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 [decorative delimiter] Class of 1843

Vol. II
p170
1187

(Born O.)

Ulysses S. Grant

(Ap'd O.)

21

Ulysses Simpson Grant:
Born Apr. 27, 1822, Point Pleasant, OH.

Military History. — Cadet at the Military Academy, July 1, 1839, to July 1, 1843, when he was graduated and promoted in the Army to

Bvt. Second Lieut., 4th Infantry, July 1, 1843.

Served: in garrison at Jefferson Barracks, Mo., 1843‑44; on frontier  p171 duty at Natchitoches,º La. (camp Salubrity), 1844‑45; in Military Occupation

(Second Lieut., 4th Infantry, Sep. 30, 1845)

of Texas, 1845‑46; in the War with Mexico, 1846‑48, being engaged in the Battle of Palo Alto, May 8, 1846, — Battle of Resaca-de‑la‑Palma, May 9, 1846, — Battle of Monterey, Sep. 21‑23, 1846, — Siege of Vera Cruz, Mar. 9‑29, 1847, — Battle of Cerro Gordo, Apr. 17‑18, 1847, — Capture of San Antonio, Aug. 20, 1847, — Battle of Churubusco, Aug. 20, 1847, — Battle of Molino del Rey, Sep. 8, 1847, — Storming

(Bvt. First Lieut., Sep. 8, 1847,
for Gallant and Meritorious Conduct in the Battle of Molino del Rey, Mex.)

of Chapultepec, Sep. 13, 1847, — Assault and Capture of the City of

(Bvt. Capt., Sep. 13, 1847, for Gallant Conduct at Chapultepec, Mex.)

Mexico, Sep. 13‑14, 1847, — and as Quartermaster, 4th Infantry, Apr. 1, 1847, to July 23, 1848; in garrison at Sackett's Harbor, N. Y., 1848‑49,

(First Lieut., 4th Infantry, Sep. 16, 1847)

as Quartermaster, 4th Infantry, Sep. 11, 1849, to Sep. 30, 1853; in garrison at Detroit, Mich., 1849‑50, 1850‑51, — Sackett's Harbor, N. Y., 1851‑52, — Ft. Columbus, N. Y., 1852, — and at Benicia, Cal., 1852; and on frontier duty at Columbia Barracks, Or., 1852‑53, — Ft. Vancouver,

(Captain, 4th Infantry, Aug. 5, 1853)

Or., 1853, — and Ft. Humboldt, Cal., 1854.

Resigned, July 31, 1854.

Civil History. — Farmer, near St. Louis, Mo., 1854‑59. Real Estate Agent, St. Louis, Mo., 1859‑60. Merchant, Galena, Ill., 1860‑61.

Military History. — Served during the Rebellion of the Seceding States, 1861‑66: in command of a Company of Illinois Volunteers, Apr.‑May, 1861; assisting in Organizing and Mustering Volunteers into service, May to June 17, 1861; on march to Quincy, Ill., and in guarding

(Colonel, 21st Illinois Volunteers, June 17, 1861)

the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad, Mo., June 17 to Aug. 7, 1861; in

(Brig.‑General, U. S. Volunteers, May 17, 1861)

command of Ironton, Mo., Aug. 7‑17, 1861, — of Jefferson City, Mo., Aug. 17‑29, 1861, — and of the District of Southwestern Missouri, headquarters Cape Girardeau, Mo., subsequently extended to embrace Southern Illinois and Western Kentucky, headquarters Cairo, Ill., Sep. 1, 1861, to Feb. 17, 1862, being engaged in the Seizure of Paducah, Ky., at the mouth of Tennessee River, Sep. 6, 1861, — Expedition to and Combat of Belmont, Mo., Nov. 7, 1861, — and armed Reconnoissances into Western Kentucky, making demonstrations upon the Rebel defenses at Columbus, Ky., and Ft. Henry, Ten., Jan. 10‑22, 1862; in the Tennessee Campaign (in command), Feb. to Apr., 1862, being engaged in Operations against Ft. Henry, Feb. 2‑6, 1862, — Investment and Capture of Ft. Donelson, with 14,623 prisoners and much material of war, Feb. 13‑16,

