Part 29

No other excuse can be assigned for the slander and vituperation which has from time to time been heaped upon the fair reputation of General U. S. Grant.

Born in obscurity at Point Pleasant, Ohio, April 27th, 1822, his life is a fitting type of the possibilities of our glorious institutions. Through the influence of Hon. Thomas L. Hamer he was admitted at West Point in 1839. Personally, at this early age, he detested war and was opposed to accepting the opportunity, but his father persuaded him to go, and his name was blunderingly registered as U. S., instead of H. U., hence he was ever after known as U. S. Grant.

In 1843 he graduated, ranking twenty-first in a class of thirty-nine. It will be remembered that Lee and McClellan each ranked second when they graduated. At this time Grant was not taken with war, and probably evinced little interest in army tactics. The Mexican war came on and Grant here distinguished himself, rising to the rank of captain. After the war he was stationed at Detroit, and Sacketts Harbor, but this kind of inactivity was ill-suited to the restless nature of Grant; he therefore resigned.

Having married a Miss Dent, of St. Louis, he accordingly moved onto a farm near that city. The next few years he was engaged on the farm, in a real estate office in St. Louis, and at the outbreak of the civil war was in business with his father, dealing in leather. When the news of the fall of Fort Sumter reached Galena he immediately raised a company and marched to Springfield where they tendered their services to the governor. Grant acted as mustering officer until, being commissioned colonel of the Twenty-first Illinois Volunteers, he took the field. His first great victory was the capture of Fort Donelson with 15,000 prisoners. When asked by the Confederate general what terms of surrender was expected his answer was, "No terms other than an unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted. I propose to move upon your works at once." The fall of Fort Donelson and the capture of its garrison being the first substantial victory that had crowned the Union cause, together with the above described answer to General Buckner, brought the name of General Grant prominently before the country.

Pittsburgh Landing followed and then Grant determined to take Vicksburg. All his generals declared the plan he proposed unmilitary and impossible, but after several unsuccessful attempts the Gibraltar of the Mississippi was captured, and this time 27,000 prisoners taken. Now came the battle of Chattanooga. General Halleck in speaking of this battle said:

"Considering the strength of the rebel position, and the difficulty of storming his intrenchments, the battle of Chattanooga must be considered the most remarkable in history. Indeed it is so. After Grant had turned the Confederate right flank, Sherman was intercepted between Longstreet and Bragg, thus cutting Longstreet entirely out, and preventing another junction being possible. Resolutions of thanks were passed in Ohio and New York, and Congress created Grant a Lieutenant-General, a commission which had been held by no one since General Scott resigned. Indeed, if ever a General deserved honor, Grant had won it; he had opened the Mississippi to navigation, and had captured nearly 100,000 prisoners and arms."

He was now commander of all the Federal forces. He at once inaugurated two campaigns to be carried on at once. One under Sherman, against Atlanta commanded by the skillful rebel General Johnson; the other under Meade, directed against Lee and the Confederate capitol. Sherman advanced upon Atlanta, and the success of his famous march to the sea is well-known.

The capture of Lee was a far more difficult undertaking. After various flanking movements and costly assaults, the problem of taking Lee narrowed itself down to a siege of Petersburg. Grant perceived that his only hope lie in literally starving the Confederate army out by cutting off all resources as far as practicable. Lee attempted to draw off attention toward Washington, but General Sheridan drove Early out of the Shenandoah Valley, devastating the country to such an extent that it was impossible to forage an army there should Lee attempt such a maneuver again. Time wore away, and on the 9th of April, 1865, Grant captured the Confederate army under Lee, thus virtually ending the war.

On July 25, 1866, he was made general of the United States army; the rank having been created for him, he was the first to hold it. At the next Republican Convention, Grant was nominated for President on the first ballot, and was elected over Seymour, and was re-elected a second term by an increased majority.

