The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-03-13
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GRANT UNDER l z
How the Great Commander Carried Himself
During an Assault on Vicksburg.

J. B.. McCulIagh. in St Louis Globe Democrat.
saw General Grant under fire several
times during the Vicksburg campaign. but
only once when he was the supreme COM
mander of the day. One of the good traits
of Grants character was his scrupulous
regard for the rights and feelings of his
sn bordinates. aud hence on q battlefield he
often contented himself with the position
of adviser. without assuming that of
director. to which his rank entitled
him. When the battle involved only
a subdivision of his army. he left every
> thing TO one of his corps commanders. and
only when all his corps commanders-of
whom there were three at Vicksburg-were
engaged did he take full control. Thus in
his Memoirs" he speaks of being with
sherman" at q certain battle on one dav,
with Mcpherson" at another battle on
another day. and so on; but when
1t comes to an engagement IN which all
his troops participated he makes it plain
that everything was under his personal
control and direction. The two assaults
on the confederate works at Vicksburg
were two occasions of this kind. The
second of these assaults took place on May
%, when the whole army. with scaling lad
ders, forlOrn hopes and all the ingredients
of the terrible thunder of battle, made q
desperate. but unsuccessful. effort to capture
the confederate stronghold. As the bearer
OF an unim2ortant message from a division
commander. l had an opportunity of seeing
the great soldier IN one of the most event.
ful hours of his eventful life. had been
told to look for him 'somewhere near the
ss1ser' and 9onDa we'll him to vert the we'll fT0n to
the front. and almost exactly. Ia the
center of q line extending from the Yazoo
river on the right to the southern Limits or
Vicksburg on the left. He was the least
military-Iooking member of q small group.
consisting, In addition TO himself. of staff
officers and Orderlies-six or eight In all.
He wore q soft hat surrounded by q cord,
on which there were traces of gold thread.
and q blouse without shoulder straDs-a
garment of which q second lieutenant
would not have felt proud. But
while careless of his own garments
he had initiated Caligula by conferrIng
rank upon his horse. whose saddle cloth
bore the glittering double stars of q major
general. Only his left leg was In q stirrup;
the rixhN was drawn M. and seemed To be
twisted round the pommel of the saddle.
In his left hand the General held a pine
stick, which he was whiting with a big
knife grasped g. in the right. In lis mouth
was q big cigar. which he was smoking
violently. l delivered my MESSAGE. to
which an approving nod was all the an
swer required or given. The General con-
tinued to whlttle and smoke without be-
traylng the slightest emotion. 1t was about
noon. and the battle had been raging since
10 o'clock--every man of the whole army
engaged. The staff officers and Orderises
in the group around the General were dis.
cussing the situation in all forms and de-
grees of AGITATION, but the General said
nothing unless asked a question. ana then
said very little. He was watching with
his ears rather than with his eyes because
the range OF vision was short owing TO the
trees and the Qualifications. He listened
TO the firing as the noise ad-
vanced or receded. and told him that his
troops were gaining or losing ground. Sud-
denly q shell from a confederate battery
plOwed into the ground near where our
party stood. The General, without moving
q muscle except of his legs, Strengthened
himself up IN his saddle, aud in a tone of
voice not stronger than be would use to
call for q glass OF water. said to one of his
staff officers. That battery ought to have
been silenced an hour ago. See why it has
not been silenced." The staff office went
off on q gallop. and the General re-
newed the attack on his pine stick.
which had by this time been whitfield to
the dimensions of q lead pencil. u mus
tered COURAGE enough to approach HIM and
ask how the battle was going. He an
swered In q very pleasant voice that he
thought every thing looked we'll, but that
there was q great deal to be dOneye before
V~icksburg was takcn. What be meant was
that there was much heavy lighting over
trenches and e~arthwOrks. and against al
most impregnable mud forts. between whore
the army then was and the actual pos
session of the stronghold. / am salts
fled now that when the General answered
my question he had made up his mind that
the assault was a failure. and that Vicks-
burg could not be taken in that way. but
there was nothing in his manner or voice
90 indicate that he had reached such . con-
~clusion. There probably would not have
been the slightest noticeable change IN his
manner or voice if. instead of defeat, be
had felt assured of victory. His i'm
perturbable self-possessIOn could not have
been wrested from him by any
change of fate or fortune. If his
army had been annihllated he might have
smoked two cigars at a time instead of
one. but that is as far as his emotions
would have carried him. at least in their
outward manifestation / started back
whence / had come with my message. aud
learned In q short time that the troops
were coming back. leaving VicEsbnrg still
in confederate hands. That night heard
General Grant say: well have to dig
our way in" and so It happened. In the
Memoirs the work of the 22d IS not treated
as q disaster. but rather as an uDsuccess-
ful EXPERIMENT.. which ir undoubtedly was.
The siege began immediately, and at the
end of elk weeks General Grant took din.
ner IN Nicksbura.