YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY rU'^^rT^l'"'} PRICE TEN CENTS) •w Every American should read this Life of General Grant. -» PRICE 25 OEIsTTS- THE LIF3E AND CAMPAIGNS BY GEN JAMES G. WILSb/tf J.Cc:2.3v|CQ.- ^> ' .,'ey Evory Soldier should read this Life of Genera/, Crantr-ffir ROBERT M. DE WiT I , Publisher, 13 Frankfort Stt N. v I 11 1 i Standard novels. ;„ By EREDEBICK W. EOBINSOK :f:&,ic:e ss^vs^irar^-^T^T-sa ceuts each. ANNE JUD&E, SPINSTER : " At last we have an- absolutely new theme for * novel — Mr. Robinson has cut adrift from all the stale, hacknied plota and characters characteristic of most of the litera ture of the day. Anne Judge, the heroine, is perhaps the most original, as "well as loveable character of cotemporary fiction ; and how finely is »he contrasted with her proud, feeble, sensitive old father. Tha mysteries of the dismal :; Aynard's Roost, are matchlesely described* ... Tate it alto gether, it bears "away the palm of excellence as a mod»l novel." — Athenaeum. ' ' There may be faults in this book, but we have not dis covered them. It is, to our view, perfect alike in plot, character and style. In truth, we had read th* book quite through— carried onward by the rushing current of in tense interest, before we remembwed that we ware in search of faults. ' ' — British Review. cfc. GRANDMOTHER'S MONEY, ' "For once critics and readers are in accord: all r-oom to •unite in singing the praises of the able author of this charming book. We have carefully followed Mr. Eobin- Mn'i literary career, from the early budding of bis genius till now that it blooms a consummate flower— Athenceum. "Our young writers might learn wisdom from the con struction of this popular book — for it is already popular — never does its author 'overstep the modesty of nature,' and yet how the interest grows and culminates in every page,"— Literary Gazette. ONE ANB TWENTY. •¦« The title suggests perhaps, the most important era in man's life, and admirably has the author availed himself of the chance to write one of the best books of its kind we have ever read. He portrays actual life with all the strong lines and vivid coloring of Dickens, and in some point* even surpasses that author." — Athcnaum, "There is no vague shadowiness about Robinson's char acters—wo meet, and talk, and quarrel, and make-up with such people all our lives. But how skilfully they all tend to make a perfect Btory. A story that enthrals the atten tion from first to last The warp and the woof are most skilfully woven."— Zdinburg Miscellany. \ THE HOUSE OF ES.KORE, I ' N Without any of the overstrained and fantastic horrors *f *he Monk Lewis and Mrs. Radcliffe school, this book f»r exceeds them in real wierdness and heart-chilling hor ror*. -A &. sombre cloud, that Beldom bqows its silver lining, bang*; pall-like over scenes enacted in these sadly interes ting PKtjes, and holds the reader spell-bound beneath its dusky fiolda."— Literary Gazette. "Tho author of The House of Elmore possesses the same potent power as the fascinating gaze of the Ancient Mariner, and compels one, will he nil he, to follow tu* strange story from the Alpha to tho Omega of its startling incidents. Mr. Robinson's previous works had prepared us to etdect much, but, in this case, expectation falls far ¦hort of reality." — London Dispatch, A V SWEET NINETEEN. \ "" "Not absolutely faultless— but witb so fiw flaws, that w* may almost style this book 'one pure and perfect chrysolite.* %*he heroine U on* of the most lovely characters than the pages of Action ha« ever developed ; while the hero Vj8 eTery way worthy of her. Not an un likely incident— not an over drawn character is to be found in these pag*« — yet are they more full of true inter est, than any of the sickly 'sensation' novels of th« day, and will be found in popular demand long after the trashy novels have paled their inffectual fires." — Literary Newt. i Vs- WILBFLOWER "Thi» • WildnowerA eiceeds in beauty and agreeable fragrance, any of the m\ost vaunted exotics the season has produced ; and well do.\s it deserve the showers of lauda tory notices -which it hauX r6ceived. "-London Review. bauAreceivthe \a1xrt "We shall always stand ready to groet the author that presents us with such a book as this. It is many a day since we cut open leaves so eagerly, and closed them eo reluctantly." — Weekly Standard. ¦ CopUs of the \above Books ten* to a-ay address in the United States and Canada*, free of postage. Se-.id cash ov\xtera to ROBERT M. DE "WITT, Publisher, • 13 JTranlcfox-t Street, N. Y. T1IE LI F E A N L> , C A 3tl P A I G N S OF ULYSSES , SIMPSON GRANT GEXEUAL-IN-ClITEF'OF THE TJuTiTED STATES AEMT. COMPBISOO A A FULL AND AUTHENTIC - ACCOUNT OF THE ILLUSTRIOUS SOLDIER FROM HIS EARLIEST BOYHOOD TO THE PRESENT TIME. BT JAMES GEANT WILSON. " Military Genius is the highest, order of Genius." : Bik WALTKn Scott. NEW YORK : ROBERT M. DE WITT, PUBLISHER, No. 13 FRiiJKFOKX Stkeet. ; uij : — - Entered nccordirifr tn net of Congress, in the year 18BS, by' ROBERT M. DE WITT, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of tho United States, for the Southern District of New Tort. &EMEAI/ G-HMT'S- BEGOKLT: Ulysses Simpson Grant, born at Mount PleaSant, Clermont county, Ohio, April 27, 1822. The family removed lo G-orgetown, Brown county, Ohio, in 1823. Appointed a cadet at West Point, by Hon. T. L. Hamer, in 1839. Graduated June 80, 1813, number twenty-one in a class of thirty-nine. Entered on the army rolls as brevet second lieutenant, and assigned to the Fourth United f States iBfaatry. r \ JT f\ f) (J 7\ ;/: TQ Q fj Q Q \ J T '" T Commissioned Sept 30; 1845, se'qodd %tn.\^a\\ j \ \ ^ r\Mri?\ A . 6 ; 5 Accompanied -Tayior's-'army to M^lucoyand--U>ols pait ia all the-3cti»n3-rrom Pal»-AIto-io Monterey. Transferred to Scott's army, taking part in the seige of Vera Cruz. Assigned as quartermaster of,liis> rggipieirtTApril, 1847-.j-ri'-)_> ,_ ;, .r-.-^.-j In the battle of Molino'deURey, Sept 8V1847,' arid promoted" oh the ffeldt Battle of Chapultepec, Sept. 13, 1817, officially mentioned for gallantry by General Worth. Entered the city of Mexico fitn Scott's army. Sent to Oregon, and assigned to duty at Fort Dallas. Appointed brevet captain, 18-50, for seryjces.at, CijiaDultepec. Commissioned captain August, 1853. Resigned July, 1855, and spent several years in farming and in business at St. Louis, Missouri. Bepoved to^Gatf na{lll;Kini J860vraad frai enipltiy/ed therpjl$rtS4-Jeathei: ho(ise pi Q^aot&,"Son, at 8800 per annum, when the war began. Appointed mustertng-officer. by G/>vemoiriXfa^s,;of-HIinoiS)_April>:186L '< )!\ Commissioned colonel of "the Twenty-first Illinois Infantry, June 15~ 186"t. Appointed brigadier-general, . Au^stP-rlSSl^(-ljia ^eoB»mission> dating back to May 1), and placed in command of the District oT 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 Foate's irpri-clads>_captured Fort Henry, Feb. 6. 1862. Invested Foi t Donelson, and captured 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. 7- .- Bloody battle of Shiloh, April 6th and 7th, 1862. Appointed commander of tl^etD&p.ar'.rpeiit qf Tennessee ifl JujyJ1862. Began the campaign against Vicksburg; battles of Iuia, Corinth, and the Hatchie, Sept., 1862. *" ' ' Captures Vicksburg, July 4, 1863. Appointed major-general in the regular, army fnr 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 tnennlifcapy. division «tf the* Mississippi/ October, 1863. Battles of Mission vy Bidge and .Lookout Mountain, November 24th and 25th, 1863. Appointed and confirmed lieutenant-general of the army, March 2, 1864. Arrived at Washington, aud received his commission from President Lincoln, March 8th and 9th. . Assumed command of all the Union armies, headquarters in the field, March 12, 1864. Crossed the Kapidan, May 4, 1864. Battles of the Wilderness^ May Gth, 6th, and 7th. . May 11th: "I shall fight it out on this line if it takes all summer." Crossed the James river and placed Richmond andPetersburg under seige, June 14, 1864. Began the final campaign of the war March 25, 1865. Battle of FiveJF^H iMavqhij}l,anc(, April 1 ; occupies/ Richmond April 2d i Jsnxrender of Lee's army April 9th, and substantial close of the war. Appointed general of the armies of the United States, July 25, 1866. Nominated forthe Presidency by the Republican Convention_at Chicago. May 21, 1868. . . To which, we may- add,, will be elected 1? resident o£ the United. Spates, flqitember .4, 1868,, TO I^E KEilOBT ! ¦ Of Tff«i , GALLANT' "• SOLDIERS > WHQ PELL LTJPJLNPPTHPI LATE.. CAMPAIGNS, AND TO THE SURVIVORS OF THE. WAR,, THI8 STOET OF THE LIFE AXD SEE VICES' OF btjK ILXHSTEIOTJS LEAPEB, IS DEDICATED .,! nliv .¦! BY THEIE. FORJiIEp. COM^ANION-IN-ARMS, THE "AUTHOR. As Moses stood upon the flaming hill, With all-1 the -people "gathered- at his feet, Waiting in SinaiV valley there to meet The awful; bearer of Jehovah's will — • /, ;"j So Gea_nt thou stand'st amidst the trumpets shrilL .And . the i wild fiery L 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, i;,,; j And . the law's tables safe within thy hand ! Geoeoe H. Bokeb. CO^TE^TTS. CHAPTER L grant's' early da'ts. General Grant's Ancestora — His birth — His boyhood — Anecdotes— President Lincoln's story — Limited Education — Appointment to the Mditaxy Academy — His scholarship — Classmates — Recollections of him ¦while a Cadet — He graduates — Enters the army — Serves in Mexico— At Palo Alto and Re3aca dela Falma — At Monterey— -From Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico — Mentioned in the* report, and brevetted Captain — Anecdotes of Grant. ..»„ .,, , ..,s,.,.....,.-.t,ll,/^..;...»..w'..<(. 11 C BLA P T E R II. BATTLE OF BELMONT. Eetums to the United States— Marries Miss Dent— 03 to Oregon— Promoted to a Captaincy— Eesigns —Becomes a farmer— Hark work — Leather dealer— Residence in Galena— Commencement of the War — 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 Cairo — Seizes Pa- ducah— Battle of Belmont— Its results — Anecdotes of Generals Grant and Polk. ....... ... .:...........-. 17 CHAPTER III. F ORTS ¦ HBNBY" AND DONELSON. Change of the Department Commanders— Halleck succeeds Fremont— Grant's command enlarged— The rebel line— Columbus— Bowling Green— Fort Henry— Fort Donelson— Ounboata at the West— Demonstra tion in favor of Bnell— 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 Donelson— 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. ... 24 CHAPTER IT. BATTLE OF SHILOH. Eesnlts of the capture of Fort Donelson— Nashville falls— Columbus and Bowling 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— Description of the rebel forces— Disposition of Grant's army-The battle-field— The attack-The Bituation-Troops fighting, Union army forced back— Close of the day's flgbting-Both armies-Nelson's and Wallace's division on the field-More troops reach Pittsburg-Monday's battle-Eebels deleated-They retreat to Corinth- -Incident —Grant defamed— Defended in an eloquent speeoh— The old Sergeant of ShUoh...., ................... 31 CHAPTEE ¥o .,[[.., g'JEGE OF COBIHSH. "",", , Halleck assumes command-Grant under a cloud -Extracts from the letters, written by the author at 8hiloh-Advance of the Union army-Capture of Farmlngton-Siege of Corinth-Its evacuation-In effectual pursuit of the enemy-BuelJ ordered to Chattanooga, Pope to Virginia, Grant to Memphis- Hal leck made General-in-Chief -Offers command of the Army of the Tennessee to a Colonel-He declmes- 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. • • • • 10 CONTENTS. CHAPTER VI. IUKA, CORINTH AND HATCHIE. t- rp - '- r-r r-i 'rf~ f \ rv Mditary situation in September, 1882— Price- 'detzea laka0— Ourifc decides to drive him out— He does it —Battle described— Rebels advance on Corinth— Preparations fur defence — Grant's strategy— Battle of Corinth — Rosecrans falls back from advanced positions— Desperue fighting1— Pinal victory— Rebels re treat— Defeated at the Hatchie — Grant's report— Letter from Mr. Lincoln— How does it all sum up ?— A wife's letter— The eagle of Corinth — Rosecrans relieved and promoted — Grant's command enlarged.. .... 43 X X !.-_ 'X. X. X X -J ,,T,H£ .-VIOK'S^Uafl '.CTAHFArG-N^".'.1. ' ^ "J? Li-i ¦ '¦ ;-u,_ , ' ¦, ,J',, , ¦ ;r — 'i..Jl'-:,i"i— : ' ,; -•)>.. ¦-. -VtS -¦•.\f~ "A- v-:;* '¦- ;-'; ot 7 (in, ::..¦> _ T.^— :'¦"•¦ ' ;. -.0 Grant moves into Mlsfliasipni-^-Captures Holly Springs and Oxford — Murphy's cowardice-- Array fells back— Campaign abandoned-r-Grantgpes to-, Vicksburg — Gunboats and transports peas the batteries— Thrill- mg descnption-rGr^ht'a habits. .a^ain-TrO^iJ^?^ P.f . &¦. .rumor— Anecdotes,— Army, marches to' Hard Times— Crosses to Bruinsburg— Defeats rebels in five battles — Occupies capital of Mississippi — Commences siege of Vicksburg — Unsuccessful assaulta— Its capture — Magnificent results — Promoted to regular army — Presi dent's letter to Grant— Praised by Halleck— Pdein'-by Street— -Anecdote of Grant and Sherman 43 -X CHAPTER ^TIII. "- T" '-¦'- fi.T — ¦ u ~.tA ' ,r ' : o? f-i-s ~ ^r"\ — r. W"- ' i . ¦• "_]'~}~- 'j-rf[ -''¦• iilfVr . - =•' j -: I rr-r.- '.. :. : -W.-.-OBAU T* B LA3T .(TAMFAieN. -.¦:; 1 ¦¦ T Hovcnr") .,_'_ The President's order — Grant's announcement to the armies — Assumes command — "Onto Richmond'' - — Crosses the Rapidan — Battles of the ."Wilderness and Cold Harbor— Crosses James River — Siege of. Peters- -burg and Richmond — Battle- of Five Forks — Assaultr on Lee's Army — Fall of the Rebel Capital — Surrender iofLee — Grant's magnanimity— -Hia official report of the campaign — Opinions of the report — Reviews at Washington — Address to the armies— Anecdotes of Grant 57 CHAPTER X . PEACE. t General Grant vieita Galena — At bis early home in Ohio — Goea to West Point — Interview with Gen eral Scott — A common error — Grant described — His appearance — His conversation — His magnanimrty Anecdote — His fami'y — Record on a presentation sword — Gifts of Houses, &o. — Is commissioned General— ¦ President Lincoln's story — Appointed Secretary of War, ad interim— Grant a Statesman as well as a Soldier : — Compared with Wellington— The-Peoples choice for President— Nominated by the Chicago Convention Grant's election ns next President 06 the United States...:.- .... »....< ,^^,..1. >a .IPTE'NMI.i Grant's Eeport of the Battle of Belmont - ?9 Correspondence connected with the Surrender of Viclcsburg. . 92 Brad's Eeport of the Battle ot. Chattanooga S3 Grant's order to Meade. Ord and Sheridan '.'.' .'.!.' .'. '....T. . '. '..:...'. .... i. ;..,,.. 1 . 94 "Sketch of the Hon. Schu7ler Colfax .' ..'.'. 1:... I '.'J.: 1 ..'....:... l,'. 98 "The Eepublican Platform.'. „...'... ... :.. .... :' ...;.'. ....... 09 THE LIEE ANT)'' CAMPAIGNS GENEEAL ULYSSES SIMPSON GrRAIT. ?.¦¦ •¦::* 91! ,.-,:. CHAPTER^;..:: '.-:.¦:.-,..- .S'-J.. l-l Hi''. ... ,'.- >¦ ¦- ' ¦•'' '' ^ '¦' r _ .GRANT S BABLT DAT3-, ,,; General ' Grant's* ' Ancestor*— H is :- birth' — His - boy- ... hood — Anecdotes— President Lincoln's story— Lim ited education— Appointment • to, the, -Military. Academy— His scholarship — Classmates — Recollec tions of him -while a cadet — He graduates — Enters , the army— Serves! in Mexico—At Falo Alia and1 t Resaca de la. Raima— At. Monterey — From Vera - Cruz to th'e-CityrOf Mexico— Mentioned in report,- * and brevetted captain— .Vnealute of Grant. > I - " I should like to try that mule again.*' :»'<;[ .,; f ; , ;, GB-LNT i'r THE CinCTJS. V. It is a curious fact, that the four Generals", Grant,, Sherman, Sheridan and Thomas — who pre-eminently distinguished themselves during the, great American civil war, should be repre sentatives^ the Celtic, Cymric, Gallic and Saxon inhabitants of the British Isles. Sher-' man, the Ahglo-SaxoD, isa descendant of one of' Cromwell's " Ironsides." Sheridan, the' Gelt, as his name would indicate, is of Irish Stock; Thomas;: one of the Cymric, springer from the Welsh race ; and Grant, the subject of thi3 memoir — " the noblest Roman of them all"-— isof Scotch descent, his ancestors- hav ing emigrated to the United States from that7 land' of which Churchill the poet wrote :• . :H Formed in haste, was planted in a nook, H ,„; But never entered in creation'abook j ":> —the land.of Wallace and Bruce, of Bums and. Sir'Walter-Scott.: :. Whether- the General-in- Chief of our army comes. from' tho f Grants of EothiemUrchus," or the "^Grants' of Tulfoch- gorutri," 'celebrated' iu sopgiby'Sh- Alexander Boswe11,we are unable- to-state ; we only know that two brothers emigrated from Scotland to! the-. American Colonies during the seventeenth century; and that from the eldest,'/ who settled' in Connecticut; i springs) the illustrious soldier. An'otheri-fact! worthyiof noticn, en.passent, la the: large . number, of generals engaged in thei war,. Who are descendants of the Gael. Scott, McClellah, McDowell, .McPherson, McArthur, Baird, Burnside,: Wallace and. Wilson of tho Union- armies ; while Johnston and bis name sake, who was killed at ; Sbiloh,-Ewell, Gor- don and many others of the Confederate' ser vice1 that we- might men tion , were born on Scottish 'soil, or are of Scottish extraction. ;MattheWGrant, from whom the General is de scended,' arrived: in this country in the year 1630, arid with his fellow-passengera in the ship "Mary and John,", founded the town of Dor chester (now South Boston), Massachusetts. ;IIa was one of the company, who in 1636 set tled the town of Windsor, Connecticut," and was ah active and prominent citJ2en,"being. an in fluential member of the church, clerk' of the town, and a surveyor of land. His great grandson, and the General's great grandfather^ Captain Noah Grant, servedintheP ranch war, and was killed in battle Sept. 30, 1756. . The muster roll of his company, hearing date March 26, 1765, was exhibited in the department of arms and trophies i of the last Sanitary -Fair held in Chicago, Illinois. His grandfather, also named '¦¦ Noah, was born at Windsor, Cona., July 4th, 1744, and served thronghthe- Bevolutionary war, rising to the rank of cap tain.' After the death of his first wife, he emi grated to Western e Pennsylvania, where he married- again.' 'Jesse Boot Grant, the father of ' the: G-ener.i.h was born of this marriage in> Westmoreland county, January 23d, 1797i:; with his father's family went to the West six teen years after the close of. the Revolution, and is now living at Covington, Kentucky. 12 LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OP 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 intensi fied itfnisr illustrious jsonA-'J *J Hiram Ultsses Graht was born at Mount Pleasant, Clermont County, Ohio, April 27thr \ 1822, in a humble dwelling still standing — a small one-story cottage, worth before theT war, U fe'^ipd^eai^o^ars^buT jwery victory gained- by the General -adued^fn the owner's estimate, another hundred to its valne. Among the many anecdotes of his child-" hood, his father relates that when he was but two years of age/ne'ltook hita through the Tillage on a Fourth-of; July, 'and * friend det siring to try the' effects of a; pistol: upon I the! child,:Mr. Grant! consented;? -His -'little v.handV was : accordingly-put oh the-' lock andfpresseil there* quietlyuritilthe. pistol was -discharged with aloud report: uThe' little fellow -exhib-f ited no alarm, but pushing the pistol-away,: asked in his childish Vay, that.it. shhuld be again fixed for him to flre^' The ruling' pas sion of UlyssesfronvHhe time -when he could walk and talk, was forhorses, and when ; only eight years old " he could ride anything ' that went on four legs."i;'Two'yearslateche was" entrusted with the charge of a pair of horses-,1 which he drove forty miles: to Cincirinatr,;and brought back a load of passengers.' .- -¦¦ saw -<:¦' 3;0f liis boyhood, many stories illustrating the truth of Wordsworth's line, -that " the child is- father of the man," hare been told ! by: his biographers, and in the recently published let-' tars of his father ; . but the best of all — the one illustrating to the greatest advantage,; his leading characteristic— is a.a'tory which We heard from the lips; of President Xihcoln but a few weeks before his untimely deaths "The subject of our conversation was -the; war.- " Well," said. Mr. Lincoln,' if when Grant: start* i ed for Richmond last, spring, ahd "said he was going 'to fight it-out -oh'thatlinexfrit. took' all summer,' I made, up my mind that! Uke, the old coon which: Captain "Scott aimed at> Lee would have to come down." He then • added, turning to me and laughing r " Colonel,: "did you ever hear the story of Grant afc:tb'e circus 1 " " No, sir.'V y-' Well, I think," said the President, "that's thebest 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^eertaicv W.elVlhey had a pony or mule in 'thai circos ' 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 ih^ringia few fimeS., S^verar tried, but they 'were all" shaken off. Tne^audience thought that that fun was over, when in stepped 'Lys,' took"bff "his cap and coat and said, .' I'll try him.' He got on and hung on, until almost i 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, andas soon as he got the tan-bark out of his- eyes and month' 'he said;-'' I -should lite to try that mule again,' and'amid the' cheers of the spectators away they wentM, But this time 1 Lys ' faced to the rear, coiled his legs round the' critter's-' body, and held J6n';by the tail. The- mule tried in ya'inj with head, down, and then by standing "on his hind legs, to shake him off as he had done before, but it want of no sort -of 'use'-; there Grant stuck like grim de'atb,-an'd came :bff. victorious; -Just so he'll itick to- Sichinorid, ¦- As Mrs. Grant says, 'he's' a very obstinate min.'":-L :' «•"';' • ¦{ ¦ Another" good: anecdote, illustrating the de-" ' fermined "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 cbimty jail, in 1834, in the' construe tion Of which he required a number1 ol logs some fourteen feet in length; and' UlysSes, then in his twelfth year, volunteered' to drive the- team' of : horses until the'ldgs* 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 inrhis'wa'tch'ing* ;the boy, or- the team, for the lad could man age the' ihors'es as well,~if not better; than he conkLrwA' few days'passed,' and Mr. Grant- ¦ accidentally discovered! that : Ulysses : loaded 'the logs into' the wagon by himself; <¦ . Surprised and incredulous, he1 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,' which had been cut down, so that it lay as- - lant,one end resting on the ground and the- LIFE AND' CAMPAIGNS .OF GENERAL GRANT; 13 other elevated, be had hitched a horse to the- end of+the hewn log and drawn it up oh 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 this manner, he backed the hind part of the wa^on under them, hitched the horse — a strong animal—in front by means of a long ,chain extending, over the whole length of the wagon-box; and pulled- them over, one after another, into the wagon. And thus he worked for several months, until lie had drawn all the logs that, were required in the construction of the buildings In early life Ulysses displayed a faculty for business — making good bargainsrwhen he wa3 but fourteen™ was fondof bootcs and learned rapidly. ^ His opportunities, for .acquiring knowledge were, however, yery.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 ¦ c** i ¦ > _ ¦ ' . . ¦ ° 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 htm. if possible an appointment of cadet at the United Stales Military Academy. The success of the application,' with some in teresting details,, are best told in hia father's own words. He says in a letter r: " I immediately wrote to Mr. Morri a, one of our Senatordin Congress, from Ohio/and asked him if he knew of any vacancy at "West Point the appointment to which he could control. He replied promptly that there was a vacancy from our own, Congressional dis trict. This surprised me ; for I knew that there had been an appointment to fill that vacancy a year be fore. A It turned out, however, that the young man who had been appointed had failed to pAss examina tion. ' Hia 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, bat 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 river, into which he had fallen from a bridge* -His mother became and remaius a devoted friend of General Grant: ' She has always watched his career with the deepest interest. -,-' '¦' ^ ,,rl-i 'r - "Onr Representative in Congress at that time was the Hon.- Thomas L. Hamer, ¦ - X wrote right on to him, stating that Senator Morris had informed me that there was a vacancy, requesting him. to appoint > .XTlysaes. Jvly letter reached him on thought of tha 3d of March ; on the next day, the 4th, his term of ' office expired.' He knew Ulysses^ and was glad to have an opportunity to appoint such a> boy, after the; badluek. which had attended hid previous- appointee ; so he made the appointment at once. A day's delay ; in the mail that carried my letter would have made some-difference in the history of one man, if not of the- country.. ^Ulysses; wa* entirely unprepared ¦> by? any previous study, pursued with special reference to. fitting for West Point, but he got through the exam-- ination, and was admitted. X never saw >»im while at "West Point, except on the occasion of one visit,' which he made to his homa during, the furlough at the end of his second year. . It was said of him, .that while he was there, he was not one who took pains to make himself popular* but that all the boys liked him. I bebeve he went by the name of " Uncle 8am," on account of his initials, "• IT. 3." ' 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 his christ ening. When the question 'arose1 alter his- birth,' whaf he should.be called, his mother and one of his aunts proposed {Albert, for Albert Gallatin; anothet aunt proposed; Theodore; his grandfather proposed Hiram, because he thought that was a handsome name. His grandmother— grandmother by courtesy —that is, his mother's step-mother— was a great stu-i dent of history-T-'and hod an enthusiastic admiration for the ancient commander^ Ulysses ; and she urged that the babe Bhould be named Ulysses. I seconded that, and he was christened Hiram Ulysses ; but he was always called by the latter name, which 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 Simpson, somehow got the matter a little mixed in making the nomination, and' sent the name in Ulysses S. Grant, instead of Hiram Ulysses Grant* My son tried in vain; afterwards, to got it set right, by, the authorities; and I suppose he is, now' content with his name as it stands." " \ ' ' '[ .' " *" In July, > 1839,, Grant entered the Military Academy at West Point, where his progress was steady, bnt: not brilliant. In Frenchj drawing and mathematics he wa3 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 hundred and more,, whohadenteredwithhimin 1839, grad uated, Grant,; a good middle-man, standing number twenty-one in his.c'ass. t, Experience shows how uncertain an indication the, acade my rank affords of the future success and use* fulness of the officer. - Gen.-Wm. B.-Franklin graduated number one in Grant's class, and it . was a belief, in Which Grant shared, that Frank lin would greatly distinguish himself in, the - late war. , Gen; Joseph, J. Reynolds, another .* of his classmates, graduated number ten j Gen, Riifus Ingalls> Quartermaster-General of i4 LIFE AND .CaMPAIGN^'OF 'GENERAE -GRAHT; the army of 'tfiS-Pbtoroac fGrantVbrother-in- ljw, Gen. Den^Vfr the late G:-n. T?fe&. Steele,7 who participated jo th«^icksbur»;and. Miss issippi campaigns, all . of the class of , 1843, bighty distinguished -themselves during the late'war.'.TThe '^following: incident1 occurred while-young.;Grant. was serving, his. first year at.West. Point, where.it isr the practice! to play? a joke on every theyrVouId' get through with i^^He ..then,. producing a cook, ordered that; before: reti ring, they should each Commit to-memory a-lesson of twenty pagesc "All right.'all'rigbt, "^responded Ulysses ; and As soon_ 'as., the^preterided' pfflcerfhad'wilh- drawn, heiweot quietly back to his bed; while his chum sat up and studied ail rjight. It is Unnecessary to addj that: the" recitation had not jet been called Jfdr. ^ Among the records' of Grant's career at J¥est1Point,,wher;e lus demer.7 its were mostly says, his- -fatheejif.of- a trivial character1, such as not' havmg- 'his :coatibu-t- 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 hfm-'as 'a plain, common-sense, straightforward' yoiith'f quiet, rather1 of the old head on young shoulders order ; shunning notoriety, quite' contented, whiles others were grumbling; taking to his military duties in a very businesslike manner ; not a prominent man in the"' corps; "but : -respected by all, and Very: popular with his friends.' "Hlssobriquet of: Vhcle SatH was given' to "him there; while everj^'good' fellow has a nickname; from their very ' qualities';- indeedh'e'was 'a Very uncle- ' like sort of a-youth.'- Hewas thou and always art excellent horseman,' arid'' his1 'picture rises before me as I write, in the old torn coat, obso lescent leather gigMrapjloose riding pantaloons, with spurs buckled' over them; going with his clanking sabre'to the driIl'halll.'i-He."exhibi ted but little enthusiasm ' iri anything; hiss best Standing was 'in ¦the' mathematical branches; ; and their application to tactics and military ¦engineering.'' ''' ' '" * "i; w*-'-- •*•¦- ''• - 'From another source we have! an interest ing; account of. Grantta" careerat West'PoiriV as well as that of Lientenant-General Sherman;' Prof, Mabaivof the; United States Military' Academy, wrote in 1866;! <>;.¦ , , < i . 1 -•*"> : "Nowl can truly say that,' not having met Gen.' Grant from the time he graduated, in 1843,- until he' visited; the- Academy ,( in June, 1365, and Gen. Sher man only twice, at long interval*, trom hid gradual tion, in 1340, until '.he same time,' I felt, when I saw them in1 this-Iast visit,- that1 1 waain '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 pres ence' of an Admiral or ' General who has encuuntect the' perils of" hattle,1 nor -that which causes me'iir-'- stinctively to 'uncover when I approach either of. those- two- octogenarian Nee tors of , our Old- army, Lieutenant-General Scott or General Thayer. Alas 1 how few aie left, .' ' *"'"~ " . '_'"" ., i'.r. -'A a - -.' . ,! .'-¦.¦'h;-. '- ¦¦¦ ~".:«-;;Ti;.-.i iatf . Bari nan tea in gurgite vasto, but. what all must feel' who see, for the first I'time^ men who have done deeds that hare called- forth the plaudits, of nations, and have won for themselves the) respect and gratitude- of their countiy. - -..,;„.,-, " Of the student-life of each of these men during their last year at the Academy "I have a distinct rec- oHedtion,- 'Brought trader my supervision frequently in daily recitations, arid-f or about three months three hours daily working under my eye, my opportunities for gaining an insight- into their characteristics, were passably good; Professor Coppee describes Grant as a '" middle-mani" a phrase new to me--; He waswhat 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. ~'tj--. " 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 ¦ ;l^ , "' Quiet to quick souls is a heU.' ~'X " 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 npmy finger toMr. Sherman. Butonewas.more than repaid, for any slight annoyance of this kind, by his irrepressible good nature, and by the clear thought anienergy he threw into his work. ,'.' That he should accomplish something great, I was prepared to learn. But not so in Giant, whose round, cheery, boyish face, though marked with charaoter andt quiet manner, gave none of that evidence of what he has since shown he possesses. . ; ,.f . f Giant'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 bottx a puff and. a cloud, and dashes at its work with- re sistless vigOT, the result of a sound boiler andnlentr of fuel. -.,; -.!>,',,-. , ... .-.' LIFE XSD, CAMPAIGNS OF" G^ERA^iGRA^T. 15 ->[ . " The-question is often pat to me whetherl lookup* . on Grant and Sherman as great men. To this there- ] is but one, reply. Posterity .alone,. when theclouds, ' 'raised by fusion, prej ndi.ce and partisarisnip, shall have- been dissipated, and -truth revealed in all her distinctness' -will, be competent . to ¦ pronounce upon , this point. But, if great deeds,, the result^, of high mental and moral powers, of magnanimity and gen erosity towards publio and private enemies are char* aeteristte* of greatness, then cannot the- meed of this ennobling patent be withheld^ ui our ownfd&y. troin _( either, of these maa.^.. . - > . ,j , ,¦.,-, Vln the selection of subordinates to carry out ' Theif plans, and in discrimination of character, the - faculty without1 which no man can become a suc- - cessf id. leader • Jn anything, both have shown them- _, Be I ves equally happy. And of that other faculty, di rectness of purpose, equally essential to .success, Which, keeps) the mind intent on the great1 object be fore it, and rejects all Vide issues,' however1 'tempting, jithat iai:-rht divertj jt I'itjoi thia object, eacjirhas; fur- .nidhedfltriking examples. r't --,. ..'\nt iny,> • ,". r ^* "Their place in the. classes of generate may per haps'" be settled' more readily notf ; for their profes- 'fiiomil aobV are as fully before the public as they 7 possibly ever will be.t ] Grant will take a conspicuous ...plape^jn history?— ia that- one- to which, -."William -of Orange, Turenne, Frederick of Prussian ^asbington, ^'ITassena; Wellington 'and Scott belong.1' Sherman, if •'.belowj not far from' that galaxy/ brilliant1 with the scintillations of genius, in which Alexander, Ha.ini.L- _ -fcal,. Caesar apd Napoleon are found. ; , . "' "Wherever placed, they will go "down,to all time, ~ as names dear to "and honored by the American heart, ' 1 as connected with the integrity of the Republic. ; : ' ! < ¦' "There is but one prayer,. that now, as their old in- _ structor, I would Conn .for. them, and, that, is, that, haying passed through so many perils of the battle- ' field and of pestilential climate; they may also get, ecathless, through' that' truly American ordeal, the ! cunningly-wrought meshes of unscrupulous politi. ^cjans. , As the. Spanards say, Quien sabe.- , *l 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 y? Washington looming up in the -past, they will not require the' warning of Scripture against the - tempting? of ambition in the words addressed to the Prophet, <* la thy servant a dog, that he should do v this great thi ng- 1\ ¦ - , . -¦¦.- .. : , ". 01? 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- ,,hered by them with > pleasure, than their visit to ¦ their Alma Hater at West Point, in June/ 1865. More fortunate than mortals- generally, the lines- of ' Byron do not, in all, apply to them :— * ' .i »"•:: ii. >.¦•'.;. .'ri ,.: * ;: " ¦; rf-'-{7u'' ff*X Green and unfading1 blooms that schoolboy spot, 1 Which we can ne'er forget, though we axe there fpr- •:-:j got.- ' ' '¦ ;./^" '. r ', ;; i " * * Xn a room in "which the examination for graduation to which they had also been subjected, was going on, i the faculty before whom they had passed their ordeal, i 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 jnen, Grant first appeaxed,,leaning bii the arin of the superinten dent, shrinking and half drawingf'i)ack',,asf with ad- most feminine timidly depicted oa his face, he. was led forward, toi be. presented; to his old professors. Sherman, a day or two after, passed, through th» same ordeal. With equal modesty, but with that.seLf- assertion of manner that has betiome a habit with. hinv, be» greetedVall around; and' 5n 'View moments waa.bdsy turning over the apecimenH of the cadeU' drawings thajt wece placed-aside on a. table, comparing; the present with the past. Happy Alma Mater, in having such eons to' present to xhe1 republic. More happy that' the characfeeristiBS of her dock, thus far, are personal integrity and devotion -to the publio in- in,tere»ta enstxusted to them." „ ,-t|rf.;:f; .\ f Giant began his army servS, Alto and Eesaca de ,1a Palma ;, he- also took pact in the bloody battle of Monterey. He was now; ordered to leave Taylor's army and join General Scott's cornrnand, destined to make one of ,the mqst glorious campaigns in, American history— a campaign, which, elicited the highest ( praise from ^Vellington, and. placed rhioa among the great captains of thesnineteen^century. Not the march of Alexander to the.Indus ; of Marlborough to the Danube; of ^apolepn to Moscow; or, Sherman, to the sea, was more wonderful than Winfield Scott's triumphant march from Vera C.ruz to the halls of the Montezumas with his little band^of heroes. Following in the , footprints; Qf .Cortez, he fought his way to the capital ofa nation num bering- many. millions of; inhabitants,, .with a less number of mqske,ta than Hancock's corps numbered, on the morning of the battle of the Wilderness, and entered the pity at the head ,of six thousand men. . ¦ . ¦< >i : . Foreign military critics spoke pf Scott aqd his gallant army—- one half of which was com posed of volunteers— with -undignified con- •J 6 ¦UiPE^A»I>';0AMPAIGN9'. OK GENERAL GR AST. _ tempt, predicting- the most disastrous failure, . and pronouncing, the dictum that the Mexican (Capital was impregnable against forces three- -fold greater than those with which 'Scott was s undertaking' the" campaign.' ' vf' J •' ''¦"r:' -"' ": The American^ translator of Jbmihi's Grand , Military Operations;, says in his . preface : ! General- - ScotT' disposed-" of'Santa-Anna at "fbrour 'dear old flag- when • the hoar of battle" COmeS "^ ¦•'' ¦c'-U:-r'<< "iu.:.n-}.i.l !..«< inaru. mi rf.At the"5attle of M^libo'delTleyj September, 8th, 1847, he behaved with such distinguished '¦ gallantry,' th a i> h e, was awarded ' by Congress a brevet "o'f first lieutenant,- to date fromthe date of thebattle.': ' This breyei,however, owing ;to the- fact, of hia beoocoing.a full first lieu- did Daun at Leulhen ';, he turned his position, .attacking first, nearest, to his, line, of retreat, -'and engaging'Bbmewh'at in the oblique order, proving himself a great r'commander.;'"J So *'a,t rContretras arid'IiSe'wrae atf XJhorhbtisco, as 1 soon1 as the :en6my'ii't»bsnti8n:>'Wa8Yrdeflnedi *¦' and so with ^'cltmaiW skiiraiid judgment at Cerro Gordo very much as Frederick the Great -tenant bythe casualties of thafrbloody -battle, 'the City of Mexico, in' chahgih£'th» line' of • -'tla 'theiieport- of Captain; Horace Brooks, 'operations from ilfo" side bf El''PeVin'vld that Second Artillery, of thebattle of Cnapiiltepec, ' - ' ' he ,' ^ysj-j '^J': succeed^ mjVpacti&g. ^ejort "'"of Coyacau."'" B^rt W return frbrii'thfoaigres- 'siori to bur young 'Herb. °Previdug;'tb! the r surrender of Vera-'Cniz,- March; 29, 1847;' the t Fourth Infantry was transferred1 from5 General 0 Taylor's- command to' 'Scott's1,' and Lieutenant; '"Grant was 'transferred with1 hih regiment.'"' He " took part in thVsiege bperatioris of that placey ¦ and witnessed 'itir' surrender.1' 'Preparatory to " the advance ibtb'the'ihterio'r, hewasj'bri'Ajml "list, appointe\i'Regimen'ul;;Qua'rterniaAter;! a "post which he1 held"d'urih> the 'remainder of • 5- the Mexican' war. ""-ft 'is a 'position requiring - system and' patience',' arid drawing" a' small *' additional pajrjlft' ii' usually' dbri'fe'rred^i'pon witb,.arfew.men> ;,Here Lieutenant U. S. Grant, and a few more men of the' Fourth' Infantry 'foiihd'mej'and, by a' joint rhovement,'afteraii obstinate resistance, a strong field, work was camed^andl.tne enemy's rightjWas completely •turned.?.:- -:-'-.. .'.::< ¦ .-lil.'IJj, L.„ "... .;;.«. The report pf Major Francis Lae; command- ..irigj the fourth. Infantry/of the; battle'bf Cha- pultepeCj^says^, "At the first , barrier the" enemy was in strong force, which rendered it necessary to advance'withcantioh'l ' This was done, and when the,'hea j brthe battalion was within jshort, musket' range* of i-. the barrier, ' some solid and energetic bificb'r; not' necessa-- Lieutenant Grant, Fourth Infantry, and Captain ' rily remarkableu^or'--imp'efudus' valor.''7 The ' staff appoiritmenYfield bj- Grant?' allowed him ' to remain ra^iehaSge olHne^-regira'e^taT equip! ' age and tralnsP^as'We'iriew 'mariy/bmcers to ' do during thef late^warin'the'tiburs of battle " '¦ — and it is 'therefore recorded'as greatly to 'Grant's credit, 'that he alwayb'joiued in the r combats in which bis regiment took part.' "He 0 wrote home: ''I do not mean' you' shall ever " hear of my shirfeirig my duty'ih battle.1' My '- new post of quarternJasteris' considered to af-. ford an officer an opportunity to be relieved " from fighting, tint" Tab not.arid cannot see it in that light.' You- have' always 'tanght me that •" the post of danger is^th'e'post of duty'." ¦'•' Then, ' quoting Warren's^menrorabie reply tbTutnam, who had proposed sending' him to a place of ' safety — "Send me 'where' the''fight r'inay "be the hottest, for there I can ' do (he most good ^ to my country"— the young herb' added : "So Ifeel in mv position as quartermaster^ I do mot intend that' it'shall keep me from fighting he declined. He behaved with'-'equal ' gallan try; during'" the "remainder °of .thje ^operations before, the; City of Mexico, but, .especially., in the engagement of Chapultepec,: fought Sep tember- '13th, 1847,, ¦¦ The following extracts are 'from, "She "official^reports'-to' * the" War* jDepartmeut.yOf this battle a, -.^^-.ia-. .ji:,:,,t 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 barrierwas 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 whjch .they were driven by detachments of the Second ^Artillery, under Captain Brooks, arid the- Fourth Infantry; under 'Lieutenant Grant," suppb.rted, tiy/.o'tuer^'^mfepts of' the division, after a short tiut* sharp conflict*' * *'* I recognized' the commands. as" it'came' up, nioiinteda howitzer on the1 top of a covent, which, under the direction of Lieutenant Grant, Quartermaster^ the^ujtS'jLifafltrj,' and Lieutenant Lendrum, Third Artillery, annoyed the enemy considerably. *;-.* r* I must not omit : to call "attention to Xienteriant Grant, LIFE. AND CAMPAIGNS OF. .GENERAL. GRANT. 17 (.Fourth, Infantry, who , acquitted himself most ^obly upon seyeraL occasions under, my own .observation." i - .. :¦;,;, ,,aJn this particular, mention of officers, for .gallantry and good t conduct besides the offi cers of his own staff, General .Garland names but one other officer, beside* LieuL 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- sipn of 184*-5Q, and was confirmed during -January, 1850y, .,. i .,, _ , - , . -j • ¦. The only incident we have heard, connected .with [Grant's sojourn, among the Mexicans, is itbe-ifollpwing,, horse story, related, by Prof. Coppee,, at that time,, one of his companions- fin-arms. During their residence at the capi tal of ,the,,-Montezuma3, 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 saad afterwards, -,"I was afraid he could, not ride him, and yet I knew, if I Baid a word to that efiect,:tha 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 ¦igorie two.'blpcks, and;kilied on the spot , .;, ,,;.„;v ,.;. i chapter n. ' ;/':''" •¦¦::!¦. I I.BAiTlE.OP BELMOHT. : ¦_,_¦;: .;_• 'tetania to tiie United- States — Harries Mtsa-Ttent— ?;. /Off to Oregon— Promoted to a Captaincy — Kesig-ns ; ,— -Becomes a farmer— -Hard work — Leather dealer — . Residence in Galena — Commencement of tlie war — ' Grant drills ,a company — takes it to Springfield-— ""' 'Organizes volunteer -troops — Appointed Colonel lc Twenty-first .'Illinois Infantry ^-General Tates of -; rJjUinois— Marches regiment to Missoaxi-rChapl&in's _ , , ^de^ript""1 • or- Grant— Becomes . Brigadier-General volunteers— Assumes command at Cairo—Seizes Par f'f,''ftncah— Battle 'of -Belmont— Its iesults— Anecdote '¦'".* of Generals Granb and Polk. ./..': - . r- r * '" I do not mean that yq'u shall ever near of my shirk*. ' Ing my duty ixr battle." ' Gbast to bis Fatheb.1 ' .(-,Upo» the close of the, Mexicanjwar by the .treaty promul ;ated in. April, 1848. the Fourth ..Jnfantry.re^u/ned, to the United States, and in ., August, pur/;hero wa? married to Miss; Julia, F. j.Itent^afrestiwabJeilady, to whom he became engaged before he went to Mexico. Among Grant's classmates was the present General F. J, Dent, whose, family ,lj'ved within a few. miles of Jeffsfson'.barracks, and it. was while sta tioned there ,,that .Grant was introduced "by Lieutenant Dent- to his sister, who now shares his honors, arid 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 the Pacific coast. In 185^, leaving wife arid child— a son who i3nowa promising cadet' at West Point- behind, Grant failed nominally for California, but in reality, for. Oregon. The regiment re mained but a, short time in California, anil 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 r^pid "promotion " in those "dull and piping times of peace," and dissatisfied with the. enforced and' necessary separation from his family, Grant decided (o ¦ - i .!;,¦'„ , , , : , j l j , , , ¦ , , , - ' / leave the, array, 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 hi? father-in-law, gave his' wife a farm, at Gravoisj'abbut nine miles from St Louis, Missouri, and, his father presented hiin with. the necessary stock and material to carry it on. He built a new hohse^-iri part with his own hands— of hewn logs for the residence 6f his family, and. employed riieri to, cut wood ' on his farm, which 'he 'hauled', to. the St. Louis market, and. sold tbtrp,' he' driving one of h'is two teams, his little s'oq the other. 'He was a thorqugh, farmer,, arid worked l'Ue a heaver, but at, the expiration ,of four years of unre mitting labor, finding be had riot advanced pecuniarily, put, had ", lost money, he decided o abandon the farm! which he did, and eri- tered into tjrorea^estate business in St Louis. Alter several . months experience, discovering that the profits, were insufficient for the main- tenance.of . fcwp 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 few months, by the death of tho collector who had appointed him. ¦¦ In April, I860, Grant Vpnt to Galena, IS irFE^A^^GAMPAlGNSOFfGENEHALiGKANll. Illinois, ahd 'entered the'-falther-' s*ore"'-be- longing to hts "rather1, 'aiid^cttridu'etedr- by bis two ' hrolhe'rs.l"J : '' He ' took ' 'righ't""hold ' of^tbe jbusiness with.'his' accustomed 'industry;" says his 'father, "'and." was' a 'very good 'Salesinah. He hail a, faculty to eritertairi'people mcbrt- veisaUoii, akhuugir he talked" but' little 'hinr- se'.fi, But he'neve'r'wouldl't'ak'e 'ahv'pains-tb extend liis'acquairitance^in Galena'; and after hejoined the army, an'J had" beg'un'to' be dis tinguished, citizens of the .'town would' stop' in front of our store, .within six ife.'et'oi'*th9'vtriri- dows anil lookln io see. which of tlie Grant's : ¦ -' " 1 . ' ' " J ,i j' 'ij !._> ",K ¦'. ' JOL'" .-, j ft ¦ ; - - !j.i it was that was.fahsent, anp. had become fa mous." In 'another'Tetter addressed' tS'the, author, daiedl Covingt'op, Kentucky', r Marchi |20; lSG^'he'ws :— ''^ft'er'trtysSes'^rai-mirigj and real estate experiments failed"' tp'be'se'lf- -- ¦¦¦ ¦. . :',""' ,.-,,-, r.r. hi-.v/- .'„•„-. iij. r'-j'.L'/ supporting, he came to me, .at this place for) advice arnl assistance. "" 1 referred" him"tp| .Simpson, ruy next oldest son; who .had charge) of my Galena, business'^ arid who vta^' staying] "with, me' at. that "time, on accouht1r>f'"podrj v..,.,. "¦ ~ .'¦> t :-':.-:; ^l.>:J^l r,i.lv' ¦ .. ' _i lived in a Uctle house-atthe top of ohei of thb picturesque- biltsy on^wbich- Galena- was built and went daily to the warehouse of his father and brother,' where : leather : was- sold by: the wholesale - and|iretaiiil'(°HeJ wa*":thirty-m'rie years' of' as;9-be.fore: his-countrynieii became acquainted wichvhis namei'*'"' > : '¦' ' '-<¦•¦ ' • ; - ' - A'three^-penny" tax' >on tea. precipitated1'' the Ame+icttb Revolution'.;- Britixh-taxatioipvtiith- bnt -reiiresentatioF*1 detached' thirteen- of ife choicesk-'cblonies^'from^tbe Crbwti and culmi nated in their 'recognition as the independent "republic' ofiheklnitear States of America^ '-In "178£," the1' State*" we>

