Show Grants Grant's ran S Genius e as Soldier Admired Wore by War WaIr Students But Always in His Heart Commander Was a aMan aMan aMan Man of Peace Ulysses Simpson Grant chance gave him the Simpson for a n middle name was name was born In a little two room cottage near the river front at Point Pleasant Ohio a n straggling village perched on a bend of the Ohio river about twenty live miles southeast of or Cincinnati April 27 1822 1522 He was graduated from West Point In 1843 1813 No 21 in a n roll of 89 with a rank of second lieutenant and was stationed at Jefferson barracks near St St. Louis Before the Mexican war broke out he had courted and won the tho heart of Julia JuHa Dent the daughter of a big planter but did not marry her until August 22 1848 six months after the tho war had hind come to an end He had none of ot the war fever fever It It was not a war that made mado any appeal to his patriotism and Grant was never nevera a militarist in principle But Grant was a soldier and antI took orders He went Into the battle of Palo Alto a second lieutenant in May 1840 m and entered the City of Mexico 16 IG months later with the Ule same rank although he was was' frequently mentioned In reports reports reports re re- ports for gallant conduct and was afterwards first lieutenant and ond later captain for distinguished gallantry In the field After the close of the war Grant continued In army service until 1854 1 when despairing of making a livelihood livelIhood livelihood liveli livelI- hood for his family out of his meager salary and having no ambition for tor a I military life Ufe he hie resigned his commission commission commission commis commis- sion and ond went back to the plow Then TIlen followed years of biting blUng poverty and of successive failures as a farmer andIn andin and andIn In business wasted business wasted years ears dreamy indolent years hopeless and neglected neglect neglect- ed years But failures never daunted him him ho he never cursed his luck If one thing failed he lie tried another and never despaired neither despaired neither perhaps did he hope for much Then on April 11 1801 the shot that op opened ned for him the door of opportunity was tired fired at Sumter and Sumter-and and It found Grant waitIng waitIng waitIng wait- wait Ing at the door On the tIle the tho news reached Galena that Lincoln had called for volunteers On the Grant was drilling a com company pan and in a n week he led his men to Springfield the capital of Illinois to tender his services to the nation Was Vas Grant a treat reat military genius How now often was that question asked Inthe in inthe inthe the days of storm and stress when silent and himself ho lie went smash smashing IDS through the best laid I r r o ly tl r rI I 1 s i h hI I r r A A r COID VAT men-how men of technical military plans after days when v the often otten too in the memoir writers were experts exports and ond the his hits campaigns Knew War In All Its Ph Phases aces pioneer in the fie business Grant Grunt was a and big bib 1 pushing and u a awell driving 0 nf of f big hi b the time patient of us well master mastel punt that we heard so 00 soi attrition ort art of ut the late World war i about In much U knew what he wanted Gr Grant always nil his big driving 6 and ond o do to d Grants Grant's clear and was bIg l rushing pushing brain lint saw far and quick according tu to the rules boldly planned he had learned ut at West WestPoint of War that by some rules supplemented Point and his o own w n peculiarly that were which were of ot the very essence of common sense Like Foch Grant was the first man to put his finger upon the weak spot of or the federal military organization in tho the early years rears of the war the war the lack Inck of ot centralized centralized centralized cen cen- control and of operation co-operation among the different armies His first r S r h r r rf r lr w ti a h GRANTS POINT T ON off he great stroke was one that showed his exceptional genius for the strategy of war or Not only did he grasp the Importance Importance importance tance of the capture of ot Vicksburg but his execution of the campaign that ended IQ In Its downfall was characterized characterized char char- by the first real evidence of military genius that had developed In Inthe Inthe Inthe the war up to that time He was tho the first of the tIle American generals to perceive perceive per per- that In a comparatively fertile ferUle country it was not necessary to in- in cumber his movements with commissary commissary commis commis- sary impedimenta but that the thing to do was to let his army live lire on the country and to make Its necessities a aspur aspur I spur to quick and decisive action It was a Napoleonic Idea All of Grants Grant's I plans for the Vicksburg campaign were novel noel and startlingly bold new bold new methods of warfare entirely to the themen themen themen men and the officers under him yet him yet yettie he tie had the faculty of Impressing them with their feasibility Vicksburg stands unchallenged today as a master master mas mas- ter stroke of ot strategy with Grant Inthe in inthe inthe the role of ot the master strategist Proof of Genius Grants Grant's strategy at Chattanooga was another evidence of ot his genius that hat brought acclaim from the severest severest severest sever sever- est of his critics The battle was fought out upon Grants Grant's plans and under his Immediate direction and grants grant's recognition of the tho psychological psychological psycho logical moment for the final attack that won the battle would have delighted delighted de de- lighted the heart of ot Napoleon that Napoleon that was an achievement rement after the great masters master's own teachings And In those tremendous final campaigns that ender ender ender end- end er at Appomattox the student of or strategy will find much to Interest him to clinch his faith In Grants Grant's genius Here we begin first to hear heur of Grants Grant's policy polley of attrition the attrition the terrible attrition of the Wilderness of of Cold Harbor of battle after battle without rest or ceasing until Lee was worn down nibbled away to nothing by Grants Grant's merciless momentum But Dut it was not all nil attrition not nIl all hammering There were remarkable flashes of his strategic genius often evidenced evidenced lie he was the one general w who o was always doing the unexpected A As after the battle of Cold Harbor when Lee Leo was expecting him t to cross the Chickahominy Chick Chicka- a- a hominy Grant executed one of the tho most brilliant flank movements ever recorded of any army array when with the Army of ot the Potomac strong he be crossed the James river river-at at Wilcox Landing entirely eluding Lees Lee's observation observation observation ob ob- ob- ob and constructing for tor the purpose one of ot the greatest military bridges that the world has seen since the days of ot Xerxes leaving Lee for nearly a week in absolute ignorance of his whereabouts wh Here Is what a distinguished foreign military critic has wr written of that campaign There were soldiers more accomplished as os was McClellan more brilliant as was Rosecrans and more exact as was woe Buell but it would be difficult to prove that these generals or Indeed any others in the services could have accomplished the task which Grant brought to complete success in that campaign His End Tragic And then the tragic close of that great career that was like the climax of a Greek tragedy still too fresh Inthe in inthe the tho memory for Its poignant passages to be recalled the recalled the struggle with sordid sordid sordid sor sor- did political environments the wreck of fortune the last sad days da s 's at Mount McGregor with the nations nation's heart In its throat Out of It comes forth In cl clear ar and res resonant nant utterance his Let Letus Letus us have peace and his primal vision of ot the coming of a day when the nations nations nations na na- na- na of the earth will agree ogree upon some sort of congress which will take cognizance of or International questions whose whoso decisions will be as binding as the tho decisions of our our our- Supreme court are upon us us a a vision that paved tho the way for The Hague llague tribunal the tIle first step toward a parliament of the world The man of war passed from rom the stage in a dream of peace peace his his last message to the tho people a prays Drayo- h I I i f h J H 1 of thankfulness that peace had come as ns he hoped to permanently remain If it 11 Is within Gods God's providence he wrote when his tongue was no longer able uble to utter words that I should go now I am om ready to obey His call without a murmur I am nm thankful for the providential extension of ot my time to continue my work and because because be cause It has enabled me to see for myself the thc happy huppy harmony which has hhas hasso hasso so suddenly sprung up between those enga engaged ed but a few short years ears a ago o In iii deadly Kansas Kansas City Star |