Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-01-19
GREATEST OF ALL AGES.
Major Wham'~ Estimate of General
Grant Soldier.

Major Wham. who was 2 soldier of Cen
eral Grants regiment in the civil war. de-
livered his lecture, Grant and Napoleon
Tuesday evening under the auspices of
Grant Post G. \. r.. to a weil-flled house.
After referring to Grants appointment
colonel of the DIST Illinois, Major Wham
said:
Grant was now fairly within the arena
the grandest in which man ever struggled
paying attention to the shafts of jeal-
Ousy. envy. malice and Islander IT was
free TO all; fighting was good everywhere:
contestants numerous; the prize human
liberty and the supremacy of the American
flag at Appomatt2x. 1t was not brought
about by Washburn's automatically word
ed letter. either in which he said Permit
me to Introduce Captain Grant. who. l am
informed, is graduate of West Point nor
by his old associates who were convenient
ly out when he called: nor by the War
Department. where his letter rendering his
services was not considered of sufficient
importance TO answer He reached the goal
ny his own work. in putting the adjutant
general office of Illinois in good working
order and slowly winning his way to the
confidence of that official due also TO the
soldiers blind zeal for a competent sober
and Self-Tsspectng colonel; and to that
same onf1ipOtent hand which was moving
a. - bii' 10 ltstL SAME Slltli mysterious way
that it had eighteen centuries before among
the NaZarene hills
The temple of liberty was shaking from
cap stone 10 corner stone Man was about
to plunge once more into the dark ages a
forScr Of thunderbOlts was wanted and the
farmer lads from southern Illinois were the
Judean shepherds of the nineteenth CEN
tury'
After relating many anecdotes and stories
Of Grant during his stay with the regf-
meDt. Major Wham passed on to q COM
Iarisaa Of the respective campaigns Of Ma
poieon and Grant. particularly pointing out
the strong similarity between the battles
OF MaTengo and Shiloh. not alone in the
combinations and lighting. but in the fact
that Mareng0 was the basis of NapoIeon's
great career and that Shiloh was the basis
Of Grants great career. He then added
that Grant set the pace in the civil war at
Shiloh, just as Dewey did at Manila in the
late war If the historians and military
critics had for the last Nv twenty-five GEN.
turtles awarded to Alexander the greatest
military achievement of all times in his
passage Of the Hydaspees and the over
throw of Pnr"S. what would the historians
and military critics say in the next twenty
five hundred years Of Grants passage of
the Mississippi. with all Of its many COM
pliCatiQrs- and of the Rapidan, in front Of
that astute and able military commander
General r. +. Lee. and of the James which
move was so ably executed that General
Smith commanding the advance of C;ranr-s
forces, was charging the works a Peters
burg before Lee knew that Grant had
withdrawn from his front?
Referring To Grants generous terms at
AppnmattOX, Major Wham said:
1T was an echo from Calvary Why"
said he. the smoke Of battle had not lifted
from the field the blood was still oozing
from the freshly made wound. the shouts
of Sheridan's last charge had not died
away on the morning air.
This paCificatiOn so early begun" he
continued. resumption of specie payments
during his presidency, his earnest desire
Tor the annexation Of San Domingo and
other coaing stations. stamped him the
greatest statesman Of his age and his mill
tary campaigns stamped him the greatest
soldier OF all the ages"