The Portland daily press., 1891-06-04
dwelling Of a Monument in Memory
Of Grant.
1t Stands Near His Former Home in
Galena, Illinois.
An Eloquent Grafton Delivered by
Chauntey NJ. DepeW.

once claimed as his home, almost casting its
| shadows In the setting sun over the old
house that sheltered his family during the
period that at the very front he was fighting
or directing the battles for the preservation
of his country and the continuation Of the
Union, magnificent monument to the mem
CRY Of "the old commander" was formally
| unveiled today with impressive services. An
| immense throng-the number was variously
estimated at from $1,000 to $4,000 people
participated in the exercises. They came
from far and near.
Shortly after II o'clock two special trains
from Chicago brought In large number of
distinguished guests. Among them were
Hon. Chauncey M. Depew Of New York, the
orator of the day. and about 200 others. With
the Chicago delegation came the famous
| Fifth Regiment Band from Fort Sheridan.
There was an iaposing military parade;
the monument There, after music and
| prayed, the united bands struck up "Hail to
| the Chief" and amidst scene of inspiring
enthusiasm little Miss Pauline Kohlsaat Of
| Chicago, daughter of the donor. gave a
strong tug at the silken chord and the black
| shroud in which the monument had been en-
| vel0ped fell apart, revealing the work Of art
| In all its beauty. A brief address OF accept
ance on the part of the city was made by Mr..
Mcclellan, and after the band had rendered
america" Mr.. Depew was introduced and
| enthusiastically greeted. He spoke as fol-
lows:
Mr.. Depew's Grafton.
Thirty years ago your City Of Galena num-
bered among its citizens man so modest
that he was little known in the community;
a merchant so humble that his activities
were not felt in your business. Three years
later his fame illumined the earth. and the
calculations OF every commercial venture,
and OF every constructive enterprise In the
country were based upon the success or fail
ure OF his plans. He was then supporting
his family on thousand dollars year, and
before the third anniversary Of his departure
from your city he was spending four millions
day for the preservation Of the Union. One
OF the patriotic meetings, common at that
period all over the North, was held here to
sustain President Lincoln in his call for
seventy-fve thousand men to suppress the
rebellion. The ardor and el0quence Of John
A. Rawlins, so impressed an auditor whom
none of the Congressman and prominent citi-
zens on the platform had ever met. that he
subsequently made the orator his Chief Of
Staff and Secretary of War. Some one dis
covered that Captain Grant, graduate of
West Point and veteran of the Mexican
preside at the formation Of military COM
pany. He was so diffident that few heard
his speech of three sentences, but In that
short address was condensed all the elo-
quence and logic Of the time. "You know
the object for which we are assembled. Men
are needed to preserve the Union. What Is
is your pleasure?" He organized and drilled
that Company. and led it to the Governor at
Springfield. By that march Galena lost a
citizen and the Republic found its savior.
While others were enlisting for brief
to assign him to duty for the war, but the
War DaNQrfn61A had fnr0t n M Ia
struggled for days tU work through the
brilliant staff into the presence of General
Mcclellan, but the young dandies scornfully
and ana successfully sst 81: barred his way. Il was
the office of the Governor of Illinois was ca
pable where all the rest were ignorant, and
that under his firm and confident hand order
was evolved out Of chaos and raw recruits
unknown and unnamed to the public, the
Executive recognized in him the organizing
brain of the military forces Of the State. To
reluctant President and hostile Secretary,
the Illinois Delegation said, where most Of
the appointments are experiments, try Cap
tain Grant as one of your Brigadier-Gener.
ais" Thus the commonwealth which had
so hOtly pressed Linc0ln for the Chief Mag
istracy OF the Republic. assumed the respon-
sibility for Grant as Commander Of the
Army.
