Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-06-04

OF H. III. Kohlsaat, former Galena boy and
now one of the millionaire citizens of Chi
cago. A year ago he intimated to some of
his friends his desire that the city of Galena
should be graced by statue of 'gThe Old
Commander" who, with his family, had
resided there during one of the most i'm
portant periods of his life. The matter was
formally presented to the City Council and
the citizens of Galena by Mr.. Kohlsaat and
James w. Scott, of Chicago, but formerly a
resident of Galena.
The Site and Description of the Statue.
No appropriate site for, the monu-
ment, however, could be found until
Mr. Scott initiated a movement by
which an elevated plot of ground on the
east side of the city, 40 feet above the
river, and covering six acres, was ordered
purchased, and to be forever dedicated to
the city for park purposes. A portion of
the purchase was contributed by the City
Council, second sum was raised by the cit
liens of Galena, and the balance was Sc
cured in Chicago through the efforts of Mr.
Scott. The inclosure was named Grant
Park, and already contains a magnificent
soldiers monument and fountain erected
by the ladies of the city.
The bronze statue dedicated to-day stands
on a solid base formed of three tiers of
Quincy gray granite, with pedestal of
beautifully carved and polished red granite
from the quarries of Maine. On the front
surface is the simple inscription in plain,
large letters, "Grant, Our Citizen" The
statue is heroic in size and represents Gen
eral Grant in citizens dress, standing as if
in reflection. The likeness is excellent, and
the portrayal of the subtle individuality of
the man is admirable.
1t was the hand of little Miss Kohlsaat,
daughter of the doner, that unveiled the
statue, and when its life-like proportions
were uncovered, the crowd seemed SPELL
bound for a moment until it broke out in
three cheers and tiger. The oration was
pronounced by Chauncey NJ. Depew, of
which the following is the full text:
Grant as a Citizen of Galena.
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
failure of his plans. He was then support
ing his family ON s., 600 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
rs 600 men to suppress the rebellion.
The ardor and eloquence of John A. Raw
Inns so impressed an auditor whom none of
the platform had ever met, that he subse-
quently made the orator his Chief of Staff
and Secretary of War. Some one discovered
that Captain Grant, a graduate of West
Point and veteran of the Mexican War,
lived in this city, and he was invited to pre-
side at the formation of military company.
He was so diffident that few heard his speech.
of three sentences, but in that short address
of the time "You know the object for
which we are assembled. Men are needed
to preserve the Union. What is your pleas
ure?" He organized and drilled that COM
pany; and led it to the Governor at Spring
field. By that march Galena lost q citizen
and the Republic found its savior.
While others were enlisting for brief per-
iods, he besought the Adjutant General to
t5e the War var V Department @ et % had "ai, forgot rot
ten him. He struggled for days to
work through the brilliant staff into the
presence of General McClelland, but the
young dandies scornfully and successfully
barred his way.
How Grant Won Recognition.
1t was soon seen that the obscure military
clerk in the office of the Governor of Illinois
was capable where all the rest were ignor-
ant, and that under his firm and confident
hand order was evolved out of chaos and
raw recruits disciplined into soldiers.
Though he was 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 Captain Grant as one of
your Brigadier Generals" Thus the Common
wealth that had so hotly pressed Lincoln for
the Chief Magistracy of the Republic, as
sumed the responsibility for, Grant as Com
lnander of the army.
These marvellous men were the products
of that characteristic intuition of the West,
which quickly discerns merit, and then con-
fidently proclaims its faith. Education and
experience make old and crowded commu-
mites averse to leadership unless it has been
trained and tested. They accept nothing
outside the record. The fact that the con-