The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1885-04-29

IOlnJ, WIFI headquarters on Jne SJeam-
boat Magnolia. Two of the staff off
GERS had been sent North under orders,
leaving their rooms on the boat vacant.
General Grant invited two officers on
board one night for consultation. Dur
ing the consultation a violent rain
storm came up, and General Grant
asked these officers to remain on board
over night, saying that he had two
rooms and that it would be more pleas
ant for them to stay there than to 90
to their camp in the storm. The time
for retiring arrived and the officers were
shown to their rooms. When the doors
were opened, however, it was found
that the beds were occupied by the col
ored servants of the officers who were
absent General Grant was very angry,
but his indignation did not find vent in
oaths; he merely ordered these servants
out on shore into the rain and in a
short time, his Indignation having
cooled, he sent an orderly to tell them
they could come back upon the boat"
How did you become acquainted
with General Grant," / asked.
knew him as boy at school. My
home was at Maysville, Kentucky, and
young Grant came there, boy of
twelve or thirteen, to attend the acad-
envy. He lived with his aunt in Mays
vile, and was very quiet, retiring and
studious boy. AS 1 remember him he
was a little chubby fellow with a round,
freckled face and sandy hair. He was
a good-natured boy and went by the
name of Lyss.' Shortly after he left
school he went to West Point, and from
that time l did not meet him again until
the fall of 1861, when / was sent West
in connection with the postoffice depart
ment. In attending to my business
1 was thrown in with General Grant at
Cairo at about the time he took COM
mand. Here / get my first glimpse of
him as man. As an instance of his
remarkable memory of features, though
he could not have known l was coming
to Cairo, he recognized me at once one
day when 1 was passing the window of
his headquarters. / did not recognize
him. 1t did not take us long to revive
our old school-fellowship, and we be-
came great friends. | remained about
Cairo in connection with the postoffice
department until about the time of the
movement on Fort Henry. AT this
time General Grant asked me if / did
not want to see fight, and invited me
to 60 to Fort Henry with him. On the
way to Fort Henry on the headquarters
steamer New Uncle Sam, knowing that
| was an officer of the postotiice depart
ment, he suggested to me, or rather in
quired if it were not possible, to keep
the mail up to the army and to take the
soldiers letters home. On my answer
| ;,c, fho4 I thn,,c,lt hot L.
done, he gave me that branch of the
service, and from that beginning sprang
the great army mail service of the war
and to General Grant the credit of
originating that service belongs. The
army mail service developed the fact
that the mails could be distributed in
railway cars, and ON the top of railway
cars, going at the rate of thirty miles
an hour. In wagons, ambulances, and
even on horseback, mails were fire..
quently distributed and delivered under
the murderous fire of the enemy, and
it may be said that the perfect railway
mail service of to-day is the outgrowth
of the army mail service"
"What about Shiloh?" | asked.
That is a question of controversy
which any impression l may have viii
not settle. General Grant has recently
published his views of that battle
Whether they will settle the question
or not is uncertain. Stories of battles
are not told until all the actors are dead
1t is sufficient that the battle was fairly
won by the federal troops And there
should have been no difficulty in divid
ing the honors of the victory"
(. no Won tbipl Canarol Gropt I,o,
surprised?" said /.
60 state with positiveness, no, sir
General Grant was never surprised
No man ever saw General Grant speal
or act as if he were surprised. Hi.
staff officers would try to see if they
could not get him to exhibit surprise o.
establishment at some of their stOrie!
or by eXtravagant statements. They
never succeeded. When every on,
else was surprised he never gave any
indication that the matter of the sur
prise was not perfectly familiar to him
In the most trying times he was tn,
coolest and most self-possessed. Or
one occasion two hundred tons Of pow
der in barge lying at the waters edge
in the James river, Immediately oppo
site Grants headquarters at City Point
were exploded by an internal machin,
of the confederates, blowing the bodie
of men and mules and the debris of tn,
quartermaster's department into hi
camp, so that the air was thick witt
smoke and falling bodies, and ever,
one was frightened. Grant did no
move facial muscle. With imperturb
able gravity he said to staff officer
, Babcock, go out and see what is tn
, natter Nothing ever disturbed Gen
eral Grants equanimity. He neve
lost his head. You might tell him tn
most startling news in regard to tn
enemy, but his face would never indi
cate that it was news to him. If h
was ignorant of matter about whicl
you were talking, he would draw yo
out in such quiet way that you woul
, never imagine that the whole matte
was not perfectly familiar to him."
> 4" How about the time when the
! talked of relieving him of the comman