Madison times. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1884-1???, 1885-05-09
TERMS: S22.CO.pER YEAR
GRANT AT yICKBURG.
Admiral POrter's Account Of the Gem
erals Conduct of the Stape.

erals Conduct of the Stage.
The following extract is from a work
entitled Anecdotes and "reminiscences
of the Civil War;" by Admiral Porter:
In the history of the worlds sieges
nothing will be found where more pa
tience was developed, more endurance
under priyatiOns or more courage shown
than by the union forces at the siege of
NIckshurg, while on the part of the
beseiged it was marked By their great
fertility of resource in checking almost
every movement of ours and for the long
months OF suffering and hardship they
underwent
1t belongs of right to Gen. Grant TO
tell the story of that event, for in no case
during the war did he clearly show his
title to be called great general, nor
did he elsewhere so fully exhibit all the
qualities which proved him to be great
soldier.
If Gen. Grant had never performed
any other military act during the war.
| the capture of Nicksburg alone, with all
| the circumstances attending the siege.
would have entitled him to the highest
renown. He had an enemy to deal
with of twice his force, and protected
by delenses never surpassed in the art
of war.
saw, myself, the great s'rongholds at
>avastopol of the Malakof tower and
the Redan, the day after they were
taken 10y a combined army of 10000
men; and these strongholds, which have
become famous in ballads ond story,
never in airy way compared with the de-
fences of NIcksburg, which looked as if
thousand Titans had been put to work
To make these heights unaSsai2ble.
| ain told that there Was tifty-six
miles of in.rcnchment thrown UP, one
within the other.
The hills above, with their granite
rock standing in defiance, we're enough
to deter foe without having intrench-
ment3 hristling with cannon and man.
ned by the hardest troops in the con-
iederacy.
Alter it was all over and Gen. Grant
could see the conquered city lying at
his feet he could well afford to laugh
at his vile traducers who were doing
all they could to hamper him by send
ing telegrams to the seat of government
questioning his fitness for so important
u command.
If those who lent themselves to such
things could be followed through the
war it would be found that they never
made a mark, put them wLere you
would; nor did they achieve any good
for the government.
That was happy Fourth of July
when the confederate flag came down
at VIcksburg and the stars and stripes
went up in its place, while Meade's force
at Gettysburg was driving Lees army
back TO Richmond tattered and torn.
That day so glorious in the annals of
our history lost nothing by the two
brilliant events which were added to
our fame and made it still more dear
in the heart of every true American.
When the American flag was hoisted
on the ramparts of Vicksburg my flag
ship and every vessel of the fleet steam
ed up or down to the levee before the
CITY.
We dlscerned dust in the distance
and in few moments Gen. Grant, at
the head of nearly all his generals with
their st1fls, rode up to the gangway
and, dismounting, came on board. That
was happy meeting A great hand
shaking and general cOngratulation fol-
lowed
| opened all my wine lockers, which
COnta ned only Catawba on this occasion.
1t disappeared down the parched
lhrOats which had tasted nothing for
some time but water Yet it exhilar-
ated that crowd as weak wine never did
before
There was one man there who pre-
served the same quiet demeanor he al
ways bore, WHISTLER in adversity or in
victory, and that was Gen. Grant
No one 10 see him sitting there with
hat calm exterior amid all that jollity,
md without any staff would ever have
aiken him for the great general who
lad accomplished one of the most stu
Derdous military ieats On record.
There was quiet satisfaction in his
ace that could not be concealed, but he
behaved on that occasion as il nothing
If importance had occurred.
Gen. Grant was the onlv one in that
who did not touch the sim
be wine offered him. He contented
himself with a cigar; an let me say
lere that this was his habit during all
he time he commanded before Rich
nond, though the same detractors who
made false representations of him in mil
tary matters before Vicksburg mis-
ep-esented him also in the matter
bove alluded to. New York Herald.