Institti- tibhfo'd' African slavery? the' country flourished fa'alr1 ttrieiaVirpled: manner*, and the fame of the "Model fte^blic extended J" from1 the riversto "the i end of 'tbeWthV"-' Taxation-Waiso' light as hardly ia • be felt; and to" birr1 shores came the- down-trodden -people' of lhe"old wdrld, 'seeking hew homes in IhV great and- growing .a salary 'of eight hundred dollars" per ahnunlj '* * ThaLainounrwou'lcl have supported his! "family then, but he owed'- debts at 'Si',' Louis; and did sat £>fc',' .' draw 'fjfteeh jiuncired' dollars' 'ip'l it he paid' back'the' balance after' ( the he1 A i; | health. Simpson sent huu'tb.theQai.ena storej to stay until something better should turiT'upl fa his favor, a'nli toltl'liina n'e'vvouict"allbiv"himj ¦ Western -rafld;^vhlcr? ddring;eiglity years' of '-'»---"'--- T ...11-—----.. peace-had expanded to thil'tystate* and nearly thirty ^Hlions- of- inlmbitaots. ¦ By the elec- tlbrr in I860- of 'Abraham Liiiooln to, the' Presj- dehcy^' 'the- 'unscrupulous 'politicians- of, the South pres-trrrmig toss of ''prestige 'and power, determined- fbrlife'dpruin- ami induced their States to withdraw from the Union, and plunged our peaceful and prosperrus country into one of the most terrific, civil wars in the history of the human' race." The Southerners began the war by seizing thesnationalforts and arse- -nalswithin their territory j, and at Fort.Sum- ter, -South Carolina, be fore- resistance was offered, they fired on the- National -flag and .compelled the lieoric Anderson 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 portionbf the; people *- party strife was forgot ten, and .the whole" "North, as . one. rh^n, ,was ready to sustain and. maintain, the authority fif. l,he government, and to crush out the mon ster .ru,u£iny organized by the^p^iayery flrf - brands of the Southern States. " It may be easily concei ved how the treach ery of Southern leaders', the secession of South Carolina and the J bombardrrieht'-'of Sumter effected Grant. ! A decided Democrat before the war, he had, in his 'limited sphere,1 been year, hut he paid back -¦'- •¦.' ;. f-ir,!.! *i"..i ;;i,0J5 went into the array. . , . Thus it wduldseem that when the rebelirbii began, Grant. was a private citizen^ earning .his bread* in an insighiflcarit'fjilarid.'to\Vil, aiid ' maintaiqing his family bri a sajary of less' thaq seventy, dollars peVmbhthi' *! He' was,"' say^ a bion-rapherP '.'of .simple tastes' arid h'abitsl e . . ¦ - °.".r J ^tu ' i; . '. ,,.; I j.;. I,.,1; 'T. , c. without influence, and unambitious. Jiavlng never" been brought in contact. with rrien of ' eminence, 'he'h'ad, no personal" knowledge* of ~ great affairs. ' ,HeTia,d rievercommanded rnor^ ', than a company or'soldiers\arid'althotigh''he 'had served' upcler both' Taylor and Scbtt;;it was as a' subaltern and' without any oppbrtu,- i nity of intercourse with those, commanders "He had liever "voleid"for a Ffesict'ent but'oHcet ', . .J ('i .' .-'.';',!;, J.VA fi. ) .'/, J.i,.,i if -,t.i , ; ', - he knew uo politicians, for his acquaintance wa.sliiiried'to'a'rrBv'olfecers'ani^yesVem even .in the town where he lived, be'liad ntier of1 Congress who "re* ' presented ,'tliat district' for nine ' successive years, nriif who afterwards'became one of bis Diost intiipate "personal frieh'dsi ' Gf ( his fotir children, the eldest was eleven years oldi He eisnot met the LIFE :ANH- CAMPAIGNS- OF GENERAL GltANT. 19 in favor of. conceding, to. the' South all its rights, perhaps more,; but when- the struggle actually' began, his patriotism and military ardor were aroused together. As a patriot he was determined to support his government and its flag ; and as a.soldier he saw opeuiug before him a.careeoof distinction for which he had been educated — a career in which he had'-'already, in some degree, distinguished himself, aud one for, which he felt ha was bet ter, fitted than, for any of the vocations- he bad unsuccessfully pursued in civil life. FortSum- ter fell' April 13th, 1861, and the Presidents c^ll for seventy-five thousand trpops was made oil thelSthi. Four days later Grant was drill ing, a company of volunteers at Galena,1" and on the 2Sdproceeded with it to ' Springfield,, the (japital of Hlinois. , ., Eromtherebe wrote- to the Adjutant-General of the United Statesarmy at Washington) offering his services in any .capa city in which he, could" aid the. government]. The letter was notjdeemed of sufficient import tauce to preserve in*the Adjulant-Generars of fice. It stated' that Grant hadreceiveda mili- taryeducation at the public expense, and now that the country was in danger, he thought it his duty to place at the disposal of the authori ties whatever skill or experience he hadac- qiured. He received no reply, but remained at Springfield, aiding the Governor.iur the organization of the State troops^ -..• ';•-..'¦ _His father, wrote as follows concerning' this portion of Grant's career. He says : " The company of the Galena, volunteers offered to elect nim captain,, hut a gentleman -who desired a higher military position, and thought this-would serve as a stepping stone to it,, frankly confessed his aspi rations to Grant, who told him that he should not he a candidate himself, and also told the company, that he should decline ; hut he agreed to. go with them to Springfield,, the capital of the State. . . " On this mission he was accompanied, by. the Hon. E. B. Washburne, the Representative, in. Congress from the Galena district, who introduced him to-Gov- ernor'Yates, the Governor of the State. . l£r. Yates did pot 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 I- ' '; '"Oh, yes.'replied Grant,,'!, understand all about such matters; I was. educated. at., Weak* Point, and served eleven years in the regular array.'- j . - . ." " ' 'Well, then,' said, the Governor, 1 1 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 ab Covington. While he was 'absent from Springfield, ilr. Bark,, a :„ " ' You see, Governor,* says Burk, ' Grant .has only served in the regular army, where they have no elec* tiousr but officers- are promoted1 according to sent- prityi Whatever placet you, want him for, just ap* point him,, without consulting , him at all betor^ hand, and you will, rind h», will accept whatever li* is appointed toi*' ' ' "' . *' Acting* on' this ¦ suggestion, the Governor' tel©* graphed to me than he had. appointed Uly.wes Colo* nel of the 21st Illinois loi'antryj . IJut Grant had left for SpringttehT before the telegram was received, b% way" of Tcrre Haute, where. 'Reynolds, a favorite classmate of hia;' was living."' y l!; ' "1- " l "x ' When Governor' Yates, of Hlinots, was a can didate for the. United'- States "Senate, some' 6? the friends of Washburrie,' who wasr a rival candidate'tor the sariie office',1 riia'de the 'point ... - i , - - . ,1-j in his- favor1 that be was the "man Who' bad brought forward' General ' Grant ; ana they/ urged that a man who had'' given' Such agen^ oral to- the- country 'deserved'to be a Seriatbn Yates, in- reply, Said',' that it was not true that Washburne- had given Grant'to' th'e'couritrvj - - - , ' ¦ ¦ -, J " God,"1 said he, " gave General Giant to the country,' arid I signed' bis 'first commission.'.' Then; stretching upward His' fight hand', he" exclaimed, "and it wis the' ino»i glorious day of my life when thes'ejlnjtrt s&fiiedthat'c'om'missuin." To show the spirit' of the 'ldyal'Governor or Illinois,1 now' an eloquent' member' of the' United Stales Senate arid air enthusiastic ad-] mirer and supporter of General want, we in troduce here a part of the letter he wrote 16- a citizen of Oskaloosa, who' Coihpiained that traitors had cut down his flag,' and inquired" what he should do. The patriotic' Yates re>" plied as follows-: " You' say 'that the. pole. which ^floated the Stars and'Stripes on the Fourth op July was cat down by secessionists^ and that, at a picnic Which you are' to have/L it is threatened that the Sag shall be taken! downj arid' you ask me whether you would he". justifiable- in defending" the flag With firearms,'" I am astonished at this question, as much' all if you were- to ask m» whether you would1 have a right to. defend your property against robbers, or your life agamst'murderers ! You' ask me what you shall do t' T reply, Do rio\ ; raise the American flag mertly to provoke your"' secession neighbors ; do not be on the aggresi sive; but whenever you- raise it on your owtt1 20 XfJ^JS; AND. CAMPAIGN* OS. GENERAL GRANT. jBoi}, or on the public property of the States or -county, or at any public celebration, front' hon est love to the flag and patriotic devotion to the country which it symbolizes, and any, trai tor dares to lay his. unhallowed, hand upon it ,to tare it down, shoot him as you would is dog, and I will pardon yottfof>-the offence." ''^' "/"' Before receiving his commission as Colonel, bearing date June 16, 1861, Grant went to Cin cinnati to visit Major-General McClellan, then in- command of ; Ohio'-ttoops. ' The two had been acquainted In' the' bid army, and "had served together in Mexico, and although Grant had no intention of , making an application for a position on his staff,- be- still hoped that Mc Clellan might give'him one. He went twice.to headquarters,"but~did. not see.ftlcCleilan,. and returned to Illinois without mentioning his, as pirations to any one. When his commission was banded 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 Caseyyille, be superintended their drill,, im proved their discipline,. and. not long after; he inarched 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-; stoned by the President Brigadier-General of Volunteers, to date.' from May 17th, his fi st knowledge of his promotion coming to him from the newspapers, of. tb,e day.;, Aa, fine -of , the few regular officers among the Illinois troops his name. 'had., been suggested. to Mr. Lincoln by the.Hon,.;$.,,jl. Washburne for^a. Brigadier-Generalship, and{.the recommenda tion was unanimously concurred, in by all the other members of Congress from Illinois..,, He was seventeenth in a Jist of tjiirjy-four .original appointments of tha^date..; (( ,,,,, . ..-;-!o " In dress he ia indifferent and careless, making no pretensions to style or fashionable - military display. Had he continued Colonel till now, 1 think his uni form would have. lasted till this day j 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, cold, heat, hun ger) fatigue- or' wiint1 of money depresses him. He does his work at the time, and he requires all under his command to, be equally prompt. X 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' nowprobably a naif hour after the time, tor that duty ; the Colonel was quietly smoking his old .meerschaum, and .talking and walkxng.alon&, when he noticed, acompany drawn.up in line and the mil being called. He . instantly drew his pipe, from his mouth and exclaimed, 'Captain this is no time for. calling the roll y order your men to their quarters immediately.' ,Ihp command was: instantly obeyed, and the Colonel resumed his smoking,, and walked ori, conversing as' quietly as if nothing had happened. Fortius 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, pur. 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. tilled their canteens with- whiskey, and were soon reeling and ungovernableunder its influence..,' ' "' *' u"'' -i V- 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 gronnd with as much nonchalance as he would empty his pipe, and had the offenders tied behind the baggage Wagons until they had soberedin~ 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, 7861,. while -the- regiment -was stationed in the town ot Mexico, Missouri, I had gone to the cars as they were passing, aim ' procured the; daily paper, and seated. myself- in the shadow, of my tent, to read the newsj^ In the telegraphic coliiinri I soon came to the an nouncement that Grant,' with several others, was, made Brigadier-Oerieral.1 "In a few' minutes heoama" walking that way.'and'I called to him : ' ' ',\]T " ' Colonel, I have some news here that will interest. yon.*-'-- - -i. i'-"- ^~ , — u .--- - ¦ '¦ " ' What have you, Chaplain ! • ' ' "' ' ' '^X " ' I see that'you are made Brigadier-General/ •. . •'"•He seated himself by my side, and remarked: -*• ' Well, -sir^r had no suspicion of it. It never LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. 21 came from any request of mine. That's some of Washburne's work. I knew Washburne in Galena ; he was a strong Republican and I was a Democrat, and I thought from that he never liked me very well. Hence we never had more tban a business or street acquaintance. But when the war broke out, I found he had induced Governor Yates to appoint me mus tering officer of the Illinois volunteers, and after that had something to do in having me commission ed colonel of the twenty-tirst 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 new suit of clothes was fin ished. " Grant belongs to no church, yet he entertains and expresses the highest esteem for all enterprises that tend to promote religion. When at home, he generally attended the Methodist Episcopal church. While 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 audience listening to preaching. " Shortly after I came into the regiment, our mess were one 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 have you ask a blessing every time we sit down to eat.' " After serving under Pope in what was known as the " District of Northern Missouri," and being stationed at Ironton and Jefferson City, occupied hi watching the movements of partisan forces of rebels under General Jeff. Thompson, Giant was on September 1st as signed by General Fremont, commanding the Western Department, to the command of the District of Southeast Missouri, and on the 4th made his headquarters at Cairo, situated at the junction of the 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 strategetic importance of Cairo, as a base of operations for a Southern advance, and of vital importance in the 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-General Grant, was transferred from Missouri to the post of Cairo, the State of Kentucky was endeavoring to maintain a neutral position — a neutrality never recognized by the United States authori ty. The rebels under General Polkwere the first to cross the Kentucky line, taking possession 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 the Cumberland at Fort Donaldson. Grant was not slow to follow their example. Fremont had ordered a movement in Missouri, which he was to su- , pei-intend, 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 , to Pad u call ; will start at six and a-hal t*b' clock." Still later on the Sept. 5th, he wrote, " I am now nearly ready for Paducah, should not telegram arrive preventing the movement." Receiving no reply, Grant started 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 the following morning, and taking possession of the twa without firing a gun, the rebels under General Tilghman hurrying out of town by railroad,. while the Union forces were landing. Grant wasjustintime to obtain possession of thisval- 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., Septembers, 1SW. To the Citizens of Pa i > l-c ah : — I am come among; you, not as an enemy, but as your lollow-ritiwn. 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 thfl soil of Kentucky, and fired upon you. Columhusand Hickman are in his hands. He is moving upon your city. •' I am here to defend you against this enemy, to assist the authority and sovereignty- of your govern ment. I have nothing to do with opinions, and shall deal only with armed rebellion, and .jts aiders and abettors. You can pursue your usual avocationa without fear. The strong arm of the. government is here to protect its friends and1 punish its enemies. Whenever it is manifest that yoo,axe able to defend yourselves, and maintain the authority of the- gov* ernment, and protect the rights, o i. loyal citizens, -I shall withdraw the forces under. my command. TJ. S. On ant, Brigadier-General commandragv-' 22 LIFE ,AND,CAMPAIGNS:OF; GENERAL GRANT.. the inhabitants, informing them of his reasons for taking possession of the town, and that he was prepared to defend the citizens against the enemy, adding significantly that he had noth ing to do with opinions, but, should deal only witli 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." ., .;.,.;,,,.„.:; ,.i>'. :: Soon after the capture of Paducah, Smith- land, near the mouth of theCumberland, was occupied by Grant's forces, two points of vi tal importance to. the rebels as a gateway of supplies, and asjcontrolling the mouths of the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers.. ,» When Grant was assigned, to the command of the District of, Southeast Missouri,. Gener al McClernand's brigade with. other,, troops were added to his brigade,,un,til by the end of October, his forces amounted .to- nearly, twen ty thousand mep. As early as, the... 10th 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 application, and being kept strictly subordinate to ^he [Com mander of the Western Department, he Was compelled to confine himself to drilling aud disciplining his troops and making reconnois- gances. Belmont, on thewestsideof 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 sug^ 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, arid a constant menace to every point of Grant's command. , Fremont, under 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 Col umbus. He was not, however, to make any attack on the enemy. On the second the com manding general telegraphed him that three thousand rebels were in Missouri, about fifty miles southeast of Cairo, and ordered him to send a' force to assist1 in turning them 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 squadrons 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 againstColunibus.aud Belmont. Ogles by. was, at once ordered to deflect, to New Madrid, below- Colnmbus, and Colonel Wal lace .' sent ; to reinforce him. General C/..L,FV Smith was .'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 -they how have there " — Grant informing him that " the princi pal point to, gain, is to prevent the enemy from sending a force to fall in the rear of those now sent' out from their 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 hundred and fourteen men, chiefly Illinoisians, on trans ports at Cairo, aud, accompanied by two gun boats dropped down' the river about ten miles, and made a feint of landing 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 exception of a. few veterans of the Mexican war, never having been "under fire, and to some portion' of the infantry, arms had- only been distributed two' days before. McClernand was the only gen eral officer who accompanied the expedition," and he had had no positive experience in bat-' tie. Grant learned during the night of the 6th, that General' Polk was 'crossing lar^e bodies of troops from Columbus to Belmont,' with a view to1- cutting' off Oglesby, arid at once determined to convert the demonstation; into an attack, as it was necessary to prevent a movement against the troops under Oglesby,1 as well as preventing reinforcements being1' 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 Columbia, 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 pitched tlieir camp, in an open rial 1, protected by fallen timber, and halted when two miles distant. Deploying 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. Eveu thi3 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 art.llery,- and driving the enemy to the river bank and to tlieir transports. Grant, who had been constantly in the front, and had his horse shot under hiin,f now ordered the destruction of the encampment ; burning tents, blankets and stores, after which, the troops with the prison ers and captured gun3, were ordered back to the transports ; the object of the expedition having been accomplished. 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 thednforination 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 McClernand 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 iu theafternoon our forces had re-em barked, aud, protected by the gunboats, who poured in grape and. canister oa the pursuing rebels, returned to Cairo. We had eighty-five killed, three hundred' wounded' aud about oue hundred missing; while the rebel loss was much greater, numbering in all, six hundred and forty-two. Both parties claimed a victo ry at Belmont, a battle insignificant Compared with the later engagements of the war; but possessing, says Professor Coppee, an impor tance peculiarily its own. __ , I. It wa3 a coup d'essai of our new general. While others of his rank were playing.quite, subordinate parts in large , armie3, Grant was making an independent expedition in com mand, outwitting the enemy, burning his camp, retreating successfully when overpow ered, and effecting his purpose in, a, most, sol dierly manner. II. Again, it was a trial of , our new troops in the West, and they acquitted themselves se as to elicit the hearty praise of their comman der and the country. They fought well in the attack, from colonels to privates, in the re treat, and in cutting their way through Cheat ham's force, and were never for a moment discouraged. The object of the expedition — to prevent the enemy from sending a force to Missouri, to cut off our detachments which were press- ; i ing Thompson, and prevent his reinforcing Price — were fully accomplished. Grant had given him a b'ow which kept him concentra ted, lest another might soon follow. III. It demonstrated the weakness of the enemy. It led to the victories of Fort Henry and Donelson, and the piercing of the rebels' line, which threw it back almost' to the Gulf. In the appendix to this volume will be found the official report of the battle of Bel mont, as made by General Grant, in June, 1865, and herewith an address promulgated on the return of his expedition to Cairo, in which he refers to the part he took in the Mexican campaign, the only reference, that we are aware of, ever made by Grant in any of his official papers : Heaixjdartf.es District or Southeast j Missouri, Caiko, November 8, 1861. ( The General commanding tbi« military distriot re- 24 LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. turns hia thanks to the troops under his command at the battle of Belmont, on yesterday. It has been his fortune to have been in all the bat tles fought in Mexico by Generals 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 mea who tell, the sympathy of the coun try is due, and will be manifested in a manner un mistakable. TJ. S. Grant, I ¦ Brigadier-General commanding. With the following amusing anecdote of Generals Grant and Polk, we will conclude this chapter, before entering upon the story ©f 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 drank at parting. On one occasion General Polk pro posed a toast, which he said all could drink. Those present filled their glasses, and he gave " To General George Washington." As he paused, purposely, at the end of the name, the company commenced to drink', when he 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 company 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, Gen. Polk produced the wine as usual, and Gen. Grant adroitly turned the conversation upon State rights. 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 up flanked. . . CHAPTER III. 1 - ' - PORTS HEHRT AHD noKELSOB". - Change of Department Commanders — Halleck suc ceeds Fremont — Grant's command enlarged — The rebel line — Columbus — Bowling Green — Fort Hen ry— Fort Donelson— Ounboats at the West— De monstrations in favor of Buell — Grant visits St. Louisa—Urges the capture of Fort Henry— 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. " '."'"|- ' Geaut to Br/csHss. . Os the 12th of November, 1861, Fremont was removed, and General, Henry W. Halleck, 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 aud entered upon the practice of the law in California. Immediately upon assuming comm.nid of his Department, 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 mustered 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 points where their services were required. Before describing 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 ou? hero 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 the junction of the Louis ville aud Nashville, and the Memphis and Ohio 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 Northern Kentucky. Midway be tween Bowling Green and Columbus, and form ing important lines in the strategic problem, flowed the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers. About fifty miles south of the Ohio, these two streams running nearly parallel approach with in twelve miles of each other, and here, 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 military operations at the West, we must briefly describe the novel gunboats, known as " turtles," introduced on the Mississippi, Ten- nesse and Cumberland rivers at this 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 sheathed with iron, were rendered almost impervious to the heaviest ar tillery. Armedas completelyasCoeurde Lion's cavaliers, these dark monsters penetrated the rivers, inspiring terror everywhere, and were of the greatest service in co-operating with the army. They were navigated by expe rienced pilots, and commanded by officers of the regular navy. Sharing in direct assaults, driving guerrillas back from 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 Mississippi valley. Early in January, 1S62, 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 Paducah, threatening Columbus, and the line hetween the " Western Gibraltar" and Bowl ing Green. The troops were out for more than a week, and suffered 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 ducah expedition, its commander, 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 headquarters at St. Louis, Grant proceeded there with the object of obtaining Halleck's consent to attack Forts Henry and Donelson, but returned without having obtained the desired permission. Ba- deau says, " Halleck silenced him 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 tho 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, Catbo, January 11, 1S61. Brigadier-General Patse, Bird's Point .-— I un derstand that four of our pickets were shot this morning. 1£ this is so, and appearances indicate that the assassins were citizens, not regularly organized in the rebel army, the -whole country should be eleared out for six miles around, and word given that all citizens making their appearance -within those limits are liable to he Bhot. To execute this, patrols should be sent out in all directions, and bring into camp, at Bird's Point, all citizens, together vritb their subsistence, and require them to remain, under the penalty of death and de struction of their property, until properly relieved. Let no harm befall these people, if they quietly sub mit ; but bring them in and place them in camp be low the breastwork, and have them properly guard ed. ' ; The intention is not to make political prisoners at ¦ these people, but to cut off a dangerous class o£ spies. This applies to all classes and conditions, age an4 26 LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. sex. JX, however, women and children prefer other protection than, -we can afford them, they may be allowed to retire beyond the limits indicated — not to return until authorized. - , By order of ,i , s ' ,U. S Gbamt, . . Brigadier-General commanding.. On the 28th of the same. month, Grant's mind still being intent upon the capture of the forts on the Tennessee and Gumberland rivers, telegraphed to Halleck at St. Louis: "With per mission I willjtake and hold Fort Henry,. ou the Tennessee,, and establish and hold a large camp there,'' and on the day following, wrote.: -;" In view of the large force now. concentra ting in this district, aud the present-feasibility of the plan, I would, respectfully. suggest the -propriety of subduing Fort Henry, Dear tbe Kentucky, and, Tennessee line, and holding the position. , If . this is not dune, soon, there is but little. doubt thai; 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 tbe Cumber. land f only twelve miles distant), Memphis, or Columbus. It will besides have a moral ef fect upon ,oux 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 leek, 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 were landed on the 4th. : On the 6th, the troops moved towards the enemy's works, but were so much delayed by the horrible condition of tbe roads, the whole country, be ing inundated, that the fortsuccurabed to the attack of the fleet after a severe bombard ment of one hour and a-half, and before the army could; get up to participate in the at tack. " The plan of the attack," says Foote, " so far as the 'army reaching 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 the1 fort, to be out of reach of the gunboats — in- gloriously retreated on Fort Donelson, before the result of the action was kuown, and with out striking a single blow., . The rebel, account of, the battle given by General, Tilghmap, in his dispatches, bears testimony to Grant's magnanimity to a> fallen foe: . -,; '. : i .! ¦ ¦ Fobt Henby, February 9, 1862. Colonel TV. Tv". JIackall, A A General, C. S. A^ .' Bowling Green : Sib- Through the courtesy of Brigadier-General U. S. Grant, commanding Federal forces, I anv per mitted to communicate with you , in relation to the result of the action between the fort under my com mand at this place, and ' the Federal gunboats on yesterday. ' '¦"-i ' ' '*"¦' " ' -.--.*- 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, the eleven guns from Fort Henry* bearing on the river." The action was main tained- with great- 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, ahd wishing to spare the lives of the gallant men un der my1 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, whose superior and overwhelming force alone gave them the. advantage. * * ' * I communicate this result with deep- regret, but feel- that I performed my whole duty in the defence of my post. I take occasion to bear testimony to the gallantry 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 conrtesies 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 Tn.QHMAN, Brigadier-General C. S. A The Union General at once telegraphed to the Department commander : " Fort Henry is ours. The gunboats silenced tbe batteries be fore the investment was completed, * * * I shall take and destroy. Fort Donelson the 8th, and return to Fort Henry/' . On the 7lh, Grant's cavalry penetrated to within a mile of Fort Donelson, driving in the rebel pickets, and the army was ordered to move on the day following, but owing to the impassable state of the roads it was found impracticable to move the baggage or artillery, and owing to the high stale 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. 21 ground could be bridged over. Ordering up reinforcements ' from various quarters, Grant moved the advance of bis army under Mc- Clernand,' toward Fort Donelson on the 11th, and the 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 that post and Fort Heiman. 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 directedwas situated, on the west bank of the Cumberland river, enclosing about one hundred acres, and garrisoned by twenty-one thousand men under Generals Floyd; Pillow, and B uckner. 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 the breastworks, the smaller trees chopped till they stood breast high, and the limbs left attached to the trunks forming an abatis. Two streams, at this time not fordable, set hack from the Cumberland and formed the right andleft 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 tlie 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 northward again, could pour a, murderous fire from its upper and water bat teries upon the attacking gunboats: - Thursday, the 13th, was occupied m getting the troops in position', General C.'F? Smith having the left, and General McClernand the right of the national line. Noassault waSmade, owing to the non-arrival of the gunboats with the reinforcements, sent by: water, and the novel sight was exhibited of an army of fifteen thousand •' men besieging a stronghold ' garri- sotie'd by twenty -one thousand troops. Dur ing the day there was considerable cannonad- 1 ing by both parties, and some picket firing. An assault was made by four regiments of McClernand's division during the afternoon, for the purpose of making a lodgment upon the enemy's entrenchments, and particulai ly upon an apartment covering a strong battery in the front. The storming party formed at the foot of Ihe 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 wele compelled to fall back without acomplishing the object '¦¦-'- ' At sunset no reinforcements of importance had arrived, nor had Flag Officer Foote and the iroh-clads yet appeared' on the scene. That night the weather became intensely cold, and before morning-a drrviDg storm of ' show and hail set in; causing the troops, who were bivouacking ia line of battle without tents," many without blankets, arid with' insufficient food, to undergo fearful' suffering. ¦ Many of the soldiers of both armies were found frozen to death after day dawned or* Friday the 14th: With the morninglightcame 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 dayabeavy artillery fire was kept up by the1 contending forces, and constant firing by the- sharp-shoot ers, and at three o'clock the-naval attack was opened by the irbn-clads; and after a severe engagement of nearly fen 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 (he. rebel works, the Com modore wounded, aid fifty-four men killed and disabled, Foote ordered his squadron to withdraw. Had the attack been a success it was the intention of General Grant to have carried the rebel entrenchments by an assault. of tho whole line.' '-That day he wrcte : "Ap pearances now'are that' we shall have a pro-- traded siege here. ¦ I fear the-result of an at-' tempt to carry the place by storm1 with now1 troops. I feel great confidence, however, of ' ultimately reducing' the' place;" Before daylight on Saturday; the 15th, Gen=' oral Grant went on board the flagship St. Louis to consult1 with the1 wounded Commo-' dore, by whbmhe 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 very 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 tbe centre under Wallace ; ' these atatcks being suc cessful would force back; tbe, right, flank and centre around. General Smith, commanding tbe left, as a pivot, and then the whole army might be easily routed- or, destroyed. .- Accordingly; at five o'clock,, before our balf-frozen troops were astir, tbei rebel column, led . by Pillow, moved out with thirty guns to crush McOr- nand. The morning reveille bad just sounded' in our camp,, aud the troops . were ; not un der arms, when, the sound, of musketry 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, andfrighteningthe fainthearted, 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. 'Imrae-. 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. . "Ridingon," 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-r tridge boxes, and the heavy loss in field officers 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 overT 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'! '.' Some prisoners were ex amined, and the haversacks proved to contain three .'days' rations.: i"Then they mean to cut their way out;, they .: have nV 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 J' : r : Putting spurs to his horse, be 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 t.jme Grant sent a request to Foote to have all the gunboats make their appearance to the . enemy. " A terrible conflict," he said " ensued in my absence, which has demoralized a por tion of . my command, and I think tbe enemy is much more so; . If the gunboats do not. appear, it will reassure the enemy and still further 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 thre,vy.--.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 i in their front the moment Smith began his: attack. . To McClernand the order was " to- LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. 