New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1872-06-06
what q Soldier Thinks Of General
Grant.


General Owens, who was a soldier durini
the war and still carries in his bosom tn
memories and inspirations of a soldiers heart
was present at the recent banquet of tn
Army Of the Potomac, in Cleveland. He wa
called upon to respond to the toast of eth
President of the United States, who, though
now acting civilian, happens to be tn,
man that led the armies of the East and O
the West to the victories which crushed tn,
rebellion. General Owens, after wishing
that the President was personally present
| that those whom he led to final victory an,
triumph might welcome him rs their gen
eral, told his hearers that, while "saunterins
along the streets Of Cleveland" he " chancct
to entera bookstore" lie there "happenet
to see a quotation from Milton, where he
speaks of Cromwell, the greatest ruler Eng
land ever had" which he thought "particu
larly applicable to him who commanded al
our armies" Being a soldier still, he asked
the privilege Ofreading Millions words in re-
gard to Cromwell, as follows:
Wherefore you speak contemptibly of his
parts know not but | suspect you are not
Tree from the error common to studi0us anC
speculative men. Because Oliver was an I'm.
graceful orator, and never said either in pub.
lie or private anything memorable, you will
have ii that he was of mean capacity. Sure
this is unjust. Many men have been igno.
rant of letters, without wit, without elo-
quence, who yet had the wisdom to devise
and the courage to perform that which they
lacked language to explain. Such men often
in troubled times have worked out the de-
hverance of nations and their own greatness
not by logic, but by wariness IN success, by
calmness in danger, by firm and stubborn
resolution in all adversely. The hearts OF
men are their eloquence, and such an one, in
my Judgment, was his late IIighnesS
His own deeds shall avouch him for a great
statesman, a great soldier, true lover of his
country, a merciful and generous conqueror."
After reading this passage from Milton,
General Owens said - ask YOU now to
join me in giving three cheers for General
Grant" The cheers were poured forth with
hearty goodwill.
Nothing could be more appropriate than
this eloquent language of Milton, originally
meant for Cromwell, but used by Gen.
Owens and accepted at the Cleveland BAN
quet as applicable to the great hero whose
rare gifts the rebellion called into public
notice, and by whose energy, WISDOM and
courage this rebellion was finally crushed.
General Grant, like Washington in our Revo-
lutionary struggle, is the man to whom, more
than to any other, the nation is indebted for
the victories that crowned its arms and saved
its life. 1t is but a short time since the
praises at the cOnQueror were on the lips of
all the people. During the latter half of the
war all eyes were turned to him; President
Lincoln leaned upon him as his most reliable
commander; and, when the war closed, he
was acknowledged, alike in this country and
in Europe, to be one of the first generals of
any age. He had arisen to this high position
by the force Of his own genius in great
on, x1yhi. .h Io1
sion.
General Grant may not be the equal of
Horace Greeley as a newspaper editor, or of
Senator Summer in the creation of rounded
periods; yet his military and civil record fully
justifies the application of Millions language
made by General Owens. When the small
men who, for political reasons, now malign
him, and seek to belittle his fame, are dead
and forgotten, he will hold an honored place
in the memory of the American people and
that of the world. nation will be proud
of his name and proud of his deeds. Had he
remained general of the army, the politicians
would have been content to let him alone /;
and, were he now returned to that position,
they would soon become his admirers and
eulogists. Republicans in 1868 sought him
as their candidate, because they thought they
needed him. He accepted their nomination
and was elected; and now for more than
three years he has SO administered the Gov
eminent as to command the confidence and
approval OF the party that placed him in
power. No man pretends that he has been
unfaithful to his pledges, or that he has aban-
doned the principles which he accepted when
consenting to be a candidate for the Prcsi-
dency. Though elected on the credit of the
capacities which his military career so abun-
dainty cvinced, he has not disappointed the
people, in either integrity and iirmness of
purpose or wisdom of counsel, as the Chief
Magistrate of this great nation. Nobody
supposed that he would or could please all
the politicians, or be exempt from the asper-
sions, misrepresentation, and calumny of
his enemies. No man in his position was
ever SO fortunate, and none ever will be.
The strength of General Grant with the
popular mind of this country is shown not
only by the great unanmity with which Re-
pubcans have fixed upon him as their candi-
date, but also by the unremitting efforts of
those who are seeking to rob him of his hon.
ors. Such efforts, surely, would not be made
to discredit and blast AN insignificant name.
They concede the power of the man they are
intended to destroy. The fact that they are
confined mostly to Democratic partisans or
disatfectcd Republican politicians, and that
they have produced but little effect on the
SiCao pouy VI tho PCopic, IL pIoDI CONCLUSIVE
that "the hearts of men are" the "elo-
quence" of General Grant. The people do
not sympathize with this lying clamor against
the "great soldier" who, having conquered
the rebellion, has since proved himself to be
wise and honest President. His renomina-
ton at Philadelphia is a foregone conclusion,
simply because the Republican party through
out the nation demands it. The dissentients
who are laboring to defeat the party are
mere fragment, unreasonably setting up their
will against that of an overwhelming ma
jOrity. We believe that the ballot-bOx will
in November give them rebuke which it
will not be difficult to interpret. General
Grant will be our next President, because
majority of the American people believe in
him, and mean to elect him to this high Office !;
and do not believe in Horace Greeley as at
all fit for the place, or in the Democratic party
as party to whose counsels it is safe to trust
the interests of this Government.-N. Y. In
DEPENDENT
william Ulnvh C0ppfaon