davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1885-07-31
A AT

Grant began the stcrming of V~icksburg on
the 10Th of May, gaining some ground, and
on the I'D a general assault began. All day
long columns of men moved against the en-
emy's stronghold, only to be met by a stag
gering fire, under which they recoiled to the
shelter OF the hillsides, which were thick with
the dead and dying. The Confederates, be-
hind their parapets, suffered little in compar-
lson. This assault is said to have been I'M
paralleled in the history of modern times.
Three thousand Federal soldiers were killed,
The assault on Vicksburg having failed Grant
determined on a siege, Then begun those
long days OF bombardment, when the hemmed
in Confederates daily saw their supplies dim
inish without hope of replenishment, their
spirits droop and their strength fail. After
the siege had lasted more than 10 days, when
riding around his lines one day Grant
stopped at the house of a Confederate woman.
who still chung to her shattered walls, and
asked for water. She asked him tauntingfv
If he ever expected to get into Vicksburg.
Certainly" he answered. But whenln
Il cannot tell exactly when I shall take thu
town, but | mean to stay here till | dc, if
takes me thirty years"
At last on the Sd of July, Pemberton aske
Grants terms for the capitulation Of the city
and the white flag loated from the head"
quarters of the beSieged, Grants answer was:
The unconditional surrender of the city and
garrison" The two generals conferred, but
left the final decision till later. Grant then
returned to headquarters, and for the first
time in hs life held what might be called a
council OF war. He finally permitted the
Confederates to march out on parole, and
these terms were accepted On the 4th of
July the garrison of Vicksburg marched out
Of the lines they had SO long and bravely de
Tended and stacked their arms in front of
their conquerorA This event was really the
blow which broke the backbone Of the rebel
hon. 1t struggled O nearly two years longer,
but 1t never recovered its confidence. This
surrender put into Grants hands the largest
capture Of men and materials made in the
war.
Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1885-07-31
PADucAH.

The young commanders first military
achievement was the seizure of Paducah,
Kentucky, which commanded the navigation
of both the Tennessee andth Ohio. Kentucky
had been halting on neutral ground, which
had not been recognized by the United States,
but which General Polk, the Confederate
commander in that region, was the first tc
break. Polk seized Columbus and Hickman,
on the Mississippi, and threatened Paducah
within three days after Grant assumed his
new command. Grant heard of Folks ad-
vance and at once notified the Kentucky legis.
lature and te~legraphed Fremontat st. Louis:
II am getting ready to go to Paducah; will
start at 6:30.n Still later: II am now nearly
ready for Paducah should no telegram arrive
preventing the movement"
No reply reached him, and at 1870 that
night, the 5th Of September, be started up
the river with two regiments, a light battery
and two ~gunboats. Landing at Paducah at
$50 the next morning he seized the city with.
out a gun having been fired. Brig. Gen
Tilghman and his staff, Of the Confederate
army, hurried out of town toward the south
by the railroad while Grant was getting
ashore. Sixteen miles away a force of $500
~Confederates were stationed, and Confederate
flags and stores were numerous in the town.
Grants promptitude saved Paducah and the
control Of the Ohio river. 1t also Strengthened
the backbone Of neutral Kentucky, whose
legislature at once passed resolutions favor
able to the Union and spoke of neutrality Nc
more.
In this movement Grant defined the deter
= --1s-I fAo.-.-Al- .-1z 90 ~-uzI.z
and commented upon in bis generalship. He
left Paducah in charge Of q garrison at noon
the same day and returned to Cairo, where
he received Fremonts permission to take
Paducah IF he felt strong enough
For two months afterwards he held the
country at the junction of the Ohio and Mis-
sissippi and disciplined his forces, which by
November numbered nearly 10000 men.
Being subordinate to. Fremont be was al
lowed to make no movement of Importance.
Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1885-07-31

