The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-07-29


upright, willing to wait, willing to be disap-
pointed, not particularly thin-skinned, not very
thick skinned, just hung around, supposing that
the Governor would fulfill his word after while.
The Governor wished that something would kill
that fellow off, There was nothing diable, how
ever, about the man. Dick Yates took look at
him now. and then on the sly, and despaired that
Grant would ever go away. II Grant had
been like some of our editorial statesmen.
he would have written to the papers saying
that the Governor of the State was unworthy
OF his post-that he was liar, and
had women now and then, and took
too many drinks The poor clerk and ex-
captain meant to do a good service tohs country,
and not to begin it by libelng people in power.
| With that respect for authority which must con-
| tinue to exist if we are to have country and
substantial society, he merely thought that the
Governor little procrastinating.
| After while the Governor had regiment re-
turned on his hands, at the head Of which he had
put man patriotic for the high purpose of re-
electing Dick Yates This fellow could do moth
ing with the regiment. When you go to war you
have murderers in your company. The next of
| ficer to yourself has killed three four men
with knife. Number three in the regiment
has abandoned his family and is terrible ex-
ample. Number four gambled away everything
! he had. Number five is liar, and yet with all
| the cowardice of a liar is good disciplinarian
and officer, and will fight in time of battle.
| Grant had to turn around and face human ma
ture, and lead fellow-oficers like that to death
! or glory. If he had beer a moral reformer, he
would have written to the papers that it did not
become great country to have such fellows
wearing its chevrons. Dick Yates said to him
| self: This fellow Grant, whom Washburne has
brought here, shall have this mutinous regi-
ment and / hope they will kill him in a day
or two" Grant took the regiment, marched it
across the State, put in arrest persons who
misbehaved, gave his confidence to bad men
| VINO for the moment were doing their duty,
| and he for 1.-The moment assisted to re-
cover character and career among those black
| sheep for the uses Of their State Unlike great
many officers, he did not keep his eye on the
| government at Washington. He kept one eye
| at least on the enemy, and said: 81 will get
! whack at him directly" The first whack he got
at the enemy rather turned him inside out But
he had been pitched off horse when boy. He
took whack numbertwo. All at once, with both
| eyes on the enemy and his heart strong in hui
man nature, he captured more men than all the
Union forces had taken altogether in all parts of
this country The men he captured were Just
| as good soldiers as marched anywhere
The invincible spirit native to natural man
had given him fame and authority while other
men were studying the lives of Napoleon and
Wellington and other old geese in the grave yards.
He fought that armed enemy with quiet joy.
Nothing delighted him more than grapple with
the enemy.
AS he rose from step to step anonymous let
tiers were written about him; petty critics as
sailed him in the papers. He made some mis-
takes about that time in thinking that all the
people who wrote for the papers were bad.
The man; writing to the papers was attending to
his part of life just as we'll as Grant Both were
making their mistakes. Almost without record
or biography the. name of Grant began to swell,
like tune with no name that people recognize
as the band goes past About the time that the
Eastern army was making the stand off at Get
tysburg Grant was marching into Vicksburg, af-
ter lighting that has comparison in the an
nails of this country. George Washington never
gave any such battle as Grant gave at Vicks-
burg. The capture of Yorktown was a fore
fuvO rafiO had OBJ
advantage of the folly Of a rash
young Earl and shut him in with feet and
soldiery. But at Vickburg the most furious, the
hercest men on this globe we're literally worn out
and battered to death by tenacity. Vicksburg
had been of the greatest gambling and dueling
towns on the globe. Almost every man there
had been compelled to kill somebody in self-de-
tense or to maintain his character 1t was with
in few miles of the home of JEFF Davis the
leader of the Confederacy, a man with all the
vices and most of the virtues of that Confeder-
acy. Vicksburg fell, and there was no time lost
In issuing proclamations but the soldiers faced
about and marched against the enemy at Jack
son and other places. The Mississippi river was
opened by the poor clerk of Galena. Wash
burne said to himself "God Almighty must
have sent this man to me- Then Grant came
East and and had to deal with these moral re-
formers, who abound in these old Eastern States
people with the misfortune of having had grand
fathers, folks who are guided by the newspapers.
He was pronounced in all the opposition papers
x
World, with which was connected at the close
of the war, had article in it every day written
by man named Marble, or inspired by him.
saying that Grant was a colossal humbug, that
he was numbering people in the Wilderness that
he ought to be cashered, that he was drunk
ard etc | sometimes look with wonder at some
Of these quill scratehers who continue to write
platforms for great parties, who have recorded
themselves against such fame as Grants When
we consider how hard it is to have great respon-
sibility, to be disconnected with the great
powers of che State to have scarcely friend on
the press, and at the same time to have in our
faces a courageous and prodgous name taking
US every day by the throat; how hard it is in the
blackness OF the camp at night to take up the
paper and find ourselves put down as a scamp
charlatan, petty villain. This brave hearted
little man read all such things and never
opened his mouth. The splendor of Lees
generalship never was displayed against any
body as it was against Grant. He seemed for
the first time in his career to delight in the
rebellion, of which he was the great leader. as
he sprang at that little Western man who had
opened the Mississippi river. As Grant marched
toward Richmond with his long line exposed
Lee and all his great captains sprang at him
from the woods. Anticipating the rise of some
such natural man as this, they had fortified per-
manently all the leading positions on the roads.
Grant could fight, but he could make no impress
sion on this powerful enemy though he did not
come back, like Mcclellan and some Others with
his hand in his mouth, and point to the Presi-
dent of the United States, himself sorely de.
rided and say: .eYou did this. | am great
man. and you are a fool.n The simplicity with
which Grant and Lincoln hung to each other.
like David and Jonathan, brings tears to good
mems eyes nova Grant continued on. He
did not get to Richmond, but he got to the
back door of it There he. sat down. and ham
mered away, and at last the valiant Confeder-
acy acknowledged that it had master The
man Grant received the sword Of General Lee.
The little Northern clerk at 5000 year. made
the heir of General Washington concede his SUI
periority. Then what magnanimous opponent
he was! 'sTake your horses all with you, Gen
eral said he; 'letall your boys ride their horses
home, and put them to plowingp Are we to
forget such man as that because his sons had