The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1905-10-05
CHAPTER XXVI.
GRANTS GREAT MANEUVER.

ne CrOsSes His Army Over the River
Below VicksburE, and Gains the High
Ground at Last-Wonderful Scenes
When the GunbOats Run BY the Bat
terIes-The COnfederates Bewildered
by the Union Commanders Tactics.
Gen. Lew Wallace says that he saw
Grant become great man in two min
utes. That was when he arrived on the
right of the line at Fort Donelson and
surveyed McClernand's Division, after
1T had been driven back for nearly two
miles by an overwhelming force of Con-
federates. After a few minutes pause
and conversation he said with quiet de-
cisiveness to McClernand and to Wal
lace, who had come up with n portion
of his division to Netherlands assist
ance:s
"Gentlemer, you must recover this
ground
Wallace ard McClernand looked at
each other blankly, but it was a mill
tary order, which they had to obey,
and without any further talk they set
about doing the best they could, while
Grant. knowing that they would keep
the enemy fully employed in that quar-
ter, galloped over to the left and sent
Gen. c. F. Smith with his division in a
charge against the works, which Grant
had at once understood were disgar-
Dished IN order to add to the attacking
force which had driven back his right
The result showed the clear common
sense of his mental operations, for Gen.
Smith found but a feeble resistance
from the strong works which the day
before had held him at bay
Gen. Grant was now about to make
a still more startling ascent to great
ness-to the plane of the worlds very
great commanders, such as Alexander
Hannibal, Julius Cesar, Frederick the
Great and Napoleon. For three months
and a half he had been operating
against Vicksburg, and had met with
repulses and failures sufficient to dis
courage any commander of a rank less
than those of the great captains named.
He was at the end of all the expedien-
cies and plans which would occur to a
General of high but not the highest
order of ability. The problem before
him was too great for what men call
military talent. 1t was something re-
Quiring absolute genius. Jefferson la
Wis. Joseph E Johnston and Pemberton
were sure that they had brought him
TO a standstill and that nothing serious
could be feared from him. This opin-
ton. Gen. Halleck certainly thought
That nothing could be accomplished in
the directions which had been tried
and he ordered Grant to send a corps
10 meet Gen. Banks ascending the Mis-
siSSippi and assist him in capturing Port
Hudson. This was in accordance with
Gen. HalleckS fatal method of scatter
ing his forces and operating at too
many points at the same time. Here
again Gen. Grants clear common sense
tod
corps to Banks's assistance while
leaving Pemberton without any de-
clded pressure upon him would give
Johnston and Pemberton an opportun-
ity to concentrate their forces upon the
column coming up the Mississippi and
overwhelm it
Still. Grant was in such a precarious
position with reference to the authori-
ties al Washington that he did not think
1T polite TO openly repel this sugges-
ton of the Commander-in-Chie of the
Armies. Grants failure to accomplish
anything decisive was working strongly
against him at Washington, and he
needed all of Halleck's and LincoIn's
support to maintain himself I'm his posi-
tion as commander. McClernand and
his clique We're moving everything to
have him superseded and McClernand
put in command.
Not a little assistance was given to
Grant at this time by Charles A Dana.
who was then Assistant Secretary of
War, and had been sent by Secretary
Stanton TO Grants headquarters to see
for himself the situation and report
confidentially upon the ability OF Grant
and those around him and the pros
poets. Dana did his work superbly
His pen-pictures of Grant, Sherman
Mcpherson. McClernand and the diyi-
sion commanders are fine bits Of char
acter painting. and gave the Secretary
of War an accurate measure Of the
character and abilities of. the men who
commanded I'm the Army OF TIE Ten
nessee. Dana's judgment seems to have
been entirely impartial, and he bestow-
ed praise and cenSure without fear
favor or affection. He described Grant.
Sherman and Mcpherson as men of the
highest character and the most unusual
abilities and devoting themselves with
the utmost singleness of purpose to the
great task before them. They were
absolutely free from the vice. which
had injured SO many commanders in
that region. OF pecuniary greed. and
cared as little for the high-priced cot
ton which was such a temptation to
many commanders as they did for the
rushes which grew in the swamps. Cot
ton, like everything else, was merely
a means to an end. 1t could be made
useful for breastworks on land and bull
warks on the steamboats,. and beyond
this had little interest for them. Grant
was surrounded by staff of curiously
unequal men. At the head was Gen.
Rawlins, man Of defective education
but intense industry, courage and pa
triotism, who worked necessarily, de-
voted himself heart and soul to the
cause, and allowed himself but one lux
ury-that Of swearing. Maj. Wilson
the Typographical Engineer; Col. Mac
Feely, the Commissary, and one or two
more Were capable. efficient Jealous Of
fcers, but the remainder were more or
less useless, some OF them quite bad
and only kept because of Gen. Grants
kindness Of heart and dislike to give
pain. Sherman had small but very
capable corps of staff officers whom he
worked hard. The same was true To
certain extent with Mcpherson
though he had not the restless energy
of Sherman.
AS To McClernand and his surround
ings, Dana's opinions were decided and
not so complimentary. McClernand was
man of much ability in many respects
but not nearly as strong as he felt
himself. and while he was free from
any suspicion Of cotton-trading those
about him were not. McClernand's S
leading trait was vaulting ambition,
which I'd