[Illustration: U.S.G FIRST IN WAR FIRST IN PEACE AND FIRST IN THE
HEARTS OF HIS COUNTRYMEN]
=OUR STANDARD-BEARER;=
OR, THE LIFE OF
=GENERAL ULYSSES S. GRANT:=
_HIS YOUTH, HIS MANHOOD, HIS CAMPAIGNS, AND HIS EMINENT SERVICES IN THE
RECONSTRUCTION OF THE NATION HIS SWORD HAS REDEEMED:_
AS SEEN AND RELATED
BY CAPTAIN BERNARD GALLIGASKEN,
_COSMOPOLITAN_,
AND WRITTEN OUT
BY OLIVER OPTIC.
ILLUSTRATED BY THOMAS NAST.
BOSTON:
LEE AND SHEPARD.
1868.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by
WILLIAM T. ADAMS,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of
Massachusetts.
Electrotyped at the Boston Stereotype Foundry,
No. 19 Spring Lane.
TO
THE ILLUSTRIOUS SOLDIER,
_GENERAL ULYSSES S. GRANT,_
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES FROM MARCH 4, 1869,
THE ONLY MAN
WHO HAD THE MENTAL POWER, THE MORAL FORCE, THE MILITARY GENIUS TO
SUPPRESS
THE GREAT REBELLION,
THE MIGHTIEST THE WORLD EVER SAW;
THE MAN WHOM,
FIRST IN WAR,
AND
FIRST IN THE HEARTS OF HIS COUNTRYMEN,
THE NATION WILL SOON ACKNOWLEDGE TO BE
FIRST IN PEACE,
=This Volume=
IS ADMIRINGLY AND ENTHUSIASTICALLY
DEDICATED.
PREFACE.
In this volume my friend Captain Galligasken has been permitted to tell
his story very much in his own way. As I fully and heartily indorse
his positions, fully and heartily share in his enthusiasm, my task has
consisted of nothing more than merely writing the book; and I assure
the reader that I have enjoyed quite as much as my friend the captain
the pleasant contemplation of the brilliant deeds of the illustrious
soldier. There is something positively inspiring in the following out
of such a career as that of General Grant; and when I declare that
the enthusiasm of Captain Galligasken is nothing more than just and
reasonable, I do it after a careful examination of the grounds on
which it is based; after a patient, but exceedingly agreeable, study
of the character of the man whom we have jointly eulogized; and after
instituting a critical comparison between the general and the mighty
men of the present and the past. I have twice read all that I have
written, and I find no occasion to add any qualifying words, and no
reason to moderate the warm enthusiasm of the captain.
As the candidate for the presidency of the dominant party in the land,
all of General Grant's sayings and doings will be subjected to the
closest scrutiny by his political opponents. All that he has said
and all that he has done will be remorselessly distorted by savage
critics. Partisan prejudice and partisan hatred will pursue him into
the privacies of life, as well as through every pathway and avenue of
his public career; but Captain Galligasken joins me in the confident
belief that no man has ever been held up to the gaze of the American
people who could stand the test better; hardly one who could stand it
as well. In his private life the general has been pure and guileless,
while in his public history he has been animated by the most noble and
exalted patriotism, ever willing to sacrifice all that he was and all
that he had for the cause in which he embarked.
The study of the illustrious hero's motives and character has been
exceedingly refreshing to me, as well as to my friend Captain
Galligasken, as we analyzed together the influences which guided him in
his eventful experience. We were unable to find any of those selfish
and belittling springs of action which rob great deeds of more than
half their glory. We could see in him a simplicity of character which
amazed us; a strength of mind, a singleness of heart, which caused us
to envy Sherman and Sheridan the possession of such a man's friendship.
Unlike most eminent men, whose very greatness has induced them to shake
off more or less of the traits of ordinary humanity, our illustrious
soldier is a lovable man--an attitude in which we are seldom permitted
to regard great men. He stands in violent contrast with the bombastic
heroes of all times--modest, gentle-hearted, and always approachable.
There is none of the frigid reserve in his manner which awes common
people in the contemplation of those exalted by mighty deeds or a lofty
position. Captain Galligasken says all this upon his honor as a soldier
and an historian; and from my own personal stand-point I cordially
indorse his opinion, which, in both instances, is derived from actual
experience.
