Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1869-02-05
Incident of Grants Military Career.

Gen. Hillyer, formerly an officer or
General Grants staff, is credited with the
following
His courage and soldierly vanity in
action first struck me, and bis entire will
ingness to fight. He never talked be-
fore action, as if he had any personal
forebodings, bu: grew more cheerful and
concentrated as the time of battle ap
preached His indisposition to leave
any position he had taken was often I'M
comfortable. | remember at Pittsburg
Landing that he, Rawlings, myself and
some other staff officers, were in a place
where the artillery of the enemy was
concentrated Their fire was terrible,
and every instant | expected to have my
head shot off, Grant sat on horseback,
straight and cheerful, as you have some
times seen a man Of hot day go out to
be rained on, rather enjoying it. He
kept us all in halfagony. One officer
said to me
- Go tell the Old Man to leave here,
| for Gods sake =
"No Tell him yourself. He'll think
me afraid, and so l am, but he shan't
think So"
"There we sat, the fire crossing upon
us. AT last one of the green members
of the staff rode up to Grant, saying
i" General, we must leave this place
1t isn't necessary to stay right here. If
we do, we shall all be dead in five min
utes."
81 guess that's so !" said GRAFT, and
he rode away to our relief.
Another thing that struck me with
Grant was his own attempt frequently to
supersede his own good luck. At Don
elson he went to Commodore Foote and
begged him to run past the rebel guns
with gunboat or two. Foote replied,
saying that be would be shot TO pieces.
Grant maintained that he would suffer
no more than ordinary bombardment.-
This took place before Farragut made
practical demonstration of Grants theo-
nv. Now, if Foote had done this, the
rebels would have evacated Fort Donnel-
son, and the battle and capture which
made Grant historic would never have
happened.
| was at City Point in 1865, and sit
ting close by Grant saw him break the
seal of letter. Then he smiled, good
naturally.
"What's that, General Grant 2"
"a letter from Sherman. Read itw
/ read the letter and it said that Sher-
man could no longer hold Atlanta, his
line being too long. He asked permits
sion to destroy the town and move to the
sea, subsisting upon the country and
turning at bay to fight Hood whenever
the latter pursued him too closely. All
this seemed brilliant and soldierly to me,
and asked Grant what in it made him
laugh.
Why" he said, 81 was wondering
what Hood could find to subsst upon if
he followed in the rear Of Sherman.
"This was the General supplying an
error of genius. Sherman supposed that
Hood would follow him. Grant knew
that Hood could not eat off the barren
and devastated country. So he sent this
word to Sherman You have my per-
mission to destroy Atlanta and march to
the sea, after you detach Schofield and
- to 90 to Tennessee, Hood Will not
follow you; He will march upon Nash
vile Now see Had Sherman car
RED off his whole force seaward, mistak-
ing the effect of his movement upon
Hood, Nashville would have fallen, Indi.
any and Ohio been invaded, and the
Southern Confederacy been an accom-.
plished fact"
There is no finer story of two stern
men than Grant and Geo. H. Thomas
before the battle of Nashville. Thomas
has a dislike of being whipped, and he
Is.cautious and sedate to the last degree
till the time for decision has come. Grant
sent word to Thomas to move out of his
works and attack Hood. Thomas was
not ready, and he went or deliberately
with his preparations. Grant telegraph
ed again !: Tho country is excited =
| Attack y
Thomas was not yet quite ready. Then
Grant sent John A. Logan to Louisville
to be ready to take command and tele
graped again "If you do not attack
Hood before - date, l shall be under
the painful necessity of relieving YOU"
Just at that time Thomas was ready, not
by necessity, but by the completion of his
affairs, and the happy collision of events
made tho battle of Nashville an honor to
both.
THE LANGUAGE OF A RINGLET An
exchange gives the following interpreta
ton of the fashionable queae worn by the
ladies.
The solitary ringlet which so fashion
ably floats from the waterfalls of our
marriageable bellies here, not only looks
most prOvokingly sweet, but has a Ian