The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1918-04-25
GRANTS HIGH ESTIMATE
Of AMERICAN SOLDIERS
VETERAN OF CIVIL WAR WITH.
OUT EQUAL-PLEADS FOR
PREPAREDNESS.

exceedingly delicate and even at one
stage before the claims were finally
arbitrated brought the two nations
measurably near conflict, have as
serted that he was quite prepared to
take on" all corners from hostile
Europe, and that with his civil war
generals he had the conquest of Can
ada fully planned as an opening |
stroke.
II certainly sounds more like him |
than any disposition to arbitration
His memoirs, however, contain none OF
II. But they do contain his opinions
highly interesting just now, Of the rel
alive values Of American and Euro
pean soldiery and some comments on
our foreign affairs and on the need
of being prepared at all times for any
war.
Civil War Veterans UnequaiIed.
or the united federal army after
Sherman's command had come north
and joined the army of the Potomac
In camp near Washington to await the
grand review and the muster out
Grant writes:
THE (veteran) troops were hardy,
being Injured TO fatigue, and they APP
peared In their respective camps as
ready and fit for duty as they had
ever been in their lives. I doubt whe-
Their an equal body of men In any ma
ton, take them man for man, officer
for officer, was ever gotten together
that would have proved their equal In
great battle.
1.-The armies of Europe are ma
chimes; the men are brave and the Of
ficers capable, but the majority of the
soldiers In most of the nations Of Eu
rope are taken from class of people
who are not very intelligent and who
have very little interest in the contest
in which they are called upon to take
part.
Our armies were composed of men
who were able to read, men who knew
what they were fighting for and could
not be induced to serve as soldiers ex
cept in an emergency when the safe
~ of the nation was involved, and so
necessarily must have been more than
equal to men who fought merely be-
because they were brave and because
they were thoroughly drilled and in
ured to hardships."
Grant Knew His Men.
Grant knew his veterans well, for
most Of the final year of the civil war
he had had them under his eye before
Richmond in kind Of warfare which
for its day was not very different from
the present ntrenched situation on
the western front. He also knew the
Franco Prussian veterans on the Con-
tinent. who had been displayed to him
during his trip around the world.
or the course of events which ended
with the evacuation of Mexico by Ma
poleon III. and the downfall and
death Of the puppet Emperor Maxi
milan Grant writes;
Mexico In her various revolutions
had been unable to give that protec-
ton to the subjects of foreign nations
which she would have liked to give
and some Of her revolutionary leaders
had forced loans from them. Under
pretense Of protecting their citizens
these nations seized upon Mexico as a
focthofd for establishing a European
monarchy upon our continent. thus
threatening our peace at home. / my
self regarded this as a direct act of
war against the United States and
supposed as matter of course that
the United States would treat it as
such when their hands were free to
strike.
1t Is to be remembered that from
the end of the war pretty well If not
quite on throughout his two terms in
the presidency the United States had
not only the matchless veteran army
he describes but also a new. war prov
ed. ironclad navy, probably stronger
In defense than any which could have
come against it. Later the army aged,
the monitors became obsolete and con-
gress was loath to renew the nations
military equipment but at the time Of
which he writes, when he had his de-
cisions to make. Grant could figure on
the full strength of the nation in
fighting conditions.
Guarding the Rio Grande.
"All of the powers except France"
he goes on. very soon withdrew
from Mexico), but the governing peo-
pie of these countries continued to the
close Of the war to throw obstacles in
our way. After the surrender Of Lee,
therefore, entertaining the opinion
here expressed, l sent Sheridan with a
corps to the Rio Grande to have him
where he might aid Juarez in ex-
Polling the French from Mexico.
These troops got off before they
could be stopped and went to the Rio
Grande where Sheridan distributed
them up and down the river. much to
the CONSERVATION of the troops in the
quarter of Mexico bordering on that
stream. This soon led to request |
from France that we should withdraw
our troops and to negotia-