Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1885-08-05


seer. The race is not to the swift nor the
battle TO the strong" because the unexpected
happens to every man. The grsndest cam
psigns are often defeats. the most brilliant
plans are unconsumafed, the most wished-for
opportunities are unrealzed, because baffir
oy the unexpected al the very moment OF ex-
pected fuiflment. But be appeared grand
est in the presence of the unforeseen. Then
came an inspiration as restless as the march
of a whirlwind, as when on the second night
OF the batue of the Wilderness, when he
changed the entire front of the line of battle.
and quietly said In response to a messenger,
If Lee is in my rear, am his" In the his
tory OF great general there come supreme
moments, when long matured plans are TO be
consumated and long-deferred hopes to be
realized. Some men can work up TO that
point and excite the admiration OF mankind
by the care and push where~ith they move
toward the objective, but fail AT the crucial
moment. The preparations of this wonder
full man rarely excited the applause of the
people, because the workings of HE master
ful mind were hidden beneath the silence of
his lips; but, when the supreme moment
came, there came also an intellectual eleva-
ton. All uplifting of the whole being, a trans
formation of the silent, thoughtful general.
which surprised his foes and astonished his
friends. He eliminated at the crisis. He
was at his best when most needed. He re-
sponded in an emergency. He is one of the
few men IN history who sid more than was
expected. His latent resources seemed in
exhaustible. Was Fort Donelson esteemed
impreg nable? Ii yielded to his command for
an immediate and unconditional surrender.
Did Vicksburg defy his sixth plan of capture?
His seventh plan was success. Did Rich
mond hurl defiance at all previous attempts?
His final effort was a triumph, and over the
doomed capitol of the confederacy floated the
flag of the Union.
He hated war. He looked upon it as a
ghastly monster, whose march is to the music
of the widows sighs and orphans cry. He
loved peace, and pursued it. BLESSED are
the peacemakeTs. for they shall be called the
children of God was his beatitude. From
this better nature and higher mission
warrior sprung his conduct toward the van
quished. He had ne hatred in his heart His
heart was as tender as a woman'S He was
not vindictive. His holy evangel to the ma
ton was Let us have peace" Hence.
towards the close of the war, those who had
fought against him saw that there was no
safety but in the arms of their cOnqueror. In
his dying chamber he grssped the hand of
him whose sword was the first he won, and
said: II have witnessed since my sickness
just what | wished TO see ever since the war.
harmony and good feeling between the
tons" This has been the softening minis
try of his sufierings to his couutrymen. God
permitted him to see this glorious cons umated.
Our sorrow is national in the broadest sense,
and had he lived to see foreign foe invade
our shores, North and South would have
chosea him to lead us to defend our liberty.
of W lpH nv
his love of truth. He preferred honor to
wealth, and poverty to riches not his own.
Oh, Americans, think of the pride of your
nation, the glory of your age and the object
of the worlds admiration having nothing to
bequeath to those he loved, save his good
name, and that heaven admitted to probate
without the whisper of contention.
"In honor preferring one another" was the
inspired maxim of his life. How evident his
delight in announcing the triumph of those
great generals who fought under him. And
here IN the presence of the illustrious dead,
let us recall the tender and constant friend
ship of Grant and Sherman and Sheridan.
They were as one man. They acted without
anxiety. They were at once the supplement
and converse of each other. He was pro-
found in reflection; they acted by sudden
illumination. He was cool without languor;
they were ardent with precipitation. He
was more ready to act than to speak, and
most resolute and determined when silent:
they most eloquent in words and deeds when
executing the plans of their chief. He Gre
ated in them the expectation of something
extraordinary; they sought to reach those
prodigies which crowned his life as the most
consummate general He, by the depth of
his genius and his incredible resources, rose
superior to the greatest dangers; they, by an
admirable instinct, seemed to learn to draw
fortune into their plans and force destiny
itself. He was a sensitive, high spirited,
manly man. who had the will and the cour-
age to contend to the last for what was his
due.
And the world mistakes the character of
our illustrious countryman in supposing that
he was without self-apprecistion. He knew
his power and realized his strength. His hu-
miity was not born of self-ignorance. His
sef-abnegation was not inspired by contempt
for the reward of noble deeds. He was not
Indifferent to the appreciation Of his fellow
men, nor was his ear deaf to the voice of
praise. He loved fame, but he did not seek
it; he loved power, but he did not aspire to
it; he loved wealth, but he did not covet it.
He despised pretense and show, but admired
the real and beautiful He was not fond of
y
thoroughness of reflection, by attentivenes.
to the conversation of the well informed, BY
extensive travels in many lands, BY the daily
study of current events, he was the most in
telligent citizen in our republic.
He never acted for effect. He acted be-
cause he could not help it. Ambition could
not corrupt his patriotism; calumnies could
rot lessen it discouragements could not sub
due it 1t was not a sudden outburst of the
imagination, but an intelligent conviction
He committed all to the great struggle to
save his country. There was a time when
he preferred that his military genius should
suffer momentary depreciation than hazard
the cause of the Union by revealing the vast
ness of his plans, which required time to un-
fold.
His most intimate friends knew him only
in part. He was fully and best known only
TO the wife of his bosom and the children of
his loins. To them, the man of iron will and
nerve of steel was gentle, tender and conid-
ing, and to them he unfolded his beautiful
religious life.
This was his creed; II believe in the holy
scriptures, and who so lives by them will be
benefited thereby; men may differ as to the
Interpretation, which is human: but the
scriptures are mans best guide He rev.
cred their source. recognized their influence.
responded to their acquisitions, trusted in
their promises and found consolation in their
hopes His faith in God as the sovereign
ruler and the father almighty, was simple as
.zt.t IL. nxxA rvHH