "As a justification for open resistance to the establishment of Maximil- ian's government in Mexico, I would give the following reasons : — " First. — The act of attempting to establish a monarchy on this continent was an act of known hostility to the Government of the United States; was protested against at the time, and would not have been undertaken but for the great war which was raging, and which it was supposed by all the great 608 His Hostility to the Fkencii Invasion. [isgs. powers of Europe, except, possibly, Russia, would result in the dismember- ment of the country, and the overthrow of republican institutions. " Seco?id.- — Every act of the empire of Maximilian has been hostile to the Government of the United States. Matamoras, and the whole Rio Grande, under his control, has been an open port to those in rebellion against tliis Government. It is notorious that every article held by the rebels for export was permitted to cross the Rio Grande, and from there go unmolested to all parts of the world, and they in return to receive in pay all articles, arms, munitions of war, &c., they desired. Rebels in arms have been allowed to take refuge on Mexican soil, protected by French bayonets. French soldiers have fired on our men from the south side of the river, in aid of the rebel- lion. Officers, acting under the authority of the would-be empire, have re- ceived arms, munitions, and other public property from the rebels, after the same had become the property of the United States. It is now reported, and I think there is no doubt of the truth of the report, that large organized and armed bodies of rebels have gone to Mexico to join the imperialists. It is further reported, and too late we will find the report confirmed, that a contract or agreement has been entered into with Dr. Gwinn, a traitor to his country, to invite into Mexico armed immigrants, for the purpose of wrenching from the rightful government of that country. States never con- trolled by tlie imperialists. It will not do to remain quiet, and theorize that by showing a strict neutrality all foreign force will be compelled to leave Mexican soil. Rebel immigrants to Mexico will go with arms in their hands. They will not be a burden upon the States, but, on the contrary, will become producers, always ready, when emergency arises, to take up their arms in defense of the cause they espouse. That their leaders will espouse the cause of the empire, purely out of hostility to this Government, I feel there is no doubt. There is a hope that the rank and file may take the opposite side, if any influence is allowed to work upon their reason. But if a neutrality is to be observed which allows armed rebels to go to Mexico, and which keeps out all other immigrants, and which also -denies to the liberals of Mexico belligerent rights, the right to buy arms and munitions in foreign markets and to transport them through friendly territory to their homes, I see no chance for such influence to be brought to bear. " "What I would propose would be a solemn protest against the establish- ment of a monarchical government in Mexico by the aid of foreign bayonets. If the French have a just claim against Mexico, I would regard them as hav- ing triumphed, and would guarantee tliem suitable award for their grievances. Mexico would no doubt admit their claim, if it did not aflect their territory or rights as a free people. "The United States could take such pledges as would secure her against loss. How all this could be done without bringing on an armed conflict, others vviio have studied such matters could tell better tlian I. " If this course can not bo agreed upon, then I would recognize equal belligerent rights to both parties. I would interpose no obstacle to the 1865.] ShEKIDA]^- LoN"GS TO CROSS THE RlO GrANDE. 509 passage into Mexico of emigrants to that country. I would allow either party to buy arms, or any thing we have to sell, and interpose no obstacle to their transit. " These views have been hastily drawn up, and contain but little of what might be said on the subject treated of. If, however, they serve to bring the matter under discussion, they will have accomplished all that is de- sired." Sheridan's subsequent dispatches from New Orleans show his healthy state of mind on this question, and also how narrowly the country escaped a foreign war. On the twenty-ninth of June, writing the chief-of- staff at Washing- ton that he had collected "two of the handsomest columns of cavaliy that have been organized diuing the war," he concluded : — "I have had many difBculties and delays in getting these cavalry columns together and in their magnificent trim, but I am now out of the woods, and only hope that I may have the pleasure of crossing the Rio Grande with them, with our faces turned toward the city of Mexico. " There is no use to beat around the bush in this Mexican matter. We should give a permanent government to that republic; our work in crushing the rebellion will not be done until this takes place. The advent of Maxi- milian was a portion of the rebellion, and his fall should belong to its history. * * * * Most of the Mexican soldiers of Maximilian's army would throw down their arras the moment we crossed the Rio Grande. " The French influence has governed by their impudence." Jnly first. — Sheridan to Grant. — Telegram. " General Steele has been directed to make a demand for the steamer Lucy Given on the French authorities, and, if not given up, to get her the best way he can. As soon as Generals Merritt and Ouster get to the Rio Grande the other public property will be taken wherever found. The ras- cality of the Rio Grande frontier is beyond solution, on intermediate grounds, where there is no government and a questionable protectorate. It is due to the history of our country that this portion of the late rebellion should be crushed out in a manly way, and with the power of a great nation — as a contrast to this French subterfuge to assist in the attempt to ruin our country." July fourteenth. — Sheridan to Grant. — Telegram. *' General Steele notified me yesterday evening that Maximilian has di- rected Mejia to give up the battery of artillery, ammunition, wagons, animals, and ammunition, and that it would be turned over on the ninth of this month. 610 Another steong Letter from Grant. [isgs. "There is a stampede on the part of the Franco-Mexicans. Camargo has been evacuated. The garrison marched down to Mataraoras with large cotton trains. This cotton is United States cotton, stolen under the auspices of the French commandant. General Steele notifies me that the command of Gene- ral Shelby which escorted the cotton agent of Texas, Governors Murrah, Clark, and Allen, Generals Smith, Magruder, and others, had with it three pieces of artillery, forty wagon-loads of Enfield rifles, and a large wagon train. He has some doubt of the correctness of this report, but I do not doubt it but very little myself. Cortinas has made application for his artillery, which is at Brownsville (three pieces), and I have directed it to be quietly turned over to him. This was the understanding when it was left at Brownsville. Gen- eral Steele also notifies me that they are nearly starved out in Matamoras." Galena^ Illinois, September first. — Grant to the President. " Seven weeks' absence from Washington, and free intercourse with all par- ties and classes of people, has convinced me that there is but one opinion as to the duty of the United States toward Mexico, or rather the usurpers in that country. All agree, that besides a yielding of the long-proclaimed Monroe doctrine, non-intervention in Mexican affairs will lead to an expen- sive and bloody war hereafter or a yielding of territory now possessed by us. To let the empire of Maximilian be established on our frontier, is to permit an enemy to establish himself who will require a large standing army to watch. Military stations will be at points remote from supplies, and there- fore expensive to keep. The trade of an empire will be lost to our com- merce, and Americans, instead of being the most favored people of the world tliroughout the length and breadtli of this continent, will be scoffed and laughed at by their adjoining neighbors, both north and south — the people of the British provinces and of Mexico. " Previous communications have given ray views on our duty in the mat- ter liere spoken of, so that it is not necessary that I should treat the subject at any length now. Conversations witli you liave convinced me that you think about it as I do; otlierwise I should never have taken the liberty of writing in this manner. I have had the opportunity of mingling more inti- mately witli all classes of comnmnity than the Executive can possibly have, and my object is to give you the benefit of what I have heard expressed. " I would have no hesitation in recommending that notice be given the French that foreign troops must be withdrawn from the continent, and the peojde left free to govern themselves in tlieir own way. I would openly sell on credit to the government of Mexico, all the amnninition and clothing they want, and aid them with ofl^cers to command troops. In fine, I would take siicli measures as would secure the supremacy of republican govern- ment in Mexico. " I hope you will excuse me for tiie free manner in wliicli I address you. I but s|K.'ak my honest convictions, and then with tlie full belief that a terri- ble strife in this country is to be averted by prompt action in this matter with Mexico." 1865.] "Where none can follow you." 511 CHAPTER XLIII. LAURELED. In June a grand fair began in Chicago for the benefit of of disabled soldiers and tlieir families. During the previ- ous February Mesdames Livermore and Hoge, leaders in the movement, begged President Lincoln to be present, that he might help kindle enthusiasm, let his old Illinois friends see him, and get a little rest. " Rest !" he replied with a smile ; "go to a fair to rest! I did that once at Philadelphia. Crowds were at every station all expecting a speech, and then cheering until we were out of hearing. I could not refuse to speak to the people, they were so loyal, and I knew it was because I represented the country for which they had suffered so much and so willingly that they wished to see and to hear me. When we got to the fair, our promised haven of rest, it was worse than ever. And oh, oh ! tlie shaking of hands ! I came home pleased and gratified, but worn out worse than before I went." The ladies answered that he would find even greater en- thusiasm in Chicago, but added : — " We will put you on a steamer upon the border of the lake, where the people can look at you but can t touch you. Your hands shall be protected, and then we will send you to a quiet place of rest where none can follow you. You shall go to Mackinaw, that invigorating and lovely island, and none shall be permitted to trouble you." Lincoln (rubbing his hands and laughing like a child). — "That's capital ; that will do !" Long before the fair began he was borne through Chicago, where the people " could look at him, but could not touch him," to that quiet place where none can follow. A promise to be present for a day or two had been 512 Geant at the Chicago Fair. [isc5. extorted from Grant. Mrs. Slierman asking liira to contrib- ute sometliing, lie placed at lier disposal "Old Jack," the cream-colored liorse which he rode from the beginning of the war until after Chattanooga. Old Jack was a hero at the fair, and finally fell into the hands of a Chicago patriot, being raffled off for a thousand dollars. His fate was better than that of Washington's favorite white charger, sold by his master whom he had carried safely through the war for independence. The proceeds from Old Jack went to the widows and orphans of the soldiers ; the pay for the Revo- lutionary charger into the private pocket of his master. Reaching Chicago, Grant found a countless multitude waiting at the station, with Old Jack ready saddled and bridled. The people insisted that the General should ride Mm through the streets. He had no spurs, and the hard- ened steed was impervious to the whip, but he jogged along, the throng rending the heavens with their cheers, while a hundred guns gave thundering welcome. At Union Hall, as Grant entered, the shouts of ten thousand people drowned the "Red, White, and Blue" from the band. When lie stepped upon the j)latform they were renewed ; and among the booths through all that vast space, ladies were waving their handkerchiefs and men swinging and flinging up their hats. Hooker presided, and introduced the General, who said : — "Ladies and Gentlemen: As I never made a speech myself, I will ask Governor Yates to return the thanks which I should, fail to express." Yates did so, in fervid, ringing words. Sherman, next called for, merely replied : — "lam here to-day to listen. I am not going to make an}'' sjieech whatf'vcr. Always r(\id3% always willing, al- ways pi'oiid to do any tiling the Lieutenant-General asked me to do, 1 know lie never asked me to make a speech." (Cheers and laughter.) Grant. — " No, I never asked a soldier to do any thing I coukl not do myself." (Great applause.) After the cheers subsided, the immense audience sang "Rally round the Flag, boys," and then called for Mrs. 1865.] He visits New England and Canada. 