Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-07-03
GRANTS BOOK.
Extracts From General Grants Forthcom-
ing Book Dedicated to the American
Soldier and Sailor.
Tie General Dissents From the idea That
Johnston Could Have Annihilated
Him at Shiloh-The Battle
of the wilderness.
PERSONAL MEMOIRS.

PERSONAL MEMOIRS.
New YORK, June 9.-The Commercial
Advertiser publishes extracts from General
Grants forthcoming book which will be en-
titled "Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant"
The book will be in two volumes of about
500 pages each. The first volume and nearly
all the second arc now written. The book
will, it is claimed, contain the inside history
Of several important operations hitherto UNI
divulged or incorrectly described. The dedi-
cation of the work is in the following words:
These volumes are dedicated to the Ameri-
can soldier and sailor. U. S. A
NEW YORK, May y, 1885.
In describing his origin General Grant
says he is of the eighth generation in de-
scent from Matthew Grant, who CAM to
America from Dorchester, Eng, in 1880,
and settled at Dorchester, Mass. General
Grants great-grandfather, Noah Grant, was
an officer in the English army in the war of
1856 against the French and Indians, and
his grandfather, Noah Grant, fought in the
Revolution against England.
General Grant was born at Point Pleas
ant, o. He received his appointment to
West Point through Hon. Thomas Morris,
Senator from Ohio. The fact that he had
no early leaning toward a military life is
shown by his at first wishing to refuse the
appointment. His father, a man not to be
refused, told him to 60, and he went. His
reluctance arose from a fear that he would
not pass the examination.
On May "a, 1851, General Grant wrote to
the Adjutant General offering the Govern
,ment his military service in army capacity.
No notice was taken of the letter, and it is
not preserved in the files of the War Depart
ment.
General Grant, in describing his first
meeting with the enemy when he COM
;manded a regiment, naively admits that he
was very much frightened. On seeing the
retreat of the opposing force, without await
ing attack, the idea struck him that their
commander was probably as much fright
manned in his mind, and he never thereafter
felt t%repidation in the presence of the enemy.
In his comments upon the much discussed
battle of Shiloh General Grant dissents
from the idea that if Johnston had not been
| killed the Confederates would have won and
annihilated Grants army. He remarks;
/" IFS defeated the C%onfederates at Shiloh.
We could have been disgracefully beaten if
all the bullets fired by lis had passed harm.
llessly over the enemy and if all of theirs
;had taken effect"
''The fact that Johnston was leading a
brigade to induce it to make a charge which
had been repeatedly ordered. is evidence that
there was neither the universal demoraliza.
ton on our side nor the unbounded conf
,dence on theirs which has been claimed.
There was in fact no hour during the day
when 1 doubted the eventual defeat Of the
enemy"
General Grant says that Colonel William
Preston Johnston's description of the battle
is very graphic and causes the reader tt
wonder why the Federal troops were not al
killed. 81 witnessed the fight" somewhat
.ealcastically says the General, ''and 1 SEE
but little i'll the description that I can recog
nize. The Confederates fought well and
deserve commentator enough for theil
| bravery and endurance on the 9th of Apri
without detracting from their antagonists o.
claiming anything more than their due"
! The General makes amends to Genera
Arson Med. McCook by explaining a re
mark in his Century article on Shiloh, t.
the effect that McCook was unwilling K
pursue the enemy on April Z because of tn.
condition of the troops. General Grant say!
the remarks has been misinterpreted. HI
sustained McCook and merely mentioned
the fact as a matter of history. He tlel
pays a high tribute to McCooks gallantry.
General Grant first met MI. Lincoln whe1
called to Washington to receive his commits
sion as Lieutenant General, in March, 1864
''In my first interview with Mr.. Lincol1
alone, he stated to me that he had neve
prOfessed to be a military mar or. to know
how campaigns should be conducted, ane
never wanted to interfere with them, bu
that prOcrastination on the part Of com
manders, and the pressure of the people a
the North and OF Congress, which, like tn,
poor, he had always with him, had fOrcet
him into issuing his well-known series o
executive orders. He did not know bu
they were all wrong, and did not know tina
some of them were. All he wanted, or hat
ever wanted, he said, was that some on,
would take the responsibility and act, ant
call OH him for all the assistance needed"
General Grant first met Stanton at Louis
vile. Stanton handed him two orders, say
ing he could take his choice. Both created
a military division of the Mississippi, givinf
identical, except that one left the Depart
ment commanders as they were, while tn
other relieved Rosecrans and assigned
Thomast to his place. II accepted the latter
says Grant, "after Rose crans' defeat a
Chickamauga and retreat upon Chatta
nooga."
General Grant says Stanton sent TO,
him and in great excitement told him tina
further retreat must be prevented. II i'm
mediately wrote an order assuming com
mand of the Division of the Mississippi ant
telegraphed it to General Rosecrans. Ithel
telegraphed him the order from Washing
ton, assigning to Thomas the command o
the Army of the Cumberland, and to Thoma
that he must hold Chattanooga at all haz
ards"
The following may be regarded as Gen
eral Grants reply to assertions that superio
numbers gave him the final victory in tn
battle of the Wilderness:
Operating in III enemy's country ant
supplied always from a distant base, larg,
detachments had at all times to be sen
from the front not only to guard the base q
supplies and the roads leading to it, but al
the roads leading to our TANKS and rear
We were also operating in a country I'M
known to us, and without competent guide,
or maps showing the roads accurately
Estimating General Lees strength
In the same manner as ours. The
enemy had not less than so, 600 men a
the start. His reinforcements during thu
campaign were about equal to ours, deduct
ing our discharged mel and those sent back
Lee was OH the defensive and in a countr,
in which every stream, every road, ever,