Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-08-08

hhe Vi pdtJle ran. AmDulanees numbered
among the stumps, and bloody clothing
was hanging on the unGerbrush where the
dead and wounded lay. Morally there
was a feeling OF desperation. Generals
OF different grades lett their commands n
the woods that evening and came in to
Grants headquarters TO see whether we
should fall back across the Rapiden.n
l asked If that was The time the meet
ing OF Generals was called DIV Grant for
consultation.
"As to whether we should retreat? And
all the Generals voted Tor il. and rave
their reasons why, and then the question
came around to Grant, and he issued the
order TO advance IN spite of all That"
laughed Gen. Porter, sis the romance and
poetry of the affair. No such cOnsulta-
ton was ever held or ever called. There
was good deal OF wild talk by the Cen
erals who had come in-euough to de-
moralize some men, no doubt-they mad
seen all sorts of things, and
the soldiers near them might
not be able to bolt out; but
Grant sltted all the talk, and concluded
that Lee had not much more than held
his own, and he then issued the order to
move forward on Richmond. He changed
the formation OF the line somewhat. put
the reintorcements where they would do
the most good, ordered up the train
guards, and issued orders tor an hour 40
rapidly that what was system to him
seemed chaos to the average nearer. and
then SAID, NOW, we must all get what
rest we cam and went to his cot about
~ O'CLOCK. he slept until the guns of the
advance walked him in the morning.
'Few times IN the history of the world
has such display of enthusiasm been
seen as was made next morning by the
soldiers as they set their faces again to-
wards Richmond. They sang and shout
ed. They cheered the General and their
own officers and the President. and they
set fire to the rail fences as they went.
Napoleon aroused such a frenzy of iov
once or twice in his life, but | don't re.
call any other instances Of it, Grant was
mperturDaole ;once or twice he prudpatlv
warned the boys to restrain themselves or
the enemy would hear them and learn of
the flank movement. Occasionally he
waved his hand to them, and nodded as
the column died by, assuring them of his
participation in their feelings. That was
the toughest spot Grant was ever in. but
he said ne had never given up position
he had captured, and did not propose TO
do so then. After that he threw himself
more on thu Otfensive.v
To my Inquiry about the labors of the
staff, Gen. Porter said:
always wrote them with his own hand in
manifold book he had. When one of his
staff would say, Let me write that out,
General he would decline, say NO; this
order may involve the lives Of thousands
OF men, and if there is any mistake made
on account of the wording OF it, must
bear the responsibility His powers OF
concentration were very great. He could
write just as readily and as clearly with
Ffa11 Of l.. Il
joking and telling stories, as if he were
alone. In fact racket seemed to stimu-
late him to better efforts. No noise could
distract him or turn him from his subject.
His mind seemed, like NapOleOn's, to be
constructed on the principle OF that pat
ent bureau, of which if one drawer WAS
opened, the others were always closed"
Inquring again what the staff found to
do, If Grant did go much Of the work him
self, Gen. Porter replied:
"Oh, yes, we had plenty to do, l assure
you. There were twelve OF us, and we
were given great discretion with regard
to emergencies when we could not consult
him. AS a rule, each Of us carried his
orders to certain part OF the field, and
be tried TO make us so thoroughly familiar
with his plans and purposes that he could
trust us to carry them out. For instance.
If an emergency occurred IN any part of
the line requiring instant action, and he
could not be consulted in time, we were
authorized to issue orders to division and
corps commanders and sign his
name to them. He never went back on
US, either. Sometimes he superseded
or modified our orders, but | never heard
OF his blaming any member of his staff
for using unwisely the authority with
which he had clothed us. You see some
such arrangement WAS necessary, for our
line OF battle was 80 miles long. Each Of
us had 10 or y orderIies, and of course
we sent back bulletins to Grant as often
as possible. He was a man OF great in
genuity and resources. He adapted his
methods 10 American warfare. The no.
tion that Grant was a crude and clumsy
tighter-or, as his enemies called him,
hammerer. succeeding not by hnesse, but
by brutal pounding on one spots false
one. 1t probably originated in the fact
that his qualities generally shOne more
brilliantly in the presence Of the enemy"