The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1865-06-01
The Character Of Gen. Grant.

woulu call IrQVlueutlal occurrence, tha
Is In this great war Of the people agains
an aristocracy conspicuously boastful o
d Its blood birth and gentle breeding, tn
d popular side has been conducted to sue
II cessful issue by leaders who themselve.
belong to what Mr. Lincoln called tn.
: "plain people" and what Englishmer
J writing about us ignorantly call the "peas
ant class" We have no peasant class ir
the free States but Mr.. Lincoln and
General Grant are both the sons of "plain
people = both arose foom humble circum.
, stances; both, in their youth at least la.
bored with their hands for bread, and
neither had any of those advantages of
birth, or powerful family influence, or
great estate, which in the South, as in
; Europe, served men as lever for their
personal aggrandizement.
General Grant, who entered the war
as colonel of an Illinois regiment, has
shown, in every position which he has
held, genuine greatness of character, as
well as extraordinary military genius
lie became colonel of a regiment which
was about to diSband because the men
could not agree with their officers but
IN less than month he had made this
regiment the best in point of disci
pine and character which the State
of Illinois has sent out. His unob-
trusive but marked ability caused his
promotion TO the grade of brigadier- gen
eral and after the battle of Belmont,
which served its purpose in preventing
the reinforcement Of Price in Southern
Missouri by troops from Columbus, he
conceived the first of those brilliant cam
paigns of which military historians will
write with delight
The rebels held Columbus on the Mis-
sissippi, and Bowling Green, in Central
Kentucky, and from these points threa-
tened at once ST. Louis and Cincinnati
Grant quietly and secretly collected
strong force near Smithland, and suddenly
pounced down first upon Fort Henry and
then upon Fort Donelson. In these two
places he captured rebel army, with all
its artillery and material--but this was
the least of the fruits of his well-conside.
red strategy, for the capture of Fort
Donelson produced the precipitate cyacua-
ton of Kentucky and half of Tennessee
by the enemy. who did not stop until he
reached Corinth, retreating a distance
Of over three hundred miles without an
other battle.
Next came the great battle of Shiloh
In that Sherman was Grants chief Lieu
tenant, and the two men tested each
others qualities in the most extreme trial
to which either had been exposed The
battle was one of the turning points" of
the war. 1t, has been told us that
Grant came into headquarters tent on the
evening of the first days battle, when to
any but the most heroic spirits fortune
seemed to have deserted US, and said
quietly, "Well, gentlemen, it was tough
work to-day, but we'll beat them to-mor-
row."
Displaced by Buel, Grant uttered no
word Of complaint; no newspaper cores
pondcnt even complained for him, but he
went quietly on in his appointed place
We may suppose that the slow, timid and
unmilitary policy which marked the long
siege Of Coriuth must often have chafed
his spirit, yet one Of his merits is to sub
init to his supcriors, cheerfully doing his
own work without stopping to question
or rectify the work of others and even
while ignorance or malice traduced his
character and belitted his services, giving
his best ability to the furtherance of the
plans of the hour. Fortunately we had
in the War Department man of insight
and decisiveness, who very soon saw the
value Of Grant, and put it to use. The
long and almost impracticable campaign
against Vicksburg was submitted to his
direction, and led to as brilliant series
Of operations as the greatest General of
modern days ever conceived or executed.
Vicksburg was the second of Grants
fruitful victories. A rebel army, with
all its arms and materials, surrendered to
him but this material gain was the least
of the fruits of his success, for, as the
capture of Fort Denelson expelled the re-
bel forces, without another blow, from all
Kentucky and the greater part of Ten
nessee, from region of country nearly
as great as the Island of Great Britain,
and third greater than England alone,
so the capture of Yicksburg re-opencd.
the great Mississippi to navigation, and
drove the enemy from the larger part of
the State of Mississippi.
Chattanooga came next. "Hold fast
do not give up Chattanooga if you starve,"
he telegraphed to General Thomas, whose
suffering army Bragg looked down from
the heights opposite, as his certain prey.
A single battle again decided the cam
pagn, and relieved Chattanooga, and
drove Bragg out of East Tennessee into
Georgia. He did not this time capture
the forces of the enemy, owing partly to
the difficult nature Of pursuit and the in
tractable mountains, and partly to the
want of skill in the pursuit exhibited by
one or two of his subordinates. But of
the battles fought on Lookout Mountain
and Missionary Ridge history records no
parallel for sublimity of daring and pic
turesqueness of effect, which were the