These marvellous men were the products
of thatlcharacteristic intuition of the West,
which quickly discerns merit, and then con-
fidently proclaims its faith. Education and
experience make old and crowded communi-
ties ayerse to leadership unless 1t has been
trained and tested. They accept nothing
outside the record The fact that the con-
ditons are new and the emergency greater |
than the schools have provided for, are
stronger reasons for selecting only the men
who have approximately demonstrated their
ability. For all the ordinary emergencies of |
life the rule Is excellent. But 1t sometimes
happens that the Captain who has success
fully weathered hundred gales, Is saved |
from shipwreck, in a hurricane, by the
genius of a subordinate. 1t Is not that the
uneducated and unframed can, by any
natural endowment, be fitted for command.
Lincoln as statesman had studied politics
on the Stump and in Congress. and Grant as
soldier had learned war at West Point and |
in Mexico. The opportunity had not come
to either to stand before the country with
Seward, Sumner and Chase, or with Scott, |
ing the traditions and practice Of the Centu-
ries, presented tried and famous statesmen
at the Chicago Convention, and saw the
Army Of the Potomac led to defeat and |
disaster, Tor years by admirable officers who |
were unequal to the supreme peri!s of the |
handling OF gigantic forces upon vast arena.
The West gave to the country for President
the rail splitter of the Ohio, and, to lead its
forces in the field. Grant, Sherman and Sheri-
dan.
Grants career will be the paradox of his
tory. Parallels cannot be drawn for him
with the great captains of the world. His
toiians, by common consent, place Alex
ander the Great, Hannibal, Julius Cesar,
and Napoleon Bonaparte in the front rank.
But each of them had learned the art of war
by continuous service and uuequalled Oppor-
tunities. and displayed the most brilliant
qualities at every period of their achieve
ments. Hannibal and Cesar had won uni
versal fame in the thirties. Alexander died
at thirty-three, grievlng because he had no
more worlds to conquer, and Napoleon, at
thirty seven, was master of Europe. But
merchant in Galena. As Cadet at West
Point he had risen only just above the mid
die of his class. AS subaltern on the 'front.'
ier and in Mexico, he had done no more than
perform his duty with the courage and ca
pacity of the average West Pointer. He had
pursued agriculture with his customary con-
scientiOus care and industry. He was not
afraid to do the work of the farm himself
nor ashamed to ride into st. Louis upon the
load Of wood which he was to sell. or to pile
it up for his customer. and yet almost any
farmer in Missouri was more successful
Clients failed to retain him as a surveyor,
his real estate office had to be closed, and he
was not factor in the tanners firm.
But the moment that the greatest respon-
sibilities were thrust upon him, and the fate
of his country rested upon his shoulders,
this Indifferent farmer, business man, mer-
chant, became the foremost figure OF the
CChtuiys 4AO AOoCltO pOWCAo Va uOmiuaub
intellect, which ordinary affairs could not
move, came into action. A mighty mind
which God had kept for the hour of supreme
danger to the Republic, grasped the scattered
elements Of strength, solidified them into re-
sistless force and organized victory. He di-
vined the purposes of the enemy as well
as he knew mis- own plans. His brain be-
came clearer. his strategy more perfect, and
his confidence In himself more serence as
his power increased. He could lead the as
sault at Donelson, or the forlorn hope at
Shiloh, or maneuvre his forces with ex-
quisite skill and rare originality Of resources
at Vicksburgh, as the best Of brigade or
corps commanders, or before Richmond
calmy conduct a campaign covering a cOnti-
nent, and many armies with consummate
generalship. At the critical hour during the
battle of Sedan when the German Emperor
and Bismarck were anxlously waiting the
result. and watching their silent General, an
ofiieer rode up and announced that two
corps OF the German Army marching from
opposite directions had met at a certain
nour. The movement closed in the French
and ended the war. Won Moltke simply
SAID, The calculation was correct" Grant
mad not the scientific training and wonderful
staff OF the Prussian Field Marshal. Dut ne
possessed in the highest degree the same
clear vision and accurate reasoning Inc
calculation was always eorrect, ana the VIC
tory sure.