Ohio History Journal

CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF THE BIRTH OF

ULYSSES S. GRANT

 

 

BY C. B. GALBREATH

 

CELEBRATION AT POINT PLEASANT, CLERMONT

COUNTY, OHIO

Of all citizens of the United States, born in Ohio,

the most famous in his day and generation, as Judge

Hugh L. Nichols has observed, was General Ulysses S.

Grant. That he still holds that high place among the

distinguished sons that Ohio has given to the Republic

and the world was attested by the outpouring of people

to celebrate the centennial anniversary of his birth and

by the tributes that on three successive days fell from

the lips of Ohio's most eminent official representatives

who came from the nation's capitol to speak on this oc-

casion.

The weather, which was cool and threatening on the

morning of Thursday, April 27, 1922, the first day of

the celebration, gradually settled and the two succeed-

ing days were almost cloudless.  The program care-

fully planned by Judge Nichols and his associates on

the Centenary committee was successfully carried out

without change except that occasioned by the absence

of Governor Davis who was prevented by illness from

attending.  Among the distinguished persons present

was the widow of General Fred D. Grant, who is the

mother of Major Ulysses S. Grant III and the Countess

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Centennial Anniversary of the Birth of Ulysses S. Grant 223

Cantacuzene.  No direct descendant of the great gen-

eral was in attendance.

Cincinnati was the preliminary place of assembly.

President Warren G. Harding, Mrs. Harding and his

party arrived in the city at nine o'clock Friday morning.

Among the guests who came with him from Washing-

ton were Mrs. Fred D. Grant, Mrs. Henry C. Corbin,

Attorney General of the United States Harry M.

Daugherty, Private Secretary to the President George

B. Christian, Jr., Congressman Nicholas Longworth

and a number of other Ohio congressmen.

The President held a brief reception at the Gibson

House, from which a little later at the head of a military

escort and a procession of guests in automobiles he

proceeded through flag-decked streets, thronged by

applauding thousands, to the boat landing at the foot of

Broadway Street.

It had been originally planned that the President

and his party should go to Point Pleasant on the steamer

Island Queen and return to Cincinnati on the Morning

Star. By request from Washington a change was or-

dered in this arrangement and the President made the

trip to Point Pleasant and return on the United States

Government steamer Cayuga. A large crowd boarded

the vessels of the Coney Island Steamship Company,

including the Island Queen and the Morning Star, and

the pageant was imposing as the vessels steamed up the

river.*  At the villages on either shore and on all the

roads leading to the river people had gathered to wit-

ness the procession and wave their greetings. At New

 

* In order the vessels were: Cayuga, Scioto, Miami, Island Queen,

Morning Star, America, East St. Louis, Homer Smith.

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224     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

Richmond they had assembled in large numbers to hail

the passing pageant.

Scarcely had the Island Queen passed the village

when an accident occurred that was for a brief time a

matter of serious concern.  As seen from the topmost

deck of the vessel the third and fourth decks sank for

a short distance, remained stationary for a moment and

then went down with a terrific crash that echoed across

the water.  On the fourth deck, which followed the

third in its downward plunge, was the military band

from Fort Benjamin Harrison. It had commenced play-

ing a short time before the accident, and true to its train-

ing for emergencies, continued to play as the decks went

down, though some of the soldiers were thrown from their

seats in the fall. Without doubt this did much to allay

fears and prevent a panic among the seventeen hundred

passengers of the boat. Fortunately comparatively few

persons were under these decks when they went down.

The cool morning air and a stiff breeze down the river

had sent most of the passengers to the salon and the

rear of the vessel. The brief check in the downward

descent of the decks gave opportunity for the pas-

sengers underneath to escape and a comparatively few

were caught.  One of the newspapers on the day fol-

lowing stated that forty-four persons were injured, two

of them fatally. Many of the injuries, however, were

slight and there were no fatalities, though it was

thought for a time that two of the injured could not

recover.  The Manchester Boys' Band, which was

playling on the second deck, suffered most from the fall

of the deck above, which caught a number of the boys

before they could escape.  This accident was the only

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Centennial Anniversary of the Birth of Ulysses S. Grant 225

incident that marred the three days' celebration and it

would have been much more serious had it occurred

earlier in the trip when the front decks of the vessel

were crowded with passengers.