(Maj.‑General, U. S. Volunteers, Feb. 16, 1862, to July 4, 1863)

1862, — and Battle of Shiloh, Apr. 6‑7, 1862; in command of the District of West Tennessee, Mar. 5 to Oct. 16, 1862; in the Mississippi Campaign (second in command), Apr. to Oct., 1862, being engaged in the Advance upon, and Siege of Corinth, Apr. 10 to May 30, 1862, in immediate command of the Right Wing and Reserve of Major-General Indicates a West Point graduate, Class of 1839: a link to his biographical entry in Cullum's Register.Halleck's Army, — and subsequently to July 18, 1862, directed the operations resulting in the Battles of Corinth, Oct. 3‑4, and of the Hatchie, Oct. 5, 1862, and commanded in person at the Battle of Iuka, Sep. 19, 1862; in command of the Department of the Tennessee, Oct. 16, 1862, to Oct. 16,  p172 1863; in command of the Army on the Mississippi, in the Vicksburg Campaign, Nov. 4, 1862, to July 18, 1863, comprising the flank movement to Oxford, Mis., Nov.‑Dec., 1862, from which he was compelled to fall back by Col. Murphy's surrender, Dec. 20, 1862, of his principal depot of supplies at Holly Springs, — Descent of the Mississippi to Young's Point, Jan., 1863, — Advance to Bruinsburg and flanking Grand Gulf, Apr., 1863, after fruitless efforts to turn Vicksburg by Williams's Canal, Yazoo Pass, Steele's Bayou, Lake Providence, etc., Feb.-Mar, 1863, — Battle of Port Gibson, May 1, 1863, — Battle of Raymond, May 12, 1863, — Capture of Jackson, Mis., May 14, 1863, — Battle of Champion's Hill, May 16, 1863, — Combat of the Big Black, May 17, 1863, — Assaults on Vicksburg, May 19 and 22, 1863, and Siege of the place, May 22, till its unconditional surrender, July 4, 1863, with stores

(Major-General, U. S. Army, July 4, 1863)

and garrison of 31,500, resulting in the Re-occupation of Jackson, Mis., July 16, 1863, and forcing the retreat of General Indicates a West Point graduate, Class of 1829: a link to his biographical entry in Cullum's Register.J. E. Johnston's Rebel army beyond Brandon, Mis.; in organizing various Expeditions in the department under his command, July‑Aug., 1863; on tour of Inspection from Cairo, Ill., to Natchez, Mis., Aug. 23 to Sep. 2, 1863; in command of the Military Division of the Mississippi, Oct. 16, 1863, to Mar. 2, 1864, including the Armies of the Ohio, Cumberland, and Tennessee, being engaged in Defense of and Operations about Chattanooga, Oct. 23 to Nov. 23, 1863, — Battle of Chattanooga, Nov. 23‑25, 1863,​1 — Pursuit of the enemy, with large captures of Prisoners, Nov. 26‑27, 1863, — and on tour of Inspection, Jan., 1864; and in command, as General-in‑Chief, of

(Lieut.‑General, U. S. Army, Mar. 2, 1864)

the Armies of the United States, Mar. 17, 1864, to Aug. 12, 1866; in the Richmond Campaign, May 4, 1864, to Apr. 9, 1865, in direct command of all the forces in the field, which were engaged in the Battle of the Wilderness, May 5‑6, 1864, — Battles about Spottsylvania, May 8‑21, 1864, — Battles of North Anna, May 21‑25, 1864, — Battle of Tolopotomy, May 28‑29, 1864, — Battle of Bethesda Church, May 30, 1864, — Battles of Cold Harbor, June 1‑13, 1864, — Assaults on Petersburg, June 16‑18, 1864, — Military Operations about Petersburg, and Siege of the place, June 18, 1864, to Apr. 3, 1865, — Pursuit of the Rebel Army, Apr. 3‑9, 1865, — Battle of Sailor's Creek, Apr. 6, 1865, — and Capitulation of General Indicates a West Point graduate, Class of 1829: a link to his biographical entry in Cullum's Register.Lee, with the Army of Northern Virginia, at Appomattox C. H., Apr. 9, 1865.