513 Grant and Mrs. Sherman, wlio stepped forward on tlie plat- form and received the same hearty welcome. Tlie fair excited great interest throughout the Northwest. Its proceeds exceeded a quarter of a million of dollars. One of its curiosities was the revolver which Jefferson Davis had in his hand when captured — a relic that the soldiers re- garded with grim smiles. Another was the historic eagle of the Eighth "Wisconsin Infantry, which, having survived the perils of the war, is maintained at the public expense in the State-House yard at Madison. Fifteen thousand dol- lars' worth of his photographs were sold. A third was a characteristic letter from Abraham Lincoln to a St. Louis lady, in reply to a request for his autograph. It ran : — " Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if it should be God's will that it should continue until all the wealth piled up by the bondman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited labor shall be sunk, and every drop of blood drawn by the lash shall be paid by another drawn by the sword, as was said three thousand years ago so still it must be said, ' the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.'" Grant returned to Washington. In July he went to Saratoga, and from there to Boston, which he had not seen for thirteen years. He passed a quiet Sunday, attend- ing worship at the Old South Church of Revolutionary memory. On Monday a grand reception was given him at Faneuil Hall. He visited Harvard University, which, as in duty bound, had already conferred upon him the honorary degree of doctor of laws. At Lowell he spent several hours in the largest factory in America, which employs two thou- sand workmen and workwomen. He was mu(;h interested in the large library ; the pleasantness of the long, well- ven- tilated rooms ; the tasteful dress and cheerful looks of the girls ; and, above all, the curious, intricate machinery, par- ticularly that for cutting dies and that for printing calico. He tarried a few days in Maine, and then making a tour through Canada, started for his old home on tlie upper Mississippi. Everywhere crowds gathered to meet him, and as he neared Galena the enthusiasm was unboundcnl. When the train arrived there, cannons were booming, bands u 514 "Captain Grajtt" returns to Galena. [i865. playing, flags flying, and thousands of human throats lustily cheering. Among other stanch friends who greeted him, was H. II. Houghton, of the Galena Gazette^ the oldest edi- tor in Illinois, the first to commend Grant at the outset of the war, and the truest through all his days of trial. An arch spanned one street bearing the inscription wreathed with flowers, "General, tlie sidewalk is built.''' The people had j^resented to him a completely furnished house,— costing sixteen thousand dollars — first huilding a new sidewalk half a mile to the station. At the De Soto House, from which streamed two hundred flags, a triumphal arch overspread the main street. One side was inscribed : — " WELCOME TO OUR CITIZEN". Weldon Railroad, Fair Oaks, Wilderness, Petersburg, Eichraond, Five Forks." The other bore the words : — "hail to the chief who in triumph advances. Belmont, Lookout Mountain, Donelson, Chattanooga, Shiloh, Vicksburg, Corinth, Appomattox Court-IIouse." Through the surging crowd Grant was escorted past tlie old leather store, and under the arch, from whicli thirty- six young girls, each bearing the national colors and repre- senting a State of the Union, showered him with bouquets. From a ])latform near it, a speech of welcome was fitly made by AVasliburne. The Reverend J. H. Vincent replied for the Lieutenant-General, thanking his old neighbors, and saying that the duties of his otficial position compelled him, as long as he held it, to remain in Washington ; but that he regarded Galena as his home, and, please God, should be there as much and as often as possible. The formal welcome ov(^r, he and his family Avei'e driven to the new home. Our views of it and the other houses upon the same page are all from photographs. In front of the Washington residrigadier-(jrcneral W. T. Clarke, accompanied by Colonel Mejia, of the liberal army, has just arrived from the Rio Grande. They report as fol- lows: — General Mejia made a proposition to General Weitzel to turn over Matamoras for the sum of two hundred thousand dollars, and a guaranty of protection to the city Avhcn occupied by the Liberal forces. This money was about to be raised, and the city turned over to Colonel Mejia, of the Liberal army, but it appears that General IL Clay Crawford arrived, and, learning the condition (jf tilings, offered General Mejia a greater sum, and broke oil" tlie whole utTair, and has p\it things in a regular muss. He then ptarted lor General Escobedo's camp, but couriers from Colonel Mejia at IJrownsville preceded him to warn General Escobedo to have nothing to do with him. I think that General Mejia will give up Matamoras if the thing is 1865.] Grant's Instrttctioxs to Siieridax. 519 well managed, and General Clarke and Colonel Mejia say that General Mejia is only waiting their return from N"ew Orleans. " The presence of Crawford, and his assertions that he is acting under the authority of President Johnson, embarrasses me much. Can you give me any instructions ? I think it best to make a short trip over to the Rio Grande, if you do not object. Two hundred and eighty Austrians have ar- rived at Matamoras ; that is all. Please answer quickly." December sixteenth. — Grant to Sheridan. — Telegram. " I will see the President, and give you a full answer to your dispatch relating to aifairs on the Rio Grande as soon as I can." December nineteenth. — Grant to Sheridan. " Dear General : — After my dispatch to you of the sixteenth instant, I saw the President, and showed him yours to which mine was an answer. I can say this after consultation : The President, as well as the whole country, is interested in the liberal cause in Mexico. It can not, the way relations now stand, be given as a direct order that commanders shall take part either in battles, or in agreements between belligerents, as to what protection or guaranty tlie Government will give to either in any case. But there is no extradition treaties existing between the United States and any other govern- ment which requires the giving up of belligerents to their enemies. " Officers of tlie army on the Rio Grande should, officially, be neutral in the same sense that belligerents on the other side of the river have been when we were in trouble. Their sympathies are their own, and they alone are responsible for them. " Many rebels are supposed to have crossed the Rio Grande to join their fortunes with those of the empire. It can not be expected of us that we will keep up a police force on that river to prevent persons, who uuiy possibly take up the opposite side, from crossing. " I think a visit from you to the Rio Grande at this time will do good. If you go, let me hear from you, on your return, the situation. " It is not improbable that Congress will, before the end of the session, take decided measures on our affairs in Mexico, and demand the withdrawal of all foreign troops from her soil. I hope so, at least." December twenty -eighth. — Sheridan to Rawlins^ Chief -of -Staff. "On the twenty-sixth of November! telegraphed to the Lieutenant-Gen- eral about the emigration scheme of Louis Napoleon in Mexico, at the head of which was Captain Maury, Sterling Price, and Genei-al John B. Magrnder ; that I had the commissioner for the State of Louisiana, and that I would forward his commission, which was then en route to him. '' I have since received said commission, and respectfully forward it with accompanying papers for the information of the Government. 520 "This Rebel Emigration Scheme." [isgg. " I have notified Mr, Dennis, the commissioner, that I will not permit him to act under this commission, and respectfully request an approval or disap- proval of this action, as I feel convinced that I may at any time be subjected to the test of practically preventing emigrants from going to the valley of Mexico in the interests of a power not friendly to our country." January tenth, 1806. — Bowers to Sheridan. " I am directed by Lieutenant-General Grant to acknowledge the receipt of your communication of date December twenty-eighth, 1865, in relation to the Franco-Mexican Emigration scheme, and to say to you in reply that your orders in this matter meet his approval, and that you are authorized and directed to execute your suggestions respecting emigrants by force of arms if necessary." February seventh. — Sheridan to Grant. "As I had anticipated in my communication of December twenty-eighth to you, on the subject of emigration to the Valley of Mexico, I am now called upon to practically put a stop to it. I find throughout most of the Southern States an intention on the part of a large class, to go to the valley of Mexico. Some have already arrived at New Orleans, and I hear of a great deal of excitement throughout the South on the subject. " Under your letter of January tenth I have stopped those who have already arrived here. Tliey are all very bitter against the Government, and say that they will not live under our flag, &c. Unless the Government is firm in this question, there will be a large party to back Maximilian in Mexico in the course of a year from this time, and if the scheme is not broken up, every act of our Government which is distasteful to these people, M'ill cause a fresh exodus to Mexico. " This rebel emigration scheme looks to me as if it was conceived by Louis Napoleon. " Only at fiiw days ago I received a letter from the city of Mexico, stating the hostility of all classes to Maximilian, and their sympathy with the people from the United States." 1866.] The Richmond "Examinee" Suppressed. 521 CHAPTER XLIV. " MY POLICY." The Ulclimond Examiner^ one of the ablest and bitterest journals in the South, published a number of editorials utterly inadmissible in a region under military rule. It -was accordingly suppressed, and under the Lieutenant-General's directions this order was issued"^ to department military commanders in the South : — " You will please send to these head-quarters (as soon as practicable, and from time to time thereafter) such copies of newspapers published in your department as contain sentiments of disloyalty and hostility to the Govern- ment in any of its branches, and state whether such paper is liabitual in its utterances of such sentiments. The persistent publication of articles cal- culated to keep up hostility of feeling between the people of different sections of the country can not be tolerated. This information is called for with a view to their suppression, which will be done from these head- quarters only." The editor of the Examiner asked that the disability might be removed from his paper. Grant indorsed the petition : — " The course of the Examiner^ in every number which I have seen, has been such as to foster and increase the ill-feeling toward the Government of the United States by the discontented portion of the Southern people. I believe it to be for the best interests of the whole people, North and South, to suppress such utterances whenever the power exists to do so. The power certainly does exist wlien martial law prevails, and will be exercised. Re- luctant as I was to pursue this course, I have felt it my duty to pursue it in this instance ; and, as much as I dislike to interfere with the interests of individuals, I would deem it improper and mischievous in tendency to revoke the order for the suppression of the Richmond Examiner at this time." But the editor induced President Johnson to annul it, npon the promise that the paper should " support the Union, ♦ February seventeenth. 522 Joii:s"so]sr removes the Disability. [issg. the Coustitution and laws, and the policy of your adminis- tration.'^ Of the Lieutenant-General he wrote : — " He said to me expressly that, if lie had the authority, he would that day suppress the ^Tew York News^ the Cincinnati Enquirer^ and tlie Chicago Times, adding that the 'Copperhead papers of the North,' as he designated them, were doing quite as much harm as the i^apers in the South. Deriv- ing no satisfaction from him, I was forced to appeal to the President, giving him the pledge contained in the letter above. It was written during my last interview with the President, and in his own office." The military supervision of newspapers in the late insur- gent districts, however, proving impracticable, Grant soon revoked the order requiring it. After taking up his residence in Washington, he one day handed to young Bowers, of his staff, the key of a tastefully furnished room, saying : — "Joe, I want you to consider this yours. Don't feel obliged to become one of the family unless you choose ; but the room will always be kept for you, and there will always be a plate for you at the table." The aide, greatly touched by this kindness, lived at the house from that time. Early in March the General, solicitous for the health of Bowers, who was working very hard, took him on a visit to West Point. As they started home. Bowers, attempting to spring upon the train after it was in motion, fell between two cars and was killed. His modesty, efficiency, and worth had won greatly upon his chief, who was deex)ly afflicted by his loss. The House of Representatives reported a bill reviving the grade of " General of the Army of the United States" • — never held by any American except Washington, and now intended, not as a permanent rank, but only for Grant, its terms providing : — "Whenever any general shall have been appointed and conmiissioned under the jjrovisions of this act, if thereafter the othce shall become vacant, this act shdll thereupon expire and remain no longer in force.'''' It called out a good deal of rambling discussion. Henry C. Deming, of the military committee, elaborately advocated the measure. He explained that under it the whole yearly 1S65.] The "Gteneral" Bill ix Congress. 523 pay of the appointee would amount to seventeen thousand six hundred and fort}" doUars. The proper command of a brigadier-general was a brigade ; of a major-general a division ; of a lieutenant-general a corps ; and of a general an army. Almost every civilized nation had a marshal or a general at the head of its military organization. Prussia, had thirty-four generals, and two field marshals ; Austria, forty-two generals and three field marshals ; England, sixty-eight generals and five field marshals ; and France, eleven field marshals. In his stroll down the broad aisle of history, Deming paused to glance at Sesostris, Rameses, the Pharaohs, Miltiades, Theniistocles, Aristides, Epaminondas, Cfesar, Hannibal, and Charlemagne.