r-^Ofcuri ^cc^^ ife^^ ^. *-# ^ifi ^fi^ W^Wi «i -*;i */•■? Kr -;*?7^ fi:(€^[:y '^^3^1 :.^^,:-1^^c-^;^ '^^^PSr-'-'V!*^^^ ^w'^^/-U :ww. ;-,*^.u-' -^vvr Mi^Wi^ VI i ^CXtniis ityn t A ^UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. J ms\ yv:^ r '. 4\i- ■■?: .-p^ 'T '^v^. ■ ^. - iV^H ^"i^^^^^is: V^'-^v'^w',^-",^^ w^ w ■ .c^ ^ ^ ^ ^^^^ THE GRA^T CAMPAIGN SONGSTER, {ni,fS?.!f/7'n^:j^ef:^^'} PRICE TEIV CENTS. XKS- Every American should read t|iis Life of General Grant, -ffiff IPI^IOE 25 ^orselown, Brown county, Ohio, in 182o. Appointed a cadet at Wes-t Point, by Hon. T. L. Harmer, in 1839. Graduated June 30, 1843, number twenty-one in a class of thirty-nine. Entered on tlie army rolls as brevet second lieutenant, and assigned to the Fourth United States Infantry. Commissioned Sept. 30, 1845, second lieutenant. Accompanied Taylor's army to Mexico, and took part in all the actions from Palo Alto to Monterey. Transferred to Scott's army, taking part in the seige of Vera Cruz. Assigned as quartermaster of his regiment April, 1847. In the battle of Molino del Rey, Sept 8, 1847, and promoted on the field. Battle of ChapulLei)ec, Sept. 13, 1847, officially mentioned for gallantry by General Worth. Entered the city ot Mexico with Scott's army. Sent to Oregon, and assigned to duty at Fort Dallas. Appointed brevet captain, 1850, for services at Chapultepec. Commissioned ca[)tain August, 1853. Resigned July, 1855, and spent several years ia farming and in business at St. Louis, Missouri. Removed to Galena, III., in 1860, and was employed there in the leather house of Grant & Son, at $800 per annum, vviien the war beg:ui. Appointed mustering officer by Governor Yates, of Illinois, April, 1861. Commissioned colonel of the Twentj'-lirst Illinois Infantry, June 15, 1861. Appointed brigadier-general, August, 1861 (his commission dating back to May 1), and placed in command of the District of Cairo. Occupied Paducah, Kentucky, by a surprise movement, Sept. 6, 1861. Fought the battle of Belmont, Nov. 7, 1861. Moved up the Tennessee, and with Foote's iron-clads, captured Fort Henry, Feb. 6, 1862. Invested Fort Donelson, and ca])tured it by " unconditional surrender," Feb. 16, 1862. Promoted to be major-general of volunteers, commission dating from the capture of Fort Donelson. Advance against Corinth, March, 1862. Bloody battle of Shiloii, A])ril 6th and 7th, 1862. Appointed commander of the Department of Tennessee in July, 1862. Began the campaign against Vicksburg ; battles of luka, Corinth, and the Hatchie, Sept., 1862. Captures Vicksburg, July 4, 1863. Appointed major-general in the regular army for his successes in the campaign against Vicksburg. Severely injured by being thrown from his horse while returning from a review with Gen. Wilson at New Orleans, Sept. 5, 1863. Appointed to command of the military division of the Mississippi, October. 1863. Battles of Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain, November 24th and 25th, 1863. Appointed and confirmed lieutenant-general of the army, March 2, 1864. Arrived at Washington, and received bis commission from President Lincoln, March 8th and 9th. Assumed command of all the Union armies, headquarters in the field, March 12, 1864. Crossed the Rapidan, May 4, 1864. Battles of the Wilderness, May 5ih, 6th, and 7th. May 11th : " I shall fight it out on this line if it takes all summer." Crossed the James river and ])laced Richmond and P.^tersburg under seige, June 14, 1864. Began the final campaign of the war March 25, 1865. Battle of Five Forks, March 81 and April 1; occupies Richmond April 2d; surrender of Lee's army Ai)ril 9th, and substantial close of the war. Appointed general of tlie armies of the United States, July 25, 1866. Nominated for the Presidency by the Republican Convention at Chicago, May 21, 1868. To which we may add, will be elected President of the United States, November 4, 1868. TO THE MEMORY OF THK GALLAISTT SOLDIEES WHO FELL DUEINQ THE LATE CAMPAIGNS, AND TO THE SURVIVORS OF THE WAR, THIS STORY OF THE LIFE AND SERVICES OF OUR ILLUSTRIOUS LEADER, IS DEDICATED BY THEIR FORMER COMPANION-IN-ARMS, THE AUTHOR. As Moses stood upon the flaming hill, With all the people gathered at his feet, Waiting on Sinai's valley there to meet The awful bearer of Jehovah's will — So Grant there stand' st amidst the trumpets shriU, And the wild fiery storms that flash and beat In iron thunder and in leaden sleet. Topmost of all, and most exposed to ill, O stand thou firm, great leader of our race, Hope of our future, till the times grow bland, And into ashes drops war's dying brand ; Then let us see thee, with benignant grace Descend the height, God's glory on thy face, And the law's tables safe within thy hand ! George H. Bokee. CONTEjSTTS. CHAPTER I. grant's early days. General Grant's Ancestors-His birth— His boyhood— Anecdotes -President Lincoln's story-Limited education-Appointment to the MiUtary Academy-His scholarship-Classmates-RecoUections of him while a Cadet-He graduates-Enters the army-Serves in Mexico-At Palo Alto and Resaca dela^alma- At Montesey-From Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico-Mentioned in the report, and brevetted CapUin- Anecdotes of Grant ., CHAPTER II. BATTLE OF BELMONT. Returns to the United States -Marries Miss Dent— Off to Oregon— Promoted to a Captaincy— Resits —Becomes a farmer-Hark work— Leather dealer— Residence in Galena— Commencement of the ^Var- Grant drills a Company-Takes it to Springfield— Organizes volunteer troops-Appointed Colonel of the Twenty-first Illinois Infantry— Governor Yates of Illinois— Marches regiment to Missouri— Chaplain's description of Grant — Becomes Brigadier-General of volunteers— Assumes command at Cam)— Seizes Pa- ducah— Battle of Belmont— Its results— Anecdotes of Generals Grant and Polk 17 CHAPTER III. FORTS HENRY AND DONELSON. Change of the Department Commanders— Halleck succeeds Fremont— Grant's command enlarged— The n>bel line— Columbus— Bowling Green— Fort Henry— Fort Donelson— Gunboats at the West— Demonstra- tion in favor of Buell— Grant visits St. Louis — Urges the capture of Fort Henry— Receives permission— At- tack—Its surrender- General Tilghman's report— Grant's magnanimity— Movement on Fort lionelson- Description of the work- Assault upon the trenches— Unsuccessful — Snow storm and cold weather — Unsuc- cessful attack by the fleet— Assault— Correspondence — Surrender — Grant promoted— Political tribute.... 21 CHAPTER IV. BATTLE OF SHILOH. Results of the capture of Fort Donelson — Nashville falls— Columbus and BowUng Green evacuated — Grant and Sherman — Grant goes to Nashville — Is relieved from command — Pittsburg Landing — Grant re- instated — Headquarters at Savannah — Concentration of troops at Pittsburg Landing — Dpscription of the rebel forces — Disposition of Grant's army — The battle-field — The attack— The situation — Troops fighting, Union army forced back — Close of the day's fighting — Both armies — Nelson's and Wallace's division on the field — More troops reach Pittsburg— Monday's battle — Rebels defeated — They retreat to Corinth— Incident — Grant defamed— Defended in an eloquent speech — The old Sergeant of Shiloh 31 CHAPTER V. SIEGE OF CORINTH. Halleck assumes command— Grant under a cloud— Extracts from the letters, written by the author at Shiloh— Advance of the Union army— Capture of Farinington— Siege of Corinth— Its evacuation— In- effectual pursuit of the enemy— Buell ordered to Chattanooga, Pope to Virginia, Gnint to Memphis— Hal- leck made General-in-Chief —Offers command of the Army of the Tennessee to a Colonel— He declines- Memphis a hot-bed of treason— Aiding the rebels— Stringent and statesmanlike orders issued by Grant- Guerrillas— Smugglers— Negroes employed— Quiet retreat— A sad incident ■W 12 LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. He married in June, 1820, Miss Hannah Simp- son, a member of a Scotch family, a native of Pennsylvania, and a woman of great excellence and Christian character. As is not uncommon in the biographies of great men, we find many of the mother's characteristics reproduced and intensified in her illustrious son. Hiram Ulysses Grant was born at Mount Pleasant, Clermont County, Ohio, April 27th, 1822, in a humble dwelling still standing — a small one-story cottage, worth before the war, a few hundred dollars ; but every victory gained by the General added, in the owner's estimate, another hundred to its value. Among the many anecdotes of his child- hood, his father relates that when he was but two years of age, he took him through the village on a Fourth of July, and a friend de- siring to try the effects of a pistol upon the child, ilr. Grant consented. His little hand was accordingly put on the lock and pressed there quietly until the pistol was discharged with a loud report. The little fellow exhib- ited no alarm, but pushing the pistol away, asked in his childish way, that it should be again fixed for him to fire. The ruling pas- sion of Ulysses from the time when he could walk and talk, was for horses, and when only eight years old " he could ride anything that went on four legs " Two years later he was entrusted with the chavge of a pair of horses, which he drove forty miles to Cincinnati, and brought back a load of passengers. Of his boyhood, many stories illustrating the truth of Wordsworth's line, that ' the child is father of the man," have been told by his biographers, and in the recently published let- ters of his father ; but the best of all — the one illustrating to the greatest advantage, his leading characteristic — is a story which we heard from the lips of President Lincoln but a few weeks before his untimely death. The subject of our conversation was the war. " Well," said Mr. Lincoln, ' when Grant start- ed for Richmond last spring, and said he was going ' to fight it out on that line if it took all summer,' I made up my mind that like the old coon which Captain Bcott aimed at, Lee would have to come down." He then added, turning to me and laughing : " Colonel, did you ever hear the story of Giant at the circus 1 " " No, sir.'» " Well, I think," said the President, " that's the best thing I ever heard about him. It seems when he was ten or twelve years old, a circus company came along, and ' Lys,' as the boys called him, went. Whether he got a quarter out of the old tan- ner and paid his twenty- five cents — and I rather guess he didn't — or crawled in under the canvas as I did when a youngster, I don't know for certain. Well, they had a pony or mule in that circus trained so that nobody could ride him without being thrown, although a dollar was offered — and that was a big sum of money out West in those times — to any one who should ' hang on' while he went round the ring a few times. Several tried, but they were all shaken off. The audience thought that that fun was over, when in stepped 'Lys,' took off his cap and coat and said, ' I'll try him.' He got on and hung on, until almost around the ring three times, when he slid off over the animal's head like all the others. Not in the least disheartened, he jumped up, and as soon as he got the tan-bark out of his eyes and mouth he said, ' I sliould like to try that mule again,' and amid the cheers of the spectators away they went. But this time ' Lys ' faced to the rear, coiled his legs round the critter's body, and held on by the tail. The mule tried in vain, with head down, and then by standing on his hind legs, to shake him off as he had done before, but it want of i no sort of use ; there Grant stuck like grim death, and came off victorious. Just so he'll stick to Richmond. As Mrs. Grant says, ' he's a very obstinate man.' " Another good anecdote, illustrating the de- termined " grit" of the boy, as well as a fac- ulty of adaptation to circumstances, is related by the General's father. He had a contract to build the Brown county jail, in 1834, in the construction of which he re(iuired a number of logs some fourteen feet in length ; and Ulysses, then in his twelflli year, volunteered to drive the team of horses until the logs were all hauled. A hired man was sent with him, but after a few days' trial, the man re- ported that there was no use in his watching the boy or the team, for the lad could man- age the horses as well, if not better, than he could. A few days passed, and Mr. Grant accidentally discovered that Ulysses loaded the logs into the wagon by himself. Surprised and incredulous, he inquired into the process of the apparently impossible feat, and his son | quietly and in a matter-of-fact way explained that, taking advantage of a large sugar-tree, I which had been cut down, so that it lay as- lant, one end resting on the ground and the . LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OP GENERAL GRANT. 13 other elevated, he had hitched a horse to the end of the hewn log and drawn it up on the sugar-tree, until the end projected far enough over to allow of his backing the wagon under it ; then, when he had hauled up three, which made his load, in tliis manner, he backed the hind part of the wagon under them, hitched the horse — a strong animal — in front by means of a long cliain extending over the whole length of the wagon-box, and pulled them over, one after anotlier, into the wagon. And thus he worked for several months, until he had drawn all the logs that were required in the construction of the building. In early life Ulysses displayed a faculty for business — making good bargains when he was but fourteen — was fond of books and learned rapidly- His opportunities for acquiring knowledge were, however, very limited. His father's circumstances being at that time very moderate, he had only the benefit of a school during the winter months, the summer being devoted to labor in the woods, in the tannery, or to driving his father's horses with passen- gers to a neighboring town. The tanning ,work was always distasteful to the boy, and so, in a family council, it was decided to procure for him if jjossible an appointment of 'cadet at the United Stales Military Academy. .The success of the application, with some in- teresting details, are best told in his father's own words. He says in a letter : " I immediately wrote to Mr. Morris, one of our Senators in Congress, from Ohio, and asked him if he knew of any vacancy at West Point the appointment to which he could coptrol. He replied promptly that there was a vacancy from our own Congressional dis- trict. This surprised me ; for I know that there had been an appointment to fill that vacancy a year be- fore. It turned out, however, that the young man who had been ai^pointed had failed to pass examina- tion. His father, who was a proud-spirited man, kept it a secret and did not let his son return to the neighborhood, but placed him at the private military school of Captain Partridge. After spending six months at that school, the young man made another attempt to enter "West Point ; but failed a second time to pass the examination. This young man failed, not from a want of talent, but because he did not apply himself to study. He entered the army as a volunteer after the war broke out, and perished in the war ; whether at the hand of the enemy, or by accident, was never known, his body having been found in a nver, into which he had fallen from a bridge. Hia mother became and remains a devoted friend of General Grant. She has always watched hia career with the deepest interest. " Our Representative in Congress at that time was the Hon. Thomas L. Hamer. I wrote right on to ' him, stating that Senator Morris had informed me that there was a vacancy, requesting him to appoint Ulysses. My letter reached him on the night of thu 3d of March ; on the next day, the 4th, lu^ term of office expired. He knew Ulysses, and was glad to have an opportunity to appoint such a boy, after the bad luck which had attended his previous upixjintce ; so he made the appointment at once. A day's delay in the mail that carried my letter would liave made some difference in the history of one miin, if not of the country. Ulysses was entirely unprupartd by any previous study, pursued with special ri.tcTcnce to fitting for West Point, but he got through the exam- ination, and was admitted. I never saw him whilo at West Point, except on the occasion of one visit, which he made to his home during the furlough at the end of his second year. It was said of him, that while he was there, he was not one wlio took (lains to make himself popular, but that all the boys liked him. I believe he went by the name of " Unclt Sum," on account of his initials, " U. S." A superstitious person might almost think there was something Pro- vidential about these significant initials being stuck on to him, for they were not given to him at hi.i christ- ening. When the question arose after his birth, what he should be called, his mother and one of hia aunts proposed Albert, for Albert Gallatin ; another aunt proposed Theodore; his grandfather proixjsed Hiram, because ha thought that was a handsome name. His grandmother— grandmother by courtesy —that is, his motnor's step-mother —was a kTcat stu- dent of history— and had an enthuaioslic iidmiration for the ancient commander, Ulysses ; and clie urged that the babe should bo named Ulysses. I secomled that, and he was christened Hiram Ulysses ; but ba was always called by the latter name, wliich he him- self preferred, when he got old enough to know about it. But Mr. Hamer, knowing Mrs. Grant's name was Simpson, and that we had a son named f^impson, somehow got the matter a little mixed in making the nomination, and sent the name in Uly-^si's S. (irint, instead of Hiram Ulysses Grant. My son tri-d in vain, afterwards, to get it set right by thi; autliorities; and I suppose he is now content with his name as it stands." In July, 1830, Grant entered the MiliUry Academy at West Point, where his progress was steady, but not brilliant. In French, drawing and mathematics he was a proficient, and he became one of the best riders in the institution. At the end of the course thirty- nine only of the class of one humlred and more, who had entered with him in IB.'i'.t, grad- uated, Grant, a good middle-man, standing number twenty-one in his c'ass. Exin'rience shows how uncertain an indication the acade- my rank affords of the future success and use- fulness of the officer. Gen. Wra. B. Franklin graduated number one in Grant's clas.s, and it was a belief, in which Grant shared, tliat Frank- lin would greatly distinguish himself in the late war. Gen. Joseph J. Reynolds, another of his classmates, graduated number ten ; Gen. Rufus Ingalls, Quartermaster-General of 14 LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. the army of the Potomac ; Grant's brother-in- law, Gen. Dent, and the lateG n. Fred. Sleele, •who participated in tlie Vicksburg and Miss- issippi campaigns, all of the class of 1843, highly distinguished themselves during the late war. The following incident occurred while young Grant was serving liis first year at West Point, where it is the practice to play a joke on every new comer, but he having ta- ken a letter of introduction to a cadet, was told of this custom and placed on liis guard. In the course of the first night after leaving the encampment, and going into barracks, one of the cadets dressed as an officer entered the room where Grant and his companion were sleeping, and told them that one of the rules of the institution required that a task should be given to them, to see how they would get through with it. He then, producing a book, ordered that, before retiring, they should each commit to memory a lesson of twenty pages. " All right, all right " responded Ulysses ; and as soon as the pretended officer had with- drawn, he went quietly back to his bed, while his chum sat up and studied all night. It is unnecessary to add that the recitation had not yet been called for. Among the records of Grant's career at West Point, where his demer- its were mostly says, his father, " of a trivial character, such as not having his coat but- toned, or his shoes tied right, or something of that kind." Prof. Coppee, who was his com- rade for ten years at the Academy, writes : " I remember him as a plain, common-sense, straight-forward youth ; quiet, rather of the old head on young shoulders order ; shunning notoriety, quite contented, while others were grumbling; taking to his military duties in a very business-like manner ; not a prominent man in the corps, but respected by all, and very popular with his friends. His sobriquet of Uncle Sam was given to him there, while every good fellow has a nickname, from their very qualities ; indeed he was a very uncle- like sort of a youth. He was then and always an excellent horseman, and his picture rises before me as I write, in the old torn coat, obso- lescent leather gig-top, loose riding pantaloons, with spurs buckled over them, going with his clanking sabre to the drill hall. He exhibited but little enthusiasm in anything ; his best standing was in the mathematical branches, and their application to tactics and military engineering." From another source we have an interest- ing account of Grant's career at West Point, as well as that of Lieutenant-General Sherman. Prof. Mahan, of the United States Military Academy, wrote in 1866: " Now I can truly say that, not having met Oen. Grant from the time he graduated, in 1S-J3, until he visited the Academy, in June, 1805, and (jen. [Sher- man only twice, at long intervals, Irom his giadua- tion, in 1840, until the same time, I felt, when I saw them in this last visit, that I was in the presence of two remarkable men. The feeling was not simply that which Dr. Johnson somewhere described as what every person instinctively feels who enters the ijres- ence of an Admiral or General who has encounted the perils of battle, llor that which causes me in- stinctively to uncover when I approach either of those two octogenarian Kestors of our old aimy, Lieutenant-General Scott or General Thayer. Alas ! how few are left, Eari nantes in gurgite vasto, hut what all must feel who see, for the first time, men who have done deeds that have called forth the plaudits of nations, and have won for themselves the respect and gratitude of their country. " Of the student-lite of each of these men during their last year at the Academy I have a distinct rec- ollection. Brought under my supervision frequently in daily recitations, and for about three months three hours daily working under my eye, my opportunities for gaining an insight into their characteristics were passably good. Professor Coppcc describes Grant as a " middle-man," a phrase new to me. He was what we termed a first-section man in all his scientific studies ; that is, one who accomplishes the full course. He always showed himself a clear thinker and a, steady worker. He belonged to the class of compact- ly strong men who went at their task at once, and kept at it until finished, never being seen, like the slack-twisted class, yawning, lolling on their elbows over their work, and looking as if just ready to sink down from mental inanity. " Sherman was the reverse of this in manner. Ea- ger, impetuous, restless, he always worked with a will. Being one of those of whom Byron says • " ' Quiet to quick souls is a hell.' " If he wasn't at work he was in for mischief. If, while explaining something to his class at the black-' board, I heard any slight disturbance, denoting some fun, I was seldom wrong, in turning round, in hold- ing up my finger to Mr. Sherman. But one was more than repaid for any slight annoyance of this kind, by his irrepressible good nature, and by the clear thought and energy he threw into his work. " That he should accomplish something great, I was prepared to learn. But not so in Grant, whose round, cheery, boyish face, though marked with character and quiet manner, gave none of that evidence of what he has since shown he possesses. " Grant's mental machine is of the powerful low-pres- sure class, which condenses its own steam and con- sumes its own smokf ; and which pushes steadily for- ward and drives all obstacles before it. Sherman's belongs to the high-pressure class, which lets off both a puff and a cloud, and dashes at its work with re- sistless vigor, the result of a sound boiler and plenty of fuel. LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. i; " The'question is often put to me whether I look up- on Grant and Sherman as great men. To this there is but one reply. Posterity alone, when the clouds, raised by passion, prejudice and partisanship, shall have been dissipated, and truth revealed in all her distinctness, will be competent to pronounce upon this point. But, if gi-eat deeds, the results of high mental and moral powers, of magnanimity and gen- erosity towards public and private enemies are char- acteristics of greatness, then cannot the meed of this ennobling patent be withheld, in our own day, from either of these men. " In the selection of subordinates to carry out their plans, and in discrimination of character, the faculty without which no man can become a suc- cessful leader in anything, both have shown them- selves equally happy. And of that other faculty, di- rectness of purpose, equally essential to success, which keeps the mind intent on the great object be- fore it, and rejects all side issues, however tempting, that might divert it from this object, each has fur- nished striking examples " Their place in the classes of generals may per- haps be settled more readily now ; for their profos- sional acts are as fully before the public as they possibly ever will be. Grant will take a conspicuous place in history — in that one to which "William of Orange, Turenne, Frederick of Prussia, "Washington, Massena, Wellington and Scott belong. Sherman, if below, not far from that galaxy, brilliant with the scintillations of genius, in which .iVlexander, Hanni- bal, C«esar and Napoleon are found. " "Wherever placed, they will go down to all time, as names dear to and honored by the American heart, as connected with the integrity of the Republic. " There is but one prayer, that now, as their old in- structor, I would form for them, and that is, that, having passed through so many perils of the battle- field and of pestilential climate, they may also got, scathless, through that truly American ordeal, the cunningly-wrought meshes of unscrupxilous politi- cians. As the Spanards say, Quien sabe. " Let us hope, that having borne themselves so mod- estly and equably, under such profuse showers of public adulation, with the examples of the vitupera- tion poured upon Scott, Lincoln and Johnson imme- diately under their eyes, and of the grand historic figure of Washington looming up in the past, they will not require the warning of Scripture against the temptings of ambition in the words addressed to the Prophet, ' Is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing ! ' " Of all the incidents in the lives of these two illus- trious men, nothing, perhaps, was more characteristic of them, and none probably will be longer remem- bered by them with pleasure, than their visit to their Alma Mater at West Point, in June, 1865. More fortunate than mortals generally, the lines of Byron do not, in all, apply to them :— " ' Green and unfading blooms that schoolboy spot. Which we can ne'er forget, though we are there for- got,' " In a room in which the examination for graduation to which they had also been subjected, was going on, the faculty before whom they had passed their ordeal, still sitting in it, a young class of their comrades pre- sent, and crowded with an eager, enthusiastic assem- blage of ladies and many distinguished men. Grant first appciured, leaning ou the arm ot the supermteu- dent, slirinking and half dj-awmg back, as, with al- most feminine timidly depicted on his face, he was led forward, to be presented to his old professors. Sherman, a day or two after, pajMed through the same ordeal. With equal modesty, but with that self- assertion of manner that has become a habit with him, he greeted all around, and in a few momenta was busy turning over the specimens of the cadets' drawings that were placed aside on a table, comparing the present with the past. Happy Alvia MaUr, in having such sons to present to the republic. Moro happy that the characteristics of her flock, thus tar, are personal integrity and devotion to the public in- intcrests enstrusled to them." Grant began his army service in July, 1843, as brevet second lieutenant in the Fourth Infantry. The explanation of this is, liiat there being no vacancy in the infantry arm, all graduated cadets are thus attached, in the order of merit, to regiments as supernumary officers, each to await a vacancy caused by death or promotion. The regiment was then at Jefferson barracks, near St. Louis, Missouri, but in the summer of 1844 it was sent to Nachitoches, Louisiana, and as the ^lexican plot thickene 1 in the year following, the Fourth was ordered to Corpus Christ! , Texas, to watch the Mexican army then concen- trating near the Rio Grande. Grant was made a second lieutenant on the 30lh of Sep- tember, 1845, and in the spring succeeding shared in the glories of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma ; he also took part in the bloody battle of Monterey. He was now ordered to leave Taylor's army and join General Scott's command, destined to make one of the most glorious campaigns in American historj* — a campaign which elicited the highest praise from Wellington, and placed him among the great captains of the nineteenth century. Not the march of Alexander to the Indus ; of Marlborough to the Danube ; of Napoleon to Moscow ; or Sherman to the sea, was more wonderful than AVinfield Scott's triumphant march from Vera Cruz to the balls of the Montezumas with his little band of heroes. Following in the footprints of Cortez, he fought his way to the capital of a nation num- bering many millions of inhabitants, with a less number of muskets than Hancock's corps numbered on the morning of the battle of the Wilderness, and entered the city at the liead of six thousand men. Foreign military critics spoke of Scott and his gallant array — one half of which was com- posed of volunteers — with undiguified con- 16 LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. tempt, predicting the most disastrous failure, and pronouncing liie dictum that the Mexican capital was impregnable against forces three- fold greater thaa those with which Scott was undertaking the campaign. The American translator of Jomini's Grand Military Operations, says in his preface : '■ General Scott disposed of Santa Anna at Cerro Gordo very much as Frederick the Great did Daun at Leulhen ; he turned his position, attacking first nearest to his line of retreat, and engaging somewhat in the oblique order, proving himself a great commander. So at Contretras and likewise at Chorubusco, as soon as the enemy's position was defined ; and so with a climax, of skill and judgment at the City of Mexico, in changing the line of operations from the side of El Pevin to that of Coyacau." But to return from this digres- sion to our young hero. Previous to the surrender of Vera Cruz, March 29, 1847, the Fourth Infantry was transferred from General Taylor's command to Scou's, and Lieutenant Grant was transferred with his regiment. He took part in the siege operations of that place, and witnessed its surrender. Preparatory to the advance into the interior, he was, on April 1st, appointed Regimental Quartermaster, a post which he held durmg the remainder of the Mexican war. It is a position requiring system and patience, and drawing a small additional pay ; it is usually conferred upon some solid and energetic officer, not necessa- rily remarkable for impetuous valor. The stafi^ appointment held by Grant allowed him to remain in charge of the regimental equip- age and trains — as we knew many officers to do during the late war in the hours of battle — and it is therefore recorded as greatly to G.ant's credit, that he always joined in the combats in which his regiment took part. He wrote home: "I do not mean you shall ever hear of my shirking my duty in battle. My new pnst of quartermaster is considered to af- ford an officer an opportunity to be relieved from fighting, but I do not, and cannot see it in that light. You have always taught me that the post of danger is the post of duty." Then, quoting Warren's memorable reply to Putnam, who had proposed sending him to a place of safety — " Send me where the fight may be the holiest, for tliere I can do the most good to my country'' — the young hero added : " So I feel in mv position as quartermaster. I do QOt intend that it shall keep me from fighting for our dear old flag when the hour of battle comes." At the battle of Molino del Rey, September, 8th, 1847, he behaved with such distinguished gallantry, that he was awarded by Congress a brevet of first lieutenant, to date from the date of the battle. This brevet, however, owing to the fact of his becoming a full first lieu- tenant by the casualties of that bloody battle, he declined. He behaved with equal gallan- try during the remainder of the operations before the City of Mexico, but especially in the engagement of Chapultepec, fought Sep- tember 13th, 1847. The following extracts are from the official reports to the War Department of this battle : In the report of Captain Horace Brooks, Second Artillery, of the battle of Chapultepec, he says : " I succeeded in reaching the fort with a few men. Here Lieutenant U. S. Grant, and a few more men of the Fourth Infantry found me, and, by a joint movement, after an obstinate resistance, a strong field work was carried, and the enemy's right was completely turned." The report of Major Francis Lee, command- ing the Fourth Infantry, of the battle of Cha- pultepec, says : " At the first barrier the enemy was in strong force, which rendered it necessary to advance with caution. This was done, and when the head of the battalion was within short musket range of the barrier. Lieutenant Grant, Fourth Infantry, and Captain Brooks, Second Artillery, with a few men of their respective regiments, by a handsome movement to the left, turned the right flank of the enemy, and the barrier was carried. * * Second Lieutenant Grant behaved with distin- guished gallantry on the 13th and 14th." The report of Brevet Colonel John Garland, commanding the first brigade, of the battle of Chapultepec, says : " The rear of the enemy had made a stand behind a breast-work, from which they were driven by detachments of the Second Artillery, under Captain Brooks, and the Fourth Infantry, under Lieutenant Grant, supported by other regiments of the division, after a short but sharp conflict. * * I recognized the command as it came up, mounted a howitzer on the top of a covent, which, under the direction of Lieutenant Grant, Quartermaster of the Fourtk Infantry, and Lieutenant Lendrum, Third Artillery, annoyed the enemy considerably. * * * Imustnoi omit to call attention to Lieutenant Grant, LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GR.^T. 17 Fourth Infantry, who acquitted himself most nobly upon several occasions under my own observation." In this particular mention of oflScers for gallantry and good conduct, besides the offi- cers of his own staff, General Garland names but one other officer besides Lieut. Grant, out of his whole brigade. General Worth's report, September 16th. also speaks highly of Lieut. Grant. For gallant and meritorious conduct at the battle of Chapultepec, Lieut. Grant re- ceived a brevet of captain in the regular army, to date from September 13, 1847. The bre- vet was awarded by Congress during the ses- sion of 1849-50, and was confirmed during January, 1850. The only incident we have heard connected with Grant's sojourn among the Mexicans, is the following horse story, related by Prof. Coppee, at that time one of his companions- in-arms. During their residence at the capi- tal of the Montezumas, Grant, who was al- ways an admirable horseman, owned a fiery and spirited stallion. A Mexican gentleman, with whom he was upon friendly terms, asked the loan of the horse. Grant said afterwards, " I was afraid he could not ride him, and yet I knew, if I said a word to that eflect, the sus- picious Spanish nature would think I did not wish to lend him." The result was, the Mex- ican mounted him, was thrown before he had gone two blocks, and killed on the spot. CHAPTER II. BATTLE OF BELMONT. Returns to the United States — Marries Miss Dent — Off to Oregon — Promoted to a Captaincy — Resigns — Becomes a farmer — Hard work — Leather dealer — Residence m Galena — Commencement of the war — Grant drills a company — takes it to Springfield- Organizes volunteer troojjs — Appointed Colonel Twenty-first Illinois Infantry —General Yates of Illinois— Marches regiment to Missouri—Chaplain's description of Grant — Becomes Brigadier-General volunteers —Assumes command at Cairo—Seizes Pa- ducah— Battle of Belmont— Its results— Anecdote of Generals Grant and Polk. " I do not mean that you shall ever hear of my shirk- ing my duty in battle." Grant to his Father. Upon the close of the Me.xican war by the treaty proraulsated in April, 1848. the Fourth Infantry returned to the United States, and in August our hero was married to Miss Julia F. Dent, an estimable lady, to whom he became engaged before he went to Mexico. Among Grant's classmates was the present General F. J. Dent, whose family lived within a few miles of Jefferson barracks, and it was while sta- tioned there that Grant was introJuced by Lieutenant Dent to his sister, who now shares his honors, and modestly speaks of her illustri- ous husband as Mr. Grant. His regiment was stationed on the Canada frontier, with head- * quarters at Detroit, Michigan. Subsequently they were sent to Governor's Island, New York, preparatory to being ordered to tlie Pacific coast. In 1852, leaving wife and child — a son who is now a promising cadet at West Point — behind, Grant sailed nominally for California, but in reality for Oregon. The regiment re- mained but a short time in California, and then proceeded to Oregon ; the battalion to which Grant was attached having its head- quarters at Fort Dallas. While in this territory he received his promotion to a full captaincy, his commission dating from August, 1853. Seeing little prospect of rapid promotion in tliose '"dull and piping times of peace," and dissatisfied with the enforced and necessary separation from his family. Grant decided to leave the army, and accordingly in July 31, 1854, resigned his commission as captain of the Fourth Infantry and returned to the East. His wish to become a farmer was now real- ized. Mr. Dent, his father-in-law, gave his wife a farm, at Gravois, about nine miles from St. Louis, Missouri, and his father presented him with the necessary stock and material to carry it on. He built a new house — in part with his own hands — of hewn logs for the/esidence of his family, and employed men to cut wood on his farm, which he hauled to the St. Louis market, and sold there, he driving one of his two teams, his little son the other. He was a lhorou2h farmer, and worked like a beaver, but at the expiration of four years of unre- mitting labor, finding he had not advanced pecuniarily, but had lost money, he decided o abandon the farm, which he did, and en- tered into the real estate business in St. Louis. After several months experience, discovering tliat the profits were insufficient for the main- ■ tenance of two families, he said to his partner : " You may have the whole of this business and I will look up something else to do.'' He obtained a place in the Custom House, which he lost in a f 'W months, by the death of the collector who had appointed him. In April, 1860, Grant went to Galena, 18 LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANl', Illinois, and entered the leather store be- longing to his father, and conducted by his two brothers. " He took right hold of the business with his accustomed industry," says his father, " and was a very good salesman. He had a faculty to entertain people in con- versation, although he talked but little him- self. But he never would take any pains to extend his acquaintance in Galena ; and after he joined the army, and had begun to be dis- tinguished, citizens of the town would stop in front of our store, within six feet of the win- dows, and look in to see which of the Grants it was that was absent, and had become fa- mous." In another letter addressed to the author, dated, Covington, Kentucky, March 20, 1868, he says : — " After Ulysses' farming and real estate experiments failed to be self- supporting, he came to me at this place for advice and assistance. I referred him to Simpson, ray next oldest son, who had charge of my Galena business, and who was staying with mo at that time on account of ])oor health. Simpson sent him to the Galena store to stay until something better should turn up in his favor, and told him he would allow him a salary of eight hundred dollars per animm. * * Tiiat amount would have supported liis family then, .but he owed debts at St. Louis, and did draw fifteen hundred dollars in the year, but he paid back the balance after he went into the army." Thus it would seem that when the rebellion began, Grant was a private citizen, earning his bread in an insignificant inland town, and maintaining his family on a salary of less than seventy dollars per month, " lie was," says a biographer, "of simple tastes and habits, without influence and unambitious. Having never been brought in contact with men of eminence, he had no personal knowledge of great allaiis. He had never commanded more than a company of soldiers, and although he had served under both Taylor and Scott, it was as a subaltern and without any opportu- nity of intercourse with those commanders He had never voted for a President but once ; he knew no politicians, for his acquaintance was limited to army officeis and AVestern trad- ers ; even in the town where he lived, he had not met tlie member of Congress who re- presented that district for nine successive years, and who afterwanls became one of his most intimate personal friends. Of his four children, the eldest was eleven years old. He lived in a little house at the top of one of the picturesque hills, on which Galena was built, and went daily to the warehouse of iiis father and brother, where leather was sold by the wholesale and retail. He was thirty-nine years of age before his countrymen became acquainted with his name. A three-penny tax on tea precipitated the American Revolution. British taxation with- out representation detached thirteen of its choicest colonies from the crown and culmi- nated in their recognition as the indipendent republic of the United States of America. In 1789, the States were established in " the more perfect Union " of the Federal Constitu- tion. Under this government, notwithstand- ing the stain on our fair fame, arising from the existence in many of the States of the institu- tion of African slavery, the country flourished in an unexampled manner, and the fame of the Model Republic extended "from the rivers to the end of the earth.'' Taxation was so light as hardly to be felt, and to our shores came the down-trodden people of the old world, seeking new homes in the great and growing Western land, which during eighty years of peace had expanded to thiitystates and nearly thirty millions of inhabitants. By the elec- tion in 1860 of Abraham Lincoln to the Presi- dency, the unscrupulous politicians of the South presuming loss of prestige and power, determined to rule or ruin, and induced their States to withdraw from the Union, and plunged our peaceful and prosperous country into one of the most terrific civil wars in the liistory of the human race. The Southerners began the war by seizing the national forts and arse- nals within their territory ; and at Fort Sum- ter, South Carolina, before resistance was ofiered, they fired on the National flag and compelled the heoric Amlerson and his gal- lant little band to surrender. With the news of the fall of Fort Sumter ceased the feeling of apathy which had hitherto prevailed among a portion of the people ; j)arty strife was forgot- ten, and the whole North, as one man, was ready to sustain and maintain the authority of the government, and to crush out the mon- ster mutiny organized by the pro-slavery fire- brands of the Southern States. It may be easily conceived how the treach- ery of Southern leaders, the secession of South Carolina and the bombardment of Sumter effected Grant. A decided Democrat before the war, he had, in his limited sphere, been LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. 