Ih m utfP m.j* W M ^ *y the victory of Fort Donelson as was that of the Potomac by the defeat of Bull Run. It is hard to censure a successful general immediately after a victory, but I think he richly deserves it. I can get no returns, no reports, no information of any kind from him. Satisfied with his victory, he sits down and enjoys it, without any regard to the future. I am worn out and tired by this neglect and inefficiency. C. F. Smith is almost the only officer equal to the emergency." Next day, having doubtless received authority from Washington, he telegraphed to Grant as follows : — 54 LIFE OF GEN. IT. S. GRANT. "You will place Major-general C. F. Smith in command of expedition, and remain yourself at Fort Henry. Why do you not obey my orders to report strength and position of your command ? " Grant replied : — " Your dispatch of yesterday is just received. Troops will be sent under command of Major-general Smith, as, directed, I had prepared a different plan, intending Gen- eral Smith to command the forces which should go to Paris and Humboldt, while I would command the expedition upon Eastport, Corinth, and Jackson, in person. ... I am not aware of ever having disobeyed any order from your head- quarters — certainly never intended such a thing. I have reported almost daily the condition of my command, and reported every position occupied. ... In conclusion, I Avill say that you may rely on my carrying out your instructions in every particular to the best of my ability." On the following day, Ilallcck telegraphed to Grant : — " General McClellan directs that you Report to me daily the number and position of the forces under your command. Your neglect of repeated orders to report the strength of your command has created great dissatisfaction, and seriously interfered with military plans. Your going to Nashville without authority, and when your presence with your troops was of the utmost importance, was a matter of very serious complaint at "Washington, so much so that I was advised to arrest you on your return." In reply, Grant telegraphed : — " I did all 1 could to get you returns of the strength of my command. Every move I made was reported daily to your THE BATTLE OF SHILOH. 55 chief of staff, who must have failed to keep you properly posted. I have done my very best to obey orders, and to carry out the interests of the service. If my course is not satisfactory, remove me at once. I do not wish in any way to impede the success of our arms. I have averaged writ- ing more than onco a day since leaving Cairo, to keep you informed of my position, and it is no fault of mine if you have not received my letters. My going to Nashville was strictly intended for the good of the service, and not to gratify any desire of my own. " Believing sincerely that I must have enemies between 3 r ou and myself, who are trying to impair my usefulness, I respectfully ask to be relieved from further duty in the de- partment." Another rebuke followed from Halleck to which Grant replied : — " You had a better chance of knowing my strength whilst my command was surrounding Fort Donelson than I had. Troops were reporting daily by your order, and were imme- diately assigned to brigades. There were no orders re- ceived from you till the 28th of February to make out returns; and I made every effort to get them in as early as possible. I renew my application to be relieved from duty." Two days later Grant w T rote again to Halleck : — " There is such a disposition to find fault with me, that I again ask to be relieved from further duty until I can be jilaced right in the estimation of those higher in authority." In reply, Halleck wrote : — '•You cannot be relieved from your command. There is no good reason for it. I am certain that all which the :ui- 56 LIFE OP GEN. U. S. GRANT. thorities at Washington ask is that you enforce discipline and punish the disorderly. . . Instead of relieving yon, I wish you, as soon as your new army is in the field, to as- sume the immediate command, and lead it on to new vic- tories." Grant's answer was as follows : — "After your letter enclosing copy of an anonymous letter, upon which severe censure was based, I felt as though it would be impossible to me to serve longer without a court of inquiry. Your telegram of yesterday, however, places such a different phase upon my position, that I will again assume command, and give every effort to the success of our cause. Under the worst circumstances, I would do the same." While the hero of Donelson remained in disgrace at Fort Henry, Smith took command of the expe- dition, and pushed forward the troops as far as Eastport, on the Tennessee. Grant, however, did all in his power to secure the success of this under- taking, and, on transferring his command to Smith, congratulated him heartily on his "richly merited promotion. Xo one," he added, " can feel more pleasure than myself." When Smith was informed afterward that Grant had been reinstated, he wrote in the same noble spirit : — " I want you to know how glad I am that you are to re- sume your old command, from which you were so uncere- moniously, and, as I think, so unjustly, stricken down." The relations between Grant and Smith were THE BATTLE OF SHILOH. 57 always of the pleasantest character. At West Point, Smith was commandant when Grant was a cadet. It was therefore difficult for the latter to give the older officer an order ; but Smith, observing this, said with his usual tact and deli- cacy,— " I am now a subordinate, and I know a soldier's duty. I hope you will feel no awkwardness about our new rela- tions." Smith always proved himself' a gallant soldier, but he never recovered from the exposure of those terrible days and nights at Fort Donelson, and died before another summer. It was on the 13th of March that Grant was relieved from his disgrace : four days after, he re- moved his headquarters to Savannah, a point about nine miles lower down than Pittsburg Landing, and on the opposite side of the river. From there he wrote to Sherman, at that time commandant of the District of Cairo : — "I have just arrived, and, although sick for the last two weeks, begin to feel better at the thought of being again with the troops." At this time the rebels seemed to be concentrat- ing their forces in the neighborhood of Corinth, and the number of their troops was estimated by Grant as about sixty-live thousand men, or one hundred and sixty-two regiments and battalions. 58 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. Early on the morning of the sixth of April, Gen- eral Johnston, in command of the rebel forces, opened an attack upon the national lines at Shiloh, a short distance from Corinth. The lay of the country just here is thickly wooded, with a few- patches of cultivation, and the battlefield reached back from the bluffs at Pittsburg Landing some three miles. It was enclosed by Snake Kiver on the north and Lick Creek on the south, which run at nearly right angles with the Tennessee. These were the right and left defences of the national line ; and, as the enemy came from Corinth, the attack was almost wholly in front. The entire number of national troops on the ground at the time of the assault was thirty-three thousand men. Pittsburg Landing is only nine miles from Sa- vannah by the river, and not more than six in an air line. The heavy firing was, therefore, heard im- mediately by Grant and his staff, who were taking an early breakfast ; and an order was instantly dispatched to General Kelson, commanding divi- sion in Buell's army, to move all his forces to the river bank opposite Pittsburg. Grant himself boarded, a transport and sent the following note to Buell. "Heavy firing is heard up the river, indicating plainly that an attack has been made upon our most advanced position. I have been looking for this, but did not believe the attack could be made THE BATTLE OF SHILOH. 59 before Monday or Tuesday. This necessitates my joining the forces up the river, instead of meeting you to-day as I had contemplated." On his way up the river, Grant stopped at Crump's Landing and notified General Lewis Wal- lace in person, then hurried on to the landing at Pittsburg:, and entered at once into the thickest of the tight. The rebels had already begun a furious assault; and the engagement soon spread along the whole line. Prentiss' and then Sherman's di- visions were driven back. This was owing largely to the fact that nearly all their men were raw recruits, and many came upon the field without cartridges. An unfortunate panic broke out among them, which gave fresh courage to the enemy, and as the re-enforcements from Buell and Wallace were greatly delayed, matters be- gan to look very dark to the Union troops. All day Grant was on the field, exposed to constant fire; and when Buell, on arriving and seeing the situation of affairs, inquired, — " What preparations have you made for retreat- ing, General? " Grant immediately replied, — "I have n't despaired of whipping them yet ! " At the sieire of Donelson, Grant had learned that when both armies are nearly exhausted, and it seems impossible for either side to continue the conflict, victon- is almost sure to follow the one who dares to renew the fight. 60 LIFE OF GEN". U. S. GRANT. Darkness was now settling down over the battle- field at Shiloh ; but early the next morning, in spite of a violent rain, Grant was determined to make the next assault. The rebels still fought with tremendous vigor, ground was repeatedly lost and won, but little by little the national forces began to regain their power. Near the close of the day, Grant met the First Ohio Regiment march- ing toward the northern part of the field, where another regiment was just preparing to retreat. It was a critical moment, for an important position on the field was about to be relinquished to the foe ; Grant saw the emergency, and as soon as the men recognized their leader, the retreating troops turned back ; and together the two regiments swept the enemy from the hotly-contested spot. The battle of Shiloh, one of the fiercest of the whole war, west of the Alleghanies, decided almost nothing for either side. The rebels under Beauregard retreated to their old position at Cor- inth, having lost in killed, wounded, and missing, ten thousand six hundred and ninety-nine men. The loss on the national side was still greater, numbering in all, twelve thousand two hundred and seventeen. The ground, however, remained in the hands of Grant ; and, as the re-enforcements under Buell were now at the front, the national army, after the battle, was in a fir better condi- tion than that of the rebels. THE BATTLE OF SHILOH. 61 Halleck arrived on the 9th, and, taking com- mand of all the national forces, forbade any fur- ther advance except behind breastworks. This had a most depressing effect upon the Union troops, and irave to the country an impression that in the battle of Shiloh the whole Army of the Tennessee had been overwhelmed and disgraced. Grant, though still second in command, was quite ignored in all the proceedings of the following two months. Many of the Western politicians tried to induce the President to remove him from his position, believing that the terrible loss of life at Shiloh was attributable to his leadership; and for many weeks the hero of Fort Donelson was forgotten in the unmerited opprobrium. At this period of the war, Grant's abilities as a military leader were greatly underrated. His simplicity and direct- ness, his patient persistency and unwavering calmness were traits too unassuming to attract pop- ular applause. He was regarded as a plain, good man, whose successes thus far during the war had been merely owing to chance, not to military o-enius. His opinion, therefore, was seldom con- sulted by his superiors ; and oftentimes his subor- dinates failed to carry out his orders, thinking their own plans would bring about more brilliant tri- umphs, and justify their conduct. It takes a diamond to test a diamond, and it is interesting just here to note Bismarck's appreciation of the quiet, earnest man : — 02 LIFE OF GEIST. TJ. S. GRANT. " One thing that struck me forcibly was the clear and concise manner in which Grant talked on the various sub- jects he discussed. I saw at once that he know his subject thoroughly, or else that he avoided it completely. . . . As a general, he was skilful, bold, cool, and patient; and all the qualities needed by a great commander seem to have been united in him. He never hesitated to sacrifice 10,000 men for the sake of obtaining an important advantage; but he also preferred to retreat than to spill a drop of blood in order to win a fruitless victory. He was always ready to expose himself to the fire of the enemy, and was astonish- ingly phlegmatic and modest. He was always generous in recommending his rivals for promotion, and exceedingly delicate and sparing of humiliations toward the conquered. ... I do not think the idea of taking advantage of his position in order to usurp power ever crossed his mind." THE BATTLES OF ITTKA AND CORINTH. CHAPTER Vni. THE BATTLES OF IUKA AXD COPJNTH. jN the 17th of July Halleck superseded Mc- Clellan in the command of all the armies. He went immediately to Washington ; and Grant was ordered to establish his headquarters at Cor- inth. This post the rebels had deserted some weeks before, leaving wooden guns and barren defences to deceive the federal army as long as possible. Grant remained at Corinth about eight weeks, watching the enemy commanded by Van Dorn and Price, and strengthening the fortifica- tions of this extensive post. Coming events ren- dered these works of great importance, although, at the time, the country's attention was concen- trated with painful interest upon the campaign fur- ther east. All the troops that could be spared were taken from Grant and sent to Bucll, as the north was threatened in Maryland and in Ohio at the same time. At last Van Dorn prepared to move part of his force under Price, evidently planning to re-enforce Bragg in the Kentucky campaign. On the 9th of G4 LIFE OF GEN. IT. S. GEANT. September Grant wrote to his chief as follows : "Should the enemy conic, I will be as ready as possible with the means at hand. I do not believe that a force can be brought against us at present that cannot be successfully resisted." Four days later, Price advanced from the south and seized Iuka, twenty-one miles east of Corinth. Grant immediately telegraphed to Halleck: "If I can, I will attack Price before 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." Price was already at Iuka, and Van Dorn four days off to the southwest, threatening Corinth ; Grant's object, therefore, was to destroy Price before the two armies .could concentrate, and then to get back to Corinth and protect it against Van Dorn. Brigadier-general Rosecrans was at once or- dered to attack Iuka from the south, and Major- general Ord with his troops to make the attack from the north. Their combined forces amounted to seventeen thousand men. On the afternoon of the 19th Rosecrans had ar- rived within two miles of Iuka, when the head of his column was suddenly attacked by the rebels. He managed to keep his ground until dark, and late that night sent the following despatch to Grant : " AVc have lost two or three pieces of THE BATTLES OF IUKA AND CORINTH. 65 artillery. Firing was very heavy. You must at- tack in the morning, and in force. The ground is horrid, unknown to us, and no room for develop- ment. Couldn't use our artillery at all ; fired but few shots. Push in on to them until we can have time to do something. We will try to get a posi- tion on our right which will take Iuka." This despatch, owing to the state of the roads, was unfortunately delayed, but as soon as receiv- ed Grant sent word to Ord to attack as soon as possible, saying, "Unless you can create a diver- sion in Eosecrans' favor, he may find his hands full." The rebels finding how nearly they were surrounded by Grant's concentrated forces, held Eosecrans in check on one road, and escaped, under cover of darkness, by the other. This de- feated Grant's plan of capturing Price's entire force, as by the battle of Iuka the enemy was not seriously crippled, but only checked in the course they intended to pursue. They still con- tinued to annoy Grant from various quarters, and on the 1st of October he telegraphed to Washing- ton, " My position is precarious, but I hope to get out of it all right." By the removal of Price's cavalry to Ripley, it now seemed probable that Corinth was to be the next place of attack. Grant therefore ordered Eosecrans to concentrate his forces, and Brigadier-general McPherson was 66 LIFE OF GEN. TJ. S. GEANT. sent from Jackson with a brigade of troops has- tily called in from other quarters. The rebel army, consisting of about thirty-eight thousand, appeared in front of Corinth under the command of Van Dorn, Price, Lovell, Villepigue, and Rust. This was on the 2d of October, and on the following day the fighting began in good earnest. Eosecrans had but nineteen thousand men, and pushed out towards Chewalla ; he was soon driven back, however, to his defences on the north side of Corinth, and the work bestowed on these fortifications a month before by Grant was now fully appreciated. Until morning the enemy was checked ; then, for a short time, the battle wa- vered ; but before noon Eosecrans, commanding his troops in person, finally repulsed them with a loss of only half as many as the rebels in killed and wounded. Grant, anticipating this victory at Corinth, directed Eosecrans to push on immediately ; for he knew that if Ord's little band of troops en- countered the whole rebel army in their flight, the danger would be great. Eosecrans, however, ignored these orders ; and, as his troops were fatigued by the two days' battle, he gave directions for them to rest awhile before continuing the pur- suit. Fresh orders came from Grant, who was greatly annoyed by the delay, and on the next day Eosecrans started out. He made a mistake THE BATTLES OF IUKA AND CORINTH. 67 in the road, however, and the rebels attacked Ord before he could reach them. They were repulsed by that general and driven six miles up the river, where they crossed the bridge over the Hatchie, just as Eosecrans arrived with his army. It was now too late to pursue the retreating enemy, and although Rosecrans wished to continue the advance, Grant knew it was wiser to recall the troops. Although the rebel army in this quarter had es- caped complete destruction, these two battles at Iuka and Corinth determined the possession of northern Mississippi and West Tennessee, and somewhat retrieved the disasters at the east. Grant directed the movements in both of these engagements, though in the former he was some eight miles from the field, and in the latter, nearly forty. He received, however, no credit for his wise management, but Rosecrans was immediately made a major-general of volunteers, and ordered to the command of the Army of the Cumberland. 68 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. CHAPTER IX. BEGINNING OF THE VICKSBURG CAMPAIGN. /~\F all the rebel defences along the Mississippi ^-^ River, Vicksburg was by far the most impor- tant. Jefferson Davis had called it the Gibraltar of America; and nature seemed, indeed, to com- bine here with art to make the fortifications im- pregnable. The ground upon which the city stands is supposed by some to have been originally a plateau, four or five miles long, about two miles wide, and two or three hundred feet above the river. Violent storms have gradually washed away this plateau, until it presents a labyrinth of sharp ridges and deep ravines. The soil is so fine that when cut vertically by the action of the water, it will remain in a perpendicular position for years, making the ascent of the bluffs exceedingly difficult. The ridges are thickly wooded at the sides, and the bottoms of the ravines are never level except when the streams of water that formed them have been unusually large. The Mississippi runs a little west of south, just here, and the streams that empty into it from the east run southwest. The BEGINNING OF YTCKSBTJRG CAMPAIGN. 69 whole line of the rebel fortifications was between seven and eight miles long, exclusive of four miles of rifle-trench and heavy batteries on the water front. These fortifications were detached from one another on prominent ridges, but a continuous line of rifle-pits made a connection between them. The ravines were the only ditches, except in front of the detached works, but no others were needed, for trees were felled in front of the whole line which formed, in many places, impassable entanglements. Towards the north, the hills are higher and covered with a thicker growth of timber, so that here the rebels had been able to make their line especially strong and difficult of approach. From the Jackson road to the river, on the south, the slopes are more gentle, the ridges lower, and the country under better cultivation ; but what was lacking in natural defences was here supplied by still stronger fortifications. The battles of Iuka and Corinth had occurred in September and October, and on the 25th of the latter month Grant assumed command of the De- partment of the Tennessee, which included Cairo, Forts Henry and Donelson, northern Mississippi, and that part of Kentucky and Tennessee that lies west of the Tennessee River. On the following day Grant wrote to Halleck : — " You never have suggested to me any plan of operations in this department. ... As situated now, with no more 70 LIFE OF GEN. TT. S. GRANT. troops, I can do nothing but defend my positions, and I do not feel at liberty to abandon any of them without first con- sulting you. . . . With small re-enforcements at Memphis, I think I would be able to move down the Mississippi Cen- tral road, and cause the evacuation of Vicksburg." To do this, Grant proposed the abandonment of Corinth, the destruction of all the railroads leading out from that place, the re-opening of the road from Humboldt to Memphis, and the concentration of the troops from Corinth and Bolivar. " I am ready, however*' he added, " to do with all my might whatever you may direct, without criticism." Receiving no answer, Grant announced to Hal- leck on the 2d of November : " I have commenced a movement on Grand Junction with three divisions from Corinth and two from Bolivar. Will leave Jackson to-morrow and take command in person. If found practicable, I will go to Holly Springs, and may be Grenada, completing railroad and tel- egraph as I go." When Halleck received this intelligence he tele- graphed to Grant, "I approve of your plan of advancing upon the enemy as soon as you are strong enough for that purpose ; " but he did not authorize him to abandon any of his positions, so Grant was obliged to hold them all. Two days after, he seized La Grange and Grand Junction, and announced, " My moving force will be about thirty thousand men." BEGINNING OF VICKSBUEG CAMPAIGN. 71 Major-general McClernand meanwhile had gone on to Washington, and petitioned the President and Secretary of War for an independent command at the West. He was a man of energy and courage, but without military knowledge or experience. His desire at this time was to raise troops for an expedition of his own against Vicksburg. The President approved of the plans when submitted to him, and advised McClernand to submit them to the general-in-chief. Halleck, however, replied that he had no time to waste upon such matters, and even if he had the time, he had not the inclina- tion. The President, nevertheless, was a warm friend of McClernand, and indorsed him ; and the Secretary of War gave him permission to go West and collect his troops for the desired purpose. Of this little episode Grant had no knowledge until it came to him through the newspapers. Halleck, however, probably had it in mind when on the 5th of November he wrote Grant : — "Had not troops sent to re-enforce you better go to Memphis hereafter? I hope to give you twenty thousand additional men in a few days." And again when he informed Grant, "I hope for an active campaign on the Mississippi this fall ; a large force will ascend the river from New Orleans." On the 9th, Grant telegraphed : " Re-enforce- ments are arriving very slowly. If they do not 72 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. come in more rapidly, I will attack as I am." The next day he was still more restive, and inquired : — "Am I to understand that I lie here still, while an expedition is fitted out from Memphis ; or do you want me to push as far south as possible ? Am I to have Sherman subject to my orders, or is he and his force reserved for some special service ? " Halleck promptly replied, "You have command of all troops sent to your department, and have permission to fight the enemy when you please." On the very next day, Grant's cavalry proceeded to Holly Springs, and drove the enemy south of the Tallahatchie. On the 14th he wrote to Sherman : " I have now complete control of my depart- ment. . . . Move with two divisions of twelve full regiments each, and, if possible, with three divisions, to Oxford, or the Tallahatchie, as soon as possible. I am now ready to move from La Grange any day, and only await your movements. ... I am exceedingly anxious to do something before the roads get bad, and before the enemy can intrench and re-enforce." Grant's plan was, as originally contemplated, to advance along the Mississippi Central railroad, until, by approaching near enough to Vicksburgto threaten it, he might compel the evacuation of the fort. Halleck, who was still importuned by McCler- nand's political friends, now inquired of Grant how BEGINNING OF VICKSBURG CAMPAIGN. lo many men he had in his department, and what force could be sent down the river to Vicksburg. Grant replied that he had~ In all seventy-two thousand men, eighteen thousand of whom were at Memphis, and that sixteen thousand of these could be spared for the river expedition. He had, how- ever, already given orders for the advance of his whole force, including Sherman, had written to Steele, in Arkansas, to threaten Grenada, and had asked Admiral Porter to send boats to co-operate at the mouth of the Yazoo. " Must I countermand the orders for this move ?" he inquired. Ilalleck, who favored Grant's plan rather than McClernand's, replied at once : " Proposed move approved. Do not go too far." Grant's cavalry on the 29th crossed the Talla- hatchie, and quartered at Holly Springs. "Our troops will be in Abbeville to-morrow," he telegraphed, "or a battle will be fought." The movement of troops, meanwhile, from He- lena was made under Generals Hovey and Wash- burne. The rebels almost immediately evacuated their fortifications on the Tallahatchie, and were pursued to Oxford with no fighting, save a few skirmishes. On the 3d of December Grant in- formed Admiral Porter, — " Our move has been successful, so far as com- pelling the evacuation of the Mississippi Central 7-1 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. road as far as Grenada." He now began to think of the difficulty of supplying his army, and on the sanmday wrote to Ilalleck from Abbeville : — " How far south would you like me to go ?. Would it not be well to hold the enemy south of the Tallabusha, and move a force from Helena and Memphis on Vicksburg? With my present force it would not be prudent to go beyond Grenada, and attempt to hold present line of communica- tion." On the 5th he again suggested to Halleck, — "If the Helena troops were at my command, I think it would be practicable to send Sherman to take them and the Memphis forces south of the mouth of the Yazoo River, and thus secure Vicks- burg and the State of Mississippi." This plan, which was finally adopted, seemed to promise double means of success ; for, Sherman proceeding down the Mississippi to the mouth of the Yazoo, could presents new base for Grant ; or, if this course seemed impracticable, Grant could hold the main body of the enemy at or near Grenada, while Sherman went forward to Vicksburg. In reply to Grant's suggestions, Halleck directed him not to try to hold the country south of the Tallahatchie, but to collect twenty-five thousand troops at Memphis for the Vicksburg expedition. In reply to Grant's inquiry, "Do you want me to command the expedition to Vicksburg, or shall I BEGINNING OF VICKSBURG CAMPAIGN. 75 send Sherman ? " Halleck replied, " You may move your troops as you may deem best to accomplish the great object in view. . . . Ask Porter to co- operate. Telegraph what are your present plans." Grant immediately answered : " General Sher- man will command the expedition down the Mis- sissippi. He will have a force of about forty thou- sand men ; will land at Vicksburg, up the Yazoo, if practicable, and cut the Mississippi Central road, and the road running east from Vicksburg, where they cross the Black River. I will co-operate from here, my movements depending on those of the enemy. With the large cavalry force at my com- mand I will be able to have them show themselves at different points on the Tallahatchie and Talla- busha, and, where an opportunity occurs, make a real attack. After cutting the two roads, General Sherman's movements to secure the end desired will necessarily be left to his judgment. I will occupy this road to Coffee ville." Grant and Halleck were both anxious to have Sherman take command of the river expedition, in preference to McClernand, who was so ignorant of military affairs ; but on the 18th of the month came the unwelcome order from Washington, — ff It is the wish of the President that General McClernand's corps shall constitute a part of the river expedition, and that he shall have the imme- diate command under your direction." 76 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GEANT. Of course there was nothing to be done but to obey, and on the same day Grant wrote McCler- nand, who was at Springfield, 111. : — " I have been directed this moment, by tele- graph from the general-in-chief of the army, to divide the forces of this department into four army corps, one of which is to be commanded by your- self, and that to form a part of the expedition on Vicksburg. I have drafted the order, and will forward it to you as soon as printed. . . . Writ- ten and verbal instructions have been given to General Sherman, which will be turned over to you on your arrival at Memphis." Two days later, the enemy's cavalry, under Van Dorn, made a sudden dash upon Holly Springs while the troops were in their beds. By this catastrophe fifteen hundred prisoners were taken and all the stores, amounting to some four hundred thousand dollars worth of ordnance and quartermasters' supplies. At the same time an- other rebel raid was made into West Tennessee, and the railroad destroyed between Columbus and Jackson. For over a week, therefore, Grant had no com- munication whatever with the North, and for a fortnight no supplies. The Southern women came with exultant faces to his headquarters, and asked him what he would do now that his soldiers had nothing to eat. The General quietly informed BEGINNING OF VICKSBUEG CAMPAIGN. 77 them that his soldiers would find a great plenty in their barns and storehouses. "But you would not take from non-comba- tants ! " they exclaimed. It was, indeed, the first time that Grant had ever fed his army exclusively from the country ; but absolute necessity compelled him to do so here ; and from this experience he learned the pos- sibility of an army of thirty thousand men, without supplies, subsisting for days upon the produce of the surrounding country. Of course the farmers suffered ; but the South had avowedly made the war that of the people, and this was but one of the many dire consequences that must follow. Owing to the break in communication, McCler- nand did not immediately receive his orders to assume command, and before the line re-opened Sherman had embarked at Memphis with thirty thousand men, and was re-enforced at Helena by twelve thousand more. On the day before Christ- mas, he arrived at Milliken's Bend, on the Arkan- sas side, twenty miles above Vicksburg. Here he spent two or three days, endeavoring to cut the Vicksburg and Shreveport railroad, while waiting to hear from Banks, who had been ordered to move up the river from New Orleans and co-operate in the attack upon Vicksburg. This delay gave the enemy time to prepare for the anticipated attack. On the 27th of the month, Sherman landed his 78 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. troops on the south side of the river, near the mouth of the Chicasaw Bayou. Just above the town of Vieksburg the long line of hills turns oil* from the Mississippi and for many miles runs parallel to the Yazoo. A strip of country covered with a dense and tangled under- brush lies between this latter river and the bluffs. It is about three miles wide, and protected, not only by the guns on the bluffs, but also by the numerous trenches and rifle-pits along the hills. Moreover, at this season of the year, it is almost covered with water ; but in spite of all these diffi- culties, which made it impossible for Sherman at any time to avail himself of half his forces, he got his army across, and fairly into the rebel lines. He even succeeded in securing a footing on the hard land, just at the base of the bluffs, but was finally driven back, with a loss of one hundred and seventy-five men killed, nine hundred and thirty wounded, and seven hundred and forty- three missing. Reporting the assault to Grant, he attributed his failure " to the strength of the enemy's position, both natural and artificial." The whole affair, however, had been conducted with great skill and bravery, and the attack was made at the only point where there seemed to be any chance of success. Sherman relinquished his command on the sec- BEGINNING OF VICKSBURG CAMPAIGN. 79 ond of January to McClernand, who met him near the mouth of the Yazoo. The rebels were over- joyed at these two successes, but they little knew the indomitable spirit of the leader of the Ten- nessee army. Delays and difficulties with Grant only increased his determination and obstinate resistance. McClernand's insubordinate behavior occa- sioned so much annoyance at this time, that Sher- man, McPherson, and Admiral Porter, urged Grant to assume the command in person. He de- sired that Sherman should take it ; but for numer- ous reasons it seemed necessary to the success of the Vicksburg campaign that Grant, the com- mander of the department, should direct it in person. On the 20th of the month, after visiting the transport fleet at the mouth of the Arkansas, he wrote to Hal leek, — "The work of reducing Vicksburg will take time and men, but can be accomplished." On the 29th he arrived in person at Young's Point, and on the following day assumed imme- diate command of the expedition against Vicks- burg. The entire force of the Department of the Tennessee now amounted to one hundred and thirty thousand men, and was divided into four army corps under the command of Major-gen- erals McClernand, Sherman, Hurlburt, and Mc- Pherson. 80 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. The troops detailed for the Vicksburg expedi- tion were at Young's Point and Milliken's Bend, and numbered fifty thousand. All possible pre- cautions were taken to ensure the health and com- fort of the troops, but there was no place for the camps save upon swampy ground, and much sick- ness ensued during the rainy season. The problem now was to obtain a footing on the highlands of the eastern bank. If Grant could only intrench his army on the crest of the hills, there would be no way open to the rebels but to come out and fight in the field, or submit to have all their communications cut off, and so be fairly starved out. The heavy rains, however, pre- vented this plan from being carried into operation. If an attempt should be made to get below the town, Vicksburg itself threatened the only line by which supplies could be procured. There were three ways by which this difficulty might be obviated : First, by turning the Mississippi River from its course, cutting a canal across the peninsula in front of Vicksburg, a new channel might be formed, through which the fleet could pass securely. The second plan was to make a circuitous passage from Lake Providence, on the Louisiana side, seventy miles above Vicksburg, through the Red River into the Mississippi, four hundred miles below. The third was to march the whole army along the BEGINNING OF VICKSBTJEG CAMPAIGN. 