The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-12-25
correspondence of the New York Sun
CINCINNATI. Dcconlbe,

Correspondence OF the New York Sun.l
CINCINNATI, December G.
Immediately after the battle of Belmont,
which set Cincinnati almost beside itself with
excitement, and brought to its notice for the
first time Brgader-General U. S. Grant, there
appeared about the newspaper Offices here q
stalwart old man, armed with a ponderous
hickory stick, with n battered silver head
Clad In n suit Of rnsty black, shullling along In
old fashioned high shoes, tied With lcathcrn
thongs, Ills head surmonntcd by an old, bat
.peered pair of dcep-sct, slrabismlc eyes, as
sisted by heavy pair of silver spectacles,
there was nothing either remarkable or un-
usual IN ms appearance to attract attention, or
impress The bcholdcr that any extraordinary
individual stood before him among the crowd.
The old mans eyes habitualy sought the
ground; he never looked any one in the face
while no spoke; but he was n good listen
er, and was always found In the street cor
ner groups where the naoe and actions
ol General Grant were discussed. When
he spoke 1t was MS Zone having authorl-
ty," certain sentcntiousncss OF man.
! mer and emphatic selfassertion always
characterlzlng his uttcranccs The Cincinnati
papers commented rather severely upon the
conduct OF General Grant ut the battle of Bel
mont, and repeated stories Of his previous life
In all OF which he was exhibited us under the
influence 1fdrfnk. 1t was positively asserted
oy business men In the streets TINT before tile
battle OF Belmont General Grant, then Colonel
Ssrant, was seen by them drunk, in the muddy
by-ways OF Cairo; and more than once the telc-
graph from M that Interesting point came kissing
custom In those days to read lhe dispatches to
the surging crowds ut the newpapcr Offices rs
they were received, and IL was also customary
TO suppress great deal that was received.
When The news or Belmont WIS filling the pub
Tic car, perhaps the most attentive listener was
the old gentleman with the formidable stick,
but as one account in which Grant, dismount-
cd, was celebrated as running race with his
horse to get aboard one of the transports wait
ing to convey the routed troops to the oppo-
site md safer shore Of the Ohio River, fell upon
his quickened tympannm, he started suddenly
as If burned by q hot iron, and screamed ont
It's damncdlie, and the man that says so Is n
liar, don't care who lie Is" All eyes were
turned for moment upon the speaker. Ills
face was crimsoned with rage /; hG clutched his
hickory with nervous frmnesS, and half brnnd-
fahing 1t, repeated his assertion. Nobody cared,
but all were curious, and the old man saw his
opportunity and seized l.. "l am Grants
know oil about him F; he never was drunk in
ais life."
JESSE R. GRANT, TIE PRESIDENTS FATHER.
After this time there appeared semi-occaslon-
ally In the papers paragraphs stating that
General Grants father said so and so, or that
he was called upon Mt his residence IN Covlng-
Ton, kentucky, by this or that committee, or
TINT such and such facts were stated In pri-
vate letter from General Grant TO his father.
Indeed, public Interest In tho old man went 50
far, that Jenkins felt called upon. TO visit the
paternnl residence Of the Grants, and describe
tho inside and the outside of the plain brick
mousse In that sleepy Kentucky town, dwelling
with lengthening fOndness upon the simple
appointments Of the house, and tli)ating with
critical enthusiasm upon the landscape paint
: tngs and superb emOroideres That adorned the
wells and furniture, because they were the pro-
3lct OF the skill and industry of Miss Jenny
Grant. Up to this time, not moro was known
Of Jesse r. Grant In Covington than In Cincin-
natl He had come there quietly and settled
ds~n bought hides and sent them to Galcnu,
Illinois. and dabbled n little in trade, but ut
ttacted no attention.
Thus aiflirs whirlcd along Till after the bat
&c of Shiloh, for the conduct of which many
Intelligent people here held Grant 10 q bitter
sparlng OF him, those OF this city blaming him
IN The most nncqnivocal terms. This made Mr.
Grant era aiu ftirlons he charged upon the newspa.
assertion and unfilnching purpose to put down
opposition lent q certain degree OF weight to
the vigorous old man. His very words were
valuable, for In close business circles 1t was
ivhlspered lhat this and that citizen of COying-
;toA made money as sutler to this or TINT rcgi-
ment or brigade, on n recommendation from
MT. Grant to his son, tho General
HOW JESSE n. OPERATED IN MISSISSIPPI COTTON.
Among the first trades people of Cincinnati
% utilize the war, were the children Of Israel
tnere were others who snugglcd arms, uni
forms and medicines South; they filled fruit
cans with whiskey, and sold 1t In the Northern
armies rs fruit. "Pcrmits' were Issued for
&ranic. Corlnth was fought and won Rose
Grams star WINS bright, and his police agents
Keen. E,lmor had II that Mrs. General Grant
Vas dstecied communicating with friends In
Alsaisslppi. and certain letters were inlercepl-
60 which gave color 10 the story. General
Grant was at jackson, Tennessee, and his
father, accompanied by Henry Mack, q liberal
Jew, OF Cincinnati, was on his winding wny
down The sinilous ohio, bound for Columbus,
Kentucky Tile railroad point TO Cornth un;
jackson, Henry had "rnonisl" ind Mr. Grant
had in!lcnc,." Cotton was ripe and plenty.
anu so nnlistlIrbed was the "pec,llInr institi,-
Lon Ion Dy the jar of war mp TO that fall of 1862,
Lnal the Frustrating armies of the North enjoy
ca tne %ldc-lnouthed admiration OF tho mild
eyed "nTd nands" as the dirt roads tray
crang Northern Mississippi were trodden
aaIa aa Sy tas oine- coated hosts. Holly Springs
was Inc objective point OF the cotton buyers,
spectators and thieves. One Colonel Dubois
OF the regular arrny, was in command of the
post. A telegram was received from CrIum-
bis, Kentucky, to the effect that General
Grants father was there, and wanted a pass
Tor him sell and flr Jews to Holly Springs One
Was sont fir self UNI friend and In due time
the dli gentleman, with his friend, arrived.
fhe !"r.i'i"i The CDrinth region for cotton,
but losecrans was too much for them and
t hey hc,d aioof until he was sent to the Depart
tlncn iir Cumberland Everything that
oonld throw discredt or ignominy upon his nd
MitiaTa..Jii, va, done by his successor to tho
command OF the Left wing Of the army of the
Nississippi, Brgadcr- Gcneral c. 8. Hamilton
-And prominent among his actions was tho ap-
pointment Of ono Colonel Murphy, OF Wiscon-
hn, to tho command Of Holly Springs, us a
KGhnko to ROHeCrauS for rcDrimandfnu that