The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1907-05-16
STORIES Of GENERAL
ULYSSES s. GRANT
His GeneraIship and That Of His Ad-
versary, Lee. Compared.

The fame of Grant must be for
ever coupled with the name of Lee,
whose defeat he accomplished and
who was his greatest adversary.
Indeed. writers of as wide informa-
ton as Theodore Roosevelt have
not hesitated to say that Lee was
the greater soldier. Whatever
may be the judgment of history
as to the relative merits of the two
great commanders, Grant was the
victor in the campaign of IS64-1S65
and his victory ended civil war in
the United States. While the
methods of Grant and Lee were
radically different, each of them
knew his man." and was able
often TO calculate to a nicely what
the other was about to do. To
illustrate this quality as possessed
by Grant, one turns to the story of
Cold Harbor. At Cold Harbor
Grant did not know how strongly
the contederates we've entrenched
or he would never have ordered
the attack. But he did know what
to expect of Lee if Lee had the
men.
DR.. Lawson, man too old to be
in the army, was Gen. Grants host
by force of circumstances, on the
morning of the battle. Gen. Grant
recognized him as nou-combatant
although knowing his sympathies
to be with the confederacy. The
battle of Cold Harbor fought June
3, 1864, as an early morning affair
and the bloodiest of the entire war
for the two or three hours it lasted.
Richmond, the objective point of
Grants army, and Of the hopes of
the north, was only six miles away.
Just as dawn was breaking Gen.
Grant was standing with a group
of officers with his back against
tree. DR.. Lawson was standing
near. Grant took out his watch.
III l don't hear his guns in ten
minutes, Richmond is ours, " he
said. DR.. Lawson took out his
watch also. Grant waited and
watched the moving hands. One
mlnute-two minutes-three-
four-five-six-and then the gate
of hell were opened as Lees ar
tillery replied to the silent chal-
lenge of the silent commander.
"I'm checked again, said Grant,
and returned his watch to his pock-
ct. He seemed to know in d min
ute that his plan would not be
successful. The battle was stopped
before the morning was half over,
but 10, 900 or IL 900 boys in blue
were left on the field. 1t meant
that Grant would have to wait al
most year for the evacuation and
fall of the capital of the cofederacy.
But to let old Dr. Lawson draw his
| conclusions: II knew that stood
in the presence of great general
the equal of our own Lee. When
two men commanding great armies
can SO play the game that a margin
of ten minutes time means victory
or defeat, it proves that each army
is captained by genius of war"
Gen. Grant was soldier through
and through, although the army
was not his over towering ambi-
ton from his boyhood, for he pro-
tested against going to West Point
when his father told him he had
secured an appointment. After his
service in'the Mexican war, and
in the far west, resigned from the
the army because his salary was
not large enough to enable him to
support his wife and two children.
When the civil war came on,
Grants first application to Wash
ington for colonelcy was not con-
sidered important enough to merit
reply. At that very time at
council of southern military lead
ers in Richmond, Gen. Beauregard
said: "There is one West Pointer
whom l hope the northern people
will not find out; l mean Sam
Grant I koeU hin, yvaI1 az VTaet