81 western shore, cross the river at some point below the town, combine with Banks to operate against Port Hudson, and then begin a fresh campaign against Vicksburg, from Grand Gulf or Warren- ton. On the day after Grant assumed entire com- mand of the expedition, he gave orders for cutting a way from the Mississippi to Lake Providence. This sheet of water is really a part of the old bed of the river, and lies about a mile west of the pres- ent channel. A canal was finally cut between the river and the lake, but much difficulty was en- countered in clearing Bayou Baxter ^— one of the outlets of Lake Providence — of the fallen timber which clogged its passage. Great excitement was caused by this project, as many thought that the mighty river was to be entirely turned out of its course, even into the Atchafalaya ; and that New Orleans, becoming thereby an inland town, would forever lose its prominence among the cities of the South. But Grant had only planned this work to give occupation to his men, and to secure a better open- ing for active operations ; and in March the work was given up, before any steamer had passed through the circuitous passage. The opening of the Yazoo Pass was next accom- plished, under Lieutenant-colonel Wilson. Grant now determined to prosecute his entire campaign, 82 lite of ge>:. r. s. or: ant. if possible, in this direction, and hoped to reach the Yazoo River, above Haine's Bluff, with the whole army. In all his various schemes he never lost sight of his principal aim. — to obtain a footing and to secure a base on dry land. Sherman was sent up Steele's Bayou with a division of troops : and Admiral Porter accompanied him with live iron- clads and four mortar-boats. The object was not only to liberate Ross, but to get possession of some point on the east bank from which Vicksburg could be reached by land. Quimby was informed of Sherman's co-operation, and Grant urged him to the support of Ross, saying. — " Sherman will come in below the enemy you are now contending against, and between the two forces you will find no farther difficulties before reaching the ground I so much desire." All these efforts, however, proved ineffectual. Porter was attacked by sharp-shooters, and impeded in his course by fallen trees which the enemy threw into the stream, both in the front and rear of his fleet. Sherman came to his assistance, and but few lives were lost in the frequent skirmishes : but all attempts to reach the Yazoo were blockaded by the enemy, and the admiral was obliged to return without accomplishing any oue object of the expedition. Meanwhile. Farragut. with a part of his fleet, had run by the batteries at Port Hudson, and communicated with Grant. The latter now BEGINNING OF VICKSBURG CAMPAIGN. 83 proposed to send an army corps to co-operate with Banks. On the 2d of April, Halleck had written : — "The President seems to be rather impatient about matters on the Mississippi. . . . What is most desired (and your attention is called again to this object) is, that your forces and those of General Banks should be brought into co-opera- tion as early as possible. If he cannot get up to co-operate with you on Vicksburg, cannot you get troops down to help him at Port Hudson, or at least can you not destroy Grand Gulf before it becomes too strong:?" The realization of this plan was prevented, not only by the great distance that lay between the two armies, but also by the two formidable strongholds that blocked the way. But the country could not understand all these difficulties. The government, too, began to grow very impatient, and complaints were loudly made of Grant's slowness. With his great force of sixty or seventy thousand men, nothing, so far as could be seen, had been accom- plished for a whole half year. McClernand now used his utmost power to supplant Grant. A congressman who had hitherto been one of Grant's warmest friends went to the President, without being sent for, and declared that the emergencies of the country seemed to demand another com- mander before Vicksburg. But to him Mr. Lin- coln replied, — 84 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. "I rather like the man. I think we '11 try him a little longer." The last plan that Grant submitted to Ilalleck was as follows : — "There is a system of bayous running from Milliken's Bend, also from near the river at Young's Point, that are navigable for large and small steamers passing around by Richmond to New Carthage. There is also a good wagon-road from Milliken's Bend to New Carthage. The dredges are now engaged cutting a canal from there into these bayous. I am having all the empty coal-boats and other barges prepared for carrying troops and artillery, and have written to Colonel Allen for some more, and also for six tugs to tow them. With them it would be easy to carry supplies to New Carthage and any point south of that. " My expectation is, for some of the naval fleet to run the batteries of Vicksburg, whilst the army moves through by this new route. Once there, I will move to Warrenton or Grand Gulf — proba- bly, the latter. From either of these points there are good roads to Jackson and the Black River bridge, without crossing Black River. I will keep my army together, and see to it that I am not cut off from my supplies, or beaten in any other way than a fair fight." To Sherman, McPherson, and all the able ofE- BEGINNING OF VICKSBURG CAMPAIGN. 85 cers under Grant's command, this last scheme seemed a most hazardous undertaking. By remov- ing his army below Vicksburg, he would be sep- arated from the North, and from all its supplies. Failure, if it came, would be overwhelming; nothing but a speedy victory could insure his army from complete annihilation. But Grant had made up his mind that this was the right course to pursue, and no amount of persuasion could deter him. By moving his army below Vicksburg, he felt assured that he could supply himself by the roads and bayous in Louisiana, and from there send a part of his force to help Banks in the reduction of Port Hudson. This accom- plished, Banks and his whole army were to unite with Grant in the siege against Vicksburg ; and, as the Mississippi would then be open from New Orleans, supplies could be sent from that quarter. It was necessary to concentrate his troops immedi- ately ; so, in the last week of March, Mc Pherson was recalled from Lake Providence and the Yazoo Pass; Sherman, from Steele's Bayou, and McClernand from Milliken's Bend to New Car- thage, some twenty-seven miles below. The inundation of the river was a creat hindrance at this time. "The embarrassment," wrote Grant to Halleck, " I have had to contend against, on account of extreme high water, cannot be appreciated by any 86 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. one not present to witness it." It was, indeed, the submerged condition of the Louisiana roads that had prevented Grant from not adopting sooner this last plan. By the 6th of April, however, New Carthage was occupied by the national forces, although the levee of Bayou Vidal, which empties into the Mississippi at this point, was broken in numerous places, and the whole surrounding country submerged in water. The transportation of supplies by land became so difficult that Grant determined to run the risk of sending three steamers and ten barges, loaded with rations and forage, past the batteries. The co-operation of Admiral Porter in this, as in all other undertakings, was both able and prompt. "I am happy to say," writes Grant on the 26th of April, "that the admiral and myself have never yet disagreed upon any policy." As quietly as possible, on the night of the 16th, the little fleet proceeded down the river. Seven of Porter's ironclads were to engage the batteries; while the river steamers, protected by wet hay and bales of cotton, and towing the barges, were to run the gauntlet of twenty-eight heavy guns that com- manded the river for over fifteen miles. It was a dark night ; but the rebels immediately set fire to houses on both sides the river, and when the fleet was opposite Vicksburg the men at the batteries and in the streets could be seen distinctly. Each BEGINNING OF VICKSBURG CAMPAIGN. 87 vessel now became a target, and the firing con- tinued for nearly three hours. One of the trans- ports, the Henry Clay, took fire from the explosion of a shell, and burned to the water's edge ; but the crew and all on board were saved. On the gun- boats no one was killed, and only eight wound- ed ; all of Porter's vessels, indeed, were ready for service in less than an hour after passing Vicks- burg, although the steamers and barges were badly damaged. Some ten days later, six other transports tried the same ordeal, with twelve barges laden with supplies. In this attempt, five hundred shots were tired, but only one man was killed, and six or eight wounded. In the early part of the month, Grant had sent orders to McClernand " to get possession of Grand Gulf at the earliest practicable moment." That officer, however, had been exceedingly dilatory in his movements, and Grant, after consulting with Admiral Porter, now determined to attack the works himself. The fortifications at this place, which commands an extended view of the river, consisted of a series of rifle-trenches and two batteries with thirteen heavy guns. The post was selected by the enemy, not as a position for land defence, but for the protection of the mouth of the Big Black, and also as a precautionary meas- ure against the passage of transports. 88 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. Grant's plan of attack was for the naval force to bombard and silence the batteries, after which the troops were to land at the foot of the bluff, and carry the works by storm. He had, how- ever, foreseen that it might be necessary to run past the batteries, and in his order to McClernand for the attack on the 27th had remarked : — " It may be that the enemy will occupy positions back from the city, out of range of the gun-boats, so as to make it desirable to run past Grand Gulf, and land at Eodney . . . or, it may be expedient for the boats to run past, but not the men. In this case, then, the transports would have to be brought back to where the men could land, and move by forced marches to below Grand Gulf, re- embark rapidly, and proceed to the latter place." This, indeed, is what really occurred, two days afterward, with the exception of the march to Grand Gulf. The rebel batteries were too ele- vated for Admiral Porter to accomplish anything with his iron-clads ; and, with a loss of eighteen killed and fifty-six wounded, he was obliged to withdraw. That night, therefore, by request of Grant, he ran by the batteries with his entire fleet, as a cover to the transports. On the 29th, after passing Grand Gulf, Grant wrote to Halleck, — "I feel now that the battle is more than half over." THE VICKSBUEG CAMPAIGN. 89 CHAPTER X. THE VTCKSBUKG CAMPAIGN {continued). T~N the battle of Port Gibson, that followed a few days later, the rebel leader, Bowen, was obliged to evacuate the post, and withdraw his forces across the two forks of the Bayou Pierre. Grand Gulf was now of no use to the Confede- rates, and news came that it was being deserted. Grant immediately determined to place there his base of supplies, and, upon his arrival, found the naval force, under Porter, in possession of the post. Thirteen pieces of artillery had been left behind; for "so great," wrote one of the rebel commanders, "were Grant's facilities for trans- portation, and so rapid were his movements, that it was found impracticable to withdraw the heavy guns." That night Grant wrote to Sullivan, who commanded the district between Milliken's Bend and Smith's Plantation : — "You will give special attention to the matter of shortening the line of land transportation from above Vicksburg to the steamers below. As soon as the river has fallen sufficiently, you will have a 90 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GKANT. road constructed from Young's Point to a landing- just "below Warrenton, and dispose of your troops accordingly. Everything depends upon the promp- titude with which our supplies are forwarded." To Sherman he wrote : — " I wish you to collect a train of one hundred and twenty wagons at Milliken's Bend and Per- kins's Plantation ; send them to Grand Gulf, and there load them with rations as follows, — one hundred thousand pounds of bacon, the balance coffee, sugar, salt, and hard bread. For your own use on the march from Grand Gulf, you Avill draw five days' rations, and see that they last five days. It is unnecessary for me to remind you of the overwhelming importance of celerity. . . . All we want now are men, ammunition, and hard bread ; we can subsist our horses on the country, and obtain considerable supplies for our troops." Up to the time of crossing the Mississippi, Grant's plan had been to collect all his " forces at Grand Gulf, and get on hand a good supply of provisions and ordnance stores, and in the mean- time to detach a corps to co-operate with Banks against Port Hudson, and so effect a junction of their forces." But, by the victory at Port Gibson, Grant was now on the high dry ground, he had been strug- gling all winter to obtain, and within fifteen miles of Vicksburg. Moreover, a letter received from THE VICKSBURG CAMPAIGN. 91 Banks at this time declared that he could not reach Port Hudson until the 10th of May, and that even after the reduction of that place he could re-enforce Grant with only twelve thousand men. Meantime, the rebels were endeavoring to consolidate two armies for the anticipated contest at Vicksburg ; and, to prevent this, Grant decided at once upon his course of action. He determined " to push between the two armies before they could combine ; to drive eastward the weaker one ; attack and beat Gregg before Pemberton could come to the rescue ; and to seize Jackson, the capital of*the State, situated fifty miles in the rear of Vicksburg, and at the junction of the railroads by which Vicksburg is supplied. When once the roads that centre there were destroyed, troops, as well as stores, would be cut oif, and Vicksburof with its garrison isolated from the would-be Con- federacy." To accomplish this Herculean task, great ra- pidity of movement was necessary. To Sherman he at once wrote : — " Order forward immediately your remaining division, leaving only two regiments (to guard Eichmond), as required in previous orders. Have all the men leave the west bank of the river, with three days' rations in haversacks, and make all possible dispatch to Grand Gulf." To Hurlburt, who was at Memphis, he tele- graphed : — 92 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GKANT. " Send Lauman's division to Milliken's Bend, to be forwarded to this army with as little delay as practicable. . . . Let them move by brigades, as fast as transportation can be procured." To an officer of his staff, who had been left at Grand Gulf, he wrote : — " See that the commissary at Grand Gulf loads all the wagons presenting themselves for stores, with great promptness. Issue any order in my name that may be necessary to secure the greatest promptness in this respect. . . . Every day's de- lay is worth two thousand men to the enemy." Admiral Porter had started with a portion of his fleet for the Red River, to co-operate with Banks, and left Captain Owens in command. To this officer, therefore, Grant sent the following or- ders : — "Place a flagship in the mouth of the Black River to watch any movement of the enemy in that direction. Leave Captain Murphy's vessel in front of Grand Gulf, to guard the stores and to convoy any steamer that may require it. . . . Send the remaining ironclads to the vicinity of Warrenton, to w T atch the movements of the enemy there, and prevent them from sending troops across the river to interrupt our lines from Milliken's Bend and Young's Point." As Hurlburt himself was to remain at Memphis, Grant sent the following instructions : — THE VTCKSBrjJRG CAMPAIGN. 93 " I am ordering to you all thecavalry at Helena except two regiments. You can further strengthen your southern line by bringing troops from the district of Columbus. The completion of the road from Grand Junction to Corinth will enable you to draw off all the troops north of that road. Make such disposition of the troops within your com- mand as you may deem advisable fur the besl pro- tection of your lines of communication. When the road to Corinth is completed, put in there, as speedily as possible, sixty days' supply of pro- visions and forage. . . . Telegraph to General Halleck direct the forces I have drawn from you; and should re-enforcements be found necessary to hold your district, let him know it. Whilst head- quarters are so distant, communicate direct with Washington in all important matters, but keep me advised at the time of what is groins: on. • • • You will have a large force of cavalry; use it as much as possible in attracting attention from this direc- tion. Impress upon the cavalry the necessity of keeping out of people's houses, or taking what is of no use to them in a military point of view. They must, however, live as far as possible off the country through which they pass, and destroy corn, wheat, crops, and everything that can be made use of by the enemy in prolonging the war. Mules and horses are to be taken to supply all our own wants, and, when it does not cause too much 94 LIFE OF GEN. IT. S. GRANT. delay, agricultural implements may be destroyed. In other words, cripple in every way, without in- sulting women and children, or taking their clothes, jewelry, etc." Since the battle of Shiloh, Grant had given up the idea of saving the resources and the property of the South. He believed that armies must not only be defeated, but destroyed ; and that to suppress the rebellion it w r ould lirst be necessary to anni- hilate its strength. Sherman did not as yet understand that Grant intended to march without any base at all, and urged him to " stop all troops till your army is partially supplied with wagons, and then act as quickly as possible. For the road will be jammed as sure as life, if you attempt to supply fifty thou- sand men by one single road." Grant replied to this : — " I do not calculate upon the possibility of sup- plying the army with full rations from Grand Gulf. I know it will be impossible without constructing additional roads. What I do expect, how T ever, is to get up wdiat rations of hard bread, coffee, and salt we can, and make the country furnish the balance. We started from Bruinsburg with an average of about two days' rations, and received no more from our own supplies for some days ; abundance was found in the meantime. Some corn- meal, bacon, and vegetables were found, and an THE VICKSBTTEG CAMPAIGN. 95 abundance of beef and mutton. A delay would give the enemy time to re-enforce and fortify. If Blair was up now, I believe we could be in Vicks- burg in seven days. The command here has an average of about three days' rations, which could be made to last that time. You are in a country where the troops have already lived off of the people for some days, and may find provisions more scarce ; but, as we get upon new soil, they are more abundant, particularly in corn and cattle. Bring Blair's two brigades up as soon as possible." On the 10th of May, Grant heard again from Banks, who desired re-enforcements on the Red River. He at once replied as follows : — " My advance will occupy to-day, Utica, Auburn, and a point equally advanced toward the Southern Mississippi railroad, between the latter place and the Big Black. It was my intention, on gaining a foothold at Grand Gulf, to have sent a sufficient force to Port Hudson to have insured the fall of that place with your co-operation, or rather to have co-operated with you to secure that end. Meeting the enemy as I did below Port Gibson, however, I followed him to the Big Black, and could not afford to retrace my steps. I also learned, and believed the information to be relia- ble, that Port Hudson is almost entirely evacuated. This may not be true, but it is the concurrent tes- timony of deserters and contrabands. Many days 96 LIFE OF GEN. II. S. GRANT. cannot elapse before the battle will begin, which is to decide the fate of Vicksburg ; but it is impos- sible to predict how long it may last. I would urgently request, therefore, that you join me, or send all the force you can spare, to co-operate in the great struggle for opening the Mississippi River." On the morning of the 12th, Logan's division moved towards Raymond, followed by Crocker. McPherson also ordered two regiments to be de- ployed on each side of the road, and about noon came upon the enemy five thousand strong, within two miles of Raymond, and under the command of Gregg. The battle opened vigorously about two o'clock that afternoon, on the centre and left centre of the troops. The rebels fought with des- peration, but were finally compelled to retreat with the loss of one hundred killed, and three hundred and five wounded, besides four hundred and fifteen prisoners. Two pieces of cannon, also, were disabled; and a quantity of small- arms fell into McPherson' s hands. The national troops lost in this engagement, sixty-nine men killed, three hundred and forty-one wounded, and thirty missing. Raymond was entered by Mc- Pherson at five o'clock that afternoon, and the rebels retreated to Jackson, where Johnston took command on the following day. Grant, who was with Sherman at this time, tel- egraphed at once to McPherson : — THE VICKSBTTRG CAMPAIGN. 97 " If you have gained Raymond, throw back forces at once in this direction, until communica- tion is opened with Sherman. Also feel to the north, towards the railroad, and, if possible, des- troyit and the telegraph. If the road is opened, I will ride over to see you this evening ; but I can- not do so until I know McClernand is secure in his position." To this latter officer he wrote : — " Sherman will probably succeed in following out original intentions of going in advance of this place (Fourteen-mile Creek) to the cross-roads. Gain the creek with your command if possible, and hold it, with at least one division thrown across. Reconnoitre the roads in advance, and also in this direction, so as to open communica- tion with General Sherman and myself. If bridges are destroyed, make fords." On the evening of the 12th of May, the Army of the Tennessee occupied a line almost parallel with, and seven miles south of the Vicksburg and Jackson railroad. McPherson was on the right, at Raymond ; McClernand, four miles to the left, at Montgomery Bridge, on Fourteen-mile Creek, w'ith a detachment guarding Baldwin's Ferry ; and Grant was with Sherman seven miles to the west, at Dillon's Plantation. The next important movement was to make sure of Jackson, so that there might be no hostile force in the rear. 98 LIFE OF GEN. IT. S. GRANT. On the 13th of May, therefore, McPherson moved on to Clinton, destroying the railroad and telegraph, and capturing some important dis- patches from General Pemberton to General Gregg, who had commanded the day before in the battle of Raymond. Sherman moved to a parallel posi- tion on the Mississippi Springs and Jackson road ; McClernand moved to a point near Raymond. The rain fell in torrents through the ni^ht, making the roads at first slippery and then miry ; but in spite of all these difficulties, Sherman and Mc- Pherson removed their entire forces towards Jack- son on the following day, and met the enemy near that place at about midday. The following graphic description of the battle that ensued is given by an eye witness : — " Slowly and cautiously we moved up the hill until Ave came within range, when all at once, upon the heights to the right, we discovered a puff of white smoke and heard the report of booming can- non, followed by the shrill scream of an exploding shell. One of our batteries was moved to the left of a cotton-gin in the open field, midway between the enemy's line of battle and the foot of the hill, and played upon the rebel battery w r ith telling effect. The duel was kept up with great spirit on both sides for nearly an hour, when all at once it ceased by the withdrawal of the enemy's guns. Two brigades were thrown out to the right and left THE VICKSBUEG CAMPAIGN. 99 of this battery, supported by another brigade at proper distance. A strong line of skirmishers had been pushed forward and posted in a ravine just in front, which protected them from rebel fire. After a little delay, they were again advanced out of cover, and for several minutes a desultory fire was kept up between both lines of skirmishers, in which, owing to the topographical nature of the ground, the enemy had the advantage. "At last General Crocker, who was on the field and had personally inspected the position, saw that, unless the enemy could be driven from his occupation of the crest of the hill, he would be forced to retire. He therefore ordered a charge along the line. With colors flying, and with a step as measured and unbroken as if on dress parade, the movement was executed. Slowly they advanced, crossed the narrow ravine and with fixed bayonets attempted to pass over the crest of the hill in easy range of the rebel line. Here they received a tremendous volley, which caused pain- ful gaps in their ranks. They held their fireymtil they were within a distance of thirty paces, when they delivered the returning volley with fearful effect, and, without waiting to reload their mus- kets, with a terrific cry they rushed upon the stag- gered foe. " Over the fences, through the brushwood, into the enclosure, they worked their way, and slaugh- 100 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. tered right and left without mercy. The enemy, astonished at their impetuosity, wavered and fell back, rallied again, and finally broke in wild con- fusion. The brave Union soldiers gained the crest of the hill ; and the rebels fled in utter terror. Our boys reloaded their muskets and sent the terrible missiles after the fleeing rebels, adding haste to their terrified flight. They cast muskets and blankets to the ground, unslung their knapsacks, and ran like greyhounds, nor stopped to look back until they reached the intrenchments just within the city. " Meantime, Sherman, who had left Raymond the day before, and taken the road to the right just be- yond the town, came up with the left wing of the enemy's forces, and engaged them with artillery. After a feeble resistance they, too, broke and ran. " A delay of half an hour to enable our wearied soldiers to take breath, and then our column moved forward again. " We reached the fort and found a magnificent battery of six pieces which the enemy had left be- hind him, and a hundred new tents awaiting appropriation. " The hospital flag was flying from the Deaf and Dumb Institute, and this was crowded with sick and wounded soldiers, Avho, of course, fell into our hands as prisoners of war. Opposite and all around this building were tents enough to encamp THE VICKSBUEG CAMPAIGN. 101 an entire division, and just in front of it, hauled out by the roadside, were two small breech-loading two-pounder rifles, which had been used to pick off officers. " Further down the street, we found a pile of burning caissons, and on the opposite side of the street, directly in front of the Confederate House, the stores, filled with commissary and quartermas- ter's supplies, were briskly consuming. "Directly in front of us, the State House loomed up in ample proportions. Two officers, taking pos- session of the flag of one of the regiments, galloped rapidly forward, and hoisted it from the flag-staff surmounting its broad dome. The beautiful flaor Mas seen in the distance by the advancing column, and greeted with cheers and congratulations. " We had captured Jackson, the hotbed of the re- bellion. Guards w^ere established, a provost-mar- shal appointed, and the city placed under martial law. The citizens, particularly those who had sus- tained official relations to the State and rebel gov- ernments, had left the city the evening before ; but there were many soldiers left behind, and a large number in hospital, who fell into our hands. " The State treasurer and Governor Pettus were gone, taking the funds and State papers with them. A large amount of government and military prop- erty fell into our hands ; but private property was altogether unmolested." 102 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. General Grant's modest dispatch on the next day to Halleck read as follows : "Jackson fell into our hands yesterday, after a fisrht of about three hours. Joe Johnston was in command. The enemy retreated north, evidently with the design of joining the Vicksburg forces." After taking possession of Jackson, the State capital of Mississippi, Grant obtained some valu- able information concerning the plans of the rebel army. It seemed that Johnston, as soon as he had learned that Jackson was to be attacked, had ordered Pemberton to march out from the direction of Vicksburg and attack the United States forces in the rear. Grant, therefore, immediately issued orders to McClernand and Blair, of Sherman's corps, to face their troops towards Bolton, with a view of marching upon Edward's Station. On the morning of the 15th, a division of the Thirteenth Army Corps occupied Bolton, taking a number of prisoners and driving away the rebel pickets from the post. Sherman, meanwhile, had been left in Jackson to destroy railroads, bridges, factories, workshops, arsenals, and everything valuable for the support of the enemy. On the afternoon of the 15th, Grant proceeded as far west as Clinton, and ordered McClernand to move his command early the next morning towards Edward's Depot, marching so as to feel the enemy THE VICKSBURG CAMTAIGN. 103 if he encountered him, but not to bring on a gen- eral engagement unless confident that he was able to defeat the force before him. Early the next morning, two men who were em- ployed on the Jackson and Vicksburg railroad and had passed through Pembcrton's army the night before, were brought to General Grant's headquar- ters. They stated Pemberton's force to consist of about eighty regiments, with ten batteries of artil- lery, and that the whole number of troops was estimated by the enemy at about twenty-live thou- sand men. The intention of the rebels was to attack the Union forces in the rear ; so Sherman's corps, that was still at Jackson, was immediately ordered to join the main force at Bolton. At the same time a dispatch was sent to Blair to push forward as rapidly as possible in the direction of Edward's Station. At an early hour, Grant left for the advance, and, on arriving at the crossing of the Vicksburo- and Jackson railroad with the road from Eaymond to Bolton, found McPherson's advance and his Pioneer Corps engaged in rebuilding a bridge on the former road that had been destroyed by the cavalry of Osterhaus' Division that had gone into Bolton the night before. The train of Hovey's Division was at a halt, and blocked up the road from further advance on the Vicksburo: road. 104 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. Grant immediately ordered all quartermasters and wagonmasters to draw their teams to one side and make room for the passage of troops. The enemy had taken a very strong position on a nar- row ridge, the top of which was covered by a dense forest and undergrowth. The steep hillside to the left of the road was also thickly wooded, while to the rith the stars and stripes were descried on the peak of Lookout. The rebels had evacuated the mountain. "Hooker moved to descend the mountain, striking Mis- sionary Ridge at the Etossville Gap, to sweep both sides and its summit. "The rebel troops were seen, as soon as it was light enough, streaming regiment- and brigades along the narrow Bummit of Missionary Ridge, either concentrating on the right to overwhelm Sherman, or marching for the railroad to raise tin' -iege. "They had evacuated the valley of Chattanooga. Would they abandon that of Chiekamauga ? "The twenty-pounders and four and a quarter inch rifles of Wood's Redoubt opened on Missionary Ridge. Orchard Knob sent its compliments to the Ridge, and from Missionary Ridge to Orchard Knob, and from Wood's Redoubt, over the heads of Generals Grant and Thomas and their staffs, who were with us in this favorable position, from whence the whole battle could be seen as in an amphitheatre. The headquarters were under fire all day long. " Cannonading and musketry were heard from General Sherman, and General Howard marched the Eleventh Corps to join him. " General Thomas sent out skirmishers, who drove in the rebel pickets and chased them into their intrenchments, and at the foot of Missionary Ridge Sherman made an assault against Bragg's right, intrenched on a high knob next to that on which Sherman himself lay fortified. The assault was gallantly made. " Sherman reached the edge of the crest, and held his ground for (it seemed to me) an hour, but was bloodily re- pulsed by reserves. 158 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. "A general advance was ordered, and a strong line of skirmishers followed by a deployed line of battle some two miles in length. At the signal of leaden shots from head- quarters on Orchard Knob, the line moved rapidly and orderly forward. The rebel pickels discharged their mus- kets and ran into their rifle-pits. Our skirmishers followed on their heels. "The line of battle was not far behind; and we saw the gray rebels swarm out of the ledge line of rifle-pits and over the base of the hill in numbers which surprised us. A few turned and fired their pieces; but the greater number col- lected into the many roads which cross obliquely up its steep face, and went on to the top. " Some regiments pressed on, and swarmed up the steep sides of the ridge ; and here and there a color was advanced beyond the lines. The attempt appeared most dangerous; but the advance was supported, and the whole line was ordered to storm the heights, upon which not less than forty pieces of artillery, and no one knew how many muskets, stood ready to slaughter the assailants. With cheers an- swering to cheers the men swarmed upward. They gath- ered to the points least difficult of ascent, and the line was broken. Color after color was planted on the sum- mit, while musket and cannon vomited their thunder upon them. " A well-directed shot from Orchard Knob exploded a rebel caisson on the summit, and the gun was seen speedily taken to the right, its driver lashing his horses. A party of our soldiers intercepted them ; and the gun was captured with cheers. " A fierce musketry broke out to the left, where, between Thomas and Sherman, a mile or two of the ridge was still occupied by the rebels. " Bragg left the house in which he had held his head- quarters, and rode to the rear as our troops crowded the hill on either side of him. THE CHATTANOOGA CAMPAIGN. 1.39 " General Grant proceeded to the summit, and then only did we know its height. "Some of the captured artillery was put into position. Artillerists were sent for to work the guns, and caissons were s< arched for ammunition. "The rebel log breastworks were torn to pieces and carried to the other side of the ridge, and used in forming barricades across. A strong line of infantry was formed in the rear of Baird's line, and engaged in a musketry contest with the rebels to the left, and a secure lodgment was soon effected. "The other assault to the right of our centre gained the summit, and the rebels threw down their arms and tied. Hooker, coming into favorable position, swept the right of the ridge, and captured many prisoners. "I5rai;u r '> remaining troops left early in the night; and the battle of Chattanooga, after days of manoeuvring and fighting, was won. The strength of the rebellion in the centre; is broken. Burnside is relieved from danger in East Tennessee. Kentucky and Tennessee are rescued. Georgia ami Southeast are threatened in the rear, and another victory is added to the chapter of ' Unconditional Surrender Grant." 