Captain Galligasken was somewhat afraid of the politicians, and not a
little nervous at the possible manner those of the party to which he
never had the honor to belong might regard his enthusiasm. I have taken
the liberty to assure him that his enthusiasm is legitimate; that he
has never manifested it except on suitable occasions; that the fact
always specified in connection with the glowing eulogy amply justifies
his praise. I was willing to go farther, and to insist that it was
impossible for the politicians of his own or any other party to resist
the conclusions, or withhold the homage, after the facts were admitted.
And this matter of facts, the unclothed skeleton of reliable history
and biography, is a point on which my friend Captain Galligasken
is especially sensitive. Our library of reference in the agreeable
task we have jointly performed included all the works bearing on the
subject now extant in the country. We have used them liberally and
faithfully, and, animated by a desire to set forth "the truth, the
whole truth, and nothing but the truth" in regard to the illustrious
soldier, the Captain feels entirely confident that he has produced
a reliable history of all the important phases in his life. He has
plentifully besprinkled his pages with anecdotes, some of which have
never been related before, for they are the most telling illustrations
of individual character.
We jointly acknowledge our indebtedness to General Adam Badeau's
"Military History of Ulysses S. Grant," at once the most interesting
and exhaustive work on the subject which has yet been issued, and
which Captain Galligasken insists that every patriotic lover of the
truth should read; to "Ohio in the War;" to "Grant and his Campaigns,"
by Professor Coppée, who had peculiar facilities for the performance
of his task; to Howland's "Grant as a Soldier and a Statesman;"
to Swinton's "Army of the Potomac;" to General Shanks's "Personal
Recollections of Distinguished Generals;" and, in a less degree,
to other volumes. Captain Galligasken is especially desirous of
acknowledging his obligations to his friend Pollard, author of "The
Lost Cause,"--though he thinks Grant is the chief author of the _lost_
cause,--not only for the citations he has taken the liberty to make
from the book, but also for some of the heartiest laughs he ever had in
his life. We tender our personal thanks to those kind friends--whose
names we are not even permitted to mention--for facts, suggestions, and
anecdotes.
When our enterprising and discriminating publishers insisted upon just
this Life of General Grant,--which I should not have been willing
to undertake without the indispensable aid of my cheerful friend
the captain,--we gladly accepted the agreeable task; but I noticed
that Captain Galligasken appeared to be disturbed in his mind about
something. I asked him what it was. He replied by asking me what
possible excuse a humble individual like himself could offer for
inflicting upon the patient, much-enduring community another Life of
General Grant, who was even then more fortunate than a cat, for he had
more than "nine lives." I bade him tell the reason, and he did.
"Because I can't help it," he replied; "because I desire to have the
people of the United States see General Grant just as I see him. He has
been nominated by the National Republican party as its candidate for
the presidency, on a platform which every patriot, every Christian,
heartily indorses, and which is the sum total of the general's
political creed. I wish, if I can, to do something for his election;
and I am fully persuaded that all the people would vote for him if
they understood the man. I am no politician, never held an office, and
never expect to hold one; but I believe in Grant above and beyond all
party considerations. I respect, admire, and love the man. I glory in
his past, and I am confident of his future. I honestly, sincerely, and
heartily believe every word we have written. Nothing but the election
of Grant can save the nation from the infamy of practical repudiation,
from the distractions which have shaken the land since the close of the
Rebellion, if not from another civil war and the ultimate dissolution
of the Union. I hope the people will read our book, think well, and be
as enthusiastic as I am."
It affords me very great pleasure, again and finally, to be able to
indorse my friend Captain Galligasken. He is sincere; and before my
readers condemn his enthusiasm, I beg to inquire how they can escape
his conclusions. All we ask is a fair hearing, and we are confident
that the people who sustained Grant through the war will enable him
to finish in the presidential chair the glorious work he began on the
battle-fields of the republic.
OLIVER OPTIC.
HARRISON SQUARE, MASS.,
July 11, 1868.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
PAGE
Wherein Captain Galligasken modestly disparages himself,
and sets forth with becoming Enthusiasm the
Virtues of the illustrious Soldier whose Life he insists
upon writing. 15
CHAPTER II.
Wherein Captain Galligasken delineates the early History
of the illustrious Soldier, and deduces therefrom the
Presages of future Greatness. 26
CHAPTER III.
Wherein Captain Galligasken "talks Horse," and illustrates
the Subject with some Anecdotes from the Life
of the illustrious Soldier. 36
CHAPTER IV.
Wherein Captain Galligasken follows the illustrious Soldier
to West Point, and dilates admiringly upon the
many excellent Traits of Character which the Hero
exhibited there. 46
CHAPTER V.
