The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-02-21
GENERAL ULYSSES 8. GRANT.
Pleasant "reminiscences of One Of His Mill
tary Family.

of the press in regard to General Grants pro-
family. 1t gives to the public different view of
| his character, and it will be surprising to many
to know that the General never utters a
profane word / had this letter in
my hand, tonight, when l met in the
Ebbitt House Mr.. MARYLAND who was the head
| of the mail service of Grants army, and who
was member of his military family through
| out the war Mr. MARYLAND is now leading
| retired life here at Washington. He has known
every one of prominence for the past three
decades, and his mind is full of personal and
military "reminiscences. read Dr. Kittoe's letter
| 10 MIN, and we chatted for an hour about Grant.
1t was not an interview, but it was so interesting
that will reproduce some parts of it so far as l
| can remember.
Mr.. MARYLAND said: General Grant never
swore, and in my long connection with him
| have never heard him utter profane word. l
have been with him on many occasions in which,
| perhaps, the use of profanity would have been
pardonable have heard him tell in social cir
| cles stories in which oaths have been always
used, but In reteling them he would not quote
| the oaths. He was freer from using unkind ex
| pressons toward his fellow man than any
one have ever known. And the
arisen from his misplaced confidence
in his fellow man. Speaking of profanity, re-
member one or two occasions on which Grant
| should have sworn, and think would have
sworn, If he could. One was while we were at
Youngs Point with headquarters the steam
boat Magnolia Two of the staff officers had
been sent North under orders, leaving their
rooms on the boat vacant Gen. Grant invited
two officers on board one night for consultation.
During the consultation aviolent rainstorm came
up. and Gen. Grant asked these officers to re-
main on board over night, saying that he had two
rooms, and that it would be more pleasant for
them to stay there than to go to their camp
IN the storm. The time for retiring arrived. and
the officers were shown to their rooms. When
the doors were opened however, it was found
that the beds were occupied by the colored
servants of the officers who were absent Gen
eral Grant was very angry, but his Indignation
did not find vent liz oaths; he merely ordered
these servants out on shore into the rain and in
short time, his Indignation having cooled, he
sent an orderly to tell them they could come
back upon the boat"
How did you become acquainted with Gen
eral Grant," I asked
Il knew him as boy at school My home
was at Maysville, KY, and young Grant came
there boy OF twelve or thirteen to attend the
academy. He lived with his aunt ia Maysvlle,
and was very quiet retiring, and studous boy.
AS remember him he was little chubby fell
low, with round, freckled face and sandy hair.
He was a good natured boy and went by the
name OF Iyss.' Shortly after he left school he
went to West Point, and from that time did
not meet him again Until in the fall of 1861
was sent West in connection with the Postofhce
Department In attending to my bust
ness l was thrown in with General
Grant at Cairo at about the time he
took command. Here got my first glimpse of
him as man. AS an instance of his remarkable
memory of features, though he could not have
known was coming to Cairo he recognized me
at once one day when / was passing the window
of his headquarters. l did not recognize him.
1t did not take US long to revive our old school
| Fellowship and we became great friends /
NAMED about Cairo III my connection with
| the postoffice department until about the time
| of the movement on Fort Henry At this time
| General Grant asked me if did not want to see
fight and invited me to go to Fort Henry with
him. On the way to Fort Henry, on the
headquarters steamer New Uncle Sam,
knowing that l was an officer of the Post
Office Department, he suggested to me, or rather
inquired II 1T were not possible to keep the mail
up to the army and to take the soldiers letters
home. On my answering that l thought that
this could be done, he gave me that branch of
the service, and from that beginning sprang the
great army mail service of the war, and to Gen
eral Grant the credit of originating that service
belongs. The army mail service developed the
fact that the mails could be distributed in rail
way cars, and on the top of railway cars going at
the rate of thirty miles hour. In wagons,
ambulances, and even on horseback mails were
frequently distributed and delivered under the
murderous fire of the enemy, and it may be said
that the perfect railway mail service of to day is
the outgrowth Of the army mail service"
What about Shiloha' l asked
THAT is question of controversy which any
impression may have will not settle. Gen.
Grant has recently published his views of that
battle. Whether they will settle the question
or not is uncertain. Stories of battles are
not told until all the actors are dead 1t is suf-
ficient that the battle was fairly won by the
federal troops. And there should have been no
difficulty in dividing the honors of the victory"
DO you think Gen. Grant was surprisedl"
said l.
II state with positiveness, no Sir General
Grant was never surprised. No man ever saw
General Grant speak or act as If he were sur
prised His staff officers would try to see if they
could not get him to exhibit surprise or astonish
ment at some of their stories or by extravagant
statements. They never succeeded. When every
one else was surprised he never gave any indica
ton that the matter of the surprise was not per-
fectly familiar to him. In the most trying times
he was the coolest and most self possessed On
one occasion 200 tons of powder in barge lying
at the waters edge in the James river, imme-
diately opposite Grants headquarters at City
Point, was exploded by an Internal machine of
the Confederates, blowing the bodies of men
and mules, and the debris of the Quartermasters
department. into his camp, so that the air was
thick with smoke and falling bodies, and every
one was frightened. Grant did not move a
facial muscle With imperturbable gravity he
said to staff officer, 'Babcock, go out and see
what is the matter Nothing ever disturbed
Grants equanimitY He never lost his head
You might tell him the most startling news in
regard to the enemy, but his face never
indicate that 1T was news to him. 1t was
ignorant of a matter about which you talk
ing, he would draw you out in such quie. way
that you would never imagine that the whole
matter was not perfectly familiar to him.
How about the time when they talked of re-
lieving him Of the command about Vicksburc2
Did Gen. Grant manifest any feeling on that
subjectp
by no means. He was apparently the most
indifferent OF all men upon that subject I re-
member on one occasion at this time asked him
what he would do if he were relieved He said
that he would ask for the command of a CORPS
or division, or a brigade. saying, This war
must be put down., and showing his conscious
ness of the fact that he would be a feature of
the war at its close"
Il see that Mr.. Chds, of Philadelphia, in an
interview recently printed, says that Gen. Grant
was promised by Senator Wilson, of Massachu-
setts, then chairman of military affairs in the
Senate that if he would become candidate of
the Republican party he would be elected and
that the Mace of oanaral of the army would he