19 in favor of conceding to the South all its rights, peihaps more ; but when the struggle actually began, his patiiotism and mililary ardor were aroused togeLlier. As a patriot he was delenuiiied to support his goverunient and its flag ; and as a soldier he saw opening before hiui a career of distinction for which he had been educated — a career in which he had already, in some degree, distinguished himself, and one for which he felt he was bet- ter fitte I llian for any of the vocations he had unsuccessfully pursued in civil life. Fort Sum- ter fell April ICth, 1861, and the President s call for seventy-flve thousand troops was made on the 15th. Four days later Grant was drill- ing a company of volunteers atOalena, and on the 23d proceeded with it to Springfield, the capital of Illinois. From there he wrote to the Adjutant-General of the United States array at Washington, offering his services in any capa- city in wliich he could aid the government. The letter was not deemed of sufHcientimi)or- tance to preserve in tjie Adjutant-General's of- fice. It stated that Qi ant had received a mili- tary education at the public expense, and now that the country was in danger, he thought it his dut\' to place at the dispos.al of the authori- ties whatever skill or experience he had ac- qiui'ed. He received no reply, but remained at Springfield, aiding the Governor in the organization of the State troops. His father wrote as follows concerning this portion of Gram's career. He says : " The company of the Galena volunteers offered to elect him captain, but a gentleman who desired a higher military position, and thought this would serve as a stepping stone to it, fraukly confessed his aspi- rations to Grant, who told him that he should not be a candidate himself, and also told the company that he should decline ; but he agreed to go with them to Springfield, the capital of the State. " On this mission he was accompanied b^ the Hon. E. B. "Washburne, the Bepresentative in Congress from the Galena district, who introduced him to Gov- ernor Yates, the Governor of the State. Mr. Yates did not appear to take much notice of him at the time ; but, a day or two afterwards, sent for him and asked him : " ' Do you understand how many men it takes to make a company ! And how many to make a regi- ment ? And what officers each must have .' ' "' Oh, yt'S,' replied Grant, ' I understand all about such matters ; I was educated at West Point, and served eleven years in the regular army.' " ' Well, then,' said the Governor, ' I want you to take a chair, here in my office, as Adjutant-General of the State. ' " Grant remained in this capacity several weeks, when he made a short visit to us at Covington. While he was absent fiom Springfield, Mr. Burk, a young man employed in our house at Galena, called on Governor Yates, and, in the course of the inter- view, the Governor said to him : " ' What kind of a man is this Grant ? lie has been educated at West Point and says lie wants to go into the army ; several regiments have olL-red to elect him colonel, but ho says, ' No ; ' and docliacs to bo a candidate. Wliat does he want ! ' " ' You see, Governor,' says Burk, ' Grant has only served in the regular army, where they have no elec- tions, but officers are jiromoted according to seni- ority. Whatever place you want liim for, just ap- point him without consulting him at all iK-lors- hanil, and you will find ho will accept whatever ho is appointed to.' " Acting on this suggestion, the Governor tele- graphed to me that he had appointed Ulysses Colo- nel of the 21st Illinois Infantry. But Uruut hud left for Springfield before the telegram was received, by way of Torre Haute, where Reynolds, a favorite classmate of his, was living." When Governor Yates, of Illinois, was a can- didate for the United States Senate, some of the friends of Washburne, who was a rival candidate for the same office, made the point in his favor that he was the man who had brought forward General Grant ; and they urged Ihall a man who had given .such a gen- eral to tlio country deserved to be a Senator. Yates, in reply, said, that it was not true that Wasiiburne had given Grant to the country, "God," said he, '• gave General Grant to the country, and I signed his ti:st conuuission." Then, stretching upward his riyiit hand, he exclaimed, " and it wis the most glorious day of my Ufv when thcscjingcics signed that commission^ To show the spirit of the loyal Governor of Illinois, now an eloquent member of the United States Senate and an entiiusiaslic ad- mirer and supporter of General Grant, we in- troduce here a part of the letter he wrote to a citizen of Oskaloosa, who complained that traitors had cut down his flag, and imjuired what he should do. The patriotic Yates re- plied as follows: "You say that the pola which floated the Stars and Slrip'-s on the Fourth of July was cut down by secessionists, and that, at a picnic which you are to have, it is threatened that the flag shall be taken down, and you ask me whether you would be justifiable in defending the flag with fi. earms. I am astonished at this question, as much a.-^ if you were to ask me whether yon would have a right to defend your property against robbers, or your life against murderers ! You ask me what you shall do 1 I rejily. Do not raise the American flag merely to provoke your secession neighbors ; do not be on the aggres- sive; but whenever you raise it on your own 20 LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT, soil, or on the public property of the States or county, or at any public celebration, from hon- est love to the flag and patriotic devotion to the country wliicli it symbolizes, and anj' trai- tor dares to lay his unhallowed hand upon it to tare it down, shoot him as you would a dog, and I will pardon you for the offence.''^ Before receiving his commission as Colonel, bearing date June 15, 1861, Grant went to Cin- cinnali to visit Major-General McClellan, then in command of Ohio troops. The two had been acquainted in the old army, and had served together in Mexico, and although Grant had no intention of making an application for a position on his staff' he still hoped that Mc- Clellan might give him one. He went twice to headquarters, but did not see McClellan, and returned to Illinois without mentioning his as- pirations to any one. When his commission was handed to him by the Governor he immediately accepted it and at once entered upon the dis- charge of his duties. Removing the regiment from their place of organization, Mattoon, to Caseyviile, he superintended their drill, im- proved their discipline, and not long after he marched his men in default of railroad trans- portation one hundred *and twenty miles to Quincy on the Mississippi, which was supposed to be in danger. Thence he moved under or- ders to defend the line of the Hannibal and St. Joseph's railroad in Missouri, and here coming into contact with other regiments com- manded by volunteer officers, his military ed- ucation and experience pointed to him, al- though the youngest colonel of the combined forces, as acting Brigadier-General of this place; his headquarters on July 31st were at Mexico, about fifty miles north of the Mis- souri river. On August 7th he was commis- sioned by the President Brigadier-General of Volunteers, to date from May 17th, hi.s first knowledge of his promotion coming to him from the newspapers of the day. As one of the few regular officers among the Illinois troops his name had been suggested to Mr. Lincoln by the Hon. E. B. Washburne for a Brigadier-Generalship, and the recommenda- tion was unanimously concurred in by all the other members of Congress from Illinois, He was se\»enteenth in a list of thirty-four original appointments of that date. The chaplain of Grant's regiment gives us the following interesting reminiscences of his pri vate and military character. Describing his personal appearance, he says he is about five feet ten inches in height, and will weigh one hundred and forty, or forty-five pounds. He has a countenance indicative of reserve, and indomitable will and persistent purpose : «' In dress he is indifferent and careless, making no pretensions to style or fashionable mihtary display. Had he continued Colonel till now, I think his uni- form would have lasted till this day ; for he never used it except on dress parade, and then seemed to regard it a good deal as David did Saul's armor. " ' His body is a vial of intense existence ;' and yet when a stranger would see him in a crowd, he would never think of asking his name. He is no dis- sembler. He is a sincere, thinking, real man. " He is always cheerful. No toil, coU, heat, hun- ger, fatigue or want of money depresses him. He does his work at the time, and he requires all under his command to be equally prompt. I was walking over the camp with him one morning after breakfast ; it was usual tor each company to call the roll at a given hour, it was now probably a half hour after the time for that duty ; the Colonel was quietly smoking his old meerschaum and talkmg and walking along, when he noticed a company drawn up in line and the roll being called. He instantly drew his pipe from his mouth and exclaimed, ' Captain this is no time for calling the roll ; order your men to their quarters immediately.' The command was instantly obeyed, and the Colonel resumed his smoking, and walked on, conversing as quietly as if nothing had happened. For this violation of discipline those men went with- out rations that day, except what they gathered up privately from among their friends of other compa- nies. Such a breach of order was never witnessed in the regiment afterwards while he was its colonel. This promptness is one of Grant's characteristics, and it is one of the secrets of his success. " On one of our marches, when passing through one of those small towns where the grocery is the principal establishment, some of the lovers of intox- ication had broken away from our lines and filled their canteens with whiskey, and were soon reeling and ungovernable under its influence.. " "While apparently stopping the regiment for rest, Grant passed quietly along and took each canteen, and wherever he detected the fatal odor, emptied the liquor on the ground with as much nonchalance as he would empty his pipe, and had the offenders tied behind the baggage wagons until they had sobered in- to soldierly propriety. On this point his orders were imperative ; no whiskey or intoxicating beverages were allowed in his camp. " In the afternoon of a very hot day in July, 1861, while the regiment was stationed in the town of Mexico, Missouri, I had gone to the cars as they were passing, and procured the daily paper, and seated myself in the shadow of my tent to read the news. In the telegraphic column I soon came to the an- nouncement that Grant, with several others, was made Brigadier-General. In a few minutes he oarne walking that way, and I called to him : " ' Colonel, I have some news here that will interest you.' " ' What have you. Chaplain ? * " ' I see that you are made Brigadier-General.' " He seated himself by my side, and remarked : " • Well, sir, I had no suspicion of it. It never LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. 21 came from any request of mine. That's some of Washburue's work. I knew "Washbume in Galena ; he was a strong Republican and I was a Democrat, and I thought from tlial he never liked me very well. Hence we never had more than a business or street acquaintance. But when the war broke out, I found he had induced Oovoruor Yates to appoint me mus- tering othcer of the Illinois volunteers, and after that had something to do in having me commission- ed colonel of the twenty-first regiment ; and I sup- pose this is some of his work.' " And he very leisurely rose up and pulled his black felt hat a little nearer his eyes, and made a few extra passes at his whiskers, and walked away with as much apparent unconcern as if some one had merely told him that his now suit of clothes was fin- ished. " Grant belongs to no church, yet he entertains and expresses the higliest esteem for all enterprises that tend to promote religion. When at home, he generally attended the Methodist Episcopal church. TVhile Colonel of the twenty-first regiment, he gave every encouragement and facility for securing a prompt and uniform observance of religious services, and was generally found in the audienoe listening to preaching. " Shortly after I came into the regiment, our mess ■were cftie day taking their usual seats around the dinner table, when he remarked : " ' Chaplain, when I was at home, and ministers ■were stopping at my house, I always invited them to ask a blessing at the table. I suppose a blessing is as much needed here as at home ; and if it is agreeable ■with your views, I should be glad to havB you ask a blessing every time we sit down to eat.' " After servins under Pope in what was known as the '■ District of Northern Missouri," and being stationed at Ironton and Jefferson City, occupied in watcliing tlie movements of partisan forces of rebels under General Jeff. Thompson, G.ant was on Septe.Tiber 1st as- signed by General Fremont, commanding the Western Department, to the command of the District of Soutlie.ist Missouri, and on the 4l1i made his headquarters at Cairo, situated at the junction of tlie Ohio and Mississippi rivers. The district included not only the region from which it takes its name, but the southern part of Illinois, and so much of Kentucky and Ten- nessee as might fall into the possession of National forces, and comprised the junction of Cumberland, Tennessee, Ohio, and Missis- sippi rivers. A glance at the map discloses the straiegetic importance of Cairo, as a base of operations for a Southern advance, and of vital importanca in tiie line of defence for the rich and extensive area of country lying be- tween the Ohio and Mississippi. It was also of great value as an inland naval depot, as a point for fitting out river expeditions, and for the transportation of supplies. At the time that Brigadier-G<^neral Grant, was transferred from Missouri to the post of Cairo, the State of Kentucky was endeavoring to maintain a neutral jjosition — a neutrality never recognized by the United States authori- ty. The rebels under General Pulk were the first to cross the Kentucky line, taking i)ossession of Columbus and Hickman on the Mississippi, and Bowling Green on the Green river, all of which places they fortified, also fortifying the Tennessee at Fort Henry, and tiie Cumberland at Fort Donaldson. Grant was not slow to follow their example. Fremont had ordered a movement in Missouri, which he was to su- perintend, and had directed the construction of Fort Holt, when Grant, learning of the ad- vance of Polk, at once notified his command- ing officer, and later in the day, having received additional information, he telegraphed to Fre- mont, at St. Louis, " I am getting ready to go • loPaducali; willstartatsixanda-hall o'clock." Still later on tho Sept. 5th, he wrote, " I am now nearly ready for Paducah, should not telegram arrive preventing the movement." Receiving no reply. Grant stai ted at ten and a-half o clock that night, with two regiments and a light battery, together with two gun- boats — the naval force at Cairo being under his control — arriving there early tho following morning, and taking possession of the town without firing a gun, the rebels under General Tilghman hurrying out of town by railroad, while the Union forces were landing. Grant wasjustin time to obtain possession of this val- uable position, a large force of several thou- sand rebels being within a few hours march of Paducah. After issuing a proclamation* to * Paducah, Ky., September 6, 1861. To THE Citizens of Paducah :— I am come amony you, not as an enemy, but as your tellow-citizen. Not to maltreat you, nor to annoy you, but to respect and enforce the rights of all loyal citizens. An ene- my in rebellion against our common government has taken possession of, and planted his guns upon the soil of Kentucky, and fired upon you. Columbus and Hickman are in his hands. He is moving ujion your city. I am here to defend you against this enemy, to assist the authority and sovereignty of your govern- ment. / have nothing to do with opinions, and shall deal only with armed rebellion, and its aiders and abettors. You can pursue your usu.al avocations without fear. The strong arm of the government ia here to protect its friends and "punish ita enemies. Whenever it is manifest that you are able to defend yourselves, and maintain the authority of the spov- emment. and protect the riffhfs of loval citizens, I shall withdraw the forces under my command. U. S. Gkant, Brigadier-General commanding. > 22 LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. the inhabitants, informing them of his reasons for taking jjossession of tlie town, and that lie was prepared to defend the citizens against the enemy, adding significantly that he had notii- ing to do with opinions, but should deal only with armed rebellion, its aiders and abettors, he returned to Cairo, leaving Gen. Charles F. Smith in command. On his arrival at his headquarters. Grant found a dispatch from Fremont, giving his permission that the move- ment against Paducah should be made " if he felt strong enough." Soon after the capture of Paducah, Smith- land, near the mouth of the Cumberland, was occupied by Grant's forces, two points of vi- tal importance to the rebels as a gateway of supplies, and as conlrolling the mouths of the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. When Grant was assigned to the command of the District of Southeast- Missouri, Gener- al McCleinand's brigade with other troops were added to his brigade, until by tiie end of October, his forces amounted to nearly twen- ty thousand men. As early as the lOlh of September, he suggested the feasibility of cap- turing Columbus, an important position on the Mississippi, about twenty miles below Cairo, stating to General Fremont that, " if it was discretionary with me, with a little addition to my present force, I would take Columbus," No notice was taken of this ajjplication, and being kept strictly subordinate to the com- mander of the \Ve.stern Department, he was compelled to confine himself to drilling and disciplining his troops and making reconnois- sances. Belmont, on the westside of the Missis- sippi, a small post, fortified only by a rude sort of abatis, and lying directly under the guns of Columbus, was destined to be the scene of the first conflict of importance in the West. The rebels were constantly sending sup- plies and men from Belmont to Columbus, until at length it became one of the strongest works on the river, completely barring the navigation of the Mississippi, and a constant menace to every point of Grant's command. Fremont, imder date November first, direct- ed Grant to make demonstrations on both sides of the river towards Charleston, Norfolk, and Blandville, points a few miles north of Columbus. He was not, however, to make any attack on the enemy. On the second the com- manding general telegraphed him that three tiiousand rebels were in Missouri, about fifty miles southeast of Cairo, and ordered him to send a force to assist in turning thera into Arkansas. In accordance with these instruc- tions, Grant sent Colonel Oglesby on the night of the 3d, with the eighth, eleventh, eighteenth twenty-ninth Illinois, and three sijuadrons of cavalry, from Commerce, Missouri, towards Indian Ford, on the St. Francis river. On the 5th, Grant received a dispatch from Fremont, that Polk, who was in command at Columbus, was reinforcing General Price in Southwest- ern Missouri, and as he (Fremont) was at the time confronting the rebel General, it was of vital importance that these rebel reinforce- ments should cease, by a demonstration being made against Columbus and Belmont. Ogles- by was at ofice ordered to deflect to New Madrid, below Columbus, and Colonel Wal- lace sent to reinforce him. General C. F, Smith Avas also instructed to move out from Paducah towards the rear of Columbus, and '•to keep the enemy from throwing over the river much more force than lliey now have there " — Grant informing him that " the princi- pal point to gain, is to i)revent the enemy from sending a force to' fall in the rear of those now sent out from tlieir command." Two other smaller demonstrations were made from Bird's Point and Fort Holt, for the purpose of deceiving the enemy. On the evening of November 6th, General Grant embarked his expeditionary force, con- sisting of three thousand one huudied and fourteen men, chiefly Illinoisians, on trans- ports at Cairo, and, accompanied by two gun- boats dropi)ed down the river about ten miles, and made a feint of lauding on the Kentucky shore. The Union force consisted of five reg- iments of infantry, two squadrons of cavalry, and a section of artillery, the men composing the command, with the excej)tion of a few veterans of the Mexican war, never having been imder fire, and to some portion of the infantry, arms had only been distributed two days before. McClernandwas the only gen- eral officer who accompanied the expedition, and he had had no positive experience in bat- tle. Grant learned during the night of the 6th, that General Polk was crossing large bodies of troops from Columbus to Belmont, with a view to cutting off Oglesby, and at once determined to convert the demonstation into an attack, as it was necessary to prevent a movement against the troops under Oglesby, as well as preventing reinforcements being sent to Price's army. Grant had no intention. LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. 23 of remaining at Belmont, which is on low ground, and could not have been held under the guns of Columbus, his object being sim- ply to destroy the camp, capture or disperse the enemy, and return to Cairo before Gener- al Polk* could intercept him. At six o'clock the expedition crossed the river, and debarked at Hunter's Point, three miles above Belmont, and just out of range of the enemy's batteries at Columbus. Leav- ing a battalion as a reserve near the trans- ports, the troops marched by flank towards Belmont, where the rebels had i)itched their camp, in an open field, protected by fallen timber, and halted when two miles distant. Deploy, ng his whole force as skirmishers, the attack began, and by nine o'clock our troops were hotly engaged driving the enemy back from field to field, and from tree to tree — a battle of the Wilderness on a small scale — un- til he reached his camp, protected by slashed timber as an abatis. Even this could not ar- rest the progress of our victorious troops who had been fighting for four hours, and with a wild hurrah, they charged over and through the fallen timber, capturing the camp, several hundred prisoners and all the artillery, and driving the enemy to the river bank and to their transports. Grant, who had been constantly in the front, and had his horse shot under him,t now ordered the destruction of the encampment ; burning tents, blankets and stores, after which, the troops with the prisou- fers and captured guns, were ordered back to the transports ; the object of tlie expedition having been accom[)lished. In the meantime, reinforcements had been sent over from Col- umbus, and landing above Belmont, now con- fronted our troops on their march to Hunter's Point. A cry was now raised, "We are sur- rounded," accompanied by some confusion, and a young staff-officer in an excited manner imparted the information to his chief. '' Well," said he, " if that is so, we must fight out as we cut our way in," and it was gallantly done, the enemy disappearing a second time over * General Leonidas Polk, commanding the rebel forces, was the Protestant Episcopal Bishop of Louis- iana, a weak but brave man, who having in early life been educated at 'West Point, entered the army and was killed before the close of the rebellion. t General McClemand in his official report, allud- ing to Grant, says : " The gallant conduct' of his troops was stimulated by his presence, and inspired by his example." the banks. As, however, reinforcements were constantly crossing from Columbus, Grant could not halt to destroy the enemy, but was compelled to hasten forward to his transports. At five in the afternoon our forces had re-em- barked, and, protected by the gunbo:as, who poured in grape and canister on the pursuing rebels, returned to Cairo. We had eigliiy-five killed, three hundred wounded and about one hundred missing; while the rebel loss was much greater, cumbering in all, six hundrel and forty-two. Both parties claimed a victo- ry at Belmont, a battle insignificant C"mpared with the later engagements of the war; but possessing, says Professor Coppee, an impor- tance peculiarily its own. I. It was a coup d'essai of our new general. While others of his rank were playing quite subor The (General commanding thia military district re- 24 LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. tiims his thanks to the troops under his command at the battle of Belmont, on yesterday. It has been his tortune to have beon in all the bat- tles fought in Mexico by Geueiala Scott and Taylor, save Buena Vista, and he never saw one more hotly contested, or where troops behaved with more gallan- try. Such courage will insure victory wherever our flag may be borne and protected by such a class of men. To the brave men who tell, the sympathy of the coun- try is due, and will be manifested in a manner un- mistakable. U. 8. Grant, Brigadier-General commanding. With the following amusing anecdote of Generals Grant and Polk, we will conclude this chapter, before entering upon the story of the capture of Fort Henry. Flags of truce were occasionally sent back and forth between Cairo and Columbus, and the opposing Gene- rals who were in command of those posts were sometimes present. After the conclusion of business, it was frequently the case that wine would be brought forth and toasts diank at parting. On one occasion General Polk pio- posed a toast, which he said all could drink. Those present filled their glasses, and he gave " To General George Washington." As he paused, ])urposely, at the end of the name, the company commenced to drink, when ho added, " the first rebel." General Grant had his glass nearly finished by that time, and it was no use to stop, but he exclaimed, " that was scarcely fair, General, but I will be even with you some day." The laugh was, of course, against him, but the companj' parted in good humor. Some two weeks afterward, ano her flag of truce was sent down to Columbus, Gen. Grant accompanying it. After business was over, G«n. Polk produced the wine as usual, and Gen. Grant adroitly turned the conversation upon State riglits. He allowed them to proceed at considerable length, without attempting to refute anything. At length he arose to go, and proposed a toast at parting. Glasses were filled, and the General arose and gave, " Equal rights to all," He then made a pause as Gen. Polk had done, and when all were busily drinking, he added, " white and black," adding, " and now, 'General, I think I am even with you." The reverend and gallant General Polk owned ui) flanked. CHAPTER III. FOBTS HEMKY AND DOHELSON. Change of Department Commanders — Qalleck suc- ceeds Fremont — Grant's command enlarged — The rebel Une — Columbus— Bowling Green— Fort Hen- ry—Fort Donelson — Gunboats at the West— De- monstrations in favor of Buell— Grant visits St. Louis— Urges the capture of Fort Henrj' — Receives permission — Attack — Its surrender— General Tilgh- man's report — Grant's magnanimity— Movement on Fort Donelson— Description of the work— Assault upon the trenches — Unsuccessful — Snow storm and cold weather— Unsuccessful attack by the fleet- Assault— Correspondence— Surrender— Grant pro- moted—Political tribute. " No terms other than unconditional and imme- diate surrender can be accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works. " Grant to Buckneb. On the 12th of November, 1861, Fremont was removed, and General Henry W. Ilalleck, of the regular army, and second on the list of Major-Generals, was appointed his successor in the command of the Department of Missouri. He had been formerly an officer of engineers, a diligent military student, and a writer on mil- itary subjects, but had resigned and entered upon the practice of the law in California. Immediately upon assuming command of his Depaitment, he divided it into districts of which the District of Cairo was the most im- portant. It was enlarged so as to include all the southern part of Illinois, all of Kentucky west of the Cumberland river, and the south- ern countries of Missouri, and appointed Gen- eral Grant commander of the new district. Large numbers of troops, newly mastered into service from Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wis- consin, Iowa, and Minnesota poured into this district, some for service within its limits, others intended to reinforce the Union armies in other districts. Grant maintained a vigi- lant supervision over them, and whenever it was possible subjected them to thorough dis- cipline, organization and training to qualify them for service, and then distributed them as rapidly as possible to the Doints where their services were required. Before desciibing the operations carried on during the months of January and February, 1862, it would be well to glance for a moment at the position of the enemy against whom our liero was to act. Columbus, the left of the well selected rebel line extending from the Mississippi to the Big Barren river in Middle LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. 25 Kentucky, was called the Gibraltar of Ameri- ca, and its heavy batteries of one hundred and forty guns swept the great river above and be- low ; on the right was Bowling Green, natur- ally well adapted to defence, and of strategic importance as being tlie junction of the Louis- ville and Nashville, and ihe Memphis and Oliio railroads, and the northernmost point then held by them, west of the Alleghanies. Here the rebels had concentrated one of their best appointed armies protecting Nashville and threatening Norlhern Kentucky. Midway be- tween Bowling Green and Columbus, and form- ing important lines in the strategic problem, flowed the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers. About fift}'- miles south of the Ohio, these two streams running nearly parallel approach with- in twelve miles of eacli other, and liere, at a bend in each river, the rebels had erected strong works to bar the passage of Union troops into the very heart of the Confederacy. Fort Henry, on the eastern bank of the Ten- nessee, and Fort Donelson, on the western bank of the Cumberland, were connected by a good road and telegraph line. The former mounted seventeen guns and had barracks and quarters for fifteen thousand men ; the latter mounted about forty guns, and contained when the battle occurred, twenty thousand troops. As the naval forces bore an important part in the militar}' operations at the West, we must briefly describe the novel gunboats, known as "turtles," introduced on the Mississippi. Ten- nesse and Cumberland rivers at tliis early period of the war. and which, for a time, created consternation in the ranks of the ene- my. They were improvised out of the river steamers, and being sheatlied with iron, were rendered almost impervious to the heaviest ar- tillery. Armed as completely asCoeurde Lion's cavaliers, these dark monsters penetrated the rivers, insi)iring terror everywhere, and were of the greatest service in co-operating with the array. They were navigated by expe- rienced j)ilots, and commanded by officers of the regular navy. Sharing in direct assaults, driving guerrillas back fiom the river banks, convoying transports, carrying troops and stores, and covering the movements of troops — these strange iron -clad monsters, with the later invented monitors, all under the con- trol of General Halleck, contributed greatly to the successes gained on many battle-fields in the ]\Iississippi vailej'. Early in January, 18G2, in accordance with orders received. Grant moved a force of six thousand men from Cairo and Bird's Point, towards Mayfield and Murray, in West Ken- tucky ; he also sent out two brigades from Padueah, threatening Columbus, and the line between the " Western Gibraltar" and Bowl- ing Green. The trooi)s were out for more than a week, and suflered greatly from cold. There was no fighting done, but the objects of ^ the demonstration were fully accomplish- ed, for during its — continuance, rebel troops were prevented from reinforcing the army which General Thomas defeated, at Mill Springs, Kentucky. On the return of the Pa- dueah expedition, its coinmancler. General Smith, reported that Fort Henry could easily be captured if attacked by three or four of the turtle iron-clads, and a strong co-operat- ing land force. Having been granted permis- sion to visit Department head(iuarters at St. Louis, Grant proceeded there with the object of obtaining Halleck's consent to attack Forta Henry and Donelson, but returned without having obtained the desired permission. Ba- deau .saj'S, " Halleck silenced liim so quickly that Grant said no more on the subject, and went back to Cairo with the idea that his commander thought him guilty of a great mil- itary blunder." During the winter, the rebels had resorted to the same spirit of barbarism that prevailed in Virginia, of shooting our pickets ; an un- necessary practice, and at variance with hon- orable warfare, as conducted by civilized na- tions. Grant, therefore, issued the following order, reflecting honor upon his head and heart : Headquarters, Cairo, January 11, 18G1. Brioadier-Geneual Paine, Bird's Pnin! : — I un- derstand that four of our pickets were shot this morning. If this is so, and appearances indicate that the assassins were citizens, not regularly organized in the rebel army, the whole country should be cleared out for six miles around, and word given that all citizens making their appearance within those limits are liable to be shot. To execute this, patrols should bo sent out in all directions, and bring inlo camp, at Bird's Point, all citizens, together with their subsistence, and reijuire them to remain, under the penalty of death and de- struction of their property, until properly rfliivcd. Let no harm befall the.se people, if they qii iot ly sub- mit; but bring them in and place them in camp be- low the breastwork, and have them proix^rly guard- ed. The intention is not to make political prisoners of these people, but to cut off a dangerous class of siiies. This .ixijilies to all classes and conditions, age and 26 LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. Bex. If, however, -women and children prefer other protection ihan we can afford them, they may be allowed to retire beyond the limits indicated— not to return until authorized. By order of U. S Gbant, Brigadier-General commanding. On the 28Lh of the same month, Grant's mind still being intent upon the capture of the forts on the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers, telegraphedtoHalleckat St, Louis: "With per- mission I will take and hold Fort Henry, on the Tennessee, and establish and hold a large camp there,'' andon the day following, wrote: " In view of the large force now concentra- ting in this district, and the present feasibility of the plan, I would re.^pectfully suggest the propriety of subduing Fort Henry, near the Kentucky and Tennessee line, and holding the position. If this is not done soon, there is but little doubt that the defences on both the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers will be ma- terially strengthened. From Fort Henry it will be easy to operate, either on the Cumber- land ("only twelve miles distant), Memphis, or Columbus. It will besides have a moral ef- fect upon our troops to advance thence to- wards the rebel States. The advantages of this move are as perceptible to the General commanding as to myself, therefore further statements are unnecessary." Commodore Foote, commanding the naval forces on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, also wrote to Hal- leck, recommending the movement ; and at length, on the 30th inst., that officer gave the desired permission, accompanied by instruc- tions. On the morning of Monday, February 2d, a force of seventeen thousand men on transports, convoyed by the gunboat fleet of seven vessels, moved up the Ohio to Paducah, and thence to Bailey's Ferry, on the east bank, three miles above Fort Henry, where the troops weie landed on the 4th. On the 6th, the troops moved towanls the enemy's works, but were so much delayed by the horrible condition of the roads, the whole country be- ing inundated, that the fortsuccumbed to the attack of the fleet after a severe bombard- ment of one hour and a-half, and befoie the army could get up to participate in the at- tack. " The plan of the attack," says Foote, " so far as the army reaciiing the rear of the fort to make a demonstration, was frustrated by the excessively muddy roads, and the high stage of water, preventing the arrival of our troops until some time after I had taken pos- session of the fort." The main force of the rebels^stationed about two miles from the fort, to be out of reacii of the gunboats — in- gloriously retreated on Fort Donelsoti, before the result of the action was known, and with- out striking a single blow. The rebel account of the battle given by- General Tilghman, in his dispatches, bears testimony to Graut's magnanimity to a fallen foe : FoBT IlENKy, February 9, 1862. 