When his public services were finished he started in company with his wife, son Jesse, and a few friends. They set sail from Philadelphia on the 17th of May, 1877. They visited nearly all the countries of Europe, and part of those of Africa and Asia. On this trip the Grant party were the guests of nearly all the crowned heads of those foreign countries, everywhere receiving the most exalted honors it has ever been the pleasure of an American to enjoy, and on his return to the United States they were the recipients of an ovation in many of the principal cities of this country.

His success seems to have been the outgrowth of hard study and ability to perform the most exhaustive labor without fatigue. The scenes of his later days were clouded with the intrigues of a stock gambler, but the stain that the Grant-Ward failure seemed likely to throw on the spotless reputation of General Grant was wiped away when the facts were brought to light, and a new lustre was added to his fame by the self-sacrifice shown in the final settlement.

General Grant proved to be a writer of no low order, and his autobiography is a very readable book. On July 23rd, 1885, the General surrendered to a loathsome cancer, and the testimonials of devotion shown the honored dead; and the bereaved family throughout the civilized world, indicated the stronghold upon the hearts of the people held by the dead General.

STONEWALL JACKSON.

The true name of this most remarkable man was Thomas Jonathan Jackson; few people, however, would recognize by that name to whom was referred. At the battle of Bull Run, when the Confederates seemed about to fly, General Bee suddenly appearing in view of his men, pointing to Jackson's column exclaimed: "There stands Jackson like a stone-wall." From that hour the name he received by ordinance of water was supplanted by that received in a baptism of fire.

Stonewall Jackson was born at Clarksburg, Virginia, January 21st, 1824. He graduated at West Point in time to serve in the Mexican war, where he became distinguished for gallant service and was brevetted as captain, and finally major. After serving a number of years in the regular army he resigned to become professor and instructor in military tactics in the Virginia Military Academy, situated at Lexington, Kentucky. He was considered at this time a most peculiar man, being very eccentric in his habits. At the breaking out of the civil war he naturally sided with his State, and it is believed that he was sincere. It is said that Jackson never fought a battle without praying earnestly for the success of his people. As has been intimated, he saved the day for the Confederacy at Bull Run.

McClellan was promised the assistance of General McDowell and forty thousand men who had been left at headquarters for the protection of the capital. It was well-known that a combined attack on Richmond was designed immediately upon the junction of the two great armies. To prevent the execution of this plan Jackson was ordered to drive the Federal forces out of the Shenandoah Valley and threaten Washington. He accomplished this by one of the most brilliant campaigns of the war. He crossed the mountains and drove the army of Fremont back, and returning to the Valley with all speed defeated Banks at every turn; indeed, it was only by the most rapid marching that the Federals escaped across the Potomac.

McDowell was suspended from joining McClellan and ordered to co-operate in crushing Jackson. Jackson, with a force of scarcely twenty thousand men, had opposed to him, bent upon his destruction, fully seventy thousand men, and four major-generals; his defeat seemed certain, yet by a most rapid and skillful march he eluded pursuit until his army had reached a point from which his line of retreat was safe, when he turned upon his enemy and defeated Fremont at Cross Keys June 8th, and Shields at Port Republic the next day. Having thus accomplished the purpose of the campaign, he hastened to join Lee in his attack on McClellan. As before stated, this was a most brilliant campaign. Not only was McDowell prevented from joining McClellan, but McClellan became alarmed as to his own safety, and resolved to change his base from the York to the James. This forced upon him the Peninsula campaign, which resulted in the Union army being driven back to Washington. For this and other important services he was made a major-general. Being placed in immediate control of nearly half of Lee's entire army, he made one of his characteristic movements; gaining Pope's rear, fell upon the Union forces with a terrible ferocity which carried all before it. By a rapid movement in the Antietam campaign Jackson captured Harper's Ferry and eleven thousand men, and then, by a forced march, rejoined Lee in time to take an important part in the battle of Antietam two days afterward.

