Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-11-20
SQUILLS.
How He Bucked Up Against General
Grant, and How He Cana to Grief
Thsreby.

Grant, and How He Cana 10 Grief
Thareby:
From the St. Louis Republican.
You never heard about my brush with
Caesar, did you," said Squills. "No?
Well, I'll tell you.
"At Young's point l had nearly all the
whisky outside of depot stores, ana, being
patrIatio, / was as oaTefut of it as if there
hadn't been another barrel in the country.
| The other commissaries tried to get it from
me, but | resisted manfully, and at last
what din the mean beggars do but put
| Grant and Rawlins on me.
'Grant had put the niggerS ia work
scooping out the canal, and a provision re-
turn came In for daily whisky rations for
the Africanos. didn't like TO do it, sol
| Endorsed it,
ii ;iteSpectiiIlly returned. The supply of
whisky in my possession not sufficient to
issue daily ratiOns to troops not within my
| own command, !. S. sqUlLLs,
Capt. and c. s. [. S. V
''In the course of the day | received ii
second return for whisky for the canal
| darkeys, signed as before Gen. Rawlins,
chief of Staff | didn't know anything
about chiefs of stats and moreover hadn't
! any curiosity, With ten thousand men
70 teed,1 Was as g0is eouS a creature as Grant
and head and shoulders over Rawlins,
| had no use for chiefs of anybody's staff,
and so | rose again TO explain with my little
pen.
Respectfully returned. The troops of
the Thirteenth and Fifteenth army corps
have only received three rations o. WHISKY
per week Whi,6 working on the canal, and
ii would be manifest injustice to issue
twice as much to colored troops.
SoVuLs.'
g so you're bucking up against Grant,
ell, SquillS q said a cOmmisSary, the next
morning. by Jupiter, Grant viii hang
YOU up to the iack-statf, Squills,' said an
ether, I'll be condemned, 'squills, if Grant
don't put you to work on the canal, with a
ball and chain, said another. Yes, and
without any whisky chimed in another,
and then they>all went for me in a cheer
full chorus of what devil of a fellow Grant
was when he got mad-particularly about
stopping a mans whisky-that | began to
feel uncomfortable, not to say Shaky.
Something had to be done. | began to
believe in chiefs of staff. Steele had heard
all about it and said;
e@dll4il, ANu AtfN LSNtOA NAPie'iAA
this matter to Grant; and Squills take
cocktail before you go, to brace you
Il took a bracer and then put out through
the mud to Grants boat. The nearer got
to that boat the more began'to realize the
existence of a chief of staff
"Rawlins was at his desk busy, but he
looked up, and said:
"'Well? No, you can't see Gen. Grant;
What is your business
'sNly name is Squills, and
"That was enough at one DOSE
"YGur orders are at the boat, sir" and
off he dashed behind the curtain.
IF there had been a lingering doubt
about chief of staff it was snufIed out, and
ploughed my way back to my own boat,
up to the girths in mud, very much sad
der and wiser c. S,
Seen. Grants b0dy7guard were lining
the gang-plank. | will say it for Grant and
Rawlins, they did the thing handsomely.
The captain of the body-guard was in the
cabin with a third provision return for
whisky rations for these niggers Such
persistency was beautiful.
"Ceitainly," | said, with great promti-'
tude, tissue the whisky
Then the captain OF the body-guard po-
llt6iy H+Hutu INC dllOJlIpi paper. II was |
an order to report myself under arrest to |
Steele.
''What came of 1t alp" said Squills. |
''Why, by JOve, they tried me for disObedi- |
ence of orders, and dismissed me from the |
service, that's what they did. Just before |
the trial opened, Rawlins said, Good morn
ing, Capt. Squills, just as if he had never |
heard of whisky return.
l thought perhaps it was queer way |
chiefs of staff had before they hung their |
victims. Sherman and Steele came and |
SAID some kind things; but the minious of |
O despotism couldn't see anything but dis
obedience of orders.
What came of it, then? Nothing. The
papers were all pigeon-hOled. Thomas
came down and reinstated me and the
goose hung lovely as before.
l came across Grant during my suspe1-
sion, 1t vas at Blair's quarters, and
didn't care about intruding myself upon his
notice much. lie didn't know Inc, but
somebody must have pointed me out. He
fensively, as | thought, but didn'ts say any,
thing about it to him; let him go on.
"Give me light captain. Do | know,
you? Name ~
''Squiils, general
"Squills, eh? Qna you're the man that
came TO grief about the whiskey. Howare
you, Squills?"
slow was ?" How was that for high?
was mad enough to resign; l didn't
though. / remembered that L was in IrQnt
IF the enemy, and I restrained my emo
lions.