1 " This battle of Chattanooga was the grandest ever fought west of the Alleghanies. It covered an area of thirteen miles, ami Grant had over sixty thou- sand men engaged. The rebel army numbered forty-five thousand men, but they had the advan- tage of position on every part of the field. As at Vicksburg it had been the strategy, at Chatta- nooga it was the manoeuvring in the presence of the enemy that secured the victory. No battle during the Civil "War was carried out so com- 160 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GKANT. pletely according to the programme. The instruc- tions of Grant in advance serve almost as a com- plete history of the engagement. The way was now thrown open to Atlanta ; and Chattanooga, the great bulwark of the would-be Confederacy, had become a sally-port for the national armies. APPOINTED LIEUTENANT-GENERAL. 1G1 CHAPTER XV. GRANT I- APPOINTED LIEUTF.N \M -< I ENERAL. A LTHOUGH Chattanooga was now secure, -*--*- Burnside was still surrounded by the enemy, and the capture of Knoxville threatened. On the 29th of November, the rebel general Longstreet made an assault upon Fort Sanders and other works around Knoxville. It was, however, un- successful, and on the 4th of December he raised the siege and retreated eastward toward Virginia. When the good news reached Washington, Pres- ident Lincoln sent the following despatch to Grant : — " Understanding that your lodgment at Chatta- nooga 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 all !" General Grant at once had the despatch em- bodied in an order, so that it should be read to every regiment in his command, and congratulated them himself as follows : — 162 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. < ' The general commanding takes this opportu- nity of returning his sincere thanks and congratu- lations to the brave armies of the Cumberland, the Ohio, the Tennessee, and their comrades from the Potomac, for the recent splendid and decisive suc- cesses achieved over the enemy. In a short time you have recovered from him the control of the Ten- nessee River from Bridgeport to Knoxville. You dislodged him from his great stronghold upon Lookout Mountain, drove him from Chattanooga Valley, wrested from his determined grasp the possession of 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 dis- comfited, beyond the limits of the State. By your noble heroism and determined courage, you have most effectually defeated the plans of the enemy for regaining possession of the States of Kentucky and Tennessee. You have secured positions from which no rebellious power can drive or dislodge you. For all this the general com- manding thanks you collectively and individually. The loyal people of the United States thank and bless you. Their hopes and prayers for your suc- cess against this unholy rebellion are with you daily. Their faith in you will not be in vain. Their hopes will not be blasted. Their prayers to Almighty God will be answered. You will yet APPOINTEI LIEUTENANT-GENERAL. 163 go to other fields of strife ; and with the invincible bravery and unflinching loyalty to justice and right which have characterized you in the past, you will prove that no enemy can withstand you, and that no defence, however formidable, can check your onward march." The active part that General Grant himself took at the battle of Chattanooga, may be gathered from the following words of Colonel Ely S. Parker : — "It has been a matter of universal wonder in this army that General Grant himself was not killed, and that no more accidents occurred to his staff, for the general was always in the front (his staff with him, of course), and perfectly heedless of the storm of hissing bullets and screaming shell flying around him. His apparent want of sensibility does not arise from heedlessness, heartlessness, or vain military affectation, but from a sense of the respon- sibility resting upon him when in battle. When at Ringgold, we rode for half a mile in the face of the enemy, under an incessant fire of cannon and musketry, nor did we ride fast, but upon an ordi- nary trot, and not once do I believe did it enter the general's mind that he was in danger. I was by his side and watched him closely. In riding that distance we were going to the front, and I could see that he was studying the position of the two armies, and, of course, planning how to defeat 164 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. the enemy, who was here making a most desperate stand, and was slaughtering our men fearfully. After defeating and driving the enemy here, we returned to Chattanooga. " Another feature in General Grant's personal movements is, that he requires no escort beyond his staff, so regardless of danger is he. Eoads are almost useless to him, for he takes short cuts through fields and woods, and will swim his horse through almost any stream that obstructs his way. Nor does it make any difference to him whether he has daylight for his movements, for he will ride from breakfast until two o'clock in the morning, and that too without eating. The next day he will repeat the dose, until he finishes his work." On the loth of January, Grant wrote to Ilal- leck : — " Sherman lias gone down the Mississippi to collect at Vicksburg all the force that can be spared for a separate movement from the Mississippi. He will probably have ready by the 24th of this month a force of twenty thousand men. ... I shall direct Sherman, therefore, to move out to Meridian, with his spare force, the cavalry going from Cor- inth, and destroy the roads east and south of there so effec- tually that the enemy will not attempt to rebuild them during the rebellion. He will then return, unless opportu- nity of going into Mobile with the force he has appears per- fectly plain. Owing to the large number of veterans fur- loughed, I will not be able to do more at Chattanooga than to threaten an advance, and try to detain the force now in Thomas's front. Sherman will be instructed, whilst left APPOINTED LIEUTENANT-GENERAL. 1G5 with these large discretionary powers, to take no extra hazard of losing his army, or of getting it crippled too much for efficient service in the spring. ... I look upon the next line P t me to secure to be that from Chattanooga to Mobile ; Montgomery and Atlanta being the important intermediate points. To do tins, large supplies must be secured on the Tennessee River, so as to be independent of the railroadfrom Nashville to the Tennessee for a considerable length of time. Mobile would be a second base. The destruction which Sherman will do to the roads around Meridian will be of ma- terial importance tons in preventing the; enemy from draw- ing supplies from Mississippi, anil in clearing thai section of all large bodies of rebel troops. . . . I do not look upon any points, excepl Mobile in the south, and the Tennessee River in the north, as presenting practicable starting points, to be all under one command, from the fact that the time it will take to communicate from one to the other will be so great. But Sherman or McPherson, either one of whom could be intrusted with the distant command, are officers of such experience and reliability, that the objections on this score, except that of enabling the two armies to act as a unit, would be removed.' ' Sherman left Vicksburg on the 3d of February ; he entered Meridian on the 14th, a railroad centre between Vicksburg and Montgomery, and for the next five days ten thousand men were employed in destroying the railroads that centred here. On the 28th he returned to Vicksburg, having maintained his army during the time almost entirety from the enemy's country. He brought away four hundred prisoners, five thousand negroes, about a thousand white refugees, and three thousand animals. His 166 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. loss was twenty-one killed, sixty-eight wounded, and eighty-one missing. Moreover, he had terri- fied the country. Never before had an army pen- etrated the enemy's country so far without a base. On the 3d of March, Grant received the follow- ing despatch : — "The Secretary of War directs that you report in person to the War Department as early as practicable, considering the condition of your command. If necessary, you will keep up telegraphic communication with your command while en route for Washington." Grant started next day for the East, directing Sherman before he left to use the negro troops as far as possible in guarding the Mississippi, and to assemble the remainder of his command at Mem- phis in order to have them in readiness to join his column in the spring campaign. At the session of Congress during the winter of 1863-64, Mr. Washburne, the representative of Illinois from Galena, had introduced a bill to "re- vive the grade of lieutenant-general of the army." This grade, it will be remembered, was created in 1798, for Washington, and in 1855 it was bestowed by brevet upon General Scott. In the debate brought up in the House in con- nection with this bill, Mr. Washburne said : — " I am not here to speak for General Grant. No man with his consent has ever mentioned his name in connection with any position. I say what I APPOINTED LIEUTENANT-GENERAL. 167 know to be true when I allege that every promo- tion he has received since he first entered the ser- vice to put down this rebellion, was moved without his knowledge or consent ; and in regard to this very matter of lieutenant-general, after the bill was introduced and his name mentioned in connection therewith, he wrote me, and admonished me that he had been highly honored already by the Gov- ernment, and did not ask or deserve anything more in the shape of honors or promotion ; and that a success over the enemy was what he craved above everything else ; that he only desired to hold such an influence over those under his command as to use them to the best advantage to secure that end. Such is the language of this patriotic and single- minded soldier, ambitious only of serving his country and doing his w T hole duty. Sir, whatever this House may do, the country will do justice to General Grant." The following letters that passed between Grant and Sherman at this time speak volumes. " The bill," writes Grant, " reviving the grade of lieutenant-general in the army has become a law, and my name has been sent to the Senate for the place. I now receive orders to report to Wash- ington immediately, in person, which indicates a confirmation, or a likelihood of confirmation. I start in the morning to comply with the order. " Whilst I have been eminently successful in this 168 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. war, in at least gaining the confidence of the public, no one feels more than I how much of this success is due to the energy, skill, and the harmonious putting forth of that energy and skill, of those whom it has been my good fortune to have occupying subordinate positions under me. There are many officers to whom these remarks are appli- cable 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 whatever I have had of success. " How far your advice and assistance have been of help to me, you know. How far your execution of whatever has been given to you to do, entitles you to the reward I am receiving, you cannot know as well as I. "I feel all the gratitude this letter would ex- press, giving it the most flattering construction. "The word you I use in the plural, intending it for McPherson also. I should write to him, and will some day ; but, starting in the morning, I do not know that I will find time just now." To this letter Sherman immediately 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. You do yourself injustice, and us too much honor, in as- signing to us too large a share of the merits which have led APPOINTED LIEUTEXANT-GEXEEAL. 1G9 to your 1 1 1 lz:1 1 advancement. I know you approve the friend- ship T have ever professed to yon, and will permit me to continue, as heretofore, to manifest it on all proper occa- sions. You are now "Washington's legitimate successor, and occupy :i position of almost dangerous elevation; but if you can continue, as heretofore, to be yourself, — simple, honest, and unpretending, — you will enjoy through life the respect and love of friends and the homage of millions of human beings that will award you a large share in secui'ing to them and their descendants a government of law and sta- bility. I repeat, you do General McPherson and myself too much honor. At Belmont you manifested yum- traits — neither of us being near. At Donclson, also, you illustrated your whole character. I was not near, and General McPherson in too subordinate a capacity to influence you. Until you had won Donclson, I confess I was almost cowed by the terrible array of anarchical elements that pre- sented themselves at every point; but that admitted a ray of light I have followed since. I believe you are as brave, pa- triotic, and just as the great prototype Washington — as un- selfish, kind-hearted, and honest as a man should be; but the chief characteristic is the simple faith in success you have always manifested, which I can liken to nothing else than the faith a Christian has in the Saviour. This faith gave you victory at Shiloh and Vicksburg. Also, when you have completed your best preparations, you go 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 in a tight place you would help me out, if alive. My only point of doubt was in your knowledge of grand strategy, and of books of science and history; but I confess your common sense seems to have supplied all these. 170 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GEANT. Now, as to the future. Don't stay in Washington. Come West; take to yourself the whole Mississippi Valley. Let us make it dead sure — and I tell you the Atlantic slopes and Pacific shores will follow its destiny, as sure as the limbs of a tree live or die with the main trunk. We have done much, but still much remains. Time and time's in- fluences are with us. We could almost afford to sit still and let those 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 impoverished coast of the Atlantic. Your sincere friend, W. T. Sherman. Grant made the journey to Washington as rapidly and quietly as possible, but wherever his presence was known the people gathered in eager crowds to welcome the " hero of Vicksburo-." On reaching Washington, he was presented to Presi- dent Lincoln who had never seen him before. He was received with great cordiality, and attended that evening a reception at the White House, con- cerning which he afterwards remarked, " it was my warmest campaign during the whole war." On the next day, the 9th of March, 1864, he was received by the President in his Cabinet chamber, and presented formally with his commission as Lieutenant-General, in the following words : — General Grant, — The nation's apjn-eciation of what you have done, and its reliance upon you for what still remains to be accomplished in the existing great struggle, are now pre- APPOINTED LIEUTENANT-GENERAL. 171 sented with this commission, constituting you lieutenant-gen- eral in the army of the United States. With this high honor devolves upon you, also, a corresponding responsibility. As the country herein trusts you, so, under God, it will sustain you. I scarcely need to add that with what I here speak for the nation goes my own hearty personal concurrence. Grant, in reply, read the following : — Mii. President, — I accept the commission with gratitude for the high honor conferred. With the aid of the noble armies that have fought on so many fields for our common country, it will be my earnest endeavor not to disappoint your expectations. I feel the full weight of the responsi- bilities now devolving on me, and I know that if they are met, it will be due to those armies, and above all, to the favor of that Providence which leads both nations and men." On the following day, Grant, in company with General Meade, the commander of the Army of the Potomac, made a visit to that army, and then started at once for the West. 172 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. CHAPTER XVI. THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC BATTLES OF THE ■WILDERNESS, SPOTTSYLVANIA COURT HOUSE, AND COLD HARBOR. "TT7"E had in the Union army at this time about ^ * eight hundred thousand men. The Missis- sippi River was now opened from its source to its mouth, and garrisons of negro troops were sta- tioned at various points. General Banks had his headquarters at New Orleans, with a portion of his force in Texas. The department of Missouri was under General Rosecrans, and the army in Arkansas was under the command of General Steele. Sherman was preparing for his March to the Sea. Thomas was in command of the Army of the Cumberland, Mc Pherson of the Army of the Tennessee, and Schofield was at Knoxville. In Virginia, the Army of the Potomac was under the command of General Meade, and along the coast the navy was maintaining an almost complete blockade. West of the Missis- sippi, and in front of Chattanooga, lay an army of Confederates under the command of Johnston, numbering about eighty thousand ; while in Vir- THE AKMY OF THE POTOMAC. 173 ginia Lee held command of an army which was estimated at over a hundred thousand. We had the outside of the circle — the rebels had the ad- vantage of the inside, and the main question of the war now was the overthrow of the military power of the Confederacy, or, in other words, the over- throw of Lee and Johnston. On the 23d of March, Grant returned to Wash- ington and reorganized the Army of the Potomac ; the corps were consolidated and reduced to three — the Second, Fifth and Sixth. Hancock had com- mand of the Second, Warren the Fifth, and Sedg- wick the Sixth, while Meade had still the control of all three. To Sheridan was given the command of the cavalry. The army was re-enforced by the Ninth Corps, under Burnside, from East Ten- nessee, so that the entire Army of the Potomac now numbered about one hundred and forty thou- sand men. "Commanding all the armies as I did," said Grant, "I tried, as far as possible, to leave General Meade in independent command of the Army of the Potomac. My instructions for that army were all through him, and were general in their nature, leaving all the details and execution to him. The campaigns that followed proved him to be the right man in the right place. His com- manding always in the presence of an officer superior to him in rank, has drawn from him 174 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. much of that public attention which his zeal and ability entitled him to, and which he would other- wise have received." Just before the opening of the spring campaign, Grant received the following letter from President Lincoln : — " Not expecting to see you before the spi-ing campaign opens, I wish to express, in this way, my entire satisfaction with what you have done up to this time, so far as I under- stand it. The particulars of your plans I neither know nor 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 disas- ter or capture of our men in great numbers shall be avoided, I know that these points are less likely to escape your attention than they would be mine. If there be anything wanting which is within my power to give, do not fail to let me know it. And now, with a brave army and a just cause, may God sustain you." To this General Grant replied : — "Your very kind letter of yesterday is just received. The confidence you express for the future, and satisfaction for the past, in my military administration, 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 voluntary service of the country to the pres- ent day, I have never had cause, have never expressed or im- plied a complaint against the administration or the Secretary of War, for throwing any embarrassment in the way of my vigorously prosecuting what appeared to be my duty. In- deed, since the promotion which placed me in command of THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 175 all the armies, and in view of the great responsibility and importance of success, I have been astonished at the readi- ness with which everything asked for has been yielded, without even an explanation being asked. "Should my success be less than I desire and expect, the least I can say is, the fault is not with you." The Army of the Potomac occupied at this time a position along the north bank of the Rapidan, while Lee's army was upon the southern bank of the river — its left flank covered by the river, its right by intrenchments, and its front strongly pro- tected by field works. The question now arose as to which was the best route to take in the advance upon Richmond. There was the overland route over the peninsula, and the other, south of the James, that had been repeatedly tried, but thus far without success. The distance to Richmond from either the Rappa- hannock or the Rapidan, is between sixty and seventy miles, through an intervening country of peculiar difficulties. Its great advantage, however, was that by this route the attacking army, while pressing towards Richmond, still served as a pro- tection to Washington. If the approach should be made down the coast from the south of the James, although the difficulties of passing through a hostile country were removed, Washington would be left unprotected. The only remaining way seemed to be to have two armies in the field, 176 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. — one to take the route over the peninsula, and thus protect Washington, and the other to pro- ceed south of the James. At one time, Grant favored the route from below the James. On taking command of the Army of the Potomac, however, he thought best to abandon this plan, and, while the main army followed the overland route, to send an independent force to operate south of the James. This force was under the command of General Butler, who, with about thirty thousand men, was to start from Fortress Monroe, go up the James River, and, intrenching himself near City Point, operate against Richmond from the south ; or, coming down from the north, join the main Army of the Potomac. Richmond was also to be threatened by two other forces, — one from the west, under General Cook, and another from the Shenandoah Valley, under General Siegel. On the 3d of May, the army moved at midnight and crossed the Rapidan in two columns. War- ren's and Sedgwick's corps crossed at the Ger- mania Ford, and Hancock's some six miles below, at Ely's Ford. ,f This crossing of the Rapidan," says Grant in his report, "I regarded as a great suc- cess, and it removed from my mind the most se- rious apprehensions I had entertained — that of crossing the river in the face of an active, large, well-appointed army, and how so large a train was to be carried through a hostile country and pro- tected." THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 177 South and west from the Eapidan is an extent of country known as the Wilderness. It is a mining district, and, the forests having been cut away, it was at that time covered with a dense undergrowth of scrub oaks and stunted pines — a most difficult spot for any kind of military operations. "When Grant and Meade reached the Old Wil- derness Tavern, on the morning of the 5th, they found Warren's corps already there, and Sedg- wick's corps close by. Information was also re- ceived that the enemy was contemplating an assault upon them by the turnpike. A severe battle im- mediately ensued, which resembled Indian warfare more than anything else, being fought, as it was, in narrow roads and through the dense underbrush. When night came, neither side had gained any de- cided advantage, and on the next morning the con- test was renewed. The Union line extended about five miles, facing westward, with Sedgwick on the right, next Warren, and Burnside and Hancock on the left. The Confederate army held the same ground as the day before, Hill on the right, cover- ing the plank road, and Ewell on the left, covering the turnpike, while Longstreet's corps added afresh re-enforcement. Another day of terrible fiffhtino- ensued, without deciding the victory. Says the historian of the Army of the Potomac : — " The battle of the Wilderness is scarcely to be judged as an ordinary battle. It will happen in the course, as in the 178 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. beginning of every war, that there occur actions in which ulterior purposes and the combinations of a military pro- gramme play very little part, but which are simply trials of strength. The battle of the Wilderness was such a mortal combat — a combat in which the adversaries aimed each, respectively, at a result that should be decisive — Lee to ciTtsh the campaign in its inception, by driving the Army of the Potomac across the Rapidan; Grant to desti-oy Lee. "Out of this fierce determination came a close and deadly grapple of the two armies — a battle terrible and in- describable in those gloomy woods. There is something horrible, yet fascinating, in the mystery shrouding this strangest of battles ever fought — a battle which no man could see, and whose progress could only be followed by the ear, as the sharp and crackling volleys of musketry, and the alternate Union cheer and Confederate yell, told how the fight surged and swelled. The battle continued two days; yet such was the mettle of each combatant, that it decided nothing. It was in every respect a drawn battle ; and its only result appeared in the tens of thousands of dead and wounded in blue and gray that lay in the thick woods. The Union loss exceeded fifteen thousand, and the Confederate loss was about eight thousand." On Saturday, the 7th of May, Grant determined to move from the Wilderness and station himself at Spottsylvania Court House, some fifteen miles southeast. The march was to beo-in at nio-ht, but the Confederates, hearing the noise, started under Longstreet for the same spot. The two armies met, early on the next morning, and that day and the next were spent in getting into position. On the 10th an attack upon the enemy was ordered along the line, to carry his in- THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 179 trenchraents, but it was unsuccessful. The next day was spent in preparations for the assault, by Hancock's division, upon the enemy's right centre. At early dawn it took place, and a point was gained in the first line of intrenchments which was held that day in spite of the deadly contest that followed. Sometimes the rival standards were placed on op- posite sides of the breastworks, and a tree eighteen inches in diameter was actually cut in halves by the flying bullets. Grant sent his first despatch to Washington, since the advance, on the 11th. It read as follows : — " We have now ended the sixth day of very heavy fight- ing. " The result to this time is very much in our favor. "Our looses have been heavy, as well as those of the enemy. I think the loss of the enemy must be greater. " We have taken over five thousand prisoners by battle, while he has taken from us but few, except stragglers. "Ip7-opose to fight it out on this line, if it tides all sum- mer.' 1 '' On the next day, he adds : — "The eighth day of battle closes, leaving between three and four thousand prisoners in our hands for the day's work, including two general officers, and over thirty pieces of artillery. "The enemy is obstinate, and seems to have found the last ditch. We have lost no organization, not even a com- pany, while we have destroyed and captured one division, one brigade, and one regiment entire of the enemy." 180 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. Lee had now retired to his inner line of works, and the next week was spent in trying to find some spot in which his lines could be pierced. One of the minor episodes of the fearful struggle at Spott- sylvania, and one which throws much light on the military character of Grant, as well as it reveals the working of his mind under such tremendous pres- sure, was his action, on the dismal morning of the 12th of May, when Burnside reported that he had lost connection with Hancock : — " Push the enemy," was Grant's response ; "that's the best way to connect." The design of having the co-operating armies aid the Army of the Potomac by distracting the atten- tion, cutting the communications, and preventing re-enforcements from reaching the army covering Richmond, had been unsuccessful. It also seemed an impossibility to carry the enemy's position at Spottsylvania ; so Grant determined to flank the position, and, by a similar movement to that per- formed in the Wilderness, to place the Union army between Richmond and Lee's army. On the night of the 20th the move was made, and not more than a half hour later Lee set his troops in motion. Having the advantage of moving on the chord of the arc, while Grant was obliged to use the arc itself, Lee had reached and posted himself upon the south bank of the South Anna River when our forces came up to the opposite bank. This position THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 181 was one of especial importance to him, since it covered the Virginia Central Railroad, by whichhe was receiving re-enforcements from the Shenan- doah Valley. "Finding," says Grant, "the enemy's position stronger than any of his previous ones, I withdrew on the night of the 20th, to the north bank of the North Anna." On the 23d Sheridan and his cavalry expedition had reached "White House, and two days later rejoined the Army of the Potomac. That same night he was scut down the Pamunkey (a river formed by the union at' the North and South Anna), and by noon on the 27th had seized the terry crossing at Hanovertown, fifteen miles from Richmond, and thrown a pontoon bridge across. On Sunday, the 29th, the Union army was across the river and three miles beyond it. The next day the advance w r as continued, with Hancock in the centre, Warren on the left, and Wright on the right. Early in the afternoon, our cavalry pickets on the left, which were advancing on the Cold Harbor road, were driven in, and Warren was attacked in force about five. An attack was at once ordered along the line, but the main position of the enemy was too strong to be carried. In order to cover the Chickahom- iny, and prevent our advance upon Richmond, Lee had taken up a position parallel to our front 182 LIFE OP GEN. IT. S. GEANT. and extending on his left from Hanover Court- House to Bottom's Bridge, on his right. As it was very evident that to attempt to force a pas- sage directly in front would be attended with severe loss of life, Grant determined to attempt a passage by his left, at Cold Harbor. This spot, the point of convergence for the roads leading both to Richmond and to White House — our base of supplies — was as important for us to secure, as it was necessary for the enemy to defend. The result of the contest here was quite severe, costing us the loss of some two thousand men, but the place was finally secured by Sheridan and his force of cavalry, aided by the Sixth Corps. As Butler's force had proved useless at Ber- muda Hundred, Grant had ordered him to send all the troops he could spare to join the Army of the Potomac. Accordingly, on the 29th of May, a column of sixteen thousand men embarked on transports, and, passing down the James, ascended the York and the Pamunkey Rivers. By the 1st of June these troops had reached Cold Harbor and taken their position on the right of the Sixth Corps. The Union line now extended about six miles, Hancock occupying the left, Warren and Burnside the right, while the Sixth Corps and Smith's command held the centre. At half-past four in the morning the assault was made, and the disastrous battle of Cold Harbor THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 183 ensued, in which we suffered much more than the enemy, losing about seven thousand five hundred men. Again Grant determined to flank the position, and, by passing round Lee's right wing, lay siege to the southern defences of Richmond. Gradually withdrawing the right, and extending his left flank, the Union army was brought within easy distance of the lower crossings of the Chickahominy. War- ren's Corps, preceded by a division of cavalry, took the lead, and 1>}' crossing the Chickahominy at Long Bridge, threatened an advance on Richmond, and covered the movement of the army. The distance across the peninsula, which was here about fifty-five miles, was marched by the army in two days. During this movement, Smith's command had returned to Bermuda Hundred, and upon their landing, the troops were sent by Butler to take Petersburg. This city is situated on the south bank of the Appomattox, about twenty-two miles from Richmond. It is the third city of Virginia, and as an outpost of Richmond was at this time of great strategic value, and strongly fortified by the enemy. 