The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-02-24
COLONEL GRANTS WAR EXPE
RIENCE.


It seems almost impossible to sur
felt the American people with remin-
fscences of the civil war. Some years
ago a leading magazine ran an i'm
mense number of articles on the war;
so numerous were they that when
gathered together they formed COM
plete history of the war, and made
four huge volumes. The same maya
zine is now running a series of articles
on Campaigning With Grant. The
people seem to like it all and so long
as they do the magazines will furnish
them what they like.
Colonel Fred Grant, the son of Cen
eraI Grant, has burst out with his
"reminiscences of the war and the part
he took in it, telling them to dis
tinguished correspondent. He seems to
have suffered scarcely less for his
country than his father did. He was
at Vicksburg. Asked if he was ever
under fire, he replied:
Yes, there was little time during the
siege that I was not in more or less
danger. 1 had several very narrow
| escapes. remember being on a gun
boat a little later on when we were
near the batteries of Grand Gulf l saw
/ many men killed there. l remember
seeing one man jump on the parapet OF
the enemy's works just as our guns
were discharged at them. shell ex-
ploded on the spot where he was stand
ing and it must have blown him to
atoms. During this battle I was on
tugboat, with my father, and we were
steaming in and out among the gun
boats during the firing. After a time
we went on board the Benton to see
Admiral Porter. The sight sickened
me. The deck was covered with blood
and pieces of flesh. Dead men, torn
and lacerated, lay about everywhere.
and some of the gunners, with still
bleeding wounds, were standing by
their cannons. Admiral Porter had
been struck by a piece of shell on the
back of his head. AS we came UP l
could see that he was in great agony.
He was pale and he leaned upon his
sword. using it as a cane, while my
gested that the gunboats should en-
gage the enemy's batteries that night
in order that the transports might run
past them in the midst of the lombard
ment To this Admiral Porter agreed,
and we started to leave, when the adj
miral turned to me and asked me If
I did not want to remain with him dur
IHt uG1l engagement lie S1lo JIG
of his best gunners had just been killed,
and that 1 could have his place. l
looked upon the wounded and dead
about me and replied, trembling lest my
father might contradict my statement,
that 1 did not believe my papa would
leave me there, even if 1 wanted to
stay.
The knowledge of this wound of Ad-
miral Porter appears to have been kept
from the public with the strictness that
Uncle Tobys was. But no widow seems
to have been solicitous about Admiral
Porters wound. Colonel Grant him
self was wounded on several occasions
He described his sensations thus:
The first sensation was that of a
great blow, followed with smarting
pain, almost like that of a bee sting. I
thought 1 was killed and must have
grown very pale, for Colonel Lagow,
who came dashing up at that time,
asked me what was the matter. 1 told
him 1 was killed. a statement which
evidently surprised him. for he asked
me where l was shot.
I replied lin the Leg" and he there
upon asked me to see if / could move
my toes. l tried it and found that 1
could. Colonel Lagow then told me
that was not badly hurt. L afterward
found that he was right. 1t was only
a flesh wound, though it has caused
me great deal of trouble since then.
AS it was I wrapped a cloth about my
leg and kept in the saddle until the
battle was Over.
This wrapping of cloth around his
wounded leg recalls the incident of the
shooting of the Congo chief, in the
fight with the GO canoes, that so chal-
lenged. the admiration of H NJ. Stanley
and which is SO graphically described in
his Through the Dark Continent"
These war "reminiscences of Colonel