* England, he said, gave to Marlborough five hundred thousand pounds, a stately palace and a dukedom ; and to Wellington over nine hun- dred thousand pounds exclusive of his salaries. On the evening of receiving the news of Waterloo, parliament voted him one hundred thousand pounds and an annuity of two thousand. The orator pronounced Grant's labors in the bayous, creeks, rivers, and canals about Vicksburg : — " Without parallel in resistance to natural obstacles, unless the parallel is found in the memorable expedition of Xerxes into the Peloponnesus, which channeled Mount Athos and bridged tlie Hellespont. * * * Di(j ]ie not push his transports through an iron liail compared with which the full blast of Gibraltar or Cherbourg would be comparatively harmless?" All the substance of the speech was good sense and pro- priety ; through all its language, the national " eloquence " rioted in illustrious exuberance. It closed : — "Time, it is said, devours the proudest human memorial. The impress we have made as a nation may be obliterated ; our grandest achievements, even those which we now fondly deem eternal, those which embellish the walls of that historic rotunda, may all drop from the memory of man ; our civilization, liberty, arts, agriculture, though sculptured in the pedimenta of this capitol, may all be ingulfed in Lethe's dark waters ; this massive structure, with its solid foundations, expanded wings, towering columns, and bubbling dome may all be buried with our Constitution, Government, laws, and polity, in a common grave. Yet we shall not all perish. You may * Couplet, page 303. 624 Grant Appoiistted to the Position, [18G6. rest assured tluit three American names tcill survive ohlivion, and soar to- gether immortnl: the name of him who founded, the name of him who dis- enthralled^ with the name of him who saved the reputlic.'''' After tributes to tlie General, from members of botli par- ties, and one vehement protest against our emulating "the effete monarchies of Europe" in hero-worship, the bill passed, one hundred and sixteen to eleven. In the Senate the chief eulogist was Ex- Governor Yates, of Illinois, who had signed Grant's commission as colonel. Yates said : — " Lincoln wisely read the nation's will in committing to him the com- mand of all our armies, and particularly of the unlucky but heroic Army of the Potomac, which, baffled but not beaten, had stood for long years like a wall of fire against the assaults of treason. And here, again, victory followed the invincible Grant, and in a series of battles more bloody than. "Waterloo, more brilliant than Austerlitz, he displayed the sterling qualities of the great commander. * * * j(; -^y^s the two-handed sword of Cceur de Lion against the flashing cimeter of the Paladin ; it was the ax of the Norseman, thundering on the light shield of the 8axon, or the Celt." The Senate concurred nearly unanimously. Grant was appointed General, and Sherman promoted to the lieutenant- generalship, thus made vacant. Wonderfully had the chief been educated by the great school, to which his mind is so peculiarly adapted — the school of experience. Could the Grant of Fort Don- elson have won Vicksburg, or Chattanooga? Could the Grant who crossed the E,aj)idan on the fourth of May, 1864, have conducted the crowning campaign which ended at Appomattox Court-House, and which will stand forever a monunicnt of military genius ? After he became Lieutenant- General, the Government never took any important steps even in civil matters, with- out first invoking liis counsel. Men whose lives had been devoted to practical political science, were astonished to see how readily his quick intuitions, clear scmse, and sagacious judgment of men, adapted themselves to civil affairs. He did not attempt to master the contents of books, but read carefully all the great New York journals. A friend ftsked : — 1866.] Massacke of Ukiontsts i^s" ISTew Ohleaxs. 525 " HoAY can you ? /only find time to glanjoe at the summa- ry of news, to see that I have missed nothing important." Grant. — "I read the papers through, and then the sum- mary to make sure that I have overlooked nothing." He added, that at his time of life he could not l^egin to devote himself much to books ; hence his anxiety to read all sides of every living question. Few men, indeed, are so minutely informed upon every current event. On the twenty-first of July, Sheridan, in a dispatch to the chief-of-staff, intimated his delight that the invaders of Mexico were coming to grief : — \ " I find it necessary to go over the Rio Grande frontier for six days. Since tlie surrender of Matamoras, there is the diadle to pay over in Mexico. The empress is on her way to Vera Cruz to leave the country, and there are general indications of a break-up or a stampede of the most alarming char- acter. Fears are entertained of the ability of the French troops to get out of the country." ]\Ieanwhile, most serious troubles arose in Sheridan' s de- partment. The late rebels, encouraged by the recreancy of President Johnson, wreaked terrible revenges upon loyal men. A Union State Convention reassembled in New Or- leans* to change the Louisiana Constitution. Being certain to inaugurate negro suffrage, it was extremely obnoxious to the rebel element. John T. Munroe, mayor of the city, un- der a thin disguise encouraged violence. During the first morning of the convention, the march of a negro procession to its hall was made the pretext for an outbreak, in which the police and the citizens committed wholesale murders. A hundred persons were killed or wounded. Sheridan, on returning from Texas, dispatchedf to Grant : — "* =^ '^ It was no riot. It was an absolute massacre by the police, which was not excelled in murderous cruelty by that of Fort Pillow. It was murder, which the mayor and police of the city perpetrated without the shadow of necessity. Furthermore, I believe it was premeditated, and every indication points to this." The General replied the next day : — " Continue to enforce martial law so far as may be necessary to preserve * July thirtieth. f August second. 526 The North Flames with Wrath. [issg. the peace, and do not allow any of the civil authorities to act if you deem such action dangerous to the puhlic safety. Lose no time in investigat- ing and reporting the causes that led to the riot and the facts which occurred." The North flamed with wrath. Hitherto republicans had regretted Andrew Johnson's hostility to the reconstruction policy of Congress, but remembering his fidelity to the Union during the rebellion, regarded him vnih. personal kindness. Now, his intemperate language, his intrusting of power to unrepentant rebels, and the insubordination he had fanned into this massacre, excited sternest indignation. Being invited to assist at the dedication of a monument to the memory of Stephen A. Douglas, near Chicago, John- son seemed to believe that by making the journey and de- fending his course orally to the people, he could regain his lost popularity. Grant, thus far, had given no public intimation whether his sympathies were with Congress or the President. Both sides claimed liim ; both were impatient at his silence. But, wisely comprehending that he would set the worst possible example to military subordinates by mingling in the pas- sionate struggle of the hour, he refused to speak until speak- ing became an absolute duty. The army had just been reorganized. Officers, from colonels down to second lieutenants, were to be appointed for twenty six regiments. The President, wishing to avail himself of the General' s popularity, had already asked him to join in the tour to Chicago. When Grant and Stanton selected the new list of officers, Johnson, though desiring to indicate several himself, graciously said : — " I have no objection to any of these men, but here are two ap])ointments which I must make. Strik<^ out any two names and ins(M-t these, and yon shall have all tlie rest." Tlie naming of the entire list rested with him, and this was far more liberal than Lincoln or any otlier President had ever l)een. Tlien taking (Jrant aside, he repeated the request for liis company. Tliough fully aware of the design to claim that his political sympathies were with the Executive, the General would not refuse after this marked 1866] "Swinging 'round the Chicle." 527 kindness • but participated in " swinging 'round the cir- cle." ^^ Johnson, Grant, Farragut, Seward, Welles, Randall, Romero, minister from the Mexican Republic, Rawlins, and two senators left Washington on the twenty-eighth of August, and were received by immense throngs along their route. New York gave them a formal reception in the City Hall and a grand banquet at Delmonico's, whicli cost the city one hundred dollars per plate. Johnson made long speeches defending "My policy" ; Grant and Farragut only bowed to the crowds which shouted for them. When the party visited the Central Park, the G(^neral asked his driver to lot him take the reins, and then ban- tered the President for a race. Johnson accei)ted by proxy, leaving the ribbons with his Jehu, and the two teams ran for a mile, to the wonder of the spectators on the grounds. Grant finally left his competitor behind, and Johnson rose in his carriage and lifted his hat in recog- nition. The lively scene was peculiarly American. Stopping at West Point and Albany, the party reached Auburn, the home of Seward, on the evening of the thirty- first. In the throng at the station a little boy elbowed his way to shake hands witli Grant, but afterward fell under a wheel, which shattered his leg. The chief's sympathies were so kindled that he drove \^dth the Surgc^on -General to the lad' s home ; saw that he was properly cared for, and bade him write to him after recovering, as perhaps he might be of service. At each stopping place, Johnson, in stentorian voice and rounded periods, begged liis hearers to pity the sorrows of a poor old man whose trembling political limbs had borne liim to their door ; and rehearsed his sacrifices and perils for the Union, always closing in substance or in language : — "Take the flag, take the Constitution, take the Union into your hands. In your hands they are safe." Soon after they passed Buffalo, Grant, thoroughlj' dis- * This expression, used by Johnson in one of his popular harangues, ticivled the pubhc ear, and for llie next two years was a favorite bit of slang in American newspapers and conversation. 528 Johnson's Violent Haeangues. [i866. gusted at his gross vituperations of Congress and leading republicans, said to a friend : — "The President has no business to be talking in this way. I wouldn't have started if I had expected any thing of the kind." Seward, seeking to identify the General with Johnson' s opinions, said in one speech : " You see that Grant is with us." Grant was extremely indignant at this, and declared that no man had any right to define his political views. At Cleveland, Johnson denounced Wendell Philips, Thaddeus Stevens, and Charles Sumner by name as "traitors." The crowd hissed, hooted, and shouted, some applauding and the rest bandying epithets with the Chief Magistrate of the nation — a most humiliating exhibition. Between Detroit and Chicago, one local dignitary in Ms speech of welcome, converted Sehor Romero into "Senator Romeo," and General Rousseau into " Rosbrero." The President, in Jiis address, declared that he should do his duty in spite of all " the vile whelps of sin." If Johnson emulated the noisy geese that gabbled o'er the pool. Grant and Farragut had all the spirits of the play- ful children just let loose from school. At Michigan City, while the speaking was going on, a number of blooming girls wandered up and down beside the train, in pursuit of the chief. He had taken refuge in the rear car, but Farra- gut shouted from a window :— ' ' Here' s General Grant. I know what you want ; you want to see him and to kiss him." The maidens made a rush, and each, lifted up to the window by her young man, gave the General that affec- tionate salute witli which lovely woman has been wont to greet American heroes since the days of Harry Clay. Tlie moment his moutli was unolistructed. Grant exclaimed : — " TlK-re's anotlicr man you want to see, one wlio deserves kissing a great deal more than I do — that's Admiral Far- ragut." Thereupon the old salt was subjected to the same gentle discipline, and seemed to relish it almost as well as he en- joyed the j)eppering he got from the enemy when, lashed in 1S6G.] A Droll Suit for Libel. 529 liis nifiinto}), lie silenced the rebel forts below New Orleans. Reaching Chicago, Johnson attempted to speak, but the crowd drowned his voice in shouts of "Bread and butter," and " Hurrahfor Moses !"