The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-12-31
NAPOLEON, Won MoLTKE, GRANT.
General ShermRn's Estimate of Them as Sol
diers-Linooln and Seward,

General ShermRn's Estimate of Them as Sol
diers-Linooln and Seward.
a.. L. W.. in New York Tribune.
I never knew a man who could tell what ne
knew any better than Gen. W. 7. Sherman can.
When l was in Washington / never failed to be
present at a public hearing on military matters
if General Sherman was to make a statement or
be examined. That which in the mouth of al
most any other officer of the army would be bald
details and confusing figures becamein his as in
~teresting as a popular lecture. And IN private
conversation he is equally entertaining z, espe-
cially when the topic is the army or the military
heroes of this and other lands.
find in my note book an entry made in the
spring of 1880, which WAS recalled by reading
the recent speech Of Counp Won Molte in favor
of increasing the already enormous army of
Germany, and the comments of the American
and foreign press upon it. I spent an hour one
evening in a small company of which General
Sherman was one. and when, by general consent,
he had been allowed to do most of the talking.
He bsgan by comparing the military abilities of
Napoleon, Won Moltke and Grant, and said, in
substance:
'fNapoleon's prominent characteristic was his
intellect AS a soldier his strength lay in his
power of conveyance and concentration He
knew his generals and his men thoroughly. lie
knew just what they could accomplish and what
he had a right to exp ct of them. He knew Just
how long it would take a body of troops to go
from one point to another, and he would order
them from widely different stations, and would
plan their arrival at a given place SO accurately
as to make his combination irresistible. He was
like q lens which brings the rays OF light togeth-
er at one point.
Napoleon ought to have won the battle of
Waterloo, and would have done SO if it had besn
fought on an open field, and if the Allies had not
been on the defensive. If it had been an equal
contest, or one in which the Allies had made the
attack upon Napoleon, he would hare got upon
their flank, cut their lines Of communication and
whipped Wellington. Napoleon did not under
stand the English character; he did not know
how stolid and suilenly stubborn the English
whom he had fought generally became panic
stricken before him. He did not suppose that
anything could resist the Old Guard when they
made a charge.
Won Mo.tke Is q man Of entirely different
genius. He has an infinite knowledge ct details.
He knows how many people there are IN every
part of Europe; how many horses, mules, cat
tie, pigs and chickens they have; where all the
roads are, and their conditions at different sea-
| sons of the year; all the rivers, and the best
| places to ford them; where all the bridges are,
and whether they are of stone, iron or wood.
He knows his army as thoroughly as he
does the country, and it is to his ability to
put this knowledge to use that he owes his sue
cess"
Some one in the company asked General
alive to day-18S0-he could organize a French
army that could whip Prussia. He replied: II
think he could, but he would need three or four
years TO do it in. An effective army of about
$50. 600 men would be required, and to command
it Napoleon would have to create thirteen first
class generals"
! OF General Grant, General Sherman said;