2-3 push his column to the riverif possible, other wise to remain, statu quot maintaining his pres ent position." v General Smith's assaulting column was formed of Lauman's-brigade, the second Iowa infantry having the lead. Smith formed the regiment in two lines, with afront of five com panies each, thirty paces apart. He tqld the men what tiiey had to do, and took hia posi tion between these two lines with the color bearer by his side. It was nearly sunset when the brigade dashed up the steep hill-side to wards the ridge where the rebels had1 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, with his cap lifted and his grey hair streaming in the wind, while his voice rang out clear, "Forward, 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 ridge — 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 war, 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, Wa lace 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 the brave troops, fcr the most part without food and without fire, slept on the frozen ground; looking forward with en-J thusiasm to the coming day, which was to compensate them for all their hardships arid 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 ; but 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 r •' ' -" " * I cannot hold my position a half hoar. Tbe Yankees cau turn my flank or advance directly upon the breastworks/ said treuentl Buckner. ' J "•¦If you had advanced at the time agreed upon, and made a more vigorous attack, we should have routed the enemy,' said General Floyd. ** ' I advanced as soon as I could, and my troops fought aa bravely as others,* wns the response from General Buckner, a middle-aged, medium-sized, man. HU hair ia iron grey. He has thin whiskers and a moustache, and wears a gTey kersey overcoat with 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, u. 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. * '* . *'*Someof us might escape in- that way, but tho at tempt would be attended with great slaughter,' re sponded General Floyd. <'.>"¦'¦* *' *My troops are so -worn out and cut to pieces and demoralized, that X can't make another fight/ said Buckner. '..<.; " * My troops will fight till they die I ' answered Major Brown, setting his teeth together. *f ' It.will cost the command three-quarters of its present number to cut its way through ; and it is t wrong to sacrifice three-quarters of a command to save the other quarter,' Buckner continued. . . ** * No officer 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 Pillow. " • No, I can't hold my position a half hour ; and the Yankees will renew the attack at daybreak," Buckner replied. " * Then we have got to surrender, for aught Isee,* said an officer. " ' I won't surrender the command, neither will I be taken prisoner,' said Floyd. He doubtless re membered how he had stolen publio property while in office under Buchanan, and would rather die than to fall into the hands of these whom he knew would be likely to bring him to an account for his villainy. **"*I don't intend to be taken prisoner," sait} Pillow. ' M * "What will you do, gentlemen T * Buckner asked. " 'I mean to escape, and take my Virginia brigade with me, if 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 Tillow, -who was also disposed to shirk responsibility and desert tbe men whom ho had induced to vote to secede trom the Union and. take up arms against their country. " ' If the command comes into my hands, I shall deem it my duty to surrender it. I shall not call upon tho troops to make a. useless sacrifice of life* and I will not desert the men who have fought so nobly," Buckner replied, with » bitterness which made Floyd and Pillow wince. " It was past, midnight. The council broke up. ',30 LIFE ; ANI>, CAMPAIGN*, OS; GENEftAI* 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, a "'Itismeanl' ' It is cowardly I' 'Floydalways •was a rascal.1 ¦ . . ' j1 " * "We are betrayed I ' * There 13 treachery ! ' eaid they.- ' i.'-f ¦ ' '"It is a mean trick for an otiieer to desert hia men. If my troops are .to be surrendered, I shall stick by them,' said Aiajur brown. . .... " 1 1 denounce Pillow as a. coward ; and if I ever ' meet him, I'll shoot him -as quick as I would a dog,.' said Major ^IcLain, 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 steamr boats at the Dover landing. He and General Pillow jumped on board one of them, and then Becretly marched a portion of the Viginina brigade onboard. .Other soldiers, saw what was going on— that they were being deserted. They became, frantic with ter ror and rage. They rushed on board, crow ding every part of the boat _. . -;-,.. ,: -j.j [>:>¦> v ." :~ J " * Cut loose ! ' shouted Floyd to the captain. ,- .4 P. ,"The boats swung into the stream and.-moved- up tb TJtver, leaving thousands of iniuriated soldiers on the landing. So, the man who had stolen the publio property, and who did all he could to brin^- on- the war, who induced- thousands of poor, ignorant men to take-up-arms, deserted his post, stole away in the darkness, and left thenvto their fate " .-:*.i .j ¦-- . ; •>•' Colonel Forrest — afterwards the^elebrated Cavalry genera'. — also made his escape , by -fording tie river with, bis regiment during tbe Bight. ¦ ; 1 • • - _ • • 1 -Early in the- morning Bnckner sent a bug ler and a note to Grant, which runs as follows HrAixjCAJXTFi^s Fort Donelson,' 1. February, 16, 1862. j . Bra : — In consideration of all, the circumstances governing the present situation of affairs at this sta tion, I propose to the commanding oiBcer 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. ' lam, sir, respectfully, your obedient servant, t S. B. DrcKN'tR, 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 Army rjf the Field, \ ' Camp sear Donelson, Feb; 10, 1802. {"" To General 3. B. Bocxner, Confederate Army : Yours of this date, proposing an armistice, and ap pointment of commissioners to settle terms of capita Illation, is just received. No terms other than un conditional and immediate surrender can be accept ed. X propose to move immediately upon your works. ' '_ [..;. . lam, respectfully, your obedient servant, • '.< U. S. Grant, . : Brigadier -General, IT. B. A., commanding.' .-..The rebel General, knowing that he was helpless, made haste, to reply as follows : , Headquarters, Dover, Tennessee, ) • February IB, lbtij. . > Tb Brigadier-General TJ. S. Gha^t, U. S. A. < '8ra:-^*The distribution- of thexbrees undermy com mand, incident to a. change of- commanders, and the overwhelming force under your command, compel me, notwithstanding the brilliant success of the Conled- tite: armi: yesterday, to accept the ungenerous and un- cbivalrbus terms which yon propose. •;o[ XanLjsir, your very obedient servant, >( I.,,' S. B. Buckj;eb, Brigadier-General C. S. A... _, As soon; as General,, Grant .had received this, conrmunication:from bis old classmate^ he. mounted. bis horse^and proceeded with bis staff to-, .Buckner's. headquarters, where lie 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 property, including horsesKwer9 to be given. up,, the privates? be ing permitted, as in the case of the officers,, to retain their personal effects. In the course of a conversation, which took place between the commanders, Bnckner 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, "X should hare 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 bis works." The result of this magnificent victory, which perfectlv 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 14th of. 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 Tenses- ) " " see, Fort Donelson, Feb. 17, 1862.' ¦ f ' The general commanding, takes great pleasure in congratulating the troops of this command- fop the LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. 31 triumph over rebellion gained by their valor on- the. thirteenth, fourteenth ahd niteenth instant! For four* successive nigbtSi without shelter, during the mostr. inclement weather known in the latitude, they faced an enemy in large force in a position chosen by: himself. Though, strongly fortified by nature, all' the additional safeguards suggested by science were- added. Without a1 murmur this was borne, prepared at all times to receive an attack^ and with continuous skirmishing by day, resulted in forcing' the enemy to surr.nder 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 DoneUon will hereafter be marked in-.capitals on the map- of our united country, and the men who fought the battle will- live in the mem ory' oF a grateful people. As it reward for this splendid achievement,' Grant was made a Jlajor,-Gfineral of Voluu-! leers. He was recommended by the Secre tary ofWar, nominated the same day by the President, and at ouce confirmed liyt the Sen ate, bis " commission dating from the day of the J surrender. Ori the 20lh, Mr. Stanton wrote, " We may well 'rejoice at the recent victories, for they teach us that battles are to be wou 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 combinafroh to end this war, was de clared in a few words by- General Grant's message to General Buckner, 'I propose to mbve 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 tbe 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, — . r , '' The prayer that springs hi every breast— ' ' • God bless thee, Illinois ! ' " Oh, awful hours, when grape arid shell Tore through the unflinching line ! 4 Stand firm I ' llemove the men who fell ! Close up, ii ud wait tie sign I * -fn inc.Est? ' " It came at last : ¦ Now, lads, the steel I ' " ' The rushing hosts deploy ;' '"* Charge, boys ! ' The broken traitors reel ; 11 Hurrah for Illinois ! ¦? In vain thy rampart, Donelson,, , The living torrent bars; It leaps the wall— the fort is won- Up go the Stripes' and1 Stars. •* Thy proudest mother's, eyelids fill, - , As dares ,her gallant boy, ¦ Arid Plymouth Rock and Bunker Hill Yeani to thee,- Illinois." CHAPTER IV. , i . BATTLE OF SHILOH. Results capture ' Fort ' Donelson— Nashville falls-i- . Columbus and: Bowling Green evacuated — Grant a ud Sherman— Grant goes to Nashv die— Is relieved from command— Bittsburg Landing — Grant re- ' instated — Headquarters' at Savannah — Coneentra- - tion 'of troops- aft PittBburg1 Landing— Disposition .-robel force*— Disposition Grant's- army — The bat- ; , He-JSeld— The attack-Tb* sitnationr-The Union army forced back — Close of the; Jay's fighting-?' Both armies— Nelson's .and Wallace's divisions on ' ' the field— Mbretroops reach Pittsburg — Monday's ¦ battle— Rebels-' defeated — They'retreat to Corinbrl , , —-Incidents — Grant, defamed— Defended in an elo- .quent speech— The old-Sergeant of bhilob. t . V I care nothing for promotion so long as our arms ..-v , - .i . t\ , 1 t' ' tf~Ir> 1UT -i-n KurDU x u are successful.' Grant to Sherman. Tub capture of Fort Donelson penetrated the rebel line pf, defence westof the Alleghany mountains^ turning: both its extremities and uncovering the/ region , behind.. The impor tance of Grant's great achievement was ex7 nibited by the evacuation of Clarksville on the east bank, of, the Cumberland, where large quantities of , military, stores, were found by our troops, who entered, the place on the 20th February ; and three days later the flag of the Union was carried through the streets of Nashvi.le, that city being also evacuated by Albeit Sidnpy Johnston and the rebel forces. Bowling Green, rendered untenable by the fall of Fort Donelson, was abandoned, and early in March the fiery prelate, Polk, evacuated the " Western! Gibraltar?'- — Columbus — aud took up a new position at Island No. 10, on the Mississippi.. As these important places and strongholds fell one after another iu rapid suc cession, the amazement and gratification of the loyal people of; the land was unbounded. When Ge.npral, Grapx was given an increased command on being advanced to the District of West Tennessee, General W. T. Sherman was assigned to the district, of Cairo, Grant's for mer cornmand.-. ¦,,-.-,,, .;,.<;" A ,. -. -¦ ,¦ 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, tbe 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 opportunity 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, " tbe be ginning of a- friendship, destined thereafter never to flag, to stand tbe test of apparent riv alry and public censure, to remain firm under trials such as few friendships were ever sub jected to; to become warmeras often as it was sought to be interrupted, and in hours 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 Hal leck to move bis whole force back from the Cumberland to tbe Tennessee, with a view to an expedition np the latter river to Eastport and Corinth, Mississippi. On the 4th, 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 this he replied tbe 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 importance, and tbe key to the whole railway system of commu nication between the Slates of Tennessee and Mississippi; it was twenty 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 H rebels to attack in front, tbe distance between the creeks being three miles. ' The Landing was protected by the gunboats Lexington and Tyler, and Buell's army of the Ohio, moving 'forward, was1- to; reinforce the army of the Tennessee; •>"•' ¦" *-'J - "•""'•"- " 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 : " Yon 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 the 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 bis district. A few days later General Halleck transmitted to him copies of the following correspondence : „ Heaxkjuabters op the Arm?, , j ¦'"' - AlVUTANT-GENEaAl.'S OFFICE, WASHTyGTO*, J ,'-,,.,', ,_; .,,, , March 10, 186i. .J IIajob-Gejtsbai. H. TV. Ealueck, U. S. A., Com manding Department 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 withont proper authority, and if so, for 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. BBiOACrzs-GzSzaAT, L, Thomas, Adjutant-General of the Army, V aahington : In accordance with your instructions of the 10th inst., I report that General Grant and several officers of high rank in his command, immediately after the battle of Fort Donelson, went to Nashville, without my authority or knowledge. I am satisfied, however, 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 there 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 orders 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 foi the public service, in going to Nashville, and leaving his com mand, J respectfully recommend that no furthei no tice be taken of it. There never has been any want of military subordination ou the part of General Grant, and his failure to make returns oi hia forces has been explained, as resulting partly from the fail- LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. 33 ure of colonels of regiments to report to him on their arrival, and partly from an interruption of tele- graphio communication. All these irregularities have now been remedied. H. W. Halleck, Major-General. From Savannah, Grant wrote to She. man : "I have just arrived, and although sick for the'last two weeks, begin to feel better at the thought of being again with Che troops ;" and within an hour of his arrival, issued orders for a concentration of all oar forces at Pitts- r burg Landing. The army then consisted of - five divisions under Major-Generals Smith and McClernand, and Brigadier-Generals Sherman, Hurlbi.it, and Lewis Wallace, tbe latter sta tioned at Crump's Landing, on the left bank of -'the river, about five miles below; aud being ''considered within supporting distance wereleft J'to guard the Pnrdy road. Smith's, a nd Mc- - demand's divisions were pushed forward from Savannah, so that all our forces were Boon collected' together at Pittsburg Landing. -Grant remained at Savannah to superintend -the organization of the troops constantly ar- - riving, which were formed into another division ¦ — the sixth — and BrigadierrGeneral 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 Northern troops 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 j and other rebel troops had rendez voused from various quarters, including Har dee's corps and Breckinridge's command.' It was also confidently expected that they would be reinforced by the trans-Mississippi armies of Price and Van Dora. 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 proclamation "was issued on the 3d of April; addressed to " tbe soldiers of the army of the Mississippi : " I have put you in 'motion to offer battle to the invaders of your country, with the lesolation and discipline and valor becoming men fighting, as you are, for all worth living tor. Ybu can but march to a decisive victory over agrarian mercenaries, sent to subjugate ¦ and despoil you of your liberties, proper ty and honor. Bemember the precious stake in volved remember the dependence of your mothers, your wives, your sisters, and yourchildren, on the re sult. Bememberthe fair, broad, abounding lands, th» happy homes, that will be desolated by your defeat- The eyes and hopes of eight nuUious of people rest upon you. You are expected to Bhow yourselves worthy of your valor and courage, worthy of the ar mies of the South, whose noble devotion in this war, has never been exceeded in any time. With such incentives to brave deeds, and with trust that God is with us, your general wiUle&dyou confidently to the combat, assured of success. N The battle-field of Shiloh, or Pittsburg, for by both names it appears to be equally 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 which stood near the junction of the Corinth and Purdy roads, the Shiloh . 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, tbe 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 bis left, but some what retired, McClernand's command was posted ; next, Prentiss was advanced, and on his left, commanding a. detached brigade of Sherman's division, and covering the crossing of Lick creek, was Stuart. Smith's division, commanded by W. H. L. Wallace, tbe gallant old soldier being on a sick bed at Savannah, was with Hurlbut's command to the rear, and near the Landing, acting as reserves, and re spectively supporting the right and left wings of the army. The sixth division, under Lewis Wallace, was at Crump's Landing, his troops being stretched out on the Purdy road, so as to be in readiness for a movement to Pitlsbnrg or Purdy, as circumstances might require. Buell was "hastening slowly," his advance under . Nelson having reached Savannah, and been ordered by General Grant to move to tbo river bank, opposite. Pittsburg, on the morning of the , sixth, and it was confidently expected that Buell's entire command would arrive during the day. /j i On Sunday morning, April 6th, while Gen eral Grant aud his staff were breakfasting, at an unusually early hour, and their horses were 84 LIFE AND' CAMPAIGNS/ 0F<" GENERAL r; did much to re store, ther courage, of the army. Sherman says .in-a letter, that. Grant was early on the field; that .he visited his division in person, about ten A.- M.,. when the. battle raged fiercest, ap proved of. his stubborn resistance to the ene my; and in answer >to his- inquiry concerning • cartridges, told him he- had anticipated their want, and given orders accordingly, and re marking that his presence was more needed over at -the left, rode, off to encourage the hardly .'pressed ranks t of , McClernand!s and Hurlbut's divisions. .;. ..¦-,:- ; Grant, next appeared . near the centre, and thence passed along to the left, encouraging by his words and example, and giving orders to the division commanders- , He was. also- engaged in sending deserters back to their commands, and^in. organizing new i lines with those who had straggled too far to regain their own com mands." Even when on that, hotly contested field, arid constantly under fire, Grant. was to be seen making unwearied exertions to main tain his position until Wallace and Nelson should arrive with the long-looked-for. rein forcements to our sorely .tried • army,- -As LIPE^AND CAMPAIGNS OF -GENERAL GRANT. 35 Wellington longed for night on Blucher, so did Granfrianxiouslyawait the-arrival of night or Bnell; •:¦:-. During the morning- Grant sent an order to another of BueH's< division commanders, who he learned had arrived at Savannah : '."> You will move your command with tbe utmost dis patch to the river a6 this point/ where steam boats will be in readiness to transport you, to Pittsburg." And. still later another' dispatch was sent to the commanding officer of the advanced forces from Buell's army near Pittsburg: "The- attack on^ my forces has beeo'very spirited; from .early this- morning: 05he appearance of fresh troops in -the field hbw1 would haveJ'a' powerful effect, both.iby Inspiring our mew and disheartening the ene- *myuIf you will1' gee upon the. field, leaving all'yonr baggageon theeast bankof the river, it'Will be more-to "our .advantage, and proba. •bly save the dayto-'usv.. Tbo.rebebforces.are estimated at- over- one hundred thousand: men: My headquarters' will be in the log building 'dry'the top of the hill, where you will; be fur nished a staff officer to guide you to yaurplace bn-the fieU." '> AboutJthree o'clock Buell ar rived in advance of liis troops; having burr ried forward with bis '-Staff, on hearing, at Savannah, of the 'terriblei battle that was be ing fought. As the two generals were con sulting together at the»Landing, Buell inquir ed: "What preparations have you made for retreating 1 " when Grant replied :" I have not despaired of whipping them yet ! " " 'At last the Union line-isreduced to a mile in length, in a curve at the landing ; ic is a forced concentrationj'but it really consolidates What is left of our exhausted army. At this time the rebelsv^equallyworn out with ten hours' continuous, marching and fighting— are brought to a stand by the reserve artillery, and the heavy fire of the gunboats Tyler aud Lexington, who shell the woods and sweep the' ravine, enfilading the rebel lines and bat teries. '¦¦:* 1'^l!" •- ¦" »•". ' ¦ J About five v. Msj continues Sherman, '.' be fore the sun set, "General-Grant came again to mej arid after 'hearing my report .of matters, explained to me- the situation, of affairs on the reftf, which was noiias favorable 5 still the en emy1 had ' failed to'rcach the- lariding-of the boats. 'We agreed thatthe enemy had expend-r ed'the/wrwtf of his attack, and we estimatedour loss; and approximated xmr then strength, in- clndirig'Lewis Wallace's fresh division; expect-i ed every minute-. He; then ordered m» to get all .things ready, and at daybreak the next day to assume the offensive. That, was before General Buell had arrived, but he was known to- be near at hand. General Buell's troops took no essential part in the first day's: fight; and Grant's army; though collected hastily together, green as militia, some regiments ar riving without cartridges even, aud nearly all hearing the. dread sound of battle for the first time, bad successfully withstood and repelled * the first day's .terrific onset of a superior army, well, commanded and well handled. I knew I had; orders from General Grant to assume the;, offensive before I knew General Buell was -on the west side of .the .Tennessee * <* I understood Grant'sforces were to ad vance, on: the. west side of the;Corinth road, and Buell on the left (this was- on Monday), and accordingly at daylightLadvanced, my division by- the flank, the- resistance being trivial^, np. to.the very spot where the day be fore the battle; had been most, severe, and there waited until near noon for Buell's troops to get up abreast, when the entire line advanc ed and recovered all the ground we had ever held. I knew that with the exception of one or two severe, struggles, the fighting of April 7th was easy as. compared with, : that of April Oth. I never was disposed, nor am I now, to question anything done by General Buell and his army,, and know that, approaching our field of battle from the rear, he encounter ed that sickening crowd of stragglers aud fu^. gitives, that excited his contempt and that of his army, who never gave full credit, to those in the front line who did fight hardy and who had, at four p. m., checked tie enemy and were preparing the next day to assume the offenive." , , .- At four o'clock, on Sunday afternoon, the time when .-the sanguariary contest may be said to have ceased, the head of Nelson's division of , Buell's army arrived on the> field, and took up a position on our left, while Wallace's division, from Crump's Landing, which, bad been six hours marching five niiles„ came on tho grofind at the same time, and lookup a position, on Sherman's right. . AU though the fighting was. substantially, over for the day, their arrival on thefield had a no ticeably good: effect upon our worn-out aud somewhat dispirited troops. .Before midnight twenty-fivexlhousand fresh troops had cross^ ed tho river and taken position on 'ie left of LIFE . AND CAMPAIGNS OS GENERAL' GRANT. - Grant's army;' being placed there by Bnell, who Tecei ved his orders from. Grant. Having made all his dispositions for the second day's battle, and said to his< staff, ": Well, it was tough work to-day, but we'll beat them out of their boots to-morrow," the weary soldier of invincible determination lay down after twelve o'clock, to get a few hours' sleep beforetbe dawn of the coming day.; ' n..:.;r r ¦' When the battle' was begun at an early 1 hour on Monday the Union line was formed as follows: Nelson- on the. extreme left; then in order Crittenden, McCook.HurlbutyMcCler- nand, Sherman, and Lewis Wallace, what was left of Prentiss' and W. H. L. Wallace's di visions being ' divided among the- other com manders of the army of the Tennessee. Nel son was first attacked as he was himself ad vancing to attack ; next the centre came into action, and ere long the whole Utiion line was engaged. The accession of Buell's army; near ly doubling our effective force, told at once, and th^ rebels were soon forced to • give ground. The enemy made fierce attacks- upon our left; with the vain hope of gaining the Landing, the prize almost within their grasp at the close of Sunday's action, but were gallantly' repuls ed by Nelson, who at length drove the rebels back, their whole line being gradually forced back till all the lost ground was regained: By four o'clock Beauregard saw- the useless- ness of any further efforts, and reluctantly gave orders for the army to retreat. Our troops, worn out with two days' 'continuous fighting, and Buell'a command also much ex hausted by Sunday's marching and Monday's conflict, were in no condition to make a very vigorous pursuit, and the Union army-encamp ed that night on substantially the same ground it had occupied before the Waterloo of the Western campaign. The baffled Beauregard, who on the night of tbe 5th had sworn " that the next day he : would water his horse in Tennessee or in hell," fell back with his beaten arid discomfited' army to- Cornitb/ without having performed the promise, or crushed Grant, as he vaingloriously threatened. ' On the 8th he applied to the Union commander; under a" flag of truce, for permission to bnry his" dead, but that duty had been already performed for friend and foe alike. '• ll"»l" ¦' '"<•' \ Grant's loss, including that of Buell's army, was twelve thousand two hundred and seven teen, while the enemy's loss was unquestion ably much greater, notwithstanding' Beaure gard's report, in which it' is officially stated as being bat ten thousand six hundred and twenty-eight. fThe rebels lost their nominal leader, Albert Sidney Johnson, killed in the first day's fight, while we. had to mourn the loss of :W. H. L. Wallace and the capture of Prentiss, who, unwilling to fall back, although the lino-had retreated on each side of him, leaving his flanks exposed and in the air, was surrounded, and • :with four regiments of his command taken prisoners. ; • -. . ¦ We could fill a volume with the relation of. heroic deeds and interesting, incidents of the battle of Shiloh ; with descriptions of the suf ferings of the- sick; and wounded, and with accounts of tbe shocking scenes and sights of that Golgotha, but tbe scope of this biography does not. permit us to devote much space to these topics. Many amusing occurrences also took place even amid the, carnage and de struction of a tremendous conflict; as when an officer hurriedly rode up to an aid, during the. first day's fight, and inquired for Grant. "That's. him with the field-glass," said. the staff-officer.: Wheeling his horse about sud- . denly; he rode forward, to.the general, and touching his cap, thus addressed him : .'-¦-:; "SheneraL, I vants to make, one report; Schwartz's "battery is took.!' -., . ..,a, -¦:" Ah!" said the general, "how was thatl" :".Vell, you see, sheneral, de sheshenists come up in front, of us, and de , sheshenists flanked us, and de sheshenists come in de rear of ns, and Schwartz's battery was took.'! "Well, sir, you of course spiked the guns % " said Grant. , <-,. ? . , ..,-,- , , , , ,- j "Vat!" exclaimed the German in aston ishment, ."schpike dem guns ! schpike dem new guns! no; it would schpoil dem !",.,-, ' Well," said the general, sharply, ," what did you do?" ,;-,f.r :-¦¦•[.-¦•" " Do 1 vy, we took dem back again I " . , During : Sunday's sanguinary .,- fighting, a middle-aged man, without coal or hat, was observed by a general officer standing behind the" shelter of a tree, loading and firing with as much coolness, >as if he were/ shooting squirrels in lieu.. of ','secesh." : He had evi dently seceded > from his company and regi ment, if he ever belonged to one, and was fighting on his own account.. He would raise bis gun, take deliberate aim, and fire, eagerly watching tbe result. . ' If successful , in bring ing down one of the enemy, he made a mark on his cartridge-box with a piece of chalk, ./-LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. 37 Three times he was seen to discharge his unerring rifle with the same result, and each time the modern Leatherstocking endorsed one on his account. A moment after a shell struck the tree, crashing through the trunk, instantly killing the collected and unerring rifleman. The following Tuesday, when the dead were buried, his body wis found, with one hand still grasping the fatal rifle, and his cartridge-box, on which his chalk marks were visible, by his side. He lies interred at the foot of the tree, in a nameless grave, and his gun, which was the messenger of death to his enemies on that memorable Sunday, now hangs in a Northern library, with other war trophies, as a memento of the battle-field of Shiloh. In the country around Pittsburg Landing, the enclosures are all the old Virginia snake fence, in the angle of which a person may sit and be supported on both sides. In such an angle, and with his feet braced against a small tree, sat a man apparently thirty or thir ty-five years of age, bolt upright, andgazing at a locket in his hand. Approaching nearer it was discovered that he was dead and rigid; his stiffened feet so braced against the tree, that he could not fall forward, and the fence supporting him behind on each side. His eyes were open, and fixed with a horrible stony stare, on the daguerreotype, which was held in both hands. Iu a hasty glance over his shoulder, it was seen that the picture was that of a woman and child, the wife and daughter, doubtless, of the dead man, upon whom the eyes of the husband and father had not, even in death, ceased to gaze. In vain would that wife and child watch and wait, in their dis tant Alabama home, for the soldier's return. Like the rifleman, he now sleep3 in a nameless grave, and his hands still grasp tbe counterfeit presentment of the broken-hearted wife and orphaned child. A week after the battle, while out with a re- connoitering party on the Corinth road, we came suddenly upon one of the most shocking sights we ever beheld. Just over the crest of a hill, on the sloping bank of a small stream, some thirty yards distant from the highway, we saw about twenty rebel soldierslying dead on the ground, several so black in the face that we mistook them for negroes until, upon closer examination," we were undeceived by the color of their hair and hands. They were in such a frightful condition, that it was im possible to approach them closely, or we should have thrown some of the numerous ar ticles of clothing lying around, over their faces. Orders had been issued by General Grant for the burial of all the dead of both armies, but these poor fellows, probably killed in the pursuit of Monday, had escaped the no tice of tbe burial parties. They were im mediately interred when the facts were made known to the General on our return to camp. To resume, Grant began his dispatches giv ing an account of the conflict of Shiloh in these words : "It becomes my duty again to report another battle, fought by two great armies, one contending for the best govern ment ever desired; and the other for its de struction. It is pleasant to record the suc cess of i.b.3 army contending for the former principle." The news of this great contest spread like wildfire through the North. Tho telegram reached Washington, when a mem ber, since and now speaker, asked leave to read it ; amid cheers on every side rose tho 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 cherain de fleurs ne conduit a la gloire." Detraction was busy with its poisonous 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 the floor of Congress in the following eloquent aud truth ful words : " I come before the House to do a great act of jus tice to a soldier in the field, and to vindicate him from the obloquy and misrepresentation so persistently and cruelly thrust before the country. I refer to a dis tinguished general, who has recently fought the bloodiest and hardest battle ever fought on this con tinent, and won one of the most brilliant victories. I mean the battle of Pittsburg Landing, and Hajor- Oeneral Ulysses 3. Grant. Though but forty years old, he has been oftener under fire, and been 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-General Scott. He was in every battle in Mexico that was possible for' any one man to be in. He has received the baptismal of Are. No young offi cer came out of the Mexican war with more distino* tion than Grant, and the records of .the "War Depart ment- bear official testimony to his gallant and noble deeds. He resigned in 1855, and afterward settled in t88 MEE'AND CAMPAIGNS- OF. GENERAL GRANT. t J' Galena, in the district X have the honor to represent on. tikis Hoot. ; , , - , ¦ - '¦ - ¦ , ; , , ( "I come here to speak as an Ulinoisian, prood of hia noble and patriotic State ; proud of its great history now being made up; proud, above all earthly things* oi hei b r.i ve soldiery who are shedding , their blood upon all. the. battle fields of the Republic., If the laurela oi Grant shall ever be withered, it, will not be done by the Illinois soldiers' who have follbwered his victorious banner. * ,J ¦•*'¦¦ ' • ..!¦:.:.. • ."But to the victory at Pittsburg Landing:, which has called forth, such, a flood oi denunciation upon General Grant. "When we -consider the charges of tad "generalship, incompetency, and surprise, do we not feel that 'even the joy «t the- people ;is cruel ?•? As to the question whether there was, or not, what; might be called a surprise, I will not. argue it ; but y even h there had. been, General Giant is nowise re^ sponsible foi it, for he was not surprised. ' 'Bri was at hi* headquarters at Savannah, when the fight com menced. • Those headquarters were established. there, aa being the most convenient point for all parts of. hjs command. Some oi .the,- troops were at .Crump's Landing, between Savannah and Pittsburgh and all the new arrivals werW> coming1 tb Savaimah. -That was the propei place for the headquarters of .the com* manding Genera} at that time. The General .visited Pittsburg Landing. and all ^he-important points every day. The attack was made , Sunday morning "by a vastly superior force. * In five minutes after 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, a* has been still more falsely represented, till ;noon,.I haye-a letter 'before sue 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 oi the field where hia presence was most required, ex posing his life, and evincing, in his dispositions, the genius of the greatest commanders. "With what desK pera'te bravery that battle- of Sunday was fought 1 ¦what display of prowess and courage 1 what prodigies of valor 1 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 t : < <4 i <:: h- .riLL • > " There is no more temperate man in the army than General Grant. He never indulges in the use of intoxicating liquors 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 ¦ boot.."* - „-,.I(rfi(;,.^.; .,./;, -j ,;,::". A3 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 who have not before- had that pleasure.. , It r was 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 ' a ¦ ¦ • • * ../.:. -With, which housed toga... . „ ;..; r,.;w Rhyming the grand rounds of the Happy New Tears , „,„, , That are now beneath the snow : Fox the same awful and portentous shadow ,.„ . , ( ; _;, . That overcasfctbe earth, ,: ¦. And smote the land last year with desolation, . ' Still darkens every hearth.- '; f '-,w And the carrier bears Beethoven's mighty dead- Come up from every mart, ' ' [march, And he hears and feels it breathing in bis- bosom* -.id <¦ , And.beating.ia his heart.. . i. ... ../utr u.. . And to-day like a scared and weather-beaten veteran, • J '• : . Again he comes along, '•'- « ¦** To tell the story? of the Old Year's struggles^..; .; *;« .jiti 1;;IaanptberNewiTear'a&ong.j ;: ., ,j;^ And- the song is his, hut not -so with the story ;,-¦ *ni\ . For the story, you must know, ; ¦i:,j1' Was told in prose, to Assistant-Surgeon Austin, , By a. soldier of Shiloh ;— * X1 '' " By Robert Burton who was brought up on the Adams ^ With his death-wound in his side, . f 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 ' ' " ri •*'.' '•Had- happened but last night. - , r,uM ' *" Come a little nearer; Doctor. ' Thank you- Met ' me *¦''•' take the cup'! ¦.- -' '¦* •- * ¦• .-:'.. -J Draw your chair up I— draw it closer— just another ;;,li little sup I , ; , , ,r Maybe you may think I'm better, but I'm pretty well iised 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; ' '" 1 "It will never do, old comrade, for a soldier to say die I" ..... " What you say wiH make no diff ere n ce , Doctor, when you come to die. . i-\ ¦.•'.[: j "Doctor, what has been the matter T " "Ton were , very faint they say ; ' J - ¦ - ; ' ToTrxausttrj-toget to sleep1 now*** "Doctor, have I ii. . been away ? " . ,:.u .ij,.,/, 1 _^,<* • >,.- ...,- * "No, my venerable comrade ". "Doctor, will you please to stay T . There is something T must tell you, and yon wont "•^ have-long to stay I ' : . *_ ;r ¦"*-.' . ¦ '.X ';' .' f , '- •-, " I have got my marching orders, and am ready noV .;togo;' . ¦.. :.."<* Doctor, did you say I fainted T— but it couldn't have been so — f/., r , , , For as 'sure as I'm a Sergeant, and was wounded at Shiloh. •¦'¦*- * LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. JB9 IFro this> very night been-iback there— on the old ti field of Shiloh I '¦"Ton may think it all delusion— all the sickness of the' bruin ; If you do, you are mistaken,, and mistaken to my pain ; , , For upon my dying hour, as I hope to lire again, ' : " 1 have just been back to Shiloh, and alloverit again i "This is all that I remember; the last- time thu Lighter came, And^the lights had all been lowered, and the noises ^ i '.l^imuch the same, i - ¦ <¦ * * » : We had not been gone five minutes, before some thing ailed my name — "« Orderly— Sergeant — Robert — Boston 1 *— j ust 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 tighter,1 surely; he could not; have •¦«-' " 'spoke d> so; ' " '"- ''¦ J ' ;'--''*-' i And I tried to answer, ,« Here, sir ! ' but I couldn't make it go, . , <,._,.. I For I couldn't move a muscle, aud I ' couldn't make *" '- ftgo'T1' ' ' ' ' ' " ' ' J-'"' " "¦" ;¦ : ¦.. ...... ,. I , .[.,..,,.> : ** Then I thought it all) a. nightmare — all a humbug and a bore 1 , It is just another grapevine^ and it won't come any more; But it came, sir, notwithstanding, just the same , ; words as before, ., , -. ;., ¦• .,,< ,- (il sU. • Obderly -Sergeant— Robsbt; — BcniONl ' 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 bluffs oppo site, i ' When the river seemed perdition, and all hell seemed opposite 1 **. 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 EiEVKNTIl tiO UK ! Obdes.lv— Sergeant— Robebt — Bubton — it is the eleventh hour i * "Dr. Austin !— what day is this T n " It is Wednes- , day night, you know." " Tes ! to-morrow will be New Tear's, and a right good time below 1 ' What time is it, Dr.: Anstinr" " Nearly twelve^" (-. i. "Then don't' you go t, v ' -' ; [ Can it bo that all this happened— all, this— not an ^Jiouragoi ; , .u:i, Li ,|L,n,o, ** There was' where the gunboats opened on the dark, . rebellious host, < > ' ' > And where Webster semi-circled his last guna upon ' the coast— ; r . ¦ \> • 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, far and wide— There was where they fell on Prentfesjithere McCler nand met the tide ; ; ' '" There was where stern. Sherman rallied, and where Hurlbut's heroes died— Lower down, where Wallace charged, them, and kept char-ring till he died ! " There was where Lew Wallace- showed he was of the canny kin — w There was where Old Nelson thundered, and where Rousseau waded in— There McCook, >* sent them to breakfast,' and we all began to win- There was where the grape shot took me just as we began to win. " Now a shroud of snow and silence .over everything was spread ; And but for this old, blue mantle, and the old hat on my head, i[ '< 1 1 should not have- ever doubted} to this moment,! was dead; • i'a" ' :"J » For my footsteps were as silent as the snow upon the dead I ' ¦- . ,•: "Death and silence1! Death and silence! starry silence overhead I And behold a mighty tower, as if builded to the dead, ' -•' '¦¦.'.¦ .To the heaven'of the heavens, lifted up its mighty head; . ; . i -.t -« i Till the Stars and Stripes of heaven all seemed wav ing from its head I ; " Bound 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 ©flight Wound around it, and around it, till it wound clear out of sight I "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 I ' and ' Who goes there I ' 1 rm a friend,' I said, * if yon are.' * Then advance, • air, to the stair ! * "I advanced — that sentry, Doctor, was Elijah Bal- ' lantyne — First of all to fall on Monday, after' we had formed the line j 4 Welcome ! my old Sergeant, welcome I Welcome . by that countersign I ' And he- pointed, to the scar there under this cloak of mine ! "As he grasped my hand, I shuddered ;; thinking only of the grave- But he smiled, and pointed upward, with a bright ahd bloodless glare;' ¦ ' ' : .40 LIF£ AND CAMPAIGNS GF GENERAL GRANT. 