The sun., 1897-04-25
GEN. GRANTS GREATNESS.
HIS CHARACTER ANlLYzED BIZ GEN.
SCHOFIELD.

Hts Extreme simplicity was Its lzost Extra ordi.
nary ouaiity-His Opinion OF Himself and
Iuis Confidence in Hnia Own Judgment
His Love OF Justice-A Typical American.
Lieut.. Con. John M. schofleld, U. s. A., re.
tired, has accepted tho invitation Of tho Mayor
on behalf OF the city OF New York, to be one OF
| the city's guests at tho ceremonies of the dedi.
| cation Of the Grant monument Tho General
| has been spending the winter In st. Augustine,
| Fla. and is expected to arrive in the city this
| afternoon. He will remain for few
| days with tho other guests Of tho city
| at the Fifth Avenue Hotel. In accepting
| the citys invitation the General has writ.
| ten an interesting letter concerning Gen. Grant.
| Gen. Schoneld was not under Grants immediate
command in the field, but was most intimately
associated with him both during and after the
| war At one time, during the closing months OF
Johnsons Administration, ho was Secretary of
War, and, therefore. for the timo being. was
Grants official superior. Their relations wero
| always of the most intimate and confidential
| nature, and Gen. Schofeds views of Grant
should be most interesting at the present time.
In his letter the General says. in part:
Gen. Sherman wrote that he could not under
| stand Grant, and doubted IL Grant understood
| himself. very distinguished statesman, whose
name need not mention, said to me that, in
hib opiiioh. thcTo was nOlIllB SpeClui IN IrHnU
| to understand. Others have varied widely in
| their estimates of that extraordinary character
| Yet believe its most extraordinary quality was
| its extreme simplicity extreme that many
have entirely overlooked il in their search for
some deeply hidden secret to account for so
| great n character, unmndful of the general fact
| that simplicity Is one of the most prominent
attributes OF greatness.
The greatest Of all the traits of Grants char
acter was that which lay always on the surface,
visible to all who had eyes to sec it, That was
his moral ana intellectual honesty, integrity,
sincerity, veracity, and justice. He was incapa.
bic of any attempt to deceive anybody, except
for legitimate purpose, as in military strategy;
and above ALL he incapable of deceiving
himself. He possessed that rarest of all human
faculties. tho power of q perfectly accurate
estimate of himself uninfiuenced BY van
ty, pride. ambition, fattery, or self-in-
terest Grant was very far from being
modest man. as that word Is generally under
stood. His just sclf-estecm was far above II
as 1t was above fattery. The highest encomums
were accepted for what ho believed them to be
worth. They did not disturb his equilibrium in
the slightest degree. Confding. just. and gen.
erous to every body else, he treated with silent
contempt any suggestion that nc had been un-
FAITHFUL TO any obligation. He was too proud to
explain where his honor was questioned
While Grant knew his own merits as well as
ANYBODY ul ne also knew his own inperfections
and estimated them ut their real value. For ex-
ample, his inability TO speak In public, which
produced the impression of extreme modesty or
diftidence. he accepted simply as fact in his
nature which was OF little or no consequence
and which he did not even care to conceal. IIo
would not for many years even take the trouble
to jot down "A few words in advance SO as to be
able TO say something when called upon. In
unworthy attempt TO appear in a false light il
he had made preparations in advance for an
eNtemporaneous speech. Even when he did in
harE nf
dinner card he would take care TO let everybody
see that he had done SO by holding the card in
telling a story in which the facts had been
modified somewhat to give the greater effect,
Grant would take care to explain exactly in
what respects he had altered the facts for tho
that he might not leave any wrong impression.
When Grants attention was called to any
admit ii as quickly and unreservcdly as il it
had been made by anybody else, and with ~
smile sn! which expressed the exact opposite OF
under like circumstances His love OF truth
and justice were SO FAR above all personal con-
siderations that he showed unmistakab!e cvi-
dcnce OF qualification when any error Into which
he might have fallen was corrected. The fact
that he had made mistake and that it was
plainly pointed out TO him did no. produce
the slightest unpleasant impression. while tho
from his mistake gave him real pleasure In
Grants Judgment, no case IN which any wrong
finally settled until that wrong was rishted'
and II he himself had been. in any sense. IA party
TO that wrong, he was tho more earnest in his
desire to see justice done While he thus
showed II total absence OF any false pride of
opinion or OF knowledge, no man could be hrmcr
than he III adherence 10 his mature Judgment.
nor more earnest in his determination, on
proper occasions. to make it understood that
his opinion was his own and not borrowed from
anybody else. His pride in his own mature
opini"n was very great. in that he was as far as
lutte confidence in his own judgment upon any
subject which he had mastered. and the moral
courage to take upon hinsclf alone the highest
responsibility, and TO demand full authority and
freedom to act according to his own Judgment
his accurate estimate OF his own ability and his
clear perception OF the necessity for undivided
authority and responsibility in the conduct Of
efficiency OF armies in time OF war. constituted
the Foundation OF That very grca! character.
command OF all the armies. with the rank of
LeutenantGeneral. he determined. before he |
reached the capital that he would not accept tho
command under any other conditions than those
above stated. His sense OF honor and OF loyalty
to be- placed in n false position one in which he
could not perform the service which the country !
courage to say so In unqualified terms.
These traits OF Grant 5 character must now |
be perfectly familiar TO all who have studied |
miliar intercourse with him during his life. |
They are the traits of character which made |
only man OF our time, so far as we know, who |
possessed both the character and the military
dispensable in the commander OF the armies |
which were to suppress the great rebellion.
1T has been said that Grant. like Lincoln |
was typical American. and for that reason |
was most believed and respected by the people |
That is true of the statesman and OF the soldier |
rs well as OF tho people, II it Is meant that they
were the highest type. that ideal which com |
mands the respect and admiration OF the highest |
and best in mans nature, however far he may |
know II TO be above himself. The soldiers and |
the people saw in Grant or in Lincoln. not one |
of themselves. not plain man OF the prople nor |
yet some superior being whom they could not |
understand, but the personifcation OF their |
highest ideal OF citizen soldier, or statesman !
man whose greatness they could see and un. |
derstand AS plainly as they could anything else |
under the sun. And there was more mystery |
about It all in fact than there was in the popular
mind"