The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1864-11-16
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1t is reported by::a reliableicorrespond-
ent of one of our leading newspapers,
that a short time before the Presidential
election there was a personal interview
between Lincoln ard Grant. At the
time, Grant had been foiIed in every at
tempt to take the Confederate Capital, OF
even one of its various outposts, Peters
burg. This correspondent says that, in
the interview alluded to, Lincoln asked
Grant if he could take Richmond. Grant
said, eyes" Said Lincoln, "Can yon
do 1t before the election" The same re-
ply was made. Lincoln then asked,
"Whytdon't you do it 2" Grant replied
that it could only be done with such a
sacrifice Of life as oould make the cio,l.
ized soorld shuddsr at the enormity. The
reply of Lincoln was, "take 1t at all haz-
ards" ~ts, ~
We repeat this for the purpose of ma.
King a few comments upon it. 1t is adj
mitted by those who have watched the
history of our war, that, while Grant mag
be a good General, all his attempts have
shown a reckless disregard of the lives Of
the soldiers under his command. 1t has
been his distinguishing characteristic
He preferred the assault, with a loss Of
thousands upon thousands of men, to the
slower process Of a siege, without loss
But " his practiced aad declared indif.
ference to the lives of the brave men IN
der his command seemed to have q limit
if not on account of any human feeling of
his own, then on account of the judg-
ment of history and the world upon it
at could be at such a, sacrifice as would
make the civilized world shudder,' says
Grant. "Tdke IT." says Lincoln. What
cared he for the death of thousands or the
asoaies of tens of thousands mangled and
wounded? What cared he so it contrib.
uted to his reelection By having a too
credulous community believe thatit would
be the end of the war? The "civilized
world" did not "shudder" when the red
fields of Shiloh. Seven Pines, Malvern
Hills, Fredericksburg, Characteristic,
Antietam, South Mountain, Gettysburg,
and scores of others counted their slain by
thousands and tens of thousands. The
"civilized world" did not "shudder" over
the scores of thousands sacrificed upon the
shrine of the malignant demon of wal in
Napoleon's retreat from Moscow, at Wa
~terloo, or later, at Solferino and Sebasta-
pol. These were small matters in the
opinion of Grant, in comparison to what
would be the sacrifice in attempting to
take Richmond by assault. Even the
battles of the Wilderness, fought to carry
out ~my plan," with the thirty thousand
spectral witnesses that might be called
from the other world to testify to those
butcheries, did not make Grant or the
1seivilized world" " "shudder" But Grant
said that above and beyond all these would
be such a slaughter that humanity would
sicken at the recital throughout the
world, if the attempt were made. Lin
coin replied, "take it before the election"
And yet this Lincoln, this malignant
representative, in human form, of the
fend of tends, claims the sympathy and
the votes of soldiers and the friends of
soldiers. While stabbing at their hearts,
while telling Grant to kill them by hun
dreds of thousands, upon the one hand,
upon the otter he donates a few stolen
dollars, pretended for their benefit, and
receives their votes and the sympathy oe
their friends. 80
How long these peoplerwill be misled
by these cormorants is but a question of
time. A day of understanding and a
day of reckoning will come, and when it
does come, woe be to Lincoln and his
minions.