The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1866-05-19
BUELL. AND GRANT.

III iIIa ANb 'naNi'
Among the casualties Of the recent
war, Lieut.. Gen. Grant must be reck
oncl the most remarkable accident,
That u man without any marhcd abill-
ty, without fortune, without influence,
should start Il suha!tcrl officer, and at
the end vi The struggle, stand the Jcad
or Of our armies, and he most consplc-
uolls person in the nation, is fact so
near akin to fable rs to shock all the
probabilities Of reason. The philo-
sophie historian will he puzzled to cX-
plain the phenomenon.
Hardly less singular is the clrcum
stance that II man Of the great abilities
aul rare accomplishments Of Genera!
Buell., favored, too, with every advcn
titiou5 advantage, should utterly fail
to win the prize SO firmly gr1apcd by
his less worthy competitor. Here Is II
soldier Of genius and skill, and every
moral quality requisite to the character
Of II great captain without fame and
without position, after IN opportunity
the most propitious to the display OF
his extraordinary genius.
1t is not pretended General Buell. be
traycd any incompetcncy in the com
mpnd of armies. On the contrary the
caupai9ns he conducted were distin
pnishcd rs signal Illustrations of the
art Of war; and particularly by his mas
terly mancuvcrs was the Mississippi
valley reclaimed from the dominion Of
the Conicdcracy.
At Pcrryyille, and again ut Shiloh,
where he rescued Grant from the dcs-
friction which an accountable stupidity
hal provoked, he exhibited the hcroism
AM genius Of II cousumatr commander.
Yet Gen. Buell. ianguishcs in obscurity
while Grant il the idol ofthe nation.
itisnot so difficult, however, to cX-
plain the i'll fortune of the one ~ to IN
der tand the success Of the other. The
spirit ofpolitical intrigue, which wa so
a cXtinguishing the fame of Napo-
leon in its earliest luStrc, and which
long before had arrested Marlborough
in the career Of victory, was the evil ge-
MUS that married the fortunes of Gen.
Hue!l. At a time when public passion
cianored for the dssolatlon oil the
South, this. man persisted with a firm.
ness rarcr and more admirable than he
exhibited in the crisis of battle, in con
Guctiag the war on the principles OF
humanity; and by this noble notiera-
ton he incurred the displeasurc Of the
faction that controlled the Government.
The Radicals waged 4 war ofextermi-
nation; but he proposed, with the sa-
tacity OF a statesman. To cOncillate the
gooa VIII OF the South, while he over
cune ITS resistance by an eXertion of
physical force. His system WAS too
refined for the comprehension, and too
liberal for the vindictive temper Of the
dominant party, and he was forced to
~rclinqnish the command Of the suuorl,
army be had organized, and TO RESIGN a
commission which he would have il.
Illustrated by the most splendid achieve
f.ents. But the injustice of which lie
was the victim has not impaired The
confidence and esteem of his country
men. an appreciate his abilities; evcl
his clelnic5 respect the dignity vii,
which lac asserts his superior character
The vanity of an ignobie ainbito'
may be graliGcJ by tbc gaze Of III.
mob; but. 10 our mind, Gen Buc.
alone. unadorned. IL a more admirable
spectacle than the Lieutenant General
errSet With tho t,.p,;uos of rank am