184 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. CHAPTER XVII. ARMY OF THE POTOMAC BEFORE PETERSBURG. A FTER several ineffectual attempts to take -*--*- possession of Petersburg, a spot in front of General Burnside's lines, where a hollow occurred, just behind a deep cut in the City Point Railroad, was selected for a mine. The work was be4 LIFE OF GEIST. U. S. GRANT. man — one of the kindest old gentlemen in the world — and yet they must try and shoot him! There never was a more simple, more genuine, more — what shall I say ? — more humane character than the emperor's. He is totally unlike men who come into the world in his rank ; born princes are apt to think themselves of another race and another world. They are apt to take small account of the wishes and feelings of others. All their education tends to deaden the human side. But this em- peror is so much of a man in all things ! He never did anyone a wrong in his life. He never wounded anyone's feelings ; never imposed a hard- ship ! He is the most genial and winning of men — thinking always, anxious always for the comfort and welfare of his people — of those around him. You cannot conceive of a finer type of the noble, courteous, charitable old gentleman, with every high quality of a prince, as well as every virtue of a man. I should have supposed that the emperor could have walked alone all over the empire with- out harm, and yet they must try and shoot him. In some respects," added the prince after a pause, " the emperor resembles his ancestor, Frederick William, the father of Frederick the Great. The difference between the two is that the old king would be severe and harsh at times to those around him, while the emperor is never harsh to anyone. But the old king had so much simplic- TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 255 ity of character, lived an austere life ; had all the republican qualities. So with this king; he is so republican in all things that even the most extreme republican, if he did his character justice, would admire him." "The influence," said General Grant, "which aimed at the emperor's life, was an influence that would destroy ; ,ll government, all order, all soci- ety, republics and empires. In America, some of our people are, as I see from the papers, anxious about it. There is only one way to deal with it, and that is by the severest methods. I don't see why a man who commits a crime like this, a crime that not only aims at an old man's life, a ruler's life, but shocks the w^orld, should not meet with the severest punishment. In fact," the general continued, "although at home there is a strong sentiment against the death penalty, and it is a sentiment which one naturally respects, I am not sure but it should be made more severe rather than less severe. Something is due to the offended as well as the offender, especially when the offended is slain." "That," said the prince, "is entirely my view. My convictions are so strong that I resigned the government of Alsace because I was required to commute sentences of a capital nature. I could ' not do it in justice to my conscience. You see, this kind old gentleman, the emperor whom these 256 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. very people have tried to kill, is so gentle thai he will never confirm a death sentence. Can you think of anything so strange as that a sovereign whose tenderness of heart has practically abolished the death punishment should be the victim of as- sassination, or attempted assassination? That is the fact. Well, I have never agreed Avith the emperor on this point, and in Alsace, when I found that as chancellor I had to approve all com- mutations of the death sentence, I resigned. In Prussia that is the work of the minister of justice ; in Alsace it devolved upon me. I felt, as the French say, that something was due to justice, and if crimes like these are rampant, they must be severely punished." " All you can do with such people," said the general, "is to kill them." "Precisely so," replied the prince. After chatting on various other topics, the prince said that the emperor regretted very much his ina- bility to show General Grant a review in person, and that the crown prince would give him one. " But," said the prince, "the old gentleman is so much of a soldier, and so fond of his army, that nothing would give him more pleasure than to display it to so great a soldier as yourself." "The truth is," said the general, smiling "I am more of a farmer than a soldier. I take little or no interest in military affairs, and although I TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 257 entered the army thirty-five years ago, and have been in two Avars, in Mexico as a young lieutenant, and later in our civil war, I never went into the army without regret, and never retired without pleasure." "' You are so happily placed," replied the prince, "in America, that you need fear no wars, What always seemed so sad to me about your last great Mar was thai you were fighting your own people. That is always so terrible in wars, so very hard." " Bui it had to be done," said the general. Yes," said the prince, "you had to save the Union, just as we had to save Germany." " Not only save the Union, but destroy slavery." "I suppose, however, the Union was the real sentiment, the dominant sentiment," said the prince. " In the beginning, yes," said the general ; "but as soon as slavery tired upon the flag, it was felt, we all felt, even those who did not object to slaves, that slavery must be destroyed. "We felt that it was a stain upon the Union that men should be bought and sold like cattle." " I had an old and good friend, an American, in Motley," said the prince, "who used to write me now and then. Well, when your war broke out, he wrote me. He said, f I will make a prophecy, and please take this letter and put it in a tree or a box for ten years, then open it and see if I am not 258 LIFE OF GEN. IT. S. GEANT. a prophet. I prophesy that when this war ends the Union will be established and we shall not lose a village or a hamlet.' This was Motley's proph- ecy," said the prince, " and it was true." "Yes," said the general, " it was true." " I suppose if you had had a large array at the beginning of the war,, it would have ended in a much shorter time ? " " We might have had no war at all," said the general ; " but we cannot tell. Our war had many strange features — there were many things which seemed odd enough at the time, but which now seem providential. If we had had a large reg- ular army, as it was then constituted, it might have gone with the South. In fact, the Southern feeling in the army, among high officers, was so strong that when the war broke out the army dissolved. We had no army then — we had to organize one. A great commander, like Sherman or Sheridan, even then might have organized an array and put down the rebellion in six months, or a year, or at the furthest, two years. But that would have saved slaveiy, perhaps, and slavery meant the germs of new rebellion. There had to be an end of slavery. Then we were fighting an enemy with whom we could not make peace. We had to de- stroy him. No consideration, no treaty was pos- sible." " It was a long war," said the prince, " and a TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 259 great work well done — and I suppose it means a long peace." " I believe so," said the general. This ended the conversation between the two great men. General Grant arose and said : — " Prince, I beg to renew the expression of my pleasure at having seen a man who is so well known and so highly esteemed in America." "General," replied the prince, "the pleasure and the honor are mine. Germany and America have always been in such friendly relationship that nothing delights us more than to meet Americans, and especially an American who has done so much for his country, and whose name is so much honored in Germany as your own." The prince and the general thereupon shook hands, and the general left, pleased with the recep- tion he had received, and greatly impressed with the ability of his host. The following day the review took place, and the soldierly bearing of the troops was freely re- marked upon by the general. The general was attended by Major Igel, and in a discussion he had with that officer on the use of the bayonet and sabre in modern warfare, the gen- eral said : — " What I mean is this : anything that adds to the burdens carried by the soldier is a weakness to the army. Every ounce he carries should tell in 260 LIFE OF GEN. 17. S. GKANT. his efficiency. The bayonet is heavy, and if it were removed, or if its weight in food or ammuni- tion were added in its place, the army would be stronger. As for the bayonet as a weapon, if sol- diers come near enough to use it, they can do as much good with the club-end of their muskets. The same is true as to sabres. I would take away the bayonet, and give the soldiers pistols in the place of sabres ; a sabre is always an awkward thing to carry." TOUR ABOUND THE WORLD. 261 CHAPTER XXni. TOUR AROUND THE WORLD, CONTINUED. A FTER leaving Berlin, General Grant visited -£-*- Hamburg, where a large banquet was given in his honor by American residents. In response to the consul's toast, he made the following char- acteristic reply : — Mr. Consul and Friends : I am much obliged to you for the kind manner in which you drink my health. I share with you in all the pleasure and gratitude which Americans so far from home should feel on this anniversary. But I must dissent from one remark of our consul, to the effect that I saved the country during the recent war. If our country could be saved or ruined by the efforts of any one man, we should not have a country, and we should not be now celebrating our Fourth of July. There are many men who would have done far better than I did under the circumstances in which I found myself during the war. If I had never held command: if I had fallen; if all our generals had fallen, there were ten thou- sand behind us who would have done our work just as well, who would have followed the contest to the end, and never surrendered the Union. Therefore it is a mistake and a reflection upon the people to attribute to me, or to any number of us who held high commands, the salvation of the Union. We did our work as well as we could, and so did hundreds of thousands of others. 282 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. We deserve no credit for it, for we should have been un- worthy of our country and of the American name if we had not made every sacrifice to save the Union. What saved the Union was the coming forward of the young men of the nation. They came from their homes and fields, as they did in the time of the Revolution, giving everything to the country. To their devotion we owe the salvation of the Union. The humblest soldier who carried a musket is entitled to as much credit for the results of the war as those who were in command. So long as our young men are animated by this spirit, there will be no fear for the Union. A few days were then spent in Copenhagen, Stockholm and St. Petersburg. At the latter city General Grant met the unfortunate Emperor Alex- ander II., and, at the close of the interview, the emperor said : " Since the foundation of your gov- ernment, the relations between Russia and America have been of the friendliest character, and as long as I live nothing shall be spared to continue this friendship." "Although the two governments," replied the general, " are very opposite in their character, the great majority of the American people are in sym- pathy with Russia, which good feeling I trust will long continue." A call was also received at St. Petersburg from the Grand Duke Alexis, who alluded with much pleasure to the reception he had received when in America. From St. Petersburg General Grant went to Moscow, and, passing through Poland, TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 263 reached Vienna on the 18th of August. Here he had an audience with the Emperor Francis Joseph, and also met Count Andrassy, the Chan- cellor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After remaining a few days at the Austrian capital, the party left for Munich, and passed through the south of France during the vintage season. From thence the general went to Spain, where he met King Alphonso, the Duke of Montpensier, and the distinguished republican orator, Emilio Castelar. Keturning to England, the party then made a pleasant tour through Ireland, and on the 24th of January, 1878, set sail from Marseilles for India, on board the Labourdonnais. Bombay was reached on the 13th of February, and the Government House on Malabar Point was placed at the disposal of General Grant. From thence he went to Ala- habad, and his journey from that city to Agia was made upon elephants. All the Oriental splendors of the place were shown to the travellers by the maharajah, and at Delhi, Lucknow and Calcutta the native population, as well as the English residents, o-ave to General Grant a welcome of the most flat- tering nature. From Calcutta the party left for Burmah on board the Simla, and, passing through the Straits of Malacca, came to Singapore. Here the general received an urgent invitation from the King of Siam to occupy Suranrom, one of the beautiful 264 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. palaces at Bangkok, and nearly a week was spent in visiting the various temples of this interesting and curious city. While here General Grant paid his respects to the king at his own palace, and on the next day the king returned the visit by coming in state to the palace of Suranrom, which is re- garded in Siam as the highest honor the king can bestow. A dinner was given the next day to the guests, at the king's own palace, and to the ad- dress of welcome General Grant replied : — Your Majesty, Ladies and Gentlemen : I am very much obliged to your majesty for the kind and compli- mentary manner in which you have welcomed me to Siam. I am glad that it has been my good fortune to visit this country and to thank your majesty in person for your letters inviting me to Siam, and to see with my own eyes your country and your people. I feel that it would have been a misfortune if the pro- gramme of my journey had not included Siam. I have now been absent from home nearly two years, and during that time I have seen every capital and nearly every large city in Europe, as well as the principal cities in India, Burmah and the Malay Peninsula. I have seen nothing that has interested me more than Siam, and every hour of my visit here has been agreeable and instructive. For the welcome I have received from your majesty, the princes, and members of the Siamese Government, and the people generally, I am very grateful. I accept it not as per- sonal to myself alone, but as a mark of the friendship felt for my country by your majesty and the people of Siam. I am glad to see that feeling, because I believe that the best interests of the two countries can be benefited by nothing so much as the establishment of the most cordial relations between them. TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 265 On my return to America I shall do what I can to ce- ment these relations. I hope that in America we shall see more of the Siamese, that we shall have embassies and diplomatic relations, that our commerce and manufactures will increase with Siam, and that your young men will visit our country and attend our colleges as they now go to colleges in Germany and England. I can assure them all a kind reception, and I feel that the visits would be inter- esting and advantageous. I again thank your majesty for the splendid hospitality whichhas been shown to myself and my party, and I trust that your reign will be happy and prosperous, and that Siam will continue to advance in the arts of civilization. I hope you will allow me to ask you to drink to the health of his majesty the King of Siam. I am honored by the opportunity of proposing that toast in his own capital, in his own palace, and of saying how much I have been impressed with his enlightened rule. I now ask you to drink the health of his majesty the king, and prosperity and peace to the people of Siam. Leaving Singapore on the 23d of April, the party started four days later, in the steamer Irrawaddy, for Hong Kong, China. The first per- son to greet General Grant at this city was the guerrilla chief, Colonel John S. Mosby, who during the war had stoutly upheld the Confederate cause, but was now enjoying the position of American Consul at this port. The two men, however, shook hands as cordially as if they had never been enemies — the past, for the time being, was both forgiven and forgotten. Having re- ceived marked honors from both the English 266 LIFE OF GEN. TJ. S. GRANT. officials and the native population, General Grant left Hong Kong for Canton. He was now beyond British rule in China, and the Emperor had given orders to receive the illustrious guest with honors due to his rank. The viceroy of the province had issued proclamations to the people, of which the following is a translation : — We have just heard that the King of America, being on friendly terms with China, will leave America early in the third month, bringing with him a suite of officers, etc., all complete, onboard the ship. It is said that he is bringing a large number of rare presents with him, and that he will be here in Canton about the 6th or 9th of May. He will land at the Fintay Ferry, and will proceed to the viceroy's palace by way of the South Gate, the Fantai'a Ugamun and the Waning Street. Viceroy Kun has ar- ranged that all the mandarins shall be there to meet him, and a full court will be held. After a little friendly conversation, he will leave the vice- roy's palace and visit the various objects of interest within and without the walls. He will then proceed to the Roman Catholic Cathedral, to converse and pass the night. It is not stated what will then take place, but notice will be given. The reception indicated by the viceroy in this proclamation took place on the day after the general's arrival. The party were carried in sedan chairs to the palace, where the viceroy was seen standing at the door. After welcoming them in true Oriental fashion, the viceroy showed them all the wonders and beauties of his home, and TOUR AROUND THE WOULD. 2G7 offered them a cup of tea. From Canton the party sailed for the Portuguese settlement of Macao, where they visited the famous grotto of Camoens. Returning to Hong Kong, they embarked on board the government vessel Ashuelot for a cruise along the coast of China. At Siraton, Amoy, and Tientsin, the general was received with great honor, and little Prince Kung (who was then only seven years old, but regent and uncle of the em- peror) welcomed him in person at Pekm. As the Ashuelot was to remain in Chinese waters, the party was transferred to the United States man-of-war Richmond, and early in June they landed in Japan, at the town of Nagasaki, where they were received by Prince Dati, Mr. Yoshida (who was the Japanese minister to our country during Grant's administration), and the governor. While here the general was informed that the town intended to erect a monument in the park, commemorating his visit, and would like him to write an inscription that would be engraved upon the stone in English and Japanese charac- ters. In compliance with this request, he wrote the following: — Nagasaki, Japan, June 22, 1879. At the request of the governor, Utsumi Togatsn, Mrs. Grant and I hare each planted a tree in the Nagasaki Park. I hope that both trees may prosper, grow large, live long, and in their growth, prosperity and long life be emblematic of the future of Japan. U. S. Grant. 268 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. After a brief visit cat Hiogo, the party proceeded to Yokohama, and from thence to Tokio, the cap- ital of Japan. Here the general was escorted to the emperor's summer palace, Euriokam, and on the afternoon of the 4th of July he had an inter- view with the mikado. In reply to an address from one of his highness' ministers, General Grant said : — Your Majesty, — I am very grateful for the welcome you accord me here to-day, and for the great kindness with which I have been received ever since I came to Japan, by your government and your people. I recognize in this a feeling of friendship towards my country. I can assure you that this feeling is reciprocated by the United States; that our people, without regard to party, take the deepest interest in all that concerns Japan, and have the warmest wishes for her welfare. I am happy to he aide to express that sentiment. America is your next neighbor, and will always give Japan sympathy and support in her efforts to advance. I again thank your majesty for your hospitality, and wish you a long and happy reign, and for your people prosperity and independence. The national holiday was celebrated by the American residents at Tokio, by a magnificent display of fireworks and illuminations in one of the summer gardens. On the 7th of July, the Japanese troops were reviewed by General Grant. The armament and equipment of the native soldiers were modelled after the best European and Ameri- can patterns, and great surprise and admiration were expressed by the general for the marvellous TOUR AROUND THE WORLD. 269 advance already made hy Japan in military ladies. After the review, the whole party were entertained by the mikado, at the Shila palace. On taking- leave of the mikado, some weeks later, General Grant said : — Torn Majesty, — I come to take my leave, and to thank you, the officers of your government, and the people of Japan, for the great hospitality and kindness I have received at the hands of all during my most pleasant visit to this country. I have now been two months in Tokioand the surrounding neighborhood, and two previous weeks in the more southerly part of the country. It affords me great satisfaction to say that during all this stay and all my visiting I have not witnessed one dis- courtesy to myself, nor a single unpleasant sight. Every- where there seems to be the greatest contentment among the people, and, while no signs of great industrial wealth exist, no absolute poverty is visible. This is in striking and pleasing contrast with almost every country I have visited. I leave Japan greatly impressed with the possibilities and probabilities of her future. She has a fertile soil, one half of it not yet cultivated to man's use; great unde- veloped mineral resources, numerous and fine harbors, an extensive seacoast, the surrounding waters abounding in fish of an almost endless variety, and, above all, an industri- ous, ingenious, contented, and frugal population. With all these, nothing is wanted to insure great pro- gress, except wise direction by the government, peace at home and abroad, non-interference in the internal and domestic affairs of the country by outside nations. It is the sincere desire of your guests to see Japan realize all possible strength and greatness, to see her as independent of foreign rule or dictation as any western nation now is, and to see 270 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. affairs so directed by her as to command the respect of the civilized world. In sajdng this, I believe I reflect the sentiments of the great majority of my countrymen. I now take my leave, ■without expectation of ever again having the opportunity of visiting Japan, but with the assurance that pleasant recollections of my present visit will not vanish while my life lasts. That your majesty may long reign over a pros- perous and contented people, and enjoy every blessing, is my sincere prayer. To this the mikado replied : — Your visit has given us so much satisfaction and pleas- ure that we can only lament that the time for your departure has come. We regret also that the heat of the season has prevented several of your proposed visits to different places. In the meantime, however, we have greatly enjoyed the pleasure of frequent interviews with you, and the cordial expressions which you have just addressed to us in taking your leave have given us a great additional satisfaction. America and Japan, being near neighbors, separated by an ocean only, will become more and more closely con- nected with each other as time goes on. It is gratifying to feel assured that your visit to our empire, which enabled us to form very pleasant personal acquaintance with each other, will facilitate and strengthen the friendly relations that have heretofore happily existed between the two countries. And now we cordially wish you a safe and pleasant voy- age home, and that you will on your return find your nation in peace and prosperity, and that you and your family may enjoy long life and happiness. On the 2d of September, General Grant and his party started for home in the Pacific mail steamer City of Tokio. The voyage was made in TOTTR AROUND THE WORLD. 271 eighteen days, and impatient crowds covered the hilltops of San Francisco, as the vessel glided into the harbor. An enthusiastic reception was given to him by the citizens, and the bands played " Home Again," as General Grant stepped once more upon American soil. 272 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. CHAPTER XXIV. THE WELCOME HOME. f I ^HE reception of General Grant in California, -^- and on the whole Pacific coast, was some- thing phenomenal in the history of the American people. In the latter part of October he left for the East, by way of Virginia City, and reached Chicago on the 12th of November, where a recep- tion was held by the Army of the Tennessee, at the Palmer House. At this banquet, Generals Sherman, Sheridan and Gresham, Governor Cul- lom and many other warm personal friends of Grant were present. The general's speech upon this occasion was one of the longest and most bril- liant he ever made. It was as follows : — After an absence of several years from the gatherings of the Society of the Array of the Tennessee, it affords me heartfelt pleasure to be again with you — my earliest com- rades in arras in the great conflict for the nationality and union of all the States under one free and always to be maintained government. In my long absence from the country, I have had a most favorable opportunity for com- paring in my own mind our institutions with those of all European countries, and most of those of Asia; comparing our resources, developed and dormant, the capacity and en- THE WELCOME HOME. 273 ergy of our people for upholding the government and developing its resources, with most of the civilized peoples of the world. Everywhere, from England to Japan, from Russia to Spain and Portugal, we are understood, our resources highly appreciated, and the skill, energy and intelligence of the citizens recognized. My receptions have been your receptions. They have been everywhere kind, and an ac- knowledgment that the United States is a nation, a strong, independent and free nation, composed of strong, brave and intelligent people capable of judging of their rights, and ready to maintain them at all hazards. This is a non-partisan association, but composed of men who are united in a determination that no foe, domestic or foreign, shall interfere between us and the maintenance of our grand, free and enlightened institutions and the unity of all the states. The area of our country, its fertility, the energy and resources of our population compared to the area, postpone the day, for generations to come, when our descendants will have to consider the question of how the soil is to support them, how the most can be produced to support human life, without reference to the tastes or de- sires of the people, and when but few can exercise the privilege of the plain luxury of selecting the articles of food they will eat, and the quantity and quality of clothing they wear. But it will remain the abundant home of all who possess energy and strength, and make good use of them. Such a country is one to be proud of. I am proud of it, proud that I am an American citizen. Every citizen — North, South, East and West — enjoys a common heritage, and should feel an equal pride. I am glad these society meetings keep up so long after the events which in a sense they commemorate have passed away. They do not serve to keep up sectional feeling or bitter- ness towards our late foe, but they do keep up the feeling 274 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. that we are a nation and that it must be preserved, one and indivisible. We feel and maintain that those who fought, and fought bravely, on the opposite side from us have equal claim with ourselves in all the blessings of our great and common country. We claim for them the right to travel all over this broad land and select where they please to settle, hecome citizens and enjoy their political and religious convictions free from molestation or ostracism, either on account of them or con- nection with the past. We ask nothing more for ourselves, and would rejoice to see them become powerful rivals in the development of our great resources, in the acquisition of all that should be desirable in this life, and in patriotism and in love of country. His journey to Philadelphia was a continued series of ovations. On the third day of his stay in the latter city, an imposing reception was given him by the Grand Army of the Republic, at the Academy of Music. On the rear of the stage was a mimic forest with a camp scene, and at the right was a fac-simile of General Grant's headquarters at City Point. Fifty comrades, each carrying a tattered battle-flag, escorted the general to the Academy ; and in response to the address of wel- come, he said : — Governor Hoyt and Comrades of the Grand Army of the Republic, — It is a matter of very deep regret with me that I did not pi'ovide something to say to you respect- ing the welcome I received at your hands this evening, but really since I arrived here I have not had time, and before that I had not given it a thought. I can say to you all that during the two years and seven months since I left your THE WELCOME HOME. 275 city to circuit the globe, I have visited every capital in Europe and most of the Eastern nations. There has not been a country that I visited in that cir- cuit where I did not find some of our numbers. In crossing our own land, from the Pacific to the Atlantic, scarcely a settlement, scarcely a cattle-ranch, scarcely a collection of pioneers did I see that was not composed almost entirely of veterans of the late war. It called to my mind the fact that while wars are to be deplored, and unjust wars are always to be avoided, they are not always attended with unmixed evil. The boy who is brought up in his country home, or in his city home, without any exciting cause to quicken his wits, is apt to remain there, following the pursuits of his parents, and never getting beyond them, in many cases never getting up to them. But when carried away by a great struggle in which so much principle is involved, as was the case in our late conflict, it brings to him a wider view than that of his home, and though his affections be- long to the home which he has left behind him, he finds only disappointment on his return, and strikes out for new fields, and develops and prepares new domains for us and for thousands who will follow us. Our ex-soldiers are not only becoming the pioneers of this land, but they are extending its commerce and the knowledge of their country in other lands ; and when a brighter day shall dawn for those countries in the East, America will step in and share in their commerce. And all this is being brought about by the exertions of the veteran soldiers, I might say of the veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic. Comrades, having been compelled as often as I have since my arrival in San Francisco to utter a few words, not only to ex-soldiers, but to other classes, always speaking without preparation, I was of necessity forced to repeat, not the same words, perhaps, but the same ideas. What I 276 LIFE OF GEN. IT. S. GRANT. want to impress upon you is, that you have a country to be proud of, a country to fight for, and a country to die for if need be. While many of the countries in Europe give practical protection and freedom to their citizens, yet no European country compares in the liberty which it affords to particu- lar individuals with our own. In no country is the young and energetic man given such a chance by industry and frugality to acquire a competence for himself and his family as in America. Abroad it is often difficult for the poor man to make his way at all. All that is necessary is to know this in order that we may become better citizens. Comrades, I thank you for your welcome, and regret that I am not better prepared to say what I would like to say. During the year 1880, General Grant made a tour through the Southern States, which did much to conciliate that part of the country, and cement the growing union between the North and South. His journey the following year to Cuba and Mexi- co was also helpful in bringing about certain com- mercial treaties advantageous to our country. " My first personal acquaintance with General Grant," said Mr. Thomas J. Gargan, " was in the spring of 1881. I left New Orleans for Mexico April 1, 1881, on the steamer Whitney. General Grant, Mr. Romero, Mexican minister, Senator Chaffee, General Grant's son and Mrs. Grant came on board at Galveston as passengers. I had a letter of introduction to the general, but before I presented it I was introduced by a mutual friend. We arrived at Vera Cruz Wednesday, April 0, THE WELCOME HOME. 277 and General Grant very kindly invited my wife and myself to take seats in a special train, which had been provided for himself and his party. We stopped at Orizaba over night, and the next day arrived in the City of Mexico. At the Hotel Iturbide in the city we had adjoining rooms, and I saw much of the general from that time until the first of the following June. As there were not many English-speaking people at the hotel, I met him almost every day at the restaurant where Ave had our meals, and we often chatted together after breakfast. Some days he would be very silent and smoke his cigar, though always polite and affable if spoken to. At other times he would be very communicative. " One morning in the early part of May, 1881, we were sitting in the courtyard of the hotel, when he suggested a drive to Chapultepec. We drove out until we came to the battlefield of Molino del Eey (King's Mill), when he stopped the driver and we got out of the carriage. We went over the battlefield, and he pointed out to me the spot wdiere he was wounded when a young lieutenant, and he gave me some very interesting reminiscences of the day's fight, and told me how proud he felt, as a young man, of the brevet he received for his conduct in that battle. "A few mornings afterward, we were smoking after breakfast, and the general was in a more than 278 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GEANT. usually communicative mood. He talked at length of incidents of the late war. He spoke of Stan- ton and General Halleck. Me said that when the war broke out he did not think at first of applying for a commission as colonel, and when offered the command of a regiment he hesitated about accept- ing, but when he saw some of the men already in command of regiments he thought that if those fellows could command a regiment he could, and said he considered Halleck the greater man of the two, intellectually. He said his first memory of Halleck was that Halleck was just graduating from West Point, in the engineer corps, when he entered, a raw country boy from the West, having made the journey from his father's house on horseback to the Ohio Eiver, and by steamboat up the Ohio as far as navigation permitted, and by stage to Baltimore, and thence by water to New York. He said he envied Halleck as he pictured him already an officer in the United States army. r f In the Mexican war,' said General Grant, f I became a captain before Halleck. Halleck was in the engineer corps, however, and I was in the in- fantry. But y et I was his senior in rank in the regu- lar army. I always had a great respect for Halleck's intellectual abilities. But he lacked the qualifica- tions necessary to command men or to handle an army in the field. When Halleck was assigned by the War Department to the command of the THE WELCOME HOME. 279 Western army, superseding Fremont, I was very much pleased, as was every West Point man, as avc had no confidence in General Fremont as a military commander. When Halleck arrived in St. Louis and assumed command, I telegraphed for permission to call and pay my respects, and received the curt reply: "Remain where you arc." My next attempt to have communication with Halleck Mas in relation to the advance on Forts Henry and Donelson. Halleck warned me that it' I came to St Louis to see him and had no business with the commanding general of the de- partment, I would be severely deaU with. I did not consider the reply very encouraging, but yet felt it to be my duty to go to see Halleck. On arriving at his headquarters in St. Louis, I found him in a large room, with only the desk and chair occupied by himself. No other article of furniture was in the room. He never rose to receive me, although I was second in command, but said se- verely : — " '"You seel have but one chair here. This office is for business. Communicate what you have to say quickly." He treated me as if I were an orderly, dismissed me curtly, entirely disap- proving of my plan of action, and informed me that I must be out of St. Louis that night before six o'clock. I returned to my command very much discomfited, and it was only through Commodore 280 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. Foote, commanding our gunboats, that I received a courteous reply to a telegram in which I again urged the importance of advancing on Fort Don- elson. Halleck declined to allow me to advance at that time, but about a month afterwards I re- ceived a sealed packet from Halleck, containing instructions, as though the idea had been original with himself, advising me to move cautiously and intrench myself; but before Halleck was aware of it, I had captured Forts Henry and Donelson, and operted the way to Nashville, Tenn. I telegraphed Halleck that the way was open, and, if I heard nothing to the contrary, I should run up to Nash- ville and take a look at the situation.' r To this despatch Halleck replied refusing me permission. That despatch I never received.' It seemed that the telegraph operator, while pretending to be friendly to the Union, was in full sympathy with the Confederate cause, and while Grant's despatches to Halleck were duly for- warded, Hal leek's replies to Grant were never delivered. " Continuing, General Grant said : r On my re- turn from Nashville, I was surprised to receive a note from Halleck ordering me under arrest for disobedience of orders. I asked for an investiga- tion, which was granted. I was fully exonerated, but I sent a request to be relieved from further service under Halleck.' THE WELCOME HOME. 281 " The talk at this point was interrupted by a gentleman who had a special appointment for that hour with General Grant. "A few days later, after luncheon, General Grant spoke of the different generals commanding under him. He talked of Sherman for a long time ; spoke of his great ability and his reliability, and of his bluntness of speech. I then asked him about General Sheridan, and I spoke of him as a brilliant, dashing executive officer. Grant removed his cigar for a moment, and said, with great ear- nestness : — f That is where you, in common with a great many other men, make a mistake about General Sheridan. He is much more than a brilliant ex- ecutive officer; he is a great general, and when he assumes command of the army the country will appreciate his great ability. He has great reserve power, and the country owes much to him for the success of the movement on Richmond, and especially the battle of Five Forks, where his fer- tile mind saw the emergency, dismounted his cav- alry and utilized them as infantry. I leaned more on Sheridan than on any other man in the army. I repeat, he is much more than an executive officer ; he is a scientific fighter and a great strategist.' "After a few moments' silence, he said: 'It is strange what slight circumstances change a man's whole career. I have no doubt that many 282 LIFE OF GEN. TJ. S. GPvANT. commanders during the war have been most un- justly dealt with. I have now in mind General Fitz John Porter,' he said. f The country will yet do General Porter justice. I mean to do all in my power to see him vindicated.' " We then Avent into the fonda, or restaurant, had a cup of coffee, and General Grant, much to my surprise, talked for some time about books and authors ; he spoke of Bulwer Lytton and his style ; of Prescott and Washington Irving, expressing his admiration for Washington Irving, but criticising Prescott at much length, as not being accurate in his descriptions in his works on Cortez and Mexico, lie said he admired his style ; the story was fascinating, but he thought it was more of a romance than a truthful history. "General Grant, while in Mexico, was an early riser, affable, and courteous to all whom he met, approachable by the humblest person, and none could be long in his company without feeling that he was an extraordinary man." - Says a certain English writer : " The four great- est generals produced by the great civil war, on the national side, were Grant, McPherson, Sher- man and Sheridan. One of the most pleasant memories of American history is, and will forever be, the fact that between these great commanders there was never the shadow of jealousy or envy. It is the highest honor that Grant ever received THE WELCOME HOME. 283 from men's judgment or admiration that these three able captains all willingly always looked up to him as their superior officer. McPherson fell in battle, before the splendor of his abilities could attract the world's attention, but in his death Grant, as he declared, lost one of the greatest — perhaps, the very greatest — of his lieutenants. Sheridan, as in right of his Irish blood, had the fiercest spirit in battle; Sherman the greatest in- vention in council ; while McPherson could fight with the one and plan with the other, but they all admitted, because they knew and felt it, that f the silent gray-eyed man ' was greater than they. ' Why,' I asked General Sherman once, ' did you and Sheridan always acknowledge Grant to be your leader?' 