The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1886-06-17

| sign-marked his power or preSaged S then
| impend ng greatness Oh. happy land OF
| freemen! in whose unpretent Gus homes in
wise cOntentment, desp sing pOmp and show.
! live heroes and statesmen equal TO any need
and ready for any eNigence, Whatever the
| perilous conjecture, whether the alarms of
| war demand the cOnquering General or giant
wrong OF state the upright fearless. puissant
| Chief Magistrate, To- there is he found.
| Heaven-marked for choice, among the Re
! public simple citizens
But the soul of this plain man of Illinois
| was tuned on the highest KEY of manhood.
| He had been instructed IN the art of war at
| the Nations cost, aud enjoyed a subaltern's
experience in its army He recognized his
| duty, and Instantly responded by the profer
| OF his services Modest and unasSuming il
| was the fortunate penetrat on of Others
| which gave him first regiment and then
| Brigadiers commission There followed the
! long and anxious months of gathering and
preparation From our bad beginning hope
full anticipation of quick result had dsap-
peared: long and dreadful war was certain:
the yastness of the territory and forces to be
| vanQuished seemed APPALLING; nowhere prog
reSS made: and. though resOute of purpose,
the public mind was heavily oppressed. Who,
| who. and where is he. who shall lead the army
OF our rescue: was the question which tor.
mented thought while clouds of doubt and
gloom hung over all.
! Upon sudden. the unexpected thunder of
| artillery reverberated on the sky from far-on
! Tennessee. and. voicing all the Nation : pray
| ers and hope. rung the victor Gus demand of
/ the unknown citizen OF Galena 10 his coun-
| try's enemy: Nothing but uncond tional
/ surrender. L propose TO move immediately
on your works Soon Shiloh's two days
| battle came, and through the desperate and
| bloody turmoil of that first great field-fight
| Grants unbendIng spirit held commanding
| sway. and, prophetIcally representing the
| tiefd of the entire war. he wrought through
| the threatened rum To complete victory. the
| country saw its desired leader now. but mill
| tary pedantry and envy threw unjust tolls
| about him, and fettered his ascendency. New
| er were the riches of his character more clear
| and useful The true patriot. he disturbed
| By clnmOr the cares and cOnuSplS Of those
! above him; able to grandly lead, he was hon
| estly subordinate; nObly patient. he wrought
on for his country as best he night and wait
| ed for his day.
III came. Restored to command. he was
| pointed to Nicksburg. There lay the impreg-
/ naOie town, lntrenched on the curving nils.
| detiantly and securely guarding the great
| highways of Confederate supply from the
rich Southwest. Nature had made its access
| by an army from the North practically impos
| sible, and even if successfully approached il
was deemed Invincible. Experts who have
compared the two by observation affirm Sebas
| tapol to have been weaker in defenSlbilitv.
! During intense months of trial Grant
| essayed to approach it with his army by
every route daring ingenuity could
| devise. In vain. Nature tent her appar
J ent aid to discOmtt him; in truth, to
! press from his undauntcd brain its most glor-
nous consceptlou casting on the chains OF
! military teaching, and led by the inward light
| of genius, he gathered his reliant men
around him, intrepdly cut loose from supply
or SuccOr, sprang suddenly across the great
| river into the midst of Il surrounding aAd
ouInumbering enemy. He instantly struck
| the foe on the field of Fort Gibson. and thereby
/ Grand Gulf fell. Then, like the rapid light-
| nIng of fearful storm, at Raymond, ut Jack
son, at Champions Hills, at the Black
| river, he hurled the bolts OF war on this side
! and on that against the amazed and divided
adversary, won the four battles in six days,
| and drove the routed fragments within their
| rampartS, his cOrraled prisoners of war.
| Having now securely re-cstabliShed COM
| municatOn By the river, he was able to re-
ceve from the commander at Washington an
order to fOrbear attempting the campaign he
| had won. Bless Heaven for the difference
| and the distance between the general in the
I closet and the general in the field, 1t enabled
| Grant to make his cOuutry a b rthday gift OF
| Nicksburg, with more guns and prisoners than
ever before were yielded wiun captured
| city. 1t discovered the COnfederacy, and,
| with Meade : concurrent victory, first gave
| Europe perception of the probability of
Northern triumph.
| Hardly was he breathed another hercu-
| lean labor waited. Holly thev cried T. him
from Washington to rescue the Army of the
/ Cumberland. OVerpOwered on the field OF
Ch ckamaugtt, it lay i'll Chattanooga At bay.