— an intimation that the loaves and fishes of office animated his adherents, and a reminder of his whilom promise to the negroes that he would be their Moses to lead them out of bondage. The corner stone of the monument was laid with due ceremony, and the party continued its journey to St. Louis. John Hogan, a garrulous Missouri democrat, of convivial proclivities, had taken the President in charge. One morn- ing the reporter of the Chicago Tribune wrote: — "Hogan was sober, it being very early in the day." For this mild imitation of Scripture,* Hogan actually brought suit against the paper for libel, but his damages were never visible save to the eye of faith. At Blooming- ton, Illinois, thousands of citizens cried down the President with: — "We don't want to hear traitors so near the home of Lincoln." At Springfield, the party visited the tomb of the nation' s martyr, in silence with uncovered heads. At St. Louis Johnson was even more violent than usual. He received an invitation to visit Memphis and New Or- leans, but the General refused to go, and he declined it. On the return, at Paris, Illinois, where the first company of Grant's regiment had been raised, the procession bore banners with the inscription : — " Welcome to U. S. Grant, Colonel of the Twenty-first Illinois Volunteer Infantry." Though everywhere received with the greatest enthu- siasm he seemed indifferent to it, and impatient of so much display. When crowds would not be refused he simply stepped upon the platform, took ofi" his hat, nodded, and then went straight back to his seat and resumed his cigar. At one Indiana town Hogan declared in introducing Johnson : "The President is a democrat — just such a regular old- fashioned democrat as your citizen, Judge , who has just spoken." * " These are not drunken as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of tlie day." — Acts^ li. 15. KK 530 "Prodigiously glad to get Home." [i866. Grant, hearing it, said indignantly :— "This is a little too much. He was one of the worst 'copperheads' during the war. I won't countenance, even by silence, the praise of any man who opposed us then." At Indianapolis a riot occurred. One citizen was killed, and six wounded. The General, exceedingly troubled, went on to Cincinnati, leaving the party to rejoin him at its pleasure. At Jeffersonville, Indiana, the President repelled the charge of treachery : — " Was lie a traitor ? Then what was Thad. Stevens ? Was he, as he had been charged, a Judas Iscariot? There was no Judas without a Saviour. Was Tliad. Stevens his Saviour ?" At Cincinnati, the "Boys in Blue"— a political organi- zation — waited upon Grant, who was spending an evening at the theater. Their object being to reflect upon Johnson, he refused to see them, but said to their caj)tain : — " I am no politician. The President of the United States is my superior officer, and I am under his command. I beg you, if you have any regard for me, to marcli }our company awa}'^, as I do not wish to be thus annoyed. I consider this merely a political demonstration for a sellish and political object, and all such I disapprove of." At Pittsburg, Johnson found banners inscribed with liis old phrases, "Traitors must take back seats in the work of reconstruction;" "We must make treason odious;" and the like. He tried to speak, but the people— almost riotous —refused to hear a word from him, though giving deafening cheers for Grant and Farragut. The tour soon ended. Johnson was not intoxicated by liquor, as many supposed, but only by his own passions. Grant wrote to a friend that he was "prodigiously ghid to get hcmie," and that while declining to mingle in politics, he freely told everybody tliat it Avas an insult to ask any Nortliern man who liad lielped suppress the rebellion, to support for office any candidate who was not loyal in 1861, and "whose anxiety tliat the flag shouhl liave tliirty-six, and not twenty stars, did not come to him until after Lee's surrender." GEX. grant's UESIDEXCES SINCE THE WAR. 1866.] More about Mexican Matters. 531 CHAPTER XLV. KECONSTKUCTION. Seward had always believed that the withdrawal of the French from Mexico could be secured by diplomacy, with- out resort to arms. Grant never did ; and on learning that our minister at Paris had been officially notified that Louis Napoleon — in violation of repeated promises — would not call home his troops until the spring of 1867, wrote to Sher- idan an emphatic letter : — October ninth — Grant to Sheridan. " My opinion is that the interest of tlie United States, and duty, is to see that foreign interference with the aftairs of this continent is put an end to. "* * * It is probable that you may have an opportunity of judging the designs of Santa Anna, should he attempt to send a force to the Rio Grande. Should his designs be inimical to the Government of Mexico, with which we are at peace, the same duty, in obedience to our own neutrality laws, compels us to prevent the fitting out of expeditions hostile to that Gov- ernment, that existed iifthe case of the Fenian movement against our north- ern neiglibor. "There is but one party, one government in Mexico, whose wishes have claim to respect from us. No policy has been adopted by our Government wliich authorizes us to interfere on Mexican soil with that country, but there is nothing, that I know of, to prevent the free passage of people or material going through our territory to the aid of the recognized Government. "Our neutrality should prevent our allowing the same tiling when tlio effect is to make war upon that Government, so long as we are at peace with it." October twenty -second. — Sheridan to Grant. "I am in receipt of your letter of the niuth instant, and cordially coin- cide with all your views. I have sent a staff officer to the Rio Grande to definitely announce that I will support the Juarez Government in Mexico against all factions, and to notify the adherents of Ortega and Santa Anna to get out of tlie way ; that no protection or security would be given to such parties on our side of the river. I also sent word to Canales that his conduct had been disgraceful and unfaitliful. "I have been obliged to neglect affairs over tliere for some time past, on 532 Sheridan on "the Imperial B^jccaneer.'' [ises. account of being anchored here, but will give more attention to them from this time out. " Maximilian has gone over to the church party, without doubt, or at least has made the oifer, and, if accepted, it will give him the backing of Catholicism* in Europe, and perhaps in all the Southern States ; but the church party in Mexico has lost its wealth, to a great extent, and is not so powerful as formerly. The calculation of the adherents of Maximilian, in Mexico and out of it, is an expected disturbance of peace of our countrj', and they are calculating largely upon it. "I think myself that the foreign merchants of Matamoras have been the principal instigators of the conduct of Canales, and I learned recently that they have sent a petition to Maximilian to reoccupy the place. I do not be- lieve this, but doubtless some liave sought to give publicity to this impres- sion. a * * * Tj^g trade which would flow through the channels of Monte- rey, Matamoras, Brownsville, and Brazos Santiago, will amount to nearly twelve millions of dollars per year, as soon as there is a settlement of Mexi- can difficulties, in the establishment of a Government there friendly to the United States, and that can give security to trade. '•I will tolerate no violations of neutrality on the part of factions op- posed to the Juarez Government." October twenty -third. — Sheridan to Sedgwick, commanding United States forces on the Eio Orande. "I am satisfied that there is only one way in which the state of affairs on the Rio Grande can be bettered, and that is by giving the heartiest support to the only Government in Mexico recognized by ouV own, and the only one which is really friendly to us. You will, therefore, warn all adherents of any party or pretended gov- ernment, in Mexico or in the State of Tamaulipas, that they will not be per- mitted to violate the neutrality laws between the Liberal Government of Mexico and the United States; and also, that they will not bo permitted to remain in our territory and receive the protection of our Hag, in order to complete their machinations for the violation of our neutrality laws. " These instructions inill he enforced against the adherents of the imperial 'buccaneer,representi?ig the so-called Imjierial Government flfMexico,i and also against tlio Ortega, Santa Anna, and other factions." In Maryland a legislature was to be elected which would * Sheridan liimsclf was scrupulously reared in the Catholic faith, and though perhaps not so devout as the rest of the family, still adheres to it. — WhMaw acid's ''Ohio in tlie War" — A marvel of industry and comprehensiveness — not alto- gether just, I tliink, in its judgments of several loading generals, but incomparably tlio most complete and creditable record, thus far, of the history made by any State duriug our great conflict. f These italics are not Sheridan's. 1866.] Grant ox sending Troops into Maryland. 533 choose a United States Senator. The Union repnT)liean party had denounced Andrew Johnson's recent policy as identical with that of Jefferson Davis. Desiring the con- servatives to triumph, the President professed to apprehend violence, and suggested preparations to suppress it with United States troops. Grant, instructed by him to investi- gate the alleged difficulties, reported on the twenty-fourth of October, in these wise and moderate terms : — " The conviction is forced on my mind that no reason now exists for giving or promising the military aid of the Government to support the laws of Maryland. The tendency of giving such aid or promise would be to produce the very result intended to be averted. So far there seems to be merely a very bitter contest for political ascendency in the State. " Military interference would be interpreted as giving aid to one of the factions, no matter how pure the intentions or how guarded and just tlie instructions. It is a contingency I hope never to see arise in this country, while I occupy the position of General-in-Chief of the army, to have to send troops into a State, in full' relations with the General Government, on the eve of an election, to preserve the peace. If insurrection does come, the law provides the method of calling out forces to suppress it. No such condition seems to exist now." Obviously he could not be used. The President, aware of this, had already requested the Secretary of War to have Grant accompany our new minister to Mexico — about to be evacuated by the French— "to give him the aid of his ad- vice," and "as evidence of the earnest desire felt by the United States for the proper adjustment of the questions in- volved." Grant had replied to Stanton in a letter marked "private," and dated October twenty-first : — " * * * It is a diplomatic service for which I am not fitted cither by education or taste. It has necessarily to be conducted under the State Department, with which my duties do not connect me. Again, then, I most respectfully but urgently repeat my request to be excused from the perform- ance of a duty entirely out of my sphere, and one, too, which can be so much better performed by others." On the twenty-sixth the President reiterated his request. The General answered on the twenty-seventh : — " Inow again beg most respectfully to decline the proposed mission for the foUowingr additional reasons, to wit : — 534 He Refuses to go to Mexico. [1866, "Now, whilst the army is being reorganized and troops distributed as fast as organized, my duties require me to keep within telegrapliic communica- tion of all the department commanders, and of this city, from which orders must emanate. Almost the entire frontier between the United States and Mexico is embraced in the departments commanded by Generals Sheridan and Hancock, the command of the latter being embraced in the military division under Lieutenant- General Sherman, three officers in whom the entire country has unbounded confidence. "Either of these general officers can be instructed to accompany the American minister to the Mexican frontier, or the one through whose command the minister may propose to pass in reaching his destination. "If it is desirable that our minister should communicate with me he can do so through the officer who may accompany him, with but very little delay beyond what would be experienced if I were to accompany him myself. I might add tliat I would not dare counsel the minister in any matter beyond stationing of troops on the United States soil, without the concurrence of the administration. That concurrence could be more speedily had with me liere than if I were upon the frontier. The stationing of troops would be as fully within the control of the accompanying officer as it would of mine." The General was determined not to go. He feared tliat in liis absence Government troops might be used improperly in Maryland. Sherman, who would be left in charge, was popularly believed to be more in symimthy with the President. But, as usual, lie proved true as steel. He told Grant to remain by all means, and said to Johnson : — "He ought not to go — he is needed here — but I can go as well as not. My trunk is always packed." The Executive accepting "Hobson's choice" sent Sher- man, and the election passed off without disturbance. Con- gress then forbade by law the removal of army head-quarters from Washington witliout the consent of the General-in- Chief. Grant had become out-spoken on the issues of the day. To an old acquaintance, the ex-rebel General " Dick Taylor," a son of President Taylor, he wrote, November twenty-fifth : — "The day after you loft hero the President sent for me, as I expected he would, after conversation with his attorney-general. I told liim my views candidly about the course I tliought he should take, in view of the verdict of the late elections. It elicited nothing satisfactory from him, but did not bring out the strong opposition ho sometimes shows to views not agreeing ^s^"^] Favors Negeo Suffrage. 