Wherein Captain Galligasken accompanies the illustrious
Soldier to Mexico, and glowingly dilates upon the
gallant Achievements of our Arms from Palo Alto to
Monterey. 56
CHAPTER VI.
Wherein Captain Galligasken marches with the illustrious
Soldier to the Halls of the Montezumas, and
glowingly describes the brilliant Campaign in Mexico. 66
CHAPTER VII.
Wherein Captain Galligasken goes with the illustrious
Soldier to the Farm near St. Louis, and observes his
Career through various Misfortunes, till he is included
in the Firm of Grant & Sons. 76
CHAPTER VIII.
Wherein Captain Galligasken discourses upon the breaking
out of the Rebellion, and describes the noble and
modest Behavior of the illustrious Soldier. 86
CHAPTER IX.
Wherein Captain Galligasken has Something to say about
Citizen Soldiers, and follows the illustrious Soldier into
the Field in Missouri. 96
CHAPTER X.
Wherein Captain Galligasken relates a pleasing Anecdote
of the illustrious Soldier, and shows how and why
he captured Paducah. 106
CHAPTER XI.
Wherein Captain Galligasken describes the Battle of Belmont,
and further illustrates the military Qualities of
the illustrious Soldier, as exhibited in that fierce Fight. 117
CHAPTER XII.
Wherein Captain Galligasken rehearses the persistent
Efforts of the illustrious Soldier to obtain Permission
to attack Fort Henry, and follows him to the Capture
of that important Position. 128
CHAPTER XIII.
Wherein Captain Galligasken states the Results of the
Victory at Fort Henry, and attends the illustrious
Soldier in the Investment of Fort Donelson. 138
CHAPTER XIV.
Wherein Captain Galligasken follows the illustrious Soldier
to the Victory at Fort Donelson, and points out the
Nature and Extent of that splendid Achievement. 148
CHAPTER XV.
Wherein Captain Galligasken follows the illustrious Soldier
through the Period of his temporary Disgrace and
triumphant Vindication to the opening Scenes at Shiloh. 158
CHAPTER XVI.
Wherein Captain Galligasken views the illustrious Soldier
in the Battle of Shiloh, and corrects some popular Errors
in regard to that savage Fight. 170
CHAPTER XVII.
Wherein Captain Galligasken finishes the Battle of Shiloh,
and sympathizes with the illustrious Soldier in his
unmerited Disgrace while he is waiting, waiting, before
Corinth. 180
CHAPTER XVIII.
Wherein Captain Galligasken treats of the Corinth Campaign,
and admiringly calls Attention to the splendid
Abilities of the illustrious Soldier as a District Commander. 191
CHAPTER XIX.
Wherein Captain Galligasken shows how six Months
were spent around Vicksburg by the illustrious Soldier,
and how the President rather liked the Man, and
thought he would try him a little longer. 201
CHAPTER XX.
Wherein Captain Galligasken illustrates the Temperance
Principles of the illustrious Soldier, and proceeds with
him on his conquering Path to the Capital of Mississippi. 211
CHAPTER XXI.
Wherein Captain Galligasken follows the illustrious Soldier
through the Campaign in Mississippi to the Siege
and Surrender of Vicksburg. 223
CHAPTER XXII.
Wherein Captain Galligasken sums up the magnificent
Results of the Capture of Vicksburg, and starts with
the illustrious Soldier for Chattanooga, after his Appointment
to the Command of the combined Armies
of the Tennessee, the Cumberland, and the Ohio. 234
CHAPTER XXIII.
Wherein Captain Galligasken details the Means by which
the illustrious Soldier relieved the Army of the Cumberland,
and traces his Career to the glorious Victory
of Chattanooga. 246
CHAPTER XXIV.
Wherein Captain Galligasken has Something more to say
about the glorious Campaign of Chattanooga, and illustrates
some of the personal Characteristics of the
illustrious Soldier. 259
CHAPTER XXV.
Wherein Captain Galligasken follows the illustrious Soldier
to Washington, where, after enduring many Hardships,
he is commissioned Lieutenant General in the
Army of the United States. 272
CHAPTER XXVI.
Wherein Captain Galligasken has Something to say
about the illustrious Soldier's Views of Strategy, and
follows him across the Rapidan into The Wilderness. 284
CHAPTER XXVII.
Wherein Captain Galligasken follows the Campaign of
the Army of the Potomac, and the illustrious Soldier
announces that he shall fight it out on that Line, if it
takes all Summer. 296
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Wherein Captain Galligasken describes in brief Detail
the Siege of Petersburg and Richmond, and attends
the illustrious Soldier to the End of the Campaign at
Appomattox Court House. 310
CHAPTER XXIX.