1 That's the way> sir, to headquarters 1 • * What head- q uarters 1* * Of the brave ! * • But the great tower 1 * * 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 i ; Hurry back, for you must be here at just twelve - o'clock to-night P [' r r . /'And the next thing I remember, you were sitting there, and I— I Doctor I it is hard to leave you. Hark I God bless you all! Goodbye! .rv.^ Doctor I please to give my musket and my knapsack, when I die, ,. , To my son — my son that's coming — he wont get v.'-' here liUI die t *->-'• r^ ""¦ "¦' ' " c"!^" i:f* Tell him his old father blessed him, as he never did before ; 'And to carry that old musket— Hark t a knock it- at the door ! — 44 Till the Union— «ee t it opens I "— " Father I father I speak once more ! " — . , ,, •* Bless you ! " grasped the old, grey Sergeant, and { he lay and said ho more T ' -'" " L "When the Surgeon gave the heir-eon the old Ser geant's last advice — -And his musket and his- knapsack— how the fire flashed in his eyes 1 ! I .He is on the march this morning; and will march on till he dies — He will save this bleeding country, or will fight until -><• he dies! -¦• - ; ¦ »"• •¦ '-r' -:- ' .( CHAPTER V. - K^r ¦ I. L i SKIGB OP CORINTH. Halleck assumes command — Grant under a cloud — 1 Extracts from the letters, written by the anthor at Shiloh— Advance, of the TJnion army — Capture, of " Parmington— Siege of Corinth— Its evacuation— Ineffectual pursuit of the enemy— Buell ordered to ''¦ Chattanooga, Pope to Virginia, Grant to Memphis — Halleck made General-in-Chief— Offers com- . "' m and of the Army of the Tennessee to a Colonel- He declines— Memphis a hot-bed of treason— Aid- r ing the rebels— Stringent and statesmanlike orders issued by Grant— Guerrillas— Smugglers— Negroes , employed— tiuiet retreat— A sad incident. ^ iin..( " I do not intend it Bhall keep me from flghtingfor t our dear old flag, -when the hdur of battle comes."r ' ' ' .. Ghast to his Fjlthkb. Os the 9th of April, Henry Wager Halleck, the commanding general of the Department, "i arrived at Pittsburg Landing and assumed command of the united armies of the Ten nessee and Ohio, Grant aud 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 therleft wing, with Baell 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- tbe " Grand Army of the Tennessee,'' numbering nearly one hundred thousand men. ¦>-,<¦ Grant was nominally still in command of the District of West Tennessee, including his old army, but was, in reality, in disgrace after the arrival of bis superior officer. Although General Thomas, .commanding the right, and McClernand the reserves, were. his subordi nates, orders Were, contrary to miliiary usages, sent directly to them, without Grant being made aware of their contents, and movements were executed by his own troops without his knowledge-.'— 'Alt descriptions of injurious re ports had been industriously spread abroad seriously affecting Grant's character as a soldier.- Some -of these generated,, doubtless, from the army of the Ohio, who- bad wit nessed tber sickening crowd of 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, arid 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- leek depends "the future of our army in the Southwest ; and on Buell rests the glory of j saving it from' utter annihilation." -i - A few days later we 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-equipped and efficient a my of one hundred thousand men With not less than two hundred pieces 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 aa Buell and Nelson, to capture CoriuLti, 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, bul of courage and pluck; and 1 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 be ng 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 umler the reb.'l general's command numbered about seventy thousand, being at least forty thousand less than the irmy led by Halleck. On the third ol May, our advance had reached a point eight miles from Corinth, and the same day a portion of P ape's command captured Farmington, aban doned after but slight resistance on the part of the rebel garrison, nearly five "thousand strong. Our army moved forward slowly un der' Hallpck's Fabian policy', using tho 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 npon us un awares.1 Our army were anxious to push for ward and try conclusion with Beauregard, whom we so largely outnumbered, but when Grant ventured while at headquarters, and the s ubject 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 were 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 offered un til asked for, and in accordance with this intimation be did not again daring the siege obtrude them. It may be here remarked that after Corinth fell, and Grant had entered tbe 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. r 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 niea who would desecrate our homes 1 Is there a man so base among those who hear me as te> retreat from the contemptible foe before us 1 I wil! never blanch before their fire, nor " At this interesting period 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 Slay 28th three reconnoitering columns, one from each army, were advanced by General Halleck. A vivid description of the stirring r42 LIFE .AND CAMPAIGNS; OF. GENERAL GRANT. scene of such a period of. army operations ris .contained in the following letter written on the ..field: ,. .,,;,, r„j jA ... : f, .'.¦ ,:i) , it ^"Regiments and' artillery are placed in position, ;knd, generally, the cavalry is in- advanced but when ,-.the opposing forces are in close proximity, .the infan try does the -work* The whole front is-cqvered by a cloud of skirmishers, and then reserves formed, ami ' then, in connection with- the main line, they advance., I For a moment, all is still as the grave to those in the .background: as the line moves on, the eye- is strained! ' in vain to follow the skirmishers as they creep sileu t- ly forward ; then, from some point of the line, a sin-j gle rifle lings 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 ¦ oi. arms. r Here the ure is alawaad steady, there it rat ties wi Lh ' fearful rapidity ; and this, mingled with, the -greatf 'roar of the reserves as 'the skirmishers chance at any- t point to be driven in : and if, by reason- of superior force, these;reserves tali, back to the- main force, then .every nook and corner see cos full of, sound.- The batteries open their terrible voices, and their shells "sing horribly while winging their flight, and their "dull explosion, speaks -plainly of death- ; their canis ter and grape -go crashing through- the I trees,: rifles ring, the mu-sketa 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- r comes almost painful alter such- a scene as. this, and no one can conceive of the effect who has not experi enced it ; it cannqtbe described. The occasional firing of the pickets, 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 ajix- . iety the opening of the contest ; .it rises .with the, din of battle ; it sinks with 'the lull which follows it, and 1 finds iUelf hi fit condition to sympathize most deep ly wi th the torn, and bleeding ones that axe fast be-; , ing borne to the rear,;,. , i ... ; ¦; .,, • " When the ground is dear, then the time for work-i 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 Leas'- three hundred acres, surrounded by w-oods,. one side of it being occupied by rebel pickets. These) had been driven back, as I have described. . . ; r " 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. from 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-j men r. faam lots were on the shoulders of the men, aud on the way to the. intended line of works... . In a few moments more, a long line of crib work stretches over the slope ot^ the bill, as if another anaconda, 'fold had been twisted1 "around1 the rebels. Then, as„ for a time, the ditches deepen, the eribs flri npv thei rdirt is packed on .the-outer side, the .bushes and all ¦points of concealment are cleared- from ^he front,, and the centre divisions of our army had ~ta£en a long 'stride toward the rebel woTks. ' The siege guns are fbroucht up and placed in commanding positions. ' A -log house furnishes the hewn and seasoned timber for •&+_ the platforms, and the plantation of a Southern "Ior3 has been thus speedily transi'ormed into one of Uncle- Sam's strongholds, where the Stars 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 2Sth, expecting a gen eral engagement .at any moment. *-.,.[ - . , ... , " Soon after daylight, on Friday morning, the army was startled by rapid and" long-continued explosions, similar to musketry, but much louder. The convic tion, flashed across, my mind that. the; rebels were blowing up their loose- ammunition, and leaving. The dense smoke arising i1^ the direction of Corinth, strengthened-' this1 'belief,' and soon the whole army was-" advancing on a grand reconnoissance. - - The dis tance through.;. the woods! was short*' and in iifew minutes shouts arose- from the rebel lines, which told that our army was in the enemy's trenches. Regi ment after regimen t pressed on, and passing through extensive camps-jusf vacated, soon reached Corinth, and. found half of it in flames. .Beauregard and Bragg had left the, afternoon before, 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- builuings, private goods, stores and dwellings, and choked up half th« wells in town. In the camps immediately around the town, there were few evidences of hasty retreat'; but on the right flank,' where- Price anid Van JDom were encamped, the destruction of baggage ¦ and stores was very great, showing prempitate flight. Portions of our army were' immediately put in pur suit." "': r-.r-. \ -v:: ' ' . t --7 et •'¦' '' : i . ':'. !.:»)* .„ On. the 30th of May, the army was- drawn ! up i n line of -battle, awaiting the rebel onset, the commanding general having announced on the moruing of May 30lh to his. 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 smoke and sheets of flame announced that Beauregard, .before retreating, bad. fired the town. As his rear-guard moved out on the southern road, our advance moved ia. Buell and. Pope were sent, in pursuit, but accom plished little, and after a fruitless chase of ten. days, were recalled to. Corinth. The fotw ,mer was,, soon after, detached .and sent to [fjhattanooga,. Pope was. ordered- to Virginia, and. , G rani ; . esU b lished his . headquarters , at Memphis* captured, J une 6th, alter a brilliajjt na val combat, on, the ;Mississipi.., , . f r;On th^lTth.of July, Genera) Halleck. was assigned to the command of . " the whole land forces of. the .United States, as General -in- Chief," and immediately repaired to Washing- LIFEi AND CAMPAIGNS OP GENERAL GRANT. 43 ton, at the. same time directing Grant to leave Memphis,' and establish his headquarters at Corinth. .(VIIis jurisdiction was not, however, enlarged by Halleck's promotion ; on the con trary, as we leairi from the following letter, the new General-in-chief first offered the com mand of the army of the - Tennessee— not to Buell, or Thomas, or Sherman, or Nelson, or McClernand, but to Colouel 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 General-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, tinnt I did not know that be could do anything. | 'Yes,' he rejoined, ' I can give you comraanljl of this army.' I replied, 'I have not rank.' ' That,' said he, ' can easily be obtained.' I do not remember exactly what my reply was to this, but it was to the effect 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 bad the honor to ^command; had after' the Memphis smugglersiand many an ambulance, drawn by & pair of horses' or mules, and loaded down with well-filled' trunks, containing medicine and other contraband articles, did the troop ers 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, treasonable traders, and guerrillas — all clear and statesmanlike.' ' ;> The disposition made of fugitive- negroes was practical— they were put lb nseful em-1 ployment, and kindly treated, while awaiting the further action of the government concern^ ing them. This was before' the country had been educated to the propriety of putting guns in their* hands. The'iHicit traffic was gradually broken up, and Memphis ceased'td be a base of supplies for the rebels; disloyal utterances by the press were discontinued j and quiet and order reigned in the Egyptian- named city under the wise a t)d statesmanlike rule of General Grant. 'i ~n-h.:: ; ¦'¦ :• -.:¦-> No observant person serving in the army conld' avoid meeting with many sad scenes) but the brief incident we are about to narrate affected tho writer more than the sight of the carriage of a battle-field. - A few miles- oafl of Memphis was the beautiful residence of a' wealthy lawyer named. L- .-• On his 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 cat down. - As the rebel ; owner, notwithstanding1 his appeals that his trees might be spared, saw them falling around him until not a single one was left, his mind was so affected that his reason gradually gave way, and be become a hopeless idiot. When the writer asked the brigade commander why he could not have spared the trees, his answer was brief— but four words— "Twas: a military necessity." ' • :;:¦¦¦¦> CHAPTER VI. : < . f •! /. t ¦ : - ¦ , fUKA, CORINTH AS.n TBS HATCnlE. Military situation .in September, 1362— Price seizes . Iuka— Grant decides to drive him out— He does it — Battle described— fiebels advance on Corinth— ' Preparations for defence— Gra 1 1 t's strategy —Battle ; of- Corinth — Bosecrans falls -back from advanced positions— Desperate fighting— Final victory Beb— .- els retreat— Defeated at the Hate-hie — Grant's report— Letter from Mr. Lincoln— How does it all : 4i LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. sum up ?— A wife's letter— The eagle of Corinth— Rosecrans relieved and promoted — Grant's, com mand enlarged. key." * I wish all our generals would drink Grant's whis- Peesident Lincoln to Gbant's DEFAirens. . 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 particularly 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 : "Should the enemy come I will be as ready as possible with the means at hand. I do not believe that a forcecan 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 Iuka, 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 Iuka, 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. Tou must attack in the morning and in force. The ground is horrid, unknown 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 Iuka.'" '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 that Price was most signally defeated : , ' ¦ " "We held peaceable possession of Iuka for one day, and on the next, were alarmed by the booming1 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 going back to camp to rest awhile, the sharp crack of musketry 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 wood3 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 fifteen minutes, was kept up the most terrific fire of musketry that ever dinned my. ears.- There was one continuous roar of small arms, while grape and canister howled in fearful concert above our heads and through our ranks. General Little was shot dead early in the ac tion. * * * It was a terrible struggle, and we lost heavily. All night could be 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 all, our dead were left unburied, and many of the wounded on the battle-field, to be taken 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 place, 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 he telegraphed, " My position. is precarious, but I hope to get out of it all right.", When at last he received through 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 Ocd 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 the town. The battle of Corinth was begun by the rebels on the 2d of October, but was confined on that day to the preliminary skirmishing which is usually the avant courrier of a con flict. The next day the battle was begun in earnest, and our troops who had occupied ad vanced portions, were driven back, with con siderable confusion and loss, to the works around Corinth, which the forethought ot Grant had ordered to be constructed, when he assumed command in July. These fortifi cations undoubtedly saved the army ou the evening of the 3d. 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 column charged again and again, only to be driven back, shattered and bleeding. Still again, they are nrged 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 column" penetrate our ranks, but are quickly driven back, aiid over the broad glacis, with severe 1 >ss. Our regiments swarming over their works, chase the broken fragments of the rebel column back to the works; many crouching in the 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 G ant ha 1 planned, arid lost numerous men and guns, and had Piosecrans 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 vrounded. and Hackleman killed, Grant issued a congratulatory address to his heroic troops : " It is with heartfelt gratitude the General com manding congratulates the armies of the "West for another great victory won by them on the 3d, 4th, and 5th instant over' the combined armies of Van Dorn, Price, and 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 for knowing their numbers, never would have made the attempt except with a superior force numerically. But for tbe undaunted bravery of officers and soldiers, who have yet to learn defeat, the efforts of the enemy must have proven successful. " As in' all great battles, so in this, rt becomes our fate to morn the loss of many brave and faithful of ficers and soldiers, who have given up their lives as a sacrifice for a great principle. The nation mourns for them." Grant closed his dispatch to Washington communicating his success with these words: •'I have strained everything to take into the fight an adequate force, and to get them in the right place.'' No sooner had the good news been received at the capital than 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. How does it all sum up 1 I especially regret the death of General nackleman, and am very anxious to know the condition of Gene al Ogles by, who is an intimate personal friend." The significant inquiry " How does it all sum up 1 " may be briefly answered. The enemy's loss was upwards of eight thousand in killed, wounded and prisoners, together with numer ous guns and standards, while those who es caped were very greatly demoralized by their repeated defeats, aud by the pursuit which was continued by the entire army for forty miles, and by the cavalry for sixty. Iuka, 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 hostile 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 tortures that have nearly crazed me, for the last three days ? Pen ia powerless to trace, words weak to convey one tithe of the misery I have endured. I thought myself strong before. I have seen so much of sulfering that I thought my nerves had grown steady, and I could bear anything ; but to-day I am weak and trembling like a frightened child. " But do not wonder at it. My dear husband lies beside me, wounded unto death, perhaps. I have lost all hopes of saving him, though I thank God for the privilege of being this moment beside him. And be sides this, all around me the sufferers lie moaning in agony. There has been little time to tend them, poor fellows. True, the surgeons are busy all the time, but all the wounded have not yet been brought in, and it seems as if the time will never come when 46 LIEErANp, CAMPAIGNS OF" GENERAL GRANT; the brave men. shall have been made comfortable as circumstances may permit. It is awful, to look around, me.- I can see every imaginable form of suf fering, and yet am helpless to aid them any of con sequence, V Since night before last I have not left my hus band's side tor a moment, except to get such, things as I required, or to hand some poor fellow a cud of water. J ' ' '* ' '• Even as I write, my heartthrobs aohiogly to hear the deep groans and sharp cries about me. , IT is * sleeping, but I dare. not closemy eyes lest he should die while I sleep. ' And it is to keep awake,' and in a manner relieve my overburdened, heart that lam ¦now writing you under such sad circumstances* ' l " On the morning of the thirdinstant the fight be gan. The attack was made on General HcArthur's division, and we could plainly hear the roar of the artillery here, as it is about two; miles' and a half "distant only from, this place, r O, the fearful agony of that awful, awful day 1 I had seen P a mo ment early in the morning, but it was- only a mo ment, when he bade me good-bye, saying hurriedly, as he tore- himself away : * Pray for me, my wife, and if I fall; God protect you ! ' There was some thing in his look, and tone which struck a chill to my heart, and every moment after I knew the fight had begun, I felt as if he had indeed fallen. I cannot tell how long it was before I heard that Oglesby's -brigade was engaged, but it seemed an age to me. After that my agony was nearly intolerable.1 ;£ never .had a thought of fear, for myself, L was. thinking only of P . Then I got the word .that he had been hotly pursued by the rebels and had fallen back. '. "Late in. the afternoon I succeeded- regaining a little intelligible information. Pgor General Hack- leman was-shot through the neck, while giving a com mand, and fell mortally wounded. He died between 10 and 11 o'clock the same night, I have since learned. Up to the time of receiving the wound, he had acted ' ¦with tho greatest bravery and enthusiasm, tempered by a coolness that made every action effective.. "When dusk at laut put an pnd to the first day's conflict, I learned that General Oglesby had been dangerously "wounded, but c mid gain no intelligence of my hus band; I could not .bear the suspense. Dark as it .was, and homeless is it seemed to- search for him then, I.started out tc the battle-field. :,. - " O, how shall I describe the search of that night? It looked like madness. It was madness.' But all night long I staggered amongst bleeding corpses, over dead, horses, trampled limbs, shattered artillery— everything that goes to make up the horrors of a bat tle-field when the conflict is over. They were remov ing the wounded all night. Oh, think how awful to stumble over the dead, and hear the cries of the wounded and dying, alone, and in the night time. I had to start off alone, el3e they would .not have let me go. -'_* . " As you may suppose, I could .not find him, either amongst the living or the dead. But the next morn-; ing, just after sunrise, I came to. little clump of tim ber where a horse had fallen, his head shot off, aud his body half covering a man whom I supposed dead. His face was to the ground, but as I stooped to look closer I perceived a slight movement of the body, then heard a faint moan. I stooper and turned the face upward. The head and, face were both covered with blood, but when I turned it to the light* I knew it in spite of its disfiguration. Oh God ! the agony of that moment sickened me almost to suffocation. With a strength I thought impossible in me, I drew him crushed and bleeding form beneath the carcass of our poor old horse, Tvhom we had both so loved and petted, and dipping my handkerchief in a little pool of water amongst the bushes,, bathed his face,. and pressed some moisture between his parched, swollen lips. He was utterly senseless, andthere wa* a dread ful- wound in his head-. Both limbs were crushed hopelessly beneath his horse. He was utterly ber ypnd the reach of human skill to save, but as soon as possible 'I had him 'conveyed to the hospital. I have1 nursed him ever since hopelessly, and with a heartbreaking with grief, i ; '• , ' . *' Oh, how many wives,, how many mothers are to- day mourning the dead and dying, even as I mourn my dying I He has not opened his eyes to look at me, or spoken to me, since he fell. Oh, could he but speak to me once before he dies, I should give him up with more resignation. But.to die thus, without; a look or word ; oh,, my heart is breaking I " . , t Among the heroic regiments- that served at Corinth, was the Eighth Iowa, whose stalwart standard bearer carried a liviDg and noble specimen of an American eagle in the place o^ a flag. lie would fly off over the battle-field during the sanguinary struggle, and then re turn' and perch upon the small platform at the end of bis pole, clap his pinions, and then sail grandly aloft, accompanied by the cheers o£ the regiment, always returning to his post, seemingly regardless of the screaming shot and shell, cr the ping of the hail-storm of bullets. The following poem, descriptive of the battle, is entitled "The Eagle of Corinth;" Did you hear of the- fight at Corinth, ^ . How we- whipped out Price and Van Dorn I - Ah ! that day we earned our rations, (Ourcause was God's and the Nation's, Or we'd have come out forlorn !)— A long and terrible day ! And, at last, when night grew gray, By the hundred there they lay, (Heavy sleepers you'd say)— ' That wouldn't Wake on the morn. Our staff was bare of a flag ; "We didn't carry a rag In those brave marching days ; Ah T no ; but a finer thing I ¦ ¦ With never a cord or string, — ¦ An eagle, of ruffled wing, An eye of awful gaze 1 .The grape, it rattled like hail ; The Minies were dropping like rain, , The first of a thunder-shower— The wads were blowing like chaff, (There was pounding, like floor and flail,. ,r ,. All the front of our line !} j So we stood it, hour after hour— But our eagle, he felt fine I LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL ¦ Now for the nub of the fight I * « , . (You may guess- that we held our breath), By the Lord, 'tis a splendid sight ! A column, two thousand strong, ; Marching square to tbe death I On they came, in solid column ; For once, no whooping nor yell, (Ah ! I dare say, they felt solemn) — Front and. flank — grape and shell Our batteries pounded away ! And the Minies hummed to remind 'em Th<;y hud started on no child's play I Steady they kept a going,' But a grim wake settled behind 'em- Prom the edge of the abatis ("Where our dead and dying lay, Under fence and fallen tree), Up to Itobinette all the way The drcadtul swath kept growing! 'Twas butternut, flecked with gray. Now for it, at Eobmette I Muzzle to muzzle we met, (Not a breath of bluster or brag, Not a lisp for quarter or favor)— Threeiiraes three, by Kobinette, < , » With a rush, their feet they set i , .. , On/the logs of our parapet, , .; ; And waved their bit of.a flag — _ - t ., What could be finer or braver t But our cross-fire stunned tfrevo. ha flank ; r They melted, rank after rank— (O'er them, with terrible poise, ¦Our bird did circle and wheel!) •Their whole line began towaver-r- '* Now- -for the bayonet, boye-t-- ' [ : ' , ,_ Qn them with the. cold.steel!... .. Ah 1 well— you know how it ended— ' : We>dld for them, there ahd then-; ,Ilut their pluck throughout was splendid,). (As 1 said before, 1 could love them !) They stood, to the last, like men — j Only a handful of them , Found the way baick again. Bed as blood o'er the town, The angry sun went down, Firing flag-staff and vane — And our eagle— as for him, There, all milled and grim, He sat, o'erlooking the slain ! Next morning you'd1 have wondered Stow we had to drive the spade I There in great trenches and holes, (Ah !, God rest their poor souls !) . TVe pile some fifteen hundred, "Where that last charge was made I 6ad enough, I rausb'say X No mother. to- moiirn and search,, No priest to bless or. to pray— "We buried them where they lay, . . , "Without a rite of the church- But our eagle all that day Stood solemn and still oft hia perch* T^ia many a stormy, day Since, out of the cold, bleak North, ' Our great war eagle sailed forth To swoop o'er battle and fray, ¦ Many and many a day O'er charge, and .storm hath he wheeled — Foray and f oughten-field— Tramp and Volley,1 and rattle I — Over crimson trench aud tiuf, Over climbing clouds of surf, Through temp^t and cannon-rack, Have this terrible pinions .whirled- (A thousand fields of battle! A million leagues oi loam !) But. our bird skall yet come back; * , '. > He; shall soar to his eyrie /home — - - , , r And his thunderous wings-be furled, , In the gaze of a gladdened world, - On the nation*s loftiest dome. In October, Kceecranstwas. assigned, to the command, , of - the Department. °f the Ohio, superseding Buell, and-Granfs.- command, the Department of the Tec nessee, was considerably enlarged. 1 1 included Cairo, Foils Henry anfl DoneJson,. Northern Mississippi, and those por tions of. Kentucky, and Tennessee, west of the river of that. name. His. headquarters were coptmued at; Jackson, from ; which point he could h^st .dhject, organize and overlook, his colossal command* Reinforcements and sup plies were now forwarded to him with a- view to making a march into theinterior of Missis* s'ro-pi and capturing the {Western Gibraltar, as the rebels vaingjoiionsly called Vjcksburg. Giant now divided hi* department into- four ."48 LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. districts~and assigned the four divisions of his army as follows : Sherman, with the first division, commanded the district of Memphis Hurlbut, with the second, that of Jackson, the district of Corinth, by Hamilton, with the third division and that of Columbus, was in command of Davis, with the fourth. Grant's great administrative abilities were now dis played in preparations for the new campaign, and perhaps the most brilliant in the annals of the Great Rebellion of 1861-5. Before entering upon another chapter, in which will be told the story of this famous siege, we must again recur to the groundless stories, which continued to obtain circulation, conceriug General Grant's habits of self-indul gence. It is difficult to ascertain the precise truth with regard to the private personal hab its of men who have become distinguished in public affairs. The tongue of slander is busy against them, and on the other hand a zealous partisanship is always ready to magnify their virtues, and to cover or deny their faults. No charge is more common against eminent Americans than that of intemperance : and it is far easier to start such an accusation, and to gain credence for it in the public mind, than to disprove it by competent and avail able testimony. In the early stages of the war, the ready solution of a defeat to the Un ion arms was the intoxication of the command ing general. Banks was drunk at the Sabine Cross Roads j Hooker was drunk at Chancel- lorsville ; Grant was drunk at Shiloh, at least during the disaster of the first day ; and now rumors were again current about the General's free indulgence in whiskey. Like Banquo's ghostithey would not down. Influ ences were again at work at Washington, to lave Grant removed from his command but the witty reply of the President after the vic tory at Corinth, " I wish that all the generals would drink Grant's whiskey," showed how little credit he gave to the slanders. Some one was ilisparaging Grant in Sherman's pres ence, when the latter broke out with, " It won't do, sir, it won't do ; Grant is a great general. He stood by me when I was crazy, and I stood by him when he was drunk, and now, sir, we stand by each other," by which he of course intended to convey the impression that he no more believed his commander to be a drunkard than he believed himself to be in sane. This hue and cry against Grant was Chiefly the work of newspaper correspondents and the adherents of less successful political leaders, who wished to aid their friends by defaming Grant, and it appeared to trouble him less than it did his admirers and troops of friends in the Western armies. If any one repeated what was said by such a paper or person, he only — smoked. "If you try to wheedle out. of him his plans for a campaign," Wrote an eloquent essayist, •' Grant stolidly smokes j if you call him an imbecile and a blunderer, he blandly lights another cigar ; if you praise him as the great est general living, he placidly returns the puff from his regalia ; and if you tell him he should run for tbe Presidency, it does not disturb the equanimity with which he inhales and exhales the unsubstantial vapor which typifies the politician's promises. While you are wondering what kind of a man this creature without a tongue is, you are suddenly electrified with the news of some splendid victory, proving that behind the cigar, and behind the face discharged of all tell-tale expression, is the best brain to plan, and the strongest heart to dare among the generals of the army." CHAPTER VII. THB VICKSBCBG CAMPAIGN. Grant mores into Mississippi — Captures Holly Springs and Oxford — Murphy's cowardice — Army falls back— Campaign abandoned — Grant goes to Vicksburg — Gunboats and transports pass the bat teries— Thrilling description— Grant's habits again— Genesis of a rumor— Anecdotes — Army marches to Hard Times— Crosses to Bruinsburg— Defeats reb els in five battles — Occupies capital of Mississippi— Commences siege of Vicksburg — Unsuccessful as saults— Its capture — Magnificent results — Promot ed to Tegular army — President's letter to Grant — Pr ised by Halleck— Poem by Street — Anecdote of Grant and Sherman. " I cannot tell exactly when I shall take "Vicksburg, but I mean to stay here until I do, if it takes rae thirty years." Grant to a Rebel "Womajj. " I demand unconditional surrender." Grant to Pembekton. On the 4th of November, Grant having com pleted all his preparations, began his move ment against Vicksburg, by an advance into Mississippi, with a force of thirty thousand men. All his energies were now concentrated on the capture of the rebel stronghold, the key to the navigation of the Mississippi river. To epitomize it3 value, we may quote Slier- LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OS GENERAL GRANT. 49 - man's words : " The possession of the Missis sippi is the possession of America." While Grant steadily pushed the enemy south, other co-operating movements were being made against Vicksburg by hislieulenauts. In Sher man's sententious words, "Grant moved di rect on Peinberton, while I moved from Mem phis, aud a smaller force, Wider Washburne, struck directly for Grenada; and the first ¦ thing Pemberton knew, the depot of his sup plies, was almost in the grasp of a small cav alry force, and he fell back in confusion, and . gave us the Tallahatchie without a battle." • On the29th,- Grant's headquarters were at Hol ly Springs, and six days later he entered Ox ford, with, his cavalry at Coffee vi lie, only eight een miles from Grenada ; the whole movement into Mississippi having been made without any serious fighting, and giving promise of the most complete success, when the cowardice and incapacity of Colonel Murphy, who had been placed in command of Holly Springs, and who a'lowed this vast depot of supplies to be. captured by the rebels under Van Dorn , without striking a blow in its defence, al though previously warned that an attack was probable, deranged all Grant's admirably con ceived plans, for carrying Vicksburg, and rendered necessary a retrograde movement. The rebels destroyed all the ordnance, sub sistence, and quartermaster's stores accumu- , lated there, valued at more than a. million of dollars, and hastily evacuated the place, before. our troops fell back, as they were com pelled to do. Murphy, the same officer who gave up ' Iuka to Price, was dismissed from the service. Had Grant then known what he Boon afterwards learned, that an army could be subsisted without supplies, other than those drawn from an enemy's country, he could have pushed on to the rear of Vicksburg, and probably have succeeded in capturing the place. Not knowing this fact, he fell back to Holly Springs, and ordered forward other sup plies. Sherman, in the mean time, had moved downto Milliken's Bend, and'not hearing from Grant, who was unable to communicate with him, made his unsuccessful' assault at Chick asaw Bayou.'but after a three days' struggle, abandoned his attack against Vicksburg. The time for success in a movement south ward by way of the Mississippi Central Rail road having passed, Grant gradually fell back with his army, and soon after removed his head quarters to Young's Point, a few miles above the city of Vicksburg. Situated in a curve of the river, it was deemed impregnable, so lofty were its bluffs and so formidable its batteries. Not simply the city itself was surrounded with earth-works, but Haines, Chickasaw and Walnut Bluffs, to the north and northwest, and Warrenton, commanding the lower approaches to it, were also strongly fortified. The can- nal. project having. failed, a3 well as his at tempts to enter the Yazoo by the old Yazoo pass, and subsequently by a more circuitious route, through Steel's Bayou, Black Bayou, Duck Creek, DeerCreek, Rolling Fork and Sun flower River, he resolved to march across the country on the Louisiana side, to a point below Vicksburg, and attack the rebel stronghold in the rean After a conference with Admirals Farragut and Porter, it was determined to send a part of the gunboats and the trans ports, laden with supplies and forage, past the frowning batteries, in two divisions on dif ferent nights. Among others who shared in this hazardbus exploit, which was accom plished with the comparatively insignificant loss of two transports, were several newspaper correspondents, one of whom has left this glowing picture: " It was ten o'clock on a beautiful moonlight night, even for those latitudes, when we cast loose at Milliken's Bend, and our little tug snorted down the river accompanied by the transport A. D. Hine. " Our adieus said, we quietly chatted, and finished a Bolitary bottle of dry Catawba, which some good friends had sent on board for our comfort.. We had on board, as a guard, fifteen sharp-shooters from the Forty-seventh Ohio, under Captain "Ward, Surgeon Davidson, the tug's crew of eight, four persons on their way to join their regiments, and our party of three, all volunteers. "I should here mention, as illustrating the temper of that army, that when fourteen volunteers were called for the whole regiment stepped lonvard. Com pany A was selected, and still there was a squabble to go. Fourteen were then marked off ; a fifteenth begged permission of the Colonel, and one actually paid a premium of five douars to his comrade 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 deemed almost unne cessary, and so put on quite loosely, and the ends of the boat were quite exposed. " At midnight we came in sight of Vicksburg. At half-post twelve as we were steaming across the upper side of the point, the rebel pickets on the Louisiana shore began to fire 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 exhaust pipe gave ample warning when we were three miles dis tant. -.60 . LIFE • AND- CAMPAIGNS' OJF GENERAL GRANT. " At tire minutes past one the first shot was fired, and struck so near, as to leava us "in, doubt whether the baiges were hit. A lull of a few minutes, then ' another, cloa'ely followed by a round! ' It kept up in - this way as we were rounding the bend, the shots all j , seeming to come very near to us, but lew. striking, as » *ir-e could perceive by the momentary throb of the hull ¦when struck. ** "W'iih- the exception-'of Captain "Ward, the pilots, ¦ engineers and firemen, the ' rest1 of "us were' posted along the barged, on ; the alert for an attempt at , boarding. _ t «,,,,;( i. . J ,,..,.., " By reference to a map of the locality, it will be seen that the river' forms a kind of loop" in front 6t ^ Vicksburg; so that we 'had tti run a portion of the disr - iance by, and then turn under, tire, and run the whole i 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 fire: ''"" '•-"',' J" ' j -i ¦¦ "At first there were efforts to peer from behind the ,- rampiirt-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 dropped. The screaming of, -Jthe shells as- they 'went over ns,> the- splashing' and r: spray, were iot a- time-subjects of jesting and: imitaf . tion, when a Bhell burst. three feet, over our head$ with a stunning report.' . ""Twenty minutes' (long minutes those) under firej • and nobody hurt I - J ' '¦> ¦ . < ' r -' i ; f ¦ ' t. . V The barges still floating, and the little-' propeller making eight miles an hour. "We had already passed the upper batteries, and were congratulating our4 " selves on our good luck,' the guns pouring broadsides ' at ua with amazing noise,' as' we were' but four huh-j " dred yards from the guns, and it seemed in the Clear air as if we were right in front of the muzzles. Sev-i ' eral shots struck the barges very heavily,still 'therej ¦was no stoppage. " Itmust 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 im- ' der us. " My first thought was' that the powder had been " Btowed on the barges, and had ignited'*, but oh 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 ' tip ' in a' spouting shower, 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 fasten The shells burst all around aud above us tor a few moments with a stun ning and blinding effect. The coals had set fire £o> ¦=.the hay bates in several places; the bursting shells had aided in the work. In vain did we trample upon them, and throw them overboard, burning our hands, feet and clothing in the effort. No buckets were to fcbe found. They had been blown away. On looking downbetween the barges, there hung the fragments' of the tug by tKe tow ropes. The little ' craft being; -nearly all boiler, had been shattered to atoms, as we .afterwards learned, by a ten-inch shell. v, "The rebels then set up a hideous yell from the bluffs, as if in mockery at our crippled condition. .The batteries kept on firing, the blazing hay lighting np 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 fife of 'them all. * '¦ "'As 'soon as wecould clearly see'through theblind- ing smoke, we found Mr. Browne standing barehead ed on. th/a -topmost bale, as if,, he were a defiant target for the rebel gunners. Captain "Ward liad been blownforwa'rd 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 Ihfor- mal consultation, it "was deemed best to quit the barges* as the flames were crowding us. very closely. Bales of hay were then, tumbled off into--tb,e, river, and the wounded placed upon them. „ . " The heat how became intense. Mr. Browne and myself remained till all were-off, and then, with but one: bale tor the two,, stripped -tor the plunge* Just as we were ready a:. solid shph whistled between us, and ploughed into the ^ater under Mr. Richardson's feet, overturning him'ffom his bale, and producing a fountain of spray where he- had sunk. ' : ' .,.