Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1885-07-24
;mhs Eres 2ress.
BURLINGTON, FRIDAY, JULY "A, 1855.
PUBLISHED BY
THE FREE PRESS ASSOCIATION,
&C BENEDICT, Editor.
rerms-S2. 90 IA year, always in advance.
General Grant.

The death OF Ten. UranU Is Une passing
from earth of the greatest soldier of his
time, and of one of the most prominent
figures in American history. In Judging
of him, at the close of his mortal career,
his military character and achievements
of course come first into view. There can
be no doubt that the final verdict of his
tory will place his name in the list of the
truly great captains of all time. The esti-
mate of him, held by Swinton and some
other writer's that he was simply Thor
striker "a strong, persistent hammerer
winning all that he won by relentless,
reckless waste of human life willing to
sacrifice two lives to destroy one, because
he had three to his enemy's one strong,
almost sublimely strong, of will but pos
sessing little tactical ability finally sue
cessful by weight of superior numbers, .
but nowhere showing genius; a butcher
but not great commander-this is almost .
as wide rs possible of the truth. Grant .
did indeed come to the Army of the Poto /
mac, and to the command of all the ar !
mics, profoundly convinced that the supe
rior resources of the North were not tell .
ing as they should, in the war convinced
that lives and treasure could be saved by
forcing the fighting that the rebel army
of northern Virginia must be worn away
by continuous hammering, if it could not
be destroyed by one great blow. Under him
the superior weight of the Army of the
Potomac first told with it's proper effect on
the final result. But he had before this
exhibited distinct and even brilliant gen
Jus as commander. His victorious cam
paign at Vicksburg in the spring of 1868,
which came so gratefully to restore the
spirit of the North after Hooker's mystic
rious defeat at Charlottesville, has been
rightly termed the most brilliant episode
of the war. Who can forget how Grant,
foiled and hampered above Nicksburg,
boldly ran past the batteries of that city
crossed the almost impossible Mississippi
with his army ; plunged into the interior
of Mississippi, where every hillside was IA
fertilization, every creek a ditch, every
forest an abatis, threw himself between
two hostile armies. struck Johnston and
drove him, followed him up, leaving him
no opportunity to recover from one blow
before another fell how he fought
five battles in fifteen days, beating
Johnston in detail, capturing the cap
ital of Mississippi, and driving Penn
berton back into Nicksburg with loss of
five thousand of his $4,000 men and of all
his guns but three, and holding him till
he surrendered and the Mississippi was
open to the Gulf ! This campaign
both in conception and execution was
Grants. 1t showed genius, audacity,
brilliant strategical manpuvering, as
well as energy and perseverance, The
same qualities We're exhibited, only
in less degree in the Chattanooga
campaign in which Grant manHuvred
three armies, eliminating in the Veto
ries of Lookout Mountain and Missionary
Ridge. After Grant came to the East il
must be remembered that he was some
thing more than the commander of the
Army of the Potomac. He was direct
ing at once, Meade with the Army of the
Potomac, Sherman with the Army of the
Tennessee in Georgia, Thomas with the
Army of the Cumberland in Tennessee
Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley, But
Ter on the James River, and other troops
The amount of care, forethought, men
tai labor, planning and combination o.
movements, and multiplied responsible
ty thus resting on Grant would have con
fused to idiOcy any brain less strong and
cool. That he filled successfully the posi-
ton of General in Chief of five or six ar
mics engaged in active movements, while
experimenting in detail his great over
land campaign and seige of Petersburg
is proof enough of immense menta
Ylgor and military capacity. Grant
was great captain, great in STRAIT
egy, in aggressive force, in sus
tanned energy in inventive resource, il
patience and perseverance, lie was a,
modest and unassuming as he was cqua
To great emergencies, OF course he cOulC
not have succeeded without able lieuteu
ants but lieutenants themselves as truly
great as Sherman and sheridan, were
proud to serve under Grant, and have al
ways been foremost in assertion of his
prominence in all the qualities of great
military chief, Winner of the first grea
Union victory at Fort Donelson ; con
queror of Lee at AppomattoX crusher
more than any other one man, of a rebel
lion which surrendered at its close a thou
sand cannon and one hundred and sevent,
thousand soldiers; gaining the respect o
the SOutherners by his prowess in the fielC
and their esteem by his magnanimity il
the hour of their final defeat, he will liy,