Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1890-08-22
STORIES OF wAp u

A'hSoAAA AAHV-f1e1rteG1nesS ~
ness and Descrmtnatton-Ho",ants cop|
Suited His Action to His Wow sheria]
Few men who have occun;oa
nent q place as that WIZ lIa rs rrop
James NJ: Ashley, of Mont len es'Go]
during the soul-stirring TINA, fld
civil war, have retired from ', n,,1ss. Of D
carrying with them SO com ,uolc lid
respect and good feeling 81 i. ppletely d
whom they were allied Or to whose, vi
were opposed as he. Il is seldom 1lon tt y
Mr.. Ashley can be induced l, ~ I'd
the old days when he PLAYED u refer
prominent part in the Nat;o ton such
la II. and was chosen to be the the n ns
of one Of the most radical pr ror NOV
ever made before this couptr ,r0e pc
which at the time demapda.d, saa
amount of personal COURAGE 10 slni
lessly he performed the dutye o. Leg
the amendment to the Co ", NOW \
abolishing slavery in this cona4
the close of the war. ''unsfy
A reporter met the ex.Goro
few evenings ago in Delmonicoss 10, y.
having business chat Mr.. Ashlox AT
tertained the reporter for over a an !,
with anecdotes of the war times = 10
many of the prominent men w. aug
his contemporaries in puhl;o We
Starting out in political life whan "
20 years of age, he was intima un oa
auainted with nearly all the men y
names have become historical u "lo
nection with those turbulent tim..
fore and during the war. ''D'e'
Concerning all these men, Mr.
ley has an inexhaustible fund Of a.
dotes, and although in his sixtv.ss
year his memory is as clear and III; ~ ~
as bright as it was thirty years :
He told the reporter some iptersss1
stories of President Lincoln,s u;
heartedness. Il consider Pras Al
Lincoln" he said, zone of the mo ,s'
markable men who ever lived, As
kindness of heart was shown to all II
at all times. I remember once vl1
Carl Schurz, who was with the ,,n
had sent a letter to the President VII
out consulting his commanding o@0 !
OF course, this was breach Of hi
pline not to be countenanced md
subsequently wrote letter of anoIoI
to Mr.. Lincoln. The President rem,
| by letter, Never mind; come and
me- OF course, when Schurz Wen.
began to apologize profusely, but
President, seeing how i'll at ease
was, smiled and said in a kindly ia
Never mind, Schurz. l guess bes]
we get through talking you won't nj
I am SO bad a man as some peopIe
I am That kindness broke Sch
all up.
Another time [ saw him give n
don for q soldier sentenced to be 81
on the supplication Of the poor fello} F.
wife and daughters. OF course til
was a most pathetic scene, and many
the bystanders cried. After sign
the pardon the President said, well
have made one family happy, bu
don't know about the discipline Of
army"
Mr.. Ashley also told some
stories about Gen. Grant, Of whom
was aloyal and ardent admirer AMI
some he related was one of crc1
stance on the evening of the first d;
battle of Shiloh. which had beena
feat.
cat that time" he said, when
man might have felt disturbed.
Quartermaster came to Gen. Grant
told him that if he was again defea
on the next day he could not transE
the troops about sixty-hve THOUSAND
number), if it was necessary to q
the river.
Grant asked him: How many
can you handler
Ten thousand, replied the Quar-
master.
Well, said Gen. Grant. quietly,
we are defeated, you will be abld
carry all that are left
so, you see," said Mr.. Ashley, "
determination Grant had. Hesn
determined to win or be annihilatei
Another story about Grants coon
was as follows: Sheridan, when
came East, was assigned by Grant
Gen. Meade's command. Gen. Mel
ordered him to 60 out with his cavl
and reconnoiter, but to be careful alb
Stuart, who was troubling Meades
gade. Sheridan, whose blood was
used some rather strong Language
said that he would knock hell out
Stuart if he could get at him.
Meade, who was a quiet man, when
again met Grant, said: well,
eral, that man Sheridan you sent nj
rather insubordinate.'
I How is that? What has he
doing? asked Grant.
"Gen. Meade repeated Sheridan;s
marks, and Grant replied: Did on'
dan say that?' A.,
Yes, sir; he did, replied Ae'
emphatically.
"'Well, said Grant, quietly,
didn't you tell him to go and 40 w
Gen. Meade went back. TOOK
hint, gave the order to Sherman
Stuart never troubled the comM'
again.-Ne,U York Tribune
E.stlv Evulniued.