Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-01-01
BOOK REVIEW.

NVih VI Tic slttS NSUeTdl OTdlt tHudIceS
the estimation in which that illustrious
chieftain was held by the people of the
republic. The preface is remarkable for its
conciseness and direetness. There is no
concealment that the work was not one of
willingness. 1t was labor for those he
loved last effort to do his duty to those
dependent upon him, and done in the face
of the certainty of death soon CLAIMING
him. This remarkable preface begins with
the epigrammatic statement that There
are but few important events in the affairs
of men brought about by their own choice.p
He declares that, though often urged 10
write his memoirs, he had determined
never to do so, nor TO write anything for
| publication. But at the age OF nearly
| siXty-two the great soldier met with an
accident, combining him by its result, closely
| TO his house. In this enforced retirement
| he turned To study as a pastime. and
| shortly after, the rascality of business part
ner involved him in debt, and threatened
his name with dishonor. Hard times fol-
/ lowing on the heels of this event, he was
| forced to borrow money to meet his daily
necessities. Thus depressed, he accepted
the offer of magazine publisher to write
articles on the late war. He found the
labor congenial, and he was thus led up to
/ the preparation of these volumes as n
means of providing for his family. And
| here we prefer TO quote in full one section
OF this frank and touching introduction:
In preparing these volumes for the public I
| have entered upon the task with the sincere
| desire to avoid doing injustice to any one.
| whether on the National or Confederate side
/ other than the unavoidable injustice of not
| making mention where often special mem
| ton is due. There must be many errors of
omission in this work. because the subject is
| too large 10 be treated OF in two volumes in
such way as to do Justice TO all the officers and
men engaged There We're thousands of in
stances, during the Rebellion. of individual.
| company, reglmental aud brigade deeds of
netoisin, when deserve special mention, and
| are not here alluded to The troops engaged in
| them will have to look to the detailed reports of
| their individual commanders for the full his
| tory of those deeds.
| Concerning the text of the volume.
it is to be said that it is not or
nate. General Grant appears to
have been ef1ortful in the simplicity
and directness of his narrative, and to
have avoided, in so far as possible
| in memoirs any appearance of self
laudation. The first chapter is devoted to
a simple, straightforward recital of the
notable events of his boyhood and an ac-
count of his ancestry. In the story of his
young life he frankly states that he dis
| liked work, but despite this Discrimination
| " Dc ne uIu DIS lnuCIl WOTh
while young as grown men can be hired
to do in these days, and attended school at
| the same time" In the second chapter we
have an account of his West Point life,
while the story of his army and Mexican
war experiences embrace the next twelve
chapters. The fourteenth brings him in
his narrative to the Pacific coast and his
arrival in San Francisco September, 1851
Then follows the story of his brief career
| upon this slope, his resignation from the
| army and his retiracy first TO ST. Louis and
then to Galena, H., where he served nomi-
nally as clerk on a stipulated salary.
/ During this time the issues between the
| North and South eliminated in the seces-
| sion of the Southern States. and the War of
| the Rebellion. Grant then believed that
the war would be over in ninety DAYS. and
he so held until after the battle of Shiloh
and he reiterates his conviction that there
would have been no more battles in the
! West after the capture OF Fort Donelson,
| if all the troops in that region had been
under single commander who would have
! followed up that victory" When the call
| tor volunteers came, he was constrained to
| preside at a meeting held in Galena to ar
range for raising troops After that meeting
he never entered his place of business to do
business. He had declined the Captaincy
OF the Gaiena company but pledged HIM
! sell TO aid in its organization; served as
! drill master, and accompanied the COM
mand to Springfield. where Governor Yates
called him to aid the Adjutant-General of
the State militia in fitting the Illinois
troops for the field. He superintendent the
mastering in of ten of the State regiments.
He then formally rendered his services to
the Acknowledgement of the United States
army, as West Point graduate.
who felt it to be duty TO serve the Gov
orr, Na,,tt l,at L.,1 H.,
| letter there never came reply Grant was
in fact, snubbed by the United States Gov
eminent. Not long after came the second
caH for troops, and Governor Yates APP
| pointed Grant at once to be Colonel of an
| Illinois regiment At this juncture he first
met John A. Logan. and takes occasion to
bear testimony to his loyalty to the Union.
| He gives graphic account of his march to
the scenes of conflict and his first call to
face the enemy, and frankly admits that,
despite his long service in Mexico and the
many battles in which he was an actor,
that he felt fear, but never after that hour
did he experience any trepidation on con-
! fronting an enemy. From this point the
! eighteenth chapter) to the close of the first
volume of nearly 600 pages the memoirs
relate wholly to the war, and include the
occupation of Paducah, the battle of BEL
mont, the capture of Forts Henry and
/ DobSioOb, tIC uDOH NaSnNlllc,
| the rebuke administered to him by
! General Halleck, his removal from
and restoration to command, the fight
ing at Shiloh the battle of Corinth.
the Vicksburg campaign and the surrender
o. the place, and the order requiring Grant
to report at Cairo, Ill. From that point
the second volume will take up the thread
| OF the well-told tale of war, and open with
the meeting between Grant and Secretary
| Stontnra xrtI ah t.1 - L. 4. 4
| General Grant to Chattanooga, where he
relieved General Rosecrans and saved a
situation that had greatly imperjled the
| Union cause. Whoever enters upon the
reading of this singulary attractive book
will scarcely abandon it. 1t is too straight
forward, and simply, yet forcibly, told
tale, dealing with the most momentous
| events, to release the reader from its in
! fluence for moment; one that by its very
/ simplicity and lack of effort is possessed
OF an interest as narrative independent
OF its historical value, that is not surpassed
I by the most effortful work of fiction
Perhaps no better judgment has been
| pronounced upon these memoirs than that
OF the London Times, which concludes
| heightened account of the volume with
the statement that it is one of those rare
| works which combine historic value with
/ the keenest personal interest, and the fur
N.'~- IL 10 IcNGT uuil anu
never sensational" An English CORE
/ spondent makes a novel and just criticism
| when he says that :" the personality of
Grant is visible on every page. better
notion of him may be got from his book,
than it was possible to get from casual in
tercourse. One thing the work settles for
az time, and that is the question Of the in
I tellectual power of General Grant. No
man of common ability could have written
| so well; no man subject to the weaknesses
OF ambition or selfishness could have
borne himself so well in memo;rs. no
narrator could so effectively tell bis story
who had not broad capacity and the great
ness Of modesty.'
PRESS NOTES.
We are in receipt of neatly printed VOL
ume of 100 pages. entitled 1.-The Orange:
Its Culture in California" BY William A.
! Spaulding. The contents of the book are
arranged from a series of articles that orr
ginally appeared in the Riverside Q.os An
geles county, Press and horticultural The
volume is issued by the publisher of that
| journal l.. NJ. Holt 1t is intended to be
complete manual for the guidance of
nrQra 4