St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1885-12-05
Was Gen. u. s. Grant Really a
Great Soldier and States
man
man |?


| fratricidal war and after the war proved
himself in peace to be equally as beneV'
client, generous, liberal and forgivlDs
toward his fallen foe as he was invinci.
BILE in battle. And after being hOnOred
TO the Presidency of the United States
two terms, that he made niagnani-
nous and profound statesman. Some
Of his admiring friends go still further
and even want us to believe that he re-
ally was the greatest hero that the
world ever produced and far surpassed
and exceeded as strategisG in manOu-
vering, handling and directing the
movements OF large armies. Charlie
imagine, Frederic The Great, The Great
Napoleon, Wellington, George Wash
ington, Emperor William, Won Bis
mark, Won Moltke, Won ROone, or any
other great pOtentate or generallisslmU
that ever lived, rose, resigned or fell III
this mundane sphere. Other northern
as we'll as Southern biograpliers and
Journalists view him quite differently.
They say that Gen. Grant was u man OF
very narrow and ordinary mind, had no
intellectual powers OF his own, was
ruled and guided entirely by his subol-
dlnate officers, a mele creature OF CIR
cumstance, one of fortunes favOrites,
that his misfOrtunes, failures and mis-
takes were not of the heart but on ac-
count of his very weak head, although
he had u good, kind and sympathetic
heart, as all will admit that he acted
very kind and nObly toward the Con-
federate soldiers in the surrender of
Gen. Robt. Z. Lee at Appomatox Court
House.
We of the South can never forget and
always appreciate his kindness III max
ing favorable terms and conditions to
Gen. Lee at the time OF his surrender.
1t is universally believed, especially
in tie South, that Mr.. johnson, then
President, had determined to make an
example of some, if not all, of the South
ern Generals, and also some of the
highest civil Confederate government
officials JEFF. Davis and Geu. Lee
were the first selected or chosen by mm
to be sacrificed indeed Stanton, then
Secretary of War, issued an order for
the arrest of Gen. Lee. Gen. Grant was
said to have been playing billiards at
the time, when one of his staff OtfichTs
came rushing in almost out of breath
and called Gen. Grant aside in great
haste and told what Stanton had
done Grant, with the greatest sur
prise, went around Immediately to tire
office of StantOn and inquired Of him it
he really had the presumption to issue
such an order contrary to his terms and
conditions of parole promised Gen. lee.
He said that the nations honor was at
stake, as by the conditions of the sur
render Gen. Lee could not be arrested,
as he had id no wise violated his parole.
Stanton then said to Grant, do you
not know that am Secretary of war {?
to which Gen. Grant promptly retOrted,
Do you not know that am Gen. Grant
OF the United
States forces then abruptly left Stan
tons Office, whereupOn Stanton imme-
diately revoked his order of arrest, in
fact, Gen. Grant thwaTted Johnstonfs
and StantOn's lgnOminous, diabOlical
and blOOd-thirsty revenge aud saved
many poor Confederates from death,
for which the Southern people will al
ways remember and feel grateful and |
will never forget, as this showed that |
he had q soldiers heart, which made |
Them respect him living and now honor |
lim dead. This was the wisest and |
most magnanimoua act of his whole /
flea step taken in the right direction
md it it had been followed up by other /
good acts toward the ruined and devas- /
ated South during his administration
while President it would have made
lin one of the greatest, most progress
i've and enlightened heroes and states
men of the nineteenth century, and
would have appeared to the world like
, blazing rejecting beacon and resplen-
lent shining star in the galaxy of heav-
m and as such his name would have
,One down to pOSterity. He then would
ave had no trouble to have gained the
Residential hOnOrs for the third term,
D which lie was so very anxious to
spire. During his administration as
resident he should have recalled all
he soldiers and pfOvost-marsilais sta
toned in the South, granted general
to all civil as well as COnfede-
ate soldiers and officers, and let the Il
Till and sutfrages of the people be free
nd untrammeled, allowing each State
, be otficered and governed by the peo-
lie and for the people from their own
rec and unbiased sutfrages at the polls /
nd giving us fair and equal represen- z;
atlon IN the councils of the national
overnment as it was before the late !
vii war, paying for losses during the 4
ar, pensloning the wounded and disa-
led Confederate soldiers, their widows
nd orphans as well as their unfortu- h
ate brethren of the Union army, who
appened to turn mp on tile winning {
de. AS the late war was il great ma t
onal calamity. The South being no q
ore to blame in causing it than the :
ORTIZ as it was an irresistible conflict s
ld had to come, it seemed to have /
zen destined by the great OmnipOtent. +
never thought Gen. Grant great +
ldler IN the late war, az his military o
ccess was in overcoming the smallest Ec
lysical obstacles by the largest over t
belming numerical forces and to be G
ceessful in this, of course, does not d
quire any extraordinary order Of ge-
us or intellect, but simple apDlica-
IN of dynamic forces numerically an
ed. He could not begin to approach
. shadow OF the brave and heroic Lee
idas who defended the pass Of Their