535 with his own. I was followed by General Sickles, wlio expressed about tho same opinions I did. "Since that I have talked with several naenibers of Congress who are classed with the radicals— Schenck and Boutwell for instance. They expres-s the most generous views as to what would be done, if the constitutional amendments proposed by Congress were adopted by the Southern States. What was done in the case of Tennessee was an earnest of wliat would be done in all cases. "Even the disqualification to hold office imposed on certain classes by one article of the amendment would, no doubt, be removed at once, except it might be in the cases of the very highest offenders, such, for instance, as those who went abroad to aid in the rebellion, those who left seats in Con- gress, etc. All or very nearly all would soon be restored, and so far as security to property and liberty is concerned, all would be restored at once. "I would like exceedingly to see one Southern State, excluded State, ratify the amendment, to enable us to see the exact course that would be pursued. I believe it would much modify the demands that may be made if there is delay." "I never could have believed," said Grant to a friend, "tliat I should favor giving negroes the right to vote ; but that seems to me the only solution of our difSculties." During the winter of 1866-7, while reconstruction meas- ures were pending, Orr of South Carolina, Brown and Walker of Georgia, and other late prominent secession- ists, asked his counsel. To all he replied, in substance : — '' Go to the Union republicans in Congress, and to them alone. Have nothing whatever to do with Nortlierners who opposed tlie war. They will never again be intrusted with power. The more you consort with them, the more exacting the republicans will be, and ought to be. When you get home, urge your people to accept negro suffrage. If you had promptly adopted the constitutional amendment abolish- ing slavery, or the one making negroes citizens, and guaran- teeing the public debt, Congress would undoubtedly have admitted you ere this. Now it will add impartial suffrage. The sooner you accept that, the better for all concerned." The first reconstruction act — a military bill "for the more efficient government of the late rebel States," passed March second, 1867 — was framed chiefly hy the General. TIk^ sup- plementary act, dated three weeks later, was passed during an extra session, held that the legislative power might be 536 Recommends Martial Law in Texas. [iseT. ready to frustrate any effort of the President to violate the laws. Grant had urged the holding of that session. His anxiety was deep, and his confidence in Johnson altogether gone. January twenty-fifth^ 1867, Sheridan to Grant^ on Texan affairs. " The condition of freedmen and Union men in remote parts of tlie State Is truly horrible. The Government is denounced, the freedmen are shot, and Union men are persecuted if they have the temerity to express their opinion." Grant forwarded this to the Secretary of War, with an indorsement concluding : — " In my opinion, the great number of murders of Union men and freed- men in Texas, not only as a rule unpunished, but uninvestigated, constitute practically a state of insurrection ; and believing it to be the province and duty of every good government to afford protection to the lives, liberty, and property of her citizens, I would recommend the declaration of martial law in Texas to secure these ends. " The necessity for governing any poi'tion of our territory by martial law is to be deplored. If resorted to, it should be limited in its authority, and should leave all local authorities and civil tribunals free and unobstructed, until they prove their inefficiency or unwillingness to perform their duties. " Martial law would give security, or comparatively so, to all classes of citizens, without regard to race, color, or political opinions, and could be con- tinued until society was capable of protecting itself, or until the State is re- turned to its full relation with the Union. " The application of martial law to one of these States would bo a warn- ing to all, and, if necessary, could be extended to others." The President took no action in the matter. Isaac N. Arnold, of Illinois, sent the General a copy of his admirable and valuable work, "Lincoln and Slavery." Grant responded, May thirtietli : — u * * * J fgg] jjQ douijt biit tiio public will be much interested in your work in tlie present generation. How much more will it interest future generations, when slavery comes to bo looked upon as one of the atrocious barbarities of the past! " Sheridan, commanding in the Southwest, and Pope in G(H)i-gia, Ahibama, and Florida, raised th(i question whetlier, under tlie reconstruction acts, district as well as department commanders had a right to remove civil officers who attempt- f d to obstruct tlu^ laws of Congress. Grant replied to Pope, April twcnty-lirst : — 18G7.] The Real Issue ox Reconstruction. 537 " My views are, that district commanders are responsible for the faithful execution of the reconstruction acts of Congress, and that in civil matters I can not give them an order. I can give them my views, however, for what they are worth. " It is very plain tliat the power of district commanders to try offenders by military commissions exists. I would advise that commissions Ije re- sorted to, rather than arbitrary removals, until an opinion is had from the 'attorney-general, or it is found that he does not intend to give one." Attorney-General Stanberry, in political sympathy with the President, gave his opinion that district commanders had not this power. Grant, however, telegraphed Pope : — * " Enforce your own construction of the military bill, until ordered to do otherwise. The opinion of the attorney-general has not been distributed to district commanders in language or manner entitling it to the force of an order; nor can I suppose that the President intended it to liave such force." The real issue was whether the ballot should be guaran- teed to the negroes of the Soutliern States, as the safest and surest mode of enabling them to protect tliemselves against any revenge or injustice from the late rebels. All the legisla- tion of Congress was in favor of this ; all Andrew Johnson' s opposition was aimed at it. The discontent caused by his unconcealed attempts to obstruct the reconstruction laws, culminated in a movement in the House of Representatives for his impeachment. Grant, summoned before the Judi- ciary Committee,! was examined at great length. Eldridge (of the Committee).— "Ilave you had interviews with the Presi- dent about granting amnesty or pardon to rebel officers or people ?" Grant. — "I have occasionally recommended a person for amnesty * * * I thought that there was no reason why, because a person had risen to the rank of general, he should be excluded from amnesty, any more than one who had failed to reach tliat rank. I thought the President was right in excluding from pardon "West Point graduates, or persons connected with the Government who had gone into the rebellion ; but I don't see any reason why tlie volunteer who happened to rise to the rank of general sliould bo excluded any more than a colonel. " * * * I frequently had to intercede for General Lee and otiier paroled officers, on the ground that their parole, so long as they obeyed the laws of the United States, protected them from arrest and trial. The President at that time occupied exactly the reverse grounds, viz. : that they sliould be * June twenty-eighth. t ^^^7 eigliteeuth-twentieth. 538 Grant and the Impeachment Committee. [i&67. oni ^d.| tried and punished. He wanted to Icnow when the time would come that, they sliould be punished. I told him not so long as they obeyed the law, and complied with the stipulation. u * * * I claimed that, in surrendering their armies and arms, they had done what they could not all of them have been compelled to do, as a portion of them could have escaped. But they surrendered in consideration of the fact that they were to be exempt from trial so long as they con- formed to the obligations which they had taken, and they were entitled to that." Eldridge. — " You looked on that in the nature of a parole, and held that they could only be tried when they violated that parole?" Grant. — " Yes, that is the view I took of the question." Eldridge. — " That is your view still?" Grant. — " Yes, sir, unquestionably. * * * Lee's array was the first to surrender, and I believed that with such terms all the rebel armies would surrender, and that we would thus avoid bushwhacking, and a con- tinuation of the war in a way that we could make very little progress with, having no organized armies to meet." Eldridge. — " You held that so long as they kept their parole of honor and obeyed the laws, they were uot subject to be tried by courts ?" Grant. — " That was my opinion. I will state here T am not quite cer- tain whether I am being tried or who is leing tried ly the questions asked. * * * He [the President] insisted on it that the leaders must be pun- ished, and wanted to know when the time would come that those persons could be tried. I told him when they violated their parole." Eldridge. — " Did you consider that that applied to Jefferson Davis?" Grant. — " No, sir ; he did not take any parole. * * * it applied to no person who was captured — only to those who were paroled." Eldridge. — " Did the President insist that General Leo should be tried for treason." Grant. — " He contended for it. * * * I insisted on it that General Lee would not have surrendered his army, and given up all their arras, if he had supposed that after surrender he was going to be tried for treason and hanged. I thought we got a very good equivalent for the lives of a few leadens, in getting all their arras and getting themselves under control, bound by their oaths to obey the laws. " * * * I never claimed that the parole gave these prisoners any political rights whatever. I thought that that was a matter entirely with Congress, over which I had no control; that simply as General-in-Chief coramuiiding the army, I had a rigiit to stipulate for the surrender on terms which protected tlioir lives. That is all I (^laiin. The jjarole gave tliera pro- tection and exemption from punisliinont for an offense not in violation of the rules of civilized warfare, so long as their parole was kept. "* * * It was necessary to do soraetliing to establish government and civil law there. I wanted to see that done. I do not think I advised 1867.] He wants Civil Law Established, 539 any course myself, any more than that I was very anxious to see something done to restore civil governments in those States." WooDBRiDGE. — " You did not assume to originate or inaugurate any policy; but that when any question came up, and your opinion was asked as to what the President was going to do or had done, you gave an opinion ?" Grant. — "That was it exactly; and I presumed the whole committee so understood me. I have always been attentive to my own duties, and tried not to interfere with other people's. * * * i only gave my views on measures after they had been originated. I simply expressed an anxiety that something should be done to give some sort of control down there. There were no governments there when the war was over, and I ■wanted to see some governments established, and wanted to see it done quickly. I did not pretend to say how it should be done, or in what form." Eldridge. — " Did you give any opinion in favor of the President's first proclamation, giving a State government to North Carolina." Grant. — " I did not give any opinion against it ; I was in favor of that or any thing else which looked to civil government, until Congress could meet and establish governments there. I did not want all chaos left, and no civil government whatever. I was not in favor of any thing, or opposed to any thing particularly, I was simply in favor of having government there. I did not pretend to give my judgment as to what it should be, I was per- fectly willing to leave that to the civil department. * * * " / know that immediately after the close of the rebellion there was a very fine feeling manifested in the South, and I thought we ought to take ad- vantage of it as S0071 as 2)ossiMe; hut since that there has been an evident change.'^'' WooDBRiDGE.— " I Understand you to say that Mr. Lincoln, prior to his assassination, had inaugurated a policy to restore these governments." Grant. — "Yes, sir." WooDBRiDGE.— " I Want to kuow whether the plan adopted by Mr. Johnson was substantially the plan which had been inaugurated by Mr. Lin- coln as the basis for future action ? " Grant. — " Yes, sir, substantially." BouTWELL,— "You understood that Mr. Lincoln's plan was temporary, to be either confirmed or a new government set up by Congress ? " Grant.—" Yes, and I understood Mr. Johnson's to be so too." The turbulent President was greatly dissatisfied with Sheridan, who, feeling that the rebellion was not yet ended in the Southwest, sometimes used strong, almost insubordi- nate language about him. He was also dissatisfied with Stanton, who— formerly a vehement democrat, but now in sympathy with Congress— brought to his new faith tlie sus- picious zeal of a new convert. The country hud no great 540 And Stanton and Sheridan Retained. [isei. confidence in Stanton's principle, "but was grateful for the rugged energy lie had brought to the War Department, and the zealous military support he had given to Grant. Congress, hy the "Tenure of Office" Act, had pro- hibited the President from removing civil ofiicers appointed during his administration without obtaining the consent of the Senate — a law of doubtful constitutionality, and con- trary to the practice of our Government since its existence, but designed to limit the power of Andrew Johnson to do evil. Its friends, in urging it, had said in the Senate that it would not cover a case like Stanton' s (appointed by Lincoln, and not Johnson), and that no cabinet officer of "gentlemanly instincts" would attempt to retain his position if the Presi- dent desired him to withdraw. Grant, knowing Johnson's determination to be rid of Stanton and Sheridan, wrote him, on the first of August, an earnest letter marked "private :" — " I take the liberty of addressing you privately on the subject of the con- versation we had this morning, feeling, as I do, the great danger to the wel- fare of the country, should you carry out tlie designs then expressed. " First. On the subject of the displacement of the Secretary of War. Ilia removal can not be effected against his will without the consent of the Sen- ate. It is but a short time since the United States Senate was in session, and why not then have asked for his removal if it was desired ? It certain- ly was the intention of the legislative branch of government to place cabinet ministers beyond the power of Executive removal, and it is pretty well un- derstood that, so far as cabinet ministers are affected by the " Tenure-of- Office Bill, it was intended specially to protect the Secretary of War, whom the country felt great confidence in. The meaning of the law may be explained away by an astute lawyer, but common sense and the views of loyal people will give to it tlio effect intended by its framers. "On the subject of the removal of the very able commander of the Fifth Military District, let me ask you to consider the effect it would have upon the public. He is universally and deservedly beloved by tlie people wlio sus- tained this Government through its trials, and feared by those wlio would still be enemies of the Government. It fell to the lot of but few men to do as much against an armed enemy as General Sheridan did during the rebellion, and it is witliin the scope of the ability of but few in tliis or any other coun- try to do what ho has, Ilis civil administration has given equal satisfaction. He has had difficulties to contend with which no other district commander has encountered. Almost, if not quite, from the d.ay lie was af)pointed dis- trict commander to the present time, the press has given out that he was to 1867.] The President removes Stanton. 