Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1868-07-23
What Senator Yates Says Of
Gen. Grant.


George Alfred Tonsend has recently had
an interview with Senator Yates. and in
terrogatcd him as TO his "reminiscences of
Grants military career early in the waT,
with the following result:
Grant" said the Governor, "came down
to Springfield dressed in common working
clothes He looked very much as he does
now, ordinary, taciturn, unpretcntious.
When he presented himself to me he said:
Governor, the United States educated
me. want 10 be of use to her now that
she is in danger"
Yates asked him what he wished
have.
"Any place where can be useful said
Grant; ''it don't matter mucn."
The system at that time was to commits
sioL only officers who had raised compa-
nies. Yates, hurried and overrun, told
Grant to look iD again. After few days
Grant, whose money had nearly run out
paying board, dropped in again, hat in
hand, and asked Yates if anything had
turned UP.
"Can you write military orders:" asked
the Governor.
"Yes."
swell. III give you desk In my office
and you'll find plenty to do
"Tbcrc," said Yates, ''Gran. worked
away satisfactorily, though my hands were
full and everything was more or less dis
organized. had no time to observe him,
and he was never forward TO speak. Af-
terward put him in the Adjutant Gener-
rails office and although we did not know
1t 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 Be
fore the war it was nothing. During all
this time Grant was seldom in my mind.
/ had too mnch to do to keep personal
watch over every officer in the State, and
did not look out particularly for the COM
ing man. But Grant made no mistakes,
and l saw that his West Point knowledge
was useful to us.
Near by Springfield there was a large
camp termed Camp Yates, containing
twenty thousand, perhaps. 1t was q
source of AM oy-ance to me. / could not
find anybody to keep the men subject and
see that they were made clean. properly
fed, and taught the germs of organization.
| sent Grant out there, and pretty soon
complaint ceased. Then | sent him on a
tour TO various camps through the State,
but still | had no command TO give him
under the arbitrary system Of giving only
those places who had raised organizations.
He went away at last, TO visit Covington
Kentucky, where his father lived. did
not like to see our Illinois boys enter the
service of another commonwealth, and |
found a chance directly TO displacc a col
oncl, or rather to send him to a different
command, and then 1 tclegraphed to
Grant:
"'Will you take command of the-th
regiment? Answer. RicuAIp IATEs.'
Grant replied:
IL will. Start Immediately. L. S.
| GRANT.
''lIe arrived promptly and took the posi-
ton. Still, had no exalted expectations
Of him. He was not brisk, nervous, at
tractive man. His face and figure were
not so striking that anybody could pick
him out of troop, like Saul, and he did
not say enough to interest me. Out of
two hundred and eighty-two Coloncls that
! commissioned, thought it as probable
that two hundred and eighty y-one of them
would become famous as Grant.
"He did one thing. however. which l
have since thought was singnificant of his
future good sense and enterprise. His
regiment was the most dcmoralized one
that we had in Illinois. II had become in
subordinate, and allowed TO go to seed.
Grant started the process of breaking it in
by compelling it to march ross the State,
or Missouri, and he was the first Of our
Colonels who had economy and pluck
enough to save us the delay and expense
of railway transportation in this manner.
In this march he stopped struggling and
orchard robbing by a device original, good
humorcd and effective. lie made every
stragglcr carry fence rail in line, and as
the march itself was tolcrably laborious,
the fence rail did its werk. He made a
fine fighting regiment of those men,
After speaking on many other trivial
matters, Governor Yates said, in conc.u-
sion:
"Hero worsliippcrs will be disappointed
in Grant. don't take il TO be any stolid-
ness of mine that failed to perceive genius
in him. Nobody else did. His genius is
not ostcntatious nor dramatic. 1t is the
genius of accomplishment that he has.
When his work is done, there it is, done;
and there is the man, except for tho work
ordinary as before. don't make up for
this error of perception by visiting tie
General twice as much now as before; but
in the light Of his achievements i feel the
same confidence and satisfaction in him
that all the people feel the Democrats feel
il too; he has no enemies in our State but
political ones, and one or two personal
ones, like McClcrnand. We will elect
him with ease"
Democratic Music.
The music TO which the Bcmocracy