The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1868-07-30
GRANT AS A SOLDIER.
From ,, The Ne,o Pork Tribune.

+ iii GRANT As a sOLDIER.sI
From The Nev Pork Tribune.
The Proclamation Of President Lin
coin, calling on the loyal States, TO
$4,000 men TO :. defend Washington, is
sued upon advice of. the surrender o.
Fort Sumter to the Rebels, found Ulys
ses s. Grant selling leather for his faith
Fer in Galena. He Immediately volun
teered, was chosen captain ofa company
and proceeded to Springfield, the capi'
tai of his State, to be mustered in.-
Three years thereafter, he was Lieuten.
ant General in command Of all the mil.
itary forces of the United States, then
exceeding Half a Million men,.
How came he to achieve such great
and rapid elevation p?
| Not by political influence; for he
was no politician, had scarcely ever vo.
ted, and never on the side of the party
now in power. ~ d.
Not by personal influence or patron
age; for he had absolutely not one in
fucntial friend. He never saw Presi-
dent Lincoln till he came East to take
general command. He did not even
know Nh. E. B. Washburne, Eembez
Of Congress from his District, though
they lived in the. same city. No man
ever lived who could say, "I was the
patron Of Gen. Grant, by whose favor
he rose to eminence.'
y Notify the favor Of his military su-
periors'; tor 81 Grant was a volunteer,
and volunteer officers were not popular
with the, dons of the regular service.
No one can plausibly say that McClel-
Ian, or: Pope, or Halleck, while in gen.
eral command, ever pushed G rants for
tunes. Nay; he was made Lieutenant
Generals yirtnally by act of Congress,
dictated BY the loyal people of the }coun.
try. They had had enough of Halleck
as Generating Chief, and insisted that
Grant should be placed above him.
Why did they demand this?
Because Grant had generally scon,
aohile other Union commanders had
often been, defeated or badaed. His,
capture of several thousand Rebel SOL
diers at Fort Donelson had been the
first. great Union success of tho War.
His 8anking of vicksburg, defeating
the Rebel army Of Mississippi in sever
al battles, interposing between John
ston and Pemberton, shutting the latter
up in Vicksburg, and there compelling
him to surrender 10000 Rebels, while
Johnston idly looked on, evinced the
most mastery strategy Of the Var
President Lincoln opposed ~; Gen.
Sherman disapproved it ) Grant plan.
ned and executed Fit =" 21" . "
Rosecrans having lost a great bat
tie on tho Chickamauga, and been pen.
ned up in Chattanooga, where his men
were famishipg while his animals were
starving by thousands, Grant was seut
to relieve him. He found Bragg in
trenched in his front, on a range of
steep mountains which lie deemed i'm
pregnable, 1t looked we'll nigh impos-
sible to move him. Grant set to work
and did it; routing the Rebel army,
capturing forty Of its guns and several
thousand men. Had he known the
ground, he would have gobbled up near.
ly the whole fleeing army -; but night
fell early, and the Rebels ran like quar-
ter horses. They never threatened
Chattanooga again. 3.s,x:s
Grant was then summoned to the
East. Mcclellan, Pope, Burnside,
Hooker, Meade, had severally started
on the road to Richmond, but found it
convenient to return. Grant took the
track and kept it till Richmond was
ours and Lee had surrendered his army.
OF course, there are sundry persons
who think they could have done better
or cheaper. Perhaps they could. No
one can positively say what uutested
possibilities Of achievement may not be
'lylng around loose" on every side. We
only know that five commanders tried
and failed, aud that the sixth succeed
ed and that the FIVE lost more men in
not taking Richmood than Grant, .'the
butcher" lost in taking Richmond and
Lee to boot. <S=' ''.5''s' u @.*'. -.
81 Grants passage Of the James, with
out the loss Of a gun, or a man, direct.
" after his bloody repulso at Coal Har-
Dor, seems to us one of the foremost
achievements Of modern strategy. His
relentless pursuit Of Lee after Sheri-
dan's victory at Five Forks, was one Of
the best things Of the War. Had like
vigor been evinced after Anti,tam, or
after Gettysburg, the War would have
been considerably shortened
Said caviling courtier to Louis XIV,
"Marshal iVillars is very lucky
s*Luoky" retorted the Grand Mon
Earque; emo sir; he is great deal bet
Eter thanrthatw ~, ad z, T s<5zaa sxl1a s.2%
@} IF Gen. Grant had net proved him
self q true soldier, it would be hopeless
to seek for one on the rolls Of the Amer.
lean Army. .ss.st 10 !, *sst:s
- APPLE FLoAr.-T ono quart Of ap-
~ III J2,sf srs.. EES. .