Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1868-07-17
Senator Yates statement oI sdrahp
Early Military services.


THE Washington correspondent Ot inc
Cleveland Leader recently called on eA.
Governor Yates, of Illinois, and received
the following statement OF Grants carly
military record
"Grant," said the Governor, "came
down 10 Springfield dressed In common
working clothes. He lookeu very mucn
as he does now, ordinary, taciturn, unPse-
tentious. When he presented hinsel 70
me, he said "Governor, the United ntases
educated me ! want to be OF Use 70 ncr
now that she is in danger"
Yates asked him what he wished TO
have.
"Any place where can be useful, said
Grant cit don't matter much"
The system at that time was 20 commis-
sion only officers who had raised compa..
mics. Yates, hurried and overrun, told
Grant to look in again. After lew days
Grant, whose money had nearly run out
paying hotel board, dropped in again, nat
in hand, and asked Yates II anything had
turned up
"Can you write military ordcrst" asked
the Governor.
Eyes"
"Well, I'll give you desk in my Office,
and you'll find plenty to do"
AhNANf sttlA NNNNy NNAahN
away satisfactorily, though my hands were
full and everything was more or less dis
organized had no time to obses:.e him,
and he was never forward to speak. Al
tcrward put him in the Adjutant Gen
erals office, and although we did not know
| It particularly at the time, we have found
| since that he laid the foundation there OF
what is now, probably, the best Adjutant
Generals Office in the United States. Be
fore 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 out particularly fer the Com
ing Man. But Grant made no mistakes,
and saw that his West Point knowledge
was useful tous
Near by Springfield there was a large
camp, termed Camp Yates, containing
| twenty thousand, perhaps 1t was !: source
| of 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. 1 sent
| Grant out there, and pretty soon complaint
ceased. Then | sent him on tour to
various camps through the State, but still
| | had no command to give him under the
| arbitrary system of giving only those
places who had raised organizations. He
went away, at last, to visit Covington,
| Kentucky, where his father lived. l did
not like to see our Illinois boys enter tho
service of another Commonwealth, and /
| found chance directly to displaco a
| Colonel, or rather to send him TO differ
ent command, and then / telegraphed to
| Grant.
"Will you take command of the -th
regiments Answer.
"RIcnARD YATES"
Grant replied;
81 will. Start Immediately.
"U. S. GRANT"
He arrived promptly and took Ike posi-
ton, Still, had no exalted expectations
| of him. He was not brisk, nervous at
tractive man. His face and ngurc were
not so striking that anybody could pick
him out of a troop, like Saul, and he did
| not say enough to interest me. Out of
2S9 Colonels that commissioned thought
it as probable that 2Sl of them would be-
come famous as Grant
He did one thing, however, which have
since thought was significant of his future
good sense and enterprise. His regiment
was the most demoralized one that we had
in Illinois. 1t had become insubordinatc
and allowed to so to seed. Grant started
the process of breaking it in by com
pelling 1t to march across the State OF
Missouri, and he was tho first of our Col
onels who had economy and pluck
enough to save us the delay and expense
of railway transportation in this manner
In this march he stopped struggling and
orchard robbing by device original, good
humored and effective. He made every
straggler carry fence-rail in line, and a:
the march itself was tolerably laborious
the fence-rail did its work. He made q
fine fighting regiment of those men.
After speaking on many other trivia
matters, Governor Yates said, in conclu
, sion
"IIero worshipcrs will be disappointed
in Grant don't take it to be any stolid
, ness of mine that failed to perceive geniu,
in him. Nobody else did. His genius il
not ostentatious nor dramatic. 1t is tn
genius of accomplishment that he has
; When his work is done, there it is, anC
there is the man, except for the work, or
S dinary as before. don't make up for thi
error of perception by visiting the Gene
I raj twice as much now as before But il
t the light of his achievement, l feel tn,
same confidence and satisfaction in hin
that all the people feel. The Democrat
feel it, too. He has no enemies in tn,
State but political ones, and one or t,S,
personal ones, like MClernand. We will
elect him with ease"