Show 0 0 0 rz P bale 4 61 MV i N X N 92 I 1 A W y rig K X n W C P 4 ME e wf X R I 1 4 1 tj A by ELMO SCOTT WATSON HE tomb of ulysses S grant victorious civil war general and president of the united states which for more than 30 years has stood in an un finished state on river alver side drive in new york city is at last to be completed the grant monument association Is now engaged in raising by popular subscription nearly a half million dollars necessary for carrying out the original plans for this historic landmark the terrace surrounding the monument Is to be planted with shade trees narrow walks bordered by low granite walls banked with ornamental shrubbery will provide promenades for visitors and a portico with sculptured decorations Is to be placed over the main entrance with the apex of the portico directly under the carved motto let Us have reace peace but most important of nil all the additions is 18 to be the equestrian statue of the he general wearing the familiar an uni wn in of civil war days which Is to und stand on a raised pediment in the plaza in front of the tomb and thereby hangs the tale of wha t promises to be a fascinating mystery why Is it impossible for the sculptor who Is to make the eques equestrian tri an statue to find end a photograph of ulysses S grant on hor horseback yet such Is the alie case according to gurney a gue cue a writer for the new york herald Trl tribune bune who in fit a recent issue of that newspaper tells of the unexpected ties which have been encountered as follows the search for a photograph of 0 genrl erml V U S grant on horseback to aid the sculptor who 1 Is I modeling an equestrian statue for the plaza I 1 in front of grants tomb now has bovere covered nd the collections of the new york historical society the public library and numerous dealers in rare prints and other pictures without discovering the much wanted camera mado made portrait while nobody can be found who believes the liero hero of the alie civil war never faced the camera when mounted during the tour four years of the preat conflict it Is nevertheless true that nobody can be found hols sure he has haa ever seen such a picture the new york tork herald tribunes quest included a visit to the studio of the sculptor daniel chester french one of whose many well known works is the bronze statue of crant on horseback in fairmont park philadelphia aked whether lie he had an equestrian photograph to gulde him when he made it in 1898 the venerable arti arelt t who was eighty years old on april 20 promptly replied no I 1 am sure I 1 had none made from life and I 1 had every photograph of grant I 1 could find dr robert underwood Jo johnson brison who is as associate Po clate editor of tho the old century forty five years ago may be said to have discovered grant as an author and induced him to write the mer memoirs notra which rescued him and ills his family from donerty in his last days was quite certain he had bad seen at least one photograph from life of grant in the saddle when apken why he be did not publish so rare a picture in the century war book battles and lead ers rs of the civil war tho the veteran editor revised his statement and finally concluded on telephoning C C buel his worker coworker co of 1887 that in the photograph he had in mind the general w atu not in the saddle but on the ground holding his horse by the bridle in making inquiry at the union league club where there Is a notable collection 0 of f wartime portraits the librarian suggested that general warren warran lif healy be consulted general healy la in the oldest living member of 0 the grant monument association haying having been one of its organizers with general hornce horace porter soon after grant died in 1885 18 85 As erect of car riago and as clear of mind as he was when he marched away with it the thirteenth massachusetts in april 1861 he ailys ays when called upon to state his age im ninety one now with nine more monra 8 to go CO general heily healy was one of those who leaked ked the tha army war college nt at washington to set met its research section at work to find it a photograph of 0 grant on horseback for use of the sculptor lie ho has done some hunting himself also but as yet without success tuc cess I 1 r j taj ars 2 11 there are ar something like portraits of 0 general grant in the library 0 f the now new york historical society and among them are several mayoral of him in uniform and in the saddle these however are all engravings etchings or lithographs ranging from currier ivess cheapest commercial product to the fine proof etching made by L mr mar eter eler a noted french artist the print ro room 0 rn of the public library has another equally large collection of drawings bu but t nothing in the nature of a photograph from life or a photo of the man who often faced grape and canister banist 0 r on horseback yet who seems to ha have v e always run away from the camera at the offices of brown brothers who may bo be described as dealers in back number photographs with about in stock the resources of the establishment were placed at the disposal of the F lerald herald tribune A bearc search h of the envelopes on grant and of gard ners rare photographic sketch book of the war tailed failed however to uncover anything of the general in the saddle asked where one would look fo for r such a picture arthur brown suggested that the hunt bunt be extended to private collections of wartime war time photographs to the war zone in the west and south where some local photographer might have made m a do a plate and to the families a of G grants rants