Buchanan County bulletin and guardian., 1868-07-17
Ssletteo 1Gistrllaap.
serAToR YATES on GEN. GRANT,


George A. Townsend to the Cleveland Leader
Ia pursuit Of information about Genera
Grant, / called on Senator Richard Yates al
the Avenue Hotel last SUNDAY. He is a
Kcntuckyan by birth. fifty years Old, blue
eyed man Of large, distinguished frame and
head, and . pleasant simplicity and sinceri.
ty Of speech, more slow than plausible, sad
as I believe, the least artful and the mosl
candid Of Senators.
He was . farmers son, and his larger DO.
litical life began in 1912, since which time
be has risen steadily, grade BY grade, TO the
Office OF Governor, and at last 70 the Sena-
torship. Lincoln loved him heartily, and be
stood among the highest and best Of var
Governors. His labors at Springfield. in
the camps, and at Washington, during those
exciting tisses, when he equipped and ssnt
10 the front two hundred and eighty.two reg
imeots of men, affected his sanguine temper
ament, and in the relapse OF psace his nerv.
Gus system felt the result. The same was
the case With most Of the war Governors
Brough, Hicks and Andrew died Morton is
paralyzed; Curtin had to hasten to Havana
and Europe to keep alive. Governor Yates
wss Instrumental p the election Of Trum>
buii. bis colleagse, and he gave Grant his
first volunteer command. @ssr~ass
Grant" said the Goveruoe, cane down
to Springfield dressed in common working
clothes. He looked very much - bs does
now, ordinary, taciturn, unpretentious.
When lie presented himself to me be said
-" "Governor, the United States educated
me. Iwantto be Of use 10 her now that
she is IN danger.''
Gov. Yates asked him what he wished to
have:
"Any place where can be useful said
Grant; it don't matter much.'
The system at that time was to commits
sion only officers who had raised companies.
Yates, hurried and overrun, told Grant to
look in again. After a few days Grant,
whose money hadnearly run out paying no.
tel board, dropped in again, hat in hand,
and asked Yates if anything had turned
up.
I" Can you write military orders:" asked
the Governor.
Yes
"Well I'll give you desk IN my office,
and you'll find plenty to do
"There." said Yates, "Grant worked
away satisfactorily. Though my hands were
full and everything was more or less disor-
ganixed, l had no time to observe him, and
he was never forward to speak. Afterward
put him in the Adjutant Generals Office,
and although we did not know it particular.
y at the tine, we have found since that be
laid the foundation there Of what is now,
probably, the best Adjutant Generals Office
in the United States. Before the war it was
nothing. During all this time Grant was
seldom in my mind. had too much to do
to keep personal watch over every officer in
the State, and did not look ou. particularly
for the coming man. But Grant made no
mistakes, and I saw that bis West Poiat
knowledge was useful to US.
Near br Springfield there was . large
camp, termed Yates. containing twenty
thousand, ,erhaps. 1t was I source Of an
annoyance to me. could not find any>
body to keep the men subject, and see that
they were made clean, properly fed, and
Taught the germs Of organization. l sent
Grant out there, and pretty soon complaint
ceased. Then sent him on q tour to vari-
Gus camps through the State, but still | had
no command to give him, under the arbitra-
~ system Of giving only those places who
had raised orgshizations. He went sway,
At last, to visit Covington, Ky., where his
father lived. did not like T. zee our Illi>
nois boys enter the service of another com>
monweaith, and l found . chsuce directly
to displace . Colonel, or rather to send him
to different command. and then tele,
graphed 10 Grant:
"' Will you take command Of the -th
regiment? Answer.
RIcHAaD YArEs.
"Grant replied
"tI will! Start Immediately! ~ \,
-U.S. GRxSr."
He arrived promptly and took the posi-
ton. Still had no exalted expectations Of
him. He was not q brisk, nervous, attsaet~
i've man. His face and fgurefs ssre not SO
striking that ybody could pick him out of
. troop, like Saul, as he did not say enough
to interest me. Out of 2e2 Colonels that
commissioned thought it - probable that
2Sl would become famous as Grant.
He did one thing, however, which /
have since thought was significant Of his fu>
ture good sense and enterprise. His resi-
ment was the most demorahzed one that We
lad in Illinois. 1t had bec1me insubordin-
ate aud allowed to 60 TO seed. Grant stait>
ed the process Of breaking it in BY compell-
ing il TO march across the State of Missouri,
and he WAS the first of our Coloaels who had
economy and pluck enough to save us the
delay and expense Of railway transportation
in this manner. In his march be stopped
struggling and orchard robbing BY device
original, good hum0red and effective. He
made every straggler carry fence rail in
line, and as the march itself was tolerably
lAborious, the fence rail did its work. He
made 6ne fighting regiment Of those
men,"
After speaking on many other trivial mat
ters, Governor Yates said, in conclusion:
"Hero~ worshpers will be disappointed in
Grant. ! don't take it to be any stolidaess
Of mine that failed to perceive genius in him.
Nobody else did. His genius is not osten.
tatious nor dramatic. 1t is the genius of
accomplishment that he has. When his
work ID done, there it is, done, and there is
the man, excep, for the work ordinary as
before. / don't make up for this error Of
by visiting the General twice as
much now as before. But in the light Of his
achievements, ! feel the same confidence
and satisfaction in him that sll the people
feel. The Democrats feel it too. He has
no enemies in our State but political ones,
and one or two personal ones, like McCler>