The Globe-republican., 1893-05-12
GRANTS GREATNESS.
His Career as Citizen Soldier and
Statesman.
An Eloquent Tribute by Gov. Mckinley
In Memory of the Famous Sol
dier-A Great Day in
GaIena.

In Memory of the Famous Sol
dier-A Great Day in
Galena.
The entire population of Galena, Ill.
turned out on the 9th of April TO do
honor to the memory of Ulysses 5.
Grant on the seventy-first anniversary
Of the birth of the great soldier and
statesman. The ceremonies were
elaborate and impressive and were par
ticipated in by some of the foremost
men of the state. Gov. Mckinley, OF
Ohio, was present, and made the lead
ing grafton, in which he paid glowing
tribute to the memory of the grand old
commander of the union forces. The
following is the gist of his speech:
s.The distinguished citizen whose life we
commemorate. and the anniversary OF whose
birth we pause to celebrate to-day, was born at
Point Pleasant in my own native state, on the
9th day of April. 1872 His early life was an
uneventful one. He did not differ from the
boys OF his time, and gave no more promise
than a multitude of the youth OF his own age
and station, either OF the past or the present
He sprang from plain but Industrious parents,
and with faith and courage, with will and
mind for work, he confronted the problem OF
one Of the Ohio districts as cadet to the West
Point military academy. His predecessor had
failed to pass the necessary examinat ton and
the vacancy was filled by young Grant AT the
academy he was marked q painstaking. OBJ
serving plodding, persistent pupil He neither
graduated at the head nor the foot OF his class,
but stood twenty-second in a class OF thirty
nine. His rank at graduation placed him in the
infantry arm OF the service, and in ls43 he was
commissioned and brevetted second lieutenant
in the Fourth United States regulars NO
qualities OF exceptional nature showed them
selves up to this point In the character OF the
young officer. His first actual experience In
war was in Mexico Here he distinguished
himself and was twice mentioned in general or
ders for his conspicuous gallantry. He was
twice brevetted by the president OF the United
States for heroic conduct at the battles OF
Monterey. Palo Alto and Resaca, Chapultepec
and Molino Del Rey. After the war with Mex
leo, he was stationed with his regiment on the
northern frontier and subsequently on the Pa
chic coast in Oregon and California In which
latter stations he saw much trying service with
the Indians. On the 3lst day Of July, 1854, he
resigned his commission in the army, after
eleven years service therein-a service credit
able to him in every particular, but in no sense
so marked as to distinguish him from a score
OF others OF equal rank and opportunity.
"As a private citizen he was little known
either at St Louis, Mo, where he first took up
his residence or here, at Galena, where he sub
seauently located his home. In business he did
not get on well. His business undertakings in
Missouri proved Notifying failures, and at
that time he would have been called very un-
successful man His father-in-law had given
him "A few acres OF land near the city OF St
Louis and there he constructed log house for
the family residence. AS indicating MS Ill
luck and hard lines at that period he signih-
cantly and with that unaffected frankness al
ways so conspicuous called his humble resi-
dence Hard Scrabble Joining his father i'll
this city in the leather business he was more
fortunate, and when the war came on he was
fairly comfOrtable-nothing more In his years
of poverty he demonstrated one high quality.
that of industry; he was not afraid OF hard
work He made a full hand in telling timber
and hauling il to market He labored with his
hands in his fathers tannery. These accom-
plishments were not taught at West Point but
his strong and sturdy nature marked in
later years did not shrink from the toughest
and most mental labor TO provide for and main
tain his family.
He was thirty-nine years old when Sumter
fell and within ten days he was in the city OF
Springfield, IL. with 4 company OF his fellow
townsmen, and yours, Offering their services
for immediate duty At the front Although
friendly toward the south, as he had always
been his old army associates and closest
friends being chiefly from that section, he was
not for an instant irresolute or In doubt as to
the pathway Of duty, but swift to tender his
skill his experience and, if required, his life
for the cause of the union. On the 10Th OF
April, 1861. when other men were hesitat:nr
and wavering. he wrote to friend: Now Is
the time for men to prove their love OF country
now all party distinctions should be lost sigh
Of and every true patriot be for maintaining
the integrity of the glorious stars and stripes
the union and the constitution No impartial
man. writes he can conceal from himself the
fact that in these troubles the sOuthernerS have
been the aggresSors, and the administration
has stood purely on the defensive. more on the
defensive than she would dare have done bu
for her consciousness OF strength and the
certainty OF right prevailing in the end.
These were noble. patriotic words from the
young captain uttered at the right time, with
out apology or cQuivocatiOn, and disclose tht
sturdy elements of his character which dis
tinguished his illustrious career. Then hi:
eyes penetrated the future. and in the same let
ter he declares that in all this can but SCI
the doom OF slavery
His broad vision saw with clearness wha
few others were given to see or believe at tina
early day. and he lived to witness his prophecy
OF 1861 ripen into glorious fulfllment. and Il
him more than to any other man living or dead
citizen or soldier, was Abraham Lincoln in
debted for the power to enforce his great proc
lamation Of emancipation. He seemed also Il
comprehend the power and determined Spiri
of the north, for on the same day he said
The government can call into the field not onl.
1900 troops but ten or twenty times IS 900 II i
should be necessary, and find the means o
maintaining them, too. He realized the might.
resources and strength Of his country. Who a
that early period would have thought that il
less than three years the United States wou
have mustered for duty his extreme estimat
Of twenty times 5000 soldiers-l, 100000 men
battling for the union and that he whom tn
distinguished Washburne did not know woul
be their supreme commander in the field. tn
letter from which quote shows that the youn
soldier had been growing IN the years OF his sc
clusion and poverty. and that the opening gun
Of the war found him thoroughly equipped il
mind and soul for the great conflict in which b
was later to be the central figure. Once in tn
city of Springfield. his military knowledge wa
called into immediate reQuiSition, and unit
June 1861. he assisted the governor In the mua
Ter and organization OF the fast arriving troops
when he was commissioned colonel OF tn
Twenty first Illinois infantry.
From this loyal prairie state he marche
with his regiment to the turbulent state OF Mi.
souri, where outbreaks were rife and open Va
was threatened. joining the forces under Gel
Fremont On August > following he receive
commission as brigadier general Of volul
teers. which was his first recognition from th
president of the United States He WAS SUI
cessful almost from the beginning Of his mil
tarv command His earlier, like his latel