The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-04-27

ana through, 5ItnouRn Ine army WAS
not his oveTpowerlng ambition from his
! boyhood, for he protested against go
| ing 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; he resigned from
the army because his salary was not
large enough to enable him to support
his wife and two children. When the
Civil war came OH Grant s first appli-
cation to Washington for colonelcy
was not considered important enough to
merit a reply. At that very time at
council of Southern military leaders in
Richmond General Beauregard said:
"There is one West Pointer whom |
hope the Northern people will not find
well at West Point and in Mexico. He
is clear headed, quick and daring y
Grant was given command of an IL
linois regiment and his first campaign
was that against Col. Thomas Harris
and his Confederate regiment in Mis-
souri, in the summer of 1861. AS Grant
led his men to the brow of the hill
behind which Harris had been in camp,
he said his heart went higher and higher
in his throat, and he would have given
anything to be back in Illinois. He
had seen service in the field and would
not have cared had another officer been
in command, but the responsibility of
heading the attack weighed on him.
When the hill was cleared and he found
that Harris had been even more fright
encd and had fed-then Grant found
himself. The surrender of Fort Dom
elson, the action at Shiloh, the siege
and capture of Vicksburg, following his
first triumph of military diplomacy over
Gen. Leonidas Polk in western Ken
tucky-these things brought the eyes of
the world to center on Grant, and Lin
coin and Congress placed him in COM
mand as lieutenant-g general.
derness, where Grant gained no signal
advantage, Lee and his generals were
in council. They expected Grant to
retreat upon Washington, as the Federal
generals had done before under like
circumstances. An aide-de-camp came
up and reported: "The enemy is NOV,
ing by. his left flank toward Rich
mond!' General Lee exclaimed: "'To
your posts. The order is to move by
at last found General" Grant was
then writing his famous message to
Washington, ending with: ~ propose
to fight it out on this line if it takes
all summer
When it had all come to an end and
Grant had brought Lee TO a position
where he could no nothing but give up
the struggle, the Federal commander
was naturally exultant when he re-
ceived Lee IS letter asking for the con-
ference. But when he came to Apo
mattox and the two men met and talked
for long time over days in the old
army before the war, Grant was sad and
depressed. He says Of that famous in
terview: 81 felt like anything rather
than rejoicing at the downfall of a foe
who had fought so long and valiantly,
and who had suffered so much for
cause.'
IT was at this interview at Appomat-
tox that Grant was to complete his vie
tory over the South by capturing the
hearts Of the people. When he put in
the terms Of surrender the provision
which permitted the officers TO retain
their slde-arms and horses, and when
he permitted the soldiers to take their
horses home to do the spring plowing-
he did more in ten minutes to heal the
wounds of the torn and bleeding coun-
try than all the parliaments of the
world could have done by statute in
century The victory of peace he fol.
lowed up by preventing President John.
son and Secretary Stanton from arrest
ing Lee and other Confederate Generals
On the charge of treason.
Grant was playing billiards one night
In the old Willard hotel in Washington.
A man came in and told him that Lee
arrested and tried for treason. "I'u
be blamed if they are!' he exclaimed,
put on his slouch hat, and walked out in
the darkness toward the White House.
1t is known that he threatened to re-
sign as the head of the army if the ad-
ministratIon proceeded with it's inten-
tion of violating the parole which he
had gwen when he accepted the sur
render The influence Of Grant was far
tion, and there were no trials for trea-
son.
Before the war Grant had taken lit
tie interest III politics. He had voted in
one Presidential election for Buchanan
and had favored Douglas in 1860. He
was reckoned as Democrat, and was
Shareholder through his wife, who was
given slaves by her father, Colonel
knowledge OF political affairs, crate
full people twice elected him President
Of the United States. In his last an
nual message to Congress he reviewed
his work. deplored his lack of political
experience, and declared that in his
administration the "failures have been
errors Of judgment. not of intent.' To
this history and the world will agree.
During part of Grants term in the
White House he was surrounded by un-
worthy advisers, upon whom he leaned
too heavily, but the country never lost
faith IN his honesty or in his ability.
Four years after he retired from the
Presidency there was mighty popular
movement to give him third term,
which was defeated only by the tradi-
tion that Washington refused such an
| honor.
As business man Grant was unsuc-
cessful. He was not prosperous farm.
or in Missouri In the days before the
war, and his father and father-iu-law
regarded him as almost failure in life
After he left the Presidency he became
involved In Wall street, and was
wrecked by his partner, Ward. Re.
duced to poverty, he was persuaded to
write an account of some Of his cam.
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