'Because,' he responded, in his quick, idiomatic manner, 'while I could map out a dozen plans for a campaign, every one of which Sheridan would swear he could fight out to vic- tory, neither he nor I could tell which of the plans was the best one ; but Grant, who simply sat and listened and smoked while we had been talking over the maps, would at the end of our talking tell us which was the best plan, and in a dozen or two words the reason of his decision, and then it would all be so clear to us that he was right, that Sheridan and I would look at each other and won- der why we had n't seen the advantage of it our- selves.' 284 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. tr I tell you,' he continued, after a moment's pause, f Grant is not appreciated yet. The mili- tary critics of Europe are too ignorant of American geography to appreciate the conditions of his cam- paigns. What is it to march an army from Berlin to Paris ? Look at the shortness of the distance. Look at the multitude of roads. Look at the facilities of transportation. Consider how many times the same ground has been fought over by successive commanders. Is not every point of vantage known? What commander can blunder where all the conditions lie open to his eye ? But I have seen Grant plan campaigns for half a million of troops, along a front line twenty-five hundred miles in length, and send them marching to their objective points, through sections where the sur- veyor's chain was never drawn, and where the commissariat necessities alone would have broken down any transportation system of Europe ; and three months later I have seen those armies standing where he said they should be, and what he planned accomplished ; and I give it as my military opinion that General Grant is the greatest commander of modern times, and with him only three others can stand — Napoleon, Wel- lington and Moltke.'" At the National Republican Convention held at Chicago in June, 1880, 306 of the delegates cast their votes for Grant, and even when the decisive THE WELCOME HOME. 285 ballot was drawn, and General Garfield nominated, they still exclaimed: "The old guard dies, but never surrenders." A third term in the presidential chair was de- clared by Washington to be inimical to the best interests of the Republic, and it is doubtful if Grant would have accepted the nomination, even it' the honor had I teen thrust upon him. On the 17th of January, 1881, General Grant visited Albany, and received here an enthusiastic ovation, as in fact he did every where he went. He was the guest of Governor Cornell while here, and also received at the Fort Orange Club. What surprised those most who then met him for the first time was his unpretentious, natural modesty. Some men are so aggressive in the assumption of a. modest demeanor as to produce a disagree- able impression. General Grant was just simple and natural. A party of gentlemen had been in- troduced to the general, and were enjoying a quiet smoke in one of the rooms of the Fort Orange Club. Several spoke in a delicate way of the wonderful demonstrations which had greeted the general during his tour abroad, and of how proud all felt that such honors had been paid to an American. Nothing could have exceeded the good taste with which General Grant received these flattering allu- sions. Some one happened to mention the fact that he knew intimately Professor P., a classmate of 286 LIFE OF GEN. IT. S. GRANT. Grant's at West Point. The general's face lighted up with a pleasant smile of reminiscence. " Yes," said he, " there is P. I remember him well. He always knew a great deal more than I did, and was an abler man. It just illustrates how circumstances alter the prospects of men. Now there is P., who was really more deserving of great success than I was, and yet I suppose there are a thousand men who know who I am to one who knows him. Yes, he was a splendid fellow, and, after all, he is lucky to have won real success without all the bother be- longing to what the world calls greatness." A trait of General Grant's character mentioned by Mr. Dana in his personal description of the man deserves peculiar emphasis — we refer to the purity of his conversation. An intimate friend of his has said that Grant never uttered a word he would have wished his wife not to hear, and old comrades in the Avar will testify that he had no tolerance for questionable stories, but has often in- terfered to stop their telling, when it took as much courage to do so as it would to fight a battle. On his return from Mexico, General Grant made New York city his permanent residence. A brownstone mansion on Sixt} r -sixth Street, near Fifth Avenue, was purchased by his friends and presented to his wife. It was valued at $100,000, but there was a mortgage on it of $60,000. The full amount was raised, and $40,000 paid down on THE WELCOME HOME. 287 the delivery of the deed, while the remainder was placed to Mrs. Grant's credit in the bank. Re- peated efforts were made to raise the encum- brance, but as it had a long term of years to run, the holder of the mortgage would not discharge it. When the firm of Grant & Ward was started, Mrs. Grant transferred her account to the house, and with il the S 60,000 to pay off the mortgage. Senator Logan, of Illinois, introduced a bill in the Senate, on January 11, 1881, to place General Grant on the retired list, with the rank and full pay of a general of the army. For certain polit- ical reasons, however, the bill did not pass at that session, and personal friends of the general volun- tarily raised a fund of $250,000, the interest of which, amounting to $15,000 per annum, he was to have during his life; the capital he could dis- pose of by will. 288 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. CHAPTER XXV. LAST DAYS OF GENERAL GRANT. I N the summer of 1880, the sons of General Grunt became partners of Mr. Ferdinand Ward in the banking and brokerage business. Mr. James D. Fish, of the Marine National Bank, also became a partner, and shortly after General Grant himself became a member of the firm. Having little experience in financial affairs, the general and his sons trusted too much to the honor and integrity of Fish and Ward. It now appears that the two latter carried on a number of dishonest speculations without the knowledge of the other members of the firm, and appropriated for this purpose the money and credit of the firm, and also of the Marine National Bank. $14,000,000 was swept away in the crash of May 6, 1884, and with it the whole of Grant's fortune. A few days previous, the general had borrowed $150,000 of Mr. Vanderbilt, and he now insisted that a levy should be placed on his personal property, including the valuable gifts re- ceived during his tour around the world, and also the medals presented to him. To satisfy General LAST DAYS OF GENERAL GRANT. 289 Grant, Mr. Vanderbilt did this, and then offered to presenl them to Mrs. Grant. The general, how- ever, would not allow his wife to receive them, but a compromise was afterwards made, by which she was to remain in possession of them until her husband's death, when they were to be presented to the nation, and preserved in the Smithsonian Institute, at Washington. One of the last official acts of President Arthur was to sign the bill that retired General Grant with tli< % rank and nay of general for life. In signing it, Mr. Arthur remarked that never since he had become President had it given him greater pleasure to affix his sign-manual to any act than to this bill. A slight throat trouble, which had attacked Gen- eral Grant from time to time, now began to assume a serious phase. On the last day of Feb- ruary, 1885, a microscopic examination revealed the presence of ulceration in the soft tissues of the roof of the mouth, and induration of the base of the tongue. On the 29th of March a crisis occur- red, and it was believed that the end was at hand. He rallied, however, bearing his sufferings with great fortitude, and during April and May he en- countered all the ups and downs of the steadily progressing disease, now pronounced to be cancer. During all this time, when his sickness would allow, General Grant was preparing the memoirs 290 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. of his life, hoping that the sale of the volumes would bring a competence to his family. The ar- rival of his daughter Nellie (Mrs. Sartoris) from England, at this time, was a source of great pleas- ure to the general, but early in June the attending physicians observed symptoms which caused them to recommend the removal of the patient to the clear air of Mt. MacGregor, some eleven miles from Saratoga. This mountain rises to the height of a thousand feet, and near the summit is a pretty Queen Anne cottage, surrounded by trees, which Mr. Drexel, the owner, offered to General Grant and his family for the summer months. This offer- was accepted, and on the lGth of June the general was removed thither, standing the long journey by rail much better than was expected from his reduced condition. The cocaine which deadened the pain in the throat, seemed to increase the paralysis of the vocal organs, but during all these critical days the sufforer jotted down on his memoranda pathetic messages for his family. Upon the completion of his book, General Grant remarked that his work was done ; and da}'s of depression were followed by others of extreme restlessness, when the sufferer desired fresh em- ployment for his busy brain. But the insatiable disease was slowly sapping the sick man's strength. LAST DAYS OF GENERAL GRANT. 291 Of the life at Mt. MacGregor, a friend wrote as follows : " When the general was in his easy chair he liked to see his family and his friends about him, unless he felt very miserable. His daughter was his chief delight. He loved the music of her voice, and her caresses. Scarcely a day passed when they were not left for an hour or so to- gether, that she might read to him the news, and chat with him. At such times he lay back in his chair, with closed eyes, commenting occasionally on what she read, and enjoying every minute of her com] -any. It was his usual custom of late to keep his eyes closed when sitting up, though there were whole' days at times when he was as wide awake as a person in health. His desire for the company of his daughter was strong also during his hours of suffering. He seemed to want her always near him when the slightest danger threat- ened. She could comfort and cheer him more quickly than any one else. This devotion was fully reciprocated, for her thoughts were all with him, and often when he slept she glided into his room to see if anything could be done for him. " His sufferings were thus lightened by cheerful and loving companionship. Some one of the fam- ily was always with him. His little grandchildren opened the day for him with sweet greetings, and through the daylight hours Mrs. Grant and the young people of the household were never far from 292 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. him. At evening the entire family, and whoever else might be present, gathered for prayer and quiet and affectionate intercourse, and then, after the doctor's visit, the night-watch began, with the colonel and the general's body-servant as the regu- lar sick-room attendants. The general enjoyed these evenings. No suggestion of gloom ever marred them, although he knew that they would soon be impossible. "The devotion of Mrs. Grant was touching. As careful as any one not to tax him when he needed only rest, she was never beyond easy call, and had no thought, apparently, but for his com- fort. Her jrreetins was the first to cheer him in the morning, after the doctor's treatment. It was her chair that was drawn close to his on the porch. Whenever he wanted company she was part of it, and many hours in his last days were spent with her alone. Often they could be seen together when not a word was spoken, mere companion- ship satisfying them. Visitors seeing them thus were wont to remark that it was as though nothing so well suited them as that their last days should be as were their first, sufficient for each in the company of the other." " It is most fitting he should pass away As he is passing now, without a word — This man of many battles, whom Dismay Dismayed not, whose stout heart was seldom stirred. LAST DAYS OF GENERAL GRANT. 293 Master of his emotions — not too keen, Of simple, primitive tastes, his wants were few Believer only in things known and seen, Stubborn and blunt, begotten to subdue, X..I his the blood in Sidney's veins which ran, Nor his who fell at Roneesvalles of old; But there is something in this silent Man, Something heroic in his rugged mould. Of this our Soldier dying, Time will be A kinder, sterner, juster judge than we." On the second day of July, General Grant wrote, in the presence of Dr. Douglas, the following mes- sage : — I ask you not to show this to any one, unless to the phy- sicians you consult with, until the end. Particularly, I want it" kept from my family. If known to one man, the papers will get it, and they (the family) will get it. It would only distress them almost beyond endurance to know it, and. by reflex, would distress me. I have not changed my mind materially since I wrote you before in the same strain. Now, however, I know that I gain strength some days, but when I do go back it is beyond where I started to improve. I think the chances are very decidedly in favor of your being able to keep me alive until the change of weather towards winter. Of course, there are contingencies that might arise at any time that would carry me off very suddenly. The most probable of these is choking. Under the circumstances, life is not worth the living. I am very thankful [for thankful, glad was written, but scratched out, and thankful substituted] to have been spared thus long, because it has enabled me to practically complete the work in which I take so much interest. I cannot stir up strength enough to review it, and make additions and subtractions that would suggest themselves to me, and are not likely to 204 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. suggest themselves to any one else. Under the above cir- cumstances, I shall be the happiest the most pain I can avoid: If there is to be an extraordinary cure, such as some people believe there is to be, it will develop itself. I would say, therefore, to you and your colleagues, to make me as comfortable as you can. If it is within God's providence that I should go now, I am ready to obey his call without a murmur. I should prefer going now to enduring my present suffering, for a single day, without any hope of recovery. As I have stated, I am thankful for the providential extension of my time to enable me to continue my work. I am further thankful — and in a much greater degree thankful — be- cause it has enabled me to see for myself the happy harmony which so suddenly sprang up between those engaged but a few short years ago in deadly conflict. It has been an inestimable blessing to me to hear the kind expressions toward me in person from all parts of our country, from people of all nationalities, of all religions and of no religion, of Confederate and of national troops alike, of soldiers' or- ganizations, of mechanical, scientific, religious and other societies, embracing almost every citizen of the land. They liave brought joy to my heart, if they have not effected a cure. So to you and your colleagues I acknowledge my indebtedness for having brought me through the valley of the shadow of death to enable me to witness these things. U. S. Grant. To General Buckner he wrote : — I have witnessed since my sickness just what I have wished to see ever since the war — harmony and good feeling between the sections. I have always contended that if there had been nobody left but the soldiers we should have had peace in a year. We have some on our side who failed to accomplish as much as they wished, or who did not get warmed up to the fight until it was over, who have not quite full satisfaction. The great ma- LAST DAYS OF GENERAL GRANT. 295 jority, too, of those who did not go into the war have long since grown tired of the Long controversy. We may now well look forward to a perpetual peace at homo, and a national strength that will screen us against any foreign complication. 1 believe myself that the war was worth all it cost us, fearful as that was. The following characteristic and touching mes- sage to his wile is dated Mt. MacGregor, July nth, 1*85. Look after our dear children and direct them in the paths of rectitude. It would distress me far more to think that one of them could depart from an honorable, upright, and virtuous life than it would to know they were prostrated on a bed of sickness from which they were never to rise alive. They have never given us any cause for alarm on their account, and I earnestly pray they never will. With these few injunctions, and the knowledge I have of your love and aiYection, I bid you a final farewell, until we meet in another and, I trust, a better world. You will find this on my person after my demise. On the 22d of July, the doctors became con- vinced that death was rapidly approaching. To his physicians the general expressed himself as feeling that he could endure his condition of weakness but a short time longer, and begged for hypodermic injections of morphine. Dr. Douglas, however, preferred that the patient should take food and stimulants, rather than opiates, and brandy was re- peatedly entered beneath the skin of the general's arm. This treatment doubtless prolonged his life a few hours, and eased his last moments. On the 296 LIFE OF GEX. U. S. GRANT. following day, the 23d of July, he passed away peacefully, and without evident pain, at about eight o'clock in the morning. The lowering of the flag on the White House was the first intimation that the citizens of Wash- ington had of the death of the distinguished man, although they had been anticipating it throughout the niffht. A few minutes after the White House flag was placed at half-mast, the flags on the public build- ings and on many private ones were placed in like position. The bells of the city were tolled, and citizens who heard them readily recognized their meaning. Business men immediately began dra- ping their houses with mourning, and residents showed in a similar manner their esteem for the deceased. While the bells tolled, President Cleveland sent the following despatch to Mrs. Grant at Mount MacGresfor : — Accept this expression of ray heartfelt sympathy in this hour of your great affliction. The people of the nation mourn with you, and would reach, if they could, with kindly comfort, the depths of the sorrow which is yours alone, and which only the pity of God can heal. The following proclamation was issued by the President : — The President of the United States has just received the sad tidings of the death of that illustrious citizen and ex- LAST DAYS OF GENERAL CHANT. 207 President of the United States, General Ulysses S. Grant, al Mount MacGregor, in the State of New York, to which he had latterly been removed in the endeavor to pro- long his lif<'. [n making this announcement to the people cf the United States, the President is impressed with the magnitude of the public lossofagreal military leader, who was in the hour of victory magnanimous; amid disaster, serene and ined ; who in every station, whether as a soldier or as a chief magistrate twice called to power by his fellow-countrymen, trod unswervingly the pathway of duty, undeterred by doubts, single-minded and straight-forward. The entire country has witnessed with deep emotion his prolonged and patient struggle with painful disease, and watched by his couch of suffering with tearful sympathy. The destined end has come at last, and his spirit has re- turned to the Creator who sent it forth. The great heart of the nation that followed him when living with love and pride, bows now in sorrow above him dead, tenderly mind- ful of his virtues, his great patriotic services, and of the loss occasioned by his death. In testimony of respect to the memory of General Grant, it is ordered that the Executive Mansion and the several departments at Washington be draped in mourning for a period of thirty days, and that all public business shall on the day of the funeral be suspended; and the Secretaries of War and the Xavy will cause orders to be issued for appro- priate military and naval honors to be rendered on that day. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the city of Washington, this twenty-third day of July, A. D. one thousand eight hundred and eighty -five, and of the Independence of the United States the one hun- dred and tenth. Grovek Cleveland. By the President, T. F, Bayard, Secretary of State. 298 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. The whole country mourned for the great sol- dier as for a dear and personal friend. The North and the South vied with one another in ex- pressions of sorrow, and all party feeling was for- gotten in the universal grief. "Few men," wrote a southern journal, "have suffered as General Grant did. The peculiarity of his affliction, its slowly wasting features, and its long duration, excited for the sufferer the pity of the nation. And in the South the animosity born of the war, and fanned by his later subservience to political opinions and practices adverse to Southern sentiment, was obliterated by the flood-tide of sympathy which went forth to him in his late trials on earth. The bitterest partisan forgot his spleen, and added his sympathy to that of other Southern hearts. He made as great a struggle for life as he ever made for victory on the battlefield, and it is remarkable that his affliction, emaciating and weakening as it was, failed to prostrate him. His great intellect was clear and bright even in the closing hours of a career as brilliant and illustrious as that of any other American. With his death there passed away one of the greatest captains of modern times, — not as great a general as either Lee or Jackson, but yet a great soldier. Military critics may differ as to his character and rank as a military commander ; but, in the face of his achieve- ments, any attempt to belittle his military capacity LAST DAYS OF GENERAL GRANT. 299 is idle. Judged by this standard, he held a place in the hearts of the people of the North which was equalled by none except Lincoln. He won the admiration of the North by his record as a leader of the Federal army against the South, and because of this the North regards his undying name as the proudest chapter in American history. But the South also admired him and appreciated his worth, both as a man and a soldier. No better evidence of this is needed than is shown by the action of the General Assembly of this State upon the re- ceipt of the intelligence of his death this morning. He had consideration for the South, and he has shown it on occasions when it was needed and most appreciated." Ex-Governor Bullock said : " General Grant was the o-reat central figure in American history since Washington. He was a man of unquestioned prin- ciple, and the South grieves over his death." Judge Hopkins, a prominent Georgian, said: " General Grant was pre-eminently a man of iron will and strong sagacity, and will live in history with Washington." Benjamin H. Hill, son of ex-Senator Ben Hill, said: "I regard General Grant as a great man. His long sickness has toned down all Southern an- imosity, and this entire section mourns his loss with America and the world." General Longstreet characterized General Grant 300 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. as the noblest man that ever lived, and recalled the following reminiscences : — " Ever since 1839," said he, " I have been on terms of the closest intimacy with Grant. I well remember the fragile form which answered to his name in that year. His distinguishing trait as a cadet was a girlish modesty ; a hesitancy in pre- senting his own claims ; a taciturnity born of his modesty ; but a thoroughness in the accomplish- ment of whatever task was assigned him. As I was of large and robust physique, I was at the head of most larks and games. But in these young Grant never joined, because of his delicate frame. In horsemanship, however, he was noted as the most proficient in the academy. In fact, rider and horse held together like the fabled Centaur. In 1842 I was attached to the Fourth Infantry, as sec- ond lieutenant. A year later Grant joined the same regiment, stationed in that year at Fort Jefferson, 12 miles from St. Louis. The ties thus formed have never been broken ; but there was a charm which held us together of which the world has never heard. My kinsman, Mr. Frederick Dent, was a substantial farmer living near Fort Jefferson. He had a liking for army officers, due to the fact that his son Fred was a pupil at TTest Point. One "day I received an invitation to visit his house in order to meet young Fred, who had just returned, and I asked Grant to go with me. This LAST DAYS OF GENERAL GRANT. 801 he did, and of course was introduced to the fam- ily, the last one to come in being Miss Julia Dent, the charming daughter of our host. It is needless to say that we saw but little of Grant during the rest of our visit. He paid court, in fact, with such assiduity as to give rise to the hope that he had forever gotten over his diffidence. Five years later, in 1848, after the usual uncertainties of a sol- dier's courtship, Grant returned and claimed Miss Dent as his bride. I had been married just six months at that time, and my wife and I were guests at the wedding. "In 1844 the Fourth Regiment was ordered to Louisiana to form part of the army of observation. Still later we formed part of the army of occupa- tion in Corpus Christi, Texas. Here, removed from all society, without books or papers, we had an excellent opportunity of studying each other. I and every one else always found Grant resolute and doing his duty in a simple manner. His honor was never suspected, his friendships were true, his hatred of guile was pronounced, and his detestation of talebearers was, I may say, ab- solute. The soul of honor himself, he never even suspected others, either then or years afterward. He could not bring himself to look upon the ras- cally side of human nature. While we remained in Corpus Christi, an incident illustrating Grant's skill and fearlessness as a horseman occurred. The 302 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. Mexicans were in the habit of bringing in wild horses, -which they would sell for two or three dol- lars. These horses came near costing more than one officer his life. One day a particularly furi- ous animal was brought in. Every officer in the camp had declined to purchase the animal, except Grant, who declared that he would either break the horse's neck or his own. He had the horse blindfolded, bridled and saddled, and when firmly in the saddle he threw off the blind, sunk his spurs into the horse's flanks, and was soon out of sio-ht. For three hours he rode the animal over all kinds of ground, through field and stream, and when horse and rider returned to camp the horse was thoroughly tamed. For years afterwards the story of Grant's ride was related at every camp- fire in the country. " During the Mexican War we were separated, Grant having been made quartermaster of the Fourth Regiment, while I was assigned to duty as adjutant of the Eighth. At the battle of Molino del Rey, however, I had occasion to notice his superb courage and coolness under fire. So no- ticeable was his bearing that his gallantry was alluded to in the official reports. " During the war my immediate command had engaged the troops of Grant but once — at the battle of the Wilderness. We came into no sort of personal relations, however. In the spring of LAST DAYS OF GENERAL GRANT. 803 1865, one day, while awaiting a letter from Gen- eral Grant, General Lee said to me, 'There is nothing ahead of us but to surrender.' It was as one of the commissioners appointed to arrange the terms of peace that I met Genera] Grant at Ap- pomattox. His whole greeting and conduct to- wards us were as though nothing had ever happened to mar our pleasant relations. In 18(56 I had occa- sion to visit Washington on business, and while there made ;i call of courtesy on General Grant at his office. As I arose; to leave he followed me out into the hallway, and asked me to spend an even- ing with his family. I thanked him, promising compliance, and passed a most enjoyable evening. When leaving, Grant again accompanied me into the hallway and said, 'General, would you like to have an amnesty?" Wholly unprepared for this, I replied that I would like to have it, but had no hope of getting it. He told me to write out my application and to call at his offiee at noon the next da}', and in the meantime he would see President Johnson and Secretary of War Stanton on my be- half. When I called he had already seen these men, and assured me that there was not an ob- staele in the way. He indorsed my application by asking that it be granted as a special personal favor to himself. In the January before he was inaugurated President for the first time, I paid him a passing friendly visit. He then said to me : 804 LIFE OF GEN. TJ. S. GRANT. ' Longstreet, I want you to come and see me after I am inaugurated, and let me know what you want.' After the inauguration I was walking up the avenue one day to see him, when I met a friend who in- formed me that the President had sent in my name for confirmation as surveyor of the port of New Or- leans. For several weeks the nomination hung in the Senate, when I went to Grant and begged him to withdraw the nomination, as I did not want his personal friendship for me to embarrass his admin- istration. ' Give yourself no uneasiness about that,' he said ; ' the senators have as many favors to ask of me as I have of them, and I will see that } T ou are confirmed.' "From what I have already told you," said General Longstreet, in conclusion, "it will be seen that Grant was a modest man, a simple man, a man believing in the honesty of his fellows, true to his friends, faithful to traditions, and of great personal honor. When the United States district court in Richmond was about to indict General Lee and myself for treason, General Grant inter- posed and said : f I have pledged my word for their safety.' This stopped the wholesale indict- ments of ex-Confederate officers which would have followed. He was thoroughly magnanimous, was above all petty things and small ideas, and, after Washington, was the highest type of manhood America has produced." LAST DAYS OF GENERAL GRANT. 305 Ex-Mayor James W. English said: "I fought four years against Grant. Georgia and the South mourn his death. I was in a position at Peters- burg to shoot Grant, hut turned my head away, preferring to let him live. I regard his place in American history as among the greatest men in the world. There was something else besides the force of circumstances to make him great." Messages of condolence were received from Queen Victoria, the Prince and Princess of Wales, and many of the crowned heads of Europe and Asia. The London Standard wrote: "Though his death was expected, the event is not the less to be deplored. We can only share with his mourning countrymen the sense of the loss of one whose career was so notable, so honorable to him- self, so useful to his native land. His popularity rose, if possible, when the nation saw how he faced poverty and ruin. He was of a simple and mod- est nature, never cast down by reverses nor elated by prosperity. As a general he was never a great strategist. He knew only one course — namely, to fight. To-day, from Cape Cod to the Alaskan Isles, the land will once more be stirred by sad- dening memories of the war." The London News gave the following trib- ute : — "There have been few braver men. England will sincerely regret his death. It is as a soldier 806 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. that he will be remembered, and his fame will rest chiefly upon his eminent military services. After the death of Lincoln, General Grant was decidedly the most popular man in the United States, and his standing as such was not injured by his quar- rel with President Johnson. He was essentially a man of action and not of speech. His name must ever be associated with the memory of that strug- gle of which Lincoln was the brain and heart and Grant the arm and weapon." LAST HONORS TO GENERAL GRANT. - 307 CHAPTER XXVI. LAST HONORS TO GENERAL GRANT. [ \' offering Riverside Turk for the final resting- -L place of General Grant, Mayor Grace of New York wrote to Colonel Fred. Grant that the site was chosen because of the peculiar beauty of the place in its location on the river, and the fact that a monument <>n it would be visible far and wide. The entire park would become sacred and devoted to the memory of the great soldier, and the char- acter of its development would be largely deter- mined by this fact. There was, however, great disappointment in Washington that the burial was not to take place at the Soldiers' Home ; and the general feeling throughout the country was that the body of the nation's hero should rest in the nation's capital. After the process of embalming, General Grant's features assumed the firmness of outline which had been taken away by his long sickness; and as he lay wrapped in the stars and stripes in the cottage at Mt. MacGregor, his little grandchildren, anx- ious to do something for " Grandpa," stitched together some oak leaves in the form of a rude 308 LIFE OF GEN. IT. S. GRANT. crown and laid them tenderly upon the casket. This simple, touching gift of the children remained in its place among all the floral offerings until the last rites were performed. August 8 was appointed as the day for the public ceremonies at New York, and the memorial services throughout the country ; ft but before the funeral cortege left Mt. MacGregor, a solemn, impressive service was held in the par- lors of the little cottage, at which only the mem- bers of the family were present. Thousands of people came to take a last look at the beloved form as it lay in state at Mt. MacGregor, and tens of thousands more when the funeral party reached Albany and the dead general was placed in the grand central court ©f the Capitol. From Wednesday, August 5, until Saturday, the 8th, the body lay in state at the City Hall in New York. As the afternoon of the first day wore on, the line of people gradually extended, until one could almost imagine that as they passed out of the rear door of the City Hall, they joined the line once more, and thus kept up a continuous circuit. The sun wandered away to the west, and still the crowds increased, and the foot of the line soon extended far past Chambers street and away up Centre. It was a remarkable gathering, in that all feelings of selfishness seemed to have been buried for the time, and good-naturedly, without any fretting or pushing, each person moved along LAST HONORS TO GENERAL GRANT. 