The National tribune., 1885-06-25
GRANTS MEMOIRS.
Extracts from His Autobiography.
Incidents and Events in His Career.
THE GENERALS ANCESTRY.

THE GENERALS ANCESTRY.
Following are the most interesting extracts
from the Memoirs that are given in the pros
pectus:
My family is American, and has been for
generations in all its branches, direct and col
| lateral.
Matthew Grant, the founder of the branch
| in America of which / am descendant,
reached Dorchester, Mass, in May, 1880. In
| 1885 he moved to what is now Windsor, Conn.,,
and was the surveyor of that Colony for more
than 40 years. He was also for many years of
| the time town clerk He was married man
when he arrived in Dorchester, but his chill
| dren were all born in this country His eldest
| son, Samuel, took lands on the east side Of
Connecticut River, opposite Windsor, which
| have been held and occupied by descendants OF
| his to this day.
| am of the eighth generation from Matthew
| Grant, and seventh from Samuel. Matthew
! Grants first wife died few years after their
| settlement iu Windsor, and he soon after mar
| ried the widow Rockwell, who. with her first
husband, had been fellow passengers with him
and his first wife, On the ship Mary and John
from Dorchester, England, in 1880. Mrs.
Rockwell had several children by her first
marriage, and others by her second. By inter-
marriage, two or three generations later, am
descended from both the wives of Matthew
Grant.
| In the fifth descending generation my great
| grandfather, Noah Grant, and his younger
| brother Solomon, held commissions in the
English army, in 1855, in the war against the
| French and Indians. Both were killed that
| year.
My grandfather, also named Noah, was then
but nine years old. At the breaking out of
the War of the Revolution, after the battles of
Concord and Lexington, he went with a Con-
necticut company to join the Continental
Army, and was present at the battle OF Bunker
Hill. He served until the fall of Yorktown, or
through the entire Revolutionary War. He
must however, have been OH furlough part of the
time-as believe most of the soldiers of that
period were-for he married in Connecticut
during the war, had two children, and was a
widower at the close.
HIS BOYHOoD AND EDUCATION.
Here is one Of the authors earliest personal
"reminiscences:
There was Mr. Ralston living within few
miles of the village, who owned a colt which
very much wanted. My father had offered $40
for it, but Mr.. Ralston wanted $25. / was so
anxious to have the colt that after the owner
left begged to be allowed to take him at the
price demanded. My father yielded, but said
$50 was all the horse was worth, and told me
to offer that price; if it was not accepted l was
to offer $22.50, and if that would not get him,
to give the $25. at once mounted a horse and
went 1Or the cOlC. Wnen got 10 MI haistou
house, said to him, Papa says | may offer
you 500 for the colt, but if you wont take that
/ am to offer you $22.50, and if you wont take
that, to give you $25." 1t would not require
Connecticut man to guess the price finally
agreed upon. This story is nearly true. l
certainly 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.
kept the horse until he was four years old,
when he went blind and l sold him for $40.
When l went to Maysville to school in 1886, at
the age of Ia, ] recognized my colt as one of
the blind horses working on the tread-wheel of
the ferryboat.
Of the circumstances of his admission to
West Point, Gen. Grant tells the following:
My father received letter from the Hon.
Thomas Morris, then United States Senator
from Ohio. When he read it he said to me,
Ulysses, l believe you are going to receive the
appointment" "What appointment" 1 in
quired. ITO West Point; have applied for
it." but l won't Co." said He said he
thought / would, and l 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 its immediate neigh
berhood, who had graduated, and never fail
ure of any one appointed from Georgetown,
except in the case of the one whose place l 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 examination 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
felt the failure of his son so keenly that he for
bade his return home.
During my first years encampment Gen.
Scott visited West Point and reviewed the
cadets. With his commanding figure, his quite
colossal size and snowy uniform, thought him
the finest specimen of manhood my eyes had
ever beheld, and the most to be envied could
never resemble him in appearance, but believe
/ did have presentiment for moment that
some day / should occupy his place on review,
although had no intention then of remaining
in the Army. But my experience in a horse
trade 10 years before and the ridicule it caused
me, were too fresh in my mind fOr me to COM
municate this presentiment to even my most
intimate chum. The next Summer Martin Van
Buren,, then President of the United States,
visited West Point and reviewed the cadets.
But he did not impress me with the awe that
Scott inspired In fact regarded Gen. Scott
and Capt. Z. +. Smith, the cOmmandant OF ca
detS as the two men most to be envied by the
Nation. ] was impatient to get ON
my uniform and see how it looked besides
probably wanting my old schoolmates partcu-
larly the girls, to see me in it. But the conceit
was knocked out of me by two little circum-
stances that happened soon after the arrival of
the clothes, and which gave me a distaste for
military uniform that never recovered FROM
Soon after the arrival of the suit dOnned it
and put off for Cincinnati on horseback. While
/ was riding along street of that city, imagin-
ing that every one was looking at me with feel
in ak IN m w / rSt tsav
little urchin, bareheaded, barefooted, with
dirty and ragged pants held up by a single gal
lows-thats what suspenders were called then
and shirt that had not seen wash tub for
weeks, turned to me and cried out: Soldier,
will you work? No, stree; III sell my shirt
first" The horse trade and its dire consequences
were recalled to mind.
WHY GRANT WENT INTO SERVICE.
The circumstances under which Gen. Grant
went into service in the war Of the rebellion
are most interesting He says:
At Galena, in 1861, posters were stuck up
calling for q meeting of the citizens at the
Courthouse in the evening. Business ceased
entirely; all was excitement; for time there
was no party distinctions all were Union men,
determined to avenge the insult to the national
flag In the evening the Courthouse was pack
ed Although comparative stranger, l was
called upon to prcside-the sole reason, possi-
bly,, was that ! had been in the army and had
seen service. With much embarrassment and
some prompting, i made out to announce the
object of the meeting. Speeches were il order