descendants who may perhaps s possess such a relic it seems curious indeed that no such photograph of grant can be found when one considers that so much of iris his life was spent on horseback aud and that of all our presidents not anen excepting washington and roosevelt lie was most famous for his horsemanship read head through his memoirs and aou ou ill find repeated examples of his love tor for horses and any number of incidents which apparently parel patently itly ly stand out clearly in his hia memory because a horse was associated with them go to the united states military academy at west point today and they will show you among the records made there the highest jump by a cadet on oil horseback it reads grant upon york and the mark Is more than six feet As aa a cadet at west point grant was a poor student in most subjects but lie he was a fine horseman of him one of his classmates gen E egbert bert velle velie has written it was as good as a circus to see sam grant ride he was far the most fearless rider there there was wag a dirk dark bay horse that was so BO fractious that it was about to be sold because nobody could ride JL it grant selected it for his horse ile he ro rode d e it every lay day at parade and how he be did ridel the whole class would stand around admiring his wonder wonderful lul command of the beast and his graceful evolutions upon his graduation from the academy grant hoped to secure a commission in the cavalry but ironically enough there were no places open in that branch of the service at the time limo and the best horseman that west point had ever known became a second lieutenant in the fourth infantry tryl cut but the Alex mexican ican war gave him a chance to show his horsemanship even though he be remained a commander of foot soldiers when general taylors army started its invasion of mexico lieutenant grants company commander captain mccall asked him it if ho he did not dot intend to get a horse grant replied that niece mince he belonged to a foot regiment he would walk mccall insisted however that hla his lieutenant should ride and pointed out a three year old mustang which one ol of the colored servants with the regiment had purchased at corpus christie for or three dollars with the remark there grant rant Is a horse for you the young lieutenant bought it for 5 grant records in his memoirs the result as follows the day we started was the first time the horse had ever been under saddle I 1 had however but little difficulty in breaking him though for the first day there were frequent disagreements between us as to which way we should go and sometimes whether we should go at all at no time during the day could I 1 choose exactly the part of the column I 1 would march with but after that I 1 had as tractable a horse as any with the army and there was now none that stood the trip better grant not only won the admiration of his men by the way in which he mastered this wild horse but during the battle of monterey lie he performed a feat which won him renown throughout the tha army as a daring soldier end and a matchless rider with his characteristic te modesty he records the incident in his memoirs as follows we had not occupied this position when it was discovered that our ammunition was growing low I 1 volunteered to go back to the point we had started from report our position to general twiggs and ask for ammunition to be forwarded we were at this time occupying ground 0 ofa fr f from born the street in rear of the houses my ride back was an exposed one before starting r adjusted myself on the side of my horse furthest from the enemy and with only one toot foot holding the cantle of the saddle and an arm over the neck of the horse exposed I 1 started at full run it was only at street crossings that my horse was under fire but these I 1 crossed at such a flying rate that generally I 1 was past and under cover of the next nest block of houses before the enemy fired I 1 got out safely without a scratch during the civil war grant had several horses whose names are well known among them were egypt presented by admirers in southern illinois and jelt jeff davis which bad been captured from the confederates but his favorite was cincinnati ri a big bay sired by lexington the leading racer find and sire of his time cincinnati cin cinn nati was presented to him by a resident of the ohio city after grants victory at chattanooga and the general rode him almost daily during the wilderness campaign of 1834 and until the close of 0 the war cincinnati was seventeen hands high an animal of great endurance and grant regarded him as the greatest mount any army commander ever had bad grant was so BO fond of him that he be rarely permitted anyone else to mount domount him although he made mada at least two exceptions one was in favor of admiral daniel ammen who saved grant from drowning when he was a boy and the other was president lincoln when lincoln visited grant at hla his headquarters on the james river he placed cincinnati at the presidents disposal and in his memoirs hi he writes that lincoln was a flap fine horseman and rode my cincinnati every day ne he once refused an offer of for the animal and atler after lees surrender retired him from active aenice son ice cincinnati died on ft a maryland farm in september 1874 but riding horses were not grants only hors horseflesh ellesh interest ile he was also fond of fast harness horses during his years as president in washington grant visited the stables cs every day at ai the close of business in the white whit house ile he wanted to see for himself that the stock was well fed |