A great crowd of people were waiting to greet the

President and his party at Point Pleasant, the birthplace

of Ulysses S. Grant.  He proceeded promptly to the

site of the house in which the General was born, a por-

tion of which is still standing there.  From this little

lean-to kitchen he emerged, proceeded to the speakers^'

stand close by and bowed to the greetings of the great

multitude that had assembled.  With him were Mrs.

Harding, Mrs. Fred D. Grant, Mrs. Corbin, Attorney

General Daugherty and General J. Warren Keifer, in

spite of his eighty-six years erect and sturdy, the only

surviving major general of the Civil War.    The

speakers' stand was equipped with the magnavox that

not only carried the President's voice to the limits of the

surrounding multitude but to the passengers who re-

mained on board the vessels in the river below. By

special arrangement his voice was also carried to distant

Cincinnati where thousands of people assembled heard

him as distinctly as did those in his immediate presence.

Even the chatters of the birds that were flitting about

in the trees, evidently somewhat disturbed by this un-

usual spectacle, were heard in Cincinnati.

Following the invocation Judge Hugh L. Nichols,

in the absence of Governor Davis, delivered an appro-

priate impromptu introductory address.  There was

music by the band and a solo, "Tenting on the Old Camp

Ground," by Miss Florence Enneking.      President

Harding then delivered the following address:

Vol. XXXI-15.

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226       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

 

"MY COUNTRYMEN: The military hero of the Republic; a

commanding figure in the military history of the world; the sur-

passing exemplar of magnanimity of all times; the most striking

example of the possibilities in American life; the confident and

relentless commander in war, and the modest and sympathetic pe-

titioner for peace after victory!

"All of these may be said, most befittingly, of the great Ameri-

ican whose hundredth birthday anniversary we are met to com-

memorate, to whose undying fame we add fresh tribute of mem-

ory today.

"In that inevitable contemplation incident to the preparation

of an address for this occasion, I have pondered again and again,

what distinction, or what attribute, or better, what attributes and

achievement, of General Ulysses S. Grant appeals to me most.

He looms majestic in the blend of them all - his fame is secure.

"One must revere his military genius, even though its de-

velopment was one of those miracles of grim war itself. No one

would have picked him in youth or early manhood, or in his early

career as a regular officer, for the great commander. Responsi-

bility and necessity set ablaze the latent genius. Donelson was

a flash of daring, Vicksburg his trophy of courage and unalter-

able determination, Petersburg the revelation of his genius. But

at Appomattox he was Grant the Magnanimous, who spoke for

reunion as he had fought for union, and turned from grim war-

rior to ambassador of peace. He could neither hate nor humili-

ate, and in the very glow of surpassing triumph he could not be

ungracious or inconsiderate.

"In that supreme moment of victory, with union saved at un-

utterable cost, he seems to have surveyed the many disappoint-

ments, the measureless sacrifices and the indescribable sorrows.

He felt the assurance of the Nation preserved, and yet the one

sweeping utterance from his great heart was 'Let us have peace'.

"Undoubtedly the task of reconstruction was lightened be-

cause of Grant's moderation. At the height of the struggle he

would accept the capitulation of Fort Donelson only on condi-

tions of "unconditional surrender;" but when the fighting was

over, he changed from severity to moderation and generosity.

In the conclusion of his report to the Secretary of War some

months after Appomattox, he first paid his tribute to the valor of

the armies he had commanded, and then concluded with this

sentence:

" 'Let them hope for perpetual peace and harmony with that enemy,

whose manhood, however mistaken the cause, drew forth such herculean

deeds of valor.'

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Centennial Anniversary of the Birth of Ulysses S. Grant 227

 

"I cannot but feel that there is for us a lesson in the con-

cluding sentences of the note in which he proposed to receive

the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia. Those sen-

tences read:

"'The armies, artillery, and public property to be parked and

stacked, and turned over to the