541 be removed ; that the administration was dissatisfied with bim, &c. This has emboldened the opponents to the Liws of Congress within his command to oppose him in every way in tlieir power, and has rendered necessary measures which otlierwise may never have been necessary. In conclusion, allow me to say, as a friend desiring peace and quiet, the welfare of the whole country North and South, that it is, in my opinion, more than the loyal people of this country (I mean those who supported the Government during the great rebellion) will quietly submit to, to see the very men of all others whom tliey have expressed confidence in, removed. " I would not have taken the liberty of addressing the Executive of the United States thus but for the conversation on the subject alluded to in this letter, and from a sense of duty, feeling that I know I am right in this matter." But the President — nothing if he was not obstinate — sus- pended Stanton, and made Grrant Secretary of AYar ad in- terim on the twelfth of August. The General, dreading above all things a direct conflict between the Executive and Congress as certain to increase the turbulence of the South and obstruct the restoration of the States to tlieir full relations with the Union, wrote to Stanton the same day : — u * * * jjj notifying you of my acceptance, I can not let the oppor- tunity pass without expressing to you my appreciation of the zeal, patriot- ism, firmness, and ability with which you have ever discharged the duties of Secretary of War." Stanton replied : — " Under a sense of public duty, I am compelled to deny the President's right under the Constitution and laws of the United States, to suspend me from office as Secretary of "War, or authorize any other person to enter upon the discharge of that office, or to require me to transfer to him or any other person the records, books, papers, and other property in my official custody and charge as Secretary of War. "But inasmuch as the President has assumed to suspend lue from oflice as Secretary of War, and you have notified me of your acceptance of the ap- pointment of Secretary of War ad interim, I liave no alternative but to sub- mit under protest to the superior force of tlie President. "You will please accept my acknowledgment of the kind terms in wliich you have notified me of your acceptance of the President's appointment, and my cordial reciprocation of the sentiments expressed." As Grant's "private" letter to the President had not been made public, leading Union newspapers denounced 4 542 Removes Sheridan— Grant' s Protest. [isgt. liim bitterly as a tool in the liands of Andrew Johnson. A few weeks later they were commendmg his "wise reticence." On the seventeenth of August the President issued an order removing Sheridan from command in the Southwest, and substituting Thomas. In giving it, he wrote Grant :— " Before you issue instructions to carry into effect the inclosed order, I would be pleased to hear any suggestions you may deem necessary respect- ing the assignments to which the order refers." The General replied at once with unusual emphasis : — "I am pleased to avail myself of this invitation to urge, earnestly urge, urge in the name of a patriotic people who have sacrificed hun- dreds of thousands of loyal lives and thousands of millions of treasure to preserve the integrity and union of this country, that this order be not insisted on. It is unmistakably tlie expressed wish of the country that Gen- eral Sheridan should not be removed from liis present command. This is a republic where the will of tlie people is the law of the land. I beg that their voice may be heard. " General Sheridan has performed his civil duties faithfully and intelli- gently. His removal will only be regarded as an effort to defeat the laws of Congress. It will be interpreted by the unreconstructed element in the South, those who did all they could to break up this Government by arms, and now wish to be the only element consulted as to the method of restoring order, as a triumph. It will embolden them to renewed opposition to the will of the loyal masses, believing that they have the Executive with them." Johnson responded that Sheridan' s rule had "been one of absolute tyranny, without reference to the principles of our Government or the nature of our free institutions," and that in removing him he simply discharged his sworn, official duty. llis letter was plausible and forcibly written, but had no influence upon the country. Grant's was hailed with delight, as placing him squarely on the record in favor of the |)olicy of Congress. Thomas, though less outspoken, sympathized with Con- gress just as lieartily as Sheridan, and was in no mood to succeed him on such an issue. Ilis medical director tele- gra])li('d ()pi)ortun('ly that his health was too fragile for him to go South during the hot season. The President therefore superseded Sheridan by Hancock. 1867.] "Say Nothing of Them." 543 CHAPTER XLVI. AVAR OFFICE. Iisr October, John Albion Andrew, of Massachusetts, wrote to a confidential friend : — " The tendency of the hour is toward Grant, and that is best. It is not the ideal good. It is bad for the country that he must leave his present post — bad for hiin, the soldier, to try to endure tlie hard tate which awaits him in civil life. But it is apparently the best practical good the country can have ; and Grant is so square and honest a man, that he is bound to be right in the main anywhere." Three days later Andrew was dead. He had been the most efficient of all our State governors, and was one of the purest, ablest, and most lovable public man of his time. In expression he was the exact opposite of Grant— a man of poetry, of sentiment, of luxuriant rhetoric, but they had become very warmly attached. In November, a Texan editor, calling upon Grant, found him very communicative about every thing except the one subject upon which he desired to draw him out. Notwith- standing repeated rebuffs, the man of the quill persisted : — Editor. — "General, we want you for President. lam going to support you, and so are my people. AVhat shall I Bay of your views when I get home V ' Grant. — "Say nothing of them." The new year brought further trouble. The Senate re- fused to sanction tlie suspension of Stanton. Jolinson doubtless believed the Tenure-of-Office Act unconstitu- tional ; and he professed a desire to have it tested before the Supreme Court of the United States. But possession was nine points in the law, because a suit instituted iniiiicdiately could not be reached in that high tribunal under two ycais, or until after the end of his administration. He tlierefore desired : first, that Grant should disobey the behests of 544 Surrenders War Office to Stanton. [isgs. Congress, even offering if it brought him into trouble to go to jail for him ; and second, that declining to do this, Grant should not give place to Stanton, but resign and enable the President to place some one else in the office, which would leave Stanton no redress except through the courts. But Grant, acting in accord with the Avishes of nine-tenths of the loyal i^eople, on receiving official notice of the action of the Senate surrendered the office to Stanton. A long cor- respondence followed between him and the President, the latter asserting that Grant had positively agreed that,- " You would either return the War Office to my possession in time to enable me to ajipoint a successor before final action by the Senate on Mr. Stanton's suspension, or would remain at its head, awaiting a decision of the question by judicial proceedings." Grant replied on the third of February : — " * * * Performance of the promises alleged to have been made by me would have involved a resistance of the law, and an inconsistency with the whole history of my connection with the suspension of Mr. Stanton. From our conversation, and my written protest of August 1, 18G7, against the re- moval of Mr. Stanton, you must have known that my greatest objection to his removal was the fear that some one would be appointed in his stead who would, by opposition to the laws relating to the restoration of the Southern States to their proper relation to the Government, embarrass the army in the performance of the duties especially imposed upon it by the laws, and that it was to prevent such an appointment that I accepted the appointment of Secretary of War ad interim, and not for the purpose 'of enabling you to get rid of Mr. Stanton. Tiie coarse you have understood I agreed to pursue was in violation of law, and that without orders from you ; while the course I did ])nrsne, and which I never doubted you fully understood, was in accordance witli law and not in disobedience to any orders of my superior. "And now, Mr. President, wlicn my honor as a soldier and integrity as a man have been so violently assailed, i)ardon mo for saying that I can but re- gard tliis wliole matter, from beginning to end, as an attempt to involve me in the resistance of law for which you hesitated to assume the responsibility, in order thus to destroy my character before the country. I am in a measure confirmed in this conclusion by j'our recent orders directing me to disobey orders from the Secretary of War, my superior and your subordinate, with- out liaving countermanded his autliority." This brought rejoinder and surrejoinder. The President attempted to prove that the General had deliberately broken his promise. The controversy caused vehement newspaper iscs.] His Able AD]\[ixisTr.ATiox of it. 54.5 discussion ; "but the country ^vas tliorouglily Scatisficd vriih Grant's act, and too familiar witli tlie utter truthfulness which had distinguished his character from "boyhood, to Ibelieve him for a moment guilty of any conscious deceit. So ended his administration of the War Department. The prime reason which caused him to undertake it has already been given ; but he had another motive. Months before he said to a friend : — " I should like to be Secretary of War for a few weeks, just to clean out the office, cut down expenses, and reform abuses. It would do good to have a practical man there." The result proved the General— whom oracular senators had declared " not a man for office duty"— the ablest and most practical head the department had ever known. Stanton had been claimed as a model secretary, but Grant found gross and wasteful extravagance. He broke up the use of mounted orderlies and of ambulances when not absolutely needed, selling the horses and vehicles. He re- quired all proposals for supplies to be properly advertised, and then let to the lowest bidder, whether his offer was technically formal or not. He directed that at our frontier posts the troops should do the labor of gathering hay and f^el— hitherto furnished at round prices by contractors, who usually paid nothing for the supplies or their transpor- tation, but employed soldiers to cut the wood and hay, and Government teams to deliver them. He prohibited com- manding officers from hiring civilians as clerks, mechanics, or laborers, or for any other work which soldiers could do, and gave notice that if they disobeyed, the expense would be charged to their personal accounts. His official report to Congress says : — " A long -tt-ar had entailed upon the artny practices of extravagance total- ly unjustifiable in times of peace ; and as the increase of the regular array since 1860 (now almost the entire army) is officered by men whose army experience does not go back to tliat period (and tlierefore they may not know but their indulgences at the expense of the General Government are all legitimate), retrenchment was the first subject to attract my attention. * * * * Supplying large armies for a period of four years of hostilities necessarily led to an accnmulation of stores of all sorts far beyond the wants of our present establishment for many years to come. Many of the articles LL 546 ExoEMors Savixg foe the Goyeenmeis't [ises. were of a perishable nature ; besides, being borne on the returns of officers accountable for them, they had to be stored and guarded, although the cost of care per annum might ie greater than their value . Under my direction all these surplus and useless stores in the quartermaster's department are being sold." He soon reduced the current expenses of the department more than half a million of dollars per mouth ; mustered out superfluous officers ; sold stores and material to the amount of many millions of dollars in the quartermaster's department alone, and infused economy and rigid respon- sibility through every branch of the military service. Sheridan, delighted at Grant' s earnest support of the re- construction laws and the seeming certainty of his election to the Presidency, wrote a friend : — "It is perhaps needless for me to tell you how light my heart is on ac- count of the glorious record, iu front of which General Grant now stands before the country. " The country now begins to appreciate that his was the only Land which patted me on the shoulder and gave me encouragement, when I, almost alone, stuck up my little battle flag at New Orleans to assist a second time in saving the country and preserving the record of our soldiers. Had Grant, Sherman, and myself, and others gone over to the enemy, much darkness would have come upon the land. "Two solutions were necessary for the settlement of the rebellion. The first was to take away from it its military strength. That was done at Ap- pomattox. The second, to take away its political strength. That will be done next November. It will be a short campaign, but as decisive as Appo- mattox." The General-in-Chief thoughtfully reciprocated the es- teem of his lieutenant. To a New York editor he said : — "The people don't understand Sheridan. Though he has all the popularity any man could desire, his capacity is not appreciated. Tht? imjjression seems to be that he is only a brave, downright lighter. Really, he is a man of admir- able judgmc^nt, capable of handling, under any circum- stances, the largest army ever seen in the United States." A closing observation or two upon Grant' s personal traits. No man has a more tender heart. Many were liis unosten- tatious deeds of kindness, even in his years of poverty ; and since Fame and Fortune smiled upon him, all sorts of pen- sioners have shared his beneficence. To the widows and 18G8.J A Letter from Phil. Sheridan. 