309 in the line, awaiting; his turn to enter the building. No loud language was heard, each one seeming to feel thai it would be out of place on such an occa- sion. It was estimated that on an average 100 people passed the guards every minute, and at 3 o'clock, nine hours alter the opening of the gates, and about the same time before they would be closed, 55,000 persons had viewed the remains. At sunrise on Saturday morning, August 8, minute guns were fired from Maine to California, to announce the final preparations for the greatest funeral this country has ever seen. The tolling of church bells, and the Sunday quiet in the streets, were a fitting beginning of the day. The human tide began tosetfrom all directions towards the line selected for the procession. The people poured into the city in converging streams from Brooklyn, from Xew Jersey, from Staten Island, from Westchester County and from Connecticut, to say nothing of the strangers who journeyed from more distant parts. The dwellers on the east of the city nocked to the west, those in the extreme west marched to the east until they faced each other in unbroken ranks to await the final passing of the famous commander. This influx of the populace in the early hours was a wonderful and curious thing to see. Over the bridge, on foot and in cars, by ferries and trains, they flocked steadily towards the centre of interest. It seemed 310 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. down town as if evciybody was going north, and as if all business districts below the City Hall must be drained of all inhabitants. All the ordi- nary everyday currents of city life were reversed. Nearly all business ceased. Although the people disposed themselves early along the route of the procession, the City Hall re- mained a centre of interest as long as Grant's body lay in it. General Hancock and his staff, in full- dress uniform, rode up in front of the building just before nine o'clock. At this time one hundred and twenty members of the Liederkranz Society tiled up to the steps, and, led by six instrumentalists, sang, with impressive effect, the "Chorus of the Spirits from Over the Water," by Schubert, and the "Chorus of the Pilgrims," from "Tannhauser." The two selections were well rendered, in German. At the conclusion of the sinking, the choristers looked through the barred gates at the black cata- falque and the casket of royal purple. Soon after that, the original G. A. R. guard which served on Mt. MacGregor filed in. Mayor Grace, dressed in black broadcloth, arrived at his office about this time. He found President Sanger, of the board of aldermen, and the city officers, awaiting him. The church bells began their tolling, and all was in readiness for the transfer of the casket on the funeral car. The Governor's Island band, which had already LAST HONORS TO GENERAL GRANT. 311 taken up its position on the green in front of the City Hall, commenced to play a military diro-e, with admirable softness and precision. General Hancock returned and took up his position at the head of the column. General Fitz Hugh Lee rode <»m horseback, wearing civilian's dress, with a mourning sash across the breast. On the grass on the southern side of this open space a few soldiers of the regulars were stationed at intervals, and all along the approaches to the broad stone platform before the building were policemen who kept back the spectators. The funeral car, drawn by twenty-four jet-black horses in black trappings, each led by a negro, halted on the plaza directly in front of the City Hall steps. Inside the corridor, Commander John- son was waiting. " Columns in position, right and left," was his command. "Lift the remains," he said, in clear, but low tones. The twelve men stooped to the silver rails, with gloved hands. ''March," was the next word, and the coffin was borne down the steps, with measured tread, across the open space to the steps of the black funeral car. Then the pall-bearers, with their broad white scarfs reaching to the ground, made their appear- ance in a cluster at the head of the steps. Gen- eral Sherman, in his full uniform, linked arms with General Buckner of Kentucky, and General Sheri- 312 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. dan stood with General Joseph E. Johnston. The iron gates went back, and they entered. Then there was a pause, and each man held his breath, and tears involuntarily sprang to the eyes of many, for all knew what was coming. The white-scarfed pall-bearers came out from City Hall, and with them were the men of the Grand Army of the Republic. Then the band sounded a funeral dirge, the pall-bearers descended with slow, sad steps the marble stairs, and the guard of honor of the U. S. Grant Post of Brooklyn were seen support- ino- the casket with its covering of amaranth vel- vet and its bars of polished silver. There were six on each side. Slowly they descended the stairs, and walked, preceded by the pall-bearers, across the road to the catafalque, and slowly they paced up the movable steps and deposited their burden of the black bier beneath the canopy with its wealth of nodding plumes. A little before one o'clock the head of the long procession arrived at One Hundred and Twenty- Second Street, and turned into Riverside Park. One writer happily describes the scene as fol- lows : — The street was transformed into one magnificent, far- reaching mass of blended colors, like a colored floral offer- ing, ever varying its hues as it undulated under the bright sunlight, steadily moving on and on, as if borne by unseen giant genii toward the tomb of the great man, there to be laid about the burial spot in honor of the dead. Here was LAST HONORS TO GENERAL GRANT. 313 one even stretch of white helmets so disposed to the eye by the slope of the hill as to closely resemble a great bank of immortelles. Then a mass of artillery red plumes gave color to the fancy that the avenue was an oriental garden of " General Grant geraniums." The yellow-trimmed ma- the white and blue capped sailors, the gray of sev- eral infantry organizations, the frequently recurring black helmets, the kaleidoscopic changes of blue and white, black and red, gray and yellow, naturally enough led to the poetic notion that the famous thoroughfare of the great metropolis was a monster parterre blossoming by some en- chantment in funeral progress and rhythm, block by block, toward the la-t resting-place of America's greatest general. A remarkable and at the same time significant thing about the multitude who watched this superb spectacle was the fact that very few persons allowed themselves to forget the occasion which brought it forth. Several times there was a faint attempt at hand-clapping, as some popular mili- tary organization or famous man was passing, but it was invariably quickly silenced by a subdued " Hush, hush," from a hundred lips. At precise!}' 3 : 35 o'clock, the sad strains of music gave notice of the approach of the cata- falque, and the waiting soldiers came to order. In a few minutes a number of carriages came into view and shortly drew up in front of the tomb. From them alighted first Rev. J. P. Newman and Bishop Harris. Following them were Gen- erals Sheridan and Buckner, Sherman and John- ston, General John A. Logan, and George W. Bout well. Then came the funeral car, preceded by the band, and surrounded by the members of 314 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. George G. Meade Post, of Philadelphia, of which the dead general was a member. Behind them, and coming slowly down between the ranks of soldiers at a present arms, were the family and mourners. Among them were President Cleve- land, Vice-President Hendricks, ex-Presidents Ar- thur and Hayes, and Senator John Sherman. As the car reached its place before the door of the tomb, the Governor's Island band, stationed on the knoll to the north, started to play, and all down the ranks muffled drums beat a sad tattoo. When the casket had been placed in the cedar lead-lined box, the members of Meade Post stepped forward, and, as was their right, began the last services over the body of their dead comrade. At the close of Chaplain Wright's prayer, a grizzled bugler came out of the throng, and, standing directly over the body, sounded "Taps." Post Commander Alexander Reed then said : — "One by one, as the years roll on, Ave are called together to fulfil the last sad rites of respect to our comrades of the war. The present, full of the caves and pleasures of civil life, fades away, and we look back to the time when, shoulder to shoulder on many battlefields or around the guns of our men-of-war, Ave fought for our dear old flag. We may indulge the hope that the spirit with Avhich, on land and sea, hardship, privation and danger were encountered by our dead heroes LAST HONORS TO GENERAL GRANT. 315 may never be blotted out from the history or mem- ory of the generations to ••Mine — a spirit uncom- plaining, obedienl to the behest of duly; whereby to-day our national honor is secure, and our loved ones resl in peace under the protection of the dear old flag. .May the illustrious life of him whom we lay in the tomb to-day prove a glorious incentive to the youth of our country. As the years roll on, we, too, shall have fought our bat- tle- through, and be laid at rest, our souls follow- ing the long column to the realms above, as grim death, hour by hour, shall mark its victims. Let us so live that when that time shall come those we leave behind may say above our graves: 'Here lies tin,' body of a true-hearted, brave and earnest defender of the republic' " Then Bishop Harris came forward and began the beautiful burial service which commences, "I am the resurrection and the life/' When he had concluded, he read from Corinthians xv. 41 and following verses: "There is one glory of the sun and another of the moon, and another glory of the stars, for one star differeth from another in glory," etc. Then Comrade Lewis E. Moore laid a wreath of evergreens upon the casket, saying : " In behalf of the post, I give this tribute as a symbol of undying love for comrades of the war." Comrade John A. \Veidersheim laid flowers upon the coffin, and named them symbols of purity. 316 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GKANT. Another wreath, of laurel, was laid upon the cas- ket by Comrade J. A. Sellers, as a last token of affection from comrades-in-arms. Eev. Dr. Newman read the balance of the burial service. Then came an address by Eev. J. W. Say res, chaplain-in-chief of the department of Pennsylvania, G. A. R., in which he spoke, ac- cording to the formula prescribed for such occa- sions, of another comrade's march being over, whose virtues all should cherish, whose example all should emulate. Again came the grizzled bugler to the front. In his eyes were tears, and his lips quivered. With trembling arm he lifted the instrument to his lips, and there broke upon the still air the beautiful and sad notes of the soldiers' long fare- well, called by them "Best." With the last quav- ering notes of the soldiers' " Good-Xight," a gun from the Alliance, in the river below, boomed out. But one gun was fired ; and as its echo died away in the Jersey hills, the casket was placed in the steel case and taken to the tomb. Throughout the whole country, East, West, North and South, that August day, impressive memorial serviees were held, and eloquent trib- utes paid to the great soldier. " Blessed are Pain, the smiter, And Sorrow, the uniter! For one afflicted lies — LAST HONORS TO GENERAL GRANT. 317 A symbolled sacrifice — And all our rancor dies! "No North, no South! stern-faced Chief, One weeping ours, one cowled Grief — Thy country — bowed in prayer and tear — For North and South — above thy bier! " For North and South! O Soldier grim, The broken ones to weep for him Who broke them! lie whose terrors blazed In smoking harvests, cities razed; Whose fate-like glance sent fear and chill; Whose wordless lips -poke deathless will — Till all was shattered, all was lost — All hands dropped down — all War's red cost Laid there in ashes — Hope and Hate And Shame and Glory! " Death and Fate, Fall back! Another touch is thine: He drank not of thy poisoned wine, Nor blindly met thy blind-thrown lance, Nor died for sightless time or chance — But waited, suffered, bowed and tried, Till all the dross was purified; Till every well of hate was dried ; And North and South, sad sistei's, cried, And then — at God's own calling — died! " John Boyle O'Reilly. 518 LITE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. CHAPTER XXVII. TRIBUTES TO GENERAL GRANT, ANECDOTES, AND VARIOUS REMINISCENCES. O AID Senator Hoar in his eulogy, delivered at ^-' Worcester : — I do not think I am indulging the exaggeration so often imputed to Americans on occasions like this, when I say- that for the last twenty years of his life, if you measure General Grant by what it was his fortune to accomplish, or by the honors which have been voluntarily paid him by mankind, he was The foremost living man of all the -world. He had commanded armies larger than were ever handled by any general before or since. Under his command those armies saved the life of his country. He was called to the chief executive power in a time of unexampled difficulty. With that power he preserved his country's honor. But he achieved conquests more difficult than these. He subdued to affection and reverence the hatred born of a great civil war. and the Old World's prejudices of rank and birth. As his body left Mt. MacGregor for its last resting-place, a throng of princes and nobles and warriors and statesmen gathered in Westminster Abbey to do him honor. It is, as you all know, in English eves, the holiest spot of the proud- est empire of the Old World. There for a thousand years England has garnered up the sacred dust of her royalty and chivalry, her poets and her sages. One of her most famous preachers told that august assembly that " this man rose by TRIBUTES TO GENERAL GRAST. 319 the upward gravitation of natural fitness;" that the lessons taught by this great life were "the vanity of feudalism," "the dignity of labor," that "men should be honored simply as men, uot according to the accident of birth," that "the people have a sovereign insight into intrinsic force," and that "every true man derives a patent of nobleness direct from God." Surely we may indulge our love and pride for that greal and simple character, which, by its native excellence, carries the ideas which lie at the foundation of American life victorious into the very stronghold of English feudalism, as he bore the banner of his country victorious into the ranks of rebellion. If we needed it, or cared for it, we could find ample support and justification for the high estimate which hi- country men have placed on him, when we see how gen- erally foreign critics compare him with Washington and Wellington. You do not expect of any person who shall speak to you here an attempt to discourse at length on the life or the char- acter of General Grant. To give the history of those great campaigns, where the greatest armies ever mustered, oc- cupying the greatest spaces ever covered by any nation with it- troops, officered by illustrious generals contending for as greal a -take as was ever in issue in human history, directed, moved as one man, were marshalled to victory by his genius, would require a lifetime of preparation and re- search from the ablest military historian. To narrate fitly the story of those eight eventful years of his presidency, with its great problems of administration, of pacification, of reconstruction, of finance, of foreign policy, will be among the high ambitions of the literary genius of future times. We cannot even speak with any justice to ourselves or to him i f the great personal qualities of the man, the action faithful, the honor clear, the integrity without a stain, the courage never-failing, the unconquerable will, As constant as the Northern Star, Of whose true fixed and resting quality- There is no fellow in the firmament, 820 LIFE OF GEN. IT. S. GRANT. the great, gentle, tender, loving heart, the simple speech, the moderation in triumph, the strong, genuine American feeling that the flattery of a world could not disturb, the Christian faith that conquered the great conqueror Death, and to which God gave the victory. He was the one man in America whom the people knew by heart. Since his first great victory at Fort Donelson, his name has been blended with every great event that spoke of hope, of joy, of loyalty, of union, of pride to Americans. The thrill that passed through all loyal hearts at the news of Henry, of Donelson, of Vicksburg, Appomat- tox, pulses again as we name his name. But yet, we shall do him injustice, not honor, Ave shall offend that mighty shade, if we fail to draw from his life the lesson he most desired it should teach. We are paying him no mere jDersonal honor. It is to Grant as the repre- sentative American soldier, to Grant the example and in- spiration of the virtues which his comrades likewise shared, to Grant stirred as they were stirred by American history, American quality, American faith, that we pay our respect to-day. As we bury him in that proud metropolis, by the bank of the historic river, with martial music, and stately procession ; as America bows her head in grief, as she remem- bers her loss, and lifts it again, smiling and in triumph, as she remembers his glory, the humblest soldier, on country farm or in city street — aye, in hospital or in home — may take to himself that honor, may say: "I shared in those sacrifices, 1 helped to that victory, I partake of that re- nown. This is mine, this is mine also." The story of General Grant's life, says General Horace Porter, savors more of romance than real- ity ; it is more like fable of ancient days than the history of an American citizen of the nine- teenth century. As light and shade produce the TRIBUTES TO GENERAL GRANT. 321 most attractive effects in a picture, so the contrasts in the career of the lamented general, the strange vicissitudes of his eventful life, surround him with an interest which attaches to few characters in history. His rise from the obscure lieutenant to the com- mander of the veteran armies of the great repub- lic, his transition from a frontier post of the untrodden West to the executive mansion of the nation ; his sitting at one time in a little store in Galena, not even known to the congressman from his district ; at another time striding through the palaces of the Old World, with the descendants of a line of kings rising and standing uncovered in his presence ; his humble birth in an Ohio town scarcely known to the geographer ; his distressing illness and courageous death in the bosom of the nation he had saved — these are the features of his marvellous career which appeal to the imagi- nation, excite men's wonder, and fascinate the minds of all who make a study of his life. Many of the motives which actuated him, and the real sources of strength employed in the put- ting forth of his singular powers, will never be fully understood, for added to a habit of commun- ing much with himself was a modesty which always seemed to make him Shrink from speaking of a matter so personal to him as an analysis of his own mental powers, and those who knew him best 322 LIFE OF GEN. TJ. S. GRANT. sometimes understood him the least. His most intimate associates often had to judge the man by the results accomplished, without comprehending the causes which produced them. In his inter- course he did not study to be reticent about him- self; he seemed rather to be unconscious of self. When visiting St. Louis with him while he was President, he made a characteristic remark, show- ing how little his thoughts dwelt upon those events of his life which made such a deep impression upon others. Upon his arrival, a horse and buggy were or- dered, and a drive was taken to his farm, about eight miles distant. He stopped on the high ground overlooking the city, and stood for a time by the side of the little log house which he had built, partly with his oavu hands, in the days of his poverty and early struggles. Upon being asked Avhether the events of the past fifteen years of his life did not seem to him like a tale of the Arabian Nights, especially in coming from the White House to visit the little farm-house of early days, he simply replied, "Well, I never thought about it in that light." Captain John R. Steere, now an inmate of the Soldiers' Home, tells a good story, showing how he, when but sixteen years of age, made General Grant obey his own orders. The occurrence took place in the early stages TRIBUTES TO GENERAL GRANT. 323 of the war, shortly after Grant had received his commission as brigadier-general, and was placed in command of the military district of Missouri, with headquarters at Cairo. John Steere, then a boy of a little over sixteen years of age, enlisted and was ordered, with others, to report at Cairo, which they did. Five days after enlisting, they were drilled in marching and manoeuvring without uniform or arms. This was continued for a few days, when the new recruits were given uniforms and old Harper's Ferry muskets, one of those old affairs that every time the gun was discharged the shooter had to go hunting for the hammer of his sfun. The morning after young Steere was given his gun he was stationed at General Grant's head- quarters as guard. The headquarters was located on the levee fronting the Ohio Kiver, near the junction of the Mississippi River. It was in No- vember, and the day was a cold and blusterous one. Steere's military experience was very limited in- deed, and the inclement weather did not exactly suit him. His orders were to let no one except an officer or one on official business enter the build- ing. He stood at his post of duty until chilled through and through, when he set his musket up in one corner of the door, leaning against the sill, and himself close up against the building, with the cape of his overcoat pulled up over his ears to keep warm. 324 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. As every person who came near the place seemed to be an officer, he molested no one, devoting all his time and attention to keeping himself warm and comfortable. Morpheus courted him, and he was on the verge of taking a pleasant snooze when some one coming down the stairway aroused him. Looking up, he saw an officer buckling on an ele- gant sword. After passing through the door, the officer came to a halt, and, looking at the guard indignantly, asked : " What are you doing there ? " "I'm the guard," replied Steere. "An excellent guard, indeed. Do you know whose headquarters this is ? " " Yes, sir ; General Grant's." The officer looked at the guard a moment in silence, and then thundered : " Stand up there, sir, and bring your gun to a shoulder ! " Young Steere did as requested, bringing his gun to his shoulder like a squirrel -hunter. The officer took the gun from him, and went through the manual of arms for him. He remained with him for fifteen or twenty minutes until he taught him how to handle his gun, when he asked: "How long have you been in the service?" " Several days." " Do you know who I am ? " "No, sir; never saw you before." TRIBUTES TO GENERAL GRANT. 825 " I am General Grant. You have deserted your post of duty, sir, which is a very serious breach of discipline. I will not punish you this time, but, young man, be very careful it does not occur again. Orders must be strictly and promptly obeyed always." With this the general walked away. The oc- currence was soon known to many of the soldiers, and is said to have been of advantage to them all in the way of rudiments for military discipline. Several days after this, young Steere was put on guard on a steamboat which was being loaded with provisions and ammunition, with orders to allow no one with a lighted pipe or cigar to come within a given distance — about fifty feet. He had not been at his post of duty more than an hour when General Grant approached with a light- ed cigar between his teeth. He seemed to be deep in thought, but the moment he came near the gangplank his musings Avere interrupted. " Halt ! " cried the young guard, bringing his gun to his shoulder. The general was taken completely by surprise. He looked at the young guard, who had him cov- ered with his gun, amazed ; and then his counte- nance showed traces of arising anger. But he did not budge an inch. " I have been taught to obey orders strictly and promptly," explained Steere, quoting the general ; 326 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GEANT. " and ns my orders are to allow no one to approach this boat with a lighted cigar, you will please throw yours away." Grant smiled, threw his cigar into the river, and crossed the gangplank on to the boat. In conversation, General Grant once said: "I never liked service in the army. I did not wish to go to West Point. My father had to use his authority to make me go. I never went into a battle willingly or with enthusiasm. I never want to command another army. It was only after Donelson that I began to see how important was the work that Providence devolved upon me. I did not want to be made lieutenant-general. I did not want the presidency, and have never quite for- given myself for resigning the command of the army to accept it." The following letter, however, written while at West Point, to his cousin, McKingstry Griffith, shows that his life there was not wholly distasteful to the young cadet : — Military Academy, West Point, N. Y. September, 22, 1839. Dear Coz, — I was just thinking that you would be right glad to hear from one of your relations who is so far away as I am. So I have put away my algebra and French, and am going to tell you a long story about this prettiest of places, West Point. So far as it regards natural attractions, it is decidedly the most beautiful place that I have ever seen. Here are hills and dales, rocks and river; all pleas- TRIBUTES TO GENERAL GRANT 327 ant to look upon. From the window near I can see the Hudson, that far-famed, that beautiful river, with its bosom studded with hundreds of snowy sails. Again, if I look another way, I can see Fort Pitt, now frowning far above, a stern monument of a sterner age, which seems placed there on purpose to tell us of the glori- ous deeds of our fathers, and to bid us to remember their sufferings — to follow their example. In short, this is the best of places, the place of all places for an institution like this. I have not told you half its at- tractions. Here is the house Washington used to live in — there Kosciusko used to walk and think of his country and ours. Over the river we are shown the dwelling-house of Arnold, that base and heartless traitor to his country and his God. I do love the place ; it seems as though I could live here forever, if my friends would only come too. You might search the wide world over, and then not find a bet- ter. Now, all this sounds nice, very nice; wdiat a happy fellow you are ; but I am not one to show false colors, or the brightest side of the picture, so I will tell you about some of the drawbacks : First, I slept for two months upon one single pair of blankets — now this sounds romantic, and you may think it very easy, but I tell you what, coz, it is tremendous hard. Suppose you try it by way of experiment for a night or two. I am pretty sure that you would be perfectly satis- fied that it is no easy matter, but glad am I these things are over. We are now in our quarters. I have a splendid bed, and get along very well. Our pay is nominally about twenty-eight dollars a month, but we never see a cent of it. If.we wish anything, from a shoestring to a coat, we must go to the commandant of the post and get an order for it, or we cannot have it. We have tremendous long and hard lessons to get in both French and algebra. I study hard, and hope to get along so as to pass the examination in Jan- uary. This examination is a hard one, they say, but I am 328 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. not frightened yet. If I am successful here, you will not see me for two long years. It seems a long while to me, but time passes off very fast. It seems but a few clays since I came here. It is because every hour has its duty which must be performed. On the whole, I like the place very much — so much that I would not go away on any account. The fact is, if a man graduates here he is safe for life, let him go where he will. There is much to dislike, but more to like. I mean to study hard and stay, if it be possible; if I cannot, very well — the world is wide. I have now been here about four months and have not seen a single familiar face or spoken to a single lady, I wish some of the pretty girls of Bethel were here, just so I might look at them. But fudge; confound the girls. I have seen great men, plenty of them; let us see — General Scott, Mr. Van Buren, secretaries of war and navy, Washington Irving, and lots of other big bugs. If I were to come home now, the way you would laugh at my appearance would be curious. My pants set as tight to my skin as the bark to a tree, and if I do not walk military — that is, if I bend over quickly or run — they are very apt to crack, with a report as loud as a pistol. My coat must always be buttoned up tight to the skin. It is made of sheep's gray cloth, all covered with big round buttons. It makes one look very singular. If you were to see me at a distance, the first question you would ask would be, "Is that a fish or an animal ?" You must give my very best love and respects to all my friends, particularly your brothers, Uncles Ross and Samuel Simpson. You must also write me a long letter in reply to this, ami tell me about everything and everybody, including yourself. If you happen to see any of my folks, just tell them that I am happy, alive and well. I am truly your cousin and obedi- ent servant, U. H. Guant. McKingstuy Griffith. N. B. In coming I stopped five days in Philadelphia with our friends. They are all well. Tell Grandmother TRIBUTES TO GENERAL GRANT. 329 Simpson that they have always expected to see her hefore, but have almost given up the idea now. They hope to hear from her often. U. II. Grant. I came near forgetting to tell you about our demerit or "black marks." They give a man one of these "black marks " for almost nothing, and if he gets two hundred a year they dismiss him. To show how easy one can get these, a man by the name of Grant, of this state, got eight of these " marks " for not going to church to-day. He was also put under arrest, so he cannot leave his room, perhaps for a month — all this for not going to church. We are not only obliged to go to church, but must march there by com- panies. This is not republican. It is an Episcopal church. Contrary to the expectations of you and the rest of my Bethel friends, I have not been the least homesick. I would not go home on any account whatever. When I come home, in two years (if I live), the way I shall astonish you na- tives will be curious. I hope you will not take me for a baboon. My best inspects to Grandmother Simpson. I often think of her I put this on the margin so you may remember it better. I want you to show her this letter and all others I may write to you, to her. I am going to write to some of my friends in Philadelphia soon. When they answer, I shall write you again to tell you all about them, etc. Remember and write me very soon, for I want to hear much. "I knew him as a boy at school," said Mr. Markland, who was at the head of the mail service of Grant's army. "My home was at Maysville, Ky., and young Grant came there a hoy of twelve or thirteen to attend the academy. He lived with his aunt in Maysville, and was a very quiet, retir- 330 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. ing and .studious boy. As I remember him, he was a little chubby fellow with a round, freckled face, and sandy hair. He was a good-natured boy and went by the name of 'Lyss.' Shortly after he left school, he went to West Point, and from that time I did not meet him again until in the fall of 1861 I was sent West in connection with the Postoffice Department. In attending to my business I was thrown in with General Grant at Cairo at about the time he took command. Here I got my first glimpse of him as a man. As an instance of his remarkable memory of features, though he could not have known I was coming to Cairo, he recog- nized me at once one day when I was passing the window of his headquarters. I did not recognize him. It did not take us long to revive our old schoolfcllowship, and we became great friends. I remained about Cairo in my connection with the Postoffice Department until about the time of the movement on Fort Henry. At this time General Grant asked me if I did not want to see a fight, and invited me to go to Fort Henry with him. On the way to Fort Henry, on the headquarters steamer "New Unclo Sam,"'' knowing that I was an officer of the Postoffice Department, he suggested to me, or rather inquired if it were not possible to keep the mail up to the army, and not to take the sol- diers' letters home. On my answering that I thought this could be done, he gave me that branch TRIBUTES TO GENERAL GRANT. 331 of the service, and from that beginning sprang the great army mail service of the war, and to General Grant the credit of originating that service belongs. The army mail service developed the fact that the mails could be distributed in railway cars and on the top of railway cars going at the rate of thirty miles an hour. In wagons, ambulances, and even on horseback, mails were frequently distributed and delivered under the murderous fire of the ene- my, and it may be said that the perfect railway mail service of to-day is the outgrowth of the army mail service." In recalling the religious training and experi- ences of General Grant, Dr. Newman said: "He was brought up in the Methodist Episcopal Church. His fathers house was the home of Methodist preachers for over forty years. The general's earliest recollections were associated with the clergy. He had to care for their horses. He re- membered that the horses were good ones, and that their owners always insisted on their having plenty of oats. Many a time he was sent out by his father to take off the saddle-bags and put up the horses. Once a preacher was to move from the neighborhood in which the Grants lived. He was to take his family and furniture in a wagon for two hundred miles, and wanted some one to drive for him. Applying to the general's father for a driver, the old gentleman detailed Ulysses, then a 332 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. lad, for that work. Afterwards the preacher re- ported to the boy's father that never in his life had he had such a good and silent driver. "The general's father was a farmer at that time. In later years he lived at Covington, Kv. He was a churchgoer always, serving in the Methodist church as trustee, steward and class leader. Wherever he went he was a ruling spirit in church affairs. He was a man of sterling character, strong will, high purposes, and at times arbitrary. His mother was modest, intelligent and sunny in spirit. The general inherited her nature. All of his sisters were devout Methodists. One of them, Mrs. Cra- mer, married a Methodist preacher, now the min- ister of the government at Berne, Switzerland. "The general was thus indoctrinated in the faith of the church. He held to those great principles of Christianity all his life. Accepting the Bible as the word of God to man, he regarded Christianity as divine. But his mind tended to the sunny side of Christianity. The beneficent results of the Gospel promised to him the glory of the Messiah, the universal triumph of Christianity." Chaplain J. L. Crane of Grant's regiment writes of his camp life at Cairo, before going to the front : "Grant is about five feet ten inches in height, and will weigh one hundred forty or one hundred forty- five pounds. He has a countenance indicative of reserve, and an indomitable will and persistent TRIBUTES TO GENERAL GRANT. 