Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1885-04-23
GENERAL GRANT.
Distinguished American Citi-
zen of To-day.
His Record as a Soldier i'm Mexico
A Capable and Brave officer
His Military Renown.
The Story of the Campaign that Gull
minated in the Surrender of
Lee of Appomattox.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
Continued from last sceck.)

|
on the morning of the 9TH was as fol-
flows: Gen. Lew Wallace on the right,
Sherman to his left; then McClern and,
and then Hurlbut. Nelson, of Buell.
army. was on the extreme left, next to
the river; Crittenden was next in line
after Nelson, and on his right; McCook
followed, and formed the extreme right
of BuelPs command. NV old command
thus formed the right wing, while the
troops directly under Buell. constituted
the lett wing of the army. These rela-
tive positions were retained during the
| entire day, or until the enemy was
driven from the field.
I'm very short time the battle be-
came general all along the line. This
day everything was favorable to the
| federal side. We now had become the
attacking party. The enemy was
driven back all day, as we had been the
day before, until finally he beat pre-
| cipitate retreat.
g Shiloh was the most Sc
we're battle fought at the west during
the war, and but few in the east equaled
1T for hard, determined fighting. | saw
an open field, in our possession on the
| second day, over which the confeder-
ates had made repeated charges the day
before, so covered with dead that it
would have been possible to walk
across the clearing. in any direction,
stepping on dead bodies, without a foot
touching the ground. On our side
federals and confederates were mingled
| together in about equal proportions;
but on the remainder of the field nearly
| all were confederates. On one part,
which had evidently not been plowed
for several years, probably because the
land was poor, bushes had grown up,
some to the height of eight or ten feet
There was not one of these left stand
ing unpierced by bullets. The smaller
| ones were all cut down.
Contrary to all my experience up to
| that time, and to the experience of the
army was then commanding, we were
on the defensive. We were without
intrenchments or defensive advantages
of any sort, and more than half the
army engaged the first day was with
out experience or even drill as soldiers.
The officers with them, except the di-
vision commanders, and possibly two
or three of the brigade commanders
We're equally inexperienced in war.
The result was union victory that
gave the men who achieved it great
confidence in themselves ever after.
The enemy fought bravely, but they
had started out to defeat and DESTROY
an army and capture position. They
failed in both, with very heavy loss in
killed and wounded, aud must have
gone back discouraged and convinced
that the Yankee was not an enemy to
be despised.'
TIRE REBELS ON THE DEFENSIVE.
The consequence of Shiloh was the
withdrawal of the rebels from their
second line of defense, by their evac-
uation of Corinth on the 30th of May,
seven weeks afterward; the disappoint-
ment of both of their great plans of
holding the Memphis and Charleston
railroad line and the opening of all Ten
nessee and the north of Mississippi and
Alabama to the union forces; the OPEN
ing of the Mississippi river from Mem
phis down to Vicksburg; the subsequent
movements which resulted in the battle
of Murfrcesboro and the securing of
Chattanooga on the east, and the series
OF efforts which eliminated in the cap
ture OF Vicksburg on the west. In
short, this battle flung the rebellion in
the valley of the Mississippi into de
fensive posture, out of which it never
escaped during the remainder of the
war. The taking of Fort Donelson had
given Grant a reputation as prompt
and vigorous fighter and a sensible COM
mander. The battle of Shiloh, when
its extremely important results came to
be understood, added to his reputation
in proportionate degree While, there
fore, one line of operations was decided
upon which pointed eastward and was
to end in the occupation of .Chattanoo-
ga, Rosecrans being placed in COM
mand, to the westward and southwark
second great enterprise was aimed,
which was intrusted to Grant; which
should end in the occupation of Vicks-
burg, and should thus complete the task
which the men of the northwest had
proposed to themselves at the beginning
Of the war, of chewing their way to the
sea" Vicksburg and Port Hudson
were now the only remaining two of
that series of positions, most of them
really impregnable from the river, by
which the rebels had throttled the great
artery of western commerce.
His previous career naturally enough
pointed out Grant for the command of
the Vlcksburg campaign; and the event
showed that his absolute inability to let
go where he had once taken hold, his
inevitable continuance in hammering at
his object. We're exactly the qualities
needed. For little while. Gen. Hal
leck himself came and commanded in
person against Corinth, Gen. Grant be-
ing SECOND in command. 1t was dur
ing this period that both the two occa-
sions occurred which are said to have
been the only ones when Grant was
ever known to lose his temper. His
steady nature and calm good humor
had become proverbial among his fell
lows even while he was a student; for
about the time of his leaving West
Point the cadets said of him, to use his
fathers words, that the only difficulty
about him was that ''if he ever was en-
gagged in war, he was too good-natured
to be kicked into fight , The two
occasions spoken of are said to have
been: one, when he discovered a soldier
defiling the water of a clear spring, and
the other when he wished TO move at
once upon the works" of Beauregard at
Corinth, ten days before Halleck was
ready, as he saw that by so doing the
whole confederate army in the place
could be taken. Of his urgency with
Halleck. Grants father once said: .'He
lGrant1 is sure he used stronger Ian
guage to Gen. Halleck than he had ever
used before to any person, and expected
to be arrested and tried. But the gem
eral said to him. IF had let YOU take
your own course, you would have taken
the confederate army. Hereafter will
not dictate to you about the manage
ment of an army.
vICKsBURG.
Halleck now left, being appointed
general-in-chef and Grant remained in
command of the Army of the Tennessee
and of the military districts of Cairo,
west Tennessee, and Mississippi. The
confederates knew as well as he that
his face was set steadfastly toward
Vicksburg; and, to begin with, they
attacked his troops at Corinth and Iuka
in great force and tremendous fury in
order to break his plans. At both
places they were, however, defeated.
In October the confederate. Gen. Penn
berton, was placed in command in
northern Mississippi, and in the last
two months of 1862 took place Grants
first attempt against Vicksburg. The
two powerful fleets of Farragut and
II : Il A