The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1885-06-19
GENERAL GRANTS BOOK.
A Work i'm Which he Gives his
Personal Experiences.
Extracts Detailing his Recollections
of Notable Events.

will be published on the 1st of December and
the second volume next March. 1t is stated
that 100000 copies of the work are already
ordered The frontispiece of the first volume
is an excellent engraving of Grant at the age
of twenty -one, copied from a daguerreotype
loaned by Mr. George William Chlds, OF
Philadelphia. Pictures of the generals
birth place and of the Mclean house at APP.
pomattox and fac-simles of Grants hand
writing will be among the illustrations of the
work. The dedication, printed in fac-simile,
reads thus:
"These volumes are dedicated to the Aneri-
NEW EoRK, May %, 1851
GRANTS BoYHooD AND EDUCATION
Here is one of the authors earliest per-
sonal "reminiscences
There was Mr. Ralston living within a
few miles of The village, who owned a colt
which very much wanted. My father had
offered $40 for it. but Mr. Ralston wanted
So was so anxious to have the colt that
after the owner left | begged to be allowed to
take him mt the price demanded. My father
yielded, but sad $50 was all the horse was
worth, and told me to offer that price, if it
was not accepted | was to offer $22. 90, and if
that would not get him, to give the So [
at once mounted the horse and went for the
colt, When got to Mr. Ralston's house, /
said to him, "Papa says l may offer you $40
l am to offer you S22.5O and if
you won't take that to give you
S25" 1t would not require n Connecticut
man to guess the price finally agreed upon.
This story is nearly true. | cert ainly showed
very plainly that had come for the colt and
meant to have him. l could not have been
over eight years old at this time. l kept the
horse until he was four years old, when he
went blind, and sold him for 500 When |
went to Maysvile to school in 1886, at the
age of fourteen, ! recognized my colt as one
of the blind horses working on the tread
wheel of the ferry boat.
OF the circumstance of his admission to
West Point General Grant tells the follow
ing:
My father received a letter from Hon
Thomas Morris then United States Senator
from Ohio. When he read it he said to me,
Ulysses, believe you are going to receive
the appointment "What appointment" l
inquired. ITO West Point: | have applied
for it, "But won't co. said. He said he
thought l would, and thought so, too, if he
did. | really had no objection to going to
West Point, except that had very exalted
Idea of the requirements necessary to get
through. did not believe | possessed them,
and could not bear the idea of failing. There
had been four boys from our village, or it's
immediate neighborhood, who had graduated,
and never n failure of any one appointed
from Georgetown, except in the case of the one
whose place was to take. He was the son
of Dr. Bailey, our nearest and most intimate
neighbor. Young Bailey had been appointed
in 1887. Finding before the January exami-
nation following that he could not pass, he
resigned and went to a private school, and
remained there until the following year,
when he was reappointed. But before the
next examination he was dismissed. Dr.
Bailey was proud and sensitive man, and
he felt the failure Of his son so keeny that he
forbade his return home
| was impatient to get on my uniform and
see how it looked, beside probably wanting
my old schoolmates, particularly the girls, to
see me i'll it, But the concet was knocked
out of me by two little circumstances that
happened soon after the arrival of the clothes
and which gave me a distaste for military
uniforms that | never recovered from.
Soon after the arrival of the suit donnel
it and put off for Cincinnati on horseback
While was riding along street of that city,
/ imagining that every one was looking at me
with feeling akin to mine when first saw
General Scott, a little urchn bareheaded bare
footed, with dirty and ragged pants held up
by single gallows-that's what suspenders
were called then-and a shirt that had not
seen washtub for weeks, turned to me and
4 cried out: Soldier, will you work. No, street
I'll sell my shirt first The horse trade and
its dire consequences were recalled to mind"
II.
The following concerning Generals Scott
and Taylor are given as illustrations of the
authors methods of personal comment:
had now been in battle with the two lead
ing commanders conducting armies in
foreign land. The contrast between the two
was very marked. General TAYLOR never
wore uniform, but dressed himself entirely
for comfort. He moved about the field in
which he was operating to see through his
own eyes the situation Often he would be
without staff officers. and when he was &c
companied by them there was no prescribed
order in which they followed. He was very
much given TO sit his horse sdeways-with
both feet on one side-partcuarly on the
BATHS field General Scott was the reverse in
all these particulars. He always wore all the
uniform prescribed, or allowed, by law; when
he inspected his lines word would be sent to
| all division and brigade commanders in adj
vance, notifying them of the hour when the
| commanding general might be expected. This
was done SO that all the army might be under
| arms to salute their chief as he passed. On
these occasions he wore his dress uniform,
! cooked hat, aguiilettes, saber and spurs. HIS
| staff proper, beside all ofliC ers conStructiveY
! on his statf-rngincers, INSPECTORS, qu trter-
! masters, etc.-fo!lowed also in uniform and
! IN prescribed order. Orders We're prepared
with great care and evidently with the view
! that there should be a history of what fol
| lowed.
/ saw good deal of &c leral Taylor dur
| ing my service with the state. On one oc-
| casion he said to me that | ought to go into
/ the United States service. | told him in
tended to do so if there was war. He spoke
| of his acquaintance with the public men Of
the state and said he could get them to re-
! commend me for position. and that he would
do all he could for me. | declined to receive
Endorsements for permission to fight for my
| country q
| RECoLLECTIoNs OF FORT DONELsON.
At the siege of Fort Donelson, when the
men found themselves without ammuniti n,
they could not stand up against the troops
who seemed to have plenty of it. The divis
sion broke and portion fed, but most OF
the men, as they were not pursued, only fell
back ont of range of fire of the enemy. 1t
must have been about this time that ThayeT
| pushed his brigade in between the enemy and
those of our troops that were without amnu
! milton. At all events the enemy fell / a X
within its intrenchments and was there when
/ arrived on the field.
saw the men standing in knots talking
in the most excited manner. No officer
seemed to be giving any directions The sol
diers had their muskets. but no ammunition
while there were tons OF it at hand. | heard
! .,fth no hat I,, l,,.