The Washington herald., 1912-05-26
FROM BATTLE FIELD
TO THE WHITE HOUSE
Anecdotes of Three Presidents Who Were Famed
in War.

Il I have had no military experience"
said Harrison.
tary cap. got out handbills for a war
meeting at Masonic Hall. hired q drum
and hfe. and hung q nag out OF hia
Il ONCE window. He took out a second
i lieutenant's recruiting commission. and IN
less than thirty days he was IN Ken
lucky with loo men. having been pro-
moted to a colonelcy.
| On more than one occasion during the
war Harrison showed bravery Of the
highest order. He was in the thick Of
\ the charge at Resaca. and. as the works
were scaled, he grabbed Confederate
gunner by the beard and yanled him
out. shouting: Come out OF there, you
ID REBEL"
/ This Is said to have been the only oc-
casion on which Benjamin Harrison was
] ever known to use ''cuss words"
I He was, however. q master Of biting
and caustic English. On one occasion.
/ while speaking In Boston, he said: Ben
/ Butler has been out West quoting Latin
and aweing the people with his scholar
/ ship. He has said that the creation Of
money follows the natural order OF crea-
ton. which began with nat lux Very
| good-very good. indeed! But when God
Almighty said 'hat lux there was the
power Of God Almighty behind II, and
1 cannot help thinking what Ben Butler
would look like sitting on the rim Of the
morning and shouting at Chaos, fiat
IuxT"
An incident very trifing in itself pre-
cipitated the attack upon Fort Donaldson.
inasmuch as the troops under Gen. Grant
had done some very hard marching. the
question arose whether II was better to
make the attack at once or to wait day
or two to allow the men to rest. While
| a council Of war was being held to decide
, thiE point a deserter from the fort was
brought in. Grant looked him over and
even peeped into his knapsack.
You have six days rations there.
think" said the Union commander.
Yes" replied the deserter.
when were they served out7''
Yesterday morning"
The same to all the men in the fort?''
Yes. sir"
Gentlemen" said Grant. turning to
his officers, troops in a fort don't have
six days rations served out to them II
they mean to stay there. They mean to
retreat-not to fight"
The attack was made at once.
Grant issued an order forbIdding steam
boat men to charge more than $ to en-
listed men and 81 to Officers as fare be-
tween Vicksburg and Cairo. Immedi-
ately after Vicksburg fell a large num-
Der of boats cleared for Northern ports
and charged IS TO so for transportation
loo soldiers and 80 ohicers on board,
en- route for home on short leave. All
Of them had paid the extra fare. But as
the whistle was blowing for departure
a messenger rode up with an order signed
by Gen. Grant and addressed TO the cap
tain Of the craft. II ordered him 70 pay
back all that he had received in excess
Of the S and 8 rate and notified him
that the boat was confscated.
One summer day, about l p. m, long.
gaunt, bony man Of melancholy aspect
tried to reach Grants camp by scramble
ing through a hedge and coming in the
back way. He was stopped by a hOstler. but
explained that he thought the general
would allow him inside As he strods
ahead the hostIer cried after him: You'll
d soon find OUT" On reaching the
guard he was taken for one Of the sani-
tary commission people and asked for his
name His reply was: Abraham Lin
coin. President Of the United States" OF
course, he was allowed to pass in at
once It appeared that he had just
arrived on the steamer City Of Balti-
more, accompanied by Tad
An army surgeon had been sentenced
to dismissal by a court-martial for get
ting drunk and insulting a lady on New
Years Day. He tried. It seems, to kiss
her, while riding on a street car. The
men and officers Of his regiment unani-
state him When the evidence was
handed to Mr.. Lincoln, he read it. until
he came TO drunkenness" Shaking his
lead, ne said: That's bad-very bad
4 little further down he came to in
sulting a lady Again he shook his
head, saying. That's very bad I'm
afraid I can't reinstate him" When he
came to the specification about the
kissing. he paused and scratched his
head. Really, I don't know about this"
he said. There are exceptions to every
rule, but as a general thing II is very
hard to insult a lady by kissing her.
But II seems the doctor only attempted
to kiss her. Perhaps the insult consisted
in his not fully succeeding. I don't
know that I ought to interfere in behalf
OF man who attempts to kiss a lady
and doesn't do it,
You see. Mr.. President" said the dis
missed officers attorney. that the COM
plant is made by a third party. There
is no evidence that the lady felt insult
ed"
That's a fact said Mr. Lincoln. I'VE
can easily dispose Of the kissing part.
But must look into the drunkenness A
little. I'll have to get good evidence
that 1t was strictly a New Years Of
fense. and not a common occurrence
with the doctor
It is hardly necessary to say that the
kissing officer was restored to his reEi-
ment RENr RACuE