*• Our, eyes, were- gladdened iathisiretamitothe surface unhurt; ,} ; (r d(ii, i i(. r( .(t.j( , s % j ** "We leaped into the muddy flood and buffeted tho 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 thafcpur pickets occupied it. " TVe had been in the water for half an hour, per haps)- when' the sound of the stroke of oars reached usj 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 the1 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 countiy, to Hard Times, a landing on the Louisiana side of jthe 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, storv, recently con tributed to tbe columns of a New York jour nal, by F. L. 01 tnsted,-, and entitled, '" The Genesis of a Rumor." ^r As the General Snperintendent.pf.the ;San- itary Commission he had occasion, early in 1863, to visit General Grant, at, his headquar ters just above Vicksburg. , His assistant, Mt F. Knapp, was with iiim.. They were received by the ^General on board a steamboat* and engaged in conversation, sitting over a table LIFE' AND GAMPAIGNS' OF GENERAL' GRANT. fcl on which 'was a- pitcher of water with some glasses. The General gave them aa accbunt of the condition of hia. campaign, which then wore a very uiilavorable appearance. General Steele had just been foiled in an attempt to getaround Vicksburg by way of the Sunflower ; the idea of passing, below the. city by means of a canal across the peninsula from Young's Point was not promising; 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,'' saysMr. Olmsted) "as much-by the remarkably me thodical clearness of the narration as by the simple candor and ingenuousness with which It was given to us. who, the 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 wa3 his manner,and yet so exact and well ar- ranged.his expressions, that be was simply re peating a process of thinking, it put,' in ordei to assure himself that he . fully comprehended and gave just weight to all the importantele- iqents. of some grand military problem, the solution of which he was abont 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 rose to receive it, and stood with one hand on his chair while she spoke to him. He then made an appointment for his medical director to call upon her tbe 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. Shelamentedthe 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 tipsy -when he, spoke to her that he had to steady himself by leaning on a chair; raoreJ over, his voice was thick. and he" spoke inco herently.,',' The next. day, being. ashamed to See her himself, he had sent his doctor to find app;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 ¦with him and been face to face with him for fully three- hours, he nob' only knew that he was Under the influence of no drink stronger than the Unqualified mud of the Mississippi, but he could assure her that he had n<-ver seen a man who appeared to him more thoroughly sober and clear-headed than General Grant at the moment of her entrance. This did not suffice, however, to satisfy the lady, and probably to this day she is convinced that she has seen General Grant in a state of intoxication. The facts in the case show clear ly on what sort of evidence this great bene factor of the country has been so widely and unscrupulously ma'igned. Another, story of the same kind, which is equally well attested, illustrates quite as re markably the small groundwork of facts- on which the most calumnious reports may be built up. While Grant was conducting, the memorable siege of Vicksburg, a. letter was sent to the office of the Evening Post, from a respectable and trustworthy Union man of the West, alleging that on ascertain .occasion Gcant went,.with. his. staff,, from Springfield, 111., to Cairo, in the special car of the Presi dent of the Illinois Centrat Railroad ; that on the way they all got drunk, ,and that Grant was drunkest of all ; and that for this reason, if foiv no Other, he ought to be at once re moved from his command. It happened that when' this letter was received, Mr. Osborne, then Presidentof the Illinois Central Railroad, was present at the Evening Post office,- and was asked, about the story: He replied .- "It is a malignant falsehood. Grant and his s^arF did go down to Cairo in the President's car ; I took them down myself, and selected that car because it had conveniences for working, sleeping, and eating on the way. We had din ner in the car, at which wine was served to such as desired it. 1 asked Grant what he would drink ; he answered, a cup of tea, and this I made for him myself. Nobody was drunk on the car, and to my certain knowledge, Grant tasted no liquid but tea and water," To the. persistent and unwearying attempts to defame and misrepresent General Grant, he did not deign the slightest notice, finding con solation in his, inseparable, companion — and doubtless the confidant of many muttered things — his cigar. Another comfort he per haps found in the Chinese proverb: "Forms are known by their shadows, and great men by their calumniators;" -¦ One must stand high to call- such a shadow . '"-• 62 LIEE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. The following anecdotes, contributed by. a lady of Ashland, Pennsylvania, refer to the same topic aa the articles alluded to above: I ' ' I IJ J' J '¦ ¦¦ i " During- the first three years of the war I was actively identified with tho "Western branch oi" the Sanitary Commission, and had abundant opportunity of judging for myself in regard to the character and ability oi our general**. During the eotire campaign of the opening- of the Mississippi, it was my privilege • to aid in caring1 for our noble patriots, both in hos pital and camps, and I have been for weeks together where I saw General Grant frequently, he*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 1862-63, when the army arrived at Memphis, after long, weary marching, and trials that sicken the heart to think of, 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 X cannot persuade him to do so ; he says he will not die, and he will not touch a drop 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 tbe headquarters boat at Milliken'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 whatever 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 glass? 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 off your mind.' Looking up and smiling, he replied : 'Mac, you know your whiskey won't help me to think. Give me a dozen of the best cigars you can rind, 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 around Vicksburg during that long siege, the time that, tried' men's souls, I watched every movement that it was possible for me 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, wliile calling- upon the general remarked: 'I have some very fln brandy on the boat, and if you will send an orderly with me to tho river, I will send you a case or two * ¦* I am greatly obliged,' replied the General, * but I do no*1, use the 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 Vicksburg while all around wew drinking toasts in sparklinjr cbam^a^ne, I saw Gen* eral Grant push aside a glass oi wine, and taking up a glass of Mississippi water, with the remark, *Thi9 suits the matter in hand,' drinkvto the toast, * Go.1 gave ua Lincoln and Liberty ; let us fight for both,' " , On the last day of April two corps crossed from the west side in transports to Bruins- 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, aud 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 capita) of Mississippi.! ; Grant's masterly campaign^ while apparently threatening an immediate* attack against the Gibraltar of tbe South, wa» really intended to f pre vent Geueral Pember- ton, the Pittsburg commander, from forming a junction with General Johnston's troops, then, in the vicinity of the State- capital. , r , -. A letter written from Rocky Springs, May 7th,' gives the following description of the march towards Jackson, and the fruits of ap pealing to the sword ; „ v , . . , . . - ,, . , v. , ; ,_ -_ . ., j.ir r - r.-, ¦-¦ > ¦ ". The' army is slowly advancing into the heart of Mississippi, with Jackson in front, and Port Gibson eighteen miles behind. The pale blossom of the mag nolia peeps out among the foliage, and fills the air with its delicious odor. The road is skirted with lord ly plantation grounds, no longer covered with cotton, but vast corn-fields, pregnant with stores for the Confederate army. ' "We frequently come upon resi dences of rare beauty, with airy verandas, and gar dens of evergreen and May roses ; but the stragglers of the army have made complete havoc of everything in the shape of provisions, portable wares of value, and even furniture. Frequently, mirrors, sideboards, wardrobes, and libraries are wantonly demolished and trodden under foot. Soldiers in Uncle Sam'? uni form are jostling each other through parlor and bed chamber, opening bureaus and scattering the con tents on the floor, ~>r smoking and hobnobbing; witS setae member of the family on the door-step. "V?nC would have dreamed when the people oi this region^ one holiday morning, commenced voting Mississippi rut of the Union, that this garden spot, separated by hundreds of mile* and hundreds of thousands of strong erme, w*nld echo the roar ot battle, and feel the terrible desolation of civil war ? It is a dismal pictur? of; the 'bitte* end/ which tho defenders of treason have so flippantly telked of. This condition of things has been almost a necessity with our army- It made a forced march with three days' ratiors, en$ no transportation that deserves tho name— general officers frequently being on foot. Hence both food LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. 53 and wagons had to be procured from the Burronnd- ing country. . ,. " Our column on the march is a most motley car avan. Every regiment u followed by a retinue of negroes&ndniules, the extent, if not quality of which, would have done honor to an Eastern Sheik. "Wagg ons, carts, carriages, aud buggies of every description fill up the train. Chickens and gobblers hang on the saddles* Droves of cattle and sheep* urged on by frantic negroes, mounted on ' bare-bones,* mingle with the artillery aud baggage wagons. *' .Notwithstanding the necessities of the army, they cannot justify the wanton vandalism of 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 au order haa emanated from headquar ters within a day or two which it is hoped will cor rect the evil hereafter. Another letter, written six days later, at Raymond, eighteen miles southwest of Jack son, 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 puzxled 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 wrote, General McClernand was on the extreme right, with Osterhaus'a division advanced to Kocky Springs. General McPherson, at that time, Uy, with his army corps, to the westward, near Han kinson's Ferry, on a road running nearly parallel to McClernand. 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 Satur day, McPherson again moved to the eastward, to the village of Utica, crossing the road occupied by McClernand, and leaving the Utter on his left. Sunday morning McClernand 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 np, passed McClernand'3, and encamped that night at the village of Auburn, about ten miles south of Ed ward's Station, on the railroad from Vicksbnrg to Jackson. As soon as it passed, MeCiernand's corps followed a few miles, and th^n 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 abont eight miles otill further to the northeast, a. few miles north of Utica. The whole formed an immense line of battle ; Sherman's corps being in tbe centre, with those of - McPherson and McClernand forming the right and left wings. It will be observed, also, that a change of front had been effected. From Grand Gulf, the army marched eastward, but, by these 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'* advance drove in the enemy's picket*' near Hall's Ferry, and brisk skirmishing ensued for an hour or two, with little loss to either side. By noon the rebels had disappeared from his frout, 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 tbe 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 stream, and were unable, owing to the nature of the ground, to make a charge, or clear the rebels from their position. Land- graber'a Battery was thrown to the front, supported by the 17th Missouri and 31st Iowa regiments, and threw a few shell into the bushy undergrowth Bkirt* ¦ ing the stream which gave them cover. Skirmishers 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 was burned during the skirmish, but a crossing was con structed in two hours, and trains were passing before ' noon. , r , , " But the principal opposition to the line of march t was in the front of General McPherson. General Logan's division came upon a body of rebel troops, '. estimated at about ten thousand, posted on Fondren's Creek, two miles southwest of this, at ten o'clock. Tuesday morning. Brisk skirmishing began at once, , and a general engagement was soon brought on. The enemy (as in front of General Sherman) was almost wholly concealed, at first, by the woods bordering the ¦ stream, behind which their forces were posted. Their artillery was on an eminence that commanded. our ¦ approach. Our troops had to cross an open field, ex posed to a terrible fire. The first aud 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 in two • col- • umns, the principal one taking the road to Jackson. The Union loss in killed, wounded, and missing will not be far from 300, while the rebel loss i3 much greater, probably 600. r ,ni "To night General Grant's headquarters are here. . General Sherman is six miles from here, on the road to Jackson. General McPherson pushed northward this afternoon to Clinton (a station on the railroad), and has at length cut the artery that animates the t American Gibraltar. Its reduction now is only a question of time. Its surrender is, to my mind, made ' certain. ' i. V From intercepted dispatches. General Grantlearns ¦ that General Femberton has instructed his forces to - fall back on Vicksburg whenever hard pressed, anc that the rebels have resolved to stake all on their final ability to hold the place. "With the railroad in our possession t the eastward, the river patrolled by ' gunboats above and below, audi cavalry dashing 54 LIFE: AND CAMPAIGNS-OS :- '.GENERAL GRANT. southward from Memphis, the fate of the doomed and iU-starred city of Vicksburg is irrevocably sealed. The escape of the forces now in it seems im possible. :...'' -h ,¦ " No fears need be. felt for the supplies of General Grant's army. Corn, salt meats, and livestock are abundant everywhere* The soldiers are well fed and well satisfied..' At a review, a few days ago, General Grant'* appearance ou the field was the signal for such an outbreak of universal .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 ing like it was ever before observable in this depart ment. Animated with such a spirit, our army is well. nigh invincible. . . , "P. S.— The- rebels lost 80 killed, 140 wounded, and 18ft taken prisoners, yesterday. Union loss 51 killed and 80 wounded. . So say my latest informants* . •* By making demonstrations on Hawkinsville and Hall's Ferries, General Grant has succeeded in com pletely deceiving, the enemy as to the real point of attack. General Pemberton has been sending troops to both places, while we have quietly marched to this. point, and will probably march .to Jackson in two days at furthest. ""„ ,, ¦.;,.-. »... .v.' >¦..<-• ¦< -,., ..., "On the 14th of jUay we defeated General Johnston's army, and captured Jackson; on the 16th. we fought the bloody battle of Cham pion Hill ; on the 17th, again defeated Pem- berloti's army at the Black River Bridge, and on the 19th,,Grantfs forces completely invested Vicksburg on. the north, east,, and. south — Porter with his fleet guarding the river — and the siege — one of the most famous in history — began. It was justtwenty days since Grant's army crossed from the west side of the river, and entered upon that splendid and memora ble campaign. In that brief time, he had marched more than two hundred miles, beaten two armies in five battles, captured nearly one hundred-cannon, and killed or made prisoners, upwards of twelve thousand of Johnston's and Pemberton's armies, Two assaults were made on the rebel stronghold by pur troops, but they were both Tin successful, and attended by a severe loss in killed and wounded. Badeau, in bis admirable military history of General Grants-says:— t, ," The assault was in some respects rnparalleled in the wars of modern times. No attack on fortifica tions of sucrr strength had ever been undertaken by the. great European captains, unless the assaulting party outnumbered the defenders by at least three to one. In the great sieges of the Peninsular war the disproportion was even greater still. At Badajos, Wellington had fifty-one thousand men, eighteen thousand of whom were in the final assault, while the entire French garrison numbered only five thou sand; the British loss in the assault alone was thir ty-five nuadred. At Ciudad Rodrigo, Wellington had thirty-five thousand men, and the French less than two thousand, not seventeen hundred Wing able to bear arms ; the British loss was twelve hun dred and ninety, seven hundred and ten of these at the breaches; while only three hundred Frenchmen fell. But Badajos and Rodrigo were carried. " In the second assault on Vickburg, Grant had, in his-various columns, about thirty thousand men en- paged j of these he> loafc probably three thousand in killed and wounded. ' He, however, was met by an - army, instead of a garrison. Pemberton, according to his own statement, put eighteen thousand five hundred men in the trenches. It was, therefore, no reproach to the gallantry or soldiership of the army of the Tennessee that it was unable to cany works of the strength of those which repelled it, manned by troops of the same race as themselves and in num bers so nearly equal to' their own. Neither can the' ar;eneralship which directed this assault be fairly cen sured. - The only possible chance of breaking through - such defences and defenders was in massing tbe troops, so' that the weight of the columns should be absolutely irresistible. -But the broken, tangled ground, where often- a company could not advance by flank, made massing impossible ; and this could not be known in advance. The rebels, too, had not shown in the week - preceding the assault any of the determination which they displayed behind their carthern walls at Vicksburg ; the works at the Big* Black river also were impregnable, if they had been well defended; and Grant could not know before hand, that Pemberton's men had recovered their for mer mettle, any more than he conld ascertain, with out a trial, how inaccessible were the acclivities and how prodigious were the difficulties which protected these reinvigorated soldiers. But Badajos was thrice besieged and oftener assaulted ere it fell; and the stories of Saguntnm and Saragoasa. prove, that Vicksburg was not the only citadel which long resist ed gallant and determined armies." The war produced nothing more vivid in pictorial-poetical form than the following lit tle gem, descriptive of a familiar incident of the- first assault on Vicksburg, May 19, 1863. The dramatis persona of this living poem are General Sherman and a dtummer-boy of the Fifteenlh Corps: While Sheroen 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 * . i Back from the front there came, . 1l Weeping and sorely lame, The merest child, the youngest face - ,.. Man ever saw in such a fearful pUce, . Stifling his tears, he limped his chief to meet ; */¦ But when he paused, and tottering stood, ¦¦ ; Around the circle of his little feet .,{ There spread a pool of bright, young blood. ¦»•'- , i ..,,.. Shocked at his doleful case, • ,, ./ . i , * Who are you ? Speak, my gallant boy ! ?! ; "A drummer, sir— Fifty-fifth Illinois." -**•:. LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF' GENERAL -GRANT. 66 "Are you not hit?" "That's nothing. Only send Some cartridges, our men are out; And the foe press us." "But, wy little friend—" •' Don't mind me ! Did you hear that shout t What if our men be driven T Oh, for the love of Heaven, Send to ray colonel, general dear I " "But you I" "Oh, Ishalleaeily find the rear." " F1I see to that,*' cried Sherman; and a drop Angela might envy, dimmed his eye, As the boy, toiling toward the hill's bard top, Turned round, and, with his shrill child's cry. Shouted, " Oh, don't forget I We'll win the battle yet ! But let our soldiers have some more, More cartridges, six— calibre fifty-four ! " We cannot follow the slow progress of this famous siege of forty-wx days, but must con tent ourselves with a statement of tbe 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 Vicksburg marched'out of the lines it had defended, and stacked its arms in front of the- conquerors. ¦ A letter written at the time gives the follow ing description of the scene: *'* As melancholy a sight as ever man witnessed — for brave men, conquered and bumbled, no matter how vile the cause for which they fight, present always a sorrowful spectacle ; and these foes of ours, traitors and enemies of liberty and civilization though they be, are brave, as many a hard-fought field can well attest. They marched out ot their entrenchments by regiments upon the grassy de clivity immediately outside their fort; they stacked their arms, 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 went through the ceremony with that downcast look so touohing on a soldier's face; not a word was spoken ; ' there was none of that gay badinage we are so much accustomed to bear from the ranks or regiments marching through our streeca ; the few words of command necessary were given by their own officers in that low tone of voice we hear used at funerals. Generals McPherson, Logan, and Forney, 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, and Missouri. The arms were mostly muskets and rifles of superior excellence, and I saw but very few shot-guns* or indiscriminate weapons of any kind. It was plain that Pemoerton had a splendidly appointed army. Their flags were of a kind new to sue, all I saw being cut in about the same dimen sions as our regimental colors, all oi tho aingle color (red), with a white cross in the centre. ; , " The ceremony of stacking arms occupied a little over au hour upon that p-jrt of the lines ; and when it was concluded, the glittering cavalcade of officers, Federal and rebel, mounted and swept cityward oo the full gallop, through such clouds of dust as I hope never to ride through again. A lew minutes, fortu nately, brought us to a halt at a house on the ex treme outskirts of the city, built of stone, in the Southern fashion, with low roof and wide verandas, and almost hidden front view in aa tsxuberauee of tropical trees, and known as Forney's headquarters. " And here were gathered all the notables of both armies. In a damask-cushioned armed rocking-chair sat Lieu tenant-General Pemberton, the most discon tented-looking man I ever saw. Presently there ap> peered in the midst of the throng a man small ia stature, heavily-set, stoop-shouldered, a broad iacn covered with a short sandy beard, habited iu a plain suit of blue flannel, with the two stars upon his shoulder denoting a major-general, in the United States army. He approached Pemberton, and en- tered into conversation with him. There was no vacant chair near; but neither Pemberton nor any of his generals offered him a seat; and thus- for flvo minutes the conqueror stood talking to the van quished seated, when Grant turned away into ths house, and left Pemberton alone with his pride or his grief, it was hard to tell which. Grant has the most impassive of faces, and seldom, if ever, are his ieelings photographed upon his1 countenance ; but- there was then, as he contemplated the result of his labors, the faintest possible trace pf inward satisfac tion peering out of his cold grey eyes. All this occu pied less time than this recital of it; and, meantime, officers of both armies were commingled, conversing as sociably as if they had -not beeu aiming at each other's lives a few hours before. Generals McPher son and Logan now turned backtoward our camps to bring in the tatter'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-Colonel William E. Strong, assisted by Sergeant B. F. Dugan, Fourth company, Ohio Independent cavalry, and followed by a numerous throng of officers, soldiers, and civilians, ascended to the cupola of the court-house; and at half-past eleven o'clock, on the 4th of July, 19G3, flung out our banner of beauty and glory to the breeze." In another letter; written a few days later, we stated tbat " Vicksburg, which was really a handsome city, with good public-buildings and many fine residences, surrounded with well-kept and beautiful gardens, giving evi dence of wealth, good taste, and general pros 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 yoa meet with dust, decay, and neglect. Many houses are pierced,. others perforated by shot and shell* The pillars of piazzas are knocked 66 LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GBANT. 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 boles 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 perhaps 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 . .. .r.rM,...-, ;t( v * - ~\'rv i . t-' ' .< .n -m;J- ?3.'-r r.-: fi-. -:. ' •*; rA *.'. .¦'.'lil. t •* Cannon to right of them, ^ . r . v.,. .-,, Cannon to left of. them,. , .f ,^ ¦*,.;-.» .-,¦ . 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 text 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 hundred guns, reached Washington, Grant was immediately made a Major -Gene- (al in the regular army, a position which iu he second year. of the war, he looked forward to as the height of earthly ambition. Tbe Genera. -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- j midable obstacles. to be overcome, the num- j ber of forces, and the strength of the enemy's works, we cannot fail to admire tbe courage And endurance of the troops, and the skill and daring of tlteir commander. ¦ No more brilliant exploit can be found in military history." It 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 aud 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- lure 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, tbe occupation 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 officers; at least 10,000 killed and wounded, and among the killed Gens. Traoy, Tilghman, and Green; and hundreds, perhaps thousands of stragglers, 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 officer 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 surrend r 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 Mansion, ) Washington, July 13, 1863. [ Major-General Grant : ¦:?&¦* Deab General— I do not remember that you and I ever met personally. I write this new as a grateful acknowledgment for the almost inestimable service you have done the country. I wish to say a word further. 'When you first reached the vicinity of Vicksburg, I thought you should do what you fin ally did— march the troop* across the neck, run tha batteries with the transports, and thus go below ; and I never had any faith, except a general hope that you knew better than I, that the Yazoo Pass expedition and the like could succeed. When you got below and took Port Gibson, Grand Gulf and vicinity, I thought you should go down the river and join General Banks, and when you turned northward, east of the Big Black, I feared it was a mistake. I now wish to make the personal acknowledgment that you were right and I was wrong. ,\ , . . A. Lincoln. LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. 57 ing that he would join him on a cerlain day, intercepted, and this caching General Gard ner, the commander at Port Hudson, (he place was immediately surrendered and the Missis sippi flowed " unvexed to the sea." The national ejoicing and the grateful ad miration 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 1 Down reels the rebel rag I Up shoots the Btarry fiag 1 Vickburg is ours 1 Hurrah! Arch the green bowers I Hurrah! Arch o'er the hero who 'Nearer and nearer drew, ' ' letting wise patience sway, ¦ ' Till, trom hia brave 'delay, Bwif t is the lightning's ray, Bounded he to the fray, Full on his tated prey ; Thundering upon his path, Swerving not, pausing not, Darting steel, raining shot, In his fierce onset, hot "With his red battle wrath ; Flashing on, thundering on ; Pausing then once again, Curbing with mighty rein, All his great heart, as vain Writhed the fierce toe, 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! 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 Sherman, , 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 hope that my protest will be forwarded by you to Wash ington." " Very well, Sherman," quietly replied tbe 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, which culminated iu the surrender of Vicks burg aud its immense garrison — the largest capture of men ahd materials ever made in war ; at tllm, Napoleon received thirty thou sand men and sixty pieces of cannon, a num ber, says Alison, " unparalleled in modern warfare." Prior, however, to Pemberton'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 th© ground beneath his "fiy,"'endeavoringtokeep 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 paper which he had in his possession. Taking a handful of documents from his breast pocket, a receptacle which 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 montlra "before he had handed to General Grant, to be forwarded to Washington through the prope;- channel. An expression of aston ishment and gratification diffused 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 Till THB CHATTAUOOQA CAMPAIGN. 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 Bidge and. Lookout Mountain — Another great victory- Thanks of Congress— A gold medal— Grade of Lieu- ;68 LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. tenant-General revived — Grant nominated for the position — Goes to Washington — Presentation of , hia commission by the President. " Hold Chattanooga at all hazards." Grant to Thomas. " I will hold it tjll 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. The Chamber of Commerce of the city of MeuiJ , phis, during his visit to that post, presented - hiui with a series of resolutions, offering him the hospitality of the city,,and proffering hini „,a complimentary dinner. The following reply; , which is a model .of modesty, simplicity and noble sentiment,. is worthy of a place in, this , story of his life ;. . ,,_,..,. ,.,," " Memphis, Tenn., August 26, 1883. i I j " 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, 1863,' tendering me a public re ception. *' In accepting this testimonial, which I do at a r great sacrifice of my personal feelings, I simply de sire to pay a tribute to the first publio exhibition in Memphis of loyalty to the government which I rep resent in the Department of the Tennessee. I should dislike to refuse, lor considerations of- personal con venience, to acknowledge, anywhere or in. any form, the existence of sentiments which I have so long and so ardently desired to see manifested in this depart ment. The stability of this government and the '.unity of this nation depend solely on thecordial sup port and the earnest loyalty ox 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 command. It is coxnpos- 'ed of men whose loyalty has been proven by their -deeds of heroism and their willing sacrifices of life and health. They will rejoice with me that the mis erable adherents of tbe 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 role of tbe leaders of the rebellion. I have the honor to be, gentlemen, your very obedient servant, , TJ. 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 number 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 niiuutes 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 staffI)surgeon, Dr. Hewitt, who said : • t " 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 oi his staff present, I therefore feel it my duty to thank you for this manifestation of your good will, as also the numerous other kind nesses of which he has been the recipient ever since his arrival among you. General G.rant believes that in all he has done he has no more than accomplished aduty, and one, too, for which no particular honor ia due. But the world, as you do, will accord other wise." At a late hour iu 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. i 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 aa I am to see peace established, I would not, therefore, be willing 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 13th army corps (Ord's), the latter havin<» 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; no better ore found on any other." The review took place September LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. 5s 6th, in the presence of Generals Grant, Banks, Washburne, Herron, Stone, Thomas, the Adju tant-General of the United States army, and other minor military magnates. What a mag nificent spectacle! What cheers rent the air as the historic colors of the old Thirteenth Corps dipped to the hero of Vicksburg, as lie passed along the lines, followed by a brilliant cortege of captains and staff officers, who had great difficulty in keeping up with the General as he dashed along at a full gallop. In truth they 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 froopi passed in review before Grant, moving along With that easy, careless, accu.ate 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, Shiloh, 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 Giant lifted his hat with reverence and deep feeling, as tire 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 tbe 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 placed1 him on the war path. He was directed to proceed to Cairo as Soon as lie was able to tike the field, and he at once proceeded to that point, accompanied by his staff and headquarters. On his arrival he was instructed by Halleck to "'immediately proceed to the Gait House, Louisville, Ken tucky, where you will meet au officer 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 17th, and Grant at once started for Louisville, by rail. At Indianap olis he was met by the Secretary of War, whb brought with him an order investing hirii with the consolidated departments of the Cum berland, Oliio and Tennessee', including all the territory between the Alleghanies and the Mississippi river, excepting that portion coni- manded by General Banks, to be known' as the Military Division of the Mississippi. Mr". Stanton also brought two'other orders-, one r#» taining Rosecrans in his previous command of the army and department of the Camber* land, the other relieving him and substituting General George H. Thomas. Grant was of fered his choice, and at once made it in favor of a change, his previous experience with General Rosecrans not being satisfactory. He was immediately relieved and Thomas assign ed to the vacant position. . On assuming command of the new military division, Grant issued the following order : Headquarters, Military Division op the \ Mississippi, Louisville, Ky., Oct. 18, 1803. f In compliance with General Orders No. 337, of date "Washington, D. C, October 16, 1S63, the undersigned hereby assumes command of the ** Military Division of the Mississippi, embracing the departments of the Ohio, of the Cumberland and of the Tennessee." The headquarters of the Military Division of the Mississippi will be in the field, where all the reports and returns required by the army regulations and existing orders will be made. , U. S. Grant, Major-General. The day following he left Louisville for Chattanooga, after forwarding the following dispatch to General Thomas; "Hold Chatta^ nooga at all hazards. I will be there as soon as possible." To which the stout old soldier replied at once : "I will hold the town till we starve ! " From Bridgeport Grant proceeded on horseback over road3 almost impassable by reason of the rain, which rolled in torrents down the mountain sides. Frequently the whole party had to dismount and lead tbeir horses over unsafe places, or spots where it was impossible to cross on horseback, Grant,' 60 LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. -who was still suffering and lame, being car ried in the arms of soldiers. Grant's presence, .and the reinforcements constantly coming in • under Hooker and Sherman, soon enabled the shut-in and suffering Union army to put Bragg .: — who had looked down from the heights of Missionary Ridge upon tbem as his certain prey— on the defensive. Ignoring the word impossible, as Napoleoa did, Grant, after her culean and almost superhuman exertions, at length had everything in readiness, and sent his invincible legioos, under his lieutenants, .Granger and Hooker, Sherman and Sheridan, up those craggy mountain sides , above the .clouds, and won, on the 21th and 25tb days of November, the ever-memorable battles of Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain. Jn lieu of any words of ..our own, \v& prefer tto place before our readers the finest descrip tion of these battles, or of any other of the .war, from tbe pen of B. F; Taylor, an accom plished writer, who was an eye-witness of the scene he so eloquently describes : ,;,,$ 'X,i l\ ' M The iron heart of Sherman's column begun to be audible, like the fall of great trees in the depth of the forest, as it beat beyond the woods on the extreme left. Over roads indescribable, and conquering lions of difficulties that met him all the way, he at length arrived with his command of the army of the Ten nessee. The roar of his guns was like the striking of a great clock, and grew nearer and louder as the morning wore away. Along the centre all was still. Our men lay as they had lain since Tuesday night- motionless, behind the works. Generals Grant, Thomas, Granger, Meigs, Hunter, Reynolds, were grouped at Orchard Knob, here ; Bragg, Breckin ridge, Hardee, Stevens, Clebora, Bates, "Walker, were waiting on Mission Ridge, yonder. And the Northern clock tolled on ! At noon, a pair of steam ers, screaming in the river across the town, telling over, in their own wild way, our mountain triumph on the right, pierced the- hushed breath of air be tween two lines of battle with a note or two of the music of peaceful life. ** At one o'clock the signal flag at Fort Wood was a-flutter. Scanning the horizon, another flag, glanc ing like a lady's handkerchief, showed white across a field lying high and dry upon a ridge three miles to the northeast, and answered back. The centre and Sherman's corps had spoken. As the hour went by, all semblance to falling tree and tolling clock had Vanished ; it was a rattling roar; the rin? of Sher man's panting artillery, and the fiery gust, from the rebel guns on Tunnel Hill* the point of Mission Ridge. The enemy had massed there the corps of Hardee and Buckner, as upon a battlement, utterly inaccessible save by one steep,- narrow way, com manded by their guns. A thousand men could hold it against a host. And right in front of this bold abutment of the ridge is a broad, clear field, skirted by woods. Across this tremendous threshold, ut> to j death's door, moved Sherman's column. Twice it I advanced, and twice I saw it swept back in bleeding lines before the furnace blast, until that russet field seemed some strange page ruled thick with blue and red. But valor was in vain ; they lacked the ground to stand on ; they wanted, like the giant of old story, a touch of earth to make them strong. It was the devil's own corner. Before them was a lane, whose upper end the rebel cannon swallowed. Moving by the right flank, nature opposed them with precipitous heights. There was nothing for it but straight across the field, swept by at en filling fire, and up to the lane down which drove the storm. They could un fold no broad front, and so the losses were less than seven hundred, that must otherwise have swelled to thousands. The musketry fire was delivered with terrible; emphasis. Two dwellings, in one of which Federal wounded men were lying, set on fire by the rebels, began to send up tall columns of smoke, streaked red with fire. The grand and the terrible were blended, i ¦>•• j > ;i '. >.j ., .. *v ¦¦>'*., . -_, ,.* > . r ..*... .. * ' * t" The brief November afternoon was half gone. It was yet thundering on the left ; along the centre all was still. At that very hour a fierce assault was made upon the enemy's left, near Rossville, four miles down toward the old field of Chickamauga. They carried the Ridge — Mission Bidge seems every where ; they strewed its ¦ summit with rebel dead ; they held it. And thus the tips of the Federal army's widespread wings flapped grandly. But it had not swooped ; the grey quarry yet perched upon Mission Bidge. The rebel army was terribly battered at the edges ; but there, full in our front, it grimly waited, biding out its time. If the horns of the rebel crescent could not be doubled crashingly together, in a shape less mass, possibly it might be sundered in its centre, and tumbledin fragments over the other side of Mis sion Ridge. Sherman was halted upon the left ; Hooker was holding hard in Chattanooga Valley ; the Fourth Corps, that rounded out our centre, grew im patient of restraint. The day was waning ; but lit tle time remained to complete the commanding General's grand design. Gordon Granger's hour had come ; his work was full before him. " And what a work that was, to make a weak man falter and a brave man think ! One and a-half miles to traverse, with narrow fringes of woods, rough val leys, sweeps of open . field, rocky acclivities, to the base of the ridge, and no foot inall the breadth with drawn from rebel sight ; no foot that could not be played upon by rebel cannon, like a piano's keys un der Thalberg'a- stormy fingers. The base attained, what then ? A heavy rebel work, packed with the enemy, rimming it like a battlement. That work carried, and what then I A hill, struggling up out of the valley four hundred feet, rained on by bullets, swept by shot and shell ; another line of works, and then, up like % Gothic roof, rough with rocks, a wreck with fallen trees, four hundred more ; another ring of fire and iron, and then the crest, and then the en emy. • ; ¦ ¦* - '* To dream of such a journey would be madness ; to devise it a thing incredible ; to do it a deed impos sible. But Grant was guilty ot them all, and Gran ger was equal to the work. The story of the battle of Mission Ridge is struck with immortality already ; let the leader of the Fourth Corps bear it company. " That the centre yet lies along its silent line, is LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. 