The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1892-02-18
Great Captains---Ulysses s. Grant.

L
in the following order: Julius Caesar,
Ulysses S. Grant. Frederick the Great.
Napoleon Bonaparte. and Count Won
Moltke.
The fame OF heroes is no longer meas
ured by the clatter of their ''drums and
guns" but by the effect of their actions and
the good they have done. Ordinarily, the
qualities that make of man great fighter
tend also to make him tyrant. The best
test of man as soldier is how he uses
his power. and think we can safely say of
Grant what some one has said of Lincoln.
that with almost absolute power at his
command he never abused it but on the side
of justice and humanity" We will not at
tempt to describe here his numerous battles
every school boy knows the story of his
career from Belmont to AppOmatOx Court
HOuSe-but let us see what qualities Grant
possessed that are usually indicative of
greatness.
The first is courage. and Grant had lots
of it. While a cadet at West Point he was
the most fearless rider at the school. He
made the greatest leap on horse back then
on record. and which has since been beaten
only few inches by professional riders.
At MOlinO del Rey and Chapuftepeo. in the
Mexican war, he distinguished himself by
numerous deeds of daring; by his GOODNESS
under fire. his extreme mOdesty and tacitur-
nifty. and, above all, by his indOmitable
courage and bull dog tenacity.
When boy Grant was not noted for his
intellectual brilliancy. In fact. so dull did
he seem that his mother named him Use
less Grant" But his reply to one of his
fno0 nnr Of loot INT 1ho 1<o -
of him. When asked if he had to days lesson
learned he replied. mo-" adding that he
had not yet learned yesterdays lesson to his
satisfaction. TO understand one thing at a
time, and then push things and flight it
out on that line if it takes all summer, ~
seemed to be his motto all through life.
AS an aggressive fighter Grant deserves
to rank with Caesar; brave, calm. and de-
liberate. he cOmprehended the stern arith-
metc Of war as no other general of his time
cOmprehended it. He could rally his forces
over the dead bodies of his fallen comrades
and lead them on to other victories. All
his battles were on the aggressive. except,
perhaps. Shiloh, which he lost. But defeat
never disconnected him. ''Serene alike in
peace and danger" defeat only served to in
crease his courage.
Lincoln used to say that all his other
generals used to pick out something that
the army didn't have. and that they knew
he couldn't get for them, and then sit
down and wait. They generally wanted
more cavalry, better cOmmiSsary arrange
ments, ''big guns" etc. There was none
of this when Grant took command. He
didn't. like Mcclellan. write insulting let
tiers to the president and his cabinet. or,
like Hooker. complain of the weakness of
the government, and advise a dictatorship.
But, like soldier of genius and courage.
he took things as he found them and done
his best. Instead of waiting for the enemy
to attack him. he "mOved Immediately
upon his works." he followed him from one
position to another, as resistless as fate un-
til nothing was left him, but immediate
and unconditional surrender"
What relief it must have been to Lin
coin to have found at last general who
could, and would. fight assailed. as he
was, on all sides. by TRADES of abuse from
political opponents. and letters of advice
from weak minded friends. When Busy
gossip with her meddling tongue" came to
Lincoln with her tale of VICE." that Grant
was addicted to drinking whisky, he calmly
inquired if she knew what brand of whisky
Grant used so that he could furnish some to
his other generals to see if it would help
them win some victories. At last. he had
found general who would mind his own
business, who would attend to affairs in the
field and leave the management of the gov
eminent to the president and congress.
In ''McClellan's Own Story" there is a
curious passage relating to Grant. Some
time in 1861 Il think it was in June) Grant
left Galena and went to Cincinnati where
Mcclellan had his headquarters, in hopes of
getting a position on McClellan's staff.
Mcclellan. referring to this. says that he
was sorry he missed seeing Grant. He be-
came acquainted with him in Mexico and
thought him young man of great promise.
whom he would be pleased to have on his
staff. adding, ''if we had met the story of
the war might have been different" Yes.
indeed, it might There was no need to tell
us that; anyone who reads the ''peace plat
FORM" of the Mcclellan party of 1864. we'll
knows how near being in vain was the sac
rifice of so much blood and treasure.
What difference between Grants mag
unanimous acceptance of the sword of Cen
eral Lee at Appomatox Court House. and
Napoleon's insulting offer of the rose to the
young queen of Prussia after the fall OF
Jena!
It is said that there is no sight so pleasing
to the gods as that of a brave man strug-
Cling with adversely. Then Grants con.
duct after the Grant & Ward failure, must