Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1898-08-07
H ROSE BY FIGHTING.
General Wesley Merritt's Part on tho
Great Field Of War.

treat Field OF war.
NEVER A CARPET KNIGET-AL-
WAYS A WISE WARRIOR IN THE
HEAT OF BATTLE-ILLINOTS PEG
PIE HAVE PERSONAL INTEREST
IN THE COMMANDER OF THE
PHILIPPINE EXPEDITION.
Illinois people have personal inter-
est in the military expedition to the
Philippines, as the commander, Gener-
al Wesley Merritt, is a SON OF this
State. General Merritt, it is true,
was born in New York, but he was
brought to Illinois when he was only
five years of age, and all his subsequent
life, up to the time OF becoming con-
nected with the army was passed here.
Wesley Merritt was born in 1886. In
1871 his father, John Willis Merritt,
scholarly lawyer of New York city,
gave up the practice of his profession
and came out west, to live on a farm
at Looking Glass Prairie" in st.
Clair county, Illinois, not far from Lee
banon. Mr.. Merritt was a man OF
great refinement and strong literary
tastes, and Of unusual scholarship. In
those DAYS. before the railroads, every
thing was shipped to Illinois via the
Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi riv-
err. Mr.. Merritts fine library OF books
the accumulations of many years, was
tn ruitb q
was to carry it from New York TO New
Orleans. But his strong literary tastes
soon gathered in the Merritt home
new and constantly increasing collec-
ton of books, for his seven sons were
all great readers, especially wesley.
Mr.. Merritt, senior, lived on his farm
near Lebanon, ILL.,, until lo4S, all MS
sons, like other boys on Illinois farms
In those days, becoming familiar WIN
every kind of hard farm labor.
In 1S4S Mr.. Merritt, senior, became
the editor and owner of the Bellevllle
Advocate, and moved to that TOWN.
with his family to live. He was IN po-
litics a strong Andrew jackson Demo-
crat, and was an intimate personals
friend of General Jackson While fresi-
dent, and had more than once visited
him at the White House IN Washington
at Jackson's invitation. After three
years residence in Bellevllle MI. Mer-
rift founded the newspaper then and
still known as the Salem Advocate at
Salem, H., and moved to tnat TOWN,
where he resided until his deatn tnere
In 1873.
AN EDITOR EARLY IN LIFE.
Influencedsasy his father, and by ma
tural inclination, young Wesley Mer-
rift became a great reader, and stud
emit of the best English literature. AS
a boy he was the editor and chief wrl-
ter on a boys weekly newspaper, pub
lished by himself and young friends in
Belleville, and known as the Bellevllle
Scrutinizer. Associated with him In
this enterprise were William Hyde, al
forwards for many years chief editor
of the ST. Louis Republican,, Governor
Charles P. johnson, of Missouri, for
merly Governor of that State, anG now
an eminent lawyer of st. Louis, and
William Orr, of the we'll known Orr IA
mily of Belleville. Wesley Merritt as
a boy thus became ready ana aDle
writer, and at West Point always stood
very high in his English studies. he
was also fond of public speaking, ana
took great interest in public events ana
questions of the day. Among otheF
things, he, like his father, favored the
Mexican war, territorial extension =
the United States, and the settlement
Of the Oregon question by taking pos
session of the whole Pacific coast. Cen
sral Merritt comes honestly enmgh by
his present ideas of holding Win the
,rmy all that the navy takes.
wanted to study law, and he later on
entered Judge Haynes law once at
Salem, where he became an industrious
student of Blackstone. Governor BIS
sell was then a member of Congress
from the Belleville district, and Of
fered the boy an appointment to West
Point. Wesley preferred that one OF
his brothers should accept the appoint
ment. as he wanted to be lawyer.
His father urged on him the extreme
Importance of a good and thorough
education. He then accepted Govern
or Bissels offer and entered the mil
itary academy as a cadet in 1855. His
class was the only one, probably, that
ever took a course of five years at
West Point, but this was the case with
the class of 1860, in which Merritt
graduated No. %.
HIGH ABILITY AS A WRITER.
He was a studious, well-behaved ca
Diet. His terse and chaste style of
writing, shown in all his reports of
military operations, but especially to
be noted in his published productions
later on such as his memoir of General
John Buford, his public vindication of
General Philip St. George Cookies cav
airy charge at Gainess mill, and his
admirably published account Of Sher-
idan's campaign in the Shenandoah
valley, is probably the result OF the
careful training and scholarly example