federates had pitched their camp. By g
o'clock bis entire command, except one
battalion guarding the transports, was in q
warm engagement, the gunboats being en-.
gagged with ths batteries at Columbus. The
fight lasted four hours, Grant with
the skirmish line. His horse was
shot under him. McClernaBd lost three
horses, and every colonel, as well as the raw
recruits, fought furiously without hinching.
They drove the Confederates to the river
bank, took several hundred prisoners, cap
sured all the artillery and broke UP the
camp. Victory, however, was too much for
the Federal troops. They became disor-
ganized, and instead Of following up the
enemy as he covered on the river bank, the
soldiers set about plundering, while their Of
hcers, untaught in the propriettes Of military
life, made patriotic stump speeches. To
stop the plundering Grant ordered his staff
officers to set the camp on fire. The men re-
turned to the ranks and the march to the
transports began. Meanwhile Confederate
reenforcements arrived, and, combining with
the defeated, cut Grant off from his trans
ports. 1--WE are surrounded,n said an Of
fcer of his staff, riding up, somewhat agi-
tated. "Well," said Grant, "if that is 80, we
must cut our way out as we cut our way I'M
one of the condensed speeches Of wisdom
and determination for which he afterward
grew famous. He charged and dispersed
the enemy, meeting with but slight re-
sistance.
The danger Of this, his first fight, was not
yet over, however. He pushed on to the
landing, got most of his force aboard, seeing
to everything in person, his officers being too
inexperienced to execute his orders without
special directions. A force Of men had been
sent to gather up the wounded and when the
main body was nearly embarked he rode
back to Withdraw the rear guards, which
were to have covered the men bringing in
the wounded. They, being unsophisticated
in military o~bservances, had thought fit to
retire, and had returned to the transports.
Grant found himself outside of his W
troops with the enemy advancing upon him
and firing on his transports. He saw that
the men in search Of the wounded could not
be saved and rode slowly back to the trans
ports. As he wore a private's overcoat he
was not recognized as an officer. Getting
AV"l JIG OIahSPOIuo Le Sd1OPeu o"IllJ " tho
river, his horse sliding down the bank on its
launches; a plank was put out for him, over
which he trotted his horse aboard through a
rain of musketry. His convoy Of gunboats
then opened on the Confederates with great
destruction, and small loss themselves, and
by 5 O'Clock the transports were out Of range.
This battle confirmed Grant in his policy Of
mo delay" on which he always afterwards
acted. This engagement strengthened the
confidence of his soldiers and made them
courageous for the future. Long afterwards
the Belmont men" were among the sturdiest
soldiers in the army of the Tennessee.
Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1885-07-31
MlsTREATED BY HALLEcK.

Immediately following tIe battle of Shiloh
rumors flooded the country prejudicial to
Grant, and in all operations in the theater Of
war he was ignored for the next two months.
His situation was regarded by the army as
one Of disgrace, and was doubtless the most
disagreeable period in his entire career. He
tells the story in the following words:
Shortly after the battle Of Shiloh had been fought
u n. Halleck moved Es headquarters to Pittsburg
Landing, and assumed command of the troops in the
field. Although next to him in rank, and nomlnally
in II Of my own district and army, l was ig.
nored as much as II | had been at the most distant
point Of territory within my Jurisdiction; and al
though l was In command of all the troops at Shiloh,
Twas not permitted to SEQ one of the reports Of Gen.
Buell. or his subordinates In that battle until they
were published by the war department long after
the event. In consequence ! never myself made a
full report OF the engagement
Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1885-07-31
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH.

