The Osceola times., 1885-10-31

survey the greatness oil The most extr,
ordinary war Of modern days, or II ma
be said of any age. Into this suInhnry
Gus storm OF war Grant entered ain,os.
unknown. 1t was with difficulty thai :"
could obtain a command. Onoe
set forward, Donclson, Shiloh. yIcIs
burg, Chattanooga, The wllGernsss
Spottsylvania, Petersburg, Appoms,o~'
these were his footsteps. In fon,,
years he had risen without political fsva.
frVm tne bottom To the very hiyiie ST com.
mand, not second to any living com.
mandcr In all the world. Ills plans wers
large, his uniiscouragcd will was patient
to obduracy. lie was not Aghtinp for
reputation, nor for the display of gen.
eralshlp, nor for future Presidency
lie had but one motive, intense as lifo
itself-thc subjugation OF the rebellion
and the restoration OF the broken Union
lie embodied the feelings OF the common
people. lie was their perfect rem.
rcsentaiivc. The war was waced for
the maintenance Of the Union, the sun.
preston Of armed resistance and AZ
length for the Grad d.cation OF sayery
lie never wavered, turned aside or
dallicd. lie waded through b ood TO tbe
horses brides In all this career be
never lost courage or equinimiiy. Witha
million men for VIII sc movements no
was responsible, he yet carried a
tranquil mind, neither depressed by
disasters nor elatcd by success:
gentle OF heart, familiar with all, never
Boosting, always modest. Grant came of
the old sef-contniued stock OF mon, OF A
simple forcc of being, which all ed hi,
hn oil tai
natutc. Silent, invinciblc, irresistible.
when his work was done, and the
defeat of the Confederate armies was
fina', this dreadful man OF blood,
was tender toward his late advcrsaries
as q woman toward her son. lie i'm.
posed no humiliatng conditions no
spared the feelings OF his antagonists;
sent home the disbandcd Southern men
with food and with horses for working
their crops, and when revcngcful spirit
In the Executive Chair showed itself and
threatened the chief Southern General,
Grant with holy indignation, inter.
posed himself aud compelled his supe-
rior to rcinqush his rash purpose.
There have been men--therc are yet,
for stupidity Is lonG-llved-wh, re.
garded Grant as only man OF
luck, and surely h 3 was. II was not
luck though to have had conferred upon
him such an ancestry. Such body,
such a disposition, such greatness of
soul, such unalloyed patriotism, such
military genius, and such an iDdomitable
will For four years and more this man
performed every function Of strategy
In grand war, which Jomini attributed
to Napoleon aud Napoleon aud Napier
TO Wellington. Whether Grant could
have conducted a successful retreat will
never be known. lie was never de-
fcated.
Grant has been severely criticised for
the waste OF life. War Is not created
for the purpose Of life, but BY a noble
spending Of blood to say, the common.
wealth. The great end which 10
achieved would have been chcaply
gained at double the expense.
When Gran, came to the Army OF the
Potomac he reversed the methods OF all
who had preceded him Braver soldiers
never were, and valiant commanders;
but other Generals had not learned tho
art OF flgh'iug with deadly Intent. Peace
is very goot for peace, but war is organ
lied rage. 1t means destruction, or 1t
means nothing. At the battle OF the
wilderness Grant stripped its commis-
sary train OF It's guards 10 OIL a gap In
the lIuc OF battle. When cxposiulatcd
with for exposing his army to The loss OF
oil its prov sions, his reply was:
"wbcn this army is whipped 1t viii not
want any provisions.
All summer, all the autumn, all the
winter. all the spring aud early summer
again he hammered Ice with blow on
blow, until at Appomrttox the great but
not greatest Southern General went 10
the ground. Grant was graf fighter,
but not fighter only. His mind took In
the whole field Of wsr-as wide and COM
plex as any that ever Napoleon knew.
lie combined in his plans the operations
Of three armies, and for the first lime In
the war the whole OF the Union forces
were acting In concert. The fame OF his
Generals was as dear TO him as was his
own.
When Lincoln was dead. ViccPresi-
dont Johnson hccam, President, man
well fitted for carrying on fight, but
not skilled ino peace. With morbid
sense Of justice he determined that tue
leaders OF the rebellion should y, made
10 suffer as examples. las u the death
oil all the hrst-Dotu, the dcso'iiloh OF
every Southern home, the Impoverished
condition aud bankruptcy OF every clti'
zen were not example enough. lie Of
hcred Lee 10 DC arrested. Grant refused.
When johnson would have employed
the army to effect his purpose, Grant.
with quick and nobc rebellion, refused
obedience to his superior, aud, arranging
to take from his hands all military con.
troll, represscd the Presidents Wild
temper aud savage purpose OF dishobor'
log justice. LhI.
Having brought the long and dis
asirous war TO a close, In his own heart,
upon his laurels and lived a retired lille.
1t was not 10 be permitted. lie was
called to the Presidency by universal ac'
claim, and II fell TO him to conduct
OF reconstruction, even more
burdcnsomc than the war. II woula
seem impossible to combine In one emil
ncnt civil and military genius Tos
certain extent they have elements 10
common, but the predominant element
in war Is organized force In civil govern
mcnt, influence. Craftsmanship
less brilliant than generalship, but
requires a din rent and higher moral
aud intellectual genius. God Is irusaI III
creating great men-mcn great enou-n
to hold in emineucs the elements ora
great General ani OF a great rnler'
Washington was eminent In statesman
ship, but then he was not a great Genei-
al; at any rate, he had no opportunity 10
develop the fact In the readIu'lmen'
OF the political relations of the SCUM,
Grant was wise, generous aud ma.na'-
nous In bis career as man; nc was
without &C, with an absolute hatred Oh
lies and iperadicablc love of trulh;
Of perfect loyalty to irlehu'
ship; neither envious OF others,