New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1870-12-10
THE WEEKLY REPUBLICAN,


Transient advertisements same terms as in the
Daily. Monthly advertisements inserted for one.
n aieral ccmnission allowed to those who send
- o1ubs Of I'VE or moro.
ADMIRAL PORTER.
Extracts frsm His Private Journal, Some
Of ehcm Written 1t the Tine the Welles
Letter was Written.
CAIRO, III, November, 1892.
It was after hard days work at my
fitting out that accepted an invitation to
supper with Captain McAllister, Quarter
master United States Army, who was living
on board IN old steamer.
We were enjoying ourselves amazingly
when . little hustle was heard, and General
Grant was announced.
This was an unexpected arrival, for the
General was supposed to be in COrinth.
! had never seen General Grant before,
what expected. I had seen so many gen
erals during the war, with large stats fol.
lowing them about, that naturally looked
around for General Grants staff. could,
however, see nothing but my own officers
with their well-laced coats.
Captain NcAllister came to my end Of
the cabin, with plain-lo0king man, dressed
in citizens brown coat, with q velvet col
Lar, and : pair Of gray pantaloons; All his
looked a. if they had travelled many a
mile.
Those clothes, seedy in the extreme,
adorned the outer man Of General Ulysses
Grant.
One always forms rather an exaggerated
idea Of hero, and expectto see something
beyond the ordinary run of men, it not in
personal appearance, at least in the trap
pings of his rank; but General Grant was
distinguished by neither Of these, and stood
before me on that occasion the plainest,
most unassuming man ever beheld.
Grant and Sherman had been two of my
her oes ever since they operated together in
Western Kentucky and Tennessee, although
l had NO acquaintance with either Of them
/ had closely scrutinized their operations
since the breaking out Of the war. made
up my mind that there was more good gem
eralskip in these two men than in any other
two ] had read of.
In Grant I saw the holden, bulldog
courage that will tell in the long run
againsl the best arranged tactics, provided
numbers and all are equal; and in Sherman
I beheld that genius that led to such
achievements during the rebellion.
When introduced, Grant took me quietly
by the hand, as if were an old acquaint-
ance, with allow are you, Admirala"
McAllister gave us a small table apart
down to talk, with q Wild duck and bottle
Of champagne before us, neither Of which
Grant touched. While was looking earn
estly at Grant, trying to make out how
much of the man there was under that plain
exterior, the General was regarding me to
see what amount of work there was under
all the gilt buttons and gold lace with
which the Navy Department had bedizened
my coat.
admiral" said he, .sWhat is all this you've
been writing met"
told him of my interview with the Presi-
dent, and with the latter's intentions in re-
gard to McClernand. Grant looked serious
for moment only. "When can you move
with your fleet 7" he asked. Tomorrow,
or whenever you wish to start" replied.
'Then," said he, II will get off at once.
Sherman will meet you at Memphis on the
men, all embarked on board transports. /
win leave Holly Springs about the
eighteenth, and march on Grenada with all
my force (about $4,000 men). This will
draw off the rebel army now at Vicksburg
to contest my advance, and you and Sher-
man can get possession Of the place, as you
will meet with inferior numbers. l will be
in with the rebels if they fall back on Vicks-
burg"
told the General that would be up to
time, and this was all that was ever said ON
the subject. Grant remained only half
hour longer, and then bade us good night,
saying: II will start back to my head
quarters at once"
1t is not my purpose to write history of
General Grants military career. That will
be done BY ADLER pens than mine; but in
tend to notice the personal character of a
man who has achieved more in military
A few days after my interview
with Grant met General Sherman, and
wrote to the Secretary Of the Navy as fol-
lows:
"Grant and Sherman together combine
qualities possessed by no one general that
ever lived; what one wants the other pos
sesses, and these are the two men who will
end this war and be considered glorious sol
oilers xhep the generals Is. Of a are en a
called my attention to this remark.
SHERMAN.
Then he turned to one of his
quartermasters, and they sat down to bust
ness. Here found a different kind Of
man from Grant-a hard, weather-beaten
soldier, with naturally q corrugated face, a
nervous, restless, active man, with all the
equipments of q soldier on him, and every
inch . general. Yet that pleasant, genial
look that belonged to Grants face was
wanting in Sherman. was not, must
confess, much impressed with General Sher-
man on my first interview, although un-
favorable impressions wore off as soon as
the quar.ermaster went away and he could
attend to me.
He turned toward me in the most pleasant
way, poked the fire, and talked as If he had
known me all his life. Sherman, unlike
Grant, was very laxative. He told me all
hc had done, what he was doing, and what
be intended to do, jumping up every three
minutes to send message to some one.
~ that Sherman differed from Grant in
- respect. Sherman attended to all details
GIz. while Grant left them to others,
I'D selecting good men to perform the
= p eye was also the reverse Of
- black, piercing and restless,
r zntrong contrast with his
aiS and beard. GEant's