This celebrated battle was fought on Sun
day and Monday, the 9th and 7th of April,
1862. 1t took its name from a little log
church, known as Shiloh church. The scene
Of the engagement is a thickly wooded,
though broken, country, reaching back from
the bluffs at Pittsburg Landing from two to
three miles. Grant and his staff we're break.
fasting at Savannah when he first heard the
fire OF the enemy's attack. Grants horse
having slipped and fallen on his masters leg
on the 4th, at the time of the battle and fM
some days after Grant was unable to walk
without the aid of clutches. His boot had
been cut from his foot. Hearing the firing
he boarded a transport and started for the
front, arriving there at 8 O'Clock. The his.
tolic battle was already on. Sherman, Prem.
tiss, McClernand, Hurlburt and W. H. Wal
lace, with $4,000 men, were there. The Con-
federate force, according to Badeau, was a
little over 10000. There was hard fighting,
small panics, retreating and other signs Of
dismay among the Federal troops, and re-
newed vigor on the part Of the enemy. Nelson
and Lewis Wallace were coming with re-en-
forcements, but the battle was going awry.
Grant was everywhere on the field, constantly
under fire, In bis own account of it be says:
Three of the five divisions engaged the first day al
Shiloh were entirely raw, and many Of them had
only received their arms on the way from their
states to the field. Many of them had arrived but a
day or two before, and were hardly able to load
their muskets according to the manual. Their of.
hcers werh equally ignorant of their duties. Under
these circ instances, 1t is not astonishing that many
Of the regiments broke at the first fire. In two
cases, as / now remember, the colonies led their
regiments from the field on first hearing the whistle
Of tho enemy's bullets. In these cases the colonies
were constitutional towards, unfit for any military
position. But not so tho officers and men led out OF
danger by them Better troops never went upon a
Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1885-07-31
WITHOUT SUPPLIES

On the 4th of November Grant seized La
Grange and Grand Junction. On the 14tb
his cavalry entered Holly Springs, and drove
the enemy south Of the T~allahatchie. On the
goth the enemys cavalry dashed into Holly
Springs, q miles in Grants rear, and can
tured the garrison, with all its stores. Aeon.
federate raider cut the railroad TO Columbus
at several points, s~evering Grants only line
OF communication with the north and with
parts OF his own command. Holly Springs
was captured while the troops were in their
beds, for which the commanding officer of the
post was dismissed the service. For over a
week Grant had no communication with the
north, and for two weeks no supplies. Then
was learned the secret of how an army may
live without supplies, useful afterwards to
Grant when in the rear Of Vicksburg and to
Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1885-07-31
RIDGE.

After the memorable campaign Of Chicka-
manga, and the suffering of the army of the
Cumberland it involved, came the battles If
Chattanooga, Missionary Ridge and Lookon
Mountain" Hooker's fight Above tha
Clouds" On the 23d of November. the foe
having lifted, the Confederate pickets on MIS-.
sionary Ridge looked down on the plain and
saw a moving army with Its bayonets glanc-
ing IN the sun This was Gen. Thomas
battailons' 80 exact were their movements
that the enemy mistook it for a parade, till
the sklrmlshers sent a rain of bullets on the
Confederate pickets, and the heavy puns
began to wake the echoes. The cannon ON
Missionary Ridge and the artillery Of Fort
Wood shook the earth until nightfaIl. and
enen Lne Two armies slept among
the hills. The next day the battIe
Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1885-07-31
MISUNDERSTANDING GRANT

NlISOlNGSlAS FNNOIlNS 1INAlN IL
In July HalleCk was assigned to the COM
mand Of all the armies, superseding McClel-
Ian. He went to Washington, and Grant was
left in command of the army of the Tennes-
see, q little more independent than when Hal
hck had been present in the field. He di-
rected the movements in the battles of Iuka
and Corinth until the troops arrived In the
presence Of the enemy, though he was eight
miles from the fight at Luke and nearly forty
from Corinth.
Merit, when -unaccompanied by outward
display, is always slow to be recognized, and
Grant In his military career was no exception
to this universal stupidity. His simple man
ners and direct speech were mistaken for the
expression Of a commonplace mind by off
GERS above and below him. His successes
were considered accidents, and neither
his judgment nor ability was even
guessed at Gen. Badeau, IN his
Life Of Grant," says: "It is i'm
possible TO understand the early history of
the war without taking it into account that
neither the government nor its important
commanders gave Grant credit for intellec-
tual ability or military genius. His other
qualities were also rated low. Because he
was patient some thought it impossible to
provoke him, and because of his calmness it
was supposed that he was stolid. In battle
or in campaigning he did not seem to care or
consider 50 much what the enemy were do
ing as what he himself meant to do; and this
trait, to enthusiastic and even brilliant sol.
diers, appeared inexplicable. If he possessed
requirements be appeared unconscious of
them; he made no allusion to the schools and
never hesitated to transgress their rules
when the occasion seemed to him to demand
it So be neither won mems hearts by bland
ishments nor affected their ~imaglnations by
brilliancy Of behavior; nor did he seem pro
found to those who are impressed only by a
display Of learning"
Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1885-07-31