General, U. S. Army, July 25, 1866.

Served: in command of the Armies of the United States, Aug. 12, 1866, to Mar. 4, 1869. Secretary of War, ad interim, Aug. 12, 1867, to Jan. 14, 1868.

Vacated Commission of General, U. S. Army, Mar. 4, 1869.

Civil History. — President of the United States, Mar. 4, 1869, to Mar. 4, 1877.

Military History. — Re-appointed by Act of Congress,

General, U. S. Army, Mar. 3, 1885, on the Retired List.

Died, July 25, 1885, on Mount MacGregor, N. Y.: Aged 63.

Buried, General Grant National Memorial, New York, NY.

Biographical Sketch.

General Ulysses S. Grant was born, Apr. 27, 1822, at Point Pleasant, Clermont County, Ohio. His father's moderate circumstances did not permit giving his son more than a common-school education, but sufficient to fit him to creditably pass the entrance examination to the  p173 military, where, though not studious nor attentive to the discipline of the institution, he was graduated about the middle of his class, but stood much higher in the scientific or more important branches of study (Mathematics, 10th; Natural Philosophy, 15th; and Engineering, 16th), showing excellent capacity. Upon leaving West Point, July 1, 1843, he was promoted to the 4th Infantry, and two years later was ordered to join General Taylor's army, about to invade Mexico from the Rio Grande base of operations. In the war with this country he was engaged in the Battles of Palo Alto and Resaca-de‑la‑Palma, and, though regimental quartermaster in charge of the train, he took an active part in the Storming of Monterey; was then transferred to General Scott's army and participated in all its operations, from the Siege of Vera Cruz to the Capture of the Capital, being brevetted for his gallant and meritorious conduct in the Battle of Molino del Rey, where he was with the first troops to enter the mills. In the Storming of Chapultepec and Assault of the City of Mexico, he showed enterprise and great courage. After the Army returned to the United States, Grant served as regimental Quartermaster in garrison and on frontier duty till he became a Captain. A year later, July 31, 1854 he resigned from the Army.

He now settled on a small farm near St. Louis, Mo.; but finding his life a hard one, he removed, in 1860, to Galena, Ill., to become on a very small salary a clerk in his father's hardware and leather store.

When news was received at Galena of the outbreak of the Rebellion, Grant presided at the public meeting called in support of the Union cause; promptly raised and drilled a company of volunteers; then was employed by Governor Yates in the Adjutant-General's Department and made mustering officer; soon after was appointed Colonel of the 21st Illinois Volunteers; and became, Aug. 7, 1861, Brig.‑General, U. S. Volunteers, and was assigned to the command of the District of Southwestern Missouri, with headquarters at Cairo, Ill. Hearing that the enemy designed seizing Paducah, at the mouth of the Tennessee, he at once occupied the place, which materially aided in keeping Kentucky loyal.

To prevent troops being sent from Columbus, Ky., to support Price, then advancing into Missouri, Grant, with 3,000 men and with gunboats, moved down the Mississippi to make a demonstration upon Belmont, where a spirited engagement took place against superior forces, leading to no important results.

General Halleck, a learned strategist, then in command of the Department of the Missouri, seeing that the efforts of our arms in the West had been only tentative, decided to break the enemy's first line of defense, extending from Columbus to Bowling Green, by falling upon its weak centre; to accomplish which he ordered Grant to move up the Tennessee, accompanied by the gunboats. Fort Henry was bombarded, Feb. 6, 1862, and captured by Flag Officer Foote, after which Grant moved upon Fort Donelson, invested, assaulted, and captured the place, which unconditionally surrendered, Feb. 16, the trophies of this great achievement being 14,623 prisoners of war, 65 cannon, and 17,600 small-arms. The nation, till now bowed down by many defeats, was electrified by this eminent success of our arms, and Grant's name was on every tongue. Upon the immediate recommendation of General Halleck, he was at once promoted to a Major-Generalcy of Volunteers.