1 Colonel "W. "W. Mackall, A. A. General, C. S. A., Bowling Green : Siis : Tluough the courtesy of Brigadier-General U. S. Grant, commanding Federal forces, I am per- mitted to communicate with you in relation to the result of the action between the tort under my com- mand at this place, and the Federal gunboats on yesterday. At eleven o'clock and forty minutes on yesterday morning, the enemy engaged the fort with seven gun- boats, mounting fifty-four guns. I promptly re- turned their fire, with tlic eleven guns from Fort Henry bearing on the river. The action was main- tained with gi'eat bravery by the force under my com- mand until ten minutes past two p. M., at which time I had but four guns fit for service. At five minutes before two, finding it impossible to maintain the fort, and wishing to spare the lives of the gallant men un- der my command, and on consultation with my offi- cers, I surrendered the fort. Our casualties are small. The effect of our shot was severely felt by the enemy, whoso superior and overwhelming force alone gave them the advantage. * * * I communicate this result with deep regret, but feel that I i)erformed my whole duty in the defence of my post. _. I take occasion to fioar testimony to the gallantly of the officers and men under my command. They maintained their position with consummate bravery, as long as there was any hope of success. I also take great pleasure in acknowledging the courtesies and consideration shown by Brigadier-General U. S. Grant and Commodore Foote, and the officers under their command. I have the honor to remain, very respectfully. Your obedient servant, Lloyd Tilghman, Brigadier-General C. S. A. The Union General at once telegraphed to the Department commander : " Fort Henry is ours. The gunboats silenced the batteries be- fore the investment was completed. * * * I shall take and destroy Fort Donelson the 8th, and leturn to Fort Henry." On the 7th, Grant's cavalry penetrated to within a mile of Fort Donelson, driving in the rebel pickets, and the army was oidered to move on the day following, but owing to the impassable state of the roads it was found impracticable to move the baggage or artillerv, and owing to the high state of water in the Tennessee, flood- ing the whole country, it was found impossible to move for several days, until portions of our LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. 27 ground could be bridged over. Ordering up reinforcements from va ious quarters, Grant moved tiie advance of his army under Mc- Clernand, toward Fort Donelson on the lltb, and tlie day following the main body, com- manded by C. F. Smith, and numbering fifteen thousand men, marched from Fort Henry, leaving a force of twenty- five hundred to gar- rison and hold tliat post and Fort Ileimau. Our troops halted in front of the rebel lines the same day, no obstacles having been op- posed to their march by the enemy. The gunboat fleet had already proceeded down the Tennessee, in order to co-operate with the army in the attack upon Donelson, and with them had gone transports, having on board six regiments to be disposed of as circumstances should render expedient. The rebel stronghold against which the combined forces of the army and navy were now directed was situated on tlie west bank of the Cumberland river, enclosing about one hundred acres, and garrisoned by twenty-one thousand men vmder Generals Floyd, Pillow, and Cuckner. The country was hilly, and dense- ly wooded in the vincinity of the main fort, but the timber had been cut down far out in ad- vance of I he breastworks, tiie smaller trees chopped till they stood breast high, and the limbs left attached to the^h'unks forming an abatis. Two streams, at this time not fordable, set back from the Cumberland and formed the right and left of the rebel position, which ex- tended nearly three miles, and was strongly entrenched, every advantage having been taken of the defensible character of the coun- try. At inside intervals were secondary lines and detached works, commanding the outer en- trenchments. The fort, standing upon a high hill on tl>e river bank, where it makes an abrupt turn from north to west, flowing in the latter direction for about a quarter of a mile, and then turning nortiiward again, could pour a murderous fire from its upper and water bat- teries upon the attacking gunboats. Thursday, the 13th, was occupied in getting the troops in position, General C. F. Smitii having the left and General McClernand the right of the national line. No assault was made, owing to the non-arrival of the gunboats with the reinforcem^^nts, sent by water, and the novel sight was exhibited of an army of fifteen thousand men besieging a stronghold garri- soned b)' twenty-one thousand troops. Dar- ing the day there was considerable cannonad- ing by both parties, and some picket firing. An assault was made by four regiments of JlcClernand's division during the afternoon, for the purpose of making a lodgment upon the enemy's entrenchments, and parlicula ly upon an apartment covering a strong battery iu the front. The storming party formed at the foot of the hill, where they were in a measure pro- tected from a direct fire. The troops moved up the hill in a gallant manner, but the ene- my's fire was so withering, and the obstacles presented by the abatis and pallisading .so great that they we;e comi)elled to fall back without acomplishing the object. At sunset no reinforcements of importance had arrived, nor had Flag Officer Foole and the iron-clads yet a[)peared on the scene. That night the weather became inlen.sely cold, and befoie morning a driving storm of snow and hail set in, causing the tioo[)s, wlio were bivouacking in line of battle without tents, many witliout blankets, and with insufficient food, to undergo fearful sufleiiug. Many of the soldiers of both armies were found frozen to death after day dawned on Friilay the 14th. With the morning light came the long-looked for reinforcements under General Wallace, whose command was placed in the centre line, with the exception of one brigade allotted to the extreme right. During the whole dayaheavy artillery fire was kept up by the contending forces, and constant firing by the shar])-shoot- ers, and at three o'clock the naval attack was opened by the iron-clads, and after a severe engagement of nearly ten hours, during which time the naval vessels were all so much injured as to have but twelve guns that could be brought to bear on the rebel works, the Com- modore wounded, and fifty-four men killed and disabled, Foote ordere 1 his squadron to withdraw. Had the attack been a success it was tlie intention of General Grant to have carried the rebel entrenchments by an assault of the whole line. That day he write : "Ap- pearances now are that we shall have a pro- tracted siege here. I fear the result of an at- tempt to carry the place by storm with new troops. I feel great confidence, however, of ultimately reducing the place." Before daylight on Saturday, the l")th, Gen- eral Grant went on board the flagship SU Louis to consult with the wounded Commo- dore, by whom he was informed that the dis- abled condition of his squadron compelled him to return to Cairo for repairs. The gal- 28 LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. lant Foote suggested that the army should re- main in statu quo until the fleet could return and take part either in a bombardment or in a protracted siege, and it is verj- possible that the advice would have been followed had it not been prevented by the rebels taking the initiative and hastening their own destruction. - The rebel leaders, observing the constant arri- val of reinforcements — the Union army now numbered twenty-two thousand men — feeling that the lines were closing around them, and aware that the investment of the place would soon be complete, decided upon assuming the aggressive and cutting their way out, if in- deed they did not succeed in totally destroy- ing Grant's army. Ten thousand men, includ- ing Forrest's cavalry, were to be thrown upon McClernand, and an equal number against the centre under Wallace ; these atatcks being suc- cessful would force back the riglit flank and centre around General Smith, commanding the left, as a pivot, and then the whole army might be easily routed or destroyed. Accordingly, at five o'clock, before our half- frozen troops were astir, the rebel column, led by Pillow, moved out with thirty guns to crush McCler- nand. The morning reveille had just sounded in our camp, and the troops were not un- der arms, when the sound of musketrj^ ap- proaching nearer and nearer, made it evi- dent even to the inexperienced, that a serious attack had begun against our right. McAr- thur's brigade was the first to feel the rebel fire, and soon the attack extended along the whole of McClernand's front, the overwhelming num- ber of the rebels gradually pushing back the Union forces, and frighteningthe faint-hearted, by their fiend-like yells. Some guns are lost; the line is forced back ; many regiments are wavering, their ammunition being entirely ex- pended, when Wallace comes up with timely reinforcements from the centre, giving cour- age to our hard-pressed troops, and holding for a time the enemy in check. Gradually, however, the Union line was forced back, amid disorder and panic. It was at this juncture of aflairs that Grant, returning from the flag- ship at about nine o'clock, met an aid gallop- ing up to inform him of the- assault. Imme- diately directing General Smith, who had not yet been engaged, to hold himself in readiness to assault the rebel right with his whole com- mand. " Riding on," says Badeau, " he soon reached the point where the hardest fighting had occurred. The rebels had failed to make their way through the National lines, and were doggedly retiring. Still the troops were very much disordered ; most of them had never been in battle. A few, and not a few, were yet unfamiliar with the use of their muskets. The giving out of the ammunition in the car- tridge boxes, and the heavy loss in field oflicers had created great confusion in the ranks. There was no pursuit, and the battle was mere- ly lulled, not ended. The men, like all raw troops, imagined the enemy to be in over- whelming force, and reported that the rebels had come out with knapsacks and haversacks, as if they meant to stay out, and fight for sev- eral days. Grant at once inquired, "Are the haversacks filled 1 " Some prisoners were ex- amined, and the haversacks proved to contain three days' rations. "Then they mean to cut their way out; they have no idea of staying here to fight us;" and looking at his own dis- ordered men not yet recovered from the shock of battle. Grant exclaimed, " Whichever party attacks now, will whip, and the rebels will have to be very quick if they beat me." Putting spurs to his hoise, he rode at once to the left, where the troops, not having been engaged, were fresh, and ordered an immedi- ate assault. As they rode along the general and his staff reassured the men with the news that the rebels were getting desperate, and that the attack of the morning was an attempt to cut their way out, not an ordinary and confident assault. As soon as the troops caught this idea, they took new courage ; scattered until now in knots all over the field, they at once reformed, and went towards the front. At this time Grant sent a request to Foote to haVe all the gunboats make their appearance to tha enemy. " A terrible conflict," he said " ensued in my absence, which has demoralized a por- tion of my command, and I think the enemy is much more so. If the gunboats do not appear, it will i-eassure the enemy and still farther demoralize our troops. I must order a charge to save appearances. I do'not ex- pect the gunboats to go into action." Two of the fleet accordingly ran up the river, and threw a few shells at long range. McCler- nand and Lewis Wallace were informed of Smith's order to assault, and directed to hold themselves in readiness to renew the battle in their front the moment Smith began his attack. To McClernand the order was " to LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. 20 push his column to the river if possible, other- wise to remain, statu ^wo, maintaining his pres- ent position." General Smith's assaulting column was formed of Lanman's brigade, the second Iowa infantry having the lead. Smith formed the regiment in two lines, with a front of five com- panies each, thirty paces apart. He told the men what they had to do, and look his posi- tion between these two lines with the color bearer by his side. It was nearly sunset when the brigade dashed up the sleep hill-side to- wards the ridge where the rebels had con- structed their outer works. They were met by a murderous fire, thinning the ranks and causing the men to waver for a moment, when the general, wilh his cap lifted and his grey hair streaming in the wind, while his voice rang out clear, " Forwa d, steady men, steady," as he with his sword uplifted, led on the stal- wart sons of the West by his splendid example. Electrified and encouraged by the old hero's contempt of danger, the men moved forward, up, up, till they reach and pass through the abatis, gain the riJge — the works — and with a bayonet charge drive the rebels before them. How the cheer rang out on that cold clear wintry night as the colors of the noble regi- ment, at the head of the Union lines, were planted on the enemy's entrenchments. It was one of the most magnificent charges of the 'rt-ar, and gave Grant the key of the reb- el works. Another hour of daylight would have sufficed to carry the fort. While Smith maintained his position inside the entrench- ments, Wallace and McClernand, on the right and centre, had won back the lost ground and guns captured by the rebels in the morning, and held an advanced position near the rebel works, when night fell and put an end to the battle. Grant slept in a negro hut that night, only awaiting the morning to storm and carry the works, and tlie brave troops, for the most part without food and without fire, slept on the frozen ground, looking forward with en- thusiasm to the coming day, which was to compensate them for all their hardships and sufferings by a great and crowning victory. On Sunday, when the troops were awakened by the reveille, a white flag was flying from fort Donelson ;^ut before proceeding with our narration, we must let a captured rebel officer relate the events of that night within the rebel works. Floyd, Pillow, Buckner, were the principal dramatis persona : / "'I cannot hold my position a half hour. The Yankees can turn my llauk or advance directly upon the breastworks,' said General Buckner. " ' If you had advanced at the tune ajjreed upon, and made a more vi^jorous attack, we should have routed the enemy,' said General Floyd. " ' I advanced as soon as I could, and my trooi>9 fought as bravely as others,' was the response from General Buckner, a middle-aged, medium-sized man. His hair is iron grey. He has thin whiskers ai^ a moustache, and wears a grey kersey overcoat witn a great cape, and gold lace on the sleeves, and a black hat with a nodding black plume. " ' Well, here we are, and it is useless to renew the attack with any hope of success. The men are ex- hausted,' said General Floyd, a stout, heavy man, with thick lips, a large nose, evil eyes, and course features. " ' We can cut our way out,' said Major Brown commanding the Twentieth Mississippi, a tall, black- haired, impetuous, fiery man. " ' Some of us might escape in that way, but the at- tempt would be attended with great shxughter,' re- sponded General Floyd. " ' My troops are bo worn out and cut to pieces and demoralized, that I can't make another fight,' said Buckner. " ' My troops will fight till they die ! ' answered Major Brown, setting his teeth together. " ' It will cost the command three-quarters of its present number to cut its way through ; aud it is WTong to sacrifice throe-quarters of a command to save the other quarter,' Buckner continued. " ' No otficer has a right to cause such a sacrifice,' said Major Gilmer, of General Pillow's staff. " ' But we can hold out another day, and by that time we can get steamboats here to take us across the river,' said General PiUow. " ' No, I can't hold my position a half hour ; and the Yankees will renew the attack at daybreak," Buckner replied. " ' Then wo have got to surrender, for aught I see,' said an officer. " ' I won't surrender the command, neither will I be taken prisoner,' said Floyd. lie doubtless re- membered how he had stolen public proixjrty while in otfice under Buchanan, and would rather die thsua to fall into the hands of these whom he know would be likely to bring him to an account for his villainy. " ' I don't intend to be taken prisoner,' said Pillow. " ' What will you do, gentlemen \ ' Buckner asked. " ' I mean to escape, and take my Virginia brigade with mc, ii I can. I shall turn over the command to General Pillow. I have a right to escape if I can, but I haven't any right to order the entire army to make a hopeless fight,' said Floyd. " ' If you surrender it to me, I shall turn it over to General Buckner,' said General PiUow, wlio was also disposed to shirk responsibility and desert the men whom he had induced to vote to secede from the Union and take up arms against their country. " 'If the command comes into my hands, I shall deem it my duty to suiTondcr it. I shall not call upon the troops to make a useless sacrifice of life, and I will not desert the men who have fought so nobly,' Buckner replied, with a bitterness which made Floyd and Pillow wince. " It was past midnight. The council broke up. 30 LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. The brigade and regimental officers were astonished at the result. Some of them broke out into horrid cursing and swearing at Floyd and Pillow. " ' It is mean ! ' ' It is cowardly ! ' ' Floyd always vras a rascal.' " ' We ai-e betrayed ! ' ' There is treachery ! ' said they. '"It is a mean trick for an ofiicer to desert his men. If my troops are to be surrendered, I shall stick by them,' said Major Brown. "'I denounce Pillow as a coward; and if I ever meet him, I'll shoot him as quick as I would a dog,' said Major McLain, red with rage. " Floyd gave out that he was going to join Colonel Forrest, who commanded the cavalry, and thus cut his way out ; but there were two or three small steam- boats at the Dover landing. He and General Pillow jumped on board one of them, and then secretly marched a portion of the Viginina brigade on board. Other soldiers saw what was going on— that they ■were being deserted. They became frantic with ter- ror and rage. They rushed on board, crowding every part of the boat. " ' Cut loose I ' shouted Floyd to the captain. " The boats swung into the stream and moved up the river, leaving thousands of inturiated soldiers on the landing. So, the man who had stolen the public property, and who did all he could to bring on the war, who induced thousands of poor, ignorant men to take up arms, deserted his post, stole away in the darkness, and left them to their fate." Colonel Forrest — afterwards the celebrated cavalry general — also made his escape by fording the river with his regiment during the night. Early in the morning Buckner sent a bug- ler and a note to Grant, which runs as follows nEADQTJARTKBS FoUT DoTTE-LSON, ) February, 16, 18G2. ) Sm : — In consideration of all the circumstances governing the present situation of affairs at this sta- tion, I propose to the commanding officer of the Fed- eral forces the appointment of commissioners to agree upon terms of capitulation of the forces and fort un- der my command, and, in that view, suggest an ar- mistice till twelve to day. I am, sir, respectfully, your obedient servant, S. B. Buckner, Brigadier-General C. S. A. To Brigadier-General Grant, commanding United States forces near Fort Donelson. - Grant did not want many minutes to con- sider his reply. In place of any such propo- sal, the bearer's hand had the subjoined brief and comprehensive note : , Headquarters Armt in the Field, > C.^MP NEAR IJONELSON, Feb. IG, 18G2. I To General S. B. Buckner, Confederate Army : Yours of this date, proposing an armistice, and ap- pointment of commissioners to settle terms of capit- ulation, is just received. No terms other than un- conditional and immediate surrender can be accept- ed. I propose to move immediately upon your works. I am, respectfully, your obedient servant, IT. S. Grant, i^rigadier-General, U. S. A., commanding. The rebel General, knowing that he was helpless, made haste to reply as follows ; Headquarters, Dover, Tennessee, ) February IG, 1SG2. \ To Brigadier-General U. S. Grant, U. S. A. Sir :— The distribution of the forces under my com- mand, incident to a change of commanders, and the overwhelming force under your command, compel me, notwithstanding the brilliant success of the Confed- ate arms yesterday, to accept the ungenerous and ua- chivalrous terms which you propose. 1 am, sir, your very obedient servant, S. B. BucKNEB, Brigadier-General C. S. A. As soon as General Grant had received this communication from his old classmate, he mounted his horse and proceeded with his staff to Buckner's headquarters, where be disclaimed any desire to unnecessarily hu- miliate his prisoners, but would allow the of- ficers to retain their side-arms and personal baggage. All the public i)ro;>erty, including horses, were to be given uj), the privates be- ing permitted, as in ihe case of tlie officers, to retain their personal effects. In the course of a conversation whicli took place between the commanders, Buckner acknowledged that they had been foiled in their attempt to cut their way out the day previous, and alluding to Grant's inferior force at the commencement of the siege, remarked, " If I had been in command, you would not have reached Fort Donelson so easily." " If you had been in command," replied Grant, " I should have waited for reinforcements, and marched from Fort Henry in greater strength ; but I knew that Pillow would not come out of his works to fight, and told my staff so, though I believed he would fight behind his works." The result of this magnificent victory, which perfectly electrified the loyal North, was six- ty-five guns, seventeen thousand small arms, three thousand horses and nearly fifteen thou- sand prisoners. It was the first important victory achieved by the Union arms, and it at once gave Grant a national reputation. The day after the surrender, the victorious Gener- al issued the following general order, dating it from his new command, which had been formed by General Halleck on the 14lhofi February, in anticipation of the fall of Fort Donelson. It was designated as the District of West Tennesee, " limits not defined," permission being given for him to select his own headquarters. It was as follows : Headquarters District of West Tennes- > SEE, Fort Donelson, Feb. 17, 18G2. ( The general commanding takes great pleasure in congratulating the troops of this com m and for the LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. 31 triumph over rebellion gained by their valor on the thirteenth, fourteenth and lilteenth instant. For four successive nights, without shelter, during the most inclement weatliur known in the latitude, they faced an enemy in large torce in a position chosen by himself. Though strongly fortified by nature, all the additional safeguards suggested by science were added. "Without a murmur this was borne, prepared at all times to receive an attack, and with continuous skirmishing by day, resulted in forcing the enemy to surrmder without conditions. The victory achieved is not only great in the effect it will have in breaking down rebellion, but has secured the greatest number of prisoners of war ever taken in any battle on this continent. Fort Donelson will hereafter be marked in capitals on the map of our united countiy, and the men who fought the battle will live in the mem- ory of a grateful people. As a reward for this splendid achievement, Grant war made a ilajor-Gmieral of Volun- teers. He was recommended by the Secre- tary of War, nominated the same day by the President, and at once confirmed by the Sen- ate, his commission dating from the day of the surrender. On the 20th, Mr. Stanton wrote, " We may well rejoice at the recent victories, for they teach us that battles are to be won now, and by us, in the same and only manner that they were ever won by any peo- ple, or in any age, since the days of Joshua — by boldly pursuing and striking the foe. What, un ler the blessing of Providence, I con- ceive to be the true organization of victory and military combination to end this war, was de- clared in a few words by General Grant's message to General Buckner, 'I propose to move immedia:ely on your works.' " We cannot better conclude this chapter than with the following beautiful stanzas from the pen of a gifted New-England poet, commemo- rative of the magnificent yet costly victory, which electrified the whole country: " O gales, that dash the Atlantic's swell Along our rocky shores, \ Whose thunders diapason well New England's glad hurrahs ; ' •' Bear to the prairies of the West The echoes of our joy, — The prayer that springs in every breast — ' God bless thee, Illinois ! ' " Oh, awfid hours, when grape and shell Tore through the unflinching line ! * Stand firm ! Remove the men who fell '. Close up, and wait the sign ! ' " It came at last : ' Now, lads, the steel ! ' The rushing hosts deploy ; ' Charge, boys I ' The broken traitors reel ; Hurrah for ilhnois '. ' In vain thy rampart, I)oneLion, The living torieul burs; It leaps the Wall— the tort is won — Up go the Stripes and bturs. ' Thy proudest mother's eyelids fill. As dares her gallant brman was assigned to the district of Cairo, Grant's for- mer command. They had been at West Point together, Grant graduating three years later than Sher- 32 LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. man. After the fall of the rebel stronghold, the latter wrote congratulating the successful soldier on his victory, to which Grant replied : " I feel under many obligations to you for the kind terms of your letter, and hope, should an opjwrtunity occur, you will earn for your- self that promotion which you are kind enough to say belongs to me. I care nothing for promotion, so long as our arms are suc- cessful, and no political appointments are made." " This was," says Badeau, " the be- ginning of a friendship, destined thereafter never to flag, to stand the test of apparent riv- alry and public censure, to remain firm under trials such as few friendships were ever sub- jected to ; to become wamer as often as it was sought to be interrupted, and in houis of ex- traordinary anxiety and responsibility and care to afford a solace and a support that were never lacking when the need arose." On the 27th of February, Grant went to Nashville to" consult with General Buell about the disposition of their troops, the jurisdiction of the two commanders having become con- fused during the recent movements, and the former General having ordered a portion of Grant's army to join him at Nashville. March 1st came orders from General Ilal- leck to move his whole force back from the Cumberland to the Tennessee, with a view lo an expedition up the latter river to Eastport and Corinth, Mississippi. On the 4ih, he be- ing at Fort Henry, and his troops moving for- ward. Grant received orders from Halleck to place General C. F. Smith in command of the expedition, and to remain himself at Fort Hen- ry. To ihis he replied the day following, that the troops would be sent forward as directed. Smith, therefore, assumed command of the troops in the field, and selected Pittsburg Landing as a base of operations against Cor- inth, a position of great im{)ortance, and the key to the whole railway system of commu- nication between the Slates of Tennessee and Mississippi ; it was twen y miles distant from the rebel position, on the west side of the Tennessee, and was flanked on the left by a deep ravine, and on both flanks by the Snake and Lick creeks, which would compel the rebels to attack in front, the distance between tlie creeks being three miles. The Landing was protected by the gunboats Lexington and Tyler, and Buell's army of the Ohio, moving forward, was to reinforce the army of the Tennessee, Grant having asked to be relieved from fur- ther duty in General Halleck's Department, owing to his having taken exception to some of his acts, the latter officer replied : " You cannot be relieved from your command. There is no good reason for it. I am certain that all the authorities at Washington ask, is, that you enforce discipline and punish the disorderly. Instead of relieving you, I wish you, as soon as your new army is in tlie field, to assume the immediate command, and lead it on to new victories." On the 13th of March, Grant was relieved from his disgrace, and on the 17th removed his headquarters from Fort Henry to Savannah, resuming com- mand of the troops in his district. A few days later General Halleck transmitted to him copies of the following correspondence : Headqttatitf.es of the Army, "i Adjdtant-Ueneual's Office, Washington, 5 March 10, ;s(ii. ) Major-Geneeal n. W. Halleck, U. S. A., Com- manding Dep.artment of the Mississippi. It has been reported that soon after the battle of Fort Donelson, Brigadier-General Grant left his com- mand without leave. By direction of the President, the Secretary of War directs you to ascertain and re- port, whether General Grant left his command at any time without proper authority, and if so, loi how long ; whether he has made to you proper reports and returns of his forces ; whether he has committed any acts which were unauthorized, or not in accord- ance with military subordination or propriety, and if so, what. L. Thomas, Adjutant-General. Brigadier-Genekal L. Thomas, Adjutant-General of the Army, Washington : In accordance with your instructions of the 10th inst., I report that General Grant and several ofBcers of high rank in his command, immediately after the battle of Fort Donelson, went to Nasliville, without my authority or knowledge. I am satisfied, liowevei", from investigation, that General Grant did this from good intentions, and from a desire to subserve the public interests. Not being advised of General Bu- ell's movements, and learning that General Buell had ordered Smith's division of his (Grant s) command to go to Nashville, he deemed it his duty to gc tliere in person. During the absence of General Grant, and a part of his general officers, numerous irregularities are said to have occurred at Fort Donelson. These were in violation of the ordei-s issued by General Grant before leaving, and probably under the circum- stances were unavoidable. General Grant has made the proper explanations, and has been directed tc re- sume his command in the field ; as he acted from a praiseworthy although mistaken zeal Ibi the public service, in going to Nashville, and leaving his com- mand, I respectfully recommend that no f urthei no- tice be taken of it. There never has been any want of military subordination on the part of General Grant, and his failure to make returns ot his forces has been explained, as resulting partly from the fail- LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. 83 ure of colonels of regiments to report to him on their arrival, and partly from an interruption of tele- graphic communication. All these irregularities have now been remedied. H. W. Halleck, Major-General. From Savannah, Grant wrote to Slie.nian : "I have just arrived, and although sick for the last two weeks, begin to feel better at the thought of being again with the troops ;" and within an hour of his arrival, issued orders for a concentration of all our forces at Pitts- burg Landing. The army then consisted of five divisions under Major-Generals Smith and McCiernand, and Brigadier-Generals Siiernian, Hurlbut, and Lewis Wallace, the latter sta- tioned at Crump's Landing, on tiie left bank of the river, about five miles below ; and being considered within supporting distance were left to guard the Purdy road. Smith's and Mc- Clernand's divisions were pushed forward from Savannah, so that all our forces were soon collected together at Pittsburg Landing. Grant remained at Savannah to superintend the organization of the troops constantly ar- riving, vvliich were formed into another division — the sixth — and Brigadier-General Prentiss assigned to its command which was at once sent to join the army at Pittsburg. Another mo- tive for his remaining at Savannah was, that he could communicate more readily with Gen- eral Buell, who was moving forward from Nashville to join Grant; the army of the Ohio having been transferred to Halleck's Depart- ment, to enable the Nortliern troo;)S to meet on equal terms the large force that was as- sembling for the defence of Corinth, estimat- ed as high as one hundred thousand men. Bragg's corps had been brought from Mobile, and Pensacola ; Bishop Polk had come from Island No. 10, with a portion of his troops ; Johnston had marched there after evacuating Nashville ; and other rebel troops had rendez- voused from various quarters, including Har- dee's coi'ps and Breckinridge's command. It was also confidently expecti'd that they would be reinforced by the trans-Mississippi armies of Price and Van Dorn. The object of this vast assemblage, was not only to protect Cor- inth, but to crush Grant's army, before it should be reinforced by Buell. While Beau- regard was the real leader, General Albert Sid- ney Johnston was the ostensible commander, by whom the following stirring nroclamation was issued on the 3d of April, addressed to the soldiers of the armv of the Mississippi : " I have put you in motion to offer battle to the invaders of your country, with the icsolntion and iiscipline and valor becoming mi.ii tlghtiug, on you are, for all worth hving for. You can but march to a decisive victory over agrarian miTceuaries, sent to subjugate and despoil you of your liberties, proper- ty and honor. Eemomber the prt,-ciuu8 stake in- volved remember the dep<,-ndencc of your mothers, your wives, your sisters, and yijur chddren, on the re- sult. Kcmcmber the fair, broad, abounding land.'*, the happy homes, that will be desolated by your defeat. The eyes and hopes of eight millions of people rest upon you. You are expected to show youT»elvcs worthy of your valor and courage, worthy of the ar- mies of tlie South, whose noble devotion in this war, has never been exceeded in any time. With such incentives to bravo deeds, and with trust that God in with us, your general will lead you confidently to the combat, assured of succobs." The battle-field of Shiioh, or Pittsburg, for by both names it appears to be equallj- known, extends back three miles from the Landing. It is a thickly- wooded and broken country, interspersed with patches of cultivation, and a few rude buildings, among wiiich stood near the junction of the Corinth and Purdy roads, the Shiioh church, a primitive fane, con- structed of logs, from which the sanguinary field was named by our Southern foes. The Union army faced mainly to the south and west, the line extending from Lick creek on the south, to Snake creek on the north ; Sherman on the right, somewhat in advance, and across the main Corinth road ; on his left, but some- what retired, McCiernand s command was posted ; next, Prentiss was advanc 'd, and on his left, commanding a detached brigade of Sherman's division, and covering tiio crossing of Lick creek, was Stuart. Suiilirs division, commanded by W. II. L Wallace, the gallant old soldier being on a si bed at Savannah, was with Ilurlbut's comn)^ id to tiie rear, and near the Lauding, acting i reserves, and re- spectively supporting thf ,ht and left wings of the army. The sixth division, under Lewis Wallace, was at Crump's Landing, his troops being stretched out on the Puidy road, so as to be in readiness for a movement to Pitlsburg or Purdy, as circumstances might reipiire. Buell was " hastening slowly," his advance under Nelson having reached Savannah, and been ordered by General Grant to move to the river bank, opposite Piltsburg, on the morning of the sixth, and it was confidently expected that Buell's entire command would arrive during the day. On Sunday morning, April 6th, while Gen- eral Grant and his staff were breakfasting, at an unusually early hour, and their horses were 34 LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. saddled preparatory to riding out from Savan- nah in search of Biiell ; lieavy firing was heard from the direction of Pittsburg, only six miles distant in a direct line. There had been con- siderable sliirmishing with desultory firing for seveial days, but the practiced ear of Grant at once detected in the sounds that reached him, unmistakable evidences of a battle, and immediately went on board a transport, and started for Pittsburg after sending a note in these words to the commander of the army of the Ohio : " Heavy firing is heard up the river, indicating plainly that an attack has been made upon our most advanced positions. I have been looking for this, but did not believe the attack could be made before Monday or Tuesday. This necessitates my joining the forces up the river, instead of meeting you to- day as I had contemplated. I have directed General Nelson to move up the river with his division. He can march to opposite Pittsburg. On his way up the river, Grant stopped at Crump's Landing and notified General 'Wal- lace in person to be ready to move at a mo- ment's warning, to support the main anny, or if the attack there should be but a feint, to de- fend himself until reinforcements should ar- rive, in the event of the enemy moving against him, on the Purdy road. Grant then proceed- ed to Pittsburg, arriving there between eight and nine o'clock, and at once rode to the front. It was in good time that he arrived, for a fierce and bloody battle was being fought, which was putting to the test the manhood of the men of the North, partially surprised, and overwhelmingly outnumbered, as they were — fifty thousand against thirty-three thousand, many of whom were raw troops. Grant, as soon as he saw the state of affairs, sent im- perative orders to Nelson and Wallace, to ad- vance with all possible speed ; a staff officer being sent to 'Wallace, directing hira to march by the river road, while to Nelson he wrote : " You will hurry up your command as fast as possible. The boats will be in readiness to transport all troops of your command across the river. AH looks well, but it is necessary for you to push forward as fast as possible." The battle of Shiloh, the severest struggle of the war, unless it was exceeded by the fierce battle of the 'Wilderness, was fought on a clear, sunny, spring day. The onset was made not on a sleeping army, as has been too often represented, but upon troops who were in a measure prepared. " It was well known," says the lamented McPherson, " that the enemy were approaching our lines, and there had been more or less skirmishing for three le," The news of this great contest spread like wildfire through the North. The telegram reached Washington, when a mem- ber, since and now speaker, asked leave to read it ; amid cheers on every side rose the cry : " To the clerk's desk," " To the clerk's desk." When Mr. Colfax had read the glad tidings, the breathless silence was suddenly broken by the most enthusiastic expressions of delight. A salute of one hundred guns was fired, and the hero was thanked by the War Department for his great victory. La Fontaine most truthfully says: •' Aucun chemin de fleurs ne conduit a la glorie.' Detraction was busy with its jioisonoua tooth. Grant was bitterly assailed, more bit- terly than before — as a " butcher," as " in- competent," as a "drunkard.' The Hon. E. B. Washburne, of Illinois, defended him from the detraction of his enemies on tin floor of Congress in the following eloquent ai d truth- ful words: " I come before the House to do a gi-cat r.rt of jus- tice to a soldier in the fleld, and to vindic i ' . Iiim trom the obloquy and misrepresentation so iiersistttntly and cruelly thrust before the country. I refer to a dis- tinguished general, who has recently fought the bloodiest and hardest battle ever fouglit on this con- tinent, and won one of the most brilliant victories. I mean the battle of Pittsburg Landing, and Major- Geiicral Ulysses S. Grant. Though but forty years old, ho has been oftener under Are, and botu in more , battles, than any other man living on this continent, excepting that great chieftain now reposing on his laurels and on the affections of his countrymen, Lieu- tenant-Gencral Scott. He was in every battle in ileiico that was possible for any one man to be in. He has received the baptismal of fire. No young offi- cer came out of the Mexican war with more distinc- tion than Grant, and the records of the War Depart- ment bear official testimony to his gallant and noble possible to approach them closely, or we ' deeds. He resigned in 1855, and afterward settled in 38 LIEE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT.. Galena, in the district I have the honor to represent on this door. " I came here to speak as an lUinoisian, proud of his noble ana patriotic State ; proud of its great history now being made up ; proud, above all earthly things, ol hei brave soldiers, who are shedding their blood upon all the battle fields of the Republic. If the laurels of Grant shall ever be Withered, it will not be done by the Illinois soldiers who have foUowered his victorious banner. " But to the victory at Pittsburg Landing, which has called forth such a flood of denunciation upon General Grant. When we consider the charges of tad generalship, incompetency, and surprise, do we not feel that ' even the joy ot the people is cruel ' 1 As to the question whether there was, or not, what might be called a surprise, I will not argue it ; but even il there had been. General Grant is nowise re- sponsible foi it, for he was not surprised. He was at his headquarters at Savannah, when the fight com- menced. Those headquarters were established there, as being the most convenient point for all parts of his command. Some of the troops were at Crump's Landins, between Savannah and Pittsburg, and all the new arrivals were coming to Savannah. That ■was the propel place for the headquarters of the com- manding General at that time. The General visited Pittoburg Landing and all the important points every day. The attack was made Sunday morning by a vastly superior force. In five minutes atter the first firing was heard, General Grant and staff were on the way to the battle-field ; and, instead of not reaching the field till ten o'clock, or, as has been still more falsely represented, till noon, I have a letter before me from one of his aids who was with him, and who says he arrived there at eight o'clock in the morning and immediately assumed command. There he di- rected the movements, and was always on that part of the field where his presence was most required, ex- posing his life, and evincing, in his dispositions, the genius of the greatest commanders. With what des- perate bravery that battle of Sunday was fought ! what display of prowess and courage ! what prodigies of valor ! Our troops, less than forty thousand, at- tacked by more than eighty thousand of the picked men of the rebels, led by their most distinguished generals ! " There is no more temperate man in the army than General Grant. He never indulges in the use of intoxicating Uquors at all. He is an example of courage, honor, fortitude, activity, temperance, and modesty, for he is as modest as he is brave and incor- ruptible. To the bravery and fortitude of Lannes, he adds the stern republican simplicity of Guvion St. Cyr. It is almost vain to hope that full justice will ever be done to men who have been thus attacked. Truth is slow upon the heels of falsehood. It has been well said, that ' Falsehood will travel from Maine to Georgia while Truth is putting on its boots.' " As a fitting conclusion to this chapter, we append a beautiful poem, " The Old Sergeant of Shiloh," feeling sure that it will be alike ■■ •welcome to those who have seen it, and those vho have not before had that pleasure. It ^as written by Forceythe Wilson, and was distributed by the carriers of the Louisville Journal, on the first day of January, 1863 : The carrier cannot sing to-day the ballads With which he used to go Rhyming the grand rounds of the Happy New Tears That arc now beneath the snow : For the same awful and portentous shadow That overcast the earth. And smote the land last year with desolation, > Still darkens every hearth. And the carrier bears Beethoven's mighty dead- Come up from every mart, [march, And he hears and feels it breathing in his bosom, And beating in his heart. And to-day like a scared and weather-beaten veteran, Again he comes along, To teU the story of the Old Year's struggles, In another New Year's song. And the song is his, but not so with the story ; For the story, you must know, Was told in prose to Assistant-Surgeon Austin, By a soldier of Shiloh ; — By Robert Burton who was brought up on the Adams With his death-wound in his side. And who told the story to the Assistant-Surgeon On the same night that he died. But the singer feels it will better suit the ballad. If all should deem it right, To sing the story as if what it speaks of Had happened but last night. " Come a little nearer. Doctor. Thank you I let me take the cup 1 Draw your chair up!