Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1868-06-06
MISCELLANEOUS.
GRANTS FITNESS FOR OF.
FICE,

We have said that it is only in cases
where great merits of peculiar kind exist,
or where statesmansbip and soldierly science
are combined in the same person, that the
nation seems to take delight in honoring
its military chieftaius. A large class Of
Democratic journals deny that Grant has
these peculiar merits, aud i. is the duty of
the Republican press TO meet the issue at
once. 10 the beginning we must call atten-
ton to the fact that while these journals
hasten to accuse Grant of unfltness for the
management Of civil government, they at
the same time underrate his military genius,
so that the burden of proof applies to that
| point as we'll as TO his civil capacity.
We ask candid men, who intend TO vots
independently in the ensuing election, to
ponder over this. What weight ought to
be attached to o denial of Grant's civil
capacity, when made by parties who ridi.
cule Ills abilities as general If we should
not notice the assault upon his mental
| endowments for administration at all. this
! fact that the depreciation comes from those
who hold him inferior as general to any
other Of our great heroes, ought to be sui.
! hcient to induce patriotic citizens to disrc.
| gard all such partisan sneers, and to respect
and trust the object OF them. We do not
claim for Grant any more credit than is
| j
to dwell upon the achievements of Sherman
and others, we humbly sugges. what is the
indisputable fact, that Sherman, McPher.
| son, Wilson and Sheridan wele the subortli
| mates of Grant, and acted by his orders. In
the case of general like George II. Thomas,
who won so brilliant a victory at Mill
| Spring before he came under tho orders Of
Rosecrans, Sherman or Grant, no one can
question that the merit of his two great
! victories belongs to himself But until
Grant got them under his command, no one
| heard of any brilliant achievements of Sher.
man, Sheridan, Mcpherson or Wilson
The same malicious detractiou that at.
tempts to take away the credit of Grants
campaigns tried to give Mcpherson the
praise for planning Sherman's. Yet it was
after McPherson's death that Sherman exc.
cuted his march to Che sea and his cam.
| paign though the Caroliuas. AS regards
| Sherman's abilities, his campaign against
Vicksburg WAS miserable failure, and his
great reconnaissance through Mississippi
| and Alabama from tue river eastward re-
suited In nothing at all. Grant, in fact,
trained up these great commanders, and
they learned the art of war under his direc-
ton.
He found Chattanooga beleaguered by q
victorious enemy, and he relieved both it
and Knoxville so effectually that tho rebels
never returned upon them again. He
planned the campaign through Georgia, anG
directed 1t as long as telegraphic Communi-
cations were kept up. 1t is said that Grants
final campaign was only successful ir closing
the war because of the great work that had
been previously done, which it true enough.
Bat who did that great work. His battle
of Belmont broke up whole rebel plan of
campaign in southeastern Missouri and con-
fined their operations to the Mississippi
river. His campaign of Donelson freed
Kentucky snd Tennessee, and relieved the
Mississippi from Cairo to Memphis. His
campaign of Vicksburg opened the great
valley and cut the rebellion in twain, and
his campaign of Chattanooga relieved East
Tennessee and drove the war into Georgia.
It may be convenient now for Democratic
politicians to forge. these things, but his
tory will not
So much for his military science. AS to
his administrative capacity, we submit that
no great commander who has welded, as he
has, the entire management of an amy of
million of men, over a field covering tho
whole south, could be devoid of that faculty.
The chief command Of such a force requires
FOR its successful conduct this very admin
istrative capacity of which SO much is said.
That is part of the essential elements of
military success. During the war we were
constantly confronted by this consideration
when selecting men to command reg giments,
the objection to great numbers OF candidates
being that they had no administrative capa.
city. The health, discipline, harmony,
cleanliness, clothing, arms, food, munitions
of war, tactics, courage and good conduct
of the regiment rest with its colonel, How
much more onerous, then, must be the
duties of the chief commander, who in ad.
dition to these has to plan campaigns,
maintain communications, supervise every
department, obtain information of the enc
my's movements, provide transportation,
and do thousand other indispensable
things.
1t was the experience gathered in their
campaigns that made great civil admins
traitors of Washington and Jackson, During
the time that Grant acted as Secretary of
War ad interim, by direction Of President
johnson, the department was admirably
managed. johnson, without intending it,
! furnished Grant with an opportunity of pro-
wing his ability to manage his affairs that
had previously been entrusted only TO states
men. In that brief period Grant saved
millions of dollars to the government by his
economical reductions, and thus he demon
strated his desire to avoid a military
government, and to bring everything down
to the old peace standard.
Grant stood by Pope, Sheridan, and all
his other subordinates entrusted at the south
with reconstruction under the laws of Con.
gress, and earnestly demonstrated against
their removal. His military experience taught
him how perilous il always was to change
front in the face OF the enemy. Johnson,
as ignorant of statesmsnship as OF military
science, knew nothing of this. He removed
the commanders, and the reaction grew.
Again, in Johnson's desperate efforts to get
session of the War Department, lie pur-
posely placed Grant in very awkward
predicament, so as to compel him either to
become the instrument of thwarting Con-
gress or TO disobey the President, his
superior officer. The result proved that
Grant was completely master Of the situation.
He adapted military strategy to the occa.
sion, and defeated the iniquitous intention
of the presidential. nullifer. johnson has
tried oil sorts of tricks and sXpedients 70
get the better Of Grant, and oil have failed.