61 still true ; in five minutes it will be the wildest fic tion. Let us take that little breath of grace for just one glance at the surroundings, since we shall have neither heart nor eyes lor it again. Did ever bastle have so vast a cloud of witnesses I The hive-sba^ed hills have swarmed. Clustered like bees, blackening the housetops, lining the fortifications, over yonder across the theatre, in the seats with the Catilines, everywhere, are a hundred thousand beholders. Their souls are in their eyes. Not a murmur can you hear. It is the most solemn congregation that ever stood up in the presence of the God of battles. I think of Bunker Hill, as I stand here — of the thousands who witnessed the immortal straggle— and fancy there is a parallel. I think, too, that the chair of every man of them will stand vacant against the wall to-morrow, and that around the fireside they must give thanks without him, if they can *' At half -past three, a group of generals, whose names will need no * Old Mortality' to chisel them anew, stood upon Orchard Knob. The hero of Vicks burg was there, calm, clear', persistent, far-seeing. Thomas, the sterling and sturdy; Meigs, Hunter, Granger, Reynolds. Clusters of humbler mortals were there, too, but it was anything but a turbulent crowd ; the voice naturally fell into a Bubdued tone, and even young faces took on the gravity of later years. Gen erals Grant, Thomas, and Granger conferred, an 1 order was given, and in an instant the Knob was ' cleared like » ship's deck for action. At twenty minutes of four. Granger stood upon the parapet. The bugle swung idle at the bugler's side, the war bling fife and the grumbling drum unheard : there was to be louder talk — six guns at intervals of two seconds, the signal to advance. Strong and steady his voice rang out : ' Number one, fire ! Number two, fire ! Number three, fire ! * It seemed to me the tolling of the clock of destiny. And when, at • Number six, fire ! ' the roar throbbed out with the flash, you should have seen the dead line that had been lying behind the works all day, all night, all ^ay again, come to resurrection in the twinkling of an eye, leap like a blade from its scabbard, and Bweep with a two-mile Btroke toward the ridge. From di visions to brigades, from brigades to regiments, the order ran. A minute, and the skirmishera deploy ; a minute, and the first great drops begin to patter along the line ; a minute, and the musketry is in full play, like the crackling whips of a hemlock fire. Men go down here and there before your eyes. The wind lifts the smoke, and drifts it away over the top of the Ridge. Everything is too distinct; it is fairly palpable : you can touch it with your hand. The di visions of Wood and Sheridan are wading breastdeep in the valley of death. •' I never can tell you what it was like. They pushed out, leaving nothing behind them. There was no reservation in that battle. On moves the line of skirmishers, like a heavy frown, and after it, at quick time, the splendid columns. At right of us, and left of us and front of us, you can see the bayo nets glitter in the sun. You cannot persuade your self chat Brag? was wrong, a day or two ago, when, seeing Hooker moving in, he said, ' Now we shall have a Potomac review ;» that this is not the parade he prophesied; that it is of a truth the harvest of death to which they go down. And so through the tnnge oi woods went the line. Now, out into the open ground they burst at the double-quick. 'Shall I call it a Sabbath day's journey, or a long one and a- half mile 1 To me that watched, it seemed endless as eternity; aud yet they made it in thirty minutes. The tempest that now broke upon their heads was terrible. The enemy's fire burst out of the rifle-pits trom base to summit of Mission Ridge ; five rebel battenesof Parrotts and Napoleonsopened along the crest. Gr.ipe and canuter, and shot and shell sowed Che ground with rugged iron, and garnished it with the wounded and the dead. But steady and strong our columns moved on. By heaven ! it was a splendid sight to see, For one who had no friend, no brother there ;' but to all loyal hearts — alas ! and thank God — those men were friend and brother, both in one. " And over their heads as they went. Forts "Wood *nd Negley struck straight out, like mighty pugil ists, right and left, raining their iron blows upon the Ridge from base to crest ; Forts Palmer and King took up the quarrel, and Moccasin Point cracked its flery whips, and lashed the rebel left, till the wolf cowered inits corner with a growL Bridge's battery, from Orchard Knob below, thrust its ponderous fists 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. Had giant" car ried them by hand, they could hardly have been more accurate. All along the mountain's side, in the rebel rifle-pits, on the crest, they fairly dotted the Ridge. General Granger leaped down, sighted a gun, and in a moment, right in front, a great volume of smoke, like * the cloud by day,' lifted off the summit from among the rebel batteries, and hung motionless, kindling in the sun. The shot had struck a caisson, and that was its dying breath. In five minutes away floated another. A shell went crashing through a building in the cluster that marked Bragg' s head quarters ; a second killed the skeleton horses of a battery at his elbow ; a third scattered a grey mass as if it had been a wasp's nest. " And all the while our lines were moving on. They had burned through the woods and swept over the rough aud rolling ground like a prairie fire. Never halting, never faltering, they charged up to the first rifle-pits with a cheer, forked out the rebels with their bayonets, and lay there panting for breath. If the thunder of guns had been 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 aro ot the crest full in our front, opened like the fan of Lucifer, and converged their Are down upon Baird, and Wood, and Sheridan. It was rifles and musketry ; it was grape and canister; it was shell and shrapneL Mis sion Ridge was volcanic ; a thousand torrents of red poured over its brink, and rushed together to its 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 called from the far ranges ofWaldron's Ridge to Tjookout. As for Mission Ridge, it had jarred to such music before, it was the ' soundin? board * of Chickamauga. It was behind na then ; it frowns and flashes in 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 storm was spent, and left the ground it held. The old army of the Cumberland is here I It shall roll up tie Ridge like a surge to its summit, and sweep triumphant down the other side. Believe me, that memory and hope may have made many a blue- coat beat like a brum. ' Beat,* did I say I The fev erish heart of the bnUla beat* on; fifty-eight guns a minute, by the watch, ia the raieof its terrible throb bing. That hill, u you climb it, will appul 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 iallen like . leaves in winter weather. Blow, dumb bugles I a-t r •* Sound the recall I * Take the rifle-pit ! * was the - order ; and it is 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 pf 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 tiercer and longer. The reconnoissanca 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 whrte . smoke that dot the Ridge, as battery after battery opens upon our line, untilfrom 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, aud my heart cries out, * Great God, when shall the end be ¦ ' 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 fiaahed 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 I ' .*¦ Take the Ridge if you can ! ' and so it went along the line. But the advance had already set forth witliout it. Stout-hearted Wood, the iron-grey veter an, is rallying on his men ; stormy T urchin 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 aa a chess player. ' An aid rides up -with the order. •Avery, that flask,' eaid the general. Quietly filling the pewteT cup, Sheridan looks up at the battery that frowns above him, by Bragg's headquarters, shakes liis 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 therebelsflutteredaresponse to the cool salute, and the next instant the battery let fly its six guns, showering Sheridan with earth. Al luding to that compliment with anything bub a blank cartridge, the General said tome, in his quiet way, 'I thought it 'ungenerous!' The recording augel 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 the rifle-pits 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 little 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 burst into a charge with a cheer, and go over it. . Sheets of flame baptize them. ; plunging shot tear away comrades on lilt and right ; it is no longer shoulder to shoulder, it is God for us all ! Under tree trunks, among rocks, stum bling over thedead, struggling with the living, facing the steady fire of eight thousand infantry poured down upon their heads as if it were the old historic cursa from heaven, they wrestle with the Ridge. Tenr 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 torrid zone of the battle. The hill sways up like a wall be fore them at an angle of forty-five degrees, but our brave mountaineers are clambering steadily on— up —upward still! You may think it strange, but I would not have recalled them if I could. They would have lifted you, as they did me, in full view of the heroic grandeur. They seemed to bespurning 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 ia something that glitters like a wing. Tour heart gives a great bound when you think what it is— (As TeaimentalJlag—a.Tid1 glauJing along the front, count fifteen of those colors, that were borne at Pea Ridge, waved at Shiloh, gloritied at Stone River, riddled at Chiokamauga. Nobler than Caesar's rent mantle are they all ! And up mo ve the banners, now r) utter 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 leftof Wood, three regiments of lUurd — 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. 63 perched and motionless on a plateau under the frown of the hill. Will they linger iorevec I I give a look at the sun behind me ; 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, tor the voice that could bid that sun stand still I I turn to the battle again; those three flags have taken flight ! They are upwurd bound. " The race of the flags is growing every moment more terrible. There, at the right, a struDge thing catches the eye ; one of the inverted V's is turning right side up. 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 wavers 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 dreadtul hammers never intermit. Swarms of bulletsjsweep the hill; you can count twenty- eight balls in one little tree. Thimw are growing . desperate up aloft. The rebels tumble r^cks 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 powder in the word, they shout, 'Chickamauga !' down upon the mountaineers. But it would not all do ; and just as the sun, weary of the scene> was sinking out of sight, with magnificent bursts all along the line, exactly as you have seen the crested Beas leap up at the breakwater, the advance surged over the crest, and in a minute those flags fluttered' along the fringe where lii'cy Tebel guns were ken nelled. God bless the flag ! God save the Union ! 41 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 there, 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 iu five days. They left in three, and by way of Mission Ridge, straight over the mountains as their forefathers went I 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. A3 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 horrid front ex actly with which he said it, for his cheeks were wet with tears as honest as the blood tliat reddened all the route. Wood uttered words that rang like Napoleon's; and Sheridan, the rowels at his horse's flanks, was ready for a dash down the Ridge, with a * view halloo,' for a fox hunt. " But you must not think this was all there was of the scene on the crest, for right and irulie were strangely mingled. Not a> rebel had di earned a man of us all would live to reach tbe summit ; and when a little wave of the Federal cheer rolled up and broke over tha crest, they defiantly cried, 'Hurrah, and be d a ; » the next minute a Union regiment followed the voice, the rebels delivered the.r fire, und tumbled down in the.r ifle-pits, their faces distorted with fear. No sooner had the soh'iera scrambled to the Ridge and straightened them: elve >, than up muskets and away they blazed. One ot them, fairly beside him self between laugning and erring, seemed puzzled at which end of the piece he should load; and so, aban doning the gun and the problem together, he made a catapult of himself, and fell to hurling stones after the enemy. And he said, as he threw well, you know our 'army swore terribly in Flanders.' Bayo nets glinted and muskets rattled. General Sheri dan's horse was killed under him. Richard was not in his role, and so he leaped upon a rebel gun for want of another. Rebel artillerists are driven from their batteries at the edge of the sword and the point of the bayonet. Two rebel guns are swung around upon their old masters. But there is nobody to load them. Light and heavy artillery do not belong to the winged kingdom. Two infantry men, claiming to be old artillerists, volunteer. Granger turns cap tain of. the gnns, and — * right about wheel!' — in a moment they are growling after t ie flying enemy. I say * flying,' but that is figurative. The mauy run like Spanish merinos, but the few fight like grey wolves at bay; they load and fire as they retreat; they are fairly scorched out of position. "A sharpshooter, fancying Granger to be worth the powder, coolly tries his hand at him. The Gene ral bears the zip of a ball at one ear, but doesn't mind it. In a minute, away it sings at the other. ne takes the bint, sweeps with his gla=-s the direction whence the couple came, and brings up the marks man, just drawing a bead upon him again. At that instant a Federal argument persuades the cool hun ter, and down he goes. That long-range gun of his was captured, weighed twenty-four pounds, was tele* scope-mounted, a sort of mongrel howitzer. ** A colonel is slashing away with his sabre in a ring of rebels. Downgoeshis-horseunderhim. They have him on the hip. One of them is taking delibe rate aim, when up rushes a lieutenant, clips a pistol to one ear, and roars in at the other, ' who the h — 1 are you shooting att * The fellow drops his piece, gasps out, ' I surrender! ' and tha next instant the gallant lieutenant falls sharply wounded. He is a 'roll of honor 'officer, straight up from the ranks, and he honors the roIL 1 " V "A little German in Wood's division4 is pierced like the lid of a pepper-box, but he is neither dead nor wounded. See here,' he says, rushing up to a comrade ; * a pullet hit te preach of mine gun, a pul let in mine pocketbook, a pullet in mine coat-tail ; dey shoots me tree, five time, and I gives dem h. — 1 yet I ' 64 LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. " But I can render you no idea of the' battle caul dron that boiled on the plateau. An incident here and there I have given you, and you must fill out the picture for yourself. Bead rebels lay thick around Bragg's headquarters and along" the Ridge. Scab bards, broken arms, artillery horses, wrecks of gun- carriages, and bloody garments strewed the scene. And, tread lightly, oh, loyal-hearted! the boys in blue aiv lying there. No more the sounding* charge ; no more the brave, "wild cheer ; and never for them, sweet as the breath of the new-mown hay in the old home fields, ' The Soldier's Return from the "War/ A little waif of a drummer-boy, somehow drifted up the mountain in the surge, lies there ; his pale face upward, a blue spot on his breast. Muffle his drum . for the poor child and his mother. " Our troops met one loyal welcome on the height. ' How the old Tennesseean that gave it managed to - get there, nobody knows; but there he was, grasping a colonel's hand, and saying, while the tears ran - down his face, • God be thanked ! I knew the Yan- . kees would fight ! ' With the receding flight and . swift pursuit, the battle died away in murmurs, far down the valley of the Chickamauga. Sheridan was .. again in the saddle, and, with his command, spur ring on after the enemy. Tall columns of smoke •were rising at the left. The rebels were burning a . train of stores a mile long. In the exploding rebel ¦ caissons we had • the cloud by day,' and now we are having ' the pillar of fire by night.' The sun, the :" golden disc of the scales that balance day and night, 1 had hardly gone down, when up, beyond Mission Ridge, rose the silver side, for that night it was full moon. The troubled day was gone. A Federal gen- - eral sat in the seat of the man who, on the very Sat urday before the battle, had sent a flag to the Federal ~ lines with the words : , "' Humanity would dictate the removal of all non- combatants from Chattanooga, as I am about to shell : the city."" Colonel McKinstry, of General Bragg's staff, - told the author that he considered their posi- ' tion perfectly impregnable, and that when he saw our troops, after capturing the rifle-pits, coming up the craggy mountain side, bristling with bayonets and hundreds of cannon, he could scarcely credit his eyes, and thought every man of them must be drunk. History has no parallel for sublimity and picturesque ness of effect; while the consequences, which was the division of the Confederacy, were ines timable. Grant announced his great victory in the following brief and modest dispatch to , tbe General-in-chief of the army at Washing ton : " Although the battle lasted from early dawn until dark this evening, I believe I am not premature in announcing a complete vic tory over Bragg. Lookout Mountain-top, and all the rifle pits in Chattanooga valley an I Missionary Ridge entire have been carried, and are now held by us." General Meigs, Quartermaster-General of the United States army, who was on the ground with Grant during the brilliant campaign, wrote as fol lows to the Secretary of War : " Bragg's remaining troops left early in the night, and the battle of Chattanooga, after days of maneu vering and fighting, was won. The strength of the rebellion in the centre is broken. Burnside is re lieved from danger in East Tennessee. Kentucky and Tennessee are rescued. Georgia aud the South east are threatened in the rear, and another victory is added to the chapter of ¦ Unconditional Surrender Grant.' To-night the estimate of captures is several thousand prisoners and thirty pieces of artillery. Our loss for so great a victory is not severe. Bragg is firing the railroad as he retreats toward Dalton. Sherman is in hot pursuit. To-day 1 viewed the bat tle-field, which extends for six miles along Mission ary Ridge, and for several miles on Lookout Moun tain. Probably not so well-directed, so well-ordered a battle has taken place during the war. But one assault was repulsed ; but that assault, by calling to that point the rebel rsserves, prevented them repuls ing any of the others. ' A few days since, Bragg sent to General Grant a flag of truce, advising him that it would be prudent to remove any non-combatants who might be still in Chattanooga. No reply has been returned ; bnt the combatants having removed from the vicinity, it is probable that non-combatant. can remain without imprudence." Again President Lincoln personally acknow ledged General Grant's irresistible determina tion and skill by sending him the following telegram : Washington, Dec. 8, 1S63. Majob-Geitsbai, Gbant :— Understanding that your lodgment at Chattanooga and Knoxville is now secure, I wish to tender you, and all under your command, my more than thanks— my profoundest gratitude— for the skill, courage, and perseverance with which you and they, over so great difficulties have effected that important object. God bless you an- A. Lincoln. We must again refer to the report of the General-in-chief, in which, alluding to the campaign in the Chattanooga mountains and valley, he says : " Considering the strength of the rebel position, and the difficulty of storming his entrenchments, the battle of Chattanooga must be considered the most re markable in history. Not only did the officers and men exhibit great skill anrl daring in tlieir operations on the field, but the highest praise is due to the commanding general for his admirable dispositions for dislodging the enemy from a position apparently impregna ble." - On the 10th of December, General Grant issued the following congratulatory order to the armies under his command — a self-pos sessed and noble tribute from an unassuming, magnanimous heart, which calls to mind some LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. 65 of the orders of the Duke of Wellington, whom Grant in so many particulars strongly resem bles: headquarters military drvision of the \ Mississippi, in the Field, > Chattanooga, Tenn., Dec. 10, 1303. ) The general commanding takes this opportunity of returning his sincere thanks and congratulations to the brave armies of the Cumberland, the Ohio, the Tennessee, and their comrades from the Potomac, for the reeent splendid and decisive successes achieved over the enemy. In a short time you have recovered from him the control of the Tennessee River from Bridgeport to Knoxville. You dislodged him from his great stronghold npou Lookout Mountain, drove him from Chattanooga Valley, wrested from his de termined grasp the possession ot Missionary Ridge, repelled with heavy loss to him his repeated assaults upon Knoxville, forcing him to raise the siege there, driving him at all points, utterly routed and discom fited, beyond the limits of the State. By your noble heroism and determined courage, you have most effectually defeated the plans of the enemy for re gaining possession of the States of Kentucky and Tennessee. Y ou have secured positions from which no rebellious power can drive or dislodge you. For ill this the general commanding thanks you collec tively and individually. The loyal people of the United States thank and bless you. Their hopes and prayers for your Buccess against this unholy rebellion are with you daily. Their faith in you will not be in vain. Their hopes will not be- blasted. Tlieir prayers to Almighty God will be answered. You will yet go to other fields of strife ; and, with the invin«ble bravery and unflinching loyalty to 'justice and right which have characterized you in the past, you will prove that no enemy can with stand you, and that "no defences, however formida ble, can check your onward march. By order of Major-General U. S. Gbant. On the 17th of the same month Congress unanimously voted a resolution of thanks to Grant and the officers and soldiers who had fought under his command during the rebel lion, and a gold medal was struck, which it was provided that the President should present to General Grant " in the name of the people of the United States of America." It was de signed by Leutze. On one face of the medal is a profile likeness of the hero, surrounded by a wreath of laurels, his name and the year of his victories inscribed upon it ; the whole surrounded by a galaxy of stars. On the ob verse is a figure of Fame, seated in a graceful attitude on the American eagle, which, with win^S outspread, seems about to take flight. In her right hand she holds her trumpet, and in her left a scroll, on which are inscribed Corinth, Vicksburg, Mississippi River, and Chattanooga. On her head is an Indian hel met with radiating feathers. In front of the eagle is the emblematical shield of the United States. Below the group sprigs of the pine and palm, denoting the North and South, cross each other. Above the figure of Fame, in a curved line, is the motto, " Proclaim Lib erty throughout the land." The edge is sur rounded, like the obverse, by a circle of Byzantine stars, more in number than tho existing States, thereby suggesting further additions in the future to the Union. The author had the honor of being at the White House one evening in March, 1S64, when Mr. Washburne called with the Secre tary of Stale to exhibit the medal to Mr. Lincoln before the first-mentioned gentleman — Grant's steadfast friend — proceeded to City Point to formally present it to the Lieutenant- General. After the Piesideut had looked for some time at the face the writer remarked, " Mr. President, what is on the obverse of tbe medal ? " to which, with a merry twinkle in his eye, he said : " Well, Seward, I suppose, by the obverse, our friend the Colonel means t'other side." Our hero, after nearly three years continu ous service, and having gained nearly a score of victories, in which he had captured nearly- five hundred cannon and ninety thousand prisoners, in January, 1864, obtained per mission to visit St Lours, where bis eldest son was lying dangerously ill. He soon re covered, and we may add, en passant, is now a promising cadet at the Uuited States Mili- trry Academy, West Point, where his illus trious father graduated in 1843. A month later a debate arose in the House of Repre sentatives on the question of reviving the grade of LieutenanUGeneral, with a view to conferring that rank upon Grant, an office held only in our history by Washington and Winfield Scott, the latter having merely the brevet rank. The Hon. E. B. Washburne, of Illinois, said, speaking of his Galena towns man: " Look at what this man has done for his country, for humanity and civilization — this modest and un pretending General, whom gentlemen appear to be so much afraid of. He has fought more battles and won more victories than any man living ; he has captured more prisoners and taken more guns than any gene ral of modern times. To us in the great valley of the West, he has rendered a service in opening our great channel of communication to the ocean, so that tho great ' Father of Waters ' now goes • unves- ed to the sea,' which endears him to all our hearts. Sir, when his blue legions crowned the crest of Vicks burg, and the hosts of rebeldom laid their arms at 'G6 LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. the feet of this great conqueror, the rehel Confede racy was cut in twain, aud the backbone of u*e re bellion broken. t4 At that moment was seen in General Grant that greatest ot* all guts of a military man—the gift of - deciding instantly amid the pressure of the greatest -emergencies. I. -was with ham when Porter reported - his inability to reduce the batteries- and in an in stant he mode hi* new dispositions, and gave his or ders. Tiiey wer?, to debark ail his troops and march them down three miles below Grand Gulf; 'and,' said he, ' after nightfall I will run every transport I have below their batteries, and not one shall be in jured.' And, sure enough, when it became dark, Porter again attacked the batteries with his fleet, and, amid the dm and clatter ol the attack, the trans- ¦ ports all safely passed Grand Gulf. ** And that which must ever be regarded by the his torian as the most extraordinary feature of this cam paign, is the astounding fact, that when General Grant landed in the Stcte of Mississippi, and made his cam paign in the enemy's country, he had a smaller force than the enemy.' There he was, in the enemy's coun try, cut off, in a measure, from his supplies, with a great river in his rear, and in one of the most defensi ble of countries, through which he had to pass. To his indomitable courage and energy, to his- unparalleled celerity of movement, striking the enemy in detail, and boating him on every field, is the countiy in debted for those wonderful successes of that cam paign, which have not only challenged the gratitude and admiration of our own countrymen, but the ad miration of the best military men of all nations. My colleague (Mr. Farns worth) has well said, that General Grant is no * carpet knight' If gentlemen could know >irm as I know- him, and as soldiers know him, they would not be so reluctant about confer ring this honor. If they could have seen him as I saw b'm on that expedition ; if they could have wit nessed his terrible earnestness, his devotion to his duty, his care, bis vigilance, and his unchallenged courage, I foinfr their opposition to this bill would give way. "But gentlemen say, wait, and confer .this rank when the war is over. Sir, I want it conferred now, because it is my most solemn and earnest conviction that General Grant is the man upon whom we must depend to fight out this rebellion in the field, and bring this war to a speedy and triumphant close." The bill was passed with only nineteen dis senting votes, the President at once con ferred the position upon Grant, and the Sen ate of the United States confirmed the ap pointment. On the 3d of March. Grant was called to Washington. "The Secretary of ¦War," said the dispatch, " directs that you will report in person lo the War Department as early as practicable, considering tbe con dition of your command. If necessary, you will keep np telegraphic commnnication with yonr command while en route to Washington." The next day he started for the nationalcapi- Ut!, sending off, before entering upon his jour ney, the fallowing private letter: . D"eah Shtsmvn :— The bul- reviving the grade of Lie utenaut-G enteral in the; army has become a law, and my mime has been bent to the fceuate tor the place. I now receive orders to report at Washington immediately in person, which indicates conhi-uutiony or a likelihood oi confirmation. I start in the morning to comply with the order. While I have been eminently successful in this war —in at least gaining the confidence of the public— no one feels more than I how much of this success 1* due to the energy, skill, and the harmonious putting forth of that energy and skill, of those whom it has been my good fortune to ha . e occupying subordinate positions under me. There are many officers to whom these remarks are applicable, to a greater or less degree, proportionate to their ability as soldiers ; but what I want is to ex press my thanks to you and McPherson, as the men to whom, above all others, I feel indebted for what ever I have had of success. How far your advice and assistance have been of help to me you know. How far your execut* jn of whatever has been given you to do entitles you lo the reward I am receiving, you cannot know as well as I. I feel all the gratitude this letter would express, giving it the most flattering.construction. The word * you,* I use in the plural, intending it for McPherson also. I should write to him, and will some day, but, starting in the morning, I do not know that I will And time just now. I Your friend, TJ. S. Geakt, Major-GeneraL Sherman received this letter near Memphis, Tennessee, on the 10th of March, and imme diately replied:, Dear General : — I have your more than kind and characteristic letter of the 4th instant, I will send a copy to General McPherson at once. Tou do yourself injustice and us too much honor in assigning to us too large a share of the merits which have led to your high advancement. I know you approve tbe friendship I have ever professed to you, and will permit me to continue, as heretofore, to manifest it on all proper occasions. Tou are now "Washington's legitimate successor, and occupy a position of almost dangerous elevation ; but if you can continue, as heretofore, to be your self, simple, honest, and unpretending, yon will en joy through life the respect and love of friends, and the homage of millions of human beings, that -will award you a large share in securing to ttiem and their descendants a government of law and stability. I repeat, you do General McPherson and myself too much honor. At Belmont you manifested your traits, neither of us being near. At Donelson, also, you illustrated your whole character. I was not near, and General McPherson in too subordinate a capacity to influence you. Until yon had won Donelson, I confess I was al most cowed by the terrible array of anarchical ele ments that presented themselves at every point ; but that admitted a ray of light I have followed since. . I believe you are as brave, patriotic, and just as the great prototype, Washington; as unselfish, kind- hearted, and honest a man as should be. But the LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT; 67 chief characteristic ia the simple faith in success yon have always manifested, which I can Liken to nothing else than the faith a Christian has in bis Saviour. 1 his taith gave you victory at Shiloh and Vicks burg. Also, when you have completed your prepara tions, you fro into battle without hesitation, as at Chattanooga — no doubts, no reserves ; and I tell you it was this that made us act with confidence. I knew, wherever I was, that you thought of me, and if I got iu a tight place, you would help me, if alive. My only point of doubt was in your knowledge of grand strategy, and of books ot science and history ; but I confess your common sense seems to have sup plied all these. ' Now as to the future. Do not stay in 'Washing ton ; come West ; take to yourself the whole Missis sippi Valley. Let us make it dead sure, and I tell you the. Atlantic slopes and the Pacific shores will follow its destiny, as sure as the limbs of a tree live and die with the main trunk. We have done much, but still much remains. Time and time's influence are with us. We could almost afford to ait still and let these influences work. .- Here lies the seat of the coming empire^ and from the West, when our task is done, we will make short work of Charleston and Richmond, and the impover ished coast of the, Atlantic Tour sincere friend, "W. T. Shfumuk. ' These two charming letters, so character istic of the men, and so honorable to both, cannot but be read with the greatest pleasure. The great soldier, on his way to Washington to assume command of all tbe armies of the nation, issued no windy proclamations or or ders, he made no speeches ; but without any sound of trumpet or drum to herald his ap proach, proceeded quietly and rapidly to Washington in pursuance of orders. When he was sometimes recognized at the railway stations, the people thronged around him, cheering lustily, and all striving to get a glimpse of the renowned soldier. While en route he received the following magnanimous dispatch from General Halleck, whom he was about to supersede : " Tbe Secretary of War directs me to say that your commission as Lieutenant-Oeneral is signed, and will be de livered to you on your arrival at the War De partment. I sincerely congratulate you. on this recognition of your distinguished and meritorious, services." On the . 1st of March, he arrived at Washirjgtoo, where be had never spent more than., one day before. Mr., Lin coln had never seen him, and the Secretary of War had never seen him, but once.r At one o'clock on the day following Grant was formally received by the President in the. Cabinet chamber at the White , House, and after being presented to the members of the. Cabinet, Mr. Lincoln said: "General Grant, the nation's appreciation of what you have done, and its reliance upon you for what re-1 mains to be done in the existing great strug gle, are now presented with this commission constituting you Lieutenant-General in the army of the United Suites. With this high honor devolves upon you also a corresponding responsibility. As the country hereiu trusts you, so, under God, it will sustain yon. I scarcely need to ad 1, that with what I here speak for the nation, goes my own hearty personal concurrent." Graut's reply was: " Mr. President, I accept this commission, with gratitude for the high honor conferred, Willi the aid of the noble armies that have fought on so many fields, for our common country, it will be my earnest endeavor not to. disappoint your expectations. I feol the full weight of the responsibilities now devolving on me ; and I know that if, they are met, it will bo. due to those armies, and. above all,. to the favor of that Providence which leads both, nations and men." ; . CHAPTER IX. grant's iast campaign. The President')* older — Grant's.announcement to the armies — Assumes command — "On to Richmond" — Crosses the Rapidan — Battles of the Wilderness and Cold Harbor — Crosses James River — Siege of Petersburg and Richmond — Battle of Five Forks — Assault on Lee's Army — Fall of the.Rebel Capital — Surrender of Lee — Grant's magnanimity — Hia. official report of the campaign — Opinions of the report — Reviews at Washington — Address to the armies — Anecdotes of Grant. " I propose to fight it out on this line if it takes aH summer." Ghant to the Government. Soon after receiving his commission, the Lieutenant-General left Washington for the Southwest, and was at Nashville when the President's order was issued promoting him to the supreme command. ' Grant immediate ly announced it to the armies, by embodying it in the following general order No. 1 : Headquabtees op the Armies of the United }¦¦* States, Nashville, Te.nn., March 17, li>w. . j ,,f In pursuance of the following order of the Presi< - dent; .... >. . , ... '•¦•. "'• > .:..: "-Executive Mankiow, Washinotok, ) March 11, 1864. ... -,.,*. " Under the authority of the act of Congress to ap- 68 LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. point to the grade of Lieutenant-General,' of March 1st, 1864, Lieutenant-General Ulysses S. Grant, Uni ted States army, is appointed to the command ot the armies of the United States. " Abraham Ltncolm." ' I assume command of the armies of the United States. Headquarters will he in the field, and, un til further orders, will be with the army of the Po tomac There will be an office headquarters in Washington, to which all official communications wili be sent, except those from the army where- the headquarters are at their address. U. S. Grant, Lieutenant-General. Six days afterwards he arrived in Washing ton, and to the inexpressible joy of the na tion, immediately established his headquarters in the field j going there quietly and unosten tatiously, without any sound of trumpet or shawm to herald his approach ; he did not ad dress his troops lying in winter quarters at Culpepper Court House ; issued ' no windy proclamations ; but resolutely' and unflinch ingly applied himself to the great work be fore him, strengthening his army by the addi tion of new troops, and by weeding out the disaffected and incompetent Generals of the Army of the Potomac, and by various new regulations and refor ma in the different de partments. Balls were abolished, ladies also, from the army, for the days of fancy soldier ing were past. All his energies were directed to preparation for the impending , struggle. Labor omnia vincet, as Virgil hath it, was his motto. At last everything is in readiness, and the magnificent army is prepared for the conflict. Before the mandate went forth from Grant's headquarters for the legions of the North to march against the enemy, the following letters passed between the President and the Lieu tenant-General, giving a gratifying evidence of the confidence existing between them : LxETrTENANT-GENEBAI. GRANT r Not expecting to see you oei'ore the spring cam paign opens, I wish to express, in this way, my en tire satisfaction with what you have done up to this time, so far as I understand it. The particulars of your plans I neither know uor seek to know. You are -vigilant and self-reliant ; and, pleased with this, I -wish not to obtrude any restraints or constraints upon you. While I am very anxious .that any great disaster or capture of our men in great numbers shall be avoided, I know that these points are less likely to escape yonr attention than they would be mine. If there beanything wanted which is within my power to give, do not fail to let me know it. And -now, with a brave army and a just cause, may God (sustain you. Tours, very truly. . ,-(.: A. Lincolh. The Pbesident i • ¦- t ; • .',;> Your very kind letter of yesterday is just receiv ed. . The confidence you express for the future, and satisfaction for the past, in my military administra tion, is acknowledged with pride. It shall be my earnest endeavor that you and the country shall not be disappointed. From my first entrance into the volunteer service of the country to the present day, I have never had cause of complaint, have never ex pressed or implied a complaint against tbe Adminis tration,, or the Secretary. of War, for throwing any embarrassment in the way of my vigorously prosecu ting what appeared to be my duty. Indeed, since the promotion which placed me in command of all the armies, and in view of the great responsibility and importance of success, I have been astonished at the readiness with which everything asked for has' been yielded, without even an explanation being. asked. - . i , ¦- ¦-* - ,- Should my success be less than I desire and ex pect, the least I can say is, the fault is not with you. :.-, i '¦ Very truly, your obedient servant, U. S. Ghaut, Lieutenant-General. ( .May 3d the potent mandate goes forth to march, and on the 4th of May tbe Lieutenant- General, with his noble army, thoroughly or ganized, crosses the Rapidan ; on the 5th and 6th, cripples the principal host of the rebels commanded- by Lee in the terrible battles of the Wilderness ; flanks him on the left, fights at Spottsylvania Court House on the 7th,' again on the 10th, and still again on the 12th; on which occasion he captured a whole divis-: ion of the Confederate army. The smoke of battle hung over the mighty' combatants for six days, while the nr.tion re-; mained in a state of suspense bordering upon agony, when, at length, there came from the Union commander to Lincoln another of those electrifying reports, containing an epigram matic expression which has served to give him an immortal renown : " I propose to Jiglt it out on this line if it takes all summer.'' Thus fiahting and flanking, ever pursuing the offensive, and daily drawing nearer to the ' rebel capital, he at length drives the enemy within the defences at Richmond, and there holds him as in a vise, while he leaves to his sturdy 'lieutenants — Sherman, Sheridan, and Thomas — the more promising task of reaping ' a harvest of laurels by active movement and ' battle, i But Grant's hour at last arrives. On ' the 29thof March, 1865, the summons went forth, and the grand old Army of the Poto- ¦' mac, that had been so driven back, but never ' broken or overcome, moved forward to vie- • tory. One week of prodigious fighting and - marching, and Lee with his " invincible army " ' at last yields to Grant's matchless and un- f LIFE. AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. 