The Democrat. (Scotland Neck, Halifax Co., N.C.) 1884-1896, 1885-09-03
GRANT,.
His Career as q General.

While we are not ignorant of the
ancient saying, ''that every man is
the architect Of his own fortune"
vet we.haye serious doubts as to it's
literal truth. If ever a man had
good fortune thrown around him in
superabundance, aud the fates of
the gods OF war turned to his ad-
vantage more conspicuously and
pointedly than to any other since
the days of miracles, that man was
Hiram Ulysses Grant. Ushered in
to war such as no living man had
ever witnessed, with five millions
and half OF white people on one
side. and twenty-One millions on
the other side, with nothing but an
Imaginary line across continent to
separate the two grand contending
factions, it so happened that his
destiny was east on the side Of the
lm-er factiol, with the whole civil
lied and rncivilized world from
which to draw supplies, material
and men.
While the smaller faction was so
hedsed and hemmed in that it was
next 70 impossible for even an in
diyidual to escape without being
capuured. And it further so hap
pened that he was one of the wards
Cf the nation with a military edu-
catiOn, and succeeded to a command
Of a division, then department.,
then the enoire army Of the larger
faction, because of the scarcity of
good material out Of which to
mike commanders. With I'll the
powers Of the Federal Government
a; his back, and all the outside
world besides, he succeeded in
wearing 0ut b.T attrition and some
friction occasionally, an infan1 peo-
pie so 90 speak, Gravity and
notion alone did the work. That
is, power and force did the conquer
ing. and would have done it with
any other agency to put the forces
N motion without even an in,elli-
gent director. Alexander was call
ed great, Dut the masses Of mankind,
and all the fates, and the world
were against him; yet he subdued
tnem all, and made them subject
to his will. Hannibal, Caesar and
Napoleon were all called great war
rio.s, but they all had obstacles TO
overcome, seas to cross, mountains
to climb, rlvers to ford, nations to
conquer, combined foreign armies
to ti9hj and whip and the prejudi-
ces aDd passions Of the world to
meet and subdue. They all won
their ladrels, and more their crowns,
b. the practice OF a higher order OF
mllltaty genius, by strategy, by sub
dung superior forces with inferior
imcas. Our own WashlnSt ton, rom
a,popnlation less than three millions
sea; e:nd over thirteen Amer can
S,ajes, established American Inde-
pnndelce ln defiance OF England.
He dad it by neither whipping the
enemy nor allowing the enemy to
Whip him: by so doing he exercised
the hI3nest order Of military ge-
n,nS and SKILL, and shed less blood
:han any o her commander, = con-
siierdp pl0I ni' the resn,ts OBJ. ned.
81 which history .Nes an accornt.
Now who can tru.n~nlly Y that
Grant did not slaughter more men
TOR less nIIce than any other com
handler for the last three hundred
wears. But he received Lees sur
reueier, the grand military chief
tan OF the lost cause, and was
crHTned victor. Let bin wear it.
Le1 No maa dim his lustre; for it
was glory enough Tor one man, and
to last a lifetime, to receive the sur
render Of that great man and his
handful of Spartans who stood
a>oJIi,d him ike wall of iron, ready
toperish, to die, at the command OF
their chief.
Now, just here, our people seem
to so into spasms about his great
hess and goodness. What did he
Go: When and where did he make
hese qualities so conspicuOusg They
say that he allowed the officers to
retain their side arms, and the men
10 retain their horses. What less
ought he to have done, as the com
Alahder Of the victorious army OF
civilized and christian people.
10 have done less would have been
more like a fie nd out Of sheol,
,haa civilized man. He did moth
'hs on this occasion that Napoleon,