Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-06-10

From Personal Memoirs Of q. s Grant"
Following is an account OF young Grants ap
| pointment TO West Point:
My father received letter from the Hon.
| Thomas Morris. then United States senator
nom Ohio. when he read IL he said 20 me,
| Ulysses, believe you going to receive the
appointment" "what appointments" 1 In
quired. "To West Point; have applied fos
| It," but / won't co." said. He said he
thought I would, and i thought so too II he
did. really had no objection TO going to West
/ Point, except that had a 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
iour boys nom our village, or its Immediate
nelghborhood, who had graduated. aud never q
lallurc OF any one appointed nom Georgetown,
our nearcs, and most Intimate neighhor
Finding before the January examination fol.
lowing that he could not pass. he resigned and
weat 10 private school, and remained there
until the following War. when he was reap
pointed But before the next examination he
sensltixe n,s1 nd ~ n. ,, Was Pryae ana
keenly that lac forbade his return home.
During my hrs years eneampment Gen.
| cadets With hts commanding lgurc, ms
quite colossal size and SNOWY uniform. ]
my eyes had ever beheld and the most To he
enyied. could never resemble him in appear
/
I for moment that some day should occupy
/ his place on review. although had no inieir
/ ton then OF remaining i'm the army.
At Galcna in Sol posters were stuck up call
/ ing Tor Il meeting "a the citizens at the court
1 house in the evening business ceased en-.
I tiicly; al was excitement; for a time there
! no party distinctions; all were Union men. de-
! termined To- avciIge the insult to the national
flag. In the evening the court house packed.
Although u comparative stranger. was callcd
! upon Ia preside the sole reason, possibly was
/ that / had been In the and had
Vice. With much embarrassment and some
prompting made out Ia announce the Offices
oi The meeting. Speeches were in order: hut
III IL doubtful whether IL would have been
safe Just then To make other than pairi-
J house. however, who felt like making
amy other. The two principal speeches were by
ridge democrat al the N"yemh.r election tin
! tail before and John 4. Rawlins an eectnr
the Douglas ticket l.. u. WaShburne. with
whom was not acquainted at that time. came
in after the meeting had been organized. and
| expressed, understood aflcrward. little sur
prise that Galena could not furnish presiding
officer for such an occasion without taking a
| stranger. lie came forward and was Introduced,
| and made speech appealing 10 the patriotism
After the speaking was over, volunteers were
called FOR 10 form a company.
| AS soon rs the enemy saw Us speaking OF his
first battle la the civil war; they decampcd rs
fast as their horses would carry them. / kept
my iueu in the ranks and forbade their enter
Ing amy OF the deserted house. or taking any
road aud proceeded the next nloruin.e at an
early hour. Harris had been encsml,Cd i'm a
creek bottom for the sake Of being near water.
! The hills on either side al the creeA extend 10 a
considerable height possibly more than 100
feet As we approached the brow OF he hill
Harris camp. and possibly find his men read
formed to meet III, my heart kept getting
higher and higher. until ii felt to me a,
| though il WAS i'm my throat. 1 would have
given anything then To have been back in III.
/ nois, but / had no, the moral coura., 10 han
con nf N dn E.anRf FaarlNt
! When we reached point from which the val
ley below was in full view halted. The place
before was still there, and the marks OF a recent
encampment Were plainly visible, but the
| troops were gone. Ny heart Resumed its place.
Ii occurred To me at once that Harris had been
as much afraid OF me as 1 had been of him.
This was view of the question 1 had never
| taken before but il was one never forgot after
| wards. From that event To the close OF the waI
never experienced trepidation upon confront
| ing an enemy.
At the battle OF Belmont, fearing that the
! enemy We had seen crossing the river below
might be coming upon Us unawares, rode out
in the field To our ffoni-still entirely alone-to
| observe whether the enemy was passing. The
Held was grown up with corn tall and thick
a. TO cut OF the view of even a person on horse.
| back. except directly along the rows. Even I'm
that direction. owing TO the oyerhanging blades
| of corn. the view not extensive had not
gone more than few hundred yards when
fifty yards away. 1 looked at Them for a mo-
ment, and then turned my horse towards the
river and started back, first in walk, aud
| when / thought myself concealed from the
view of the enemy, as fast as my horse cOul6
carry me. When at the river bank still had n
ride few hundred yards TO where the nearest
The cornheld in front of our transports termi
mated at the edge of dense forest. Before
got back the enemy had entered this forest, and
had opened brisk fire upon the boats. our
| men, with the exception of details that had
gone TO the front after the wounded, were now
either aboard the transports or very near them.
| Those who were not on board soon got there
OF the national army between the rebels and
our transports. The captain OF boat tina
recognized me and ordered the engineer not Il
start the engine. He then had plank run
out for me- My horse seemed to take i'm the
situation. There was no path down the bank
and every one acquainted with the Mississippi
| river knows that its banks, in natural state,
do not vary AZ any great angle from the per-
pendicular. My horse put his fore feet over
| the bank without hesitation or urging and,
with his hind feet well under him. Sid down
| the bank and trotted aboard the boat, twelve
| or fifteen feet away, over a single gang plank.
| dismounted and went at once to the upper
| deck.
Gen. Scott and Gen. Taylor are thus con-
had now been In battle with the two lead
Ing commanders conducting armies in "A foreign
| marked. Gen. Taylor never wore uniform, but
dressed himself entirely for comfort. He moved
about the field, i'm which he operating, to
see through his own eyes the situation Often
| he would be without staff officers, and when he
was accompanied by them there was no pre-
scribed order in which they followed. He wa.
4 very much given to sit on his horse sideways
| with both feet on one side-particularly on the
battlefield. Gen. Scott was the reverse liz
| all these particulars. He always wore all the
uniform prescribed, or allowed, by law; when
he Inspected his lines word would be sent to all
division and brigade commanders in advance
notifying them of the hour when the command
| ing general might be expected. This was done
SO that all the army might be put under ARM
10 salute their chief as he passed. On these oc
casions ne wore his dress uniform, cooked hat
aguillettes, saber and spurs. His staff proper
besides all officers constructively on his staff
engineers, inspectors, Quartermasters, etc.-fol
lowed, also in uniform and in prescribed order
Orders were prepared with great care and evi
IDENTIFY with the view that they should be his
tory Of what followed.