Owing to some irregularities, which were afterward satisfactorily explained, Grant was ordered to make his headquarters at Fort Henry, but was never in arrest or "virtual arrest," as he and many of his friends have stated, for, had he been, he could not have held the command of his district, which he never relinquished for a moment.

General Indicates a West Point graduate, Class of 1825: a link to his biographical entry in Cullum's Register.C. F. Smith, an old and experienced soldier, who had just performed such brilliant service at Fort Donelson, was ordered to move up  p174 the Tennessee with the advance force destined to break the enemy's second line of defense, but unfortunately he received a serious injury to his leg in jumping into a yawl, which hastened his untimely death. Grant was now ordered by Halleck to take personal command of all the troops in the field, with orders to avoid battle till Indicates a West Point graduate, Class of 1841: a link to his biographical entry in Cullum's Register.Buell's army had effected its junction. Before this junction it was against military principles to take post on the left bank of the Tennessee. However, Pittsburg Landing, where most of our troops were encamped, being flanked on either side by large creeks, was a strong position, had its front towards the enemy been intrenched, as General Grant before his death admitted should have been done.

The Confederate Army, Apr. 6, 1862, numbering nearly 50,000 men commanded by Gen. Indicates a West Point graduate, Class of 1826: a link to his biographical entry in Cullum's Register.Albert S. Johnston, made a vigorous and unexpected attack at daylight, drove back the advanced National troops in confusion, and continued to press forward till sunset, every inch of the two miles passed over being desperately contested, and victory hanging in the balance. Be nightfall the advance of the Army of the Cumberland under Buell had joined Grant, who occupied all night a strong position defended by artillery near the Tennessee, while the exhausted enemy withdrew about two miles to rest for the next day's contest, which was renewed early on the morning of the 7th by the combined armies of Grant and Buell, and terminated with the utter defeat of the Confederate army, which retreated to Corinth.

General Halleck now took the field in person, Grant being second in command. After the occupation of Corinth by our army, and appointment of Halleck to be General-in‑Chief, Grant succeeded him in command of the Army of the Tennessee.

In this brief sketch we cannot follow out in detail the operations resulting in the Battles of Iuka, Corinth, Hatchie, and other operations preceding Grant's success­ful breaking of the enemy's third line of defense by his masterly movements, which prevented the junction of Johnston's and Indicates a West Point graduate and gives his Class.Pemberton's armies, and achieved his great triumph in the capture of the strong fortifications of Vicksburg, its garrison of 31,600 men, 172 cannon, 60,000 muskets, and a large amount of ammunition. These brilliant achievements caused Grant to be made a Major-General in the Regular Army, and when Congress assembled it ordered a gold medal to be presented to him with the thanks of the nation.

Grant, Oct. 16, 1863, was placed in command of the Division of the Mississippi, including the Armies of the Ohio, Cumberland, and Tennessee; and on the 23d he took immediate charge of the operations about Chattanooga, resulting, a month later, in the decisive Battles of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, with large captures of men and arms.

Grant, now the hero of the war, was appointed, March 2, 1864, to the revived grade of Lieut.‑General, taking command of all the armies of the United States. Leaving Indicates a West Point graduate, Class of 1840: a link to his biographical entry in Cullum's Register.Sherman as his successor in the West, Grant took personal command in the East, designing to make Johnston's and Lee's armies the main objective points of attack, in accordance with Halleck's opinion, expressed in his communication to Grant of March 17, 1864.

The desperate struggle of the General-in‑Chief, from May 4, 1864, to April 9, 1865, of nearly a year of almost continuous battle, from the Wilderness to the Appomattox, it is unnecessary here to recount, as it is familiar to all readers of the history of the Rebellion.

