Lamoille newsdealer. [volume] (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1860-1877, 1868-07-22
WHAT sESATos YATES SAYS OF GEN.
HH.' GRANT - iIt = :"

SePt. ~. y. l,b y ., -SSiSsoi, -.
WHAT sEsAToss YATEs SAYS OF GEN.
HHe GRANT. > Il e 90
George Alfred Towpsepi hap recently
had an interview with Senator Yatcs, and
interrog ated him as to his "reminiscences
of Grants military career early in tho
war, with the fYllwing result; es
"'Grant, said the Governor, cam
down to Springfield dressed in common
working clothes He looked very much
as he does now. ordinary, , 'iturn, utrre-
tentious. When he presented himself to
me he said 9t t.
'Govefh0r, the United States . educates
me want to be of use to her now that
She in danger y, l~4,t}p-. ~
Yates asked him what he wished 10
have: ...tt.,
ANY place where / can be useful
said Grant it don't matter much ~,
The system at that tine was to commis
sion only officers who, lad raised COM
Epauies. Yates, hurried ard oTsrrrthn, told
Grant to look in again. After few
days Grant, whose money had nearly run
out paying hotel board, dropped in agait,
hat in hand ; and asked Yates If anything
| had turned Up. v ot IL al
Can you Aiita Military orders 2 asked
the lGoyerncr.
.'Tesi' u..a.a. MgIs ..5 ~ &
We'll, III give you a desk in ny oaic'
and you'll find plenty to do. ,,e,.
There said Yates, Grant worked y
way satisfactorily, though my hands we're
full and everything was more or less dis
organized, ! had no time to- obscrYe
him, and he was never forward toispeaE.,
Afterward 'pq51 him in the Adjntant
Generals Office, and although we did not
know it particularly at the time, we have
found since that he laid the foundation
there of what is now. probably, the best
Adjutant Generals Office in the United
States. Before. the war, it vac nothing.
During all this time Grant was seldom in
M mind. | had too much. to do ito keep
personal watch over every, ofa;r in tho
State, and did not look out particularly
for the coming man.. But Grant made
no mistake, and | saw that his West
Pent knowledge was uscfurto &C. al
Near BY Springfield there was lsrge
camp, termed Camp Yates, containing
twenty thousand, perhaps. II was, ~
source of annoyance to mc. Il coIld not
find anybody to keepe the men subject
and see that they were made clean., pre-.
perly fed and taught the germs of %.
ganiz tion. sent Grant out there, and
pretty soon complaint ceased. y Then i q
sent him on tour to various camps
though the State. but still had no coms
maDd to give him under. the arbitrary
system Of giving only Goae places ,&ho
had raised organizations. 81 He went away,
at last, to visit Covington, kentucky.
where his father lived. | did not like to d
see our Illinois boys enter tho, service Of
another Commonwealth, aad feund
chance directly to displace ! colonel, or
rather to send htn Il different com.
mand, and then | telegraphed 10 Graats5
"Will you take command of the --th
regiment? i4oi
| Answer. RICHARD YArEs.'' q
| Grant replied: ssmG
| II will Start Immediately! kS -,
| -, ~ s. GRANT, 3,
He arrived promptly and tookthe pos
Fition, Still, had no exalted expecta-
tons of him. He was not brisk, ner.
vous, attractive man His face and fbarS
were not 50 striking that anybody could
Ipick him out Of a troop, like Saul, and
did not say enough to Interest ne. Coz
of 2S2 eolonels that l commissioned I
4 thought it as probable that 2sl of them
Would become famous as Grant. et%
laa lie did one thing, however,. which !
have since thought was Significant Of his
4fpture good ,sente and entorprisa. His
regimc6tvac tho most demoralized ono
{ that. we had in Illinois It had become
insubordinate and allowed to 60 to seed.
Grant started the process Of breaking It
in by compelling tito march acrcsc the
State Of Missouri -aud he was the first of ,
our colonels wholhsd economy ,snd.plucag
eDough.to save US the delay and expense
railway transportation in this mauner4
In this iratchhe stopped dstragslibe and
orchard robbing by aodssisc original
good huthured and effective He made
every straggler carry asfsaee rail in line.
and as the march atself VwaB Bitolcrsbly
laborious, Fsncersil did itswoskI He
made fne fighting resinens l.of shcN !