Wherein Captain Galligasken has a few Words to say
about Lee's Surrender, and demonstrates to his own
and his Reader's entire Satisfaction, that the illustrious
Soldier is not an accidental Hero. 323
CHAPTER XXX.
Wherein Captain Galligasken follows the illustrious Soldier
in his Career after the War, relates several Anecdotes
of him, and respectfully invites the whole World
to MATCH HIM. 337
=Our Standard-Bearer;=
OR, THE
LIFE OF GENERAL ULYSSES S. GRANT.
CHAPTER I.
_Wherein Captain Galligasken modestly disparages himself, and sets
forth with becoming Enthusiasm the Virtues of the illustrious
Soldier whose Life he insists upon writing._
Who am I? It makes not the least difference who I am. If I shine at
all in this veritable history,--which I honestly confess I have not
the slightest desire to do,--it will be only in the reflected radiance
of that great name which has become a household word in the home of
every loyal citizen, north and south, of this mighty Republic; a name
that will shine with transcendent lustre as his fame rings along down
the grand procession of the ages, growing brighter and more glorious
the farther it is removed from the petty jealousies of contemporaneous
heroes, statesmen, and chroniclers.
What am I? It does not make the least difference what I am. I am to
chronicle the deeds of that illustrious soldier, the providential man
of the Great Rebellion, who beat down the strongholds of Treason by
the force of his mighty will, and by a combination of moral and mental
qualifications which have been united in no other man, either in the
present or the past.
What was Washington? God bless him! A wise and prudent statesman, a
devoted patriot, the savior of the new-born nationality.
What was Napoleon? The greatest soldier of the century which ended with
the battle of Waterloo.
What was Andrew Jackson? The patriot statesman, who had a will of his
own.
What were Cæsar, Wellington, Marlborough, Scott? All strong men, great
soldiers, devoted patriots.
What is the Great Captain, the illustrious hero of the Modern Republic?
He is all these men united into one. He has held within the grasp of
his mighty thought larger armies than any other general who is worthy
to be mentioned in comparison with him, controlling their movements,
and harmonizing their action throughout a territory vastly larger than
that comprised in the battle-grounds of Europe for a century.
Washington was great in spite of repeated defeats. Grant is great
through a long line of brilliant successes. Napoleon won victories,
and then clothed himself in the scarlet robes of an emperor, seated
himself on a throne, and made his country's glory only the lever of
his own glory. Grant won victories not less brilliant, and then
modestly smoked his cigar on the grand level of the people, diffidently
accepting any such honors as a grateful people thrust upon him.
As I yield the tribute of admiring homage to Washington that he put
the Satan of sovereign power behind him when he was tempted with the
glittering bait, I am amazed that Grant, the very idol of a million
veteran soldiers, permitted his sword to rest in its scabbard while his
recreant superior, by the accident of the assassin's bullet, dared to
thwart the will of the people whose ballots had elevated him to power.
I can almost worship him for his forbearance under the keenest insults
to which the sensitive soul of a true soldier can be subjected, that
he did not smite his cunning traducer, and did not even appeal to the
people.
Who am I? If I am seen at all in this true narrative of a sublime
life, I beg to be regarded as the most humble and least deserving of
Columbia's chosen sons, but standing, for the moment, on a pedestal,
and blushingly pointing to the historic canvas, whereon is delineated
the triumphal career of the Great Man of the nineteenth century; the
successful General, towering in lofty preëminence above every other
man, who in the days of darkness struck a blow for the redemption of
the nation; the fledged Statesman, who, without being a politician,
apprehended and vitalized the chosen policy of the sovereign people. I
am nothing; he is everything.
I am an enthusiast!