He wanted to take Columbus, an impor-
amt point on the river twenty miles below
Cairo, but not until the 9th of November was
he ordered to move down the river. He had
S,10O men on transports, conveyed by two
gunboats A section of artillery, two
s~quadrons Of cavalry and five regiments
constituted his force. Some of his men had
only been in possession Of their arms a few
days, and were as raw as children and as I'M
disciplined as cowboys. McClernand was
the only general officer in bis command, and
ne mad never heard the ping of an u~nfriendly
pnneh Logan, now so we'll known, was
with him IS colonel On the 18th be landed
at hunters Point on the Missouri side, and
marched on Belmont, near which the Con
Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1885-07-31
ORGANIZING

On the 18th Of April, 1861, Fort Sumter
fell. On the 18th President Lincoln made his
call for troops, and on the 19th Grant was
drilling q company Of volunteers in Galena.
-Four days Later be took it to Springfield.
From there he wrote the adjutant general of
the army, offering his services to the govern
ment in any capacity in which it cared to
make use of him This letter, which would
now be a valuable historic document, called
forth no reply and was not considered impor-
tant enough to preserve, This neglect, in the
words of an Armandale peasant much quoted
by Carlyle, could nae hinder him of Gods
providence
Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1885-07-31
COLONEL AND BROADER GENERAL.

49,
Grant remained at Springfield and helped
to organize the volunteer troops of the state.
After five weeks of this work, which his mil
itary education had specially fitted him for,
Gov. Yates offered him the Twenty-first regi-
ment of Illinois infantry. Before receiving
his commission as colonel he went to Cincin-
natl to see Maj.-Gen. Mcclellan, then in COM
mand Of Ohio volunteers. He had known
Mcclellan in the old army, and hoped he
might offer him a place on his staff. Twice
he went to headquarters without finding Nc
Clellan, and then returned to Illinois without
having mentioned his errand to any one. Hs
took command of his regiment early in June
and marched to Missouri. Reporting to Brig
Gen. Pope, he was stationed at Mexico, about
50 miles north Of the Missouri river. Tho
president commissioned him brigadier general
Of volunteers in August, a promotion he first
heard Of through the newspapers. At this
time Maj. Gen. Fremont was in command Of
the states and territories known as the West
ern Department. He transferred Grant to
Ironton, then to Jefferson City and then To
the command of the district Of Southeast Mis-
souri,, with headquarters at Cairo.
Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1885-07-31

HIS BIRTHPLACE AT POINT PLEASANT, OHIO.
He was born at Point Pleasant, Clermont
county, Ohio, on the 9th Of April, 1872. No
one dreamed then, nor for many years there
after, that he was to be the man Of destiny
who would bear our banner through the
storms Of war to peace and freedom.
The boyhood Of Grant was not more re-
markabA than that Of any child in the same
circumstances. Indeed, the anecdotes Of his
childhood in no way convey the idea that
he manifested any ~precocity. He was the
eldest Of six children. His early surround
ings were severely plain, his father, who was
Of Scotch descent, being a dealer in leather,
neither rich nor poor, but ranking among the
hard workers of a young and growing state.
The humble home where Grant was born is
not unknown to the public through the en-
grayer's skill.
Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1885-07-31
FROM MEXICO TO THE CIVIL WAR.

