The sun., 1898-02-20


failure to receive promotion to tho grade Of
Brigadier-General: "You must not doubt Con.
Shorman's friendship for mo he 10 the soul OF
honor, tho bravest, truest, loyal heart that ever
beat Not his to betray. am sure he means
Just what ho writes to you. know. had IL
been in his power. my promotion would long
since have been made. II would tnko long for
me to explain to you the intricate machinery Of
tho army or tho peculiar and despotic laws by
which 1t is governed; friendship. oven from
those high in rank, avniIs but little
What I soy of Gen. Sherman equally
applies to Con. Grant; the latter has not
been profuse In his expressions Of friendship
but has given me the most convincing proof
that he admircs cstoems and respects mo; his
verbal and written indorsomoht Is all could
nsk. You request me to have n personal intor-
view with him. / smile. For there Is hardly
day when am near his headquarters that do
not see him. He never goes to tho table at meal
time. when am about. that an invitation is
not extonded'to mo; ho and his staff with all Of
whom / on the most intimate torms, are
always polite. Gen. Grant has frequently done
me the honor to osk me my advice. My opinion
upon grave matters has been taken as
law by him. He knows me very we'll and
exactly my position. He would bo rejoiced
to greet mo as Major General, but he. like
Sherman, has no power to confer rank No
Colonel in the corps / am quito sure, has had
the courtesy. kindness, consideration. and In
dulgcnce that have been granted by both these
Generals to me. am very grateful to them for
that which have no right to demand. Remem-
Der. am serving my country. not either Of
them; that tho privileges Of rank give wide dis.
parity, that, aside from myself and my own
claims. which, after all. arc meagre. for kind
fortune has not given me opportunity for bril-.
lta,N ,,ls h,,t.I pAAa NtN.,-
sands. who have claims for faithful service. to
say nothing OF those who lie under the sod. or
those other dear martyrs who, MANNED and
crippled, offer their bleeding bodies In testi-
mony."
There is more about Sherman In another let
ter dated near vicksbure. June %. 1863. We
mako the following extract from 1t: Gen.
Sherman's power Is really very limited; he has
no appointing power; he can only recommend
to his superior officers, and how often has he
done this for me He is no moro responsible
for my misfortune than he would have becn for
wounds and death in battle. Some favors may
always be granted by superior officers; these
tavors have been lavishly extended to me by
all who are in the field. by mono moro llber-
ally than by Gen. Sherman. His bed, his table,
his wines, cigars. every thing has been placed
at my disposal. He has shared my blanket
bivouao before the dread day Of bat.
tie. He did this on tho night of the
18th, before the first bloody assault. We have
been baptized in blood together. He is not
affectionate man, but on the contrary. austere
and forbidding. He never meets me, however.
without glad smile and a warm pressure Of
the hand. You must not doubt him."
In a third letter. written after the capture Of
Vicksburg and addressed to his mother, Gen.
kilby Smith has something to say about Grant
and Banks. He interjects some injunctions to
his boys which throw light upon his own charac-
ter: There are two brilliant examples now be-
fore the nation standing out in bold relief, In
fact boforo the whole civilized world; their his
tory is good for little boys to know Let my sons
ponder upon it. One is Gen. Grant and the
other Gen. Banks Both were born Of very
poor parents, both had to labor hard for q
livelihood in the country in their boyhood.
Gen. Grants father lived in Brown county.
Ohio. near Georgetown. The first money he
ever earned or that was paid to him was for
load Of rags that. with great enterprise, he
gathered together in and about the town, drove
to Cincinnati, distance of forty miles. in two
horse wagon, by himself sold for $15, and re-
turned triumphant He had his money In silver
and was the richest boy in all that section of
country. This was before he was IL years old,
and. as the enterprise originated with himself,
and was carried out successfully. notwith-
standing the difficulties of bad roads,
the winter season, and his diminutive stature,
IT., perhaps, gave as good evidence of
great generalshp as anything he has done
since. Ho went to West Point from the village
school and graduated as the best rider of the
academy-the best, because the boldest. After
he had boon brevetted three times for his gal.
lantry in Mexico. he had to resign q Captaincy
because he was too poor to support his family;
won't to farming near ST. Louis. and there was
not ashamed to drive his own team. loaded with
wood, to tho city. He came into the service
again as Captain Of volunteers. He has told me
himself OF these things, and that his best train
ing was before he went to the Military Academy.
l do not want my boys to be afraid to work.
l want them to ride and shoot and
fish. and to know how to do 1t all
well. and. above all. not to be afraid of any.
thing or anybody but God, or afraid to do any
thing but tell lie. and, no matter what they
do. they must not be afraid to tell OF 1t. They
must never take an insult from any boy or man.
II a girl or woman insult them, laugh at or kiss
her. Never quarrel; II there has to be a word or
q blow, let the blow come first. But was going
TO writo q word about Gen. Banks. His father
was woodsawyer his boyhood was one
oftoil, privation and modification yet to-day, he
1s one OF the most courteous, gentle. kindly men
in all the world. He has done for himself what
no teachers could have done for him, however
high their salary or brilliant their reputation.
These are dazzling instances. but they are ex-
ponents of fact This war has brought out a
latent talent. hidden strength of character in
the individual that astounds the world, but we
almost invariably find 1t exhibited among those
who. IN their early years, have been compelled
to depend upon themselves for thought and ac-
tion."
1t Is impossible to read these letters of Gen.
Thomas Kilby Smith without conceving a re-
gard for the writer. and one can well under
stand the esteem and affection in which he was
held by his comrades. Had he remained with
Sherman no would almost certainly have at
tained high command. and, probably at the
close OF the war he would have become an
officer in tho regular army. Unfortunately, at
the crisis OF his career. he was sidetracked by
his assignment to tho ill-fated Red River cxpe
dition. in connection with which no was one of
the few to gain any laurels. M.W.H.