Is there nothing in The Man, sublimated by glorious deeds, elevated
by a conquering will far above his fellows, almost deified by the
highest development of godlike faculties,--is there nothing in The
Man to quicken the lazy flow in the veins of the beholder? Can I, who
marched from Belmont to Appomattox Court House, by the way of Donelson,
Vicksburg, Chattanooga, Spottsylvania, Petersburg, and Five Forks, who
have, since the collapse of the rebellion, gazed, in common with the
Senators and Representatives in Congress, the Governors of the states,
the President, and the heads of the departments of state, the sovereign
people, with friends and with foes of the regenerated country,--can I,
who have gazed with the most intense interest at the little two-story
brick building in the nation's capital, where smoked and labored the
genius of the war, to see what that one man would do, to hear what that
one man would say,--can I gaze and listen without realizing the throb
which heaves the mighty heart of the nation? I felt as they felt, that
there was only one man in the land. It mattered little what senators
and representatives enacted in the halls of Congress, if he did not
indorse it. It mattered little what the Nation's Accident vetoed, if
he but approved it. It was of little consequence what rebels north or
rebels south planned and plotted, if only this one man frowned upon
it. Reconstruction could flourish only in his smile. If a department
commander ambitiously or stupidly belied his war record, and attempted
to bolster up with this diplomacy the treason which he had put down
with his sword, the howl of the loyal millions was changed into a shout
of exultation, if the one man in the little two-story brick building in
Washington only nodded his disapproval of the course of the recreant.
That man has been the soul of the people's policy of reconstruction.
Conscious that he was its friend, it mattered not who was its enemy;
for foes could delay, but not defeat it.
Can I be unmoved while I look at The Man? When I behold a huge
steamship, the giant of the deep, threading its way through night and
storm over the pathless ocean, from continent to continent, herself
a miracle to the eye, I wonder. When I see the electric telegraph,
flashing a living thought from farthest east to farthest west, and even
along its buried channel in the depths of the storm-tossed ocean, I
wonder. Can I gaze unmoved upon the Man, the Fulton, the Morse, from
whose busy brain, lighted up by an inspiration from the Infinite, which
common men cannot even understand, came forth the grand conception of
these miracles of science?
I am an enthusiast. I cannot gaze at the spectacle of a nation rent
and shattered by the most stupendous treason that ever fouled historic
annals, restored to peace and unity, without a thrill of emotion.
I cannot follow our gallant armies in imagination now, as I did in
reality then, in their triumphal march from the gloom of Fredericksburg
and Chancellorsville to the glorious light and sunshine of Vicksburg
and Five Forks, from death at Bull Run, to life at Fort Donelson,
without having my heart leap with grateful enthusiasm.
In the ghastly midnight of disaster, when the nation's pulse almost
ceased to beat in dread and anxiety for the fearful issue, we had
men--hundreds of thousands, millions of men, the bravest and truest
soldiers that ever bore a musket. Thousands and tens of thousands of
them sleep beneath the bloody sod of Antietam, in the miry swamps
of the Chickahominy, and under the parching soil of the southern
savannas, where they sank to their rest with the field unconquered
above them. There they slumber, each of them a willing sacrifice, if
his death brought the nation but one hair's breadth nearer to the final
redemption, or could add one ray to the flood of light which the peace
they prayed for would shed upon the land beloved.
There was no lack of men, and pure patriots prayed for a leader. They
sighed for a Washington, a Napoleon, a Wellington, to guide their
swelling masses of ardent warriors from the gloom of disaster to the
brightness of victory. Chiefs, mighty in battle, pure in purpose,
skilful in device and execution, reared their banners successively at
the head of the valiant hosts, then drooped and fell, as the hot blast
of jealousy swept over them, or they became entangled in the silken
meshes of adulation. In none of these did the soldiers find their true
leader, though they fought fiercely and fell in horrid slaughter under
all of them.
It was only when the soul of the mustered hosts was fired by the
sublime fact of a worthy leader, and their muscles nerved by the will
of a mighty champion, that the thundering march of victory commenced,
and the triumphal car of the conqueror swept like a whirlwind through
the war-stricken South. Then treason trembled, tottered, few. Then
the infatuated leaders of rebellion wailed in terror, and fled from
the halter that dangled over their heads. Then the one man of the war
towered like a giant above his fellows. Then he stood forth as the
nation's savior, and a generous people placed the laurel on his brow.
I am an enthusiast as I review the history of my country from 1862
to the present time. I watched with McClellan in the oozy swamps of
Virginia, when he feared to risk his popularity by striking an avenging
stroke at the exposed foe, and I joined in singing the pæan of victory
with Grant after Five Forks, when the final blow had been given to the
rebellion. Therefore am I enthusiastic.
The people acknowledged the greatness of Grant's military genius, the
tremendous power of his will, and the unflinching earnestness of his
patriotism. Then, while salvos of artillery throughout the loyal land
proclaimed the victory to the astonished nations, we hailed Grant as
OUR STANDARD-BEARER.
If I am enthusiastic, so are the people, to their honor and glory be it
said. I shall only ask to be their mouthpiece, assured that I cannot
exceed their estimate of the hero. What he was in the storm of battle,
he is in the calm pursuits of peace. What he was among the soldiers,
he is among the citizens. As he possessed the unlimited confidence of
the "boys in blue," so has he the unlimited confidence of the people.