At Fredericksburg he was made a lieutenant-general. He soon controlled two-thirds of the Confederate forces, and at Chancellorsville he made a secret march of over fifteen miles mostly by forest roads, and gaining Hooker's right fell upon it by surprise, and drove it in rout upon the main body. The engagement being apparently over he rode into the woods to reconnoiter, having with him a small escort. Upon his return they were mistaken for Union scouts and fired upon by his own men. Several of the escort were killed, and Jackson received three balls, one through each hand and one which shattered his shoulder. He was at length carried to the rear where his arm was amputated. Pneumonia set in, however, which was the immediate cause of his death. His last words were, "Let us cross over and rest under the shade of the trees."

Stonewall Jackson was considered by the Confederates to have been their most brilliant commander, and his death had much to do with the overthrow of their Government.

GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE.

Robert E. Lee was born in Virginia, at the town of Stafford, June 19th, 1807. He was son of Colonel Henry Lee, of revolutionary fame. He had a commanding military bearing, was a most graceful horseman; he came from good "fighting stock," and as there never was a braver man drew sword, he was well calculated to become the beau-ideal of the Southern Confederacy.

When eighteen years of age he entered the military academy at West Point, where, after a four years' course, he graduated. One thing, General Lee, as a cadet, was an example well worthy of imitation, as he, during his whole four years' course, never received a reprimand, and graduated second only to one in his class. From 1829 until 1834, he served as assistant engineer in the building of forts in the South, and later was assistant astronomer; aiding in determining the boundary of Ohio. When the Mexican war broke out he was appointed chief engineer for the army under General Scott.

During this war he served with great distinction, being successively breveted major, lieutenant-colonel and colonel, and was wounded once; certain it is that Robert E. Lee gave ample proof of his ability in the Mexican war. In the interim between the Mexican and Civil wars he served his country in various ways, being for some three years superintendent of the West Point Military Academy.

In 1855 two new regiments were formed. Of the second regiment Albert Sidney Johnson was made colonel; Lee, lieutenant-colonel; Hardee and Thomas, majors; Van Dorn and Kirby Smith, captains; among the lieutenants were Stoneman and Hood. One can see that the officers of that regiment were composed of men of no small calibre. When Lincoln was elected Lee was in Texas, but he obtained a leave of absence and hurried to his home in Virginia. General Lee was held in very high esteem by General Scott, who was then at the head of all the Union armies. General Scott was getting very old, too old for active service, and it is stated that he felt strongly inclined to name Lee as his successor, but Lee had other views on the question and he joined his fortune with that of the South.

Perhaps a letter written to his sister will more clearly portray Lee's convictions and motives at the breaking out of hostilities than anything that can be found elsewhere in history:--"The whole South is in a state of revolution into which Virginia has been drawn after a long struggle; and though I recognize no necessity for this state of things and would have forborne and pleaded to the end for redress of grievances, real or supposed, yet in my own person I had to meet the question whether I should take part against my native State. With all my devotion to the Union and the feeling of loyalty and duty of an American citizen, I have not been able to make up my mind to raise my hand against my relatives, my children, my home."

These were the words of General Lee to his sister. The idea of certain power reserved from the "central power," as they termed it, had been inculcated since Jefferson and Madison drew up the Kentucky and Virginia resolution in 1798. Upon these did Calhoun claim authority to rest justified when he fostered the idea of State Rights. Had it not been for a sudden wave of popular politics which swept Jefferson into power it might have been Thomas Jefferson or James Madison who would have been known in history as the author of the Nullification Acts which did not come until Calhoun's day.

This doctrine had been taught in the South for several generations, and had enlarged with rolling. The profitable use of slaves helped to sustain it, and it is no wonder, to a careful observer, that these people were carried away by rebellion, when he takes into consideration these things, the characteristics of the people, etc. As it was with Lee, so it was with the South, and despite assertions to the contrary, we believe that Robert E. Lee was sincere, and not looking after glory any more than other officers of recognized ability, who cast their fortunes with the North.

Then, too, Lee gained his position at the head of the Southern army only after one general had been killed, another wounded, and another stricken with a paralytic stroke; he coming fourth in order.