El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-05-28

an estimate of the great union comman-
der, written during the civil war by the
chaplain of the regiment OF which he
was colonel.
Grant, he says, lis about 5 feet 10
inches in height, and will weigh 40
pounds. He has a cOuntenanca indica-
tive OF reserve, an indomitable VIII, ana
persistent purpose. In dress he Is il
different and careless, making TO ure-
tensions to style or fashionable rnliit1ry
display. He never uses his uniform
except on dress parade.
Grant Cheerful
He is always cheerful. No foil oo1d
heat, hunger, fatigue. or want of n,opaI,
depreSses him. Withei he Is a st~ict
discipllnarian- On ore of our marches
when passing through a small town
some OF the men had broken awav from
our lines and filled their canteens with
whisky at grocery store. Soon tbav
were Keeling and ungovernable. StopDinp
the regiment, as if for rest. Grant
passed quietly along and took each can
teen, emptylng the liquor on the ground
with as much n0nchaIance as he vouId
empty his pipe. Then he had the of
tenders tied behind the baggage wagons
until they were sober. No Intoxicating
beverages were allowed in his camp"
Grants HumOr.
with all his habitual gravity. Grant
mad a very eccentric humOr. An officer
OF his staff relates an instance wherein.
while he was campaigning in Arkansas.
one OF his SubalternS, Lieut.. WickfieId
with an advance guard of eight mount
ed men, stopped at a small farmhouse
and demanded something to eat, repre-
senting that he himself was general
Grant. A short time later the COM
mo To
doesired to know if a meal could be
prepared for him.
No.. replied the housewife gruffIy.
General Grant and his staff have Just
been here and eaten everytn & in the
nGuse except one puE:pkin pie
Humph-' murmured Grant What
is your name?"
Selvidge, replied the woman
Throwing hall dollar in at the door
he asked il she would keep that pie
until he sent an officer for il, TO which
she answered that she would
That evening, at grand parade. in the
presence Of all the regiments, the act
ing adJutant general read the follow
ing order:
Lieutenant Wickfield, of the
indiana cavalry, having on this day
eaten everything in Mrs SeIvidge's
house, at the crossing of the Irinton
and cape Girardeau roads, except one
l'umpkIn pie, Lieutenant WickfleId is
Hereby ordered TO return with an. es-
sort OF loo cavalry and eat that pie also.
(Slgned) u. 5. Grant, commanding"
The Pie Is Eaten.
Grants orders were law. and no SOL
dler ever attempted to evade them. AT
O'clock the Lieutenant filed out of
camp with his 100 men amid the cheers
OF the entire army. On his leturn he
made formal report to the effect thai
he had eaten the pie
IN the first action in which Grant
commanded, his troops a: first gained |
slight advantage over the conted-
crates In spite of all he could DO TO |
stop them, they began to plurder the !
ehemys camp. AT last, Grant. who !
knew that confederate reinf orca.nnufs |
were coming up. managed to set fire TO I
the camp, so as to stop the plIndering. /
Ihen he got his troops together and |
'etfeated- But in the meantime the con- !
came up, attacked him and ]
1e1eated him There were five colonies
lhcer Grant who had not by any means
supported him in his attempts TO stop /
he plundering and collect his men. An
'fflcer (who describes the incidenO |
saw Grant a day or two afterwards.
Nhen he expected to be deprived of his
Z.
aid:
why do you not report those COL
'neIs? They are the men to blame for
lot carrying out your orders"
Why, replied Grant, those officers
lad never before been under fire: thev
ave had lesson which they will not
orget- l will answer for it that thew
Vii never make the same mistake
gain. could see by the way they
ehaved in the subsequent action that
hey were of the right stuff; and il 90
etter that L should lose my command.
that must be, than that the country
mould lose the services of five such of
lcers when good men are scarce"
As 1t turned out Grant did not lose
Is command, and three out Of the five
Ulcers afterwards greatly distinguish
d themselves
Rene Bachc.