333 purpose. In dress he is indifferent or careless, making no pretensions to style or fashionable mil- itary display. Had he continued a colonel till now, I think his uniform would have lasted till this day ; for he never used it except on dress parade, and then seemed to regard it a good deal as David did Saul's armor. f 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 dissembler. He is a sincere, thinking, real man. He is always cheerful. No toil, cold, heat, hunger, fatigue, or want of money depresses him. He does his work at the time, and he requires all under his command to be equally prompt. This promptness is one of Grant's char- acteristics, and it is one of the secrets of his suc- cess. On one of our marches, in passing through one of those small towns where the grocery is the principal establishment, some of the lovers of in- toxication had broken away from our lines and filled their canteens with whiskey, and were soon reeling and ungovernable under its influence. While apparently stopping the regiment for rest, Grant passed quietly along and took each canteen, and, wherever he detected the fatal odor, emptied the liquor on the ground, with as much nonchalance as he would empty his pipe. On this point his orders were imperative ; no whiskey or intoxicating beverage was allowed in his camp. Grant belongs 334 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GEANT. to no church, yet he entertains and expresses the highest esteem for all the enterprises that tend to promote religion. When at home he generally attended the Methodist church. While he was 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 the preaching. Shortly after I came into the regi- ment, 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 bless- ing 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.'" Grant gave the world his creed in his second inaugural address. "Rather do I believe," he said, "that our great Maker is preparing the world, in his own good time, to become one nation, speak- ing one language, and when armies and navies will no longer be required." In the same address, referring to his war record, he said : ft I performed a conscientious duty, with- out asking promotion or command, and without a revengeful feeling towards any section or any individual." TRIBUTES TO GENERAL GRANT. 335 To the Centennial number of the Sunday- School Times he sent the following memorial message : Washington, June 6, 1876. To the Editor of the " Sunday-School Times," Philadelphia: Your favor of yesterday, asking a message from me to the children and youths of the United States, to accompany your Centennial number, is received. My advice to Sun- day-schools, no matter what their denomination, is: Hold fast to the Bible as the sheet-anchor of your liberties; write its precepts in your hearts, and practise them in your lives [underscoring this]. To the influence of this book we are indebted for all the progress made in true civiliza- tion, and to this we must look as our guide in the future : " Righteousness exalteth a nation ; but sin is a reproach to any people." Yours, respectfully, U. S. Grant. General McLaws, of the Confederate army, tells the following stories of General Grant : "An officer who once served on General Grant's staff once told me an incident which illustrated the quick de- cision of General Grant. It was just after the battle of Shiloh. The officers were grouped around a campfire, when General John A. Mc- Clernand rode up to General Grant, and handed him an autograph letter from President Lincoln directing Grant to turn his command over to Gen- eral McClernand. General Grant read the letter carefully, and then, tearing it up into small pieces and throwing them into the fire, said : "I decline to receive or obey orders which do not come through the proper channel.' 336 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. "Pausing a moment, he turned to General Mc- Clernand and said : — " ? Your division is under orders to leave this de- partment in the morning, and I advise you to go with it.' MeClernand went, and that was the last that was ever heard of the order, for the culmina- tion of events showed that Grant was right, and no President dared to remove him, for a change of commanders just after the battle of Shiloh would have led to very different results for the federals. " The dogged determination to do or die, which was so characteristic of Grant, was what gave backbone to the federal army. He would never acknowledge defeat. General Zachary Taylor once told me an anecdote of Grant, which occurred during the Mexican war. Lieutenant Grant was in charge of a party of men detailed to clear the way for the advance of boats laden with troops from Aransas Bay to Corpus Christi, by removing the oyster-beds and other obstructions. Failing either 1)}^ words or signs to make those under him understand him, Lieutenant Grant jumped into the water, which was up to his waist, and worked with his men. Some dandy officers began making fun of him for his zeal, when General Tay- lor came upon the scene, and rebuked it by saying: — ct I wish I had more officers like Grant, who TRIBUTES TO GENERAL GRANT. 337 would stand ready to set personal example when needed.' " He was the most original man I ever knew," said Admiral Porter, " not only in his methods but in personal ideas. With him war meant battle and peace, the perfection and the protection of indi- vidual liberty. He never hesitated to draw his sword at the call of his country, or to sheathe it when the dust of conflict had drifted away. The South ought to feel his loss more than the North, for he was first to yield to a conquered and im- poverished foe the inheritance of civic liberty. When Vicksburg fell, he adopted every method of relieving the distress of his unfortunate adver- saries, and many a woman and orphan will remem- ber his generous magnanimity in distributing the victorious army. When General Lee surrendered, he said to the Confederate soldiers : r Keep your horses, and take them home with you to the plough. You are a brave people ; you have fought a brave fight. Go back to your farms and work- shops, and follow as bravely the pursuits of peace.' General Grant was a military enigma. He over- reached public opinion. He went far .beyond expectations or the hopes of his admirers. He agreeably disappointed his friends. He accom- plished everything that he undertook without any prior profession of merit. He was a man with no degree of egotism, but, with a charming and coura- 338 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. geous modesty ; he forced opportunities and worked out success from the most intricate combinations of circumstances." Much has been written, and more will hereafter be written, of the remarkable modesty of General Grant, but the most striking evidence of his indif- ference to fame which has yet been recorded ap- pears in this statement of General Badeau : — "On Sunday afternoon, the 9th of April, 1865, as General Grant was riding to his headquarters from the farmhouse in which he had received the surrender of Lee, it occurred to him that he had made no report of the event to the government. He halted at once and dismounted, with his staff, in a rough field within the national lines. Sitting on a stone, he asked for paper. I happened to be near, and offered him my memorandum book, such as staff officers often carry for orders or reports in the field. He laid the book on his knee and wrote the despatch in pencil ; he handed it to me, and told me to send it to the telegraph operator. I asked him if I might copy the despatch for the operator, and retain the original. lie assented, and I rewrote the paper, the original of which is in the keeping of The Centur;/ Magazine" Said General Sherman at the eighteenth reunion of the Society of the Army of the Tennessee held at Chicago, September 9, 1885: "Though twenty eventful years have transpired since the close of TRIBUTES TO GENERAL GRANT. 339 the war, I need not repeat to you the trite expres- sion that our ranks are growing thinner, and our hair whiter, and that the eyes which look up to me, and which once kindled and flashed at the trumpet's sound, now seem sad, as though burying the fate of those five young fellows whose gay and gallant spirits took their flight in the glorious day the memories of which we have come together to cele- brate. Though in war death makes the battle- field his harvest, yet in peace he insidiously in- vades the most sacred premises, taking here the innocent babe, there the gentle, loving wife, again the youth in lusty manhood, and the king on his throne. During our last vacation he has stricken from our list of members the very head and front — Gen. U. S. Grant — the same who in the cold winter of 1861-02 gathered together at Cairo, 111., the fragments of an army, and led them up the Tennessee River. The creator and father of the army of the Tennessee took his final leave of earth at 8.08 on the morning of July 23, 1885, from Mt. MacGregor, a spur of the Alleghanies, in plain view of the historic battlefield of Saratoga. He had finished his life's work, and had bequeathed to the world his example. The lightning's flash car- ried the sad tidings to all parts of the civilized earth, and I doubt whether, since the beginning, there ever arose so spontaneous a wail of grief to bear testimony before high heaven that mankind had 340 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. lost a kindred spirit, and his countrymen a leader. We, his first war comrades, concede to the family their superior rights, but claim the next place in the grand procession of mourners. We were with him in his days of adversity as well as prosperity, and were as true to him as the needle to the pole. We shared with him the trials and tribulations as well as the labors and battles of Henry, Donelson, Shiloh, Corinth and Vicksburg, when that trans- cendent and most valuable of all victories turned the universal aaze of our bewildered countrymen to the f new star' in the West, which plainly fore- told the man who had dispelled the cloud which lowered o'er our house, and was to lead us to the triumphal victories of 1865, and to the staple, en- during prosperity of 1885. Hundreds, yea thou- sands, of busy brains and pens are now trying to comprehend and describe this man, who did so much in so short a time, to trace the mysterious course of his most wonderful career, and to account for known results. They look to us, who w T ere his daily associates in that critical epoch, to aid them in their commendable work, and as your president I must on this occasion contribute a share. In the year 1839 I was a first-class man in the United States Military Academy at West Point, a posi- tion of exaltation never reached since, though reasonably successful in life, and there appeared on the walls of the hall in the old north barracks a TRIBUTES TO GENERAL GRANT. 341 list of new cadets, among which was U. S. Grant. A crowd of lookers-on read United States Grant, Uncle Sam Grant, Sam Grant, and Sam Grant he is to-day in the traditions of the old Fourth United States Infantry. It afterwards transpired that his name was actually Ulysses Hiram Grant, and the mistake had been made by Gen. Hamer, the mem- ber of Congress who nominated him as the cadet from his district. Cadet Grant tried to correct this mistake at the beginning and end of his cadet fefe, without success ; and to history his name must ever be U. S. Grant. " I remember his personal appearance at the time, but the gulf of separation between a first-class man and a pleb. at West Point was, and is still, deeper and wider than that between a general-in-chief and a private in the army, so that I hardly noticed him. His reputation in the Fourth Infantry, in which he served through the Mexican war and until he re- signed his commission of captain in Oregon, July 31, 1851, was of a good, willing officer, always ready for duty, extremely social and friendly with his fellows, but in no sense conspicuous, brilliant, or manifesting the wonderful qualities afterwards developed in him. I recall an instance when I met him in St. Louis in 1857, when he was a farmer in the country, and I, too, was out of the military service. The only impression left on my memory is, that I then concluded that West Point 342 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. and the regular army were not good schools for farmers, bankers, merchants and mechanics. I did not meet him again till the civil war had broken out, when chaos seemed let loose and the gates of hell were wide open in every direction. Then came the news of General Grant's attack on the enemy's camp at Belmont on November 7, 1861, soon followed by the events of Columbus, Paducah, Henry and Donelson, all so simple, so direct, so comprehensible, that the effect on my mind was magical. They raised the dark curtain which be- fore had almost hidden out all hopes for the future, and displayed the policy and course of action nec- essary only to be followed with persistence to achieve ultimate success. Great as were his after achievements, I shall ever rate those of Henry and Donelson among the best. Yet, by one of those accidents so common in war, he had incurred the displeasure of his superior, General Ilalleck, whom I then esteemed as the master-mind ruling and di- recting the several armies subject to his orders from his headquarters in St. Louis, so that when, in March, 1862, I was permitted to take the field from Paducah with a new division, I found General Grant at Fort Henry under order from General Ilalleck to remain there, and to turn over the command of his army, then flushed with victory', to Gen. C. F. Smith, his next in rank. It so happened that General Smith had been adjutant TRIBUTES TO GENERAL GRANT. 343 and commandant when Grant and I were cadets at West Point, and lie was universally esteemed as the model soldier of his day. lie had also acquired large fame in the Utah expedition, and in the then recent capture of Fort Donelson, so that General Grant actually looked up to him as the older if not the better soldier, though he was at that time the senior by commission. Not one word of #om- plaint came from him, only a general expression of regret that he had been wrongly and unjustly rep- resented to General Halleck, and he advised me t6 give General Smith my most loyal support. " General Smith conducted the expedition up the Tennessee River to Savannah, Eastport, and Pitts- burg Landing, gave all the orders and instructions up to within a few days of the battle of Shiloh, when his health, shattered by the merest accident, compelled him to relinquish the command again to General Grant, who quietly resumed it where Smith had left off — ' accepted the situation.' He made few or no changes, and fought, on the ground which had been selected by General Smith, the bloody battle of Shiloh. During this fiercely contested battle he displayed the coolness, the personal courage, forethought, and deliberation which after- wards made him famous among; men. Yet was he traduced, slandered, wronged, not only by the press universally, but by those who were in posi- tions of authority over him. You, however, who 344 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. were at the battle's front, stood b}^ him, being true and loyal always, and to his dying day he loved the Army of the Tennessee above all others, by reason of their loyalty to him in these the darkest days of his eventful life. "Nor was the end yet. After this great battle, three armies were assembled on that bloody field — Buell's, Pope's, and Grant's — and General Halleck came in person from St. Louis to com- mand the whole, with the declared purpose to assume the bold offensive. These armies were reorganized. Buell's army became the centre, Pope's the left, and Grant's was broken up. One part, under General George H. Thomas, was styled the right, while the other, under General McClernand, composed the reserve. General Grant w T as absolutely left out in the cold, with a title, 'second in command,' unknown to Ameri- can law or history. All moved forth to Corinth, consuming the whole month of May, and during that month became cemented the personal friend- ship between us which lasted to the end. Not one word of complaint came from him, no criti- cism on the acts of his superiors or the govern- ment, yet the trembling eyelid, the silent tear, and averted head told that his big heart was troubled. He knew that every officer and soldier who had followed him with such noble courage and simple faith at Belmont, Henry, Donelson and TRIBUTES TO GENERAL GRANT. 315 Shiloh felt for him, respected him, and under- stood the load of neglect, if not of positive insult, he was carrying. He knew and felt that he was in the way of the commanding general — as it were, a fifth wheel to a coach — with no real au- thority, no command, no positive right to order, or even advise, his former subordinates, but I am sure he knew that he was ever welcome to our bivouacs, and that we understood and appreciated the entire situation. Then occurred the most qui tionable ' strategy ' of the whole war. That magnificent army of nearly one hundred thousand of the best men on this continent, who could, if united, have marched to Vicksburg or to Mobile, was deliberately scattered. General Buell, with the Army of the Cumberland, which Thomas had re- joined, was sent eastward toward Chattanooga, and the others were scattered defensively from Eastport to Memphis. General Grant was sent to command the district of Memphis, and General Halleck him- self, being summoned to Washington, cast about for a new commander for the Army of the Ten- nessee. He offered the post to a most worthy quartermaster, who had the good sense to decline, and himself being compelled to leave, the com- mand at the West devolved on General Grant, not by selection, but by virtue of his superior com- mission. " Henceforward his career was ever onward and 346 LIFE OF GEN. U: S. GRANT. upward, and when, on the fourth day of July, 1863, Vicksburg surrendered to him, and the mighty Mississippi ' went unvexed to the sea,' the whole country arose and recognized in him the agent who was destined to guide and lead us all to final victory and triumph. These circumstances were all known to you at the time, were little ap- preciated, and were, in truth, the fires designed by Providence to test the ability, courage, and en- durance of him on whom a whole epoch in history was destined to hinge. General Grant knew little and cared less about f strategy.' So with ' tac- tics.' He never — so far as I can recall — ex- pressed a preference for Hardee over Scott, Casey or Morriss. Still, he loved to see order and sys- tem, and wanted his corps, divisions, brigades, and regiments handy and well instructed when called for. "He aimed to achieve results, caring little for the manner by which they were accomplished. He possessed and always asserted the most perfect faith in the justice of our cause, and always claimed that, sooner or later, it must prevail, be- cause the interest of all mankind demanded the existence of just such a republic as we had inheri- ted. He believed in deeds, not words — in a war of aggression, not of manoeuvre ; and from Belmont to Appomattox his strategy and tactics were the same — ever straight to the mark till all armed TRIBUTES TO GENERAL GRANT. 347 resistance had ceased, and absolute submission to lawful authority was promised. Fortunate was it for us, and for all mankind, that two such men as Lincoln and Grant were on duty during the criti- cal year 1863, each the full complement to the other; the one to think, the other to do, forming the solid arch in which our glorious Union could safely repose in the then earthquake of passion and folly. I will not yield to the temptation to trace Hie wonderful career of our comrade through his later life, which, in its phases, surpasses any of which history, ancient or modern, records. Surely Plutarch gives no parallel. To compare (I rant with Alexander, Hannibal, Ca?sar, Napo- leon, or Wellington, seems to me folly, for he was not similar to any one of them any more than the period of time in which they existed resembled ours. Each epoch creates its own agents, and Gen- eral Grant more nearly impersonated the Amer- ican character of 1861-65 than any other living man. Therefore he will stand as the typical hero of the great civil war in America of the nineteenth century." The following interesting reminiscences of Gen. Grant are given by George W. Childs, of the Phil- adelphia Ledger: "While living in Long Branch there was hardly a Confederate officer that came to the place without visiting the general. He was always glad to see them, and with those men he 348 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. invariably talked over the war. The general had a very high opinion of General Joe Johnston, and always spoke of him as being one of the very best of Southern generals ; and at one of my dinners I had the pleasure of getting Johnston, Grant and Sherman together. "In regard to election matters General Grant was a very close observer, and had a wonderful judg- ment in regard to results. One particular case may be cited : During the canvass of his second term (towards the latter part) there began to be doubts throughout the country about the election. Senator Wilson, who was then running on the ticket as Vice-President, who Mas a man of the people and had a good deal of experience in elec- tion matters for forty years, made an extensive tour through the country, and he came to my house just after the tour very blue. lie went over the ground, and showed that the matter was in a o-ood deal of doubt. I went to see General Grant, and I told him about this feeling, particularly as coming from Senator Wilson. The general said nothing, but he sent for a map of the United States. He laid the map down on the table, went over it with a pencil, and said, 'We will carry this State, that Slate and that State,' until he covered nearly the whole United States. It occurred to me that he might as well put them all in, and I ventured the re- monstrance : ' I think it would not be policy to talk TRIBUTES TO GENERAL GRANT. 349 that way; the election now is pretty near ap- proaching.' When the election came, the result of it was that he carried every State that he had predicted, and that prediction was in the face of the feeling throughout the country that the Repub- lican cause was growing weaker, and in spite of the fact that the Vice-President, who was deeply interested in the election, had visited various parts of the country, South and West, and had come back blue and dispirited. " He was staying with me in Philadelphia during the canvass of the election between Tilden and Hayes, and on the morning of the momentous day after the election, when the returns gave Tilden a majority of all the electors, he accompanied me to my office. In a few moments an eminent Repub- lican senator and one or two other leading Republi- cans walked in, and they went over the returns. These leaders, notwithstanding the returns, said, ' Hayes is elected,' an opinion in which the others coincided. General Grant listened to them, but said nothing. After they had settled the matter in their own minds, he said, ' Gentlemen, it looks to me as if Mr. Tilden were elected.' He after- wards sent for me in Washington and said, f This matter is very complicated, and the people will not be satisfied unless something is done in regard to it which will look like justice. Now,' he con- tinued, f I have spoken of an Electoral Commission, 850 LIFE OF GEN. IT. S. GRANT. and the leaders of the party are opposed to it, which I am sorry to see. They say that if an Electoral Commission is appointed 3 r ou might as well count in Mr. Tildcn. I would sooner have Tilden than that the Republicans should have a President who could be stigmatized as a fraud. If I were Mr. Hayes, I would not have it unless it was settled in some way outside of the Senate. This matter is opposed by the leading Republicans in the House and Senate and throughout the coun- try.' "President Grant invited the leading Republi- can senators to dine with him, to meet me that day, and to get their sentiment. He said to me, ' You see the feeling here. I find them almost univer- sally opposed to anything like an Electoral Com- mission.' I named a leading Democrat in the House, who was, perhaps, one of the most promi- nent men in the country, a man of great influence and of great integrity of character, whom it would be well for General Grant to see in the matter, and the suggestion was acted on. I sent for this gentleman to come to the White House, and put the dilemma to him in President Grant's name as follows: f It is very hard for the President, and very embarrassing as to men on his own side, that this matter does not seem to find favor with them as well as to have Democratic opposition. Repub- licans think you might as well count Tilden in, but TRIBUTES TO GENERAL GRANT. 351 as the feeling throughout the country demands as honest a count of the thing as possible, this Elec- toral Commission ought to be appointed.' "The answer at once was that the Democrats would favor it, and it was through that gentleman and General Grant that the matter was carried through. Grant was the originator of the plan. He sent for Mr. Conkling and said, with deep earnestness, 'This matter is a serious one, and the people feel it very deeply. I think this Electoral Commission ought to be appointed.' Conkling answered, ' Mr. President, Senator Morton (who was then the acknowledged leader of the Senate) is opposed to it and opposed to your efforts ; but if you wish the commission carried, I can do it.' He said, c I wish it done.' Mr. Conkling took hold of the matter and put it through. The leading Democrat I have spoken of took the in- itiative in the House and Mr. Conkling in the Senate. General Patterson of Philadelphia, who was an intimate friend of General Jackson, and a lifelong Democrat, Avas also sent for. He had large estates in the South, and a great deal of in- fluence with the Democrats, and particularly with Southern Democrats. General Patterson then was upwards of eighty, but he came down there and remained one or two weeks with General Grant, working hard to accomplish the purpose in view. After the bill had passed and was waiting for sig- 352 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. nature, General Grant went to a State fair in Maryland the day it should have been signed, and there was much perturbation about it. "I was telegraphed by those interested that Gen- eral Grant was absent, and they were anxious about the signing. I replied that they might consider the matter as good as signed, and the general came back at night and put his name to the document. Just before General Grant started on his journey around the world, he was spending some days with me, and at dinner with Mr. A. J. Drexel, Colonel A. K. McClure and myself, Gen- eral Grant reviewed the contest for the creation of the Electoral Commission, and the contest he- fore and in the commission, very fully and with rare candor, and the chief significance of his view was in the fact, as he stated it, that he expected from the beginning until the final judgment that the electoral vote of Louisiana would be awarded to Tiiden. He spoke of South Carolina and Ore- gon as justly belonging to Ha} T es, of Florida as reasonably doubtful, and of Louisiana as for Tiiden. " General Grant acted in good faith throughout the Avhole business. It has been said that the changing of the complexion of the court threw the matter into Hayes's hands, and if the court had re- mained as it was, Tiiden would have been declared President. General Grant was the soul of honor TRIBUTES TO GENERAL GRANT. 353 in this matter, and no one ever accused him, or ever hinted that he was untruthful in any way. I, for one, don't believe that he could possibly tell a lie or act deceitfully. There is another point of politics not generally known. During Garfield's canvass, Garfield became very much demoralized. He said that he not only did think that they would not carry Indiana, but he was doubtful if they would carry Ohio. During- that emergency strong appeals were made to General Grant, and he at once threw himself into the breach. He saw his strong personal friends, and told them they must help. There Mas one very strong man, a senator, whom General Grant sent for, and told him that he must turn in, and, though he at first declined, at General Grant's urgent solicitation he entered the field, and contributed handsomely to the vic- tory. General Grant went into the canvass with might and main. The tide was turned, and it was through General Grant's personal efforts, seconded by his strong personal friends, who did not feel any particular interest in Garfield's election, that he was elected. "As to General Grant's third term, he never by word or by any letter suggested to any one that he would like to be nominated for a third term. Neither Mr. Conkling, General Logan nor Senator Cameron had any assurance from him in any way that he would like the nomination, and they pro- 354 LIFE OF GEN. TJ. S. GKANT. ceeded in that fight without any authority from him whatever. His heart was not on a third term at all. He had had enough of it. After his sec- ond term he told me, f I feel like a boy out of school.' At first Grant intended to decline. In his conversation with me he said, r It is very diffi- cult to decline a thing that has never been offered ; ' and when he left the country for the West Indies I said, f General, you leave this in the hands of your friends.' He knew I was opposed to a third term ; and his political friends were in favor of it, not merely as friends, but because they thought he was the only man who could be elected. There is not a line of his in existence where he has ever ex- pressed any desire to have that nomination. To- wards the last, when the canvass became very hot, I suppose his natural feeling was that he would like to win. That was natural. But he never laid any plans. He had never encouraged or abetted anything towards a third-term movement. " He was very magnanimous towards those who differed from him ; and when I asked him what distressed him most in his political life, he said, ' To be deceived by those I trusted.' He had a good many distresses. "Apropos of his power of thinking and of ex- pressing his thoughts, he wrote with great facility and clearness. His Centennial Address, at the opening of the exhibition in 187G, was hastily pre- TRIBUTES TO GENERAL GRANT. 355 pared at my house, and there were only one or two corrections in the whole matter. 'When he went to England he wrote me a letter of fourteen pages, giving me an account of his reception in England. The same post that brought that letter contained a letter from Mr. John Walter, proprietor of the Lon- don Times, saying that he had seen our mutual friend, General Grant, on several occasions, and wondered how he was pleased with his reception in England. The letter which I had received was so apropos that I telegraphed it over that very day to the London Times; fourteen 'pages of manu- script, without one word being altered ; and the London Times next morning published this letter with an editorial. It happened that the cablegram arrived in London the very night the general was going through the London Times office to see the establishment. In the letter he said he thought the English people admirable, and was deeply sen- sible of the unexpected attention and kindness shown him ; the letter was written to a friend, not supposing that it would ever be put in print, and not one word had to be altered. I cite this to show General Grant's facility in writing. "In illustration of his perception of financial mat- ters I remember an instance. On one of the great financial questions before Congress he was consult- ing with Mr. A. J. Drexel, of Philadelphia, whom he regarded as one of his strongest personal friends, 856 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. and the general expressed certain views, saying that he had contemplated writing a message. Mr. Drexel combated his views, and the general re- considered the matter and wrote a veto, showing that he was open to conviction. There w T as a matter he had considered, he thought, fully, and when this new light was given to him by Mr. Drexel, he at once changed, and wrote a veto in- stead of favoring it. A great many people had an idea that General Grant was very much set in his opinions ; but while he had his opinions, at the same time he was alwa}^s open to conviction. Very often in talking with him he wouldn't make an ob- servation, and when you had got through it would be difficult to tell exactly whether he had grasped the subject or not, but in a very short time, if } r ou alluded to that matter again, you would find that he had grasped it thoroughly. His power of ob- servation and mental assimilation was remarkable. There was no nonsense about him. He was always neat in his dress, but not fastidious. He said he got cured of his pride in regimentals when he came home from West Point. " Speaking on one or two occasions of the burial of soldiers, he observed that his old chief, General Scott, was buried at West Point, and that he would like to be buried there also. This was sev- eral years ago, and mentioned merely in casual conversation. That was a number of years ago, TRIBUTES TO GENERAL GRANT. 357 and I think once or twice afterwards; it might have been alluded to incidentally since. "There was a paragraph in the newspapers re- cently referring to the speech of Hon. Chauncey Depew, that Grant had saved the country twice. 1 don't know what could have been meant by that paragraph. In the Electoral Commission he saved a great deal of trouble, but whether he saved the countiy or not is another question. I don't know whether or not that could be the implication. What I have said about the Electoral Commission I have said of my own knowledge. "The man who was. perhaps, nearer to him than any one in his cabinet was Hamilton Fish. He had the greatest regard for the hitter's judgment. It was more than friendship, it was genuine affec- tion between them, and General Grant always appreciated Mr. Fish's staying in his cabinet. Mr. Fish, if he had been governed by his own feelings, would have left the cabinet. " Apropos of the Indian matter he told me that, as a young lieutenant, he had been thrown among the Indians, and had seen the unjust treatment they had received at the hands of the white men. He then made up his mind if he ever had any influence or power it should be exercised to try to ameliorate their condition, and the Indian Com- mission was his idea. He wished to appoint the very best men in the United States. He selected Wil- 358 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GKANT. liam Welsh, William E. Dodge, Felix Brunot, of Pittsburg, Colonel Robert Campbell, of St. Louis, and George H. Stuart, of Philadelphia. They ■were a portion of the Indian Commission which he always endeavored to establish, and they always could count upon him in aiding them in every pos- sible way. He took the greatest interest always, and never lost that interest. Even to his last moments he watched the progress of the matter, but it was a very difficult matter to handle at any time, and then especially, as there was a great Indian ring to break up. " He was of a very kindly nature, generous to a fault. I would often remonstrate with him, and say, 'General, you can't afford to do this,' and I would try to keep people away from him. In the case of one subscription, when they wanted him to contribute to a certain matter which I did not think he was able to do, I would n't let them £0 near him. Some injudicious person went there and he subscribed a thousand dollars. "General Grant always felt that he was badly treated by Halleck, but he rarely spoke un- kindly of any one. In fact, I could hardly say he spoke unkindly, but he did feel that he was not fairly treated by Halleck. During one of my last visits to him he showed me his army orders, which he had kept in books. He had a copy of everything he ever did or said in regard to army matters. TRIBUTES TO GENERAL GRANT. 