The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1885-08-01

80 VIZ Wv SAOoRNCb
the United States has produced.
The NeoCS says: "There have been |
few prayer men than Grant. Eng
land will sincerely regret his death.
1t is as soldier that he will be re-
membered. His name will ever be
associated with the great and right
eOus struggle of which Lincoln was
the brain and heart and Grant the
arm and weapon"
MT, MCGREGOR, July 26.-"I have
heard many persons since his death
comparing General Grant with the
great generals Of history" observed
General Porter this afternoon while
chatting quietly with the writer,
"but to my mind the fact that such
comparisons are sought to be made
best proves that General Grant was
most unlike any of them"
NO" added General Porter; che
was cast in different mould from
any Of the historical generals. |
think he was the most ready man /
ever have known. Persons have
come to him while busy and asked
for letters upon some subject, and in
stead of putting them off General
Grant would nearly always immedi.
ately write what was requested, and
it would be SO clear and compact as
though done by some literary man
who had studied it out and revised it
twice. | recall an instance of Cen
eral Grants readiness in emery 'nCy:
On the night of the second day of the
! Wilderness fight, when Sedgwick's
corps had been broken aud Smaller
and Seymour captured, General
Grant sat in his headquarters and
listened to fastcoming reports Of per
plexity and trouble, but he turned to
! one and another and talked off his
orders with as much precision and
display Of judgment as though he
had been studying that unexpected
situation for two months and all who
saw him watched and listened and
wondered. And again General Grant
was called upon to give hearing
before heard of. The case involved a
quantity of cotton, and in its decision
it also involved questions of interna-
tional and maritime law, and also of
cOntraband laws and cotton in foreign
bottoms. Well, the lawyers came
before the general and argued at
length, and when they had done he
turned and rendered decision that
left no room for further argument, 50
clear and .cogent were its points.
Afterward one of the lawyers came
to me and asked where that man,
meaning the general, had studied
law, but | told him General Grant
had never studied law, and his
comprehensive grasp and informa'
ton were facts that could tell moth.
ing about.
Ibid General Grant ever grow
nervous or excited, you ask? |
never saw him angry but once, and
that was when he saw brutal fellow
clubb bling horse over the head. The
general seized the man, told him he
was brute, and punished him for
impudence, Of which he was guilty
to the general, but | never heard him
utter an oath, nor any approach to it,
and | was with him nine years with
out ever being away from him two
weeks. Grant was splendid rider
and fine whip as well. He could
ride 40 or so miles and come in per-
fectlv fresh. lie was much attached
to a little horse that was called JEFF
Davis, because he was secured on JEFF
Davis plantation. He was an easy
animal to ride and was easily guided
through ms and outs, but when ford
ing streams jeff was at a disadyant-
age. There was, besides, a noble,
big bay-colored fellow named Cincin-
natl, which General Grant used to
ride. That horse could ford a stream
magnilicently. 1t was on little JEFF
that General Grant, accompanied by
myself and an orderly, rode out to
the front on the morning when there
was that hour Of delay IN the explo.
sion of our mine at Petersburg. The
general wore a blue blouse that
morning, and many of the men as
we passed to the front did not know
that its wearer was General Grant.
The firing was getting very heavy
and suggested to the general that
we dismOunt, because we could get
about much easier. | did not say
that the firing was terrific, for that
would have been to him an argu-
ment for dismounting. So we dis
mounted, the orderly holding little
JEFF by the bride, and then General
Grant made his way through the