They are full of gratitude to him for the past, full of trust in him
for the present, and full of hope in him for the future. In a tone more
enthusiastic, and a voice more united than ever before since the days
of Washington, the people have declared that Grant shall still be
OUR STANDARD-BEARER, and I am more enthusiastic than ever.
* * * * *
Presumptuous as it may be in one so humble and little deserving as I
am to intrude himself upon the public eye, I insist upon giving my
views of the life of General Grant. I claim to know all about the
distinguished subject of my story--which is no story at all, inasmuch
as every word of it, so far as it relates to the general, is only the
living truth, as I understand it. Even if my kind and courteous readers
should deem me a myth, I shall only have won the obscurity I covet, and
succeed in concentrating their attention upon the illustrious man whose
immortal name I reverently utter, and whose undying deeds I seek to
illustrate.
I wish to say in the beginning, that I hold it to be the sacred duty
of the historian to tell the truth; so far as in him lies. For this
reason I have taken the trouble, in this initial chapter of my work,
to explain at some length the grounds of my individual enthusiasm in
speaking and writing of the illustrious subject of this memoir. The
fact, and my view of the fact, are two essentially different things. I
shall state facts as I find them; and whatever view my indulgent reader
may entertain in regard to me and my views, I assure him, on the honor
of an historian, that all my statements are true, and worthy of the
utmost credit.
Others may not be willing to agree with me in all respects in
my estimate of particular events or incidents in the life of my
illustrious subject, though I am persuaded there can be no essential
difference in our view of the sum-total of the general--that he must
stand unchallenged as the greatest man and the greatest soldier of
the nineteenth century, if not of all time. A proper regard for the
sacred truth of history compels me to make this declaration, which I do
without the fear of a denial.
I have been very much pained to observe that my friend, Mr. Pollard,
author of "The Lost Cause," has arrived at an estimate of the merit
of our distinguished general, which is, in some respects, different
from my own. Perhaps my valued contemporary was unable to derive the
necessary inspiration from his subject to enable him to do full justice
to the shining abilities of some of the heroes who, unfortunately for
The Lost Cause, were on the other side of the unpleasant controversy.
Doubtless Mr. Pollard meant well; but it is painful to find that he
has, in some cases, exhibited symptoms of prejudice, especially towards
General Grant, who does not seem to be a favorite general with him.
I notice also on his pages a degree of partiality towards General
Lee which greatly astonishes me. After a careful examination of Mr.
Pollard's voluminous work, I am surprised and grieved to find that he
actually regards Lee, in the matter of soldier-like qualities and in
generalship, as the superior of Grant!
I confess my surprise at his singular position; but in view of the
fact that he is writing the history of "The Lost Cause"--lost, the
world acknowledges, through the active agency of General Grant,--I am
disposed to palliate, though not to excuse, my friend's departures
from the sacred line of historic truth. Mr. Lee is doubtless a very
amiable and kind-hearted gentleman, though we must protest against
his inhumanity to the Belle Island prisoners; but I object to any
comparison of him, as a general, with Grant. When Mr. Pollard shall
have time to go over the ground again, he will see his blunders, and,
being an honest man, he will have the hardihood to correct them. Then
"The Lost Cause" will be to him, as to the rest of mankind, a monument
of the folly and wickedness of those who engaged in it, a solemn
warning to traitors and conspirators, and the best panegyric of the
true hero of the war which a rebel pen could indite.
Though, as I said before, it makes no difference who or what I am,
it will be no more than courtesy for me to satisfy the reasonable
curiosity of my readers on these points, before I enter upon the
pleasant task before me. Though one of my ancestors, some ten
generations back, was born in the parish of Blarney, in the County of
Cork, Ireland, I was not born there. Sir Bernard Galligasken--whose
name, shorn of its aristocratic handle, I have the honor to bear--was
one of the earliest known, at the present time, of our stock,
and emigrated to Scotland, where he married one of the Grants of
Aberdeenshire. My more immediate progenitor came over in the Mayflower,
and landed on Plymouth Rock, for which, on this account, as well as
because I love the principles of those stalwart men of the olden time,
I have ever had the most profound veneration. Early in the present
century my parents removed from Eastern Massachusetts to the Great West.
I was born at Point Pleasant, Ohio, April 27, 1822. By a singular
coincidence (on my side) was born in the same town, and on the same
day, Hiram Ulysses Grant.