69 equalled strategy, and the dear old flag once more floats over Richm nd — not a fragment of Lee's once magnificent host in existence except as prisoners of war. With its dissolu tion, and the fall of the rebel capital, fell all hope of a Southern Confederacy., , , " While stands the Coliseum, Rome shall stand ; "When falls the Coliseum, Rome shall fall ; And when Rome falls, the world I " The following graphic and touching descrip tion of the surrender of Lee's army, written by an eye witness, of the scenes which he de lineates from a rebel standpoint— cootaioa a glowing tribute to Grant. " There is no pas sage of history in this heart-breaking war, which will, for years to come, be more honor ably mentioned, and gratefully remembered than the demeanor, on the 9tb of April, 1865, of General Grant towards General Lee. I do not so much allude to the facility with which honorable terms were accorded to the Confed erates, as to the bearing of General. Grant, and the officers about him, to General Lee. The interview was brief. Three ¦ commission ers upon either side were immediately, ap pointed. The agreement to which these six commissioners acceded is known. " In the mean time, immediately that Gen eral Lee was seen riding to the rear more gayly dressed than usual, and begirt with his sword, the rumor of immediate surrender flew like wildfire through the Confederates. ¦ It might be imagined that an army, which had drawn its last rations ou the 1st of April, and harassed incessantly by night and day, had been marching and fighting until the morning of the 9th, would have welcomed anything like a termination of its sufferings, let it come in what form it might. Let those who idly imagine that the finer feelings are the pre rogative of what are called the upper classes, learn from this, and similar scenes, to appre ciate common men. As the great Confeder ate captain rode back from his interview with General Grant, the news of the surrender ac quired shape and consistency, and could no longer be denied. The effect on the worn and battered troops — some of whom had fought since April, 1861, and (sparse survi vors of hecatombs of fallen comrades) had passed unscathed through such hurricanes of shot as within four years no other men had ever experienced, passes mortal description. a. .'(Whole lines of battle, rushed up to their beloved old chief, and. choking with emotion, broke ranks, and struggled with each other to wring him once more by the baud. Men who had fought throughout the war, and knew what the agony and humiliation of that moment must be to him, strove, with a refine ment of unselfishness and tenderness, which he alone could fully appreciate, to lighten his burden, and mitigate his pain. With tears pouring down both, cheeks, General Lee at length commanded voice, enough lo say : Men, we have fought through the war to gether. I have done the best that I could for you.' Not an eye that looked on that scene was dry. Nor was this the emotion of sickly sentimentalists, but of rough and rugged men, familiar with hardships, danger and death in a thousand shapes, nurtured by sympathy and feeling for another, which they never expe rienced on tbeir own account. I know of no other passage of military history so touching, unless, in spite of the melo-dramatic coloring which French historians have loved to shed over the scene, it can be found in the Adieus de Fontainebleau., . ,. It remains for me briefly to notice the last parade of an army, whereof the exploits will be read with pride so long as the English- tougue is spoken. In pursuance of an ar rangement of the six commissioners, the Con federate army marched by divisions on the. morning of April the 12th, to a spot at the Appomattox Court House, where they stacked : arms, arid deposited accoutrements. Upon. this solemn occasion, Major-General Gibbou represented the United States authorities. With the same exalted and conspicuous deli cacy which he had exhibited throughout the closing scenes, General Grant was not again visible after his final interview with General Lee. About seven thousand eight hundred Confederates marched with their muskets in their hands, and were followed by about eighteen thousand unarmed stragglers, who claimed to be included in the capitulation. Each Confederate soldier was furnished with - a printed form of parole, which was filled up for him by his own officers, and ». duplicate. handed to a designated Federal officer. By the evening. of the 12th, tbe paroles were gei> erally distributed, and the disbanded men be gan to scatter through the country.. Hardly one of them had a farthing of money. Some of them had from fifteen hundred to two thousand miles to travel, over a country, of 70 LIFE- AND CAMPAIGN*-! OP - GENERAL, GRANT. which the scanty railroads • were utterly anni^ Dilated."-'1 •-' '' •¦¦¦'. '¦'¦'¦ - ¦¦-• . --.- o;l<,; : ¦ We may judge of the sanguinary character of thiy- campaign against Richmond, wh^n we learn that the number of killed, wounded and missing on both sides,' reached the enor-* mous number of one hundred and fifty thou sand men. Grant's vindication fof this ne cessary loss of- life is* contained1 in his official report concerning the" military sanation -when he assumed the command of the Army Of the Potomac and' is regarded as complete by the judgment of the people. After sketching tbe posture of affairs, he says; '.'' • •'-•' ' "I therefore determined ffrst to -use the" greatest number of troops practicable- against the armed force of the enemy,' preventing him from using the same force- at different seasons against, first one and then another'of our ar^ mies, and the possibility' of1 repose1 for' refits ting and producing' necessary "supplies foi* carrying on resistance.' ''Second, to hammer continuously against the armed' ¦ force df the enemy and his resources; until by mere-attriJ tion, if in no other way, there should be nothing left to him' bad an equal submission with the loyal section of our common country to the Constitution of the land. ' Whether these - views might have been better in conception . and execution, is for the people who mourn the loss of friends fallen,' -arid -who have to pay the pecuniary cost, to say.-' All I can say is, that what I have done; hasr been done con scientiously, to the best of my ability, and in what. I conceived to be for the best interests • of the whole country." ,: An English journal commenting1 on Grant's ; admirable Report, which we regret that we can not give in full, and which it' entitles Grant's ¦ Commentaries, very justly remarks : " General Grant's Report is about to be- •come as famous as ' Cjesar's Commentaries.' It is infinitely more important, for in the- re- centcivil war in America Greek met Greek, and .Grant encountered a more formidable foe than - Cffisar. At first the Report escaped attention. It came in a bundle of official documents, all figures and few arguments;' but when the story of the campaign of 1864 was looked into, : matter was found in it calculated'-to interest -.the world at present and for 'all future time. ' " General Grant' neither writes nor thinks like 'an ordinary soldier — he is a philosopher, a historian, a profound statesman, and he sinks *elf in his narrative, but never fails to praise others with, a- palpable consciousness' which, be speaks the utmost sincerity,, in perfect keeping with personal admiration and friendship--^ ,!• The war had endured three years when he was- called to the command . of the army. ' The call made him the saviour of his country.? Unobtrusive and humble- minded, though full of profound thoughts, his, merits discovered themselves when,, the opportunity presented itself. He was the man for the time and the place, and bewasthe onlyfully qualified one. Events-' approvedsof Lincoln's selection, for, where! McClellan^ proved, an abortion, Grant alone- properly satisfied judgment. * .* * Sheridan, the Marat of the Federal . army; cleared the Shenandoah Valley of the enemy,: joined the nmin army when his services were required, and won the;last great battle of a hundred fights. Grant takes pride in praising hitai, and on Sherman he pours the -tribute of, his> unbounded admiration; but as we have recently published Grant's- opinion- of, these two great- soldiers, it is not necessaryto. intro duce them here. General Grant's report will forever occupy 'the- attention of- soldiers, statesmen and nations*" -.-... ¦ ,;,;,;:j , y • Certainly no other military document : con nected with the late»war, possesses an equal interest to us.» The prophecy contained in the extract quoted: above, that the Report would become as famous as Ca?sar's commen taries, is perhaps* an extravagant prediction, but it is now and will most unquestionably ever continue to be looked upon as the most valua- bte official paper, connected with the war for the- maintenance of the Union. ,•-.,,. The London Times, not much given to praise of anything American, thus alludes to the great interest and importance, to European powers, of General Grant's Report, and of. the new system introduced by him into the art of war, during his Richmond campaign : , ¦ ,._ . • "General Grant has addressed to Mr. Secre tary Stanton a Report which is equivalent to a complete history of the civil war: in -its latest period. In this country we get no such . elaborate description of events as American commanders are - in the habit of compiling. Our generals ^address themselves to the War Office in dispatches, which may be published at!a future' time, arid ultimately, perhaps, re duced to the form of history ; but hi the Uni ted States both military and naval command ers describe, explain and justify their own operations in Reports, which take the shape tiFfi and campaigns of 'General grant. 71 of connected and amusing narratives. In the present instance the interest concentrated iu the document before us is extraordinary. General Grant was commander-in-chief of all the armies of the United States during the last and decisive year of the war. We have been accustomed to regard him merely as com mander of the Army of the Potomac, because he selected Virginia as the scene of his per sonal exertions ; but the fact is that the- Army of Virginia was actually under the command of Meade, just as the Army of Tennessee was rmder the command of Sherman, while Grant himself not only dictated the plan of the ¦ campaign, but exercised a direct supervision over all the armies at once. What renders thi3 report, too,' the rnore remarkable ia that it ex- 'plains a new, and as the event proved, a success- ful system of tactics, devised for the occasion. ' When Grant assumed tbe chief command, "the Federal forces were making little progress, "nor could anybody anticipate a speedy ter mination of the' war ; but tbe new commander adopted a new method of warfare; and the re sult was, that in twelve months' time, the war was at an end. What this method was, on what principle it was based and how it was car ried into execution is very intelligibly to'd. " At an ' early period of the rebellion,' General Grant had divined the secret of South ern strength and Northern weakness. TheFed- erals were three to one, at least in numbers, and immeasurably superior in material resour ces ami yet the Confederates maintained their ground and defended their territories against all attacks. This, says Grant, was because the strength'of the North was never exerted on a good system or with sufficient resolution. The Southern generals held a position like the 'onl-line of a fan, extending from east to west, and covering the country behind them. By means of the railroads intersecting the inte rior they could bring up their forces to any point of the circumference ; and so long as it was necessary for them to be strong at one point only, they could always contrive to be stronger at that point than their adversaries. The first and most indispensable step, there fore, was to deprive them of this favorable condition, by attacking at a variety of points at once, so as to retain every Southern army in its own position and prevent it from rein forcing another. Hitherto the two main ar mies of the Federals — one in Tennessee and the other in Virginia— had been acting, as the Genera! expresses it, ' like a balky team.' When one was pulling the other was backing, and so the able generals of the Confederacy could shift or concentrate or relieve their for ces in such a way as either to economize their strength or employ it to the greatest advan tage. If Lee was hard pressed, he could be reinforceil by Beauregard ; if Johnston was in \ difficulty he could be supported from Rich mond or Petersburg-;'; Attacklon both sides' at ouce, and these tactics would be impractica ble. But, besides all this, General Giant took a harder and more terrible view of affairs. Man for man the Southerners were the best troops, partly, perhaps, from natural aptitudes, but mainly, no doubt from the great military abil ity of their commanders. ,.0n. a fair field, and in any one battle, the Federals could not pre tend to reckon, confidently on winning; but there was one thing on which they could reck on, and that thing was on" killing a certain mini her of ' Confederates, • Of , course they must suffer equal or even greater losses them selves, but that they could well afford. .If every battle- cost the South a certain propor tion of men, a given number of battles must destroy the Southern power, even if no battle was a decisive victory. So Grant determined not only to fight, but to fight on, without stint or stay, come what might. Hard knocks and incessant blows constituted hia strategy arid tactics. If he were to fare as McClellan and Hooker had fared, he. would not do as McClellan and Hooker had done. He opened the new campaign, resolved to go on fighting whether he won or lost, and, as he himself says, ' to hammer continuously against the armed force of the enemy and his resources until, by mere attrition, if in no other way, there should be nothing left to him but sub mission.' The literal execution of this policy is expressed in every line .: of the report. While recounting the events, of the Virginian campaign the' General represents bne engage ment as virtually a failure in these words : — ' It was the only general attack made from the Rapidan to the James which did not inflict upon the enemy losses to compensate for our own losses. I would not be under stood as saying that all previous attacks re sulted in victories to our arms, or accomplish ed as much as I had hoped from them ; but they inflicted upon the enemy severe losses, which tended in the end to the overthrow of the rebellion.' How much these tactics cost ?72 LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF >: liver: "Ladies and gentlemen of Brown county : You are all aware that I am not in the habit of mafcing speeches. I am glad- that I never learned to make speeches when- I was young, and now that I am old I have- no desire to begin. I had rather start ont uv' ;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 the following speech :. , : -fit gives me a great deal of pleasure to -Jook so many of my old friends in the face again, and have the privilege of saying fare well, fori never .expected to see you again. -We have just passed 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, ont? Wlieu the country was assailed by reb els, its flag fired upon, your friends set forth ; lhey sacrificed the comforts of domestic life; tbe happiness of their firesides ; they put on tbe array 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 the traitors to the Union, and, now they are ¦on their marrow-bones, seeking pardon, and your friends have returned home to your hearths and 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 time ; it is not a petty, patched-up, copperhead, democratic peace ; it is one obtained by the sword, and the youngest child is not living who will see the sword again raised against the govern ment. It is your duty, as patriotic citizens of B:own 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 seventy- fburth 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 Western 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 other chores, was very little." It was while living on the Reserve that the news came of the death of General Washing ton. Jesse, then five years of age, observing his mother weepihg.'asked her what was the matter. "General Washington is dead! " she replied. "Was he any relation of yours?" inquired the wondering child. "And that," said the veteran, " was the first I ki.sw 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 occurred that me- 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 ol Frederick the Great who sent Washington a sword with the inscription : — " 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 officers living when both presentations were made. Marshal Combermere whose designation points to the highest rank in the British army, hav ing been bom 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 ol our countiy from the commencement oi the wai oi 1812, to the beginning u, 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 CAMPAIGN3 OF GENERAL GRANT. 77 mine a man's greatness by his physical aspect ; marvellous attributes of a physical characier impress the mind as necessary belongings of great captains. Nevertheless, the military heroes of the past, as well as tbe 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 interrogation 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 sbip-of- the-line to which he had been appointed, the people exclaimed: " Why make that little fel low a captain 1 " Wellington was sosmall and slight thatbe mightalmostbavebeenputwhere 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 easily look down Upon without climbing a tree. May not the sobriquet of "Little Phil" have spurred 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 jphysical 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 couutry 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 arjd square, ample jaws, of those who in battle never surrender. His nose is neither Casarian nor Wellington- ian, and his lout 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 iliar lines in his exquisite Elegy: "Greatness, like truth, often lurks in the by-way3." No man is a hero to his valet de chambre. One of Grant's Galena neighbors said to us that " he was a di|ll, plodding man ; " another remarked that he possessed only " second-i ate business capacity;'' and thatnobleold chifftain, Lieu tenant-General Scott, who faithfully 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 Tennessee, 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. ' He would bo thought a small chance of a fighter if he lived in Kentucky." So thought the Countess of Auvergne in 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 guard3, no triple circle of epauletted subordinates hedge him in and tell you to " stand back," but an open, undisguis ed Western welcome greets you at the head quarters of the general He is to-day as sim ple and unspoiled by his lofty position, as in the days of adversity, when he had recourse to collecting for business houses in St. Lonis, and candor compels us to admit that he made but a poor hand at it, exhibiting marvellously little skill in the vocation of " dunning." Dif fidence and excessive modesty are not the necessary attributes of a successful collector of claims. His table during tbe war was more simple and served with less " style" than the table of his brigade commanders. He is the most undramatic of men. Scottwas sportive ly called by his young army friends, as he was derisively nicknamed by his enemies, " Fuss and Feathers." Grant has 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- 78 LIFE; AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. pearance on the floor of the United Stales Senate, when he seemed as much abashed as a school-girl before an examining committee ; and when he left, a Senator called attention to the fact that the Lieutenant-General of the armies of tire 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. Sherman and McPherson, with other general officers were present, and all unmindful of the pleasantries of the merry party, Grant sat on the grouiid( at the foot of a tree, not many yards distant,! eating his dinner of cold chicken, which he, drew from his 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 fromatreeover- head 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 genial 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 private- lie fills no interetices of conversation, by re marks upon the weather, or inquiries after the- babies of his visitor. In public he can make do speeches simply of form or complimerjt ; and sine; the world cared to hear his opinions 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: Napoleon's memorable sayings are all of .this order : " From these summits forty centuries look down upon you." " We will carry our vic torious eagles beyond the pillars of Hercules." Grant's are the exact anti|>odes: "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 Corsican after Austerlitz: "Sold iers, I am satisfied with you. You have decora ted your eagles with immortal glory." Said tbe 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.-s and simp icity of his country boyhood. Altogether free from cant, his lips, obeying the teachings of his mother, have uttered no oath, been soiled by no coarseness. He is a miracle of serenity and self-poise. During the terrors of Belmont, when an aid, with pallid cheek, cried,. ': Why, General, we are surrounded ! " there was no perceptible change in his pleasant face or calm voice, as he answered : " Then we will cut our way out," Three years later, as be read Lee's dispatch, proposing the sur render of the army of Northern Virginia, he was equally unmoved ; no elation shone iu his face, or soundedin the ordinary tone in which he asked, " Well, Rawlins, how do you think that will do ? " " Tried by both extremes of fortune, and never disturbed by either," he re mains as simple and unaffected to-day as in his years of poverty and obscurity." ¦ ,, Grant,- like his excellent mother, rarely laughs, and still more rarely attempts a joke, unless in the society of those with whom he is extremely intimate. After a hard day's successful fighting, be indulged on one occa sion, in an allusion to his possessing some knowledge of " the art of tanning," and it was in reference to his connection with this busi ness, that he made his noted reply to the pol iticians, who visited him at Vicksburg for the sole purpose of getting him into conversation about politics. While one of them was in the midst of the most flowery rhetoric, General Grant interrupted him with: " There is no use of talking politics to me. I know nothing about that subject, and, fur thermore, I don't know of any person among my acquaintances who does. But," continued he, " there is one subject with which I am perfectly acquainted ; talk of that, and I am your man." . , , " What is that, General 1 " asked the poli ticians, iu surprise. " Tanning leather," replied General Grant. Another biographer thus describes the per sonal and prepossessing character of the il lustrious soldier : "The truth is," be re marks, " that Grant's extreme simplicity of behavior and directness of expression impos ed on various officers, both above and below LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. 79 him. They thought him. a good, plain man, who had blundered into one or two suc cesses, and who, therefore, could not be im mediately removed; but they deemed it un necessary to regard his judgment,. or to count upon his ability. HU supeiiois made their plans invariably without consulting him, and his subordinates sometimes sought lo carry out their own campaigns, in opposition or in difference to his orders, not doubting that,, with tlieir superior intelligence, they could conceive and execute triumphs which would excuse or even vindicate their course. It is • impossible- to understand the early history of the war, without taking it into account, that neither the government nor its important com manders gave Grant credit for intellectual -ability or mi.itary genius. ' " Hjs other qualities were also: rated low. Because he was palient,.some thought it im possible to provoke him ; aud because of his calmness, it was supposed that he was stolid. In battle or in campaign, he did Dot seem to care or consider so much what the enemy was doing,' as what he himself meant to do; and this trait, to enthusiastic and even brilliant so'.diers, appeared inexplicable. - A great com mander, it was imagined, should be nervous, excitable, inspiring his men and captivating his officers ; catling private soldiers by their names, making eloquent addresses iu the field, and waving his drawn sword in battle. Great commanders had done all these things, and won ; and many men, who could do all these things, fancied themse ves therefore great commanders. Others imagined wisdom to consist in science alone; they sought suc cess iu learned and elaborate plans, requiring months to develop, when the euemy was im mediately before them ; they manoeuvered when it was the time to fight ; they entrenched when they should have attacked, and studied their books when the field should have been their only problem. " Grant was like none of these. If he pos sessed acquirements, be appeared unconscious of them ; he made no allusion to the schools, and never hesitated to transiress their rules, when the occasion seemed to bira to demand it. So, he neither won'men's hearts by blan dishments, nor affected their imaginations by brilliancy of behavior; nor did he seem pro found to those who are impressed only by a display of learning. All these things should be appreciated by tbo.se who seek to under stand his character or career." A beautiful characteristic of Giant is his magnauimity, numerous instances of which we have already cited in these pages. An other and a more recent illustration of this trait is recorded by a friend who visited Washington during the past winter. The writer says: "We had the pleasure of hear ing aremaik made by General Grant, which we think should be giren to the .country. General Grant, on the occasion we refer to, had introduced to the three persons who were present, the subject of General Sheridan's latn dispatch in relation to- the Attorney- General's opinion ; and, with the view of jus- tify.ng its style, explained that it was in the nature of a persona] dispatch to him (not in tended as an official response to- that opinion), and consequently not meant for publication. * Nevertheless,' said the. General, '1 read a copy of it in the newspapei s 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 that Sheridan's dispatch was almost in tbe nature of a con fidential communication, and that it was char acterized by an easy. frankness, which 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 in with any .of the ,' rings ' down there, and that they consequently hated him heartily, 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 ; iu fact, all that a man could desire, but not appreciation. He was a much broader man than was generally sup posed. He was usually regarded merely as a brave, off-hand, downright fighter, with not much calculation; but he was in reality a man of fine judgment, and fully capable of handling under any circumstances, all the ar mies the United States ever had together!' This was said with great animation, and, after a moment's pause, was repeated with an in creased emphasis. The surprising generosity of such a declaration as this, from a man who it would naturally be supposed, would crave such commanding glory solely to himself, 80 LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. made a deep impression on those of us who heard it, aud the childlike earnestness and simplicity with which the words were uttered, carried the conviction that they came spon taneously from a. big heart aud a great na ture. Alter this evidence of magnanimity and self-negation on the part of Geueral 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 opposed to- General Grant's elevation to that high position, beat's the following unwilling testimony to his saga city and eminent fitness for that office : "Geueral 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 bim 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 bim 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-thuuder 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 distinguishes 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 modern times, from our side of the Atlantic — a general who combines the charac teristic of the Prussian 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, aud the loss of life incurred, we are led irresistibly to the 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 Ty rol, be could make his way through the most difficult and well defended passes 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 bad thence 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," Stlfish Ambition. In short, we think that tbe 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 ail the world, This was a maji.9' 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 aspiring 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 compensate for those dash ing, brilliant qualities which are apt tn capti vate at a first glance. To know and appre 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. 81 liarly retentive memory. When not oppress ed with the cares of his position, he is very fond of talking, telliDg anecdotes, etc. His purity of character is unimpea chable, and his patriotism of the most exalted kind. He is generous to a fault, humane and true, and a steadfast friend to those whom he deems worthy of his confidence, he can always be relied upon in case of emergency. General W. T. Shermau is what might lie 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 forcibly 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 within the scope of human thought. He is of much more excitable temperament than General Grant, and more apt to be swayed by impulses, though his judgment is not so cool and reli able. Iu other words, though a more bril liant man, he does not possess that sterling good common seme which pre-eminently distin guishes General Grant. He is, however, a most brave and generous man, thoroughly in earnest, and ready to sacrifice everything for the good of his country. He is a true friend, and thoroughly unselfish ; and there are no better men — or few, at least — than General Sherman." - ' ' To McPherson's testimony regarding Grant's single-hearted patriotism and purity of char acter, we would add a few words descriptive of another trait, which fell from the lips of President Lincoln. He said : " The great thing about Grant, I take it, is his perfect coolness and persistency of purpose. I judge he is not easily excited— which is a great element in an officer, and he has the grit of a bull-dog ! Once let him get his teeth in, and nothing can shake him off." A very able military writer says : " Apply to General Grant what test you will, measure him by the magnitude of the obstacles he has surmounted, by the value of the position he has gained, by the fame of his antagonists over whom he triumphed, by the achievements of his most illustrious co-workers, by the severeness with which he directs his indomita ble energy to the vital point which is the key to a vast field of operations, by that supreme test of consummate ability, the absoli'te- com pleteness of results, aud be fully vindicates his claims to stand uext after Napoleon and Wellington, among the great soldiers of 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 is moved with inexpressible gratitude to the brave and de voted soldiers of our patriot army. 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 in all mental and moral attributes as those who are now engaged iu 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 sider the progress that has been made since 1640 in civilization, and especially in general education, there can be no doubt that our soldiers are superior in intelligence and char acter even to the fine body of men that were led to invariable victory by Oliver Cromwell. B raver than the ' Ironsides ' it were perhaps impossible for soldiers to be, but impartial history will pronounce those not less brave who bent their heads and went forward through the witheriug fires of the Wilderness, and dashed themselves so many times against the impregnable defences of Spottsylvania. " With this gratitude to the soldiers comes the slow but inevitable recognition of the greatness of their commander. General Grant may not have an intellect superior in its pow er of comprehending problems, but, through all future generations, his memory will occupy the very highest position among those emi nent who have been great in action. The miud that he has is all wisdom; it is a guide to conduct ; it throws its light upon the un trodden way. His judgment is healthy and sound, and is not disturbed by collateral and irrelevant considerations. 'He has one of those rare intellects that, across the maze of immaterial facts, goes straight to the true point,1 " But tbe judgment of General Grant would have done nothing toward accomplishing bis great achievements without those strong qual ities which have carried his decisions into effect. His power of dispatching business 82 LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS' Or? ubN^RAl GRANT. brought all departments of his great army •' into the highest perfection of organization and discipline. He has, too, in an eminent degree, that highest courage which has-1 been rare in deed among the- commanders or armies — tbe -moral courage that-dares to take the respon sibility of battle. But tbe strongest element - in his character is his inflexible tenacity of purpose. It is not the patience thatwait3-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 this day by perseverance;' The triumphs 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 patience."' - c ¦ :n-.ii: ¦ 7 :•; -!if 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 adom it." : t "wi.:. - -. ,. .- ¦ ' 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 sonis also being educated, and is the bold 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 pre 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 more often amid the "sheeted fire and. flame'' of the battle-field than any officer of our army, except, tbe old Veteran who vied with Cortezin victoriously leading our troops to the City of Mexico : | Palq Alto, May 8th, 1846; Resaca de la Pal- ma, .May, 9th. 1846; Monteiey, September I9th,20lh, 21st, 1846; Vera Cruz, April 18th, 1847 r Moliuo del Rey, September 8th, 1847 ; City of Mexico,; September 14th, 1847; Bel mont, November 7th, 1861 ; Fort Henry, Feb ruary 6th, 7th, 1862; Fort Donelson, Febru ary 13th, 14th, 15th„16th, 1862; Shiloh, April 6th, 7th,. 1862; Corinth Siege, April 22d to May 20th, 1862 ; Iuka, September l'Jth, 1862; Hatchie; October 5th, 1862 ; ,¦ Tallahatchie, December 1st, 1862; Port Gibson, May 12th, 1863, Black River Bridge, May 13th, 1863; Champion Hilis, May 14th, 1863; Black River, May 47th, 1863- Vicksburg, July 4th, 186a ; Chattanooga, November 23d, 24th, 25th, 26th, 1863 ; Battles for , Richmond, May 5th,. 6th, ,7th;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, 186-5; Among other gifts presented . to Gen eral Grant; may be mentioned a house; and furniture, valued at thirty • thousand dollars. by" citizens of Philadelphia; a house com pletely furnished; with -half that amount, a present from his old Galena friends and for mer neighbors ; horses valued at ten thou sand: dollars ; a handsome library, 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 LieutenanW'General Grant to that exalted position — one which never before ex isted under our government. Washington was General of the Continental army, and under the Confederation ; but in the United States army, 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 pos 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 hopefnl and agrea- LIFE ANDCAMPAlGNSiOP GENERAL GRANT. 83 able. One of onrparty asked his opinion on the military Hituaiion. " Well, gentlemen," said he, '.'Grant now has entire control, and I can only relate a conversation I had with him the other day. lie said his plan was to hold Lee and his army in the vicinity of Richmond, while 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 dorr^t know much about the technicalities of your profession, but as near as I do under stand you, you propose to hold the leg, while Sherman takes off the skin:' ' Yes." replied Grant, ' that is jist 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 history. 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 General-in-chief, he had all the'departments under his charge, some of which'caused h'un 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 retrenchment 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 tbe 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 tary ad interim, and great rednctions of ex penses have been effected uuder his adminis tration of the War Department, to the saving of millions to the Treasury." General Grant is not a politician, but a patriot. Ever since the downfall of the rebell ion^ be has been anxious for the earliest pos sible restoration of the insurgent States to their former relations to the Union. He has deprecated the quarrels between the Execu tive and Legislative depa tmenls of the gov ernment, which have tended to retard this work, while on his part he has labored assid uously, to bring it to a successful and har monious close. In this he has exhibited the sterling qualities of a wise and liberal states man. If he should be elected to the Presi dency — and few of our readers will eutertain any doubt on that point — all impartial and unprejudiced men, whether radicals or Con servatives, and whether dwelling at the North or the South, would feel that the Union and- the Constitution were safe in his hands. : When the Senate of the United States, on; assembling, in December, 1867, refused to sanction the .removal of Mr. Stanton, Grant at once - vacated the office of Secretary of War ad interim, deeming it his bounden duty, in accordance with his convictions, upon 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 tbe proper tribunal. General Grant's action in the premises led to a long correspondence 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 tire question of Stan ton's reinstatement by the Senate was discuss ed. Grant, after replying toother points of one of the President's communications, says, that for him lo have contiuued to retain pos session of the office, would have been in vio lation of law, and subjected him to fine and perhaps imprisonment, concludes : " When my honor as a soldier, and integrity as a man 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 responsibility, and then to destroy my character before the country. I am in a measure, confirmed in the conclusion byyour recent ordt- from the 84 LIFE AND- CAMPAIGNS OF Secretary of War, my superior and your sub ordinate." .,-..,,. . On Wednesday, May 20th, the .National Republican Convention met at Chicago, Illi nois, for the purpose of nominating candidates for the offices of President and Vice-President of the United States. On Thursday ...General Logan rose, tbe 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 States of Amer ica — in the name of loyalty, liberty and jus tice ; in the name of the National Union Repub lican party 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 bad 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 asno 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 office in the people's gift by National Conventions, held in the me tropolis of their adopted State. -Lincoln had a mission to pei-form, 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 with which he will pur-sue the task allotted to him in the future. I ; , " 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 they could do better, but they would not hear us. The nomination of General Grant, by every delegate from every State 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 from the Bay of Fundy to the Pacific. Apart from all politics and parlks, the people are for Grant ; and his vote will exceed that of the most popular of caudidales 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 McCJellen. "Those who would fain makebelieve that the soldiers who fought gallaDtly for the Union are not heartily for Grant, deceive none — not even themselves. Should. Hancock be ths Democratic nominee, he may possibly poll one- tenth of the voles of the Union volunteers, with nine-tenths of that cast by their paroled prison ers who fought for Secession ; but, as against a peace Democrat, we believe that Grant wilt 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 ears, they cannot resist 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 should 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 be ." has tbe 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 ofj . LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL GRANT. 