watched and guarded by the victorious and
confident enemy from the creStS of the mount
aims above, starvation surrender its seem
ing alternative Still on crutcheS from Il re-
cent injury, riding sometimes on his horse
| and sometimes borne through dangerous
paths by the arms of his men, there FASTENED
over the rugged hills OF Tennessee this small,
silent man of Illinois, with the lions heart
and Minerva 5 brain. Immediately the front
] OF InlngS was changed. RHDlQ dispositions
| brought food and clothes in plenty; reinforce
ments obeyed his call. among them Sherman
with the Army of tne Tennessee And al
most before he had ceased to expect its sur
render, the eXultant enemy was by that be-
| leaguered army swept from the cloudy
heights of Missionary ridge and sent flying
IN dIsordered rout among thc hlIs OF Georgla'
And the gate was opened for the grand cam.
paign to Atlanta and Shermans renowned
march down to the sea.
THE man of destiny was found. Raised to
command hp SpiZpI g. whole
| enginery of the war, and in harmonious CO.
| operation the mighty forces responded to his
will. L may not prOtract the story through
| its enhancing details. ApportiOning to his
great lieutenantS the controversy with others,
| he entered the lists with Lee. The giants
grapped and never parted from the fight. Ii
was worthy of both, and stands unequaled.
| in modern war at least, in its deadly ten.
| acity and ferOcity. Within year 1t ended
| and the great rebellion fell, crushed TO utter,
| abject ruin.
study the timeIiness and effect of his VIC
| tories; the cheer of DonelSOn to tine country'a
dropping spirit; what, without him, Shiloh
would have proven; how, despite the Obieo
| Tion of those beside him and the command OF
| those above him, ne drove the rendIng wedge
| of war through Vicksburg and burst the Con.
federacy in twain; the peril and the rescue OF
| the armies at Knoxville and Chattanooga:
consider the fate of all before him who had
| attempted the attack of Lee on his own famil-
lar ground; recall the desperate need of hasts
to the burdened country. and the chances for
the Union had the war Deen protracted by
| even a year or two; and tell me if, without
Grant the Republics victory stood assured:
If, still you say, might the Union have with
stood its peril, reckon the further cost in life
and wealth of at least another year of war.
Bethink ye, then, who in this grand metrOpO-
| lis keep the keys of the cOuntrys wealth,
what would now have been your comparative
| condition had Heaven not vOuchsafed him to
your needs! Does not that tomb upon the
Hudson deserve from you, right soon, appru-
pirate cOmmemoraton of the mighty dead il
| covers? View the colossal riches piled along
fha nfr ha Onnti nnnr's
prosperity, and say If your necessity he nU
pressing lest that sacred grave. in want OF
| fitting honor, become monument to your
reprOachi
"Unpretentious, but Eerioc in daring and
| fortitude skiillfully 'e>siligent in military
| learning, and gifted %zHh intuitive genius to
p.rceive conditions and create new forms;
with the inner light that truly forecasts is
sues his iron resolution never failing in calm
serenity and contidence-he was the true
soldier of liberty. And, beyond his soldier
ship, ne was a great and noble man. He met
on equal terms half the royalty of earth. he
heard the paudiuS of the world, he suffered
the extreme extremity of contumeiy and
false report, and never lost his self-control or
broke his silence. He never failed in friend
ship. though he experienced the cruelest be-
trayal of his trust. No protane word or i'm
pure tale ever passed his lips, and grief to-
day is dumb in presence of his certain glory.
for to him was the promise of the groat
sermon: blessed are the pure i'll heart, for
thsy shall see God
Wrapped in the sweetest love of family,
his heart was big with love of his feliow-Inen
He knew the spirit of the cause he led and the
necessities of the victory he won. Sad pity
moved him, not eXutation, in that very hour
when final triumph gave the finish to his mar
tal crown. He thought not of himself. the
assured idol of undying renown, but of them
who bore the agony of defeat He forbade
the guns of victory to sound humiliation to
their ears; and kindly counseling their fut.
ure he left their private goods to the soldiers
of the ruined army and encouraged them to
restore their homes. Recognizing with joy
the fruition of his hope in the new era open
ing to his country, even in the rack OF tort
ure he spoke the supremeSt glory of his work
IN the first of the great antagonists lie over