Peace being restored by the surrender of the Confederate armies, Grant took up his headquarters at Washington city, and on all sides was hailed as the deliverer of the nation from its attempted dismemberment. Ovations were made to him on every side, and the rank of General, before held only by Washington, was conferred upon him, July 25, 1866, by  p175 special act of Congress. His honors, however, did not make for him a bed of roses, for now he was engaged in a new war with the politicians, in fighting the difficulties of reconstruction of the Union. But his strong common sense triumphed here, as had his good sword throughout the four years of the Civil War. His popularity increased every day, till he was triumphantly elected to be, March 4, 1869, the President of the nation he had saved. His administration of eight years, though not as distinguished as that of some of his predecessors, was highly creditable, considering that the country was just emerging from a long period of disorder. During his incumbency the national debt was greatly reduced and the public credit fully established; the reconstruction of the Southern States was completed, and the right of suffrage secured to all classes of citizens; Civil Service reform was carried out to the full extent of the law; the first transcontinental railroad was finished; the "Alabama Claims" were paid, and the Northwestern Boundary dispute adjusted; revenue frauds were prosecuted; and, by the judicious use of the veto power, the country was saved from an inflated currency, and the early resumption of specie payments was secured.

After retiring from the Presidency, Mar. 4, 1877, Grant decided to make the tour of the world. Leaving the United States, May 17, 1877, he visited England, the continent of Europe, Egypt, Palestine, India, China, Japan, and many Eastern islands, returning home by California. Everywhere he was received with enthusiastic greetings and ovations such as would have been paid in olden days to Roman emperors. Early in 1880, he continued his journeying through the Southern States, and visited Cuba and Mexico, in which latter country he was received with every demonstration of gratitude for having relieved its people from the domination of a foreign usurper.

Most of Grant's after days were spent in New York city, but here misfortune overtook him, a banking-house, of which he was a silent partner, having failed.​a In this extremity he undertook writing his Memoirs in order that by the sale of his work he might leave something for the support of his family.

In 1884 Grant discovered that he had a cancer of the throat. His sufferings excited the sympathies of the whole country, extending to Congress, which restored him to his former rank of General upon the Army retired list. Hovering now between life and death, he devoted all of his remaining strength to the completion of his Memoirs, which were finished only four days before his untimely death, July 23, 1885, on Mount MacGregor, near Saratoga, N. Y. His remains were borne to their final resting-place at New York Riverside Park, on the bank of the beautiful Hudson, by a military escort and procession surpassing in numbers and magnificence any public pageant ever seen in this country. Every street through which the cortège passed was draped in mourning, and millions beheld it with heads bowed in deep sorrow. Not only in the United States were funeral honors paid to the memory of Grant, but England held impressive services in Westminster Abbey to a distinguished throng, and amid the myriads of memorials of her illustrious dead. On that day all differences between the two great Anglo-Saxon families, on either side of the Atlantic, were forgotten and forgiven, and both peoples were proud of a common ancestry which had produced such men.

Grant, though of humble origin and possessing few early advantages, by the strength of mind and character, and aided by opportunity of which he bravely availed himself, rose to great eminence; yet he was not a man of genius, though he possessed that practical common-sense which is often its substitute. He would not have claimed for himself a high rank in statesman­ship, and certainly as a soldier he is not to be classed among the preëminent captains of ancient and modern times. Like Wellington,  p176 with a valiant army to support him, he was success­ful in a great struggle; but, like his proto­type, he won victory rather by hard pounding and perseverance than by strategic skill, and often at much expense of life and treasure. However, as my estimate of his qualities is not altogether in accordance with the opinions of many others more intimate with him than myself, and who had penetrated the thick husk of his reserve, I prefer to submit their analysis of his character in preference to my own.

