Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1885-07-30
THE NATIONS DEAD HERO.


The announcement Of the death of Gen
Grant, which went over the wires Thurs.
day morning, was shock to the people
although it was not an unexpected result
of the ailment that for nine months has
been gradually and steadily consuming the
vitality of the great soldier. He met the
grim monster with that impertur ba biIlty
characteristic of his private and public
life, as he had met the vicissitudes OF busi-
ness in the capacity of private citizen,
Is he had met the foe on the battle fields
Of the war Of the rebellion, as he had met
the emergencies and attacks IN political
life a. chief executive of the nation.
As q business man he was what the
world would call failure, but the very
peculiar characteristic that made him q
failure 10 business pursuits made him q
success as general in the army. He was
stole unmoved by conditions and cir.
cumstances that made other men almost
wild with excitement. He was ccol, c.l-
cnlat,ng, and had the nerve to carry out
the great secret of his success as a gen.
eral.
Ulysses Simpson Grant was born in
CIermont county, Ohio, April q, 1922,
and was consequently 63 years, 2 months
and 26 days old at the time Of his death.
At the age of II he entered West Point
Ms cadet and graduated without special
distinction four years later. In 1S45 he
held commission as lieutenant in the
war with Mexico aid served under Gen.
Scott and Gen. Taylor respectively. After
this he engaged IN very obscure pursuits of
manual labor until 1852 when he was sent
TO Oregon we believe as quartermaster
for the forces stationed there to keep the
Indians quiet. In 1854 he resigned this
pace and went TO Galena, ILL.,, to engage
IN the leather trade with his :atLer who
was tanner, and there The war OF the
rebellion found him. On application TO
Gov, Yates and personal interview he
was, on recommendation of the governor,
given the colonelcy Of the 2lst rcgln ent
of Illinois volunteers aud sent over into
Missouri. In July of the same year, 1861,
he was commissioned brigadier G. neral
aud stationed ut Cairo. His brilliant vic
torres in Kentucky and East Tennessee
which followed were rewa rded with pro.
motion to major general Immediately af-
ter the capture of Fort DonneIson. HIS
authority being enlarged his victories in
creased in magnitude, aud March l, 1864,
lie was promoted to the highest rank ever
attained by general in the federal army,
that Of Lieut.. General and commander.
in-chlef of all the armies If the United
States. q position created for him by con-
gress Then he planned aud set in course
Of execution system of military cam:
paigns boxing 10 the demolition of the
strongholds of the southern confederacy
which eliminated in the surrender Of
Gen. Lee at Appomatox April 8, 1865.
In 1867, when president johnson sus-
pended Stanton, secretary Of war, Grant
wss appointed By the president and sorv.
I'd IN thGt position until ongress conven-
ed and refused to concur IN the suspcn-
sion of Stanton when Grant surrendered
the position. Ia 1868 Grant was unani-
mously nominated by the natl nal repub
licsn convention for president and was
elected the following November. In 1872
he was Te-nolainated and re- elected. At
the close of bis second term he and his
family made trip around the world, Wis
i,ing all the countries and soverc'gns Of
continental Europe, by whom the general
was feted rs no American citizen ever
had been before or has been since. Re-
turning just in time for the excitement OF
ovs,ions to reach their height by the date
Of the republican national convention in
1880, his friends made an effort bordering
on desperation to secure his nomination
for q third term but without success, and
this ended the political career Of Gen.
Grant. Later he engaged in banking
business IN New York IN which he lost
all throu gh the dishonesty of his partner,
the modification of being involved 10 the
odium of which bore heavily upon him if
it did not hasten his death.
Outside OF business pursuits the life of
Gen. Grant, though not wholly devoid
Of faults, is in many respects an example
which the young man may contemplate
with profit. He acted upon the maxim
that Zone never regrets having said toe
little" He rarely ever sad anything for
the public unless circumstances and his
relations to the public demanded II, aud
then in few words and 10 the point lie
was known to the world as the "Silent
Man." He was delibe, ate and resolute,
and as lmpervious as s!oicism 10 crlti
cisms and attacks upon his policy by the
people and the press. He always thor
oughly considered line of policy, dellb-
erately planned its execution anu then
executed It with an iron will aud un
hinch,ng determination. In all subordi-
nate positions he implicitly obeyed the
orders of his superiors, and as q COM
mander be was firm as rock In his or
ders.
Not only the American nation will in
sorrow drop silent tear for its most H.
lustrious soldier and general, but millions
Of admirers OF the veteran warrior beyon
the ocean. There is hardly nook OF
corner IN the civilized world that does
not know the name and fame OF Gtn.
Grant by heart. Those in the South who
first knew him as an enemy in war are IN
peace his friends. and from the gulf or
the south to the lakes in the north, from
tie Atlantic to the Pacific, aud wherever
eRe On land and sea the s:ars and stripe.
nnfQrls to the breeze, the s'old nag,'
which, Gen. Grsnt so yaliantly defended
and maintained, is lowered to halt mas
in honor of the service of the old helt