Daily Republican. [volume] ([Wilmington, Del.]) 1874-1890, 1888-12-26
MOArlR BID, loR eRAnr.


REV YORK Tin
A friend Of Hayor Hewitt told re-.
porter a story Of his employment BY
President Lincoln at another critical
juncture in the progress Of the war,
and the reporter applied 10 the mayor
for the particulars OF the occurrence.
Mr. Hewitt said.
Let me think q minute. It was in
the winter Of 1851 and 1862, lust be-
fore l went to Europe. was at the
tea table on Sunday night-we always
had something Of company, some
twenty or thirty on such occasions
and l was at the head of the table,
when a messenger brought me tele
gram from Mr.. Lincoln. II was a
long printed roll. have the original
still somewhere, and Il ran this way:
unoeratand that Yen are q man shat
ON do things that other men say can't
bs done. Gen Grant Ia at Cairo ready
70 move on Fort D0nels0n. he has
thirty mortar bombs and thirty mOrtAFs
1te on the way from PlttsbuEg to Cairo
1t is now discovered that there are no
mortar bads, for the lack OF which the
expedition will fail, because the ord
nance bureau says they can't be pro.
duced under nine months. They must
be Of Cairo in thirty days. Yours
truly, A, LINcoLN,
II had never seen mortar bed, -
said Mr.. Hewitt, "but l had heard that
Gen. ROdman, who was then In com.
mand at Watertown arsenal, had Just
completed the model of one, and that
night placed myself in communica.
ton with him, thing l had no diill
Guilty In doing, being at the time presi
dent OF the American Telegraph Com
pany.
II was able to get the operators 10
stand at the machine while talked Ia
Gen. ROdman. In reply to my cues.
ton, Gen. Rodman said that the first
mortar bed had just been completed.
asked him II he could send 1t down To
New York by the Monday night boat
at the latect. This was Sunday night,
you understand, and there was no way
to get ii down the next day. He said
he could send it if he received orders
to do 80. l told him TO consider that
he was under orders for the time be.
ing, assuring him that l would see
that he received them, which | after
\ ward did.
He sent the mortar bed, and 1t ar.
rived Tuesday morning by the Fall
River boat, l spent Monday running
around TO the Novelty, Allaire and
Cornel's iron works, to secure
draughtsmen TO be ready Tuesday
morning TO prepare plans OF the sew
eral parts of the mortar bed on its ar.
rival. found that II weighed about
q ton aud hall, and was composed Of
several connected parts. l had II
carted to the Novelty iton works and
taken to pieces, and distributed the
pieces around among the three works
have mentioned, each agreeing To
make certain parts and TO do all they
possibly could to get them ready IN
time. The material to make them was
not on hand, and had to be provided
Being I'm the iron business knew
who made the different kinda Of ma.
| terial.
1.-The principal maker OF an essential
kind of iron refused to change his rolls
to make what was wanted, and tele.
graphed to Mr.. Lincoln TO send an Off
cor TO take possession Of his works,
which he did. The work progressed
with such success that as result ]
was able TO send the first mortar bed
forward in thirteen days from the time
received Mr.. Lineoln's telegram and
the whole thirty in twenty six days.
sent messenger on with each mortal
bed, and the car upon which it was
loaded was attached to the express
trains with printed order Of the sec.
rotary Of was pasted upon 1t, which
read as follows;
This car must not be side tracked un
der penalty ofdeath. By order OF the
secretary of war.
"Gen. Grant received the mortar
beds on time, the expedition went for
ward, and Donelson and Henry were
taken. paid all the expenses Of max.
ing and forwarding the mortar beds,
amounting to over $4,000. At the
time paper money was substantially al
par, or nearly 30. When / got my
pay In paper money year aiterward
paper money had deprecated over O
half, and | got II then only on the Or
der OF Mr.. Lincoln, with whom then
had my first interview. When | was
presented to him he said: "Why, you
are not such tremendous fellow afteI
all, l thought you must be 2 feet high