359 He was very careful about that, as he had written all the orders with his own hand. He pointed to one of this large series of books, and said that it was fortunate that he had kept these things, be- cause several of the orders could not be found on any record of the War Department. But during my long friendship I never heard him more than two or three times speak unkindly of Halleck, although he was very unjustly treated by him — a fact which I think will be borne out by the records. I told him of something that occurred to me in connection with one of the parties in charge of records at "Washington. He had been a strong friend of Halleck, and prejudiced against General Grant, in the office, where all these things passed through his hands. But, after twenty years of examination, he said that there was not a line re- lating to Grant that did not elevate him in the minds of thinking people. "As to Fitz John Porter, I spoke to him during the early stages of it, at a time when his mind had been prejudiced by some around him, and when he was very busy. Afterwards, when he looked into the matter, he said he was only sorry that he had so long delayed going at the examination as he ought to have done. He felt that if ever a man had been treated badly Porter was. He had ex- amined the case most carefully, gone over every detail, and he was perfectly well satisfied that 360 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. Porter was right. Pie wanted to do everything in his power to have him righted, and his only regret was that he should have neglected so long and have allowed him to rest under injustice. " There are few men who would take a back track as General Grant did so publicly, so determinedly and so consistently right through. I had several talks with him, and he was continually reiterating his regrets that he had not done justice to Porter when he had the opportunity. He never ceased to the day of his death from his right to speak and write in favor of Porter. He ran counter to a great many of his political friends in this matter, but his mind was absolutely clear. Not one man in a thousand would go back on his record in such a matter, especially when he was not in accord with the Grand Army or bis strong political friends. Grant went into the matter most care- fully, and his publications show how thoroughly he examined the subject, but he never wavered after his mind was fixed. Then he set to work to repair the injury done Porter. If Grant had had time to examine it while he was President, he would have carried it through. That was his great regret. He felt that while he had the power he could have passed it, and ought to have done so. When Grant took pains and time to look into the matter, no amount of personal feeling or friendship for others would keep him from doing TEIBUTES TO GENERAL GRANT. 361 the right thing. He could not be swerved from the right. "Another great trait of his character was his purity in every way. I never heard him express or make an indelicate allusion in any manner or shape. There is nothing 1 ever heard General Grant say that could not be repeated in the pres- ence of women. If a man was brought up for an appointment, and it was shown that he was an immoral man, he would not appoint him, no mat- ter how great the pressure brought to bear upon him. " General Grant would sit in my library with four or five others, talking freely, and doing, perhaps, two-thirds of the talking. Let a stranger enter whom he did not know, and he would say nothing more during that evening. That was one pecu- liarity of his. He wouldn't talk to people unless he understood them. At a dinner-party with a certain set that he knew all well he would lead in the conversation, but any alien or novel element would seal his tongue. This great shyness or reticence sometimes, perhaps, made him misunder- stood." One of General Grant's Galena friends says that Grant went to Springfield alone, and without the knowledge of any person outside of his own family. Eeaching his destination, he first called upon ex-Senator B. H. McClellan, of Galena, 862 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. whom he knew slightly, and who at the time was a member of the Illinois Assembly. He told Mc- Clellan the object of his visit, and the latter, being greatly interested in Grant, not only because he was his fellow-townsman, but because he was skilled in military matters, accompanied him to the office of the Governor, and introduced him to Yates. It had been ascertained by the interception of letters, that a plan was brewing to cut on the southern part of the State of Illinois and attach it to the Confederacy ; rebel sympathizers thronged the very capital, and besides this the military affairs of the State were in a perfect chaos, and the services of experienced, cool and perfectly loyal men were needed to take the supervision of things and reduce order out of what was then ab- ject disorder. Mr. McClellan knew that Grant was the man for the emergency, and strongly urged the Governor to avail himself of his valuable services. He received slight encouragement at the first interview, but on the following day, 1 when the two called again on the Governor, the latter claimed to have nothing for Grant to do, and Could not promise anything for him in the future. Disappointed and not a little disgusted with the aspect of things at Springfield, Grant resolved to go to Ohio and proffer his services to the Governor of that State. Mr. McClellan told him he must TRIBUTES TO GENERAL GRANT. 363 not leave Springfield ; that notwithstanding the indifference of Yates to his military experience, the latter would soon be forced to call his (Grant's) services into requisition, as troops were rapidly pouring into the capital, and there was no one to muster them and assign them to regiments. On the third day, when Grant had fully resolved to leave, despite the expostulation of Mr. Mc- Clellan, Congressman Washburne arrived in Springfield, having been called thither to assist A. L. Chetlain, captain of Company A, Twelfth Ill- inois Infantry, in his candidacy for the position of colonel of the regiment, in which contest he was strenuously opposed by Congressman Lovejoy, of Princeton, who had strong military aspirations. Chetlain was the choice of the regiment, and it did not take Washburne long to arrange matters for him. Having secured Chetlain's commission as colonel, Mr. Washburne' s mission was concluded, and he was about to start back to Galena, when Assemblyman McClellan called on him in behalf of Grant, of whose presence in Springfield up to that time Mr. Washburne had had no knowledge. He at once saw the importance of securing Grant's services, and with characteristic promptness and energy he went to Governor Yates, and told him he must assign the captain to duty. The Governor thought over the matter awhile, and finally said : "To tell the truth, Washburne, I have forty ap- 364 LIFE OF GEN. XL S. GRANT. plications for every army position at my disposal, but I will create a new place for } r our friend. I'll make him my military adviser." It was in this capacity, and ultimately through the influence of Mr. Washburne, that Grant was employed in the military service of the State. His first labors were in Adjutant-General Fuller's department, where matters were soon put in proper shape. The day following Grant's appointment as "military adviser" to the Governor, Mr. Mc- Clellan was passing through the State House, when he met the captain in the rotunda, with his arms full of old muskets, which he was carrying; to the adjutant-general's office. Xodding to his fellow- townsman, Grant said: "It's all right, McClellan. You see I am at work." The following reminiscences are given by Gen- eral Morris Schaff : The day General Grant came down from Washington to take command of the Army of the Potomac it was generally known at Meade's headquarters the time his train was due, and quite a number of staff-officers and soldiers gathered about the station. There was great curi- osity to see the hero of Donelson, Vicksburg and Chattanooga. One after another of the members of his staff came out of the car, and then came Grant in undress uniform. He was about 43 years old and in perfect health. Before coming down the steps, he looked off around the crowd, TRIBUTES TO GENERAL GRANT. 365 with an entire absence of any self-consciousness, which has been one of his strongest characteristics, and which trait no one writing his civil history while President, or since, can afford to overlook, for it accounts for the occasion of all the adverse criticism that he has received. During the battle of the Wilderness his head. quarters -were in a little clump of pines, and I was there oft* and on throughout the battle, and very well remember how perfectly calm he was. While aides were coming and going, giving the progress of the engagement, his manner was in marked con- trast to that of his friend Washburnc, of Illinois, who, with Assistant Secretary of War Dana, was present, and could not keep still, his anxiety be- ing so great for Grant's success. On the afternoon of the second day of the battle of the Wilderness I started with his first despatches and an operator to telegraph them to Washington. He wrote his despatch while sitting at the foot of a pine tree. We reached Rappahannock station about sundown, and while the operator was trying to call up Washington I opened and read his de- spatch to the secretary of Avar. While I cannot recall the exact language, I remember I was struck with the simplicity and courage, for to an ordinary observer things looked black enough at the front. The occasion of sending these despatches was a misapprehension as to the amount of ammunition 8G6 LIFE OF GEN. TJ. S. GEANT. on hand in the army, and also to make arrange- ments for the trains that brought the supplies to take back wounded. While resting the escort be- fore going back to Manassas, the circuit having been broken, a spy came through with orders to return with the despatches. I saw Grant under fire the night before General Sedgwick was killed; he was perfectly self-con- trolled. Men who were in the battle well remem- ber the desperate assault made by Sedgwick that night. I remember, while the assault was going on, Sedgwick coming on foot to Grant. I don't know what he said, but heard Grant say in quiet tones, " Put your men in, General Sedgwick." The fire at this time was heavy all round. We were then between our lines of battle, and as he sat on his tall bay horse " Egypt" (which had been given him by friends in Egypt, 111.), with his composed resoluteness, I am sure he must have inspired all the men with courage who saw him. When we got to City Point, as some of his staff were old West Point friends, I used to go over to headquarters very often, in fact almost every day, and join the group under the tent-fly in front of Grant's tent. When he was present he joined in the talk, and the conversation was perfectly free and natural, and this I mention as he was the only commander of the Army of the Potomac, and the only man of high military rank I have ever seen, TRIBUTES TO GENERAL GRANT. 367 who did not make one conscious, more or less un- pleasantly, of his rank. While he frequently talked of his Western cam- paigns, I only remember to have heard him make one reference to pending military matters. This was when Early was threatening Washington. During a lull in the talk he said, quietly : "I wish I was in the rear of old Early to-day with twenty- five hundred or three thousand good men. I would relieve Washington mighty quickly." He has been represented as a stolid and indiffer- ent man to the fortunes and feelings of others ; but the night after the ordnance depot I had in charge at City Point was exploded by a Confeder- ate torpedo (the report of the men who brought it down from Richmond was found there after the evacuation, and is now in Washington), and I was feeling badly at the loss of a great many of my men, and worse over criticism of carelessness that had been made, he spoke to me in the kindest manner, and told me not to mind it as I could in no way be held responsible for what had hap- pened ; that a similar explosion had occurred with him at Vicksburg. This is a small affair to men- tion, but comino- at the time it did and under the circumstances, for 1 was not on his staff, and was but a boy, it made a deep impression. The following story gives a striking illustration of Grant's prompt action and stern imperturb- ability. 368 LIFE OF GEN. TJ. S. GBANT. The war was over. General Lee and his half- starved Confederates had returned to their deso- lated homes on their parole of honor. The victorious Northern and Western armies, under command of Grant and Sherman, were encamped in and around Washington city. Jefferson Davis was an inmate of a casemate in Fortress Monroe, and Edwin M. Stanton was the power behind the throne, who ran the Government while Secretary of War. Generals Grant and Rawlins were playing a game of billiards in the National Hotel. A major in the regular army entered the room in a hurry and whispered to General Grant. The latter laid his cue on the table, saying, " Rawlins, don't dis- turb the balls until I return," and hurried out. One of the two civilians said to the other, "Pay for the game and hurry out. There is something up." General Grant had reached the street, where, in front of the hotel, stood a mounted sentinel. Grant ordered the soldier to dismount ; and, springing into the saddle, put spurs to the horse, and rode up the avenue so fast as to attract the attention of pedestrians. Colonel Barroll, of the Second Regular Infantry, was disbursing officer in the quartermaster's de- partment, and to the colonel one of the civilians went for information. Asking him if he knew the TRIBUTES TO GENERAL GRANT. 369 reason of General Grant's hasty action, Colonel Barroll answered, " Yes, and as you are aware of the coming of General Grant I will tell you all about it." Colonel Barroll then said : " Secretary Stanton sent for me in reference to the execution of certain orders, and while listening to his instruc- tions General Grant, came in. The secretary greeted the general with a pleasant f Good morn- ing,' which the latter returned, and in continuation said, f Mr. Secretary, I understand that you have issued orders for the arrest of General Lee and others, and desire to know if such orders have been placed in the hands of any officer for execu- tion.' " f I have issued writs for the arrest of all the prominent rebels, and officers will be despatched on the mission pretty soon,' replied the Secretary. " General Grant appeared cool, though laboring under mental excitement, and quickly said : — " ' Mr. Secretary, when General Lee surren- dered to me at Appomattox Court-House, I gave him my word of honor that neither he nor any of his followers would be disturbed so long as they obeyed their parole of honor. I have learned noth- ing to cause me to believe that any of my late ad- versaries have broken their promises, and have come here to make you aware of that fact, and would also suggest that those orders be cancelled.' " Secretary Stanton became terribly angry at 870 LITE OF GEN. U. S. GEANT, being spoken to in such a manner by his inferior officer, and said : — " r General Grant, are you aware whom you are talking to? I am the Secretary of War.' "Quick as a flash Grant answered back, 'And I am General Grant. Issue those orders at your peril.' Then turning on his heel General Grant walked out of the room as unconcerned as if noth- ing had happened. f ' It is needless to say that neither General Lee nor any of his soldiers were arrested. I was dis- missed from the presence of the secretary with the remark that my services in connection with the arrest of the leading rebels would be dispensed with until he took time to consider, and I now wait the result of his decision." Like some cases in law, that decision of the great War Secretary was reserved for all time. Nathan Paige, a well-known lawj'er of Wash- ington, declares that Grant was one of the most honest and upright of men, as he had seen his most acute sense of honor rigidly tested. When Grant was President, one of his nearest friends, who is now dead, came to Mr. Paige to make a loan of $3000. This friend said he had an affair in the War Department that would net him $50,000, which would certainly go through if Grant would approve it. This gentleman counted upon Grant's approval as absolute. Paige told him : " I will TRIBUTES TO GENERAL GRANT. 371 let you have the money, but you may be sure that he will not approve it unless it is right." No more was said about the matter. Time passed on. The note given for the loan was promptly met. Paige, meeting the borrower upon the street soon after, said to him, "I see your War Department matter got through all right, as the note was very promptly met." The debtor shook his head. "How did you pay then?" was asked. " I will tell you in confidence," was the reply. "After I obtained the money from you, I went directly to the President. I said to him, ' You know I am poor. With a stroke of your pen you can make me rich. I am related to you by the closest ties of blood and association. You cannot refuse me.' I then explained the matter. Grant said he could not do it. It would not be right. Seeing me very much cast down, he asked me if I was in debt. I explained that I was in debt $3000— your note — and could not meet it. He at once wrote me his check for that amount, without a word. It was that check which took up your note." Mr. Paige afterwards investigated his story carefully,' and, having confidential relations with the cashier of the bank where the note was paid, was able to verity its truth. The following eulogy was delivered by Hon. James G. Blaine : « The public sensibility and personal sorrow over the death of General Grant 372 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. are not confined to one continent. Profound ad- miration for great qualities, and still more profound gratitude for great services, have touched the hearts of the people with true sympathy, increased even to tender emotion by the agony of his closing- days and the undaunted heroism with which he morally conquered a last cruel fate. The world, in its hero-worship, is discriminating and practical, if not, indeed, selfish. Eminent qualities and rare achievements do not always insure lasting fame. A brilliant orator attracts and enchains his hearers with his inspired and inspiring gift; but if his speech be not successfully used to some great, public, worthy end, he passes soon from popular recollection, his only reward being in the fitful applause of his forgetting audience. A victorious general in a war of mere ambition receives the cheers of the multitude and the ceremonial honors of his government ; but if he bring no boon to his country, his fame will find no abiding place in the centuries that follow. The hero for the asres is he who has been chief and foremost in his day in con- tributing to the moral or material progress, to the grandeur and glory, of the succeeding generations. "Washington secured the freedom of the colonies and founded a new nation. Lincoln was the prophet who warned the people of the evils that were undermining our free government, and the statesman who was called to leadership in the work TRIBUTES TO GENERAL GRANT. 373 of their extirpation. Grant was the soldier who, by victory in the field, gave vitality and force to the policies and philanthropic measures which Lincoln devised in the cabinet for the regeneration and security of the republic. " The monopoly of fame by the few in this world comes from an instinct, perhaps from a deep-seated necessity of human nature. Heroes cannot be multiplied. The gods of mythology lost their sacredness and their power by their numbers. The millions pass into oblivion, the units only survive. Who aided the great leader of Israel to conduct the chosen people over the sands of the desert and through the waters of the sea into the Promised Land? Who marched with Alexander from the Bosphorus to India? Who commanded the legions under Caesar in the conquest of Gaul? Who crossed the Atlantic with Columbus ? Who ven- tured through the winter passes of the Alps with the conqueror of Italy ? Who fought with Welling- ton at Waterloo ? Alas ! How soon it may be asked who passed with Sherman from the moun- tains to the sea? Who stood with Meade on the victorious field of Gettysburg? Who shared with Thomas in the glories of Nashville? Who went with Sheridan through the trials and the triumphs of the blood-stained valley ? " General Grant's name will survive through the centuries, because it is iudissolubly connected with 374 LIFE OF GEN. TJ. S. GRANT. the greatest military and moral triumph in the his- tory of the United States. If the armies of the Union had ultimately failed, the vast and benefi- cent designs of Lincoln would have been frustra- ted, and he would have been known in history as a statesman and philanthropist who, in the cause of humanity, cherished great aims which he could not realize, and conceived great ends which he could not attain — as an unsuccessful ruler whose policies distracted and dissevered his country ; while Gen- eral Grant would have taken his place with that long and always increasing array of great men who are found wanting in the supreme hour of trial. "But a higher power controlled the result. God in his gracious mercy had not raised up those men for works which should come to naught. In the reverent expression of Mr. Lincoln, 'No human council devised, nor did any mortal hand work out, those great things.' In their accomplishment those human agents were sustained by more than human power, and through them great salvation was wrought for the land. As long, therefore, as the American union shall abide, with its blessings of law and liberty, Grant's name shall be remem- bered with honor. As long as the slavery of human beings shall be abhorred, and the freedom of man assured, Grant's name shall be recalled with gratitude. And in the cycles of the future TKII5UTES TO GENERAL GRANT. 375 the story of Lincoln's life can never be told with- out associating Grant in the enduring splendor of hi- on u greal name. "General Grant's military supremacy was hon- estly earned without factious praise, without extra- neous help. He had no influence to urge his promotion except such as was attracted by his own achievements; ho had- no potential friends except those whom his victories won to his sup- port. He rose more rapidly than any military leader in history. In two and a half years lie was advanced from the command of a single regiment to the supreme direction of a million men, divided into many great armies, and operating over an area as large as the empires of Germany and Aus- tria combined. lie exhibited extraordinary a rule which has happily had few exceptions, hut, as an eminent general said, Grant possessed a quality above bravery — he had an insensibility to danger, apparently an unconsciousness of fear. Besides that, he possessed an evenness of judgment to be depended upon in sunshine and in storm. Xapolcon said : 'The rarest attribute among gen- erals is two o'clock in the morning courage. I mean,' he added, ' unprepared courage — that which is necessary on an unexpected occasion, and which, in spite of the most unforeseen events, leaves full freedom of judgment and promptness of deci- 376 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GKANT. sion.' No better description could be given of the type of courage which distinguished General Grant. His constant readiness to fight was an- other quality which, according to the same great authority, established his rank as a commander. 'Generals,' said the exile at St. Helena, 'are rarely found eager to give battle. They choose their positions, consider their combinations, and then in- decision begins. Nothing,' added this greatest warrior of modern times, ' nothing is so difficult as to decide.' General Grant in his services in the field never once exhibited indecision, and it was this quality which gave him his crowning charac- teristic as a military leader. He inspired his men with a sense of their invincibility, and they were thenceforth invincible. " The career of General Grant when he passed from military to civil administration was marked by his strong qualities. His presidency of eight years was filled with events of magnitude, in which, if his judgment was sometimes questioned, his patriotism was always conceded. He entered upon his office after the angry disturbance caused by the singular conduct of Mr. Lincoln's successor, and quietly enforced a policy which had been for four years the cause of embittered disputation. His election to the presidency proved, in one im- portant aspect, a landmark in the history of the country. For nearly fifty years preceding that TRIBUTES TO GENERAL GRANT. 377 event there had been few presidential elections in which the fate <>!' the Union had not in sonic degree been agitated, cither by the threats of political malcontents or in the apprehensions of timid pat- riots. That day and that danger had passed. The Union was saved by the victory of the army com- manded by General Grant. No menace of its destruction has ever been heard since General Grant's victory before the people. "Death always holds a flag of truce over its own. Under that flag friend and foe sit peacefully together, passions are stilled, benevolence is re- stored, wrongs are repaired, justice is done. It was impossible that a career so long, so prominent, so positive, as that of General Grant, should not have provoked strife and engendered enmity. For more than twenty years — from the death of Mr. Lincoln to the close of his own life, General Grant was the most conspicuous man in America, one to whom leaders looked for leadership, upon whom partisans built their hopes of victory, to whom personal friends by tens of thousands offered the incense of sincere devotion. It was according to the weakness and the strength of human nature that counter movements should ensue, that General Grant's primacy should be challenged, that his party should be resisted, that his devoted friends should be confronted by jealous men m his own ranks, and by bitter enemies in the ranks of his 378 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. opponents. But all these passions and all these resentments are buried in the crave which to-day receives his remains. Contention respecting his rank as a commander ceases, as Unionist and Con- federate alike testify to his prowess in battle and his magnanimity in peace ; controversy over his civil administration closes, as Democrat and Re- publican unite in pronouncing him to have been in every act and in every aspiration an American patriot." Said General Devens in his eloquent address : It is twenty years since the only name worthy to be mentioned with that of General Grant has passed into history. It seems like a caprice of fortune that while the great soldier of the war of the rebellion went almost unscathed through a hun- dred fights, its great statesman should die by the assassin's hand. How like a wondrous romance it reads that, in less than three years, from a simple captain, whose offer of his services to the War Department was thought of so little conse- quence that the letter, although since carefully searched for, cannot be found, Grant had risen from rank to rank until he became the lieutenant- general who was to unite all the military springs of action in a single hand, to govern them by a single will, to see (to use his own expression) that the armies of the Union pulled no longer "like a balky team," but were moved and animated by a TRIBUTES TO GENERAL GRANT. 379 single purpose. Yet his way had not been one of uninterrupted success, and there had been no suc- cess that had not been won by his own wisdom and oourage. He had seized and controlled the Ohio, and held Kentucky in the Union : he had opened the Tennessee and the ( lumberland by the victories of Forts Henry and Donelson, but the much mis- understood battle of Shiloh had reduced him, un- complaining always, to a subordinate command under General Halleck, whose own failure at Cor- inth finally gave to him at last the command of all forces operating to open the Mississippi. Again and again during the often repeated repulses from Vicksburg there had been attempts to remove him, mainly at the instance of those who did not com- prehend the vastness of the problem with which he had to deal. Mr. Lincoln had stood by him, saying in his peculiar way, " I rather like that man ; I guess I will try him a little longer," until at last Vicksburg was taken, by a movement marked with the audacity of a master in the art of war, who dares to violate established rules and make excep- tions when great emergencies demand that great risks shall be run. The 4th of July, 1863, was the proudest day the armies of the Union up to that time had ever known, for the thunders of the cannon that announced in the East the great vic- tory of Gettysburg were answered from the West by those that told that the Mississippi in all its mighty length ran unvexed to the sea. 380 LIFE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. His victory at Chattanooga followed the placing of the armies of the West under his sole control, and the time had come when he was to direct the armies of the whole Union. His place was there- after with the Army of the Potomac as the most decisive point of struggle, although its immediate command remained with General Meade. It was only thus and through its vicinity to the Capital that he could direct every military operation. As he entered upon the great campaign of 1864, Mr. Lincoln said : " If there is anything wanting which is within my power to give, do not fail to let me know it. And now, with a brave army and a just cause, may God sustain you." And General Grant had answered, " Should my success be less than I desire or expect, the least I can say is the fault is not with you." Side by side they stood together thus through all the desperate days that ensued, until in April, 1SG5, the terrific and protracted struggle was ended between the two great armies of the East; the long tried, always faithful Army of the Potomac held its great rival, the Army of North Virginia, in the iron embrace of its o-leamino- wall of bayonets, and the sword of Lee was laid (figuratively at least) in the conquering hand of Grant. Side by side Lincoln and Grant will stand forever in the Pantheon of history, and somewhere in the eternal plan Ave would willingly believe those great spirits shall yet guard and shield the land they loved and served so well. TRIBUTES TO GENERAL GRANT. 381 Whatever General Grant's errors or his weak- nesses — and he was mortal — like the spots on the sun, they but show the brightness of the sur- rounding surface, and we readily forget them as we remember the vast debt we owe. Whether without him we could have achieved success, it is certain that only through him we did achieve suc- cess. He was thoroughly patriotic, and his patri- otism sprang from his faith in the American Union. He had been educated to the service of the govern- ment ; he had looked to this rather than to the parties that exist under it, whose zeal sometimes leads men to forget that there can be no party success worth having that is not for the benefit of all. His political affiliations were slight enough, perhaps, but they had not been with the party that elected Mr. Lincoln. He knew well, however, that this frame of government once destroyed could never be reconstructed. He had no faith in any theory which made the United States powerless to protect itself. He comprehended fully the real reason why the slave States, dissatisfied with just and necessary restraint, sought to extricate them- selves from the Union, and he knew that a war commencing for its integrity would broaden and widen until it became one for the liberty of all men, and there was neither master nor slave in the land. His letter to his brother-in-law, lately pub- lished, although written during the first week of 382 LIFE OF GEN. TJ. S. GRANT. the war, his written remark to General Buckner in their interesting interview just before he died, " that the war had been worth all that it had cost," show how strongly he felt that, purified by the fires of the rebellion, the Union had risen grander and more august among nations. Who shall say he was not right? Who shall say that if all the noble lives so freely offered could be restored, but with them must return the once discordant Union with its system of slavery, they who gave would consent to have them purchased at such a price ? General Grant was not of those who supposed that the conflict with the South was to be any summer's day campaign ; he knew the position of the South, its resources, its military capacity, and the fact that, acting on the defensive, it would move its armies on interior lines. He recognized the difficulty in dealing with so vast an extent of territory, and that in a war with a hostile people, rather than a hostile army only, we could often hold but the tracts of territory immediately under our campfires ; yet he never doubted of ultimate success. lie never believed that this country was to be rent asunder by factions, or dragged to its doom by traitors. He said to General Badeau once, who had asked him if the prospect never ap- palled him, that he always felt perfectly certain of success. Thus, though to him many days were dark and disastrous, none were despondent. " The TKIBUTES TO GENERAL GRANT. 383 simple faith in success you have always mani- fested," said- Sherman to him, "I can liken to nothing else than the faith a Christian has in the Saviour." His remarkable persistence has caused him sometimes to be looked on as a mere doomed fighter. Xo suggestion could be more preposter- ous. He felt sure of his plan before he com- menced; then temporary obstructions and difficul- ties did not dismay him, and, whatever were the checks, he went on with resolution to the end. If stern and unyielding in the hour of conflict, in the hour of victory no man was ever more gen- erous and magnanimous. He felt always that those with whom we warred were our errino- countrymen ; and that when they submitted to the inevitable changes that war had made, strife was at an end. But he never proposed to yield or tamper with what had been won for liberty and humanity in that strife. He has passed beyond our mortal sight — sus- tained and soothed by the devotion of friends and comrades, by the love of a people, by the affec- tionate respect and regard of many once in arms against him. In that home where he was almost worshipped, " he has wrapped the drapery of his couch around him, as one that lies down to pleas- ant dreams." Front to front on many a field he had met the grim destroyer where the death-dealing missiles rained thick and fast from the rattlinS 384 LITE OF GEN. U. S. GRANT. rifles and the crashing cannon. He neither quailed nor blanched, although death came at last with a summons that could not be denied, when all that makes life dear was around him. He could not but know he was to live still in memory as long as the jjreat flao; around which his fight ins: lemons rallied should wave above a united people. To most men the call of death is terrible, " Bat to the hero, when his sword has won The battle of the free, That voice sounds like a prophet's word, And in its hollow tones are heard The thanks of millions yet to be."