547 648 Some of Gkant^s Peesoxal Traits. [isg4. orphans of fallen soldiers particularly, liis helpfulness and generosit}^ have been unfailing, Not Abraham Lincoln himself had a more forgiving spirit. If he is capable of malice toward any human being, I luive failed to find evidence of it. While a second lieutenant at Jefferson Barracks, soon after leaving the Mil- itary Academy, his mess attempted to enforce the rigid social discipline of the English army. Failure to come promptly to meals, or any slight neglect in dress, was pun- ished by a fine of a bottle of wine. Grant, naturally care- less in his attire, Avas frequently mulcted. One day he ventured to suggest that this rule was proving very hard on him. The commandant, a strict martinet, replied coldly : — " Lieutenant, young men should be seen and not heard," This quite quenched the modest subaltern. Ten years later, the same rigid colonel was the means of his leaving the army. This would have stirred the eternal enmit}^ of any nar- row nature. But Grant, since rising to the chief command, has treated him with the utmost liberality and kindness, helping to secure his promotion and keeping him in respon- sible positions. In this case he doiibtless respected the con- scientious performance of duty as the colonel saw it, but his capacity to forget and forgive, even the grossest personal treachery, seems to be boundless. Few men have a quicker or more genial mirthfulness. Once, returning from a wedding in Pennsylvania, in com- pany with ^Mrs. Grant and General and ^Irs. Hillyer, he was beset by throngs at the stations ; and many people, unfa- miliar with his features, took his former aide for the chief. IIiLLYEK.— " A droll blunder, isn't itf ' Grant.— "Oh no ; these people have read in the news- papers that I am a very plain man. So when they come into the car, of course they dont recognize me by that descrip- tion, but take you for the General !" Ilis domesticity is exceedingly strong. He is an affec- tionate father, and a most devoted husband. All the in- mates of liis pleasant Wasliington home seem to have caught something of his own modesty, calmness, and gentleness. 1868.] A National Republican Convention. 649 CHAPTER XLVII. AVHITE HOUSE. On tlie nineteenth of May, 1868, a national republican convention, in Chicago, every State of tlie Union being represented, adopted tliis declaration of principles : — " 1. We congratulate the country on the assured success of the recon- struction policy of Congress, as evinced by the adoption, in the majority of the States lately in rebellion, of constitutions securing equal civil and political rights to all, and it is the duty of the Government to sustain those institu- tions, and to prevent the people of such States from being remitted to a state of anarchy. " 2. The guaranty by Congress of equal suffrage to all loyal men at the South, was demanded bj^ every consideration of public safety, of gratitude, and of justice, and must be maintained; -while the question of suffrage in all the loyal States properly belongs to the people of those States. " 3. We denounce all forms of repudiation as a national crime ; and tlnj national honor requires the payment of the public indebtedness in the utter- most good faith to all creditors at home and abroad, not only according to the letter but the spirit of the laws under which it was contracted. " 4. It is due to the labor of the nation that taxation should be equalized, and reduced as rapidly as the national faith will permit. " 5. The national debt, contracted, as it has been, for the preservation of the Union f(ir all time to come, should be extended over a fair period for re- deraption ; and it is the duty of Congress to reduce the rate of interest there- on, whenever it can be honestly done. " 6. That the best policy to diminish our burden of debt is to so improve our credit that capitalists will seek to loan us money at lower rates of interest than we now pay, and must continue to pay, so long as repudiation, partial or total, open or covert, is threatened or suspected. " 7. The Government of the United States should be administered with the strictest economy, and the corruptions which have been so shamefully nursed and fostered by Andrew Johnson call loudly for radical reform. " 8. We professedly deplore the untimely and tragic death of Abraham Lincoln, and regret the accession of Andrew Johnson to the Preridenoy, who has acted treacherously to the people who elected him, and tlie cause he was pledged to support; who has warped high legislative and judicial functions; who has refused to execute the laws; who has used his high office to induce other oflBcers to ignore and violate the laws ; who has employed his execu- 550 Its Declaeatiox of Peinciples. [^sgs. tive powers to render insecure the property, the peace, liberty, and life of the citizen ; who has abused the pardoning ])o\ver ; who has denounced the Na- tional Legislature as unconstitutional ; who has persistently and corruptly resisted, by every measure in his power, every proper attempt at the recon- struction of the States lately in rebellion ; who has perverted tlie public patronage into an engine of wholesale corruption, and who has been justly impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors, and properly pronounced guilty thereof by the vote of thirty-five Senators. " 9. The doctrine of Great Britain, and other European powers, that be- cause a man is once a subject he is always so, must be resisted at everj' hazard by the United States, as a relic of the feudal times, not authorized by the law of nations, and at war with our national honor and independence. Natural- ized citizens are entitled to be protected in all their rights of citizenship as though they were native-born, and no citizen of the United States, native or naturalized, must be liable to arrest and imprisonment by any foreign power for acts done or words spoken in this country; and if so arrested and impris- oned, it is the duty of the Government to interfere in his behalf. " 10. Of all who were faithful in the trials of the late war, there were none entitled to more especial honor than the brave soldiers and seamen who endured the hardships of campaign and cruise, and imperiled their lives in the service of the country ; the bounties and pensions provided by the laws for these brave defenders of the nation are obligations never to be forgotten ; the widows and orphans of the gallant dead are the wards of the people, a sacred legacy bequeathed to the nation's protecting care. " 11. Foreign emigration — which in the past has added so much to the wealth, development, and resources, and increase of power to this nation, the asylum of the oppressed of all nations — should be fostered and encouraged by a liberal and just policy. " 12. This convention declares itself in sympathy with all the oppressed peoples which are struggling for their rights ; " 13. That we highly connnend the spirit of magnanimity and forbear- ance with which the men who have served in the rebellion, but now frankly and honestly co-operate with us in restoring the peace of the country and reconstructing the Southern State governments upon tlie basis of impartial justice and equal riglits, are received back into the communion of the loyal people ; and we favor the removal of the disqualifications and restrictions im- posed upon the late rebels in the same measure as their spirit of loyalty will direct, and so may be consistent with the safety of tlie loyal people ; and " 14. That wc recognize the great principles laid down in the immortal Declaration of Indei)endence as the true foundation of democratic govern- ment, and we hail with gladness every effort toward making these principles a living reality on every inch of American soil." Six hundred and fifty delegates were in attendance ; and wlien tlie roll of States was called to name a Presidential 1868.] GRAJiTT jSToMIXATED FOll THE PkESIDENCY. 551 candidate, tlie result sliowed six liundred and fifty totes for Ulysses 8. Grant — a unanimity witliout parallel. The announcement of the vote was received -vvitli Avild enthusiasm, all the vast assemblage springing to their feet, and Hinging up hats and handkerchiefs amid thundering cheers. A curtain rising in the rear of the stage exhib- ited a painting of two pedestals standing in front of the White House, one (bearing a ligure of Grant) labeled " Re- publican nominee of the Chicago Convention, May twentietli, 1868;" the other, " Democratic nominee, New York Conven- tion, July fourth, 1868." Between tlie two stood the God- dess of Liberty, pointing with one hand to Grant, and with the other to the vacant pedestal. Overhead was the motto : "Match him." At that moment, a dove, painted in the national colors, was let loose, and flew back and forth, and the historic eagle of the Eighth Wisconsin — now an honor- ary member of all patriotic organizations in the West — added his screams to the tumult. A few days later, a committee headed bj^ Ex-Governor Hawley, of Connecticut, president of the convention, waited upon the General at his residence. To Hawley' s address Grant responded, in the longest speech of his life : — " Mk. President, and Gentlemen of the National Union Convention : I will eudoavor in a very short time to write you a letter accepting tlie trust you have hnposed upon me. Expressing my gratitude for the confidence you have placed in me, I will now say but little orally, and that is to thank you for the unanimity with which you have selected me as a candidate for the Presidential office. I can say, in addition, I looked on during the prog- ress of the proceedings at Chicago with a great deal of interest, and am gratified with the harmony and unanimity which seem to have governed the deliberations of the convention. If chosen to fill the high office for which you have selected me, I will give to its duties the same energy, the same spirit, and the same will, that I have given to the performance of all duties which have devolved upon me heretofore. "Whether I shall bo able to perform these duties to your entire satisfaction, time will determine. You have truly said, in the course of your address, that I shall have no policy of my own to enforce against the will of the people." On the twenty-ninth he wrote to the Committee :— "In formally accepting the nomination of the National Union Republican Convention of the twenty-first of May inst., it seems proper that some state- 552 "Let us have Peace." [ises. ment of views beyond the mere acceptance of the nomination should be expressed. "The proceedings of the convention were marked vrith wisdom, modera- tion, and patriotism, and I believe express the feelings of the great mass of those who sustained the country through its recent trials. I indorse tlie resolutions. " If elected to the office of President of the United States, it will be my endeavor to administer all the laws in good faith, with economy, and with the view of giving peace, quiet, and protection everywhere. In times lihe the present it is impossiMe, or at least eminently improper, to lay down a policy to 1)6 adhered to right or wrong, through an administration of four years. New political issues, not foreseen, are constantly arising ; the views of the public on old ones are constantly changing, and a purely administra- tive officer should always be left free to execute the will of tlie people. I always have respected that will, and always shall. "Peace and universal prosperity — its sequence — with economy of admin- istration will lighten the burden of taxation, while it constantly reduces the National debt. Let us have peaces Let US have peace ! Protection to wliite men and black men of the South who iiphekl the Government with their muskets ; good faith to all men everywhere who upheld it with their money. These cardinal points secured, all mag- nanimity, all fraternity toward its late foes, who so mis- takenly but so devotedly poured out their blood. Let us have peace ! " The Blue and the Gray " slumber side by side, under the pines and cypresses, the live oaks and magnolias. The same flowers mantle their dreamless beds, the same birds twitter above them, the same waters ripple at their feet. Harlv to the message, borne by the murmuring ■vvind, from those untroubled sleepers to us — warring Union- ists and confederates no longer, but Americans all, with one flag, one country, and one destiny ! It counsels the victors to the largest forbearaiun^ ; the vanquished to honest acquiescence in tlie only linality ~ equal and impartial justice to all. So shall the blackened track of war smile again witli "the fruitful olive and the cheering vine." So shall the new America fullill the hope, " Whose dawning day, in every distant age, Has exercised the sacred i)rophct's rage ; The people's prayer, the glad diviner's theme, The young man's vision and the old man's dream." 