Huntsville gazette., 1891-05-02

upon which the memorial to the hero
of Appomattox is to be reared. Hun
dreds of the veterans of the war who
erst loved and obeyed and now wor-
ship the memory of that hero partici-
pated in the ceremonies.
Shortly after 1 o'clock the veterans
began to assemble. They were soon
joined by Gen. o. O. Howard and
company of infantry and battery of
artillery. The navy was represented
by Admiral Braine and his staff.
The veterans and regulars under Gen.
Howard at once took up position
forming a circle about the mound. The
preliminaries were quietly and simply
effected. There was no marching or
counter-marching and the strains of
| martial airs were entirely missing. The
members of the Grant Monument
association and guests of the day
were received at the Claremont hotel,
directly north of the mound, by the
Alexander Hamilton post G. A. R. After
the preliminar;es of the reception were
finished the members of the association
| and their guests were escorted to a
| large platform, which had been erected
near the mound, and seats were pro-
vided for them. This platform accom-
modated 1000 people. On it were also
seated the members of the Grant fami-
ly, including Mrs. Nellie Sartoris, nee
Grant, who recently arrived from En-
gland.
The steamer Yantic, which lay in the
Hudson directly opposite the tomb, fired
salute in honor of the dead general.
The exercises began with an overture
by the Marine band. Rev. DIR. Clark
| Wright, chaplain on the staff of Com
The prayer was followed by the singing
of the Star Spanglcd Banner" by a
large chorus under Silas G. Pratt, the
well-known American composer. Gen.
| Horace Porter, who was then intro
duced delivered the grafton, of which
the following is synopsis:
| Most of the conspicuous characters in his
| tory have risen to prominence by gradual
| advances, but Ulysses S. Grant came before
| the people with sudden bound Almost the
| first sight caught of him was in the blaze of
his camp fires and the flashes of his guns
those wintry days and nights in front
of Fort Donelson. From that time until the
crownng triumph at Appomattox he was a
| leader whose name was the harbinger of vic
tory His rise from an obscure Lieutenant to
the command of the veteran armies of the
great republic; his transition from a front
ier post of the untrodden west to the ex-
ecutive mansion of the nation; his sitting
at one time in little store in Galena, not
even known to the congressman of his dis
I, n
palaces of the old world. with the de-
sccndants of lines of kings ris-
| ing and standing uncovered in his pres
| ence: his humble birth in an obscure town
scarcely known to the geographer; his
| agonizing illness and courageous death at
Mount McGregor, with a nations prayer
breathed in his behalf from every pulpit and
freside in the land. These are some of the
features lis marvellous career which ap-
peal to the imagination, excite mems Won
der and fascinate all who make a study of
his life.
Gen. Grant possessed in a striking degree
all the characteristics of successful sol
dier. His methods in warfare bore the
stamp of originality and ingenuity lis
| success depended more upon his powers of
invention than of adaptation. The fact
| that he has been compared at times to near
| ly all the great commanders OF history is the
| best proof that he was like none of them.
His self reliance was one of his pronounced
| traits He assumed the gravest responsi-
blities with their attending risks without
asking anyone to share them. He had fer
tility of resource and faculty of adapting
the means at hand to the accomplishments OF
his purposes which contributed in no small
degree to his success. Both his moral and
physical courage were equal to every emer-
gency in which he was placed. Never undu-
ly elatod by victory or depressed by defeat,
he was calm amidst excitement, patient un-
der trials, and never in his life uttered an
oath or imprecation. His habits were sim
pie, and he enjoyed physical constitution
which enabled him to endure every form OF
eatigre aud privation incident # mill sry