The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1882-08-17

Some of the Republican papers just
at the present time ere lepublishlng
from Potter's American Monthly, of
Philadelphia, an important article from ,
the pen of James Clement Ambrose, |
an attache of the Chicago Times, on |
"Grant as a Soldier" The Rep. Dem.
in it's issue of last week republishes the
article and comments upon it as fol-
lows:
"If the statements of the writer are
reliable, and of this we have no doubt,
false glamour has surrounded the
exploits of Grant, which impartial
history, yet to be written, will strip
away, and the great soldier will
shrivel into his proper proportions.
AT the time Grant assumed command
of the Grand Army of the Potomac,
Mr.. Lincoln and his Cabinet were very
despondent, and almost ia despair over
the many and disastrous failures of the
army of the Potomac, and hence were
ready to supply every requisition of
the new commander. His constant
demand for additional troops was
promptly complied with. The Repub-
lican Democrat has long been of the
opinion that the nation has never had
any just conception of, or has ever been
awakened to the horror of the slaugh-
ter of Union troops in Grants slow
gyratiOns towards Richmond.
1.-THE wars of the world, down to the
latest hour, can scarcely afford a paral-
lei to the waste of human life incurred
under Grant. The bloody wars of Ma
poleon reached no such awful slaugh-
ter. Lee with smaller and weaker
army, showed himself the greater
General and strategist. Grant sacri-
feed 1O0,0 900 men, while Lee lost but
20, 900. Grant essayed, without regard
, to the loss of human life, to conquer
Lee by sheer brute force of larger and
, overwhelming numbers. The truth
seems to he that Lees army, by force
: of it's own weakness and decrepitude,
: would have fallen an easy victim tC
| adequate strategy, and longer time
would have completely demoraiized
and defeated it. 1t was not necessary
to hurl masses of Union soldiers tC
1 their boOtless and useless death. Be
: cause Grant took the sword of Lee
, when the effete, poWerless cOnfederacy
fell by its own inherent weakness
destitution and decrepitude, Grant was
set forth as the greatest Captain of the
century, and the useless slaughter o
tens of thousands of Union soldiers
by his cold, remOrseiess action, wa:
/ overlooked. History is destined, ulti
, mately, to bring these points to view
] strip unmerited praise from the unwor
thy land place just responsibility where
: it belongs, and put military fame IL
e the niche that is its due. The maga
/ zine article to which we allude justly
links Grants glory and the judicia
monster, Jeffries' justices together
and the centuries to come, when th'
Y passion and sycophancy of the perio'
t have passed away, will hold each il
equal contempt for the developed ele
> ment of inhumanity and recklessnes
ia the shedding of human gore. Th
article of Mr.. Ambrose deserves al
impartial, careful and candid perusal
1t but prefigures history's sure and il
i reversible verdict in regard to tn
= needless, cruel, heartless murder c
g the tens of thousands of Union soldier
:, in the battles of the Wilderness, an
u the clumsy march on Richmond"
These Republican papers have bee
very slow in reaching a just estimat
of the "greatest Captain of the age.
Democrats who have been in the hab+
for many years past of giving expires
. sion to similar views have uniforml
~ been denounced by the Republica
papers and politicians, as disloyal, an
their utterances as rank treason. Bl
the world moves, and there is sti
hope that ultimately the clouds of pa
. ty prejudice and hate will break asul
:" der, and through the riffs the light
- truth will shed its effulgence and Il
- truth of history be vindicated. Haste
the day.