General Indicates a West Point graduate, Class of 1860: a link to his biographical entry in Cullum's Register.Horace Porter, who was Grant's Aide-de‑Camp in the Rebellion and his Private Secretary while he was President, says:

"Grant possessed in a striking degree the essential characteristics of a success­ful soldier. His self-reliance was one of his most pronounced traits, and enabled him at critical moments to decide promptly the most important questions without useless delay in seeking advice from others, and to assume the gravest responsibilities without asking any one to share them. He had a fertility of resource, and a faculty of adapting the means at hand to the accomplishment of his purposes, which contributed no small share to his success. His moral and physical courage were equal to every emergency in which he was placed. His unassuming manner, purity of character, and absolute loyalty to his superiors and to the work in which he was engaged, inspired loyalty in others, and gained him the devotion of the humblest of his subordinates. He was singularly calm and that under all circumstances, was never unduly elated by victory or depressed by defeat, never became excited, and never uttered an oath or imprecation. His habits of life were simple, and he possessed a physical constitution that enabled him to endure every form of fatigue and privation incident to military service in the field. He had an intuitive knowledge of topography, and never became confused as to locality in directing the movements of large bodies of men. He exhibited a rapidity of thought and action on the field that enabled him to move troops in the presence of an enemy with a promptness that rarely has been equaled. He had no hobby as to the use of any particular arm of the service. He naturally placed his main reliance on his infantry, but made a more vigorous use of cavalry than any of the generals of his day, and was judicious in apportioning the amount of his artillery to the character of the country in which he was operating. While his achievements in actual battle eclipse by their brilliance the strategy and grand tactics employed in his campaigns, yet the extraordinary combinations effected, and the skill and boldness exhibited in moving large armies into position, entitle him, perhaps, to as much credit as the qualities he displayed in the face of the enemy. . . .

"General Grant, while President, exhibited the same executive ability as in the Army, insisting upon a proper division of labor among the different branches of the Government, leaving the head of each Department great freedom of action, and holding each to a strict accountability for the conduct of the affairs of his office. He decided with great promptness all questions referred to him, and suggested many measures for improving the Government service, but left the carrying out of details to the proper chiefs. While positive in his views, and tenacious of his opinions where they had once been formed after due reflection, he listened patiently to suggestions and arguments, and had no pride of opinion as to changing his mind, if convincing reasons were presented to him. He was generally a patient listener while others presented their views, and seldom gave his opinions until they were thoroughly matured; then he talked freely and with great force and effect. He was one of the most accessible of all the Presidents. He reserved no hours that he could call his own, but was ready to see all classes of people at any time, whether they were high in position or from the ranks of the plain people. His patience was one of the most characteristic traits of his character,  p177 and his treatment of those who came in contact with him was frank and cordial to the highest degree. His devotion to his friend was proverbial, and his loyalty to others commanded loyalty from them, and accounted, in great measure, for the warmth and devotion of his followers. Wherever he placed trust he reposed rare confidence, until it was shaken by actual proofs of betrayal. This characteristic of his nature led him at times to be imposed upon by those who were not worthy of the faith he placed in them; but persons that once lost his confidence never regained it."

Some months after Grant's death, the Rev. Dr. Henry Ward Beecher, in Tremont Temple, Boston, Mas., pronounced the following glowing eulogy upon the great soldier:—

After tra­cing the march of events which culminated in the war, Mr. Beecher said: "Into the sulphurous storm of war Grant entered almost unknown. It was with difficulty that he could obtain a command. Once set forward, Donelson, Shiloh, Vicksburg, Missionary Ridge, the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Petersburg, Appomattox, — these were his footsteps. In four years he had risen, without political favor, from the bottom to the very highest command, — not second to any living commander in all the world! His plans were large, his undiscouraged will was patient to obduracy. He was not fighting for reputation, nor for the display of general­ship, nor for a future Presidency. He had but one motive, and that as intense as life itself, — the subjugation of the Rebellion and the restoration of the broken Union. He embodied the feelings of the common people. He was their perfect representative. The war was waged for the maintenance of the Union, the suppression of armed resistance, and, at length, for the eradication of slavery. Every step, from Donelson to Appomattox, evinced with increasing intensity this his one terrible purpose. He never wavered, turned aside, or dallied. He waded through blood to the horses' bridles. In all this career he never lost courage nor equanimity. With a million men, for whose movements he was responsible, he yet carried a tranquil mind, neither depressed by disasters nor elated by success. Gentle of heart, familiar with all, never boasting, always modest, Grant came of the old, self-contained stock, men of a sublime force of being, which allied his genius to the great elemental forces of nature, — silent, invisible, irresistible. When his work was done, and the defeat of Confederate armies was final, this dreadful man of blood was tender toward his late adversaries as a woman toward her son. He imposed no humiliating conditions, spared the feelings of his antagonists, sent home the disbanded Southern men with food and with horses for working their crops; and when a revenge­ful spirit in the Executive chair showed itself, and threatened the chief Southern generals, Grant, with a holy indignation, interposed himself, and compelled his superior to relinquish his rash purpose.

