Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1909-04-30
Civil War Stories
So0N-@->o0
No Fine Feathers for Grant.

No Fine Feathers for Grant.
1t happened that III the midWnter Of
1S64-65 Commodore Van Santvoord was
called to Fortress Monroe. One of the
commodOre's steamboats,, the River
! Queen, had been chartered by the gov
eminent and it was in connection with
this charter that the commodore was
called to Fortress Monroe. After the
! business that called him there had been
/ done the commandant Of the fort said
! to the commodore that he had just re-
ceIyed dispatches from General Sher-
man for General Grant They were
| the first written dispatches that had
come from Sherman after his capture
of Savannah IF you want to see
General Grant you can have a good
opportunity through acting as my mes
senger in taking these dispatches to
him. l will give you a pilot who will
take the River Queen up to City Point"
said the commandant
Commodore Van Stantvoord was, of
| course, greatly pleased to have an OPP
portunity to meet General Grant. but
unhappily the pilot ran the River
| Queen ashore at Harrisons Landing,
| just at nightfall. The dispatches for
Grant were sent forward by a messen-
! ger and delivered to General Mefgs, but
the commodore and his friends were
obliged to remain upon the River Queen
all night. In the morning the steam
boat got out Of the false channel and
went to City Point, where one OF Gen
eral Meigs' assistants met the commo-
dore and his party. He escorted the
party to General Grants headquarters.
In a few moments the log hut or
cabin which was Grants headquarters
came in view and the commodore saw
| standing in the doorway clutching firm
| ly the door jamb a man in a shabby
uniform and wearing a SLOUGH hat. He
was looking intently at the approaching
party. The commodore asked what
| that man was and the orderly with Il
half smile replied: That is the man
who is running the machine" And al
| though the commodore had met General
Grant a number of times, yet he did
not recognize him in his shabby uni
form and well worn hat Grant how
ever, greeted the party very cordially.
He led them into the single room that
was his headquarters. A roaring fire
was blazing upon the open hearth. Gen
eral Grant chatted with them a little
while and then spoke Of the dispatches
while he had received through their
aid the night before. He said it was
the first communication he had had
from General Sherman, and spoke of
the magnitude Of the achievement
which had at last brought Sherman and
his army to the scene. Upon all that
had been done Grant felt free to con-
verse apparently with full expression
Of opinion and with the most glowing
commentator for Sherman and his
he was, as ever, silent. After a few
moments he seemed to forget that any
one was with him and sat staring in
tently at the fire as though his whole
mind was concentrated with all its
power upon some vast problem.
At last he looked away from the
blazing logs at the company, and then
said quietly and grimly, Gentlemen
it is big thing" And although the
expression was laconic and was merely
an echo Of the colloquialism, almost the
slang Of the day, yet the tone in which
it was said, the intense earnestness
which seemed to shine through Grants
eyes as he spoke, gave to this party q
full and perhaps first realization that
this silent man, undemonstrative, mod
est, without any self-consciousness or
heavy dignity, had Il full realization of
the gigantic nature Of the task which
he had undertaken, and in which Sher-
man and Sheridan had so thoroughly
co-operated with him, which had for its
purpose the bringing of the Civil war to
an end.-Philadelphia Press.