— draw it closer— just another little sup ! Maybe you may think I'm better, but I'm pretty well used up — Doctor, you've done all you could do, but I'm just a going up. " Feel my pulse, sir, if you want to, but it is no use to try." " Never say that," said the Surgeon, as he smothered down a sigh ; " It will never do, old comrade, for a soldier to say die ! " " What you say will make no difference. Doctor, when you come to die. " Doctor, what has been the matter ? " " You were very faint they say ; You must try to get to sleep now." " Doctor, have I been away ? " " No, my venerable comrade " " Doctor, will you please to stay ? There is something I must tell you, and you wont have long to stay ! " I have got my marching orders, and am ready now to go ; Doctor, did you say I fainted ?— but it couldn't have been so — For as sure As Tm a Sergeant, and was wounded at Shiloh. LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OP GENERAL GRANT. 39 I've this very night been back there — on the old held ot Shiioh I " You may think it all delusion — all the sickness of the brain ; If you do, you are mistaken, and mistaken to my pain ; I'or upon my .lying hour, as I hope to live again, 1 have just been back to Sliiloh, and allover it again ! " This is all that I remember ; the last time the Lighter came, And the lights had all been lowered, and the noises much the same, "We had not been gone five minutes,* before some- thing ailed my name — 'Ordeuly— Sergeant — Robert — Burton ! '—just that way it called my name. " Then I thought, who could have called me, so dis- tinctly and so low — 'T can't be the Lighter, surely; he could not have spoken so ; And I tried to answer, 'Here, sir!' but I couldn't make it go, For I couldn't move a muscle, and I couldn't make it go ! " Then I thought it all a nightmare — all a humbug and a bore ! It is just another grapevine, and it won't come any more ; But it came, sir, notwithstanding, just the same words as before, • Oederly -Sergeant— Robert — Burton ! ' more distinctly than before ! " That is all that I remember, till a sudden burst of light. And I stood beside the river, where we stood that Sunday night. Waiting to be ferried over to the dark blufifa oppo- site, When the river seemed perdition, and all hell seemed opposite ! " And the same old palpitation came again with all its power, And I heard a burgle sounding, as from heaven or a tower ; And the same mysterious voice said : ' It is the eleventh hour ! Orderly— Sergeant— Robert — Burton- it is th« eleventh hour ! ' " Dr. Austin '—what datj is this ? " " It is Wednes- day night, you know." " Yes ! to-morrow will be New Year's, and a right good time below ! What lime is it, Dr. Austin ? " " Nearly twelve." " Then don't you go ! Can it be that all this happened — all this — not an hour ago 1 " There was where the gunboats opened on the dark, rebellious host. And where Webster semi-circled his last guns upon the coast- There were still the two log-houses, just the same, or else their ghost — And the same old transport came and took me over— or its ghost I " And the whole field lay before me, all deserted, fai and wide — There was where they fell on Prentiss ; there McClcr. nand met the tide ; There was wliere stern Sherman rallied, and where Hurlbut's heroes died — ' Lower down, where Wallace charged them, and kept charging till he died 1 " There was where Lew Wallace showed he was of the canny kin- There was where Old Nelson thundered, and where Rousseau waded in— There McCook, ' sent them to breakfast,' and w« all began to win — There was where the grape shot took me just a» we began to win. " Now a shroud of snow and silence over everything was spread ; And but lor this old, blue mantle, and the old hat on my head, I should not have ever doublbd, to this moment, I was dead ; For my footsteps were as silent as the snow upon the dead ! " Death and silence ! Death and silence ! starry silence overhead I And behold a mighty tower, as if buildcd to the dead, To the heaven of the heavens, lifted up its mighty head ; Till the Stars and Stripes of heaven all seemed wav- ing from its h«ad I " Round and mighty-based, it towered — up into the infinite ! And I knew no mortal mason could have built a shaft so bright ; For it shone like solid sunshine ; and a winding stair of»light Wound around it, and around it, till it wound clear out of sight ! "And, behold, as I approached it with a rapt and dazzled stare — Thinking that I saw old comrades, just ascending the great stair ; Suddenly the solemn challenge broke of, ' Halt ! ' and ' Who goes there ? ' ' I'm a friend,' I said, ' if you are.' ' Then advance, sir, to the stair ! ' " I advanced— that sentry. Doctor, was Elijah Dal- lantyne — First of all to fall on Monday, after we had formed the line ' Welcome I my old Sergeant, welcome ! Welcome by that countersign ! ' And he pointed to the scar there under this oloak of mine .' "As ho grasped my hand, I shuddered ; thinking only of the grrave — But he smiled, and pointed upward, with a bright and bloodless glare ; ^0 LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. ' That's the way, sir/to headquarters ! ' ' What head- quarters V ' Of the brave ! ' ' But the great tower l ' ' That was builded of the great deeds of the brave ! ' "Then a sudden shame came o'ei me at his uniform of light ; At my own, so old and tattered, and at his so new and bright ; ' Ah '.' said he, ' you have forgotten the new uniform to-night ! Hurry back, tor you must be here at just twelve o'clock to-night ! ' " And the next thing I remember, you were sitting there, and I— Doctor ! it is hard to leave you. Hark : God bless you all ! Good bye ! Doctor ! please to give my musket and my knapsack, when I die, To my son — my son that's coming — he wont get here till I die ! " Tell him his old father blessed him, as he nevei did before ; And to carry that olamusket — ^Hark ! a knock is at the door !— " Till the Union — see ! it opens ! "— " Father ! fathei ! speak once more ! " — " Bless you ! " grasped the old, gfrey Sergeant, and he lay and said no more ! ■WTten the Sui^on gave the heir-son the old Ser- geant's last advice — And his musket and his knapsack — how the fire flashed in his eyes ! He is on the march this morning, and wiU march on till he dies — He will save this bleeding country, or will fight until he dies J CHAPTER V. SEIGE OF COKINTH, HaReek assumes command— Grant under a cloud — Extiucts from the letters, written by the author at iShiloh— Advance of the Union army— Capture of Farmiugton— Siege of Corinth— Its evacuation — lueii'ectual pursuit of the enemy— Buell ordered to Chattanooga, Pope to Virginia, Grant to Memphis — Halleck made General-in-Chief — Offers com- mand of the Army of the Tennessee to a Colonel— He declines— Memphis a hot-bed of treason— Aid- ing the rebels— Stringent and statesmanlike csrders issued by Grant— Guerrillas— Smugglers— Negroes employed— Uuiet retreat — A sad incident. " I do not intend it shall keep me from fighting for our dear old flag, when the hour of battle comes." Gkant to his Father. On the 9tli of April, Henry Wager Halleck, the commanding general of the Depavtment, arrived at Pittsburg Landing and assumed command of the united armies of the Ten- nessee and Ohio, Grant and Buell each re- taining their respective commands under Hal- leck. After the fall of Island No. 10, Pope's forces, known as the army of the Mississippi, joined the troops assembled at Pittsburg, forming the left wing, with Buell in the cen- tre and Grant on the right, his command including almost as many troops as the centre and left wing combined. The united forces, being formed into two corps, commanded by McClernand and Thomas, known as the " Grand Army of the Tennessee," numbering nearly one hundred thousand men. Grant was nominally still in command of the Disti"ict of West Tennessee, including his old army, but was, in reality, in disgrace after the arrival of his superior oflicer. Although General Thomas, commanding the right, and McClernand the reserves, were his subordi- nates, orders were, contrary to military usages, sent directly to them, without Grant being made aware of their contents, and movements were executed by his own troops without his knowledge. All descriptions of injurious re- ports had been industriously spread abroad seriously affecting Giant's character as a soldier. Some of these generated, doubtless, from the army of the Ohio, who had wit- nessed the sickening crowd if panic-stricken fugitives at the Landing on the afternoon and evening of the first day's battle; others had gone abroad from newspaper correspondents, and some possibly from the soldiers of his own command, setting forth that the army was surprised, that Grant was intoxicated and absent from the field, and that he was totally incompetent to command an army. It is certainly true that Grant was universally considered at that time as under a cloud, if not absolutely in disgrace, even by his own troops. Five days after the battle, we wrote from Pittsburg Landing : " On General Hal- leck depends the future of our army in the Southwest; and on Buell rests the gloiy of saving it from utter annihilation." A few days later wj said in another letter : " Since the arrival of Halleck at Pittsburg, renewed confidence and spirit has been instilled in the army, which is being rapidly reorganized and prepared for another conflict. Fresh troops are constantly arriving, and in ten days the commanding general will have a well-equipjjed and efficient a my of one hundred tliousaud men with not less than two hundred i)iece3 of artillery. Owing to the impassible condi- tion of the roads between Pittsburg and Cor- LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. 41 inth, it is utterly impossible for the rebel army to make another attack upon our camp at present, consequently no anxiety need be felt for the safety of our army on the Tennes- see at this time, nor in its ability, under the command of Major-General Halleck, seconded by such men as Buell and Nelson, to capture Corinth, as soon as the army is again organ- ized, and the condition of the roads will admit of a forward movement." To those who still think that Grant risked too much by placing his troops on the west bank, and thus came so near total defeat be- fore the timely arrival of Buell, we can only quote from a letter of General Sherman : " If there was any error in putting that army on the west side of the Tennessee, exposed to the superior force «of the enemy, also assembling at Corinth, the mistake was not General Grant's. But there was no mistake. It was necessary that a combat, fierce and bitter, to test the manhood of two armies, should come off, and that was as good a place as any. It was not then a question of military skill and strategy, but of couiage and pluck; and I am convinced that any life lost that day to us was necessary ; for otherwise, at Corinth, at Memphis, at Vicksburg, we would have found harder resistance had we not shown our ene- mies that, rude and untutored as we then were, we could fight as well as they." Everything being in readiness, the army of the Tennessee reorganized in sixteen divisions, moved forward on the 30th of April, to drive Beauregard and the rebel forces from their strongly-fortified position at Corinth. Their exterior line was fifteen miles long, and at every road crossing there were either strong redoubts or batteries with massive epaulments ; while the troops under the rebd general's command numbered about seventy thousand, being at least forty thousand less than the army led by Halleck. On the third ot May, our advance had reached a point eight miles from Corinth, and the same day a portion of Pope's command captured Farmington, aban- doned after but slight resistance on the part of the rebel garrison, nearly five thousand strong. Our army mored forward slowly un- der Ilalleck's Fabian policy, using the spade for the first time in Western campaigning, no advance being made without entrenchments, as the cautious commander did not propose that the rebels should again steal upon us un- awares. Our army were anxious to push for- ward and try conclusion with Beauregard, whom we so largely outnumbered, but when Grant ventured while at head(iuarter8, and the subject of the evacuation of Corinth was being discussed, to recommend an immediate attack on the extreme right of the Union line where the enemy's ranks \v.ere weakened, to be fol- lowed by an assault along the whole line, his advice was scouted by Halleck, who suggested ' that Grant's opinions need not be oll'ered un- til asked for, and in accordance with tliis intimation he did not again during the siege obtrude them. It may be here remarked that after Corinth fell, and Grant had entered the rebel works, he satisfied himself beyond all doubt, that had the attack been made as he suggested, the place might have been taken and its army destroyed or captured. When the Union lines advanced towards Corinth, a battery was planted on an eminence commanding a considerable portion of the country, but completely shrouded from view by a dense thicket. Scouts were sent out to discover he exact position of the rebels, and were but a short distance in advance to give a signal as to the direction to fire, if any were discovered. One of the rebel commanders, unaware of the presence of the nationals, called around him a brigade, and commenced addressing them in something like the following : " Sons of the South, we are here to defend our homes, our wives and daughters, against the horde of Vandals who have come here to possess the first and violate the last. Here upon this sacred soil, we have assembled to drive back the Northern invaders— drive them into Tennessee. Will you follow me ] If we cannot hold this place, we can defend no spot of our Confederacy. Shall we drive the invaders back, and strike to death the men who would desecrate our homes 1 Is there a man so base among those who hear me as to retreat from the contemptible foe before us t I will never blanch before their fire, nor " At this interesting jieriod the signal was given, and six shells fell in the vicinity of the gallant officer and his men, who suddenly for- got their fiery resolves, and fled in confusion to their breastworks. By slow movements our combined forces gradually gained a position near Corinth, and on May "iSih three reconnoiterins columns, one from each army, were advanced by General Halleck. A vivid description of the stirring 42 LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. scene of such a period of army operations is contained in the following letter witten on the field : " Eegiments and artillery ara placed in position, and, generally, the cavalry is in advance ; but when the opposing forces are in close proximity, the infan- try does the work. The who» front is covered by a ^ cloud of skirmishers, and then reserves formed, and then, in connection with the main line, they advance. For a moment, allis still as the grave to those in the backgi'ound : as the line moves on, the eye is strained in vain to follow the skirmishers as they creep silent- ly forward ; then, from some point of the line, a sin- gle riHe rings through the forest, sharp and clear, and, as if in echo, another answers it. In a moment more the whole line resounds with the din of arms. Here the fire is slow and steady, there it rattles with fearful rapidity ; and this, mingled with the great roar of the reserves as the skirmishers chance at any point to be driven in : and if, by reason of superior force, these reserves fall back to the main force, then every nook and comer seems full of sound. The batteries open their terrible voices, and their shells sing honibly while winging their Hight, and their dull explosion speaks plainly of death ; their canis- ter and grape go crashing through the trees, rifles ring, the muskets roar, and the din is terrific. Then the slackening of the fire denotes the withdrawing of the one party, and the more distant picket firing that the work was accomplished. The silence be- comes almost painful after such a scene as this, and no one can conceive of the effect who has not experi- enced it ; it cannot be described. The occasional tiring of the ijickets, which shows that the new lines are es- tablished, actually occasions a sense ot relief. The movements of the mind under such circumstances are sudden and strong. It awaits with intense anx- iety the opening of the contest ; it rises with the din of battle ; it sinks with the luU which follows it, and finds itself in fit condition to sympathize most deep- ly with the torn and bleeding ones that are fast be- ing borne to the rear. " When the ground is clear, then the time for work- ing parties has arrived ; and, as this is the descrip- tion of a real scene, let me premise that the works were to reach through the centre of a large open farm of at least three hundred acres, surrounded by woods, one side of it being occupied by rebel pickets. These had been driven back, as I have described. " The line of the works was selected, and, at the word of command, three thousand men, with axes, spades, and picks, stepped out into the open field ftom their cover in the woods. In almost as short a time as it takes to tell it, the fence rails which sur- rounded and divided three hundred acres into conve- nient farm lots were on the shoulders of the men, and on the way to the intended line of works. In a few moments more, a long line of crib work stretches over the slope of the hill, as if another anaconda fold had been twisted around the rebels. Then, as, for a time, the ditches deepen, the cribs fill up, the dirt is packed on the outer side, the bushes and all points of concealment are cleared from the front, and the centre divisions of our army had taken a long stride toward the rebel works. The siege guns are brought up and placed in commanding positions. A log house furnishes the hewn and seasoned timber for the platforms, and the plantation of a Southern lord has been thus speedily transformed into one of Uncle Sam's strongholds, where the ^tars and Stripes float proudly. Thus had the whole army worked itself up into the very teeth of the rebel works, and rested there on Thursday night, the 28th, expecting a gen- eral engagement at any moment. " Soon after daylight, on Friday morning, the army was startled by rax^id aud long-continued explosions, similar to musketry, but much louder. Tlio convic- tion flashed across my mind that the rebels were blowing up their loose ammunition, and leaving. The dense smoke arising in the direction of Corinth, strengthened this belief, and soon the whole army was advancing on a grand roconnoissauce. The dis- tance through the woods was short, and in a few minutes shouts arose from the rebel lines, which told that our army was in the enemy's trenches. Regi- ment alter regiment pressed on, and passing through extensive camps just vacated, soon reached Corinth, and found half of it in flames. Beauregard and Bragg had left the fifternoon befoi%, and the rear- guard had passed out of the town before daylight, leaving enough stragglers to commit many acts of vandalism, at the expense of private property. They burned churches and other public buildings, private goods, stores and dwellings, and choked up half the wells in town. In the camps immediately around the town, there were few evidences of hasty retreat ; but on the right flank, where Price and Van Doru were encamped, the destruction of baggage and stores was very great, showing precipitate flight. Portions of our army were immediately put in pur- suit." On the 30th of May, the army was drawn up in line of battle, awaiting the rebel onset, the comniiinding general having announced on the morning of May 30ih to liis command that, " There is every indication that the ene- my will attack our left, this morning ;" it was suddenly discovered that the birds were flown, leaving quaker guns, and barren defences, to impose upon us, as long as possible. The evacuation had been going on for two days, but it was not discovered until clouds of .'imoke and sheets of flame announced that Beauregard, before retreating, had fired the town. As his rear-guard moved out on the southern road, our advance moved in. Buell and Pope were sent in pursuit, but accom- plished little, and after a fruitless chase of ten days, were recalled to Corinth. The for- mer was soon after detached and sent to Chattanooga, Pope was ordered to Yirginia, and Grant established his headquarters at Memphis, captured, June 6th, after a brilliant naval combat on the Mississipi. On the 17th of July, General Halleck was assigned to the command of " the whole land forces of the United Slates as General-in- Chief," and immediately repaired to Washing- LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. 43 ton, at tlie same time directing Grant to leave Memphis, and eslablisii his iieadquarters at Corinth. His jiuisdiclioa was not, however, enlarged by Halleck's promotion ; on the con- trar)', as we learn tVom the following letter, the new General-in-cliief first offered tlie com- mand of tiie army of the Tennessee — not to Buell, or Thomas, or Sherman, or Nelson, or McClernand, but to Colonel Robert Allen, a quartermaster, who declined it ; whereupon Grant was permitted to retain the command. Allen's letter, dated July 9, 1866, giving an account of the manner in which the position was offered to him, is as follows : " I had joined General Halleck a short time subse- quent to the fall of Corinth, and was attached to his immediate command, when he received the appointment of Geiieral-in-chief, with or- ders to repair at once to Washington. Shortly after, he came to my tent. * * * After a somewhat protracted conversation, he turned to me and said : ' Now what can I do for you, ?' I replied, that I did not know that he could do anything. ' Yes,' he rejoined, ' I can give you command of this arm}'.' I replied, ' I have not rank.' ' That,' said he, ' can e.-xsily be obtained.' I do not remember exactly what ray reply was to this, but it was to the eflfect that I doubted the expediency of such a meas- ure, identified as I was with the enormous bu- siness and expenditures of the quartermaster's department, from which it was almost im- practicable to relieve me at that time. Other reasons were mentioned, and he did not press the subject. It is true that I was congratu- lated on the prospect of succeeding to the command, before 1 had mentioned the subjeot of this interview." General Grant made his headquarters for a time at Memphis, which, with its swarms of craftysecessionists, speculators, gamblers, and unprincipled Jewish traders, bid fair to be of more value to the rebels, when in possession of the Union forces, than when held by the insurgents themselves, inasmuch as every- thing in the way of supplies which the enemy needed, was smuggled through the lines to them. This business was carried on in good part by Jews, desperate for gain, who often succeeded in passing our pickets under cover of night. Many a midnight chase has the writer, and the cavalry regiment he had the honor to command, had after the Memphis smugglers, and many an ambulance, drawn by a pair of horses or mules, and loaded down with well-filled trunks, containing medicine and other contraband articles, did the Iroop- ei-s of the Fifteenth Illinois capture, which were endeavoring to escape to the Confede- rates, after evading the pickets posted around Memphis. Grant issued various stringent or- ders regarding slaves, trea.sonable traders, and guerrillas — all clear and sutesmanlike. The disposition made of fugitive negroes was practical — they were put to useful em- ployment, and kindly treatel, while awaiting the further action of the government concern- ing them. This was before the country had been educated to the propriety of ])iitting guns in their hands. The illicit tralBc was gradually broken up, and Memphis cea.sed to be a base of supplies for the rebels ; disloyal utterances by the press were discontinued ; and quiet and order reigned in the Egyptian- named city under the wise and state-smaulike rule of General Grant. No observant person serving in the army could avoid meeting with many sad scenes, but the brief incident we are about to narrate affected the writer more than the sight of the carnage of a battle-field. A few niiles out of Memphis was the beautiful residence of a wealthy lawyer named L . On iiis plan- tation was encamped a brigade of our troops, and it was deemed a military necessity that the grand old elms and oaks should be cut down. As the rebel owner, not'./lthsianding his appeals that his trees might be spared, saw them falling around him until not a single one was left, his miml was so affected that his reason gradually gave way, and he become a hopeless idiot. Wheu the writer asked the brigade commander why he could not have spared the trees, his answer was brief— but four words—-" 'Twas a miliury necessity." CHAPTER VI. tPKA, COBINTH AND THE HATCHIE. Military situation ia September, 18G2- Trice seizes luka— Grant decides to drive him out— lie does it —Battle described— Rebels advance on Corinth — Prepanitions for defence— Grant's BtraU?gy— Battle of Corinth— Eosecrans falls biwk from advanced positions— Desperate fightingr-Final victory Reb- els retreat— Defeated at the Hatrhie— Grant's report— Letter from 3Ir. Lincoln— How does it all 44 LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. sum up ?— A wife's letter— The eagle of Corinth— llosecrans relieved aud promoted— Grant's com- mand enlarged. " I wish all our generals would drink Grant's whis- key." Pbesident Lincoln to Grant's defamebs. From the month of June till September, there was but little fighting in the Depart- ment of the Tennessee, and Grant gave his at- tention, as already indicated in the previous chapter, to what might be termed the civil af- fairs of his extensive command, by no means light or easy labors, and more particulai'ly to the administration of Memphis matters. With his weakened forces, for every man that it was thought possible to take from him had been sent to Buell, he was only able to act on the defensive, which he did with great suc- cess, as we shall presently set forth. Grant's dispatches at this time bear testimony to the constant anxiety the insurgents occasioned him, and to the necessity of sleepless vigi- lance. September 9th he said : " Siiould the enemy come I will be as ready as possible with the means at hand. I do not believe that a force can be brought against us at present that cannot be successfully resisted." Four days later, Price advanced boldly from the South with a force of twelve thousand, and seized luka, together with a large quantity of milita- ry stores, which colonel Murphy, in his haste to escape, had neglected to destroy, notwith- standing that he was left behind for that spe- cial purpose. On the 13th, Grant telegraphed to Halleck, " If I can, I will attack Price be- fore he crosses Bear Creek. If he can be beaten there, it will prevent the design either to go North, or to unite forces and attack here." Later in the afternoon, our troops under the immediate command of General Rose- crans attacked luka, and after a severe battle of several hours, night put an end to the carnage, the rebels still holding the town. At half-past nine Rosecrans sent the follow- ing dispatch to Grant : " We met the enemy in force just above this point. The engage- ment lasted several hours. We have lost two or three pieces of artillery. Firing was very heavy. You must attack in the morning and in force. The ground is horrid, imknown to us, and no room for development, couldn't use our artillery at all, fired but few shots. Push in on them until we can have time to do something. We will try to get a position on our right which will take luka." It was un- necessary, for during the night the discomfit- ed Price evacuated the town, retreating by the only avenue left open for his escape, and joined Van Dorn and Lovell in Tippah county, Mississippi ; when the united rebel armies moved forward to repossess themselves of Corinth, and drive Grant out of Western Ten- nessee. An intercepted letter gave the following description of the battle of the 19th, in which the rebel writer admits tliat Price was most signally defeated : " "We held peaceable possession of luka for one day, and on the ne.xt, were alarmed by the booming of . cannon, and were called out to spend the evening in battle array in the woods. On the evening of the 19th, when we supposed we were goingr back to camp to rest awhile, the sharp crack of muslietry on the right of our former lines told us that the enemy was much nearer than we imagined. In fact, they had almost penetrated the town itself. How on earth, with the woods full of our cavalry, they could have approached so near our lines, is a mystery. They had planted a battery sufficiently near to shell Gene- ral Price's headquarters, and were cracking away at the third brigade, when the fourth came up at double quick, and then, for two hours and litteen minutes, was kept up the most terrific fire of musketry that ever dinned my ears. Tliere was one continuous roar of small arms, while grape and canister howled in tearful concert above our heads and through our ranks. General Little was shot dead early in the ac- tion. * * * It was a terrible sti-uggle, and we lost heavily. All night could bo heard the groans of the wounded and dying, forming a sequel of horror and agony to the deadly struggle, over which night had kindly thrown its mantle. Saddest of a^, oxir dead were left unburied, and many of the wounded on the battle-field, to be tajcen in charge by the ene- my." The Union general, comprehending the de- sign of Van Dorn to drive the Union forces out of Tennessee, but uncertain where the blows would fall, whether at Bolivar or Corinth, prepared to receive them at either ])lace, and on the 23d of September removed his head- quarters to Jackson, from which point he could more readily communicate with both posts, as well as with Cairo and Memphis. October 1st lie telegraphed, " My position is precarious, but I hope to get out of it all right." When at last he received tlirough his scouts reliable intelligence concerning the rebel movements, which rendered it certain that they would direct their attack against Corinth, he directed General Rosecrans to con- centrate his force there, and sent a brigade from Jackson to support him. He also direct- ed Generals Ord and Hurlbut to advance from LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. 