Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1868-08-01
what Senator Mates says Of Gen,
ssrnNf.

| George Alfred Townsend has recently had
an interview with Senator Yates, and inter
rogated him as to his "reminiscences of
Grants military career early in the war,
with the following result:
Grant" said the Governor, "camc down
to Springfield dressed in common working
clothes. He looked very much as he does
now, ordinary, tacturn, npretentlons.-
When he presented himself to me he said !:
Governor, the United States educated
me- | want to be of use to her now that
she is in danger
Yates asked him what he wished to have:
"'Any place where l can be useful said
Grant, 1T don't matter much
The system at that time was to commits
sion only officers who had raised companies.
Yates, hurried and ovcrrun, told Grant to
look in again. After a few days Grant, whose
money had nearly run out paying hotel
board, dropped in again, hat in hand, and
asked Yates if anything had turned up.
"Can you write military orders ?" asked
the Governor.
"Ycs !"
"Well I'll give you desk in my office
and you'll find plenty to do"
I "TheTe, said Yates, "Grant worked away
satisfactorily, though my hands were full
and everything was more or less disorgan-
lied. | 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 particu.
larly 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. Before the war it was
nothing. During all this time Grant was
seldom in my mind. l had too much to dc
to keep personal watch over every officer il
the State, ard did not look out particularly
for the coming man. But Grant made NJ
mistakes, and | saw that his West Poin
knowledge was useful to US.
Near by Springfield there was larg,
camp, termed Camp Yates, containing thirt.
thousand, perhaps. 1t wasa source of an
noyapce to me- l could not find anybod,
t TO keep the men subject and see that the,
4 were made clean, properly fed and taugh
l the germs OF organization. | sent Gran
5 out there and pretty soon complaint ceased
e Then | sent him on a tour to various camp
5 through the State, but still | had no com
C mand to give him under the arbitrary system
e of giving only those places who had raiset
! organizations. He went away, at last, t,
II visit Covington, Kentucky, where his fathe
o lived. | did not like to see our Illinois boy
II enter the service Of another commonwealth
It and found chance directly to displace
a colonel, or rather to send him to ditferen
& command, and then l telegraphed to Grant
c "'Wl you take command of the -th regiment
& Answer. RICHARD YATES
l. Grant replied:
: "'I Will! Start Immediately! U. S. GRANT
10 "IIe arrived promptly and took the posi-
20 tion. Still, had no exalted expectation
y of him. lie was not Il brisk, nervous, al
- tractve man. His face and figure were no
= so striking that anybody could pick bL
V out of troop, like Saul, and he did not sa
!, enough to interest me. Out Of two hundrc
!, and eighty two colonies that commissions
. / thought it as probable that two hundre
," and eighty.one Of them would become fl
> nous as Grant.
= "Ie did one thing however, which hav
II since thought was significant of his futur
l. good sense and enterprise. His regimen
!, was the most dcmoralized one that we ha
- in Illinois. 1t had become insuOOrdinat
10 and allowed to go to seed. Grant starte
y, the process Of breaking it in by cOmpellin
-. it to march across the State of Missouri, an
= he was the first of our colonies who ha
" economy and pluck enough to save US til
i" delay and expense of railway transportatio
:, in this manner. In this march he stoppc
y struggling and orchard robbing by devic
> original, good humored and effective. II
a made every straggler carry fence rail i
u. line, and as the march itself was tolerabl
laborious the fence rail did its work. II
e. made fine fighting regiment of those men
!. After speaking on many other trivial ma
# ters, Governor Yates said, in conclusion:
IF Hero worshippcrs will be disappointe
4 in Grant. | don't take it to be any stolc
.e ness of mine that failed to perceive geuiu
in him. Nobody else did. His genius
II not ostentatious nor dramatic. 1t is tn
e genius of accomplishment that he has
rs WheG his work is done, there it is, done
h and there is the man, except for the woIl
!. ordinary as before. don't make up for thi
a error Of perception by visiting the Gener,
If twice as much row as before; but in tn
d light of his achievements | feel the sam
,e confidence and satisfaction in him that a
y. the people feel. The democrats feel it too
rs he has no enemies in orr State but politics
g. ones, and one or two personal ones, like No
i Clernand. We will elect him with ease.n
- .-As---
, Acc0TG6unr la EEpsnlufians