1 -^^^ ^^;pt often found utterance ; but I think none t)f his few clos*' inti- mates have heard him allude even casually to the siiadow which then fell upon his life, without his voi(;e brealung and 558 Elected Speaker of the House. [isgs. his eyes filling. A monument in the South Bend Cemetery marks her grave, and bears the inscription: — "The path of the just shineth more and more unto the perfect day." In December, 1863, when tlie Thirty-eighth Congress met, Schu^-ler Colfax was elected Speaker by one hundred and one out of one hundred and eighty votes ; and as he was conducted to the chair, the galleries rang again and again with applause. As he was the first journalist who had ever fillecl the jDosition, the members of the press in Washington signalized it by giving him a public dinner. Samuel Wilkeson, who presided, made a felicitous speech, in which he related this experience : — "Eighteen years ago, at one o'clock of a winter moonlight morning, while the horses of the stage-coacli in which I was plowing the thick raud of In- diana were being changed at the tavern in Sonth Bend, I walked the foot- way of the principal street to shake otT a great weariness. "I saw a liglit through a window. A sign, ' The Register,'' was legible above it, and I saw through the window a man in his shirt sleeves, walking quickly about like one that worked. I paused, and looked, and imagined about the man, and about his work, and about the lateness of the hour to which it was ju-otracted; and I wondered if he was in debt and was strug- gling to get out, and if his wife was expecting hira and had lighted a new candle for his coming, and if he was very tired. " A coming step interrupted tliis idle dreaming. When the walker reached my side I joined liim, and as we went I asked liim questions, and naturally they were about the workman in the shirt-sleeves. ' What sort of a man is he?' 'lie is very good to the poor; he works hard; he is sociable witli all people; he pays his debts; he is a safe adviser; he doesn't drink whisky ; folks depend on him ; all this part of Indiana believe in him.' " In April, 1864, Alexander Long, a rej^resentative from Ohio, openly advocated in the House the recognition of the Southern confederacy as an independent nation. Without consulting any friends, Colfax descended from the chair, moved the expulsion of Long for violating his oath of fidelity to the Government, and supported it by a fervid speech. A majority favored this, but not a two-thirds vote ; so the resolution was modified to one of censure. In the autumn following he took an active part in the canvass which resulted in Lincoln's re-election, speaking not only in Indiana, but, as usual, in many other States. The burden of all his addresses was: — "Stand by the Government." The same fall he was triumphantly re- elected to Congress. In Jauuaiy, 1865, he had the proud satisfaction of pre- siding while th(,' House passed a joint resolution to amend the constitution and forever prohibit slavery within the jurisdiction of the United States. To bring that best day in all our Legislative history no man had worked more earnestly than Schuyler Colfax 1865.] A Tour through the Mining States. 659 He sj^ent an liour with Lincoln on the morning prec»'d- ing the assassination ; and Avas one of the last friends who conversed with him before he started for the theater. Only a pressing engagement prevented Colfax from making one of the President' s party. Had he been in the box it is not likely that he would have escaped the pistol of Bootli. During the summer of 1805 he made a long tour tlirougli our mining States, between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacilic, accompanied by three journalistic friends. He was received everywhere with enthusiasm. It was my good for- tune to be one of his companions, and I can not better sum up tlie impressions left upon me than l^y reproducing para- graphs of my own, written to The Tribune at the close :^ "The lines have fixllen to us in pleasant places. The trip lias been full of interest and of profit. For Mr. Colfax it has proved one continuous ova- tion, lie looks back through a long vista of brass bands and baiupiets, pri- vate welcomes and public receptions. It was deserved ; for he made it solely to study the great interests of the West, wliich are national as well as local, and he has always been their liberal and steadfast friend. _ It must be some compensation for the emptiness and thanklessness of public life, to bo thus loved and lionored by personal strangers in the remote, scattered homes of half a continent. " I have heard him make fully seventy speeches — all differing, yet all creditable — all abounding in that kind of sense most wwcomraon the world over — common sense. I have heard him address a dozen audiences in direct opposition to their own earnest views — upon taxing tlie products of our gold and silver mines, the Oregon Pacific Railway, specie currency, war witli tlie French invaders of Mexico, and the like— yet he pleased them better while ditfering than most speakers could while agreeing. "In private intercourse he seems to steal the heart of every man, woman, and cliild — by no demagoguery or effort, but by simplicity, naturalness, an.l overflowing kindness. In every public i)osition thus far. he has aciiieved signal success; and if his countrymen ever call him to the liighest^ place iu their gift, he will fill it with credit to himself and honor to the nation." On the twenty-seventh of ISfay, 1867, in an address to the Union League Club of New York, he said :— "Only last month the Britisli Chancellor of the Excliequer, P'Israeli, in defending his reform bill, exclaimed : 'Tliis is a nation of classes, and must remain so.' If I may be pardoned for replying, I would say : ' This is a na- tion oi freemen^ and must remain so.' " He is now in his third term as Speaker. No abler ]>re- siding officer ever sat in the chair of the House. He carries forward business with wonderful rapidity, decides intricate questions on the instant, is never perplexed and never over- ruled. Despite the bitterness of our recent contests, o])po- sition members usually join unanimously at the close of a session in voting him thanks for his invariable im]Kirtialitv. In May, 1868, a national republican convi'iition at Chi- cago unanimously nominated him for the second place on 560 Nominated foe the Vice-Piiesidency. [isgs. tlie ticket with Grant. It was the greatest personal triumph ever achieved in such a body. Abraham Lincoln had been twice elected from Illinois ; Grant was from the same State, and usage required the candidate for the vice-presidency to be taken from some other part of the Union. But so uni- versal was the faith in Colfax' s fitness, that he was selected from many popular and able leaders. So pure is his personal character, that the venom of Solitical enmity has never attempted to fix a stain uj^on it. 'o man has proved so effective a foe of the democratic party ; but his fairness of statement, freedom from vitupera- tion, and personal lovableness, have won from its leading members exceptionally kind and courteous treatment. He makes on all occasions, apparently without prepara- tion, the most happy, pointed, and pithy speeches ; has a rare flow of animal spirits ; is a terrible worker, attending thoroughly to an enormous amount of detail without the least flurry, and always able at night to forget his load of care and sleep like a child. A writer says truthfully : — " Socially, Mr. Colfax is frank, lively, and jolly. Tlie everlasting I-hood and Us-ness of great men is forgotten in his presence. His manners are not quite so familiar as those of Lincoln, bnt nearly so. They are gentle, natu- ral, graceful, with a bird-like or business-like quickness of thought and motion." Utterly without pretension, and always bearing the bur- den and heat of the day, he combines thorough devotion to principle with rare practical wisdom, never driving away but always conciliating those who differ from his party on trivial or temporary issues, and counseling harmony and forbearance whenever more serious dissensions arise. He is thoroughly imbued with Abraham Lincoln' s belief, that if the highest can not be gained to-day, it is the part of wis- dom to secure the best that can be had, and then work patiently on the morrow to lift the standard. In his thorough loyalty to the people, his charity to political opponents, his love of country, his readiness to modify theories by experience, his capacity for getting at the pith and marrow of a subject and strijiping it of super- fluities and false issues, his purity of cliaracter, single- heart(^d frankness, and inflexibh^ devotion to his own sense of duty, ]h; bears striking resemblance to Grant. By large gifts faithfully iTsed, by unswerving patriotism and spotless integrity, the orphan boy, compelled at ten years old to face the Avorld for himself, has fairly earned the second place of civil trust and honor in the gift of the American people. SELLING BOOKS BY SUBSCRIPTIOX. THE AMERICAN PUBLISHING COMPANY — OF — Are engaged in the publication of rare and valuable S t a XI cL a r cl A^ o i* k s , Sellins: them bv SUBSCRIPTION ONLY. 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Our terms to agents are very liberal ; we give exclusive territory to operate in ; Catalogues and Circulars sent free u])on application. Address AMERICAN PUBLISHING CO., Hartford, Conn. EICHAEDSOX^S 'BEYOND THE MISSISSIPPI/ THE MOST FASC1NATL\G_B00K OF THE YEAR. A Thrilling Record of Eorder Life, Hamor and Adventure. 500 Large Octavo I*age§— 203 Illustrations. On the Prairies, Mountains, and Pacific Coast— witli more than two hundred illustrations, from original sketches ami pliutographs. ot the Prairies, Deserts. Mountains, Rivers. Mines, Cities, Indians, Trappers, Pioneers, and Great Malural Curiosities of theNew Slates and Territories. 1S57— 1867. — by ALBKRr D. Richakdson, aullior of ' Field, Dungeon and Escape.' Issued by subscription only, and not for sale in the boolislores. llesidents of any Slatt^ in the Union desiring a copy should ad- dress the Publisliers, and an Agent will call upon them. ' Beyond the Mississippi ' records j-ears of life, exi^erienee and travel in Kansas during the Border Ivuffian Wars — in Missouri, visiting the Iron Mountains and Lead Mines — in the Indian Territorj^, among the civilized Choctaws, Cherokees and Chicka- saws — over the Great Staked Plain of Northern Texas, and the famed Desert known as 'The Journey of the Dead Man' — among the quaint Oriental scenes of the old Mexican citj^ of El Paso — alone over solitary mountain trails through the country of hostile savages — in New Mexico with Kit Carson the renowned trapper — seven times across the great plains to the Rocky Mountains — with Horace Greeley among buffa- loes, Indians, and Colorado gold miners — with Hon. Schuyler Colfax, Lieut. Gov. Bross, of Illin.ois, and Samuel Bowles, of The Sjmngjield (Mass.) Republican, through Colorado, Nebraska, Dacotah, Utah, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington Territory, and Vancouver Island — afterward alone in Montana and Idaho, then home to New- York, via ocean and isthmus — then again to Kansas and Nebraska, to see the Pacific Railroad. Pioneer Life, its wild excitements, its enterprise, its terrible affrays and exercise of lynch law— the sudden growth of cities and States on the deserts and in the mountains— existence and experience among the gold diggings hundreds of miles beyond civilization— Mormonism and Polygamy in Utah — quartz mining, which now yields us One Hundred Millions of dollars per annum'm specie, and fifteen years hence will produce Five Hundred Millions— great Natural Curiosities, of which there are more in Western America than on all the globe beside. The Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevadas— pictured rocks— lakes among the clouds— hun- dreds of mineral sjirings— Great Salt Lake and its basin— the Snake River cataract of Idaho— the Great Falls of the Missouri— the unapproached scenery of Columbia River— the boundless forests and beautiful Puget Sound of far Washington Territory— Pike's Peak— Long's Peak— Mount Shasta— Mount Hood— Mount Rainer— the Gelsers Big Tree Groves, and the stupendous Yosemite Valley of California— the National Pacific Railroad which, now employing twenty-five thousand men and Ic be completed in three years, will make our country the highway of nations, New York the world's metropolis, and .San Francisco the second city in America. All these themes are treated by Mr. Richardson's graphic pen, and depicted by the most spirited and faithful illustralions which American Art can produce. CONDITIONS. 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NEW QUARTO PHOTOGRAPH 4&®Wli ©41it&¥ BlB£Ej With Marginal References, Apochrypha, Concordance, an Index, Family Record, The Psalms of David in Metre; A Table of Texts; a Tnhle of Kiixtretl (ind affiniti/ ; n T'e of Sfri/>tiireneig/ifs and meas- ures; a Table of (>/Ai<"< "'"' Condition of Men ; a Table of I'anKiiges in t/ie^Old Testament tjnori'd b;/ ('hrixt and Ifis Apostles; awl what has never been added, an Account of the Lives and Martyrdom o/ THE APOSTLES AND EVANGELISTS. izzusTJiATED wiTU jijsAf'Tni'T. stici:l i:xoitAriNGS. notice't^o'subscribers. Our NEW PHOTOGRAPH ALliUM F.VMILY iillU.E, wtiidi we take plcosure in presenting to the public throuo-h our traveUn^ mruuts, form* u new and attractive feature in Bible iniiking, which at once commends itself to evey home and fireside. 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