45 Bolivar by way of Pocahontas, and be pre- pared to attack Van Dorn in flank or rear, should they not be in time to enter tlie town. The battle of Corinth was begun by the rebels on the 2d of October, but was confined on that day to. tlie preliminary skirmishing which is usually the avant courrier of a con- flict. The next day tlie battle was begun in earnest, and our troops who had occupied ad- vanced positions, were driven back, with con- siderable confusion and loss, to the works around Corinth, whicii the foretiiought of Grant had ordeied to be constructed, when he assumed command in July. These fortifi- cations undoubtedly saved the army on the evening of the 3(1. On the following morn- ing, the rebels in high spirits from the suc- cesses of the previous day, renewed the bat- tle with great fierceness. This colunm charged again and again, only to be driven back, shattered and bleeding. Still again, they are urged forward by their leaders, and the men come up with their faces averted as if striv- ing to protect themselves against a driving storm of hail, and finally, "the ragged head of the colunm" ])enetrate our ranks, but are quickly driven back, and over the broad glacis, with severe loss. Our regiments swarming over their works, chase the broken fragments of the rebel column back to the works; many crouching in t!ie abatis, surrender at discre- tion. Thus ended, about noon, the fiercely contested battle of Corinth. The rebels re- treated to the Hatchie, about ten miles dis- tant, and were there struck by Hurlbut and Ord, as Grant had planned, and lost numerous men and guns, and had Rosecrans pursued as instructed, the whole rebel army would have been destroyed or captured. As it was, by the delay of Rosecrans to pursue. Van Dorn and Price succeeded in getting away with such of their forces as had escaped death and capture. After the three day's desperate fight- ing, in which Generals Ord and Oglesby were wounded, and Hackleman killed. Grant issued a congralulatory address to his heroic troops : " It is -with heartfelt gratitude the General com- manding congratulates the armies of the West for another gi-eat victory won by them on the 3d, 4th, aud 5 th instant over the combined armies of Van Dorn, Price, aud Lovell. " The enemy chose his own time and place of at- tack, and knowing the troops of the West as he does, and with great facilities lor knowing their numbers, never would have made the attempt except with a superior force numerically. But for the undaunted bravery of officers and soldiers, who have yet to learn defeat, the efforts of tlie enemy mut have proven successful. " As in all gi-cat battles, go in this, it becomes our fate to morn the loss of many bravo and faithful of. fleers and soldiers, who have given up tlieir hves iis a sacriilcB for a great principle. The nation mourns for them." Grant closed his dispatch to Washington communicating his success with these wonls : " I have strained everything to take iiUo the fight an adequate force, and to gel them in the right place." No sooner liad the good news been received at the capital tlian the President sent over the wires to General Grant the following message : " I congrat- ulate you and all concerned in your re- cent battles and victories. IIow does it all sum up 1 I especially regret the death of General Hackleman, and am very anxioua to know the condition of Goncal 0_des- by, who is an intimate personal friend." The 'significant inquiry " How does it all sura up 1 " may be briefiy answered. The enemy's loss was upwards of eight thousand in killed, wounded and prisoners, together wiih numer- ous guns and standards, while those who es- caped were very greatly demoralized by their repeated defeats, and by the pursuit which was continued by the entire army for forty miles, and by the cavalry for sixty. luka, Corinth, and the Hatchie relieved Grant's in- adequate forces, which he handled with such consummate skill from all immediate danger, and relieved for a time Western Tennessee from the tread of liostile forces. The following extract from a letter dated at Corinth, on the 6th of October, 1862, vivid- ly portrays the fearful emotions and anxious thoughts which torture the mind of an ob- server during the progress of battle, and nar- rates but one of the many harrowing scenes of the war : " O, my friend ! how can I tell you of the torttires that have nearly crazed me, for the last throe days V Ton is powerless to trace, words weak to convey one tithe ol the misery 1 have endure (As 1 said before, i could love them !) They stood, to the last, like men— ^ Only a handful of them V. Found the way back again.' Red as blooer correspondents, one of whom has left this glowing picture : " It was ten o'clock on a beatitiful moonlight night, even for those latitudes, when we cu>t loose at Milliken's Bend, and our bttle tuf snorted down the river accompanied by the transport A. D. Iline. " Our adieus said, we quietly chatted, and finished a solitary bottle of dry catawba, which some good friends had sent on boai-d for our com tort. We bad on board, as a guard, fifteen sharp-shooters from the Forty-seventh Ohio, tinder Captain AVard, Surgeoa Davidson, th« tug's crew of eight, four persons on their way to join their regiments, and our party of three, all volunteers. " I should liLre mention, as illustrating the temper of that army, that when fourteen volunteers were called for the whole regiment stepi)ed forward. Com- pany A was srlic'ted, and still there was a squabble to go. Fourteen were then marked off; a Ulleenth begged permission of the Colonel, and one actually paid a premium of five dollars to his i-omrade for the privilege of going on this hazardous service. The barges were covered with tiers, ot hay in order to pro- tect the tug, but the hay was decmwl ulnu»t unne- cessary, and so put on quite loosely, and the ends of the lx)at were quite exposed. " At midnight we came in sight of Vicksburg. At half-past twelve as we were steaming acrvws the upper side of the point, the rebel pickets on the I>ouisUn» shore began to fir« upon us ; their shots, however, did no damage. " At quarter before one, a rocket shot up from the upper batteries. There was no need of such a warn- ing, for the boats might be seen almost as clearly aa by sunlight, and the loud puff of our eslaust pipe gave ample warning when we were three miles dis- tant. 60 LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. " At five minutes past one the first shot was fired, and struck so near, as to leave us in doubt whether the barges were hit. A lull of a few minutes, then another, closely followed by a round. It kept up in this way as we were rounding the bend, the shots all seeming to come very nearto us, but few strikine:, as •we could perceive by the momentary throb of the hull when struck. " With the exception of Captain Ward, the pilots, engineers and fu'emen, the rest of us were posted along the barges, on the alert for an attemijt at boarding. " By reference to a map of the locahty, it will be seen that the river forms a kind of loop in front of Vicksburg ; so that we had to run a portion of the dis- tance by, and then turn under fire, and run the whole line back again. In this way we were exposed to a fire from the starboard side, then from the bow, and, •when fairly in front of the batteries, from all three directions to a concentrated tire. " At first there were efi'orts to peer from behind the rampart of hay bales, and duck on perceiving the flash of the rebel guns ; but soon the shots were so rapid, and from points so widely apart, that that ex- citing amusement was dropjied. The screaming of the shells as they went over us, the splashing and Bpray, were lor a time subjects of jesting and imita- tion, when a shell burst three feet over our heads •with a stunning report. " Twenty minutes (long minutes those) under fire, and nobody hurt ! " The barges still floating, and the little propeller making eight miles an hour. We had already passed the upper batteries, and were congratulating our- selves on our good luck, the guns pouring broadsides at us with amazing noise, as we were but four hun- dred yards from the guns, and it seemed in the clear air as if we were right in front of the muzzles. Sev- eral shots struck the barges very heavily, still there •was no stoppage. It must have been about quarter before two, when all the roar of the guns was drowned in one terrific report, as if a magazine had burst un- der us. " My first thought was that the powder had been stowed on the barges, and had ignited ; but on clam- bering up among smoke and flames, I could see in- deed nothing like a tug. She had exploded, and the •white hot cinders were thrown up in a spouting Bhower, while steam and smoke enveloped the barges like a pall. " Almost at the same minute the batteries com- menced a vengeful, and, as it seemed to me, a savage fire upon us, faster and faster. The shells burst all around and above us tor a few moments with a stun- ning and blinding eSect. The coals had set fire to the hay bales in several places ; the bursting shells had aided in the work. In vam did we trample upon them, and throw them overboard, burning our hands, feet and clothing in the effort. Ko buckets were to be found. They had been blown away. On looking down between the barges, there hung the fragments of the tug by the tow ropes. The little cratt being nearly all boiler, had been shattered to atoms, as 'we afterwards learned, by a ten-inch shell. " The rebels then set up a hideous yell from the blufi^s, as if in mockery at our crippled condition. The batteries kept on firing, the blazing hay lighting up the river. We were then slowly drifting with the current past the front of the city. Our disaster hap- pened right abreast of the court-house, when we had passed more than half the batteries, and under the fire of them all. " As soon as we could clearly see through the blind- ing smoke, we found Mr. Browne standing barehead- ed on the topmost bale, as if he were a defiant target for the rebel gunners. Captain Ward had been blown forward thirty feet from the tug into the river, and two of his men were engaged in fishing him up. The wounded and scalded men were crying for help, answered only by an occasional shell or malicious cheer. " After a few moments of hasty and rather infor- mal consultation, it was deemed best to quit the barges, as the fiames were crowding us very closely. Bales of hay were then tumbled off iuto the river, and the wounded placed upon them. " The heat now became intense. Mr. Browne and myself remained till all were off, and then, with but one bale for the two, stripped for the plunge. Just as we were ready a solid shot whistled between us, and ploughed into the water under Mr. Richardson's feet, overturning him from his bale, and producing a fountain of spray where he had sunk. " Our eyes were gladdened at his return to the surface unhurt. " We leaped into the muddy flood and buffeted the waves for some minutes, with a sense of relief from the insupportable heat. Junius followed, and to- gether we commenced swimming for the Louisiana shore, supposing that our pickets occupied it. " We had been in the water for half an hour, per- haps, when the sound of the stroke of oars reached us, and presently a yawl pulled round the barges. Our first emotions were pleasant enough, but they were all destroyed when we saw the grey clothing of the boatmen. They scooped us in by the time we had drifted two miles below the city, and with some roughness impressed upon us the fact that we were prisoners. Dripping and shivering, we were marched up to the city, and taken before the Provost-Mar- shal and registered." Before following Grant and his army in the march of seventy miles across the country, to Hard Times, a landing on the Louisiana side of the Mississippi, south of Vicksburg, we desire, to introduce some testimony, which has been given in regard to Grant's habits. We once again, and for the last time, recur to the subject of his alleged intemperance during the war and since, for the purpose of intro- ducing a very instructive story, recently con- tributed to Ibe columns of a New York jour- nal, by F. L. Olmsted, and entitled, " The Genesis of a Rumor." As the General Superintendent of the San- itary Commission he had occasion, early in 1863, to visit General Grant, at his headquar- ters just above Vicksburg. His assistant, Mr. F. Knapp, was with him. They were received by the General on board a steamboat, and encfaged in conversation, sitting over a table LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OP GENERAL GRANT. 61 on which was a pitcher of water with some glasses. The General gave tiiein an account of the condition of his campaign, which tlieii wore a very unfavorable appearance. General Steele had just been foiled in an attempt to get around Vicksburg byway of the Sunflower ; the idea of passing below the city by means of a canal across the peninsula from Young's Point was not promisinii ; and there was a great doubt what should be done. Gradually the General was led into a review of the whole undertaking. " We were impressed," says Mr. Olmsted, " as much by the remarkably me- thodical clearness of the narration as by the simple candor and ingeimousness wiih which it was given to us who, tlie day before, had been strangers to him. He took up several hypotheses and suggestions, and analyzed them in such a way as to make prominent the uncertainties and uncontrollable elements which were involved in them; and I could not but think, so musing and quietly reflective was his manner, and yet so exact and well ar- ranged his expressions, that he was simply re- peating a process of thinking it out,' in order to assure himself that he fully comprehended and gave just weight to all the important ele- ments of some grand military problem, the solution of which be was about to undertake." While they were thus engaged, a lady came past the curtain, behind whose screen they were sitting, to deliver a memorial to the Gen- eral. He ruse to receive it, and stood wiih one hand on his cliaii' while she spoke to him. He then niade an apjiointment for his medical director to call upon her the next day on the business she had presented, and she left, when the conversation was resumed. A week or two later, Mr. Olmsted's compan- ion, Mr. Knapp. met the same lady at a hotel in Memphis. She lamented the drunken habits of General Grant, and, by way of proof, said that she had lately seen the General on board a steamboat, near Vicksburg, carousing with two boon companions, and that he was so lipsy when he spoke to her that he had to steady himself by leaning on a chair ; more- over, his voice was thick and he spoke inco- herently. Tiie next day, being ashamed to see her himself, he had sent his doctor to find out what she wanted. Mr. Knapp then told her that, having been one of the boon com- panions whom she had observed with the Gen- eral on that occasion, and that having dined vrith him and been face to face with him for I fully three hours, he not only knew that he was under the influence of no drink stronger than the uiKjualihed mud of the .Mississippi, but he could assure her that he lia,rd his name constantly, and never did I hear intemperance mentioned in connection with it. Facts are stubborn things. I will relate a tew of the many that came directly to my knowledge. In the winter of 1862-03, when the army arrived at Memphis, alter long, weary marching, and trials that sicken the heart to think ot, two-thirds of the officers and soldiers were in hospitals. General Grant was lying sick at the Gayoso House. One morning Mrs. Grant came into the ladies' parlor very much depressed, and said the medical director had just been to see Mr. Grant, and thought he would not be able to go any further if he did not stimulate. Said she, ' And I cannot persuade him to do so ; he says he will not die, and he will not touch adroj) upon any consideration.' In less than a week he was on board the advance boat on the way to Vicksburg. " Again, a few months after, I was on board the headquarters boat at MilUken's Bend, where quite a lively gathering of officers and ladies had assembled. Cards and music were the order of the evening. General 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 matter before him. He paid no attention Vhatever to what was going on around, neither did any one dare interrupt him. For hours he sat thus, until the loved and lamented McPherson stepped up to him, with a glas? of liquor in his hand, and said : 'General, this won't do, you are injuring yourself; join with us in a few toasts, and throw this burden otf your mind.' Looking up and smilinsj, he replied : ' Mac, you know your whiskey 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, not having touched One drop of liquor. " When the army lay ai"ound Vicksburg during that long siege, the time that tried men's souls, I watched every movement that it was possible for n»e to do, feeling almost certain that he would eventually succumb to the custom, alas ! too universal among the officers. I was in company with a gentleman from Chicago, -^ho, while calling upon the general remarked : ' I have sorne ve'-y fin brandy on the boat, and if you will send an orderly with me to the river, I will send you a case or *:wo ' ' I am greatly obliged,' replied the General, ' but I do not use thi; article. I have a big job on hand, and, though I know I shall win, I know I must do it with a cool head. Send all the liquor you intend for me to my hospital in the rear ; I don't think a little -will hurt the poor fellows down there.' " At a celebration on the 22d of February, before the surrender of Vicksbur;^, while all around wer" drinking toasts in sjiarklin^ chamj^agne, I sa.w Gen- eral Grant push aside a glass oi wme. and takiny uj*. a glass of Mississippi water, with the remark, 'This suits the matter in hand,' drink to the toast, ' Go.1 gave us Lincoln and Liberty ; let us fi;^ht for both.' " On the last day of April two corps crossed from the west side in transports to Brnius- burg, ten miles below Grand Gulf, and moved into the very heart of the enemy's country, without baggage, base or lines of communi- cation, and pushed forward, fighting battle* day after day. On the first of May we fought the rebels at Fort Gibson, capturing several hundred prisoners and five guns, and then moved on towards Jackson, the capital oi Mississippi. Grant's masterly campaign, while apparently threatening an immediate attack against the Gibraltar of the South, we procured from tht surround- inij country, " Our column on the march is a most motley car- avan. EvL-ry regiment is followed by a retinue of negroes and mules, the extent, if not quality of which, would have done honor to an Eastern Sheik. Wag- ons, carts, carriages, and buggies of every description fill up the train. Clnckona and gobblers hang on the saddles. Droves of cattle and sheep, urged on by frantic negi-ocs, mounted on ' bare-bones,' mingle with the artillery and baggage wagons. " Notwithstanding the necessities of the army, they cannot justify the wanton vandalism ot Our sol- diery. I have been personally witness to scenes of pillage which would emulate that of the followers of Attila. I allude to this subject again, because I con- sider it the duty of a faithful historian to tell the whole truth in reference to the operations of the army. It is but justice to the troops to add that these outrages are perpetrated principally by strag- glers, who belong to the same category with the " vultures " that rifle the dead on the field of battle. They do not ' represent the animus of the army as a whole. And an order has emanated from headquar- ters within a day or two which it i% hoped will cor- rect the evil hereafter. Another letter, written six (lays later, at Raymond, eigliteen miles soutlnvest of Jack- soni, gives us an account of army movements previous to the capture of the capital of Mis- sissippi, and shows how successfully Grant's masterly movements defeated and puzKled the rebels on his march from the Mississippi : ' ' " A combination of circumstances placed it out of my power to send you an account of the march of the army from Hankinson's Ferry to this place sooner. "When I last wi-ote, General McClernaud was on the extreme right, with Osterhaus's division advanced to Kocky Springs. General McPherson, at that time, lay, with fiis army corps, to the westward, near Han- kinson's Ferry, on a road running nearly parallel to* McClemand. General Sherman was on the road be- tween Grand Gulf and General McPherson. On Thursday, the 7th instant, General McPherson moved his corps to Rocky Springs also, and his camp was occupied next day by General Sherman. On Sat,ur- day, McPherson again moved to the eastward, to the village of Utica, crossing the road occupied by McClemand, and leaving the latter on his left. Sunday morning McClemand marched to Five Mile Creek, and encamped on the south bank at noon, on account of broken bridges, which were repaired the same day. " On Monday morning Sherman's corps came up, passed McClernand's, and encamped that night at the village of Auburn, about ten miles south of Ed- ward's Station, on the railroad from Vicksburg to Jackson. As soon as it passed, McClernand's corps followed a few mijes, and then took a road going obliquely to the left, leading to Hall's Ferry, on the Big Black River. Thus, on Monday evening. Gen- eral McClernand was at Hall's Ferry ; General Sher- man was at Auburn, six or eight miles to the north- east ; and General McPherson was about eight miles still further to the northeast, a few miles north of Utica, The whole formed an immense line of battle ; 53 Sherman's corps being in the centre, with those of McPherson and McClemand tomimg the riglit and left wings. It will be observed, also, that a change of front had been etlectod. From Grand (iulf, the army marched eastwai-d, but, by tliese movements, swung on the left as a pivot, and fronted nearly northward. "Up to this the enemy had not appeared on our line of march. On Tuesday morning, General Mc- Clernand's advance drove in the enemy's pickets near llall's FeiTy, and brisk skirmishing ensued tor an hour or two, with little loss to either side. By noon the rebels had disappeared Irom his front, and seven wounded and none killed was the total Union loss. General Sherman put Steele's division in mo- tion early in the morning, and came upon the enemy at the crossing of Fourteen Mile Creek, four miles from Auburn. The cavalry advance was fired into from the thick woods that skirt the stteam, and were unable, owing to the nature of the ground, to make a charge, or clear the rebels from their position. Land- graber's Battery was thrown to the front, supported by the 17th Missouri and 31st Iowa regiment.i, and threw a few shell into the bushy undei-giowtli skirt- ing the stream which gave them cbver. Skinnishers were thrown out and advanced to the creek, driving the enemy slowly. A brigade was thrown to the right and left flanks, when the rebel force— mainly cavalry— withdrew toward Raymond. The bridge Wiu» burned during tlie skirmish, but a crossing was erm- structed in two hours, and trains were passing belore noon. " But the principal opposition to the line of march was in the front of General McPherson. General Logan's division came upon a body of rebel tnwps, estimated at about ten thousand, posted on Fondren s Creek, two miles southwest ot this, at ten o'clock Tuesday morning. Brisk skirmishing began at onco, and a general engagement was soon brouglit on. The enemy (as in front of General Slierman) was almost wholly concealed, at first, by the woods bordering the stream, behind which their forces were posted. Their artillery w;is on an eminence that commanded our approach. Our troops had to cross an o[)en tield, ex- posed to a terrible flre. The first and second brigades, commanded by General J. E. Smith, and General Dennis (both Illinois men), were in the thickest of the fight, and suffered most. After three hours hard fighting, the enemy withdrew sullenly ia two col- umns, the principal one ticking the road to Jackson. The Union loss in killed, wounded, and missing will not be far from 30n, wliilc the rebel loss is much greater, probably fiOO. " To night General Grant's headquarters are here. General Sherman is six miles fnjin here, on the road to Jackson. General McPherson pushed northward this afternoon to Chnton (a station on the railro:i.; , ancl has at length cut the arterj- that animates the American Gibniltar. Its reduction now is only a question of time. Its surrender ia, to my mind, made certain. " From intercepted dispatches, General Grant learns that General Pembefton has instructed his forces to fall hack on Vickshui-g whenever hard pressed, anr that the rebels have resolved to stake all on their final ahility to hold the place. With the railmnd in our possession t the eastward, the river patrolled by gunboats above and below, and cavalry dashing 54 LIFE AND CAMPATONS OF GENERAL GRANT. south-ward from Memphis, the fate of the doomed and ill-st:iiTed city ot Vicksburg is irrevocably sealed. The escape of the forces now in it seems im- possible. " No fears need be felt for the supplies of General Grant's army. Corn, salt meats, and live stock are abundant everywhere. The soldiers are well fed and ■well satisfied. At a review, a few days ago, General Grant's appearance on the field was the signal for such an outbreak of iiniversal enthusiasm as rarely ever greeted the heroes of ancient or modern days. The soldiers seemed to be giving vent to a long pent- up admiration for their old commander, and woke the echoes of the State with shouts and yells. Noth- injr like it was ever before observable in this depart- ment. Animated with such a spirit, our army is ■well, nigh in\incible. " P. S.— The rebels lost 80 killed, 140 wounded, and 186 taken prisoaers, yesterday. Union loss 31 killed and SO woundeiliar incident of the first assault on Vicksburg, May 19, 1863. The dramatis persona of this livviff poem are General Sherman and a drummer-boy of the Fifteenth Corps: While Sheman stood beneath the hottest fire. That from the lines of Vicksburg gleamed, And bombshells tumbled in their smoky gyre. And grape-shot hissed, and case-shot screamed • Back from the front there came, Weeping and sorely lame, The merest child, the youngest face Man ever saw in such a fearful place, i Stifling his tears, he limped his chief to meet ; But when he pau.sed, and tottering stood. Around the circle of his little feet There spread a pool of bright, young blood. Shocked at his doleful ease, Sherman cribd, " Halt ! front face t Who are you ? Speak, my gallant boy I " " A drummer, sir— Fifty-fifth Illinois." LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT Only send 65 " Are you not hit ! " " That's nothin; Some caifti'idgeg, our men are out ; And the foe press us." " But, my little friend—" " Don't mind me I Did you hear that shout f What if our men be driven ? Oh, for the love of Heaven, Send to my colonel, general dear ! " " But you t" " Oh, I shall easily find the rear." " I'll see to that," cried Sherman ; and a drop Angels might envy, dimmed his eye. As the boy, toiling' toward the hiU's hard top, Turned ixmnd, and, with his shrill child's cry, Shouted, " Oh, don't forget 1 "We'll win the battle yet ! But let our soldiers have some more, More cartridges, sir— calibre fifty-four ! " « We cannot follow the slow progress of tliis famous sioge of forty-six days, but miist con- tent ourselves with a statement of the fruits which followed as a result of Grant's dogged perseverance. On the 3d of July overtures were made for a surrender, and at 10 o'clock on Saturday, the 4th of July, the garrison of A''icksburg marched out of Uie lines it had defended, and stacked its arras in front of tlie conquerors. A letter written at the lime gives the follow- ing description of the scene : "Aa melfincholy a sight as ever man witnessed— for brave men, coaquered and humbled, no matter how vile the cause for which they fight, present always a sorrowful spectacle ; and these foes of ours, traitors amd enemies of liberty and civilization though they be, are brave, as many a hard-fought field can well attest. They marched out of their entrenchments by regiments upon the grassy de- clivity immediately outside their tort ; they stacked their artos, hung their colors upon the centre, laid Off their knapsacks, belts, cartridge-boxes, and cap- pouches; and thus shorn of the accoutrements of the soldier, returned inside their works, and thence down the Jackson road into the city. The men "«-ent through the ceremony with thai downcast look so touching on a soldier's face ; not a word •was spoken ; there was none of that gay badinage we are so much accustomed to heat from the ranks i)f regiments maiching through our streets ; the few words of command necessary wore given by their ■Own othcers in that low tone of Voice vre hear used at funerals. Generals McPherson, Logan, and romey, attended by their respective staffs, stood on the rebel breastworks, overlooking the scene never before wit- nessed on this continent. The rebel troops, as to Clothing, presented that varied appearance so famil- iar in the North from seeing prisoners^ and were from Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Geor- gia, an(^ Missouri. The arms were mostly muskets &nd rifles of superior excellence, and I saw but very few shot-guns, or indiscriminate weapons of any kind. It was plain that Tcmberton had a splendidly appointed army. Their flag.; were of a kind new to toe, all I saw being cut ia about the same dimen- sions as our regimental colors, all of the single color (red), with a wliite cross in the centre. " The ceremony of stacking arms occupied a little over an hour upon that part of the hues ; and when it was concluded, the glittering cavalcade of officers, Federal and rebel, mounted and swept cit)-wartl on the full gallop, through such clouds of dust as I hope never to ride through agam. A low minutes, fortu- nately, brought us to a lialt at a house ou the ex- treme outskirts of the city, built of stone, in the Southern fashion, with low roof and wiile venindiiH, and almost hidden from view in an exuberance of tropical trees, and known as Forney's headquarters. " And here were gathered all tlie notables of both armies. In a damask-cushioned armed nxiking-chair sat Lieutenant-General rembei-t^)n, the most di-scon- tented-looking man I ever saw. I'resently there ap- peared in the midst of the throng a man small in stature, heavily-set, stoop-shouldered, a broad fiica covered with a, sliort sandy beard, habited in a plain suit of blue flannel, with the two stars upon his shoulder denoting a major-general in the United States army. He approached I'emberton, and en- tered into conversation with liim. There was no vacant chair near ; but neither Pemberton nor any of his generals offered him a seat ; and thus for Ave minutes the conqueror stood talking U) the van- quished seated, when Grant turned away into the house, and left Pemberton alone with his pride or his grief, it wa* hard to tell which. Grant has the most impassive of faces, and seldom, if ever, arc his feelings photographed upon his countenance ; but there was then, as he contemplated the result of his labors, the faintest possible trace of inward satisfac- tion peering out of his cold grey eyes. Ail thia oocu- picd less time than this recital of it ; and, meantime, offlcei-s of both armies were comTningkd, conversing as sociably as if they had not been aiming at each otlier's lives a few hours before. Gcnci-ala AlcPhcr^ son and Logan now turned back toward our camps to bring in the latter's division ; and a party, specially detailed, galloped cityward, about a mile distant, for the purpose of hoisting the flag over the court- house. " Lieuteuant-Oolonel "William E. Strong, assisted by Sergeant B. F. Dugan, Fourtli company, Ohio Independent cavalrj-, and followed by a numerous throng of officers, soldiers, and civilians, aseendc-d to the cupola of the court-house ; and at half-paat eleven o'clock, on the 4th of July, bSiiJ, flung out our banner of beauty and glory to the breeze." In another letter, written a few days latfT, we stated that " Vicksburg, which was really a handsome city, with good public buildings and many fine residences, surrounded with well-kept and beautifal gardens, giving evi- dence of wealth, good taste, and general ))i-os- perity, has now, a pre-eminently neglected, and war-worn appearance. Some degree or kind of devastation marks almost every ob- ject you see, and in the exceptional cases you meet with dust, decay, and neglect. Many houses are pierced, others perforated by shot and shelU The pillars of piazzas are knocked 66 LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. down, and doors and windows smashed. The shops are all closed, and present a dusty and deserted appearance, and in many of the streets you have to be on the qui vive to avoid falling into holes made by our shells. The streets near to, and running parallel with the river, are barricaded by breastworks and rifle- pits, as a means of defence against attacks by our gunboats. At every available place caves were dug. In these caves, which vary greatly in size, the women and children sought shelter from our shot and shell. The largest one in the city is that of Mr. Thrift, being cut through a hill about a hundred feet in length. In this cave, through which a person can walk erect, are four apartments, the largest one being perimps sixteen feet square, and furnished with a car- pet, table, chairs, &c. Here his family, in- cluding several daughters, lived during the forty -six days that our ' Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon in front of them, Volleyed and thundered.' In another smaller room, the servants were quartered. In the third, was stored their food and forage for the cow and hogs, quietly so- journing out of the way of all danger in the next apartment. During the day many ladies issued out from caves, taking their chances by successful dodges. We met two sisters who prided themselves upon their expertness in getting out of the way of shells, as if it were quite a ladylike accomplishment. When the news of the surrender of Vicks- burg, with thirty thousand prisoners, and nearly two himdred guns, reached Washington, Grant was immediately made a Major-Gene- ral in tlie regular army, a position which in the second year of the war, he looked forward to as the height of earthly ambition. The General-in-chief in his annual report, in allud- ing to the campaign, thus speaks of Grant: " When we consider the character of the country in which the army operated, the for- midable obstacles to be overcome, the num- ber of forces, and the strength of the enemy's works, we cannot fail to admire the courage and endurance of the troops, and the skill mid daring of their cmmnander. No more brilliant •xploit can be found in military history." U was this great victory that drew forth from the President that gem of a letter,* which de- serves to be printed in letters of gold, in which he makes the acknowledgment to Grant, " you were right and I was wrong.'"' The national gain was the least of the fruits of the success ; for as the capture of Fort Don- elson expelled the rebel forces from Kentucky and the greater part of Tennessee, so the cap- ture of Vicksburg re-opened the great Father of Waters to trade and navigation, and drove the enemy from a good portion of the State of Mississippi. The results accomplished by the successful campaign and siege are thus briefly stated in Grant's official report : " The result of this campaign has been the defeat of the enemy in five battles outside of Vicksburg, the occnpation of Jackson, the capital of Mississippi and the capture of Vicksburg, and its garrison, and munitions of war ; a loss to the enemy of 37,000 pris- oners, among -whom were 15 general ofBcers ; at least 10,000 killed and wounded, and among the killed Gens. Tracy, TUghman, and Green ; and hundreds, perhaps thousands of stragglcrs,who can never be collected and reorganized ; arms and munitions of war for an army of 60,000 men have fallen into our hands, beside a large amount of other public property, consisting of railroads, locomotives, cars, steamboats, cotton, etc." An oflicer of the army received a note from General Grant, written on the day he entered Vicksburg, stating that before the 10th of that month. Port Hudson would surrender to the forces of General Banks. With what wonder- ful accuracy he calculates results, is shown by the fall of the other rebel stronghold with- in the time. The surrender of Port Hudson was the natural sequence to the fall of Vicks- burg. Grant, it is said, adroitly managed to have a dispatch, which he sent to Banks, say- * Executive Mansiott, \ Washington, July 13, 1863. ) Major-General Geakt : My Dear General— I do not remember that you and I ever met personally. I write this nsw as a grateful acknowledgment for the almost inestimable service you have done the country. I wish to say I a word further. When you fkst reached the vicinity i of Vicksburg, I thought you should do what you fin- ally did — march the troops across the neck, nin th» 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 Gull and \-ieimty, 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 acknowledgment that you were right and I was wrong. A. Lincoln. LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GR^VNT. 57 ing that he would johi him on a certain day, hitercepted, and this caching General Gard- ner, the commander at Port Hudson, the place was immediately surrendered and the Missis- sippi flowed " mivexed to the sea." The national ejoicing and the grateful ad- Tniration of the whole loyal land, was expressed by many poets, among others by Alfred B. Street, who sang : Vicksburg is ours ! Hurrah ! Treachery cowers ! Hurrah ! Down reels the rebel rag ! Up shoots the starry flag ! •» * * ♦ Vickburg is ours I Hurrah! Aich the green bowers ! HuiTuh ! Arch o'er the hero who Nearer and nearer drew, Letting wise patience sway, Till, from his brave delay, Swift is the lightning's ray. Bounded he to the fray, Pull on his fated prey ; Thundering upon his path. Swerving not, pausing not. Darting steel, raining shot, In his fierce onset, hot With his red battle wrath ; Hashing on, thundering on ; Pausing then once again, Curbing with mighty rein. All his great heart, as vain "Writhed the fierce foe, the chain Tighter and tighter round. Till the reward was found— Till the dread work was done Till the grand wreath was won. Triumph is ours ! Hurrah I Just before General Grant initiated his splen- did campaign against Vicksburg, and after all the preparations had been made for sweeping loose from the base of supplies on the Missis- sippi river, to make the circuitous inland march, via Jackson to the rear of the " Western Gibraltar," he was called upon by General Slierman, and addressed as fol- lows : " General Grant, I feel it to be my duty, to say that as a subordinate officer, I am bound to give you my hearty co-operation in this movement, but having no faith in it, I feel it due to my military reputation to pro- test against it in writing, and hojie that my protest will be forwarded by you to Wash- ington." " Very well, Sherman," quietly replied the commanding General ; " send along your pro- test, I'll take care of it," The next day. Grant received Sherman's paper, and the movement was then initiated, wiiich culminated in the surrender of Vicks- burg and its immense garrison — the largest capture of men and materials ever made in war; at Ulm, Napoleon received thirty thou- sand men and sixty pieces of cannon, a num- ber, says Alison, " unparalleled in modern warfare." Prior, however, to Peinberiun's capitulation, but after it was morally certain that the rebel stronghold must fall, General Sherman rode up to Grant's headquarters one day, and found his chief stretched on the ground beneath his ''fly," endeavoring to keep as cool as possible in the sultry midsummer weather. They were chatting pleasantly on the prospects of the quickly approaching suc- cess, when General Grant's adjutant-general came up, and asked for a certain official pajjer which he had in his possession. Taking a handful of documents from his breast pocket, a receptacle wliich was always plethoric with papers, he selected the one that had been called for, and before putting the rest away, drew forth a second paper from the pile. Then turning to Sherman, with a smile and a merry twinkle in his eye, he said : " By the by, Gen- eral, here is something that will interest you." Sherman took it and saw the " protest," which two months before he had handed to General Grant, to be forwarded to Washington through the proper channel. An expression of aston- ishment and gratification diff'used itself over Sherman's bronzed features, which quickly changed to one of supreme satisfaction, when Grant took the document from his hand, and tearing it into small fragments, scattered them to the winds. No further allusion to the sub- ject was made on either side. CHAPTER Vin. THE CHATTANOOGA CAMPAIOS. A model letter — Grant goes to New Orleans— At- tends a grand review — Is thrown from his horse- Seriously injured — Returns to Vicksburg — Assign- ed to an enlarged command — Goes to Chattanooga — His plans — Battles of Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain — Another great victory — Thanks of Congress— A gold medal — Grade of Lieu- 5^ LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. tenant-General revived— Grant nominated for the position— Goes to Washington— Presentation of ^ his commission by the President. " Hold Chattanooga at all hazards." Grant to Thomas. •' I will hold it till we starve." Thomas to Grant. The campaign of the army of the Tennessee having ended, General Grant paid a visit to the various districts of his department. Tlie Chamber of Commerce of the city of Mem- phis, during his visit to that post, presented him with a series of resohitions, offering him the hospitality of the city, and proffering him a complimentary dinner. The following reply, which is a model of modesty, simplicity and noble sentiment, is worthy of a place in this stoiy of his life : " Memphis, Tenn., August 26, 1863. «' Gentlemen :— I have received a copy of resolu- tions passed by the ' loyal citizens of Memphis, at a meeting held at the rooms of the Chamber of Com- merce, August 25, 1SG3,' tendering me a public re- ception. "In accepting this testimonial, which I do at a great sacrifice of my personal feelings, I simply de- sire to pay a tribute to the first public exhibition in Memphis of loyalty to the government which I rep- resent in the Department of the Tennessee. I should dishke to refuse, tor considerations of personal con- venience, to acknowledge, anywhere or in any form, the existence of sentiments which I have so long and 80 ardently desired to see manifested in this depart- ment. The stability of this government and the unity of this nation depend solely on the cordial sup- port and the earnest loyalty of the people. "While, therefore, I thank you sincerely for the kind expres- sions you have used towards myself, I am profound- ly gratified at this public recognition, in the city of Memphis, of the power and authority of the govern- ment of the United States. " I thank you, too, in the name of the noble army which I have the honor to cominaaid. It is compos- ed of men whose loyalty has bRen proven by their deeds of heroism and their vrilling sacrifices of life and health. They will rejoice with me that the mis- erable adherents of the rebellion, whom their bayo- nets have driven from this fair land, are being re- placed by men who acknowledge human liberty as the only true foundation of human government. May your efforts to restore your city to the cause of the Union be as successful as has been theirs to re- claim it from the despotic rule of the leaders of the rebellion. I have the honor to be, gentlemen, your very obedient servant, U. S. Grant, Major-General. The dinner took place at the Wortham House, and was attended by Adjutant-General Thomas, the Mayor and Corporation of the city, and a large nun^ber of civil and military guests. After dinner came the speeches. toasts and responses. The following toast was given : " General Grant— the Guest of the city." This was the signal for the wildest ap- plause, and it was some minutes ere order could be restored. It was expected that General Grant would be brought to his feet by this ; but the company was disappointed upon perceiving that instead his place was taken by his staff surgeon, Dr. Hewitt, who said : " I am instructed by General Grant to say that, as he has never been given to public speaking, you will have to excuse him on this occasion, and, as I am the only member of his staff present, I therefore feel it my duty to thank you for this manitestation of your good will, as also tl>e numerous other kind- nesses of which he has been the recipient ever since his arrival among you. General Grant believes that I in all he has done he has no more than accomplished a duty, and one, too, for which no particular honor is due. But the world, as you do, will accord other- wise." At a late hour in the evening General Grant, in reply to a request to that effect, ap- peared upon the balcony, and in a brief speech thanked those present for the honor tendered him. In a letter to a friend dated August, 1863, General Grant gave in the following words, his view on the question of slavery : " The people of the North need not quarrel over the institution of slavery. What Vice President Stevens acknowledges as the corner stone of the Confederacy is already knocked out. Slavery is already dead, and cannot 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 for- mer constitutional privileges. I never was an aboli- tionist, not even what would be called anti-slavery, but I try to judge faiily and honestly, and it became patent to my mind, early in the rebellion, that the North and South could never live at peace with each other except as one nation, and that without slavery. As anxious as I am to see iieace established, I would not, therefore, be wiUmg to see any settlement until this question is forever settled." Early in Setember, Grant visited New Or- leans for the purpose of consulting with Gen- eral Banks about their future plans, and while there, a grand review occurred at Carrollton —a few miles above the Crescent City — of the 19th (Franklin's), and ISlh army corps (Ord's), the latter having been sent early in August by order of the War Department from Vicksburg to New Orleans. " As good troops," wrote the hero of Vicksburg to Banks, " as ever trod American soil ; wo better- are found oti any other" The review took place September LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. 