"He had the patience of fate and the force of Thor. If he neglected the rules of war, as at Vicksburg, it was to make better rules for those who were strong enough to employ them. Counselors gave him materials. He formed his own plans. Abhorring slow, simple in manner, gentle in his intercourse, modest and even diffident in regard to his own personality, he seems to have been the only man in camp who was ignorant of his own greatness. Never was a commander better served, never were subordinates more magnanimously treated. The fame of his Generals was as dear to him as his own. Those who might have been expected to be his rivals were his bosom friends. While there were envies and jealousies among minor officers, the great names — Indicates a West Point graduate, Class of 1840: a link to his biographical entry in Cullum's Register.Thomas, Sherman, Indicates a West Point graduate, Class of 1853: a link to his biographical entry in Cullum's Register.Sheridan — give to history a new instance of a great friendship between great warriors.

"Having brought the long and disastrous war to a close, in his own  p178 heart Grant would have chosen to have rested upon his laurels and lived a retired military life. It was not to be permitted. He was called to the Presidency by universal acclaim, and it fell to him to conduct a campaign of reconstruction even more burdensome than the war. In the readjustment of the political relations of the South he was wise, generous, and magnanimous in his career. Not a line in letter, speech, or message can be found that would wound the self-respect of Southern citizens. When the dangerous heresy of a greenback currency had gained political power, and Congress was disposed to open the flood-gates of a rotten currency, his veto — an act of courage — turned back the deluge and saved the land from a whole generation of mischief. Had he done but this one thing, he would have deserved well of history. The respects in which he fell below the line of sound statesman­ship — and these are not a few — are to be attributed to the influence of advisers whom he had taken into his confidence. Such was his loyalty to friendship that it must be set down as a fault, — a fault rarely found among public men."

In conclusion, Mr. Beecher said: "A man he was without vices, with an absolute hatred of lies, and an ineradicable love of truth, of a perfect loyalty to friendship, neither envious of others nor selfish for himself. With a zeal for the public good unfeigned, he has left to memory only such weaknesses as connect him with humanity, and such virtues as will rank him among heroes. The tidings of his death, long expected, gave a shock to the whole world. Governments, rulers, eminent statesmen, and scholars from all civilized nations gave sincere tokens of sympathy. For the hour, sympathy rolled as a wave over all our own land. It closed the last furrow of war, it extinguished the last of prejudice, it effaced the last vestige of hatred, and cursed be the hand that shall bring them back! Johnston and Indicates a West Point graduate, Class of 1844: a link to his biographical entry in Cullum's Register.Buckner on one side, Sherman and Sheridan upon the other of his bier,​b he has come to his tomb a silent symbol that liberty had conquered slavery, patriotism rebellion, and peace war. He rests in peace. No drum or cannon shall disturb his rest. Sleep, hero, until another trumpet shall shake the heavens and the earth. Then come forth to glory in immortality."


The Author's Note:

1 The thanks of Congress were presented, Dec. 17, 1863, to General Grant, and also a Gold Medal. Resolutions of thanks were also passed by the Legislatures of most of the loyal States.


Thayer's Notes:

a For a quick outline of the fraud and collapse, see Harlow, The Road of the Century, p312.

[decorative delimiter]

b The four men were the army generals chosen by Grant to be his pallbearers: Joseph E. Johnston and Simon Buckner from the Confederacy, Sherman and Sheridan from the Union. (The remaining eight pallbearers were Admiral David Porter and Vice-Admiral Stephen Rowan; and civilians Hamilton Fish, George Boutwell, George Childs, John Logan, George Jones, and Oliver Hoyt, all Northerners.)


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