85 his judgment, the practical working of his mind, and in his disposition and. ability, to co-operate with those who may share with him the power and responsibility of adminis tration. Never seeking, he never shuns, either ; and the modesty which is by many mistaken fur weakness, implies, as his history shows, no lack of whatever self-reliance is re quired for theiduties of any position in which he may be placed." Another leading journal alluding to Grant and the Presidency, compares him to IhePa- ter Patriot. "We trust that General Giant. loves his whole country ; that he desires the good of all its citizens, without regard to any dividing lines — whether they be lines of par ty, or section, or race, or color. v 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 pa3t 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 pol.tician than, if we had lived in Washington's time, we would have wished him to give aud return party blows. As Wash- iugton 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 bo elected, if at all, in the same way aud with the same generous tonfidence. Having restored tbe 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 tbe follow ing reception from the New York Herald the day after the nominations had been made by tbe Chicago Convention: "In U. S.Grant, 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, cohesive, aud popu lar Presidential ticket before the people. Grant, the great captain of the age, has also proved, that in the administration of the civil affairs, of a peace establishment he possesses those rare endowments of practical states manship which qualify him for all the respon sibilities of the executive head of the govern ment in any emergency. It is the general impression among the American people that in his hands tlieir interests and the honor and prosperity of the country will be safe, His associate, Speaker Colfax, for one of ln's age, is a man of great , experience and superior abilities and sagacity in our political affairs, and, in the eTent of a call to the White House to fill the, unexpired term of his colleague, po doubt can be entertained that he will give us a good administration. Nor is the flattering reputation of these men limited to tbe United States, for it is substantially the same- abroad as at borne. The news of their nomination will strengthen the confidence of the friends of ' the great Republic ' over all the world — on the Thames, the SeiDe, the Rhine, the Ne va, and the Danube, and fiora the mighty Amazon, rolling its flood of waters down the equatorial line, to the imperial Yang-tse-Kiang of China, 'the son of the sea.' Nor will that honest faith in American securities at Frankfort-on-lhe-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 pro tern, of the Senate, Mr. Wade, who led the list of Vice-Presiden tial aspirants on the first two or three ballots, would have been to Grant as heavy a load to cany as was the Old Man of the Sea to Sin- bad the Sailor; and Fenton, the next highest competitor of Colfax, would also have been a dead weight. Co fax,, on the other band, gives that positive strength and consistency lo the ticket which makes it a unit and ex pands the circle of its influence. He has had the valuable training of a newspaper editor — a vocation which in this country is the best of schools for an aspiring politician. It- teaches him all the ins and outs of the pro fession and how to avoid those shoals and bars upon which so many of our greatest "86 - 'LIFE AND- CAMPAIGNS OF GENERAL; GRANT. "statesmen have- foundered. The rail-splitter tand the taildr were' a powerful team, but the tanner and the editor will match them. There is-' nothing like leather,' and the newspa]>er is the till rd estate of the Nineteenth Century. Grant and Colfax are astron^ 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,"'! '•'r;<'1 •'• -,l Oh the evening of May 22d, General Grant was serenaded at bis residence in. Washington, -and after the Marine- Band had played "Hail to the Chief," loud calls were made- fof Grant. TFhen he appeared he was greeted. with pfo- •lon'ged cheers, and when- silence was restored he was addressed as follows by representative •Boutwell, of Massachusetts ': ' ' ''¦"> ;;"';ii.i>i ''" ''Gbxer al : — This assemblage'df ' ycW fel low-citizens, brought together without" organ ization or previous arrangement, have' desired ;hie to express to yon' 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.) Ths Unanimity "with which you have been nominated, altnost, "if not altogether ' without an example Tn the history. of our country, furnishes sufficient in dication of the vast majority, if no*' entire unanimity, with which the nomination will- be i - ¦ sustained by the loyal people of the country '(Ai'Plause.) The Bepublican party has not yet had an opportunity to test its capacity for the government of the Republic in tithe of peace. "We have had a war of mote than' four years' ^duration, but the valiant and patriotic people o'f'this country 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, inthe Wilderness, and be fore Richmond ; and you are to 'meet1 tHth 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 the same men, ani mated by the same principles which anima ted the men engaged in the rebellion, you "were so instrumental in overthrowing. The nation expects, and will receive from yon the tame devotion to its interests, the same pa-' tridtisih in your purposes; the same integrity au.l firmness of will which characterized your. command of its armies ; and I doubt not that in the contest which is now before 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 surrender 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:' L My feltow-citizeus, I have now the pleasure of presenting to- ydii' the' next President of the United States, General- Grant, the commander of yourarmies." '.«>':-> . ¦/; General- Grant then said; after the renewed and long-continued applause hadsubsided, and we think so much has rarely been said in so few Words:''-' '-' --:.-'' Iir*:-r-tj m( ,.-. ;.;-\-.i-. -., ' " Gextlekes V — Being .''entirely unaccns- - ¦ ! ) '•¦-!-, j , 'II, - - , , tomed to public speaking, anil without the de- si! e 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 duties with fidelity and honesty of purpose. Of my rectitude in the. performance of publio duties you will have to, judge for yourselves.by my record before you." It is a very -great mistake te suppose 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 finess for the performance of civil functions, » devo tion to the principles of the Constitution, a respect 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 his military record (and what general -of modern times has a more brilliant one?) why lie should be elevated to a position where he can use his powers for re storing' peace arid prosperity to ow-long-suf- fe ing and' distracted' country1'- 'The London Times attributes to Grant many Of the excel lences which ' characterizenVenr late lamented President.1 " Th fact, however; the rough com mon sense and nngain'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. 87 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 deg t-f this characteristic of the Uile President. It would .-.eeni -that there has never been a more inarticulate hero: The words he utters are lew and rugged ; but when they come ihey express the dogged re solution, the ardor slowly kindled, but wlreri once alight, steadily maintained ;... the un flinching pertinacity, and the power, of .adapt ing m ana 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 unsurpassed judgment, and of undoubted fairness and honesty. He 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 the ruler of this nation during the present crisis. There can be no question that 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 tary commander. In his love of country, sup port of 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 good judgment; so too, may we not hope that General Grant, will achieve the same glory as a statesman, which he has already won a» a soldier — a soldier " second to none," the motto of the famous cavalry regiment known as the " Scotch G. eys," iu which sev eral officers of Grant's name have won re nown. As- the- Spaniards say, Quiensabe. The same persistency displayed, by the boy in riding the mule, aud in loading, unaided, the wagon with- logs, for- the construction of the Brown county .jail, were/, displayed . at Fort Donelson, at Vickburg, at.Uliattauooga, and during his last cauipaigui against, Lee's army, and at the rebel capital. On the eve ning of that awful battle of the Wilderness, when the legions of the Union army had fought all day, rather by faith than sight, in the wild woods aud tangled brush, an officer suggested to Giant that the army should fall back, as it had done under former leaders, and re-organize. '"No, sir," replied the dauntless and intrepid soldier, "we have, done very well, at half-past three in the m'irning we move forward." We have perfect faith that the prediction made by the ] hr.'iiologist, who examirred his hea 1 in 1832, " You need not be surprised if you should see this boy fill the Presidential chair some time," will prove true, and that he will be equally persistent and successful in his efforts as President to restore peace aDd prosperity to our long suffering 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 hightest office, for which he has been duly nominated, within the gift of the American people. We appeal to you by the memory of the heroic Sedgwick, the gallant Kearney, the lion- hearted McPhersoD, the patriotic Winthrop, and the humbler, but no less heroic martyrs, whose three hundred thousand graves lie thickly scattered in all portions of the South, and by every motive that can influence the conduct of earnest, patriotic men, see that you do not falter in the performance of your duty, until that duty is thoroughly and completely done, and Ulysses S. Grant is elected a suc cessor to George Washington, and the noble martyr, Abraham Lincoln. In his essay on heroic virtue, Sir William Temple names seven illustrious soldiers,* * Belisarius, Narse3, Gonsalvo. of Cordova, William I., Prince of Oranfre, Alexander. Duke ot Parma; John Hunyadea, aud. George Castriota. ss. LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS, 01 GENERAL GRANT. who have deserved, without wearing, a crown. Had he lived in our day, he might have added another to his list, in the person of tbe Gene ral-in-chief of the American armies, and tbe prospective President of the United States, Ulysses S. Grant. A kind Providence has thus far upheld him iu his high position. M*y he be kept secure in his wisdom until Uie na tion shall in March, 1869, demand his leader ship in Ihe State — a position which we, as re publicans, certainly cannot deem less exalted than that of a ruler over monarchies or king doms. With Grant as our next President, the country will be restored to its pristine prosper ity. The same masterhand, who in his military capacity crushed the rebellion, history will hereafusr record, gave back the Union of onr Fathers it all its ancient integrity. Under iiis wise administration there shall be no more wars nc more sectional jealousies, no North, no South • neither East or West, only one common country, to be in reality as in name, United Stales of America, and " those opposed eyes, Which like the meteors of a troubled heaven, AL of one nature, of one substance bred, Bid lately meet in the intestine shock, Shall now in mutual, well-beseeming ranis, ; Uabch aij. ode wax." A'PPEITDIXv. KEPORTS AND C0EEE8P0NDEN0E, BATTLE OP BELMONT. HKAIXJUABTEB3 AjftMTE.3 OF THE UNITED STATES, ) Washington, Jane 26, 1865. } Sib;-— I have the honor to transmit herewith a full and complete return of the battle of Belmont, Mia- souri, fought Nov. 7, 1361, which I would respectfully ask to have substituted in the place of my report of that action of date Nov. 19, 1861, made to General S. Williams, Assistant Adjutant-General to the General- in-Chief. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, U. 8. Gbant, Lieutenant-General. Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War. Eeferred to the Adjutant-General for publication with the accompanying, report n E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War. June 27, 1865. , BKAJKJDAlirSBS District Southeast Missouri, 1 Cairo, I1L, Nov. 17, 186L , j General: — The following order was received from Headquarters Western Department: St Loins, Nov. 1, 1861. General Grant, Commanding at Cairo: Tou are hereby directed to hold your whole com- xnand ready to march at an hour's notice, until fur ther orders, and you will take particular care to be amply supplied with transportation and ammunition. Tou are also directed to make demonstrations with your troops along both sides of the river toward Charleston, Norfolk and Blandville, and to keep your columns constantly moving back, and against these places, without, however, attacking the enemy. Very respectfully, &c, Chaktncet McKeeveb. Assistant Adjutant-General. At the same time I was notified that similar Instruc tions had been sent to Brigadier-General C- F. Smith, commanding Paduuah, Ky., and was directed to communicate with him freely as to my movements, that his might be co-operative, On the 2d of the same month, and before it was pos sible for any considerable preparation to have been made for the execution of this order, the following telegraphic dispatch was received : St. Loots, Nov. 2d, 1861. , To Brigadieb-Genebai. Ghaut. 1 Jeff Thompson is at Indian's Ford of tho St Fran cois River, twenty-five miles below Greenville, with about 3,000 men* CoL Carlin baa started a with force 89 from Pilot Knob. Sent a force from Cape Girardeau and Bird's Point to assist Carhn in driving Thomp son into Arkansas. By order of Major-General Fremont, C. M. Keever, Assistant AdJ otant-GeneraL The forces I determined to send from Bird's Point were immediately designated, and Cot J. R. Oglesby, Eighth Illinois Volunteers, assigned to the command nnder the following detailed instructions: 1i.eaixjoabteiw district southeast missouri, ) Caibo, Nov. 3, 1861. $ Colonel R. J. Oglesby, Commanding, Jfco., Bird's Point, Mo.: You will take command of an expedition consist ing of your regiment, four companies of the Eleventh Illinois, all of the 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. Cropper acting as guide. From there go in pursuit of a rebel force understood to be 3,000 strong, nnder Jeff Thompson, now at Indian's Ford, on the St Francois River. 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 you to go there, but pursue the enemy in any direction he may go, al ways being cautions not to fall in with an unlooked-for foe too strong for the command under you. The object of the expedition ia to destroy this force, and the manner of doing it ia left largely at your dis cretion, believing It better not to trammel you with instructions. Transportation will be furnished yon for fourteen days' rations and four or five days' forage. All yon may require outside of this, must be furnished by the, country through which you pass. In taking supplies you will be careful to select a proper officer to press them, and require a receipt to be given, and the arti cles pressed, accounted for in the same manner as if purchased. Tou are particularly enjoined to allow no foraging by your men. It Is demoralizing in the extreme, and is apt to make open enemies, where they would not otherwise exist.- V. 3. Grant, Brigadier-General. Colonel J. B. Plumraer Eleventh Missouri Volun. teers, commanding Cape Girardeau, was directed to send one regiment in the direction of Bloomfleld.with a view to attracting the attention of the enemy. 90 APPENDIX. The forces under CoL Oglesby, were all got off on the evening of the 3d. On the 5th, « telegram was received from head quarters, St Louis, stating that the enemy was rein forcing Price's Army, from Columbus, by way of White River, and directing that the demonstration that had been ordered against Columbus be- imme diately made. Oi'ders were accordidgfy-at onceglven to the troops under my command that remained at Cairo, Bird's Point and Fort Holt A letter was also sent to Brigadier-Gener.il C. F. Smith, commanding at Paducah, requesting him to make a demonstration at the same Unit against Columbus. i To more affe^iually attain tha ©bj ec t- bf the demon- stration against the enemy at Belmont and Columbus, I determined on the morning uf the 6th, to temporarily change the direction of CoL Oglesby's column to- i ward New-Madrid, and also to send a small force un-> rder CoL W. H. L. Wallace, Eleventh- Illinois Volun teers, to Charleston, Mo., to ultimately join CoL Oglesby. In accordance with this determination, I addressed CoL Oglesby the following .communication : j - - . ... r\, r _r , .-CAIRO) Nov.. r6V 1861. Colonel It .7. Oglesby, Commanding Expedition: [ On receipt of this, turn your column toward New- Madrid. When yoa 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 letter: ¦ . ,.;..-• .... , ¦ . - ,;. - . ; . . Catro, Nov. 6, 1861. Colonel W. EL I*. Wallace, Bird's Point, Mo. : ¦ Herewith I send you an order to CoL Oglesby to change the direction of hia column, toward New- Madrid, 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.. Yon will, accompany them to Charleston and get Col. Oglesby's instructions to him by a messenger, if practicable, and when he is near enough, yon may join him. For this purpose, you may s ibstitute 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, aud there you will find rations enough for several days more, should they be necessary. Tou may take a lim ited number of tents, and at Charleston press wagons 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 6th, I left this place on steam ers, with McClernand's brigade, consisting of Twen ty-seventh regiment Illinois Volunteers, CoL K. B. Buford; Thirtieth regiment, Illinois Volunteers, CoL Philip B. Fonke; Thirty-first regiment, Illinois Vol unteers, CoL John A. Logan; Dollins' company In dependent ILUnoU Cavalry, Capt . J. J. Dollons; Delano's company, Adam* County,. Illinois Cavalry, Lieut J. R. Catlin. , , . Dougherty's brigade, consisting oi. Twenty-second regiment Illinois Volunteers, Lieut. -CoL II. 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 6$>wn the river toapointolne miles below here, where 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 stt ongly fortified position at Culumbu3v 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- bns-ro -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 mure 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 Thompson. This, informauoji determined me to attack vigorously bis forces at Belmont knowing that should we be re* pulsed,, we could re-embark without difficulty under the protection of the gunboats. The following; order was given: ¦-/ " , -* To my staff, Capt John A. Rawlins, Assistant Adja- tanUGeneral; Lieuts. Q. B. Lagow,-and Wm. S. Hill yer. Aids-de-camp, aud Capt. R> B. Hatch, AsaisUnt Quartermaster, I am much, indebted for the prompts tude with which they discharged. chair several duties. Surgeon J. 11. Brinton, United States Volunteers, chief medical officer, was on the field during the en tire engagement and displayed great ability and effi ciency In providing for toe wounded, and in organ izing the medical corps. Major J. D. WebBter, acting Chief-EDgineer, also accompanied me on the field, and displayed soldierly qualities of a high order. . ' My own horse was sbot under me during the en gagement' ¦ • ,'.:j:' •¦ - / The gunboats Tyler, .Capt. Walke, and Lexington, Capt. Stembolt, conveyed. -the expedition .and. ren dered most efficient service. Immediately upon our landing, they engaged the enemy's batteries on the beights above Columbus, and protected our transports throughout For a detailed account of the part taken by them, I refer with pleasure to the accompanying report' of Capt. H. 8. Walke, senior officer. A ' "' l ¦ ' In pursuance of my request Gen. Smith,- com manding at Paducah, sent on the 7th instant, a force to Mayfteld, Kentucky, and another in the direction of Columbus, with orders not to approach nearer, however, than twelve or fifteen miles of that place. I also Bent a small force on the Kentucky side toward Columbus, under Col. John Cook, Seventh Illinois Volunteers,, with orders not to go beyond Elliott's Mills, distant some twelve miles from' Columbus. These forces having marchf d to the points designated in theirorders, returned, without having met serious resistance. On the evening of the 7th. information of the resuK of the engagement at Belmont was sent to CoL1 Ogles by, commanding expedition against Jeff Thompson, and ordered, to return to Bird's Point by way of Charleston, Missouri. Before these reached him, how ever, he had learned that Jeff Thompson had left the place where he was reported to be, when the expedi* tion started (he having gone toward New-Madrid or Arkansas), and had determined to return. The same information was sent to the commanding officer at Cape Girardeau, with directions for the troops to be brought back that had gone out from that place. -> From all the information I have been able- to obtain since the engagement, the enemy's loss in killed and wounded was much greater than ours. We captured 175 prisoners, all his artillery, and transportation, and destroyed his entire camp and garrison equipage. Independent of the injuries inflicted upon him, and tho prevention of his reinforcing Price, or st-ndin# a force to cut off the expeditions against Jeff Thomp son, the cofidence inspired in our troops in the eu> gagement will be of incalculable benefit to us in- the future* Very respectfully, your obedient servant, .... <~ V. 8: Grant, Brigadier-GeneraL Brigadier-General Seth Williams, Assistant Adju tant-General, Washington, D. C. • -'*-'" & P APPENDIX. THE CAPTURE OP VICKSBURG. THB CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN O ENS. GRANT ANT* PEMBERTON. ' *' 'L > .. HKAIH.DAttTKBS, VlCKSBUBO, July 3. Major-general U. S. Obant, Commanding IT. S. forces : • > 1 General :— I have the honor to Tmjpose 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 alike 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. . i Very respectfully, your obed't servant, John C. Pemberton. To this Genera] Grant 'replies aa follows r Headquarters Department Tkttnbssee, in \ the Field near Vicksbubo, July, 3. j IiTEtTTBN ant - Genebax. PemrkbtoiTp Commanding Confederate forces, etc : ' v General :— Tour note of this date Is just received, proposing an armistice of several hours 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 at anytime you may choose, by an unconditional sur render of the city and garrison. Hen who have shown so much endurance and courage aa those now in Vicksburg, will always challenge the respect of an adversary, and, I can assure you, will be treated with all the respect due them as prisoners of war. I do not favor the proposition of appointing commis sioners to arrange terms of capitulation, because I have no other terms than those indicated above. I am, General, very respectfully your obedient servant, . , TJ. S. Grant. Major-General Bowen, the bearer, of Pembertdn's letter, was 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 the time. Grant was there with his staff, and with Generals Ord, McPherson, Logan and A. J. Smith. Pember ton came late, attended by General Bowen 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 officers, and Grant, McPherson and A. J. 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 retain their 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 wouM 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 his corps and division commanders, and sent the follow* ing letter to Pemberton by the hands of General Logan and Lieutenant-Colonel Wilson : ' Headquabtebs Department Tennessee, \ ' nkab Vicksbubo, July 3, 1863. \ LiEtrrEN^iNT-GENEB-AL J. C. Pembekton, Command ing Confederate forces at Vicksburg, Miss. : Genebai* :— 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 oat 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 staff, 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 ilso, counting two horse or mule-teams as one, you .villbe allowed to transport such articles as cannot ;ie carried along. The same conditions will be al- o wed- all sick and wounded officer* and privates as* ast as they become able to travel. The paroles for ,hese latter must be signed, however, whilst officers ire present authorized1 to sign the roll of prisoners. • 'I anx, General, very respectfully, k : Xour obedient servant, TJ.' 8. Gbamt, Major-Gen eraL The officer who received this letter stated that it ^e would impossible to answer it by night, and it ivas not till a little before daylight that the follow ing reply was furnished : r ¦ ¦ Headquabtebs, Vicksbubo, ) July 4, 1863. f To Major-General TJ. S. Grant, commanding TJ. 8. forces, etc Genebai,: — I have 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 of 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 snd " around Vicksburg, and to surrender the city and garrison under my command, by marching out with my 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. I am, General, Tours very respectfully, rj J. 0. Pemberton, Lieutenant-General. To this, General Grant immediately replied as fol lows: APPENDIX. 9$ HEADQ's DEPARTMENT OP TIT* TEWlCEMrx, J Before VicitaDcaa, July t. it**, \ Lieutenant-General J. C. Pembjlhion. Commanding forces in Vicksburg : General:— I have the honor to acknowledge y iur communication ot the 3d or July. Toe amendments proposed by you cannot be acceded to id full. It will be necessary to furnish every cfhctr and man wtb a parole aigned by bimself, which, with tbo completion of the rolls or prisoners, will necessarily take some time. Again, I can make no stipulation with regard to the treatment of citizens and tbeir private property. "While I do not propose to cause any of them any un due annoyance or loss, I cannot consent to place myself under restraint by stipulations. Tbe pro perty which officers can be allowed to take with them will be as stated in my proposition of last evening; that is, officers will be allowed tbeir private baggage and side-arms, and wounded officers one horse each. If you mean, by your position, for each brigade to march to the front of the lines now occupied by it, and stack their arms, at 10 a. m^ and then return to the inside, and remain as prisoners until properly paroled, I will make no objection. Should no indication be made of your acceptance of my terms by 9 o'clock a. m., I shall regard them as having been rejected, and act accordingly. Should these terms be accepted, white flags will be displayed along your lines, to prevent such of my troops as may not have been notified from firing upon your men. I am, General, very respectfully, Your obedient servant, TJ. 8. Grant, Major-GeueraL To this the subjoined answer was received ; Headquarters, Vicksbubo, \ July 4th, 1863. f General:— I have the honor to acknowledge the receiptor your communication of this date, and, in reply to it, say that tbe terms proposed by you are accepted. Very rerpecrfully. Your obedient pervant, . J". C. Pemberton, Lieutenant-General. BRAGG'S REPORT OF THE BATTLE OP CHATTANOOGA. Headquarters, Army op tr"e Tennessee, I Dalton, Ga., November 30, 1863. ( Sra: — On Monday, the 23d, the enemy advanced in heavy force, aud drove in our picket line in front of Missionary Ridge, but made no further effort. On Tuesday morning early, they threw over the river a heavy force opposite the north end of the Ridge, and just below the mouth of the Chickamauga, at the same time displaying a heavy force in our immediate front. After visiting the right and making dispositions ¦ there for the new development in that direction, I returned towards the left, to find a heavy connonad- Ing going on from the enemy's batteries on our forces occupying the slope of Lookout Mountain, between the crest and the river. A very hes vy force soon ad vanced to the BMtnolt, and wa» met by one Irfgads cnly- Walthall's, which madeade9pei;v (he road, cro^s (stc) iheirlge it Rossvilie, far to our left, a route was open to our rear. Major-Gene- ial Breckinridge, commanding on the left, had occu pied this with two regiments, and a battery. lb being reported to me that a force of the enemy had ' moved »n that direction, the general was ordered to h»ve it reconnoitered, and to make every disposition necessary to secure his flank, which he proceeded to do. About three and a-half p. w.„tbe immense force in -> the front of our left and centra advanced in three- lines, preceded by heavy •kirmishers. Our batteriee- opened with fine effect, and much confusion waapro—- duced, before they reached musket range. In a nhort time the war of musketry became very- heavy, and it was soon apparent that the enemy had been Tepulsed in my immediate front. Whilst ndin? along the crest, congratulating the troops, intelligence reached me that our line was bro ken on my right, and tbe enemy had crowned the ridge. Assistance was promptly dispatched to that point under Brigadier-General Bate, who had so suc cessfully maintained the ground in my front,. and I proceeded to the rear of the broken line to rally our ¦ retiring troops and return them to the crest ro-drive the enemy back. General Bate found tbe disaster so great that his small force could not repair it. About this time I learned that our extreme left had also given way, and that my position was. almost sui* 94 APPENDIX., rounded. Bate- was immediately directed to form a second line in the rear, where by, the efforts of my staff, a nucleus of stragglers had been formed upon wfcieh to rally. „.,,.'. t- ( , . ' .» . .Lieutenant-General Hardee, leaving Major-Gene ral Cltburnein, command on tbe extreme itett, moved towards ^the left, when he heard tha heavy Cricg in that direction. He reached lua right oi Andersjn's division just in time to finl it had cearl/ all fallen back, commeacing on its left whera tbe enemy had first crowned the ridge. By a prompt and judicious movement, he threw a portioa of Cheat ham's division. dtrectly across the; ndg«*, faciei; the enemy, who was now moving a strong forceimrce- diately on his left flank. By a decided stand here the enemy was entirely checked, and that portion of our force to the right remained intact., ;, s ,(_ . ,( , . . 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 shamefully aban doned by its infantry, support. , • , r y , Every effort which could be made by myself .and staff, and by many other mounted . officers, availed but little. A panic, which I bad 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, r 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 wereTfully known to us, but equally, unknown to the enemy. n, ., . 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. . . (T Lieutenant-General Hardee's command, under his judicious management, retired in good order and un- i molested. .,.,.-.. ., {1 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 possibly 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 indis- i order alter suffering heavy loss. Those who reached 'the Ridfje, did so in a condition of exhaustion from ' tbe great physical exertion in climbing, which ren dered them powerless; and the slightest effort would Jiave destroyed them. , , , r , . Having secured much of our artillery, they soon ' availed themselves of our panic, and turning our ; guns upon us, enfiladed, the. lines rbpth right and left, i rendering them entirely untenable, , j , ; .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 conduct in veteran troops, who had never before fitted Jn,. any. duty assigned them, however difficult nod, hazardous., '..,,,,, '',',./',;.,•. . (' ' They.Lad, for two days, confronted the, enemy, roirshalling his immense forces, in plain view, and i xhlbitin* \o their sight such a si;penority,in nurp- bers^as may have intimidated weak minds and, un tried soldiers. / ; . , , ¦ Eut our veteraps had so often- encountered similar hosts, when strength of position was against us, and , with perfect success, that not a doubt crossed my , mind, • As-yefc- -I. am not fully informed, as, to ,-tbe com mands which first tied, and brought. this, great disas ter and, disgrace/upon our arms. Investigation will. bring out the truth, however, aud full justice shall be done to the good and the bad. ¦ i( 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, thatj 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 Major-General Cleburne and Brigadier-General.. Gist, in command of their respective divisions, that., he gave us but little annoyance. . , ., :/ ,' . Lieutenant-General Hardee, as 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... t „( , Major-General Cleburne, whose command defeated tbe enemy in every assault on the 25th, and who eventually- charged and routed him on thafeday, 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,'i3 commended to the special notice of the government. Brigadier-Generals Gist and Bate, commanding divisions, Cumming, Walthall, and Polk, command- brigades, were distinguished fpr 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 efforts, 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.'ift is known to have been very small. In, prisoners and stragglers, I fear it is much la-»ger. The chief of artillery reports the loss ot forty pieces. I am, sir, very respectfully, Tour obedient servant, '' ' Braxton Bragg, General commanding. General S. Cooper, Adjutant-General C. S. A., Richmond. GENERAL GRANT'S ORDER TO MEADE, .:.»:¦ ^ORD'AND SHERIDAN. ¦ .^ '• -• ,„ .* City. Point, Va., March 29, 1865. General: — On the 29th instant, the armies oper ating against Richmond will be moved by our left ' APPENDIX. 95 for the double pnrpo.se of turning the enemy out of his present position around Petersburg, 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 aud destroy the South Side Railroals. Two cor; -a of the Army of the Potomac 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 VUnwiddie 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 Nottoway, and west with the whole column before reaching Stony Creek. General Sheridan will then move independently, under other instructions which 'Will be given1 him. AH dismounted cavalry belong ing to the Army of the Potomac, and the dismounted cayalry from.the Middle Military Division, not re quired" tor guarding property belonging to their arm 1 of the seiv\ce, 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, lor holding the lines about Petersburg and City Point, subject of course to orders from the "coniminderofthe Army of the Potomac. The Ninth, Army Corps will be left intact to hold the "present -line of works so long a3 the whole. line ..was. occupied by us is held. If, however, the troops to the left of Ninth Corps are withdrawn, then the left of the corps may be thrown back so as to occupy tbe 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 will follow the left column of th° Army of the Potomac, and the colored divis ions t ) right column. During the movement, Major-ijeiieral 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- etant. General Ord will leave behind the minimum number of cavalry necessary for picket duty in the absence of the main army. A cavalry expedition from General OrdV 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 will be sufficient. They should, however,' be supported by all the infantry that can be spared fromNortolk and Portsmouth, as far out as to where the cavalry crosses the Black- water. The crossing should probably be at TJnitee. "Should Colonel Sumner succeed in reaching the - "Weldon road, he will be instructed to do all the ' damage possible to the triangle of roads between Hicksford, Weldon and Gaston. The railroad bridge 1 at Weldon being fitted up for the passage of carriages, it might be practicable to destroy any ,icct? mutation of supplies the enemy may have collected south of the Itu-uioke. All the troops will move with four days1 rations in haversacks and eight in wagons. To avoid as much hauling as possible, and to give the* Army of the James the same number of days* supply with the Army of the Potomac General Ord will direct his commissary and quartermaster to have sufficient supplies delivered at the terminus of the road to-fill upin phasing. Sixty' rounds; of ammuni tion will be taken in wagons ""and as much grain as the transportation on hand will carry after taking* the specified amount of other supplies. The densely- wooded country in which the army have to operate * making the use of much artillery impracticable, the amount taken with the army' will be reduced to-" six or eight guns to each division, at the option of tbe army commanders. '*.,>.:¦' All necessary preparations for carrying these direc tions into operation may be commenced at once. The reserves of the Ninth Corps should be massed as much as possible. Whilst T. v, ould not now order an unconditional attack on the .enemy's line by them, they, should be ready and make the attack if tho enemy weakens his line in tbeir front, without wait ing for orders. ' ' • - •' ' l*,; "* ' .''¦ ll" ''» In1 case theycarry the line, theu the whole of the Ninth Corps could follow up so as to join or co-operate with the balance of the army. To prepare for this, the Ninth Corps will have rations issued 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- owed up with great promptness. An attack will not be feasible unless it is found thatrthe enemy has de tached largely. In that case it may be regarded as evident that the enemy are relying on their local re serves principally for the defence of Richmond. Pre parations may be made for abandoning all the line north of the James; except inclosed" works — only te 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 i.-nemy knowing this may, as an only chance, strip 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 cannot be impressed too strongly upon commanders of troops left 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 evidence of such a weakening of his lines, I would have it par ticularly enjoined on corps commanders, that in case of an attack from the enemy, those not attacked are not to wait for orders from the (commanding officer of the army to which they belong, but that they will move promptly and notify the commander of theiT action. I would also enjoin the same action on the part of division commanders when other parts of their corps are not engaged. - In like manner I would urge the importance of following up a repulse of tba enemy. . . TJ. 8. Grant, Lieutenant-General* Major-Generals Meade-, 'Ord, and Shebidajt. * THE H.Om ;SOHUTLEK COLFAX ScnrjTLEB Colfax, the popular candidate of the National Union Republican party for the office of Vice-President, is a Dative- of New York City. He was born in North Moore-sU, March 23, 1823, hia 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 iq 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 bis leisure hours in the study of State law, in which he is said soon to have become an acknowledged ex pounder, He read law pretty thoroughly during these leisure hours, but not with a view to adopting it as a profession.. He bad 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,1 the county seat of St. Joseph county, called The St. Jo seph Valley Segister, becoming its sole propri etor aod editor. A writer in The Indianapo lis Journal corrects a mistake into which tbe public has fallen relative to Mr. Colfax's con nection with the printing business. Mr. Lan- man, in hi3 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 Segister. With his ready tact and quick perception, however, and great anxiety to economize, for his means were yet very limited, he soon mastered the art sufficiently 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 Segister 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 para2»ph, however small, seemed to have passed under the supervision of and to reflect the mind and elevate the thoughts of its editor. He con tinued his connection with this paper 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- Segister- 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 from one of these stated gatherings. Politics, the temperance reform, and other subjects were otten as ably debated in this so ciety as kindred 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 proprietor of The Indianapolis Journal, to which Mr. Colfax was also attached as Senate Reporter for some time after he commenced tbe publication of The Segister, was also a participant in these debates. They were both Whigs, both ardent and sincere advocates of and believers in the temperance reform, and were consequently seldom pitted against each other in these de bates. The attachment formed at this early day between those gentlemen still continues with unabated fervor. In 1848, Mr. Colfax was chosen as a delegate, and elected as Sec retary of the Convention which nom nated General Taylor for the Presidency. In 1850 he represented St. Joseph county in the Coil- APPENDIX. 97 vention which framed the present Constitution of Indiana. In this Convention he opposed, with all his ability, the adoption of the clause prohibiting free colored men from settling in the State. His opposition to this measure ¦was the cause of his defeat the following year when nominated for Congress, in opposition ,to Dr. Fitch. But, with all the ability, tact, And shrewdness of this old political wire-work er, he only distanced his young competitor 200 votes, in a district which had been strong ly democratic for years. In 1852 he was Again a delegate to the Whig National Conven tion. He took an active part in the campaign which followed, speaking often and writing .much. In 1851, when the " great deep "of Indiana Democracy was broken up, and tbe 4>ld Hunkers laid in a grave from which it is hoped they may never be resurrected, he was renominated and elected to Congress, and was consequently more active than ever before. His experience as a debater, and. familiarity -with State and National politics, rendered him »n overmatch for his opponents, whom he was always anxious to meet in an open and fair discussion before the people, where be was always certain of a victory. ¦ In 1856 he was again nominated for Con gress, and re-elected by a handsome majority. His entrance into Congress was in the midst of the great struggle over the Lecompton swindle. A writer bays of his maiden speech in the House : " His first speech in Congress went forth to repel tbe tide of terror which was sweeping over struggling Kansas, and clearly showed that even then he was one of the best debaters in the Lower House." Over 500,000 copies of this speech were printed And circulated— a compliment perhaps never ibefore received by any member of Congress. He was first chosen Speaker of the XXXVII Ith -Congress by a vote of 101 to 81. He has been thrice elected to the same position, each .