59 5th, in the presence of Generals Grant, Banks, ■\Vaslibiirne, Herron, Stone, Thomas, the Adju- lanl-General of'the United Stales army, and other minor military magnates. What a mag- nificent spectacle! What cheers'-rent the air as the historic colors of the old Tliirteenth Corps dipped to the hero of Yicksburg, as he l)assed along tlie lines, followed by a brilliant cortege of captains and staff oflicers, who had great difficulty in keeping up with tiie General as he dashed along at a full gallop. •In truth I hey did not keep up, but the bril- liant cavalcade of general and staff officers were left by the hero of Vicksburg, stringing along behind, " like the tail of a kite," on a magnificent charger borrowed from Banks. Taking his position under a grand old oak, the troops j)assed in review before Grant, moving along with that easy, careless, accuiate swing, ■which bespeaks the old Western campaigner. And the flags they carried ! Terrible is an army with banners — if those banners are torn by the shot and shell of a score of battles. Belmont, Donelson, Sliiloh, Arkansas Post, Port Gibson, Raymond, Jackson, Champion Hill, Big Black, and Vicksburg, were the names written, not in le.ters, but in bullet- holes, on those dear old tattered and seedy looking rags. No bunting, however gay and gorgeous with new beauty, could be half so interesting to the thoughtful eye, and it was not surprising that the usually calm and col- lected Grant lifted his hat with reverence and deep feeling, as the grand old colors, sur- rounded by his old Shiloh and Vicksburg com- panion-in-arms, passed before him. Returning from the review, and while rid- ing at a rapid pace, accompanied by the writer, his spirited and strange steed took fright from seeing approaching a locomotive on the New Orleans and Carrollton railway, which runs along the highway, and threw the General. We found him insensible, and with the aid of some passers-by carried him into a road-side inn at Carrollton, when he soon recovered consciousness. From this very severe fall he was confined to his bed for twenty days, having received serious injuries, producing a lameness from which he did not recover for several months. On his return to Vicksburg Grant was allowed but a brief period to rest and recover from his accident ; the doubtful battle of Chicka- mauga — if indeed it was not a disastrous de- feat — again placed him on the war path. He was directed to proceed to Cairo as soon as lie was able to take the field, and lie at once proceeded to that point, accompanied by his staff and- headquarters. On his arrival ho was instructed by ILilleck to " inmiediately proceed to tiie Gait House, Louisviile| Ken- tucky, where you will meet an ollicer of the War Department with your orders and in- structions. You will take with you your stall, etc., for immediate operations in the field." This was on October ITth, and Grant at once started for Louisville, by rail. At Indianap- olis he was met bj' the Secretary of War, who brought with him an order invesiing him with the consolidated deparinients of ilie Cum- berland, Ohio and Tennessee, including all the territory between the AUeghanies and the Mississii)pi river, excepting that portion com- manded by General Banks, to be known as the Military Division of the Missi.ssippi. Mr. Stanton also brought two other orders, one re- taining Rosecrans in his previous command of the army and department of the Cumber- land, the other relieving him and substituting General George H. Thomas. Grant wa-s of- fered his choice, and at once niad»! it in favor of a change, his previous e.\])crience with General Rosecrans not being satisfactory. He was immediately relieved and Thomas a.ssign- ed to the vacant position. On assuming command of the new military division. Grant issued the following order : nr.ADQnARTF.Rs, MiLiTAUV DIVISION Or Tni: ) Mississipri, Louisville, Ky., Oot. IS, 18fi3. { In compliance with General Or' whips, and Lishcd tlie rebel left, till the wolf cowered in its corner witli a growl. Briilge's batterj", from Orchard Knob below, thrust its iHindcrous flstd in the face of the enemy, and planted blows at wilL Our artillery was doing splendid service. It laid its shot and shell wherever it pleased, lljid giantii car- ried them by hand, they could hardly liave been more accurate. All along the mountain's side, in the rebel rifle-pits, on the crest, they fairly dotted the Ridge. General Granger leapeeen terrible, it was now growing sublime ; it was like the footfall of God on the ledges of cloud. Our forts and batte- ries still thrust out their mighty arms across the val- ley. The rebel guns that lined the arc ot the crest full in our front, opened like the fan of Lucifer, and converged their fire down upon Bainl, and Wood, and Sheridan. It was rifles and musketry; it wn« grape and canister ; it was shell and shni))nel. His- sion Ilidge w;i3 volcanic ; a thousand tom'nts of red poured over its brink, and rushed together to ita base. And our men were there, halting for breath I And still the sublime diapason rolled on. Echoes that never waked before, roared out from height to height, and ciiUed from the far ranges of Waldmn's Ridge to IxKikout. As for Mission Ridge, it h.ul jarrM to such music before, it was the ' sounding hoard ' of Chickamauga. It wa.s behind n» then ; it frowns and flashes ia our face to-day. The old army of the 62 LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. Cumberland was there. It breasted the storm till the stonu was spent, and left the ground it held. The old army of the Cumberland is here ! It shall roU up tbe Ridge like a surge to its summit, and sweep triumphant down the other side. Believe me, that memory and hope may have made mauy a bluo- coat beat like a brum. ' Beat,' did I say .' The fev- erish heart of the haUU beats on ; fifty-eight guns a minute, by the watch, is the rate of its terrible throb- bing. That hill, it you climb it, will appal you. Fur- rowed like a summer fallow, bullets as if an oak had shed them ; trees clipped and shorn, leaf and limb, as with the knife of some heroic gardener pruning back for richer fruit. How you attain the summit, weary and breathless, I wait to hear ; how they went up in the teeth of the storm, no man can tell. "And all the while, rebel prisoners have been streaming out from the rear of our lines like the tails of a cloud of kites. Captured and disarmed, they needed nobody to set them going. The' fire of their own comrades was like spurs in a horse's flanks, and, amid the tempest of their own brewing, they ran for dear life, until they dropped like quails into the Federal rifle-pits, and were safe. But our gallant legions are out in the storm ; they have carried the works at the base of the Ridge ; they have fallen like leaves in winter weather. Blow, dumb bugles ! " Sound the recall ! ' Take the rifle-pit ! ' was the order; andiitis'as empty of rebels as the tomb of the prophets. Shall they turn their backs to the blast ; Shall they sit down under the eaves of that dripping iron ? Or shall they climb to the cloud of death above them, and pluck out its lightnings as they would straws from a sheaf of wheat ? But the order was not given. And now the arc of fire on the crest grows fiercer and longer. The reoonnoissance of Monday had failed to develop the heavy metal of the enemy. The dull fringe of the hill kindles with the flash of great guns. I count the fleeces of whfle smoke that dot the Ridge, as battery after battery opens upon our line, until from the ends of the grow- ing arc they sweep down upon it in mighty X's of fire. I count till that devil's girdle numbers thirteen batteries, and my heart cries out, ' Great God, when shall the end be J ' There is a poem I learned in childhood, and so did you ; it is Campbell's ' Hohen- linden.' One line I never knew the meaning of, un- til I read it written along that hill ! It has lighted up the whole poem for me with the glow of the bat- tle forever : ' And louder than the bolts of heaven, Far flashed the red artillery.' " At this moment. General Granger's aids are dash- ing out with an order. They radiate over the field, to left right and front. ' Take the Ridge, if you can ! ' • Take the Ridge if you can ! ' and so it went along the line. But the advance had already set forth without it. Stout-hearted Wood, the iron-grey veter- an, is rallying on his men ; stormy Turchin is deliv- ering brave words in bad English ; Sheridan—' Little Phil ' — you may easily look down upon him without climbing a tree, and see one of the most gallant lead- ers of the age, if you do— is riding to and fro along the first line of rifle pits, as calmly as a chess player. An aid rides up with the order. ' Avery, that flask,' said the general. Quietly filling the pewter cup, Sheridan looks up at the battery that frowns above hnn, by Bragg's headquarters, shakes his cap amid that storm of everything that kills, when you could hardly hold your hand without catching a bullet in it, and, with a ' How are you ? ' tosses off the cup. The blue battle-flag of the rebels fluttered a response to the cool salute, and the next instant the battery let fly its six guns, showering Sheridan with earth. M- luding to that compliment with anything but a blank cartridge, the General said to me, in his (juiet way, ' I thought it ungenerous ! ' The recoitling angel will drop a tear upon the word for the part he played that day. Wheeling toward the men, he cheered them to the charge, and made at the hill like a bold riding hunter. They were out of tlie rifle-pita and into the tempest, and struggling up the steep, before you could get breath to tell it ; and so they were throughout the inspired line " And now you have before you one of the most startling episodes of the war. I cannot render it in words ; dictionaries are beggarly things. But I may tell you they did not storm that mountain as you would think. They dash out a httle way, and then slacken ; they creep up, hand over hand, loading and firing, and wavering and halting, from the first line of works to the second ; they bur.'!t into a charge with a cheer, and go over it. Sheets of flame baptize them ; plunging shot tear away comrades on left and right ; it is no longer shoulder to shoulder , it is God lor us all ! Under treiS trunks, among rooks, stum- bling over the dead, struggling with the living, facing the steady fire of eight thousand infantry poured down upon their heads as if it were the old historic curse from heaven, they wrestle with the Ridge. Ten, fifteen, twenty minutes go by, like a reluctant century. The batteries roll like a drum. Between the second and last lines of rebel works is the ton-id zone of the battle. The hill sways up like a wall bo- fore them at an angle of forty-five degrees, but our brave mountaineers are clambering steadily on— up — uijward still ! You may think it strange, but I would not have recalled them if I could. They would have lifted you, as they did mo, in full view of the heroic grandeur. They seemed to be spurning the dull earth under their feet, and going up to do Homeric battle with the greater gods. " And what do those men follow? If you look, you shall see that the thirteen thousand are not a rushing herd of human creatures ; that, along the Gothic roof of the Ridge, a row of inverted V's is slowly moving up almost in line, a mighty lettering on the hill's broad side. At the angles of those V's is something that glitters like a wing. Your heart gives a great bound when you think what it is — the rcgimentalJlag—a.nCL, glancing along the front, count fifteen of those colors, that were borne at Pea Ridge, waved at Shiloh, glorified at Stone River, riddled at Chickamauga. Nobler than Ctesar's rent mantle are they all ! And up move the banners, now flutter- ing like a wounded bird, now faltering, now sinking out of sight. Three times the flag of one regiment goes down. And you know why. Three dead color sergeants lie just there. But the Jlag is immortal, thank God '. and up it comes again, and the V's move on. At the left of Wood, three regiments of Baird— Turchin, the Russian thunderbolt, is there- hurl themselves against a bold point strong with rebel works. For a long quarter of an hour three flags are LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. 68 perched and motionless on a plateau under the frown | of the hill. Will they linger forever ? I give a look I at the suli behind rno ; it is not more than a hand's breadth from the edge of the mountain ; its level rays bridge the valley from Chattanooga to the Ridge with beams of gold ; it shines in the rebel faces ; it brings out the Federal blue ; it touches up the flags. Oh, for the voice that could bid that sun stand still '. I turn to the battle again ; those three flags have taken flight I They are upward bound. " The race of the flags is growing every moment more terrible. There, at the right, a strange thing catches the eye ; one of the inverted V's is turning right side tip. The men struggling along the con- verging lines to overtake the flag, have distanced it, and there the colors are, sinking down in the centre between the rising flanks. The line wavei-s like a great billow, and up comes the banner again, as if heaved on a surge's shoulder. The iron sledges beat on. Hearts loyal and brave are on the anvil, all the way from base to summit of Mission Ridge, but those dreadful hammers never intermit. Swarms of bullets sweep the hill ; you can count twenty- eight balls in one little tree. Things are growing desperate up aloft. The rebels tumble rocks upon the rising line ; they light the fuses and roll shells down the steep ; they load the guns with handfuls of cartridges in their haste ; and, as if there were X)Owder in the word, they shout, ' Chickamauga ! ' down \ipon the mountaineers. But it would not all do; and just as the sun, weary of the scone, was sinking out of sight, with magniflcent bursts all along the line, exactly as you have seen the crested seas leap up at the breakwater, the advance surged over the crest, and in a minvite those flags fluttered along the fringe where fifty rebel guns were ken- nelled. God bless the flag ! God save the Union ! " What colors were first upon the mountain bat- tlement I dare not try to say ; bright honor itself may be proud to bear— nay, proud to follow, the hindmost. Foot by toot they had fought up the steep, slippery with much blood; let them go to glory together. A minute, and they were all tWero, fluttering along the Ridge from left to right. The rebel hordes rolled off to the north,,rolled off to the east, like the clouds of a worn-out storm. Bragg, ten minutes before, was putting men back in the rifle-pits. His gallant grey was straining a nerve for him now, and the man rode on horseback into Dixie's bosom, who, arrayed in some prophet's dis- carded mantle, foretold on Monday that the Yankees would leave Chattanooga in five days. They left in three, and by way of Mission Ridge, straight over the mountains as their forefathers went ! As Sheri- dan rode up to the guns, the heels of Breckinridge's horses glittered in the last rays of sunshine. That crest was hardly ' well off with the old love before it was on with the new'.' " But the scene on the narrow plateau can never be painted. As the blue-coats surged over its edge, cheer on cheer rang like bells through the valley of the Chickamauga. Men flung themselves exhausted upon the ground. They laughed and wept, shook hands, and embraced ; turned round, and did all four over again. It was as wild as a carnival. Granger was received with a shout. ' Soldiers,' he said, ' you ought to be court-martialed, every man of you. I ordered you to take the rifle-pits, and you scaled the mountain ! ' But it was not Mar's hori'id front ex- actly with which he said it, for Iuh eheekH were wet with teai-s as honest us the bUxnl that nildencd all the route. Wo(«l uttered words that rang like Napoleon's; and Sherid.in, the niwebi ut hist horse's flanks, was ready for a dash down tho Uidgc, with a ' view halloo,' for a fox hunt. " But you must not think this wiw all there waa of the scene on the crest, for fight and fmlic were strangely mingled. Not a rebel had driaminl a nuin of us all would live to reach the summit ; and when a little wave of the Federal cheer rolled up and broko over ths crest, they defiantly cried, ' JIumih, and be d d ! ' the next minute a Union regiment foll«woarties still more 1 " An eminent military writer, after attribut- ing to Grant the qualities which Napoleon so praised in the Duke of Wellington — firmness and prudence — remarks : " Of course the critics who prated about General Grant being without a plan, and ol Sherman beinf; drawn into a trap, knew little of these great cap» tains ; not even the facts of their oampaijins during the current war. A soldier who )iad studied the strat- egy which led to the capture of Donelson and Vicks- burg, would have foxmd nothing to perplex him. in LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. 73 Grant's approaches toward Eichmond. Ulysses S. Grant is a man of genius ; a soldier of new ideas ; one who will be found to have contributed fresh ma- terials to the art of war. With him a siege is a cam- paign. Instead of driving oif the covering army from a fort or city, as the old rules insisted must be done, before commencing operations against it, Grant manoeuvres to keep the covering army near him, to throw it within the lines, to compel it to take part in the defence, and to fall when the beleagured for- tress falls. This plan has the disadvantage of mak- ing a siege appear long, perplexing critics, who can- not see that the close of the siege is to be, under this new system, the close of the campaign. " At Donelson, at Vicksburg, Grant's plan was car- ried out ; in each the covering army fell with the for- tress, and in each the blow was finaL The fall of Fort Donelson and its covering army put an end to the war in Kentucky and Western Tennessee ; the fall of Vicksburg and its covering army opened the Eiver Mississippi, never to be closed again by the Southern guns. Each campaign was final ; not only sweeping away the army in the field, together with stores, guns, clothing and ammunition, but crushing in the catastrophe all sparks of rebellious fire. " Where Grant had once been, it was impossible to raise a second rebel corps. The fighting spirit was subdued. And that which had been done by Grant in the States of Tennessee and Mississippi, was now being done by him on a larger scale and with a stronger enemy in Virginia — was being done in pre- cisely the same manner, and with precisely the same object. Grant had to weaken the Confederate army, shut it up within the lines of Richmond and Peters- bur^-, and compel it to surrender when the cajiital fell. " Hence the battles which he fought on his way to York Eiver ; hence his refusal to assault the lines on his first approach. He was making a campaign, not simply conducting a ciege. Davis had boasted that the war could be maintained, in Virginia alone, for twenty years after Eichmond fell; but, like many other critics, he made the mistake of altogether mis- understanding Grant. This captain knew his object and the means by which he could gain it. Eichmond •without Lee would have given him little ; Eichmond and Lee falling together would give him everything he wanted — victory, union, peace. In spite of mili- tary and civil critics, his plans were crowned with a magnificent success. The war was finished at a blow, and the surrender of Pemberton was justified in the surrender of Lee. The Lieutenant-General having consummat- ed h'S lastand most brilliant campajfrn, and sub- stantially ended tlie war — lor tlie other rebel fivmies all surrendered within a few weeks — q»iei,ly returns to Washington, without entering/ or ever having neen the city, which his genius Jiad captured, and characteristically begins to work at his headquarters at the national cap- ital, reducing the army by mustering out of the service volunteer troops wiiom the coun- try no lonser requires, and in the preparation of his official i ep )rt of the operations of the armies of the United States from the date of his appointment to command the same with the rank of Lieutenant-General. What a record of glorious victories — of bloody battles and sieges— of assaults in the " imminent deadly breach" — of relentless pur- suits and skillful combinations are containtsd in the brief story of the life of the great American Captain, who carried the old (lag in triumph through eight of the rebellious States, and who contributed more than any other man, to restore the blessings of peace to our long-afflicted and bleeding country. It was on the 24lh of May — a bright, beau- tiful day — that the famous army, whose drums had been heard from the Ohio to the sea, and back again to the Potomac, passed in review before the President, the Cabinet, theGeneral- in-chief of the armies of the Republic, and hundreds of thousands of spectators drawn to Washington to witness the review of the army of the Potomac, and the army of the West — the most magnificent spectacle ever witnessed on the American Continent. What a glorious pageant ! What cheers rent the air wiieii Sherman rode along Pennsylvania Avenue at the head of those invincible troops, who had marched victoriously through eight rebellious States ! With what an easy, careless swing the gaunt veterans move forward ! How weather- beaten and bronzed, and how dingy, as if the smoke of numberless battle-fields had dyed their garments, and the sacred soil of insur- rectionary States had adhered to tlieni ! And the flags they carried ! Dear old weather- beaten banners, perforated by the bullets of a hundred battle-fields — Belmont, Donelson, Shiloh, Corinth, Vicksburg, Chattanooga, R©- saca, Kenesaw, Atlanta, Averysi) rough, and Benlonviile, and a few of the aar^es written, not in letters, but in bullet holes on the grand old historic colois to which, as tliey jjassed, " the first soldier of the Union " raised his hat with reverence, and his usually calm fea- tures glowed with enthusiasm as he bowed to his old comrades who had followed him from Cairo to Chattanooga, and from the e had marched with Sherman through the very cen- tre and core of the rebel States, while he held Lee in his firm grasp. When in after years, our childn-n shall speak of the crowning ijlory of their heroes, they will pass the gran'l effi- gies of priests, statesmen, authors divines, and rich merchants, and will pause and point out with pride, the portrait of an officer, or simple soldier, as one of Grant's men of the u LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. army of the Potomac, or of the Western ar- mies. No prouder title will be known in the land fifty years hence. A few days later General Grant issued the following address to all the armies which were about to be disbanded : Soldiers of the Abmies of the United States : By your patriotic devotion to your country in the hour of danger and alarm, your niagniticent fighting, bravery, and endurance, you have maintained the supremacy of the Union and Constitution, over- thrown all armed opposition to the enforcement ot the laws, and of the proclamation forever abolishing slavery— the cause and pretext ot 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 lustre of the world's past military achievements, and will be the patriot's precedent in defence ot hberty and right in all time to come. In obedience to your country's call you left your homes and families, and volunteered in its defence. Victory has crowned your valor, and secured the purpose of jour patriotic hearts ; and with the gratitude of your countrymen, and the highest honors a great and free nation can accord, you will soon be permitted to return to your homes and families, conscious of having discharged the highest duty of American citizens. To achieve these glorious triumphs, and secure to yourselves, your fellow-countrymen, and posterity, the bless- ings 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 g»-ate- ful nation bedews with tears, honors their memories, and will ever cherish and support their stricken fam- ilies. The armies of the Republic were gradually broken up and disbanded, and hundreds of thousands went quietly homewards, as men turn to their accustomed work. " This last triumph of the American nation," it has been said, " is its greatest, for it is a triumph in which rulers can ask no credit. It is a tri- umph in which rulers can claim no share and for which generals can ask no credit. It is a triumph of the citizens themselves, who went to the rescue of their country when its unity appealed in danger, and now betake them- selves to their fields and homesteads when the danger is past." In the following letter General Grant pre- sents the horse that he rode through his Wes- tern campaigns to a sanitary fair held at Chi- cago, 111 nois, for the benefit of sick and dis- al)led soldiers : Headqtjabters, Armttes of the U. S., ) ■Washington, D. C, May 31, 1865. } Mrs. Ellen E. Sherman— Dear Madam :— As a slight testimonial of the interest I feel in the great Northwestern Fair, now being held in Chicago, for the benefit of sick and disabled soldiers, who have en- dured 80 much for the maintenance of our govern- ment, permit me, through your agency, to present to this loyal and charitable enterprise the horse " Jack," well known in the Western armies. I left Illinois on him in July, 1861, when commanding the 21st regiment of Toluntcor infantry of that State. I rode the horso more than all others put together, from the time ot leaving Springfield, on the 3d of July, 18G1, until called East, in March, 186t. On my promotion to the command of the armies of the United States, I left " Jack " in the West, lat- terly with J. B. Jones, United States Marshal for the Northern District of Illinois, residing in Chicago. Mr. Jones has been directed to deliver the horse to your order. If I was not deceivetl in the purchase of " Jack," he is now eleven j-ears old. He is a very fine saddle horse, and very gentle in harness, but re- quires whip and spur. Hoping the fair will realize the full expectations of loyal people, and do credit to the great and growing Northwest, where it is being held, I remain, very respectfully your obedient ser- vant, U. S. Grant, Lieutenant-GeueraL We may here mention, en passant, that the General-in-chief has always been extremely fond of fine horses, and we remember with what pleasure he one day exhibited at City Point, to ex-Governor Clitfor(l,of Massachusetts, and a few other friends, his raasinificent horses,' — two noble bays and a beaut fal black, his es- pecial favorite. The General is also interested in trotting horses, and owns and drives sev- eral very fast animals, albeit he has not yet equalled the time of Dexter, and others of his friend Bonner's world-renowned trotters. At New Orleans, in September, 1863, he drove out on the shell road with Banks, and greatly astonished the Crescent City Creoles, as well as his companion, the commanding General of the Department of the Gulf, by the quick lime his horses made oa that justly famous drive. Various sums of money having been sent to General Grant, from enthusiastic individuals in ditTerent sections of th» country, to be given as a reward to the fli-st person in the mi itary service of the United States who should plant the stars and strips over the city of Richmond, he made the disposition of the funds set forth in the following letter : Hfadqtjarters, Armies of the United ) States, Washington, July 22, 1865. ( To Sergeant David W. Young, 139th Pennsylva- nia Infantry Volunteers : The sum of four hundred and sixty dollars was sent to me by patriotic citizens, to be presented as a reward for gallantry to the soldier who should first raise our flag over Richmond. As Richmond was not taken by assault, I have concluded that the do- ners' wishes will be best carried out by dividing th« LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OP GENERAL GRANT. sum between the three soldiers most conspicuous for gallantry in the final and succesatul assault on Petersburg. You have been selected by Major-Gen- eral H. G. Wright, commanding the Gth army corps, as entitled to this honor on behalf of that command ; and I herewith present to you one hundred and fifty- three dollars and thirty-three cents, as one-lhird of the original sum. It affords me gieat satistaction to receive from your commanding general such unqual- ified testimony of your gallantry and heroism in bat- tle, and to be the medium for transmitting to you this recognition of the worth of your services in de- fence of our common country. U. S. Gkant, Lieutenant-General. The followinj; named soldiers received sim- ilar letters, and tlie same amount of money : Sergeant Thomas McGraw, company B, 23d Indiana Vol ur) leers, selected by MajorGen- to the Canada. Doug- las at Chicago, the tiiousands who were &H- sembled at every railway station to welcome the distinguished party, were always loudest in their cheers for Grant. At the Sanitary Fair, held in the "Garden City" of Illinois, ihe e.\pectation of seeing him, had densely filled the immense building, and when liic wild hurrahs which greeted Grant as he entered, leaning on the arm of General Hooker, had eral John Gibbon for the 24th army Corp.. ; «"l»sided, he stepped forward and said : "La- Corporal Jacob R. Tucker, com^any G, 4th '^'^' ^'"^ gentlemen, as I never make a speech Maryland volunteers, selected by Major-Gen- eral Charles Griffin for the 5th army corps. With the following anecdote, showing how the illustrious soldier obeys orders, we will conclude this chapter: He was walking the dock at City Point, just before the fall of Richmond, absorbed in thought, and the in- evitable cigar in his mouth, when a negro guard, belonging to one of the colored reg- iments, touched his arm, saying, " No smoking on the dock, sir." " Are these your orders'?" asked the General, looking up. " Yes sir," re[)lied the soldier, courteously, but decidedly. "Very good orders," said Grant, as, walking away, he threw his cigar into the James river. CHAPTER X. PEACE. General Grant visits Galena — At his early home in Ohio — Goes to West Point — Interview with General Scott — A common error — Grant described — His appearance — His conversation — His magnanimity — Anecdote — His family — Record on a presentation sword — Gifts of Houses, &c. — Is commissioned Gen- eral — President Lincoln's story — Appointed Secre- tary of War, ad interim — Grant a Statesman as well as a Soldier — Compared with Wellington — The People's choice for President — Nominated by tlie * Chicago Convention — Grant's election as next President of the United States. " Tour marches sieges and battles, in distance, du- ration, resolution and brilliancy of results, dim the lustre of the world's past military achievements." Gkant's Address to his Soldiers. DtJRiNO the years 1865 and 1866, General myself, I will ask Governor Yates to return the thanks I should fail to express." The el- oquent Illinoisian, now a member of the Uni- ted States Senate, then delivered an addresa closing with these words : '• 1 am here to-day to say that the proudest reflection that thrills the heart of this brave soldier anil general is, that we have gloriou.sly triumphed. That oar nation is preserved, that our governmenl ha.1 been maintained, and that we have our free institutions for us and our posterity forever." Among the ovations which he everywhere received, perhaps there was none more grate- ful to him than that extended by the citizens of his old Illinois home. There were arches decorated with the long scroll of his victories, and over the street where he lived arid the sidewalk which he had calumniated, was the motto: "General, the sidewalk is built." The fond thought which had promj)ted such an expression of his ambition — to be .Mayor of Galena and repair the sidewalk — thus treas- ured up by his old friends and fellow citizens, we may be sure touched him most deeply. In the course of his journey in the West, General Grant stopped for a day at Georgetown. Brown county, Ohio, where he spent his boyhood. The people came from all quarters to see the illustrious soldier, and he was consPrained to make the following si>eech — the longest with the exception of his Washington speeeli of May 22d, 1868, that he was ever known to de- liver: "Ladies and gentlemen of Brown county : You are all aware that I am not in the habit of making si>eeclies. I am glad that I never learned to make speeche.s when I was young, and now that I nm old I have <3rant made tours of inspection and pleasure I no desire to begin. I had rather start ont in 76 LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. anything else than in making a speech. And now, ladies and gentlemen, I can only say to you that it affords me very much pleasure to get back to Brown county, where my boy- hood was spent." A Union meeting was held in the afternoon on the Fair Grounds, at which the General's father made tlie following speech : " It gives me a great deal of pleasure to look so many of my old friends in ihe face again, and have the j)rivilege of saying fare- well, for I never expected to see you again. We have just i)assed through a severe con- flict — a gigantic rebellion, a cruel, bloody, savage and wicked civil war — a war that is a disgrace to civilization. But how did you get out? Wiien tlie country was assailed by reb- els, its flag fired upon, your friends set forth ; they sacrificed the comforts of domestic life, the happiness of their firesides ; they put on the army blue, took the death-dealing musket, and slung the knapsack and blanket, and went forth determined to crush the rebels and put down the rebellion. They did put them down— crushed the rebellion, and subdued Uie traitors to the Union, and now they are •on their marrow-bones, seeking pardon, and your friends have returned home to your hearths aud hearts. " Now there is a great duty resting upon you. The fight is transferred to the ballot. It is your duty now to vote down this misera- ble copperhead faction. It is said we have conquered a peace. This is true ; it is not a petty, patched-up, copperhead, democratic peace ; it is one obtained by the sword, and the youngest cliild is not living who will see the sword again raised against the govern- ment. It is your duty, as patriotic citizens of Blown county, not to allow this old locofoco, copperhead, Lecompton faction to be galvan- ized into life, on the pretence that it is the only party that can save the country. I don't know how that could be, unless on the princi- ple that the hair of the dog is good for the bite." "Uncle Jesse," as the General's father is familiarly called, came of a hardy stock, and the out-of-door active life he led from boy hood upward, preserved and conserved his physical strength, and now, in his seventj'- fourth year, he can endure as much fatigue as most men a score of years his junior. His eyesight is good, his memory wonderfully re- tentive, and his sound, practical mind as cleai as when he set up in business in Georgetown in 1823. In those days only the sons of wealthy men received more than a very lim- ited education. Jesse R. Grant was not one of that fortunate class. His father removed from Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, in the last decade of the eighteenth century, to the Connecticut Westein Reserve, and the only schooling Jesse received was while liv- ing in the family of Judge Tod (father of David Tod, late Governor), in Youngstown (now in Mahoning county), " and that," said the old man, " as I had to chop wood for two fires, and do otiier chores, was very little." It was while living on the Re.