The Warner weekly sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1885, 1885-06-12
Excerpts from the Generals Memoirs Treat
ing Of the Battle Of Shiloh and Apollo
giving to Gen. McCOOk.
Gen, Grants Relations with President Lincoln
and Secretary Stanton Told, with Lees
Surrender.
Cen. Grans,s Amtnhingrnnhv

u-N u COlllllLhslOI4 Ia bAt IIlSsNt.
a! and his good father, also named Moab,
g.;s ed in the war OF the Revolution, u.
81 ~ anecdotes Of his boyhoOd and of Ia.
81 pointmout to West Point through Hon
Morris, congressman from Ohio; tells the
circumstances under which he first saw Gen
Scott and President Van Buren,; contrasts
the personal characteristics OF Generals Scott,
and Taylor; gives a copy Of his letter to
Adiutant General Thomas, dated at Gabra,
Ill, MAY 2S, 1861, offering his services TO
the United States and suggesting that he
considered himself competent TO take com
mand This letter was never answered, and
was for a long time lost among the papers OF
the war office. Speaking Of his first battle in
the civil war, he says:
As we approached the brow of the hIl from
which it was expected VIC could see Harris camp
and possibly find his men ready 10 meet US, my
heart kept getting higher and higher, until ii
felt TO me as though 1t were in my
Throat. l would have given anything
to have been back in Illinois, but had not the
moral courage 80 halt and consider what 10 do
/ kept right on. hen we reached 4 point from
which the valley below was in full view We
halted. The place where Harris had been en-
Camped for a few days before WAS still there. anC
the marks of a eCent cnCampmeEt were plainly
visible, but the troops were gone. My heart re-
sumed its place. This was a view Of the ques-
tion that l had never taken before, From that
event to the close of the wal | never experienced
trepidatiOn upon confronting an enemy.
He speaks of the battle OF Fort Donelson
at some length.
THE SHILOH FIGHT.
Speaking of the battle of Shiloh, he SAYS
he considered the situation as one in
which the federal forces were on the Of
feuSive, but asserts that no caution for de-
Tense was neglected On this subject he
continues:
Gen. Beauregard was next in ranktO Johnston
and succeeded TO the command. which he re-
Ia ned 10 the close Of the battle and during the
-.I.N.u,nN -, A. T,rfu~h ~ Nra1I - NJ -ha
siege of COrinth. his tactics have been severely
criticized by Confederate writers, but / do not
believe his fallen chief could have done any bet
ter under the circumstances. Sore OF
those critics claim that Shiloh was Won
when Johnston fell, and that if he
had Rot fallen the army under ne
is little doubt that we should have been dis
gracefully beaten If ali the shells and bullets
fired by us had passed harmlessly over
taken effect. Commanding gen erals are liable
to be killed during an engagement, and the fact
that when he was shot Johnston was lead
ing q brigade TO induce 1t to make
8 charge which had been repeatedly ordered
Il evidence that there was neither the universal
generalization on our side nor the unbounded
confidence on their which has been claimed.
There WIS, in fact, no hour during the day when
1 doubted the eventual defeat OF the enemy,
although / was disappointed that the reinforce
ments SO near at hand did not arrive at an earlier
hour.
In this connection he refers TO his article
In the Century and his remarks in it in re-
gard 70 Gen A .. McCook which caused SO
much public comment He tells of the long
march or the day before, over muddy roads,
by Gen. McCook's division, and Of its con-
spicuous acts of gallantry on the day Of bat
tie, and concludes:
1 refer to the circumstance with minuteness
because 1 did Gen. McCook an injustice in the
Century, though not to the extent one would
suppose from the public press. / an not willing
TO do any one an injustice, and il convinced that
4 lave done one / am always willing to make the
FULLEST admission.
Then follow accounts of siege and capture
oi v~icksDurg; OF his appointment of lieu
tenant general.
He adds:
GRANT AND LINCOLN.
la my first interview with Mr.. Lincoln alone
ne stated TO me that he had never p-ofessed to be
2 military man or te know how campaigns
should be conducted and never wanted to inter-
fere In them, but that procrastination on the
part OF commanders, and the pressure of the
people at the North and of congress
w waSa .yi hse him nhs ha pG0r; toros hs b shad ,ns a.
issuing his well known series Of executive orderso
He did not know but they were all wrong. All
ne wanted or mad ever wanted; was that some
ono would take the responsibility and act and
Gull on him for all the assistance needed.
Describing his command of the division of
the Mississippi, he tells how he met Secretary
Stanton at indianapolis, how they went to
4OulSYlle- anu auuSs
Soon after VIZ started the secretary handed
me two orders, saying that / would take my
choice Of them. The two were identical. but in
one particular. Those credited TO the military
division Of the Mississippl giving
me the command composed of the departments
OF the Ohio. the Cumberland ana the Tennessee,
and all the territory from the Alleghenies to
the Mississippi river north OF Banks.
omman in the Southwest. One order left the
department commanders as they were, while the
other relieved Rosencrans and assigned Thomas
TO his place. accepted the latter.
He says Secretary Stanton caught a cold on
that trip from which be never recovered He
gives a graphic description Of how Chat
tanooga was saved; and how he
was sent for in great haste at night
by secretary Stanton, whom he found apac-
ing the floor rapidly in about the gard Mr..
when he was ca~ptured-a dressing gown
but without the shawla and sunbonnet ? Gen.
Grant q d
Es showed Se the dispatch, saying that the
retreat must bsHggevented. Immediately wrote
division OF the Mississippi, and teleraphed it Is
Gen. kDsecranz u then telegrapned him the
order from Washington assigning 10 Thomas the
10 ThoIaas that he must Eold Chattanooga at all
hazard.
THE Wild ERNEss AND ApPoMArrox.
He describes the Wilderness campaign. es-
Inmates Lees strength at $4,000 men, and
says that he was operating IN q
try with which his army was thor
ouehly familiar, while to the federal
forces it was entirely unknown. HID tells OF
Gen Lees surrender. and takes occasion TO
explode the famous story Of the surrender
under the apple tree. He says that there
was an apple orchard across the little
valley from the courthouse. one tree 81
which was close to the road; that Gen. Bah
cock reported to han Grant that he had
found Gen Lee sitting uIsler this tree. and