New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1868-07-12

impregnable. During those gloomy
days the lovers of the Union every
where stood with detected heart. The
pale matron as she sent her darling
boy to the war; the loving bride who
babe her husband of yesterday fare
well that he might range himself I'M
der the banner of Grant, thought of
that rushing river, and of those cliffs
crowned with artillery, and with a
prayer to God and trust in Grant,
awaited the long and weary termina-
ton of that siege. No watchfulness
exceeded that of the rebel guards along
the shore, and no patrol was
more vigilant, and no mere man I'M
aided by Heaven could have succeed
ed in what the world had considerable
forlorn undertaking. The military
world after the failure to turn the
river through the canal, would have
justified the raising of the seige.
Sherman with all his gallantry had
been hurled back at an immense sac
rifee of human life, and nothing re-
NAMED but to run the gigantic gaunt-
let, and throw his columns across the
river at Grand Gulf. To any other
leader thus situated this would have
been an insurmountable task, and yet
this man SO incapable Of rendering an
opinion save upon the merits of clam,
dared essay a task from which a
Wolfe or a Napoleon would have
shrunk dismayed.
After marching through interminable
swamps, wading bayous, and dragging
his artillery through morasses, Cen
eral Grant threw his advanced guard
across the sullen stream, and unfurled
once more the banner of the republic
upon the heights below Vicksburg,
and very soon thereafter had to fight,
near Fort Gibson, one OF the sharpest
contests of the war with the flower of
Pemberton's forces. Victory as usual
perched upon his standard. jackson
was taken, and every avenue of COM
munication cut off between Vicksburg
and the Confederacy, and after fight
ing the terrible battle of Champion
Hills the army sat down before be-
leagured Yicksburg until the fourth of
July, 1868, when the capture of the
army and surrender of the city opened
once more the mighty river to the
commerce of the West.
The successes which had hitherto
attended the operations of General
Grant were somewhat apologized for
by the Southern press by saying he
had only been matched with inferior
men. "Let him but be placed in COM
petition with Lee" said they, land
all his past fame will wither like
garland from the world" The national
exigenoy soon occasioned him to be
brought directly to oppose this re-
nowned General who was always
deemed inyinoible, and the Southern
people would as soon have believed
that Gibraltar's storm-defying rock
had been captured as that Richmond
could be taken. The genius of Scott
had failed. Mcdowell, Mcclellan,
Burnside, and Hooker all had failed to
match them with the dreadful veterans
of Lee. And thus the two armies,
both under leaders that had been till
then invincible, were now found pitted
against each other at the Wilderness
and at Spottsylvania, and the Southern
presses still claimed the victory after
the dreadful carnage of those days.
But Lee retreated with his army upon
Richmond, while Grant shut him in and
besieged him in that city. For several
months the war was continued, till at
last the great Lee was forced to aban-
don the capitalize had so long de-
Tended, and retreated in direction
from whence he could hope for no aid.
While he was thus surrounded at
Appomattox Grant with a kind con-
sideration which would have forever
won him the friendship of any less
vindietive enemy offered to receive the
surrender Of Lee, intimating to him
the unreasonableness Of longer con-
tinuing the now hopeless contest. The
willy Lee at length agreed, not to sur
render the entire army Of Northern
Virginia, but simply the men under
his command, Lee well knew there
were many thousands upon his muster
rolls that were not under his command,
and could he have spared all the alb
sentees they would have been free far
the use of any new, levies the South
might still hope toraise. But it seems
our man Of cigars and clans was not
thus leasily to be outwitted, but in
sisted on receiving the surrender Of
the army Of Northern Virginia, and
thus putting virtual end to the war
at one stroke. asst (
As Washington was the hero of the