^^erve that the news came of the death of General Washing- ton. Jess^ then five years of age, observing his mother weeping, asked her what was the matter. "General Washington is dead! " she replied. " Was he any relation of yours 1 " inquired the wondering child. " And that," said the veteran, " was the fiist I ki.ew of the Father of his Country." Another visit that afforded Grant undisguised pleasure was one that he made to his alma mater in June, 1865. Here occuried ihatme- moriable interview between Winfield Scott and the Generalissimo of the army, at which transpired the beautiful incident, the gift of a copy of Scott's Memoirs " from the oldest to the greatest general." Our venerable and honored friend was not perhaps aware how closely he was treading in the path of Frederick the Great who sent Washington a sword with the inscripfion : — " From the oldest general in the world to the greatest." Like the Prus- sian king, he committed a lapsus pennoe by writing himself the oldest general in the world. There were several older general ofBcers living when both presentations were made. Marshal Combermere whose designation points to the highest rank in the British army, hav- ing been born in 1769, and who was conse- quently seventeen years the senior of Scott, was then living. Just a year later, and the remains of the old hero of nearly four score, who had been a prominent actor in nearly all that is glorious In the military annals of our country from the commencement of the wai oi 1812, to the beginning O) the late rebel- lion, were laid in the grave at West Point in the presence of Grant and Farragut, and a numerous assemblage of the most illustrious men of our time. A common error of mankind is to deter- LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. mine a man's greatness by his pliysical aspect ; marvellous attributes of a physical cliaracter impress the mind as necessary belongings of great captains. Nevertheless, the militaiy heroes of the past, as well as the present, have made but sorry figures physiologically. Frederick the Great was so small and crooked that he might, like Pope, have been compared to an hilerrogation point; Suwarrow, the dis- tinguished Russian General, stood five feet one in his boots; Nelson's physical inferiority was so striking, that when he passed over the quay at Yarmouth, to take possession of the ship-of- the-line to which he had been appointed, the people exclaimed: " Why make that little fel- low a captain 1 " Wellington was so small and slight thathe mightalmosthavebeenputwhere George the Fourth once threatened to place Tom Moore — in a wine cooler; and Napoleon was but a stout, little fat man. Farragut, the greatest naval hero of this century, is not in figure unlike the "Little Corporal;" and our dashing Sheridan you may easdy look down upon without climbing a tree. May not the sobriquet of " Little Phil " have furred on the diminutive cavalry leader to perform some of the most gallant deeds of the war, and called forth from a New-Orleans Creole, whom he captured with a number of other Louisi- anians, in one of the battles before Richmond, the exclamation : "II a le diable au corps!" Csesar, whose nod " did awe the world," and our majestic Washington, were splendid excep- tions to the general rule. The prestige of physical excellence must vanish when we speak of Grant. He is below the medium height, with a slight stoop, careless in his dress, and the last man who would be likely to be selected from a group of general officers as being the greatest captain the country has produced. The casual observer would see nothing remarkable in his features, but the physiognomist would discover reticent power in his clear, grey eye, and the decision and in- tellectual force of the self-relying man in his cleanly-cut and sharply-curved mouth, around which a closely-trimmed and tawny beard deepens to the firm chin and square, ample jaws, of those who in battle never surrender. His nose is neither Caesarian nor Wellington- ian, and his tout ensemble unimpressive, while his walk is the unpretending motion of a thinking man. Every dav are we more and more impressed with the truth of Gray's fam- Uiar lines in his exquisite Elegy : "Greatness, like truth, often lurks in the by-ways." No man is a hero to his valet de chamhrt. One of Grant's Galena neighbors said to us that " he was a dull, plodding man ; " another remarked that he possessed only "sccond-iate business capacity ;" and that noble old chioflain, Lieu- tenant-General Scott, who faitiifully served his country for more than half a century, told the writer that he could only " remember Grant in the Mexican war as a young lieuten- ant of undoubted courage, but giving no promise whatever of anything beyond ordina- ry abilities." When the Union General met the Secretary of War, in Louisville, Oct. 17, 1863, and received from his hands an order placing him in command of the departments of the Ohio, Cumberland, and Tennos.see, a great crowd assembled at the Gait House to see the hero of Vicksburg. Tall and swarthy Kentuckians, old soldiers of the Union, ladies and children, stood in every place which af- forded a glimpse of the plain, modest soldier. Among the throng was a stalwart Kentuckian, who stared at him a few moments and then exclaimed: " Well, that's General Grant, is it! I thought he was a large man. Ho would be thouglit a small chance of a fighter if ho lived in Kentucky." So thought the Countess of Auvergnein the days of Henry VI., when she first gazed upon the victorious Talbot. Ostentation and display are strangers to his nature ; he is approachable by all ; and no array of Pretorian guards, no triple circle of e])anletted subordinates hedge him in and tell you to " stand back," but an open, undi.sguis- ed Western welcome greets you at the head- quarters of the general He is to-ortive- ly called by his young army fiifiids, as he was derisively nicknamed' by his enemies, " Fuss and Feathers." Grant ha.s less fuss and fewer feathers about him, than any other public man of his day. Our readers well re- member the recorded incident of his first ap- LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. pearance on the floor of the United States Senate, when he seemed as nuich abashed as a school-girl before an examining committee ; and vvlien he left, a Senator called attention to the fact that the Lieutenant-General of the armies of the United States wore fewer airs than a second lieutenant. We well remember dining one sunny May day at General Blair's headquarters, during the siege. Siierraan and McPherson, with olher general officers were present, and all unmindful of the pleasantries of the merry party. Grant sat on the ground at the foot of a tree, not many yards distant, eating liis* dinner of cold chicken, which he drew from liis pocket, and so absorbed in thought that he neither heard or heeded the hearty laugh, which now and then rang out, nor the falling twigs knocked from a tree over- bead by a chance cannon-ball, sent with the compliments of our rebel friends in the " West- ern Gibraltar." He is a calm, silent man, an inarticulate hero, who, as his soldiers used to say, " keeps up a devil of a thinking." His conversation is genicil and modest — of few words, but those words are always to the purpose. " When he has nothing to say," re- marks a writer, " he says nothing." In jjrivate he fills no interetices of conversation by re- marks ni)on the weather, or inquiries after the babies of his visitor. In public he can make no speeches simply of form or compliment ; and sine ^ the world cared to hear his oi)inions on affairs, his official position has never allow- ed him to speak freely. But in public or private, when he has anything to utter by tongue or pen, he says it with extreme ra- pidity and clearness, in terse, marrowy, idio- matic English. Even then he clothes his thoughts in no flowers of rhetoric, but pre- sents them in the plainest, humblest words. Napoleons memorable sayings are all of this order: "From these summits forty centuies look down upon you." " We will carry our vic- torious eagles beyond the pillar.s of Hercules." Grants are the exact antipodes: " I have no terms but unconditional surrender." " I pro- pose to move immediately upon your works." "I shall fight it out on this line if it takes all summer." " I found the army like a balky horse.'' " General. Butler was bottled up." Said the dramatic Corsiban after Auslerlitz : " Sold- iers, I am satisfied with you. You have decora- ted your eagles with immortal glory." Said the matter-of-fact American to his shouting men, after Port Gibson : " Soldiers, I thank you. That is all I can say. You have done a good day's work to-day, but you must do a better one to-morrow." No shining rhetoric, no po- etic gushes ; only the simple unadorned fact. He is utterly genuine and guileless. He still preserves in his high estate the sweetne;ss and simplicity of his country boyhood. Altogether free from cant, his lips, obejing 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 aid, with pallif this trait is recorded by a friend who visiu-d Washington during the past winter. Tlie writer says: "We had the pleasure of hear- ing a remark made by General Grant, which we think should be gi**a to Uie country. General Grant, on the occasion wo refer to, had introduced to the three jiersons who were l)resent, the subject of General Sheridan'a late disi)atch in relation to the Altorney- General's opinion ; and, with the view of jus- tify. ng its style, explained that it was in liie nature of a personal dispatch to him (not in- tended as an official resj>onse to that opinion), and consequently not meant for publication. ' Nevertheless,' said the General, ' 1 read a oopy of it in the newspapeis before I received the original, and I am curious to learn how such a result could have come about.' The General then went on to say ihat Sheriilan's dispatch was almost in the nature of a con- fidential communication, and that it w.is char- acterized by an easy frankness, whicli was a leading feature of Sheridan's character. He was, consequently, sorry to see that the pa- pers were making such a noise about it ; but attributed this fierceness of the attack in Louisiana, to the fact that Sheridan was not ill with any of the ' rings ' down there, and that they consequently hated iiim lieariily, and therefore fell upon him altogether. Warm- ing with his subject, General Grant further re- marked that ' the public did not thoroughly understand Sheridan. He had popularity enough, it was true ; in fact, all that a man could desire, but not appreciation. He was a much broader man than was generally sup- posed. He was usually regaitled merely as a brave, olT-hand, downright tighter, wiih not much calculation; but he was in reality a man of fine judgment, and fully cai>al)le of handling under any circumstances, all ihe ar- mies the United States ever had together ! ' This was said with great animation, and, after a moment's pause, was repeateil with an in- creased emphasis. The surprising generosity of such a declaration as this, from a man who it would naturally be supj>osed, woulil crave such commandiDg glory solely to himself, 80 LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. made a deep impression on those of us who heard it, and the childlike earnestness and simplicity with which Ihe words were uttered, carried the conviction that they came spon- taneously from a big heart and a great na- ture. After this evidence of magnanimity and self-negation on the part of General Grant, the most jealous patriot need have no fears of the integrity and faithfulness with which he will perform his duties, in whatever station he may be called upon to fill. Such men as he do not betray." One of the strongest adherents of Chief Justice Chase for the Presidency of the United States, and consequently opi)osed to General Grant's elevation to that high position, bears the following unwilling testimony to his saga- city and eminei;t fitness for that office : "General Grant we esteem by no means a great man, nor even a very great general. Yet he has, in every position he has filled, evinced a modest good sense, a practical, un- ostentatious sagacity, which have justly won for him a large measure of public confidence. He is not by training a statesman : yet his ne- gotiations with General Lee, and the terms of capitulation conceded by him at Appomattox evince a wisdom and breadth of view which few among our statesmen could have equalled, and none of them has surpassed. We do pro- foundly honor and esteem him that he has never uttered one syllable that savored of ex- ultation over the defeated rebels, or called down vengeance on their heads. The blood- and-thunder policy of execution and confisca- tion, which we intensely loathe, has had no more effective opponent than this taciturn, re- ticent first soldier of the Union.'' Alison, in his Life of the Duke of Marlbor- ough, says : " As much as grandeur of concep- tion distinguislies Homer; tenderness of feeling Virgil, and sublimity of thought Milton, does impetuous daring characterize Eugene, con- summate generalship Marlborough, indomita- ble firmness Frederick, lofty genius Napoleon, and unerring wisdom Wellington." Were the eminent European historian now living he might add another to his list of the five great captains of nioiiern times, from our side of the Atlantic — a general who combines the charac- teristic of the Pru.-^sian king, and the English field-marshal. But when we consider the vastness of the fields on which our illustrious soldier moved his armies, the enormous amount of material employed, and the loss of life incurred, we are led irresistibly to ll.e conclusion that even the most celebrated of Frederick's and Wellington's campaigns were comparatively but forays and skirmishes. Grant's tactics were often as grand as those of the first Napoleon, and his battles as fierce and decisive. Like Prince Eugene in. the Tj'- rol, he could make his way through the most difficult and well defended pas.ses of the Ten- nessee, and like him, drive his foe before him. Like Marlborough in pitched battles. Grant has been equally successful on as hotly con- tested fields as Blenheim, or Ramillies ; and like Wellington in his last triumphant march to Paris, after more deadly combats and great- er resistance, he closed the war by the cap- ture of the enemy's capital, and by the cap- ture of the chief who had ihence directed and continued the struggle. No great captain of modern times has made greater captures of prisoners and war materiel than the American General, whose fame is no less splendid than his patriotism, and who is confessedly the foremost man of his time in this country. Perhaps the crowning glory of Grant's charac- ter, is the absence of that ' mountain devil," Sclfsh Ambitton. In short, we think that the words spoken by Anthony of his murdered friend may with great propriety and fitness, be applied to General Grant : " His life was gentle, and the elements So mixed in him that nature stands up ^ And says to all the world, This was a man." The gallant General McPherson, who fell mortally wounded near Atlanta, Georgia, was for a time a member of Grant's military fam- ily, and served through the memoriable Vicks- burg campaigns as commander of the seven- teenth army corps, has left the following re- cord, written but a short time before his un- timely death, of his opinions of Grant and Sherman : " General U. S. Grant I regard as one of the most remarkable men of our coun- try. Without asi)iring to be a genius, or pos- sessing those characteristics which impress one forcibly at first sight, his sterling good sense, calm judgment, and persistency of purpose, more than comj^ensate for thosedash- ing, brilliant qualities which are apt to capti- vate at a first glance. To know and apire- ciate General Grant fully, one ought to be a member of his military family. Though pos- sessing a remarkable reticence as far as mil- itary operations are concerned, he is frank and affable, converses well, and has a. pecu- LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. liarly retentive menory. When not oppress- ed with the cares of his position, he is very fond of talliing, telling anecdotes, etc. His purity of character is uninipeacliable, and his patriotism of the most exalted kind. He is generous to a fault, humane and true, and a steadfast friend to tliose whom he deems worthy of his confidence, he can always be relied upon in case of emergency. General W. T. Sherman is what might be called a brilliant man, possessing a broad and com- prehensive intellect. A rapid thinker and a ready writer, fertile in his resources and un- tiring in his exertions, he possesses those characteristics which forciblj' impress you at first sight. He has mingled largely with the world, and has tried various professions ; has read and reflected much, and, having a remarkably retentive memory, is well inform- ed on most subjects which come williin ihe scope of human thought. He is of much more excitable temperament than General Grant, sider the progress thai has been made since and more apt to be swaj-ed by imi)ulses, | 1640 in civilization, and es|iecially in general though his judgment is not so cool and reii- education, there can be no doubt ihat our able. lu other words, though a more bril- I soldiers are su[)erior in intelligence and cliar- liant man, he does not possess that sterling I acLer even to the fine body of men tiial were good common sense which pre-eminently disliii- led to invariable victory by Oliver Cromwell, guishes General Grant. He is, however, a Braver ilian the ' Ironsides ' it were |)erhaps most brave and generous man, thoroughly in impossible for soldiers to be, but impartial earnest, and ready to sacrifice everything lor history will pronounce those n4>t less brave the good of his country. He is a true friend, who bent their heads and went forward and thoroughly unselfish ; and there are no ; thiough the withering fires of tlie Wilderness, better men — or few, at least — than General j and dashed themselves so many times a"aiust 81 test of consummate ability, the absoli-te com- pleteness of results, and he fully vindicates his claims to stand next alter NajHjleon and Wellington, among the great soldi.-ra uf this century, if not on a level with the latter." Another writer pays the following well-mer- ited tribute to Grant and his heroes: "For the right determination of this great debate the heart of the nation i.H moved with inex|>ressihle gratitude to the brave and de- voted soldiers of our patriot anny.,, Among so many thousands there are doubtless, con- siderable numbers of scoundrels; but, on the whole, there has never before been marshalled in the ranks of war a body of men so high ia all mental and moral attiibutes as those who are now engaged in the glorious work of crushing to earth the last remnants of this most wicked rebellion. The army that came nearest to ours was, doubtless, that of the Roundheads, of England, but, when we con- Sherman." To McPherson's testimony regarding Grant's single-hearted patriotism and purity of char- acter, we would add a few words descriptive the impregnable defences of Spotisylvania. " With tills gratitude to the soldiers comes the slow but inevitable recognition of the greatness of their conmiander. General Grant of another trait, which fell from the lips of may not have an intellect superior in its pow- President Lincoln. He said : " The great er of comprehending problems, but, through thing about Grant, I take it, is his perfect all future generations, bis memory will occupy coolness and persistency of purpose. I judge ' the very highest position among those emi- he is not easily excited — which is a great nent who have been great in action. The element in an officer, and he has ihe pr it of a mind that he has is all wisdom; it is a guide bull-dog ! Once let him get his teeth ;«, and ' to conduct; it throws il.s light upon the un- nothing can shake him off." troiMeii way. His judgment is heahliy and A very able military writer says : " Apply sound, and is not disturbed by ci>ll.neral and to General Grant what test you will, measure . irrelevant considerations. ' He ha-s one of him by the masnitude of the obstacles he has those rare intellects that, across the maze of surmounted, by the value of the position he | immaterial facts, goes straight to the true has oained, bv the fame of his antagonists point.' over whom he triumphed, by the achievements • " But the judgment of General Grant would of his most illustrious co-workers, by the have done nothing toward accompli.shing his severeness with which he directs his indomita- ; great achievements without those strong qual- ble energy to the vital point which is the key ities which have carried his decisions into to a vast field of operations, by that supreme effect. His power of dispatching business 82 LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. brought all departments of bis great army into tlie liigliest perfeclioii of organization and discipline. He lias, too, in an eminent degree, that highest courage which has been rare in- deed among the commanders of armies — the moral courage that dares to take the respon- sibility of battle. But the strongest element in his character is his inflexible tenacity of purpose. It is not the patience that waits in idleness, but the active perseverance that works and waits — the instinctive determina- tion that IS stimulated to more dogged obsti- nacy by the encounter of unforeseen obstacles, and that never thinks of looking back. This is, indeed, the most powerful quality in hu- man nature, and, in a contest, it decides the victory. Said Wellington at Waterloo — ' Three times 1 have saved tliis day by perseverance.' The trium[)lis of Marlborough were due to the same spirit, and the highest appreciation of the noble character of Milton has declared its crowning grace to have been his sublime and majestic j)atience." But to heap further eulogies upon Grant is unnecessary, for his career is his best eulogy. It is a " solid fabric, and will support the laurels that adorn it." As whatever appertains to the illustrious soldier is of universal interest, we must pause for a moment, and devote a paragraph to his family. His eldest son, Frederick, a youth of eighteen, is now a cadet at West Point, where Admiral Farragut's son is also being educated, and is the hold little fellow who accompanied his father throughout the Vicksburg campaign. Another son, some fifteen years of age, is named Ulysses, and his only daughter, called Nellie, is a sunny-dispositioned and merry young lady, whom everybody loves ; while the youngest son, known as Jesse, and we ])re- sume named after his worthy grandfather, is a bright lad who sometimes appears dressed in Highland costume, the garb of his Gaelic ancestors. The family therefore consist of the General and Mrs. Grant, three sons, and their only daughter, Miss Nellie. A copy of the record on a sword presented to Grant by the citizens of Jo Daviess county, Illinois, will give a "bird's-eye" view of the military career of the distinguished soldier, who is said to have been mo- e often amid the " sheeted fire and flame " of the battle-field than any officer of our army, except the old veteran who vied with Cortez in victoriously leading our troops to the City of Mexico : Palo Alto, May 8th, 1846 ; Resaca de la Pal- ma, May 9th. 1846; Monteiey, September 19th, 20lh, 21st, 1846; Vera Cruz, April 18th, 1847 ; Moliuo del Rey, September 8lh, 1847 ; City of Mexico, September 14th, 1817 ; Bel- mont, November 7th, 1861 ; Fort Henry, Feb- ruary 6th; 7th, 1862; Fort Donelson, Febru- ary isth, 14th, 15th, 16th, 1862; Sliiloh, April 6Lh, 7th, 1862; Corinth Siege, April 22d to May 20th, 1862 ; luka, September I'Jlli, 1862 ; Hatchie, October 5th, 1862; Tallahatchie, December 1st, 1862; Port Gibson, May 12th, 1868, Black River Bridge, I\Iay IStli, 1863 ; Champion Hills, May 14th, 1863; Black River, May 17th, 1863 ; Vicksburg, July 4th, 1863 ; Chattanooga, November 23d, 24th, 25th, 26th, 1863 ; Battles for Richmond, May 5th, 6th, 7lh, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 1864. To this record must be added the series of battles fought during the siege of Richmond, and the engagement at Five Forks on the 1st of April, 1865. Among other gifts presented to Gen- eral Granl, may be mentioned a house and furniture, valued at thirty thousand dollars, by citizens of Philadeli)hia ; a house com- pletely furnished, with half that amount, a piesent from his old Galena friends and for- mer neighbors ; horses valued at ten thou- sand dollars; a handsome librarj-, which cost five thousand dollars, the gift of a few Boston gentlemen, and the munificent sum of one hundred thousand dollars in cash presented by citizens of New York ; and among the shower of honors that were heaped upon the successful soldier, he was made a Doctor of Laws by Harvard and a number of other in- stitutions of learning. Congress having in July, 1866, created the grade of General, the President immediately advanced Lieutenant-General Grant to that exalted position — one which never before ex- isted under our government. Washington was General of the Continental arniy, and under the Confederation ; but in the United States array, he was only Lieutenant-General. The vacancy created by Grant's promotion to the new grade was now filled by the appoint- ment of Major-General W. T. Sherman. Apro- ](os of Sherman, President Lincoln once rela- ted a circumstance illustrating the sagacity of Grant, and his agency in other movements of the army. Just before the Baltimore Conven- tion, a few delegates called upon him, pursuant to appointment, and we found him free and communicative, as well as hopeful and agree- LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. 83 able. One of our partj' asked his opinion on the military situation. " Well, gentlemen," said he, " Grant now lias entire control, and I can only relate a coiiversalioii I had with him the other day. He said his plan was to hold Lee and his army in the vicinity of Richmond, wliile he sent Sherman through to destroy the Con- federacy. I said to him," and the sunbeam played over the President's homely face, mak- ing it appear positively handsome, ' Grant, I don't know much about the technicalities of your profession, but as near as I do under- stand you, yoii, propose to hold the leg, wliile Sheiman takes off the skin.' ' Yes." replied Grant, 'that is j'lst what I mean.'" With what an iron grasp Grant held the leg, and how brilliantly Sherman stripped the hide from the rebellion, has now passed into the domain of hi.story. When, in 1867, President Johnson removed Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War, Gene- ral Grant was appointed Secretary ad inte- rim, a phrase now famous in our political his- tory. Although, as Geneial-in-chief, he had all the departments under his charge, some of which caused him much anxiety and trouble, yet his administration of the War Department was perfect. Almost immediately after enter- ing upon the duties of his new office, he be- gan the work of rptrenchment and cut down the expenses of the Department several mill- ions of dollars. His report at the opening of Congress was a clear, statesmanlike document, and it is a singular fact that amid the bitter party feeling that prevailed at Washington when it was made, and when it seemed im- possible that any report concerning the con- dition and wants of the South could be writ- ten, or that he should act as Secretary with- out being the subject of abuse ; that he should, so free was he from all party bias, so sincere and apparent his desire for truth, so simple and straightforward his course, have utterly disarmed all party rancour. In the midst of widespread venality and corruption, no man has ever doubted his honesty, though he has had almost unlimited control over mill- ions of the public money. His administra- tion as General-in-chief of the army, and as Secretary of War ad interim, is not only mark- ed with eminent ability, but distinguished for retrenchment and economy. The President — no partial witness — in his message of Decem- ber, 1867, to the Senate, says that " salutary reforms have been introduced by the Secre- tarj' ad interim, and great reductions of ex- pen.^ses have been etlecied uii adiuiuis- iralion of lh« War Df|)arlnieiii, to liie saviug of millions to the Treasury." General Grant is not a politician, but a patriot. Ever since the downfall of ilio rebell- ion, he has been anxious for the earliest pos- sible restoration of the insurgent SlaleN to their former relatione to the Union. Ho has de|)iecated the quarrels between the Execu- tive and Legislative depa tnients of ilie gov- erimient, which have tended to retard this work, while on his part he has labored assid- uously to bring it to a successful and liar- monious clo.se. In this he has exhibited the sterling qualities of a wise and libcial slates- man. If he should be elected to llie Presi- dency — and few of our readers will entertain any doubt on that jioint — all impartial and unprejudiced men, whether radicals or Con- servatives, and wlietlier dwelling at the North or the South, would feel that the Union and the Constitution were sale in his hands. When the Senate of the United Slates, on assembling in December, 18G7, refused to sanction the removal of Mr. Stanton, Grant at once vacated the office of Secretary of War ad interim, deeming it hi.s bounden duty, in accordance with his convictions, ujjon a close examination of the Tenure of Office Bill, to obey the law whether Constitutional or not, as it was binding upon him until set aside by the proper tribunal. General Grant's action in the premises led to a long corresjiondence between him and the President, in the course of which they took diametrically opposite grounds in relation to certain occurrences which look place in a Cabinet meeting, when the question of Stan- ton's reinstatement by the Senate was discuss- ed. Grant, after replying to other point-s of one of the President's communications, .says, that for him to have continued to retain pos- session of the office, would have been in vio- lation of law, and subjected him to tine and perhaps imprisonment, concludes : " When my honor as a soldier, and inlegrily as a ra.in have been so violently assailed, pardon me for saying that I can but regard this whole matter, from beginning to end, as an attempt to involve me in resistance of law, for which you hesitated to assume the resj^nsibility, and then to destroy my character before the country. I am in a measure, confirmed in the conclusion by your recent order from the 84 LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. Secretary of War, my superior and your sub- Ihey could do better, but they would not hear ordinate." "s- '^'*® nomination of General Grant, by On Wednesday, May 20th, the National ] every delegate from every Slate and Territory comprised within the boundaries of our Un- ion, was a simple proclamation of what the masses had already decided. The wild enthusi- asm wherewith his name was hailed, will roll irrepressibly fiom the Bay of Fundy to the Pacific. Apart from all politics and parlies, the people are for Grant ; and his vote will exceed that of the most popular of candidates for Governor, Congress, &c., who may be run on the same ticket. We predict that both his electoral and his popular majorities will exceed those of Lincoln over McClellen. , " Those who would fain makebelieve that the soldiers who fought gallantly for the Union are not heartily for Grant, deceive none — not even themselves. Should Hancock be the Democratic nominee, he may possibly poll one- tenth of the voles of the Union volunteers, with nine- tenths of that cast by iheir paroled prison- ers who fought for Secession ; but; as against a peace Democrat, we believe that Grant will make nearly a clean sweep of the Union's defenders. Quite a number may still expect to oppose him on partisan grounds; but, long before the campaign is ended, the foolish calumnies of his assailants will impel them to ' vote as they shot.' As the well-remem- bered long roll is sounded in their eai s, they cannot ronist the soldierly impulse to ' fall in.' General Grant will receive more votes from reconstructed rebels than could be obtained for any other man who fought gallantly, suc- cessfully for the Union. Faithful to his coun- try and her flag, he was ever a magnanimous foe ; and no man is more anxious than he that the bloody, hateful past sliould be speedily obscured by a genuine fraternity and mutual good will. He fought, not to degrade and de- stroy, but to exalt and to save. There is no other American in whom all interests and all sections cherish so profound a trust as in Ulysses S. Grant. Hence, the strength evinc- ed by the Republicans in intermediate local contests will be no measure, no test of that which will be developed when the people come to vote consciously for him." Another influential journal, the New York Times, commenting upon General Grant's nomination, remarks, that he ' has the confi- dence of the people of the country, of all sec- tions, and of all parties. They have faith in the integrity of his motives, the clearness of Republican Convention met at Chicago, Illi- nois, for the purpose of nominating candidates for the offices of President and Vice-President of the United Slates. On Thursday, General Logan rose, the nominations then being in or- der, and said, " Then, sir, in the name of the loyal citizens and soldiers and sailors of this Great Republic of the United Stales of Amer- ica—in the name of loyalty, liberty and jus- tice ; in the name of the National Union Repub- lican pai ly I nominate as candidate for the chief magistracy of this nation, Ulysses S. Grant." The wildest enthusiasm prevailed upon this nomination being made, which was carried by acclamation, every vote in the Convention being given for the noble soldier and patriot. His nomination surprised no one — it had be- come thoroughly a " foregone conclusion," and the same thing may be safely said in regard to his election next November. Eight years ago, when a Republican Convention at Chica- go nominated Abraham Lincoln, a man not altogether unknown, and wherever known re- spected, the country was taken by surprise, but rallied to his support as no old favorite had ever been supported, and in the terrible years that followed, gave him a place in the popular heart never accorded to anyone ex- cept Washington. Now the country is not only not surprised at, but actually demands the nomination of a man then living at Galena, whose name the people had never heard when Lincoln was called from his quiet life at Springfield. Both Western men, and both residents of Illinois, though born, the one in Kentucky and the other in Ohio, they were nominated for the first oflice in the people's gift by National Conventions, held in the me- tropohs of their adopted Stale. Lincoln had a mission to perform, and the Convention of 1860 called him forth to perform it ; Grant has that work to complete, and the Convention of 1868 asks him to complete it. His record in the past shows the singleness of purpose wilii which he will pursue the task allotted to him in the future. " It was not necessary," says the New York Tribune, " to hold a Convention to designate the Republican candidate for President. The people had already decided that they would vote for Ulysses S. Grant, and nobody else. We tried for a long while to persuade them LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. his judgment, the practical working of his mind, and in his disposition and ability to co-operate with those who may share with liim the power and responsibility of adminis- tration. Never seeking, he never shuns, either ; and the modesty which is by many mistaken for weakness, implies, as his history shows, no lack of whatever self-reliance is re- quired for the duties of any position in which he may be placed." Another leading journal alluding to Grant and the Presidency, compares him to the Pa- ter Patrice. '• We trust that General Grant loves his whole country ; that he desires the good of all its citizens, without regard to any dividing lines — wiiether they be lines of par- ty, or section, or race, or color. It is the no- blest reward of great services like his, that it exalts the character to this high level ; that it enables a man to act nobly without ap- pearing to be pretentious. General Grant is under a moral necessity of respecting the great renown of his past services. It is be- neath him to play any common part in vulgar politics. The Presidency can be nothing to him ; he has a more valuable office. But if, in the hands of Providence, he could be an instrument for tranquillizing the country, that is an honor for which he could afford to sac- rifice ease, congenial pursuits, and the possi- bilities of still greater fame as a soldier. God forbid that he should descend into the arena of party contests. If he cannot be elected President without such a descent, he can do no good in the Presidency. Our torn, lacerat- ed, exasperated country needs soothing, needs pacification, needs oil on the troubled waters, which still toss and dash after the recent tem- pest. We would no more have General Grant become a party politician than, if we had lived in Washington's time, we would have wished him to give and return party blows. As Wash- ington was elected and re-elected on the strength of his character and services, with- out pledges either asked or given, we trust that General Grant will be elected, if at all, in the same way and with the same generous confidence. Having restored the authority of the Government, we hope that he may add the highest civic to the highest military fame by restoring long-lost cordiality of feeling." The Republican ticket received the follow- ing reception from the New York Herald the day after the nominations had been made by the Chicago Convention : " In U. S. Grant, 85 the General-in-chief of the army, and in Schuyler Colfax, Speaker of the National House of Representatives, the Republican party has placed a strong, cdiesive, and pi.pu- lar Presidential ticket before the jjeople. Grant, the great captain of the age, haa also I Moved that in the administration of the civil affairs of a peace establishment he po.sscs.ses those rare endowments of practical states- manship which qualify him for all the resjjon- sibilities of the executive head of the g.iveru- ment in any emergency. It is the general impression among the American jioopje that in his hands their interests and the honor and prosperity of the country will be safe. His associate, Speaker Colfax, for one of his age, is a man of great experience and sup-rior abilities and sagacity in our j»olitical alFairs, and, in the event of a call to the White House to fill the unexpired term of his colleague, no doubt can be entertained tliat he will give us a good administration. Nor is the flattering reputation of these men limited to the United States, for it is substantially the .same abroad as at home. The news of their nomination will strengthen the confidence of the friends of 'the great Republic ' over all the world — on the Thames, the Seine, the Rhine, tlie Ne- va, and the Danube, and fiom the mighty Amazon, rolling its flood of waters down the equatorial line, to the imperial Yang-t-se-Kiang of China, 'the son of the sea.' Nor will that honest faith in American securities at Frankfort-on-the-Main be weakened with the prospect of the transfer from and after the 4th of March, 1869, of the reins of our gov- ernment to Grant and Colfax. The Chicago Convention could not have chosen a better ticket. The President ^^ro tern, of tlio Senate, Mr. Wade, who led the list of Vice- Presiden- tial aspirants on the first two or three ballots, would have been to Giant as heavy a load to carry as was the Old Man of the Sea to Sin- bad the Sailor ; and Fenton, the next highest competitor of Colfax, would also havo been a dead weight. Co fax, on the other haml, gives that jmsitive strength and consistency to the ticket which makes it a unit and ex- jiands the circle of its influence. He has had the valuable training of a new.spaper editor— a vocation which in this country is the best of schools for an aspiring politician. It teaches him all the ins and ont-s of the pro- fession and how to avoid those shnnls and bars upon which so many of oar greatest 86 LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. statesmen have foundered. The rail-splitter and the tailor were a powerful team, but the tanner and the editor will match them. There is ' nothing like leather,' and the news])aper is the tiiird estate of the Nineteenth Century. Grant and Colfax are a strong; ticket, and they are provided with a movable extension plat- form on the negro suffrage question, and on the money question, which will accommodate all comers of all shades of opinion." On the evening of May 22d, General Grant was serenaded at his residence in Washington, and after the Marine Band had played "Hail to the Chief," loud calls were made for Grant. When he appeared he was greeted with pro- longed cheers, and when silence was restored lie was addressed as follows by representative Boutwell, of Massachusetts : "General: — This assemblage of your fel- low-citizens, brought together without organ- ization or previous arrangement, have desired me to express to you their gratification at your unanimous nomination for President of the United States (applause) by the Repub- lican Convention recently assembled at Chi- cago. (Renewed applause.) The unanimity with which you have been nominated, almost, if not altogether without an example in the history of our country, furnishes sufficient in- dication of the vast majority, if not entire imanimily, with which the nomination will be sustained by the loyal people of the country. (Applause.) The Republican party has not yet had an opportunity to test its capacity for the government of the Republic in time cf j>eace. We have had a war of more than four years' duration, but the valiant and patriotic peojde of this coimtry under your leadership quelled the mightiest rebellion the world has ever seen, against the best government known in the history of mankind. You will be sup- ported in the contest upon which you have entered by the same heroic men who were with you at Shiloh, in the Wilderness, and be- fore Richmond ; and you are to meet with the opposition of a comparatively few of those who have returned, to the support of the Union, the Constitution and the flag of the country, and, with but few exceptions, you are to be opposed by tlie same men, ani- mated by the same principles which anima- ted tlie men engaged in the rebellion you Were so instrumental in overthrowing. The tiation expects, and will receive from you the same devotion to its interests, th? same pa- triotism in your purposes, the same integrity and firmness of will which characterized your command of its armies ; and I doubt not that in the contest which is now bef(ire us we shall achieve a victory as memorable in the history of our country as that which illustrated the army of the Republic at the sui'render of Richmond. Your fellow-citizens will support you in this contest. They will support your administration, knowing that your administra- tion will be characterized by firmness, by in- tegrity, by patriotism, by good sense, and all the manly qualities which have marked your past career. My fellow-citizens, I have now the pleasure of presenting to you the next Pi-esident of the United States, General Grant, the commatider of your armies." General Grant then said, after the renewed and long-continued ai)plause had subsided, and we think so much has rarely been said in so few words : "Gentlemen: — Being entirely unaccus- tomed to public speaking, and without the de- sire to cultivate that power (laughter), it is impossible for me to find appropriate language to thank you for this demonstration. All that I can say is, that to whatever position I may be called by your will, I shall endeavor to dis- charge its dutiesiWith fidelity and honesty of purpose. Of my rectitude in the performance of pnblic duties you will have to judge for yourselves by my record before you " It is a very great mistake to supi)0se that it is intended to elect General Grant to the Pre- sidency only upon his military record. He has shown a capacity for administration, a fi;ness for the performance of civil functions, a devo- tion to the principles of the Constitution, a re.spect for the laws, a degree of political sagacity and justice, and a faith in the ideas of liberty and progress that constitute far higher grounds than liis military record (and what general of modern times has a more brilliant one T) why he should be elevated to a position where he can use his powers for re- storing peace and prosperity to our long-suf- fe ing and distracted country. The London Times attributes to Grant many of the excel- lences which characterized our late lamented President. " In fact, however, the rough com- mon sense and ungain'y shrewdness of a plain farmer of New England or Illinois often af- ford a better test of public opinion than the LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. 