New-York tribune., 1868-09-07
GRANPS GENERALSHIP.


SIR: The UO9d for August contains a COmmu-
nication signed " Volunteer" the purport OF which
is 10 show that Gen Grant everywhere in his mill
tary career, and notably in the closing campaign of
the war; failed to evincc any of the characteristics
Of a great commander. This communication has
since been followed by others from the same writer
the intent of all being the same
These communications are in themselves of very
slight importance. But The UOrid has strven In
give them tactlous value by affirming them To be
ian llluStrious Union soldiers opinion of Grant s
Generalship' In an editorial notice of the first
paper it AYERS that
"It is from source, which II we were at liberty 10
sac H. would command universal attention. 10 is from
2 officer of name and standing who served with dstinc-
corps in nearly all the great battles fought the East
who served under Grant during the last memorable year
OF the war; who was high enough IN the military coun-
cs to be cOgnizant Of all the plans such as they were
of the Commanders and who writes not only with fun
knowledge of the facts. but with the Judgment expert
ence and authority requisite in military critic -
Whether Intentionally or not the editor OF 1he
World narrOws the Authorship of these papers within
very close limits. II we are TO accept his statement
"NOlunteer' must have been:
]. The commander of corps in the Union Army.
p He must have fought III nearly all the great
g. He must have served under Grant during the
last year of the war.
There are but seven men now living who meet all
these conditions, Every other General Is excluded
by one or more of them Some. because no matter
how great their services, they never led a corps
Others because their field of service did not bring
them into nearly all the great battles fought iii the
East" others because they did not Immediately
"segve under Grant during the last memorable year
of TIA war"
Tie seven men who alone fill all the conditions
laid down by The UOrd for the identification of its
correspondent are these Meade. Burnside. Parke.
Humphreys, Warren, Hancock, and W. +. Smith OF
these there are at least four who as The UOrM
and Volunteer knows would Indignantly scout the
insinuation that they could have been the author of
these articles OF the other three, Hancock is Incl
foil hos
that he is one of those who having left the ranks
when our cOuntry's necessities passed returned
to the ayocations of civil life IL "NOlunteer' be
one of these seven, think there will be little diff
Guilty in identifying him. | call upon him TO avOw
himself. and hope TO make my demand in such "A
form that he will not dare to refuse compliance.
charge distinctly that he has made gross mis-
statements as to facts; that he has put forth aega
tons of criminality which no man has right to
make unless he is prepared to ayouch them over his
own name; and that he has made these charges III
such a way rs to leave it doubtful which of several
men Is the author of them.
Volunteer intimates that Grant ought to have
been shot Tor incapaclty. His words are:
"Durlng the wars OF the French Revolution il became,
believe. iXe9 rule that whenever general accepted
command to which his skill and ability did not entite
hm he in the event OF failure taken out and shot
9he rule adopted at the beginning Of would
have saved thousands OF lives sguandered by criminal
tho loss OF the present General Of the Armies Of the
S1.%.9 S1r:., 9;- -;y-, --~eas.s9 AIA ..
Volunteer undertakes TO eulOeize Sherman,
Sheridan, aud Thomas; but ! do not imagine that
either of these Generals viii feel tattered by being
told that their patriotic zeal and skill were prOSt
tuted to a criminal want Of skil' on the part of
man of whom volunteer atlirms: " The capital on
which this man then traded during the closing cam
pagn OF the war was the blood of those who were
loyal TO the flag and Jealous for the cause OF our
country"
do not think that "vounteer" will find himself
accord with any of the great Confederate Generals
who were opposed to Grant. ] do not think that
Lee, Longstreet, Ambrose Hill, were lac living.
Ewell, Gordon, or Anderson, will acknowledge that
they were foiled and brought to surrender by an
opponent who should have been shot for incapacity.
In this opening paper Of u" Volunteer" there is not
a single idea which had not been before quite as well
expressed by Edward Pollard in his book entitled
"'fhc Lost Cause" From this book might extract
page after page so like the comments Of Volunteer"
that he shall hardly be able to tell which are his and
which Pollard's. His captious criticisms upon
Grants Report, wherein he is charged with dlsin-
genOusness and tergversatons or fairly expressed
with absolute lying--are grave charges such as no
man should dare 10 make except over his own
name | think that know who " Volunteer IS; but
am not warranted in removing the Yall OF seCresy
with which he has chosen TO cover himself but il
no will ayouch his deed over his own name, VIII
undertake TO show what private griefs he had that
made him do it," Will Volunteer dare to give his
name to the publicf Or will he choose 10 stand
Junius-like as "a shadow, instead of a namef
In his opening paper, with which only now have
TO deal, Volunteer has saved me some labor; iOr
he sums up ITS contents IN the following words:
To sum MP the results IN few words 10000 men under
a General. confronted aud thwarfed for year 10000
under Grant. and when the lneaeer army OF K9De
reduced 5000 turned their backs upon Petersburg
il was fear Of the leader opposite them but be-
cause Sherman was approaching"
In so few words it would be impossible TO convey
more grave misstatemehts of facts; misstatements
into which no man writing to-day should have fallen.
That i'm the last campaign Lee showed himself TO be
a commander of great capacity no man can question.
OF his conduct of this campaign have elsewhere
written thus:
"The campaign lasted FOR eleven months On the part
of Lee il resolved itself into purely defensive
.lffI Will tam
siye campaigns OF history. TWO Of the campaigns OF
Frederick Of Prussia may be iary ret down as ITS equal
mat OF Napoleon in 1914 when with not more than no.,
600 men he wenigh foied the CO0O0O which the great
Alliance poured into France, IS its only superior Ihat
the one after hundred days closed with the exile 10
Eba and the other aftermOre than Odays with the sur
render at AppomattoI Courthouse, detracts nothing
from their merits. All that skill on the part OF the com
mander all that bravery on the part OF his troops could
do, done 10 win victory IN the teeth OF lmpOssb-
ties IL been the fashion To that with the death
Rr1,v Of Sorthcrn virginia. Impartial history viii
record that greatest achievements whether OF dash
ing or endurance, were performed thereafter Lee
indeed overcome but he was overcome by forces greatly
superior welded by senereshp certainly not inferior to
his own
That Grant overcame such m army. under such
commander ls proof enough that he did not deserve
10 be taken out and shot" as Volunteer" insln-
yates should have been done, for having accepted
command 10 which his ability and skill did not en-
ttle bIIn - but that be proved himself to be what
tIle world has pronounced him. great General. 1t
is quite tine that Grant had from the outset great
prepOndeTance OF force over Lee. But this prepon-
derance was far less than that attributed to him by
Volunteer Had Volunteer" written two years
ago he might have been held measuraby excusable
for his ignorance. He might have assumed that Pol
lard knew or would tell the truth to the strength
of the Confederate armies. But when the collapse
came the official reports fell into our hands. These
were published III The TRIBUNE, and widely copied
elsewhere If volunteer" failed to them, he
lacked the one thing necessary to enable him to
write truthfuly upon the subject with which he has
undertaken to deal. | beg to instruct him on some
points which are Immediately involved in his first
paper volunteer is quite right i'll affirming that
Grant had at command 10000 men. These, as he
shows, comprised the Army of the Potomac. Burn
sides Corps to be incorporated Herewith, In all
Il L.. q