FROM MEXICO TO THE CIVIL WAR.
The Fourth infantry was his regiments He
remained in the army II years, and, accord
ing to Gen. Adam Badeau, was in every bat
tie of the Mexican war except Buena Vista.
He received two brevets for ~gallantry, and
was later stationed at several posts on the
Canada frontier, and finally in California and
Oregon. In 184s he married Julia I. Dent.
daughter Of a merchant Of ST. Louis. In
1854, being then a captain, he resigned his
commission in the army and removed to
Gravois, near St Louis, where he operated a
farm. There his daughter Nellie, now Mrs.
Sartoris, and one or two Of her brothers were
born. The place was knowna as the Wish-ton-
Wish. While residing there Grant made an
effort to obtain the position Of county sur
yeyor, and was deeply disappointed at not
succeeding. He removed his family to st.
Louis after an experience as an agriculturist
which could scarcely be called brilliant.
There, I'M wee cottage, the young soldier
wTestled with the pecuniary problem of life
with very Indifferent success. He could find
no employment, and being but sparingly sup
pled win cash, saw the exchequer diminish
without prospects Of a corresponding increase.
Like many others who were destined to ner-
form great things, he was made acquainted
with the menaces Of poverty and CONSEQUENT
anxieties. He tried the real estate hus;noss
and failed. In 1860 he went into the leather
trade with bis father and brother at Galena
Illinois. He had four slaves, which be nra,
sented to a friend before leaving. Grant Wa
not an abolitionist. His achievements during
the war were inspired by bis desire to crush
the rebellion and pr serve the Union, and not
from any prejudice against slavery.
Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1885-07-31
How THE wAR FOUND HIM.

The breaking out Of the civil war found
Grant, the future leader of our armies, an
obscure citizen, working industriously to sup
port himself and family in q small inland
town. He was wholly unknown, without in
fuence, and apparently without ambition.
He was u~nacquainted with men Of position
and power, and had no personal knowledge
Of great affairs. Even in his own field, the
Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1885-07-31
sze5 lnG ~
!. g f.eA ~~t~'F1 II
"'L%9t@ A~M&MI
FAC-SIMILE OF A PORTION OF THE REGISTER
AT WEST POINT.


The authorities at West Point and the score
tary OF war were petitioned by the young
cadet to correct the blunder, but no notice
was taken Of the request Ulysses S. Grant he
had been recorded and Ulysses S. Grant he
remained, the name now so worldwide in its
fame having been bestowed through a CON
gressman's defect Of memory. The initials
U. S. suggested 'Uncle SAM to his comrades,
a nickname he never lost, and one peculiarly
prophetic in view of his extraordinary career.
During the war be was not ~infrequently nick
named UNITED States Grant" and Simeon
ditional Surrender Grant" the U. s. seeming
to have special significance in those days
which tried mems souls" He graduated in
1s4S, twenty-frst in a class of 43, his commits
sion of brevet second lieutenant and his
diploma both styling him Ulysses S. Grant.
Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1885-07-31
A NEW COMMAND.

In October Grant received an order for a
new c~ommand-the military division of the
Mississippi including all the territory be-
tween the Alleghanies and the Mississippi
river, excepting what was occupied by Banks
in Louisiana; the three departments of the
Tennessee the Cumberland and the Ohio
were all Grants
Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1885-07-31

Sherman in his marches through Georgia and
the Carolinas. When the citizens, mostly
women, came to his headquarters to see how
be bore the loss of Holly Springs, and asked
him exultingly what he would do now that
his soldiers had nothing to eat, be calmly In
formed them that his soldiers would find
plentyi in their barns and s~torehouses.
Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1885-07-31
AT WEST poINr

AT the age of II Grant entered the Military
Academy at West Point. These who believe
that a name has much to do with the destiny
of its owner will find confirmation Of their
theory in the accident which gave him the
nam he has made famous. He had been
.christened Hiram Ulysses, but the congress
man who procured his appointment, by mis-
take wrote him down as Ulysses S. Grant.
Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1885-07-31
THE NATIONS HERO.
Story Of the Great Warriors Nil
itary Career.
The Silent Soldier al West POint-ThrOugI
the Mexican War-At Belmont, Fort
Donelson, Pittsburg Landing,
Vcksburg, Lookout Noun
tain, Petersburg and
AppOmattOx.
[COpyrighted.l
HIS ROYHOOD.

The life of Ulysses S. Grant is a romance
as e~ventful, wonderful and interesting as any
thing ever evolved from the brain Of a novel
list. He has lived in time Of extraordinary
activity in the development Of this country
and has figured in its history more conspicu.
ously than any other man living.