8', speeches of professed politicians ; and it was not the least of Mr. Lincoln s excellences that he was the embodiment of a class which is the depository of political power in the Union, but which before his time almost wanted a representative. General Grant seems to have inherited in some degiee this characteristic of the late President. It would seem that there has never been a more inarticulate hero. The words he utters are iew and rugsed ; but when they come they express tiie dogged re- solution, the ardor slowly kindled, but when once alight, steadily maintained ; the un- flinching pertinacity, and the power of adapt- ing nil ans to ends which, acting together, crushed the Southern Confederation, and which we are bound to recognize the more readily because they are among the best char- acteristics we covet for ourselves." One of the ablest divines of the country, the Rev. Dr. Breckinridge of Kentucky, speaks in favor of General Grant for the Presidency, in no uncertain tones, not because he thinks he is especially available, but because he es- teems Grant the fittest man for the office in America. He also considers him the best specimen of the best sort of an American gen- tleman. Not a genius, dazzling everybody with the brilliancy of his intellect, but a man of great ability — of unsurjjassed judgment, and of undoubted fairness and honesty. lie thinks he knows the right, and has both the courage and the power to do it. He does not think that General Grant lacks any essential requisite for tlie ruler of this nation during the present crisis. There can be no question tiiat Dr. Breckinridge, with his great penetration and vast experience, is unsurpassed as ashrewd judge of character. His opinion of General Grant is worth a ton of the laudations to be found in partisan newspapers and the meet- ings of office-seekers. In the course of our narrative, Grant has been compared to Wallenstein, William of Or- ange, Washington, and Wellington, as a mili- tarj'^ commander. In his love of country, sup- port ol its laws, above all corrupt or inter- tested views, with duty as the pole star by which he always steered his course. Grant more closely resembles the " Iron Duke " in personal and professional character, than either ot the other illustrious soldiers. As Washington and Wellington won new laurels —the civic crown— after their swords were forever sheathed, by their firmness, justice, and guod judgment, so too, may we not hope tliat General Grant will acliiere llie same glory as a statesman, which he has already won as a soldier — a soldier " second lo nunc," tiie motto of the famous cavalry regiment known as the " Scotch G:eys," in which .sev- eral officers of Grant's name have won re- nown. As the Spaniards say, Qinf>i snir. The same persistency disi.lnyi'd by ih.- boy in riding the mule, and in loa.Iing, unaided, the wagon with logs for Iho coiisiruction of the Brown county jail, were display, d at Fort Donelson, at Vickburg, at Cliallatiooga, and during his last campaign against Lee's army, and at the rebel capital. On iho ev«- ning of that awful battle of the Wilderne.ss, when the legions of the Union army had fought all day, rather by failli than siglit, ia the wild woods and tangled brush, an officer suggested to Grant that the army should fall back, as it had done under former leader.i, and re-organize. ''No, sir,'' replied the (launile.ss and intrepid soldier, "we have done very well, at half-past three in the uitriiiiig we more forward.^' We liave perfect faiih that iho prediction made by the jiir iiologist, wlio examined his head in 183'2, " Vou need not he surprised if you should see this boy tlil the Presidential chair some time," will prove true, and that he will be eiiually persistent and successful in his efforts as Presiilentlo restore peace and prosperity to our long sullering land, in re-establishing our free institutions on the impregnable foundations of justice and liberty. See to it, fellow-soldiers, and fellow- Republicans, that he is elected to the higlitest office, for which he has been duly nominated, within the gift of the American j)eople. We ai)peal to you by the memory of the heroic Sedgwick, the gallant Kearney, the lion- hearted McPherson, the patriotic Winthrop, and the humbler, but no less heroic martyrs, whose three hundred thousand graves lio thickly scattered in all portions of the South, and by every motive that can influence tlio conduct of earnest, patriotic men, see that you do not falter in the performance of your dut-y, until that duty is thoroughly an I compleudy done, and Ulysses S. Grant is elecleoditlon conslat- ing of your regiment, four compauiis nf ihu Eleventh Illinois, all of tlie Eighteenth and Twenty-ninth, three companies of Cavalry from Bird's Point (to bo selected and notified by yourself), and a section of Schwartz's Battery, artillery, and proceed to Com- merce, Missouri. From Commerce, you will strike for Sikeston, Mr. Croi^per acting as guide. From there go in imrsuit of a rebel force understood to bo 3,000 strong, under JefrThonipsnn, now at Indian's Ford, on the St. Francois Kiver. An expedition has already left Ironton, Mo., to at- tack this force. Should you learn that they have left that place, it will not be necessary for yiu V> nn there, but pursue the enemy In any direction he may go, al- ways being cautious not to fall in with an unlooked-for foe too strong for the command under you. The object of the expedition is to destroy this force, and the manner of doing it, is Icrt largely at your dis- cretion, believing it better not to trammel you ^"Ith ■nslructious. Transportation will be furnished you for fourteen days' rations and four or five days' forage. All yoo may require outside of this, must bo f urnishcil by th« country through which you pass. In taking suiip'.lc* you w ill be careful to select a proper otHcer to proa* them, and require a receipt to bo given, and the arti- cles pressed, accounted for in the same manner as if purchased. You are particularly enjoined to allow no fora^ng by your men. It is demoraUzing in the extreme, and is apt to make open enemies, where they would not otherwise exist. U. S. Grvnt. Brigatllcr-Ocneral. Colonel J.B. Plummer Eleventh Mift-wurl Volun. teers, commanding Cajw Girardeau, wm dmcud to send one regiment In the direction of Bloomfleld,with a Tiew to attracting the attention of the cnem7. 90 APPENDIX. The forces under Col. Oglesby, were all got off on the evening of the 3d. On the 5lh, a telegram was received from head- quarters, St. Louis, stilting that the enemy was rein- forcing Price's Army, from Columbus, by way ol White Rivor, and directing that the demonstration that had been ordered against Columbus be imme- diately made. Orders were accordingly at once given to the troops under my command that remained at Cairo, Bird's Point, and Fort Holt. A letter was also sent to Brigadier-General C. F. Smith, commanding at Paducah, requesting him to make a demonstration at the same time against Columbus. To more affeclually attain the object of the demon- stration against the enemy at Belmont and Columbus, I determined on the morning of the 6th,to temporarily change the direction of Col. Oglesby's column to- ward New-Madrid, and also to send a small force un- der Col. W. H. L. Wallace, Eleventh Ulinois Volun- teers, to Charleston, Mo., to ultimately join Col. Oglesby. In accordance with this determination, I addressed Col. Oglesby the following communication : Caibo, Nov. 6, 18C1. Colonel B. J. Oglesby, Commanding Expedition: On receipt of this, turn your column toward New- Madrid. When you arrive at the nearest point to Columbus from which there is a road to that place, communicate With me at Belmont. U. S. Grant, Brigadier-General. Which was sent to Col. Wallace with the following Cairo, Nov. 6, 18G1. Colonel W. II. L. Wallace, Bird's Point, Mo.: Herewith X scud you an order to Col. Oglesby to change the direction of his column, toward New- Madi id, halting to communicate with me at Belmont from the nearest point on his road. I desire you to get up the Charleston expedition or- dered for to-morrow, to start to-night, taking two days' rations with them. You will accompany them to Charleston and get Col. Oglesby's instructions to him by a messenger, if practicable, and when he is near enough, you may join him. For this purpose, you may s .bstitute the remainder of your regiment In place of an equal amount from Col. Marsh's. The two days' rations carried by your men in haversacks, will enable you to join Col. Oglesby's command, and there you will find rations enough for several days more, should they be necessary. You may take a lim- ited number of tents, and at Charleston ijress wagcms to carry them to the main column. There you will find sufficient transportation to release the pressed wagons. U. S. Grant, Brigadier-General. On the evening of the 0th, I left this place on steam- ers, with McCleruand's brigade, consisting of Tavcu- ty-seventh regiment Illinois Volunteers, Col. N. B. Buford ; Thirtieth regiment, Illinois Volunteers, Col. Philip B. Fonke; Thirty-first regiment, Illinois Vol- unteers, Col. John A. Logan ; Dollins' company In- dependent Illinois Cavalry, Capt. J. J. DoUons; Delano's company, Adams County, Illinois Cavalry, Lieut. J. R. CatUn. Dougherty's brigade, consisting of Twenty-second regiment, Illinois Volunteers, Lieut -Col. H. E. Hart; Seventh regiment, Iowa Volunteers, Col. J. G. Lau- man, amounting to 3,114 men of all arms, to make the demonstration against Columbus. I proceeded down the river to a point nine miles below here, whore we lay until next morning, on the Kentucky shore, which served to distract the enemy, and lead him to suppose that he was to be attacked in his sti ongly fortified position at Columbus. About 2 o'clock on the morning of the 7th, I re- ceived information from Col. W. H. L. Wallace at Charleston (sent by a messenger on board steamer W. H. B.) that he had learned from a reliable Union man, that the enemy had been crossing from Colum- bus to Belmont the day before, for the purpose of following after, and cutting off the forces under Col. Oglesby. Such a move on his part seemed to me more than probable, and gave at once a two-fold im- portance to my demonstration against the enemy; namely, the prevention of reinforceme ts to Gen. Price, and the cutting off of the two columns that I had sent, in pursuance of directions, from this place and Cape Girardeau in pursuit of Jeff Thomp.son. This information determined me to attack vigorously liis forces at Belmout, knowing that should we be re- pulsed, we could re-embark without difficulty under the protection of the gunboats. The following order was given : On Boarb Ste.\m'r Belle, Memphis, 1 Nov. 7, ISGl— 2 o'clock A. M. i Special Order. —The troops composing the pres- ent expedition from this place will move promptly at 6 o'clock this mo'-ning. The gunboats will take the advance and be followed by the First brigade, under command of Brig.-Cten. John A. McClern.ind, com- posed of all the troops from Cairo and Fort Holt. The Second brigade, comprising the remiiuder of the troops of the expedition, commanded by Col. John Dougherty, will follow. The entire force will de- bark at the lowest point on the Missouri shore, where a landing can be effected in security from the rebel batteries. The point of debarkation will be desig- nated by Capt. Walke, commanding naval forces. By order of Brigadier-General U. S. Grant, John A. Rawlins, A. A. G. Promptly at the hour designated, we proceeded down the river to a point just out of range of the rebel bat- teries at Columbus, and debarked on the Missouri shore. From here, the troops were marched with skirmishers well in advance, by flank for about one mile towards Belmout, and there formed in line of battle. One battalitm had been left as a reserve near the transports. Two companies from each regiment were thrown forward as skirmishers, to ascertain the position of the enemy, and about nine o'clock met and engaged him. The balance of my force, with the exception of the reserve, was promiitly thrown for- ward, and drove the enemy foot by foot, and from tree to tree, back to his encampment on the river bank, a distance of over two miles. Here he had strengthened his jiosition by felling the timber for several hundred yards around his camp, making a sort of abatis. Our men charged through this, driv- ing the enemy under cover of the bank, and many of them into their transports in quick time, leaving us in possession of everything not exceedingly portable. Belmout is situated on low ground, and every foot is commanded by the guns on the opposite shore, and, of course, could not be held for a single hour after the enemy became aware of the withdrawal of his troops. Having no wagons with me, I could move APPENDIX. 91 but little of the captured property, consequently gave orders for the destructiou of everything tliat cimld. not be moved, and an immediate return to our traus- porta. Tents, blankets &c., were set on fire and de- stroyed, and our return march commenced, taking his artillery and a large number of captured horses and prisoners with us. Three pieces of artillery being drawn by hand, and one by an inefacient team, were spiked and left on the road; two were brought to this place. We had but fairly got under way, when the enemy haying received reinforcements, railed under cover of the river bank and the woods on the point of land in the bend of the river above us, and made his ap- pearance between us and our transports, evidently with a design of cutting oflf our return to them. Our troops were not in the least discouraged, but charged the enemy and again defeated him. We then, with the exception of the Twenty-seventh Illinois, Col. N. B. Buford commanding, reached our trans- ports, and emliarked without further molestation. While waiting the arrival of thia regiment, and to get some of our wounded, from a field hosi^ital near by, the enemy, having crossed fresh troops from Colum- bus, again made his appearance on the river bank, and commenced firing upon our transjiorts. The fire was returned by our men from the decks of the steamers, and also by the gunboats, with terrible eflfect, compelling him to retire in the direction of Belmont. In the meantime, Col. Buford, although he had received orders to return with the main force, took the Charleston road from Belmont, and came in on the road leading to Bird's Point, where we had formed the line of battle in the morning. At this point, to avoid the shells from the gunboats, that were beginning to fall among his men, he took a blind path direct to the river, and followed a wood road up it.s bank, and thereby avoided meeting the enemy, who were retiring by the main road. On his appearance on the river bank a steamer was dropped down and took his command on board, without his having partici- pated IT lost a man in the enemy's attempt to cut uis off from our transports. Notwithstanding the crowded state of our trans- ports, the only loss we sustained from the enemy's fire upon them, was three men wounded, one of whom belonged to one of the boats. Our loss in killed on the field was 85, 301 wounded (many of them, however, slightly), and 99 missing Of the wounded 125 fell into the hands of the enemy. Nearly all the missing weie from the seventh lowu regiment, which suffered more severely than an\ Other, All the troops behaved with great gallantry, which was in a degree attributable to the coolness aad- presence of mind of their ofl&cers, particularly the colonels commanding. General McClernand was in the midst of danger throughout the engagement, and displayed both cool- ness and judgment. His horse was three times shot under him. Colonel Dougherty, of the Twenty-second Illinois Volunteers, commanding the Second brigade, by his coolness and bravery, entitles himself to be named among the most competent of officers for command of troops in battle. In our second engagement ho was three times wounded, and fell a prisoner in the bands of the enemy. Among the killed v.-zs Llent.CoI. A. Wentr. Seventh Iowa Vuiuiit,-, iH, und among the w.mii.lfd w.r.- C.l. J. G. Lauman and Major E. W. Rice, of the Seventh Iowa. The reports of sub-commanders will d.tall more fully particulars of the entsagomcuts, and the conduct of both olHoers and men. To my stuff, Cupt. John A. lUwIlns. A»KlRt»nt Adju- tant-General ; Lieuts. C. U. L^igow, aiid Wm. S. lliU. yer, Aids-de-camp, and Cupt. U. U. luuh. .\HHl»Unt Quartermaster. I am much indebted for th.- pronipll. tude with which they discharged their sevral .lutlen. Surgeon J. H. Brinton, United StaU-» Voluiit.MTn, chief medical officer, was on the field during the en- tire engagement, and displayed great ability and «ra- ciency in providiug for tue wounded, and m org*u- iziiig the medical corps. Major J. D. Webster, acting Chief-Engineer, alno accompanied me on the field, and displayed eoldlerly quahties of a high order. My own horse wa.<> sbot under mo during the en- gagement. The gunboats Tyler, Capt. Waike, and Lennglon, Capt. btembolt, conveyed the expedition and ren- dered most efficient service. Immediately upon our landing, they engaged the enemy's butteries on tho heights above Columbus, and prot<'cteil our tmniiiiortt throughout. For a detailed account of tin- part Uka((e. Independent of the injuries inflicted up m hira. and tho prevention of his reinforcing Prici-, or sending a force to cut off the expeditions against Jeff Thomp- son, the cotldonce inspired in our troops In the en- gagement will be of incalculable l>eneflt to u* in tb« future. Very respecthiUy. your obedient servant, tl. S. Grant, Brigadier-tieneral. Brigadier-General Seth Williams, Assistant Adju- tant-General, Washington, D. 0. ^2 'g APPENDIX. THE CAPTURE OF VICKSBURG. IHB COBBESPONDENCE BETWEEN GENS. OBANT AND PEMBERTON. Headquarters, Vicksbubo, July 3. Majob-Genebai, U. S. Gbant, Commanding U. 8. forces : General : — I have the honor to propose to you an armistice for hours, with a view to arranging terms for the capitulation of Vicksburg. To this end, if agreeable to you, I will appoint three com- missioners to meet a like number, to be named by yourself, at such place and hour to-day as you may find convenient. I make this proposition to save the further effusion of blood, which must otherwise be shed to a frightful extent — feeling myself fully able to maintain my position as yet for an indefinite period. This communication will be handed you under a flag of truce, by Major-General Bowen. Very respectfully, your obed't servant, John C. Pemberton. To this General Grant replies as follows : Headquakteus Department Tennessee, in ) THE Field near Vicksburg, July, 3. ) Lieutenant - General FEirtBERioM, Commanding Confederate forces, etc. : General : — Your note of this date is just received, proposing an armistice of several hour* for the pur- pose of arranging terms of capitulation through com- missioners to be appointed. The effusion of blood you propose stopping by this course can be ended ai anytime you may choose, by an unconditional sur- render of the city and garrison. Men who havi shown so much endurance and courage as those now in Vicksburg, will always challenge the respect ol an adversary, and, I can assure you, will be treateii with all the respect due them as prisoners of war. ] do not favoi the proposition of appointing commis- sioners to arrange terms of capitulation, because 1 have no other terms than those indicated above. I am, General, very respectfully your obedient servant, U. S. Grant. Major-General Bowen, the bearer, of PcmbertonV letterfwas received by General A. J. Smith. He ex- pressed a strong desire to converse with General Grant, and accordingly Grant, while declining this, requested General Smith to say that, if General Pemberton desired to see him, an interview would be granted between the lines, in McPherson's front, at any time in the afternoon which Pemberton might appoint. A message was soon sent back to Smith, appoint- ing 3 o'clock as tlie time. Grant was there with his staff, and with Generals Ord, McPherson, Logan and A. J. Smith. Pember- ton came late, attended by Genei-al Bo-^yen and Colonel Montgomery'. He was much excited, and ■was impertinent in his answer to Grant. The con- versation was held apart between Pemberton and his ofiBcors, and Grant, McPherson and A. .T. Smith. The rebels insisted on being paroled, and allowed to march beyond our lines, officers and all, with eight days' rations, drawn from their own stores; the officers to retnin tlieir property and body servants Grant heard what they had to say, and left them at the end of an hour and a-half, saying that he would send his ultimatum in writing, to which Pem- berton promised to reply before night— hostilities to cease in the meantime. Grant then conferred at his headquarters with hia corps and division commanders, and sent the follow- ing letter to Pemberton by the hands of General Logan and Lieutenant-Colonel Wilson : Headquarters Department Tennessee, ) NEAB Vicksburg, July 3, 18(i3. | Lieutenant-General J. C. Pemberton, Command- ing Confederate forces at Vicksburg, Miss. : General : — In conformity with the agreement of this afternoon, I submit the following proposition for the surrender of the city of Vicksburg, the pub- lic stores, etc. On your accepting the terms propos- ed, I will march in one division as a guard, and take possession at 8, a. m., to-morrow. As soon as paroles can be made out and stamped by the officers and men, you will be allowed to march out of the lines— the officers taking with them their regimental cloth- ing, and stalf, field and cavalry officers one horse each. The rank and file will be allowed all their clothing, but no other property. If these conditions are excepted, any amount of rations you may deem necessary, can be taken from the stores you now have, and also the necessary cook- ing utensils for preparing them. Thirty wagons Iso, counting two horse or mule-teams as one, you vill be allowed to transport such articles as cannot )e carried along. The same conditions will be al- owed all sick and wounded officers and privates as ivst as they become able to travel. The paroles for hese latter must be signed, however, whilst officers ire present authorized to sign the roll of prisoners. I am, General, very respectfully, , Your obedient servant, U. S. Grant, Major-General. The officer who received this letter staled that it >e would impossible to answer it by night, and it vas not till a little before daylight that the follow- ng reply was furnished : Headquarters, Vicksburg, ) July 4, 1863. ) To Major-Genebal U. S. Grant, commanding U. S. forces, etc. General : — I Iiave the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communicAtion of this date, proposing terms of the surrender of 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 defence ot Vicksburg, I have the honor to submit the following amendments, which, if acceded to by you, will perfect the agreement : At 10 o'clock to- morrow I propose to evacuate the works in and around Vicksburg, and to surrender the city ftsl garrison under my command, by marching out with ray colors and arms, and stacking them in front of my present lines ; after which you will take posses- sion ; the officers to retain their side-arms and per- sonal property, and the rights and property of citi- zens to be respected. 1 am, General, Yours very respectfully, J. C. Pemberton, Lieutenant-Oeneral. To this, General Grant immediately replied as fol- lows: APPENDIX. Headq's Depabtment of the Tennekr'ee, I Bf.foke Vick!.durq, July i, l^t>». j Lieutenant-GeneralJ. C. Pembebion. CtmiDandiDg forces in Vicksburg : General :— I have the honor to acknoTsledR-! y iur communiciitionot the Sdof July. Ice HmtDdmeD's proposed by you cannot be acceded to in lull. It vviil be necessary to tiirnish every oSictr and n.an wili a parole signed by himself, whicli, with the cotti/lction of the rolls of prisoners, will necessatny take £om>.'"« lituigint apptil, aiiolhtr bri)«rtdc >»a» JMr<<'t>ic(l in tbe afltrnoon to his suppoit, thuuvh >t B|/|xr.ii>r, and threatened by a heavy force, whilst column* could be seen marching in that direction. A very heavy force in line of battle confronted our leit and centre. On my return to this point, about eleven a. m., the enemy's forces were being moved in heavy muxaea trom Lookout, and beyond to our front, whilst thono m front extended to our right. They lunned their lines, with great deliberation, just beyond the raot^ of our guns, and in plain view of our position. Though greatly outnumbered, such was the strenRh of our position, that no doubt was enterLiinudof our ability to hold it, and every disposition wan made for that purpose. Luring this time they had made pt-ver.il attempts on our extreme right, ind had been hdndsomely r»- pulsed with very heavy loss, by Mdjcr-Orneral i'%- butne's command, under thj immediate tlirecLiui of . Lie'j tenant-General Hirdee. hv (ho Told, cro>3 (Sic) tiie ndg^ *t Rcxvilie,f(tf.te our left, a route was open to our rear. MajorJ-iene- lal Itreckinridge, comminding on the lilt, tmi'uoco- pied this with two regiments, and a battery. . It beins> reported to me that a force ot the ememy b»d. moved m (hat direction, (he general was n apparent (but the i-nemy had been repulsed in my immediate front. Whilst riding along the crest, r«nfjrratu)atin)r the troops, intelligence re.iched me that i.iur hne wiw bro- ken on my right, and the enemy had crownoJ tho ridge. Assistance was promptly disi>atcln'und the disaaler bo great that his small force could not repair it. About this time I learned that our extreme lrftha4 also given way, and that mr, peaition wa« almoatfur*. - APPENDIX. rounded. Bate was immediately directed to form a Becond line in the rear, where by the efforts of my staff, a nucleus of stragglers had been formed uijoo ■whith to rally. Lieuteniint-General Hardee, leaving Major-Oene- ral Cleburne in command on the cxtremj Ii^l.^ moved towards the left, when he heard the heavy firing in that direction. He reached ths right of Anderson's division just in fime to find it had near),- all fallen back, commencing on its left -whers the enemy had first crowned the ridge. By a prompt and judicious movement, he threw a portion of Cheat- ham's division directly across the ridge, facing th;> enemy, who was now moving a strong force imme- diately on his left flank. By a decided stand here tlie enemy was entirely checked, and that portion ot our force to the right remained mtact. All to the left, however, except a portion cf Bate's division, was entirely routed, and in rapid flight- nearly all the artillery having been BbamefuUy aban- doned by its infantry support. Every effort which could be made by myself and staff, and by many other mounted officers, availed but little. A panic, which I had never before wit- nessed, seemed to have seized upon officers and men, and each seemed to be struggling for his personal safety, regardless of his duty or his character. In this distressing and alarming state of affairs, General Bate was ordered to hold his position, cover- ing the road for the retreat of Breckinridge's com- mand ; and orders were immediately sent to Generals Hardee and Breckinridge to retire their forces upon the depot at Chickamauga. Fortunately, it was now near nightfall, and the country and roads in our rear were fully known to us, but equally unknown to the enemy. The routed left made its way back in great disor- der, effectually covered, however, by Bate's small command, which had a sharp conflict with the ene- my's advance, driving it back. After night, all being quiet. Bate retired in good order— the enemy attempted no pursuit. Lieutenant-General Hardee's command, under his judicious management, retired in good order and un- molested. As soon as all troops had crossed, the bridges over the Chickamauga were destroyed to impede the ene- my, though the stream was fordable at several places. No satisfactory excuse can jwssibly be given for the shameful conduct of our troops on the left, in allow- ing their line to be penetrated. The position was one which ought to have been held by a line of skirmishers against any assaulting column ; and wherever resistance was made, the enemy fled in dis- order after suffering heavy loss. Those who reached the Eidge, did so in a condition of exhaustion from the great physical exertion in climbing, which ren- ilered them powerless ; and the slightest efl'ort would have destroyed them. Having secured much of our artillery, they soon availed themselves of our panic, and turnine our guns upon us, enfiladed the lines both right and left, rendering them entirely untenable. Had all parts of the line been maintained with equal gallantry and persistence, no enemy could ever have dislodged us ; and but one possible reason pre- sents itself to my mind, in explanation of this bad txinduct in veteran troops, who had never before failed in any duty assigned tbem, however difficult and bazardcius. They had, for two days, confronted the enemy, raar>-hitning his immense forces in plain view, and ( shibitin^ to their sight such a superiority in num- bers, a^ may have intimidated weak minds and un- tried soldiers. But our veterans had so often encountered similar host?, when strength of position was against us, and with perfect success, that not a doubt crossed my mind. As yet I am not fully informed, as to the com- mands which first fled, and brought this great disas- ter and disgrace upon our arms. Investigation will bring out the truth, however, and full justice shall be done to the good and the bad. After arriving at Chickamauga, and informing myself of the full condition of affairs, it was decided to put the army in motion for a point further re- moved from a powerful and victorious army, that we might have some little time to replenish and recuper- ate for another struggle. The enemy made pursuit as far as Ringgold, but was so handsomely checked by Mijor-General Cleburne and Brigadier-General Gist, in command of their respective divisions, that he gave us but little annoyance Lieutenant-General Hardee, .is usual, is entitled to my warmest thanks and high commendation for his gallant and judicious conduct during the whole of the trying scenes through which we passed. Major-General Cleburne, whose command defeated the enemy in every assault on the 25th, and who eventually charged and routed him on that day, cap- turing several stands of colors and several hundred prisoners, and who afterwards brought up our rear with great success, again charging and routing the pursuing column at Ringgold, on the 27th, is commended to the special notice of the government. Brigadier-Generals Gist and Bate, commanding divisions, Cumming, Walthall, and Polk, command- brigades, were distinguished for coolness, gallantry, and successful conduct, throughout the engagements, and in the rear-guard on the retreat. To my staff, personal and general, my thanks are specially due for their gallant and zealous efl'orts, under fire, to rally the broken troops and restore order ; and for their laborious services in conducting successfully the many and arduous duties of the re- treat. Our losses are not yet ascertained ; but in killed wounded, it is known to have been very small. In prisoners and stragglers, I tear it is much larger. The chief of artillery reports the loss of forty pieces. I am, sir, very respectfully, Your obedient servant, Bbaxton Bragg, General commanding. General S. Cooper, Adjutant-General C. 8. A., Richmond. GENERAL GRANT'S ORDER TO MEADE, ORD AND SHERIDAN. CiTT PorNT, Va., March 29, 1865. Generai.: — On the 29 th instant, the armies oper- ating against Richmond will be moved by our left APPENDIX. 95 for the double purpose of turning the enemy out of his present position around Petersburf/f, and to en- sure the success of the cavalry under General Sheri- dan, who will start at the same time, in his efforts to reach and destroy the South Side Railroads. Two corns of the Army of the Potoraac will be moved at first in two columns taking the two roads crossing Hatcher's run, nearest where the present line held by us strikes that stream, both running to- wards Dinwiddle Court House. The cavalry under General Sheridan joined by the division under General Davies, will move at the same time, by the Weldon road and the Jerusalem plank road, turning west from the latter before crossing the Kottoway, and west with the whole column before reaching Stony Creek. General Sheridan will then move independently, under other instructions which will be given him. All dismounted cavalry belong- ing to the Army of the Potomac, and the dismounted cavalry from the Middle Military Division, not re- quired tor guarding property belonging to their arm of the seivic*, will report to Brigadier-General Ben- ham, to be added to the defences of City Point. Major-General Parke will be left in command of all the army left for holding the lines about Petersburg and City Point, subject of course to orders from the commander of the Army of the Potomac. The Ninth Army Corps will be left intact to hold the present line of works so long as the whole line was occupied by us is held. If, however, the troops to the left of Kinth Corps are withdrawn, then the left of the corps may be thi-own back so as to occupy the posi- tion held by the army prior to the capture of the "Weldon road. All troops to the left of the Ninth Corps will be held in readiness to move at the short- est notice by such route as may be designated when the order is given. General Ord will detach three divisions, two white and one colored, or so much of them as he can and hold his present lines, and march for the present left of the Army of the Potomac. In the absence of further orders or until further order is given, the white divisions wiU follow the left column of the Army of the Potomac, and the colored divis- ions t 3 right column. During the movement, Major-General Weitzel will be left in command of all the forces remaining behind of the Army of the James. The movement of troops from the Army of the James, will commence on the night of the 27th in- stant. General Ord will leave behind the minimum number of cavalry necessary for picket duty in the absence of the main army. A cavalry expedition &om General Ord's command will also be started from Suffolk, to leave there on Saturday, the 1st of April, under Colonel Sumner, for the purpose of cut- ting the railroad about Hicksford. This, if accom- plished, will have to be a surprise, and therefore from three to five hundred men wiU be sutficient. They should, however, be supported by all the infantry that can be spared from Norfolk and Portsmouth, as far out as to where the cavalry crosses the Black- water. The crossing should probably be at Unitee. Should Colonel Sumner succeed in reaching the "WelcUn road, he will be instructed to do all the damage possible to the triangle of roads between Hicksford, "Weldon and Gaston. The railroad bridge at "Weldon being fitted up for the passage of carriages. It might be practicable to destroy any accumulation of supplies the enemy may have coUectixl south of the Roanoke. All the troops will move with four days' rations in haversacks and eight in wag.jn«. To avoid as much hauling as possible, and to give the Army of the James the same number of duyn' supply with the Army of the Potomac. Uenc-iul' (JrJ will direct his commissary and quurtenuii.ler to have sufficient supplies delivered at the tenumuj. of the road to fill up in passing. Sixty rounds of ammuni- tion will be taken in wagons and as much grain oa the transportation on hand will carry after Uking the specified amount of other sui)plies. The den!«.ly- wooded country in which the army have to i)iK.Tate making the u.se of much artillery imiiracticable, Ih* amount taken with the anuy will be reduced to nix or eight guns to each division, at the option of the army commanders. All necessary preparations for cany ing these direc- tions into operation may be commonced at once. The reserves of the Ninth Coips should be radiwed aa much as possible. Whihit I would not now order an unconditional attack on the enemy's line by them, they should be ready and make the attack if the enemy weakens his hne in their front, without wait- ing for orders. In case they carry the line, then the whole of the Ninth Corps could follow up so as to join or co-oi)erate with the balance of the army. To prepare for this, the Ninth Corps will have rations i.ssaed to them same as the balance of the army. General Weitzel will keep vigilant watch upon his front, and if found at all practicable to break through at any point, he will do so. A success north of the James should be fol- lowed up with great promptness. An attack will not be feasible unless it is found that the enemy has de- tached largely. In that case it may be regarded iis evident that the enemy are relying on their local re- sorves principally for the defence of Riohinnnd. Pre- parations may be made for aband(ming all the line north of the James, except inclosed works — only to be abandoned, however, after a break is made in the lines of the enemy. By these instructions a large part of the armies operating against Richmond is left behind. The enemy knowing this may, as an only chance, strip 1 heir lines to the merest skeleton, in the hope of ad- vantage not being taken of it, whilst they hurl every- thing against the moving column and return. It lunnot be impressed too strongly upon commanders of troops lelt in the trenches, not to allow this to oc- cur without taking advantage of it. The very fact of the enemy coming out to attack, if he does so, might be regarded as almost conclusive e\-idenre of such a weakening of his lines, I would have it par- ticularly enjoined on corjw commanders, tlinf in ca*e of an attack from the enemy, those not attacked are not to wait {(ft orders from the commanding orticcr of the army to which they belong, but that they will move promptly and notify the commander of their action. I would also enjoin the same action on the part of division commanders when other part* of their corps are not engaged. In like manner I would urge the importance of following up a rcpuls*.- of the enemy. U. 8, Qmant, Lieutcnaot-Oeneral. Hajor-GenexaU IIzaok, Obd, and Sbsiuj>^:«. THE HOK SOHUTLEE COLFAX ScHtTTLEB Colfax, the popular candidate of the National Union Republican party for the office of Vice-President, is a native of New York City. He was born in North Moore-st., March 23, 1823, his father having died but a short time previous. With but limited means, his widowed mother could af- ford to keep him at school but a short time, and at the age of ten he was placed in a mer- cantile establishment, where he remained for three years, contributing materially from his small salary to the support of both himself and mother. In 1836, he and his mother, in company with others, left their home in this city and settled in St. Joseph county, Indiana. Some years after his arrival in the West, he was appointed Deputy County Auditor for St. Joseph county, and employed his leisure hours in the study of State law, in which he is said soon to have become an acknowledged ex- pounder, He read law pietty thoroughly during these leisure hours, but not with a view to adopting it as a profession. He had but little idea of what great benefit the infor- mation he was then gaining would prove to him in after years. In 1845 he started a weekly journal at South Bend, the county seat of St. Joseph county, called The St. Jo- »eph Valley Register, becoming its sole propri- etor and editor. A writer in The Indianapo- lis Journal corrects a mistake into which the public has fallen relative to Mr. Colfax's con- nection with the printing business. Mr. Lau- man, in his Dictionary of Congress, says : " He was bred a printer." He never was ap- prenticed to the printing business, and knew nothing of the practical part of the art " pre- servative of all arts " until after he had com- menced the publication of The E^pster. With his ready tact and quick perception, however, nd great anxiety to economize, for his means e yet very limited, he soon mastered the *ficiently to " help out of the drag," but he never attained to any great proficiency in the business, his editorial labors, the business of the office and other duties soon claiming his entire attention. The Jiegister prospered, and soon became a source of profit to its pro- prietor. It was ably edited, and was a model of courtesy and dignity. Every parajr.ph, however small, seemed to have passed r.r;der the supervision of and to reflect the rrjc.l and elevate the thoughts of its editor. He con- tinued his connection with this paprr until three or four years ago, writing a regular weekly letter for its columns during his first two terms in Congress. It was during the early days of The Jiegister that Mr. Colfax was laying the foundation of the reputation he lias since attained as a debater. A debating club was formed, which held regular weekly meetings during the winter season, and it was a rare occurrence indeed to find Mr. Colfax absent fiom one of these stated gatherings. Politics, the temperance reform, and other subjects were olten as ably debated in this so- ciety as Lindred questions are in many delib- erate bodies of much greater pretensions of the present day. The Hon. John D. Defrees, now Superintendent of Government Printing, and for many years editor and ))roprietor of The Indianapolis Journal, to which Mr. Colfax was also attachea: S^v« c^ii-^ ■■^iisao .^3E^ ^-">» ,§> ■CSZ-r-j ijiVi-*'-