Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1885-08-06
Sermon at the NJ. E. Church. on the
Character of L. :. Grant.

VI u uIduI-
The subject of the sermon Sunday
morning last at the NJ. E. church. of ST.
Clairsville. Rev. w. H. Haskell, pastor.
was suggested by III Tim. ii 3-4:
Special attention was directed to the
preeminent traits and services of General
Grant. Following are some of the
points made:
The foundation of bis greatness was
laid IN his early years, at West Point, and
by the careful training of his christian
parents in his humble Ohio home. The
Hon. Simon Cameron, man of remark+
ably accurate judgment of men, and one
who had rare opportunities TO know the
leading men of this country, has said ::
He was man of singular purity and
simplicity of life and purpose. | regard
him as the best specimen, taken ali in
all, of the fully rounded out and com.
plete American character that the coun-
try has yet produced. His achieve
ments were the result of the teaching of
excellent parents upon singularly SIM
pie, brave and truthful nature His ca
reer is an evidence Of the value of early
| training.
His greatness was characterized bv
unselhsh devotion to duty; single
eye to the preservation OF the unity
of the States. When it was pro,
posed to make General Sherman Lieut..
General. and give him Grants place,
Sherman wrote to his chief, deprecating
and denOuncing the plan, Grant replied
IN these memorable words:
Il have received your very kind letter. i.
| II you should be placed in my position, and
l put subordinate, it would not change our
relations in the least. l would make the same
exertlons to support you that you have ever
done to support me, and l would do all in my
power to make our cause win
How grandly those words shine amid the
jealousies and place seeking of the civil war,
especially of its earlier stages!
His strong, common sense taught him early
IN the war the difference between beating and
destroying and enemy, and throughout he
aimed at the destruction of the armed foe; the
utter stamping out of rebellion. His career
is well summerlzed in his own words: .'Head
quarters in the field and the rebel armies are
the strategic points," His clear, quick mind
graSped the sure way of restoring the suprem>
acy OF the Union, and he followed it out with
a relentless purpose which knew no possibilis
ty of failure.
Union Generals had been awed by breast
works and what proved to be wooden selpe-
guns, but not so with this great leader. We see
the reason why SO many men had to be sacri-
need before ne reached the battlefield of
FIveforks. From the Rapidan to Petersburg
every available point had been fortified: the
army OF Northern Virginia and its able leader
had won the mighty prestige of discipline and
many victories. The price of crushing such
a foe thus fortified was the necessary loss of
thousands of precious lives. When the foe
lost his prestige and was no longer protected
by earthNworks, seven days of fighting and
pursuit saw the surrender of Lee and the utter
collapse of the cOnfederacy. Always agrees
sive, always hunting the armed enemy. un>
daunted. victorious such an aggressive pur>
suit of any noble object will bring success and
make life grand.
The faith with which he set about his great
work is not the least wonderful trait of the
man. Brave and noble generals were timid
and doubtful. They always had an eve to a
chance for retreat-more than half expecting
that such would be the result His first and
chief concern was to find the enemy and deal
him heavy aud continuous blows until. pro-
tected by white flag, he should sue for
terms of peace. In the most critical turn of
affairs, as during the second day in the Wilder
ness, when Sedwck's line was broken and all
was wild with perplexity and forbodings of
defeat, he was caln and impurturbed as ever.
giving his orders with great calmness and
promptness. His reserve power was won
derful, and the greater the demand upon him
the more susprising his ability. Intimate
friends says that they never heard him utter
word as If he had any thought that failure
was possible.
He was not only great on great occasions,
| but also in small things. Like his able oppo-
nent, General Lee, he was gentle as a woman
and, unlike Lee, he never lost, for moment,
perfect selt>composure. Men who were with
him for years and saw him in the most trying
places, never heard a profane word from his
lips, or what approached profanity. What a
rebuke is here for that cOarseness which must
use an oath on the slightest provocation or on
no provocation at ALL
| Dying of cancer and overwhelmed with
total financial ruin, yet he was sternly honest
to the last. Refusing with answering pur>
pose the money rendered to pay the mortgage.
seeing his house on 66th street stripped of its
gifts and ornaments to be taken to Washing>
ton for preservation-even his uniform and his
sword-fghting for life that he might finish
his "Memoirs." The hero of Mount Me-
Gregor was not one whit less than the hero of
Appomattax.
We to-day have happy and united country
because of his military ability and leadership
The quiet Potomac and the Ohio are not
boundaries of different and independent ma,
tions, and lined with breatsworks and forts
and watched from opposite shores by stand
ing armies, ready on the slightest provocation
70 plunge us into war, but they are the bound
aries of sister states and bear upon their
waters friendly commerce, because he led
our armies to victory and crushed rebellion
which was fought with infinite mischief to all
the states, and to the cause of free representa-
tive government everywhere A happy and
grateful people will unite in the mournfnl
rites of a national burial for his remains. Cons
federate and Union soldiers and officers vie
with each other in their tribute of love and
honor to the leader, who, with Lincoln, is the
savior cf his country.