Daily Davenport Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1864-1874, 1868-06-09

We again cali attention TO the authentic
statement OF facts which we Published Sow
era DAYS ago: a statement which we took
great pains 10 procure and verify, and for
whose substantial accuracy We vouch. X
,e,s forth respectively tic troops ard losses
az Generals Grant and Lee in the celebrated
campaign between The Rapidsn and James.
The statement s 50 follows:
Grant, on assuming command Nay 4,
1864, had, Of effective men, beside the re-
serve. when he crossed the Rapidan,
l25,0oo.
Loe, at the same time. had an effective
force Of $1,000.
Grants reinforcements, up to the battle
Of Gold Harbor, June 3, were 81 900.
Lsss achievements. up to the same date,
wsss II, 000..
Grants total force. including reinforce
msnts, was 22s. 900.
Lees total force, including reinforce
ments, Was 10000.
Returns to their respective governments
showed that when both armies had reached
the James 10, the number Of Grants army
that had been put hors du combat was
l1T,00o.
Up to the same date, the number OF Lee's
men who had been put hors du combat was
10000.
The two armies then met in front OF Pc
tersburg.
Since our first publication Of this au
thentic statement, a great many Repnb!i
can journals have attempted to parry 1t by
coming from the files Of the World article:
in praise of General Grant, which appeared
Immediately after the surrender Of Lee
That We spoke Of him in terms ofgcnerous
and even lavish appreciation, at that time
is quite true; and it is circumstance TO
which We think We have no occasion t,
blush. We shared the profound joy Of tn
country in the close Of the war, and fer
vent, OVERLOOKING gratitude is not very up
: to measure itslanguage. In the contagiou
( glow Of feeling We spoke Of General Gran
, | az lover would speak Of his mistress, .
rather as all patriots have spoken Of =
generals in the hour Of victory. A write
must be of . very churlish disposition who
. on such an occasion, bestows hating q
Q niggsrdly praise, or stands to weigh Wit
! much sxactness his complimentary epitheti
o Bot probably such illusions are the source
. on which historian would chiefly rely Il
Just estimate Of military commander
Il They neither estop the writer NOR any bod
u else from cooler and more exact inquiry.
is II We have q any time printed anythiE
!. inconsistent with The facts above recits'
We were mistaken. The facts we're {
70 lately unknown TO u, but they are mo
y certainly true. That they have pertins
10 bearing on the military capacity Of Gsnsr
Grant, and cannot be left out in any ju
"a estimate Of his merits, will hardly be d
MED BY persons or ordinary judgment q
- candor. That We had . more favoYah
Of. opinion of General Grants soldisrship b
CD fore ~ knew them than We entertain stint
u. 10 no more than will be true of many y
will learn them for the first time from .
''' columns, and whose change Of opinion
Tor fuller information will discrsdit Meth
is their judgment nor their consistency. s,
is cess ia pri,no fdcis evidence Of good gsl
:. ralship; but it il not such an irrebuttal
e, presumption that no counter evidence c
est surmount. 1t is preposterous to say Il
tly Il makes no difference whether gene
old succeeds with largo numbers or small
49, difference whether he fights against . pc
" e, full and well supplied, or crippled a
exhausted enemy no difference whetl
he profusely, prodigally squsnders the Ii
Of his men, and pays dear for his victori
nd or achieves them with small losses that
as is equally great whether he wins by su
er- rioiity of genius or by an overwhelm
oid pIeponderance of brute force The ST
H., ing, the almost appalling facts which
out have stated need little comment, and
cd are content to leave them to make Ii
own impression. General Grant assure
an does does not belong to that class OF i'll
trious commanders whose genius suppl
re- the place of numbers. If our resour
for supplying reinforcements had not b.
IND unbounded, and that Of the rebels nea
exhausted, General Grant would never h
nd got to Richmond, much less have captu
A. it.-Nep YOyk Word