The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-06-19
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
A CONFEDERATE'S STORY
OF GENERAL GRANT
By Joseph NJ. Rogers

By Joseph NJ. Rogers.

A few years ago was attending an
eneampment of the Pennsylvania Nation
al Guard at Gettysburg and became ac-
quainted with General Harry Heth. who
was wounded Just at the opening OF the
| battle. lie was visitor At headquarters
and 10 number OF guests was relating
his experiences. which were listened to
| with great interest, as It was his troops
F, which opened the ball
1T was soon after the firing COM
menced,' he said, when | rode forward
| to get a better view of the field. and was
knocked from my horse by a spent bull
let which struck me in the forehead
| was stunned and my aide thought me
dead. When | showed signs of return
ing consciousness / was carried 10 the
rear and into house by the wayside
where 1t happened a physician lived
His services were called in requisition.
and before long / was bandaged up al
most as well as ever, except from the
shock, which kept me out OF the remain
der OF the battle When / left the house
l offered the physician Fee but he re-
fused, though | urged II upon him. Fin
ally l saw a pretty curly-headed boy III
the room and handed him a hve-dollar
gold piece and left | have often won
dered what became of that boy"
Here he is" spoke up one of the
officers present, who showed the iden-
teal five-dollar gold piece hanging to
his watch-chain as charm. OF course
this caused quite little sensation, and
after the family of the physician had
been inquired about General Heth seem
ed in excellent spirits and told an anec-
dote of General Grant which | have
I Il
Immediately after in his exact words,
or nearly so. And here it is:
q knew General Grant at West Point
and afterward in the old army, and he
was we'll liked by all, though exceedingly
taciturn. His speciality was horse-hesh
and he used to talk pretty tall about |
what his horses could do, and the worst
of it was that they could do all he said, |
as some of us found out who bet money |
to the contrary. [ had lost sight of |
Grant for some years after the Mexican |
War, when | came to St. Louis one day |
to see the department quartermaSter |
about supplies for Arkansas Post, of |
which | was quartermaster. | went 10 |
headquarters and found that the officer |
| wanted was twenty miles away III the |
and was not expected for some |
days This annoyed me very much, as | |
had only the next day to attend to the /
business, and to catch the steamer below |
[ must leave on the second morning fol- |
lowing. l was bemoaning my fate TO
Toe Johnson and some of the other boys 1
of whom much more has been heard |
SINCE when in walked Grant in citizens
Uniform | think he was stationed then
At Detroit, but had leave of absence to
come TO St Louis. near where his wife
was staying with her mother, in expec-
alton of confinement | told my fate
IF woe to Grant, who said Immediately
hat he had nice horse in the city and
hat he would drive me out the next
morning and bring me back. This re-
ieved my feelings and we had merry
hight of it, though, as Grant remarked,
Zoe Johnston didn't once offer us a
rink
early next morning Grant came
round to my hotel with a buggy and
he smallest roam horse l ever saw hitch
d I'D. | expostulated with him over
he idea of such an animal taking us
orty miles in a day, but he insisted
hat he was a wonder for speed, so l
rot in and off we drove. The streets
we're badly paved in those days, and it
vas necessary to pick our way slowly
ntil we came to the outskirts. was
n high spirits and kept bantering Grant !
bout his pony which he III turn defend {
d. Finally | said
at think we could make better time {
With a goat
This nettled Grant, whose weak spot
vas horse-hesh and he Immediately gave
he animal cut with a whip, and he
tarted off at a terrible gait which kept 6
S bouncing Just as we passed a cor
er along came team at right angles
D us, banged into us, upset the buggy,
nd threw us botn to the curb | was
nhurt, but Grant was found unconscl-
us, his head having struck stone. We r
arried him into a drugstore, and pretty
BON he came around all right though
e was pretty badly hurt. Then we
-ent to take account of stock, and found
9th shafts broken and the harness a
reck
" This ends my trip I said, ruefully.
" Not at ALI said Grant, I never yet
arted anywhere that l did not get -
trough, and am going to take you out, =
; l promised L
1--WE led the horse and pulled the
agon back to army headquarters, y
here the blacksmith fixed us up, and
ter an hour or two's delay we were
+ again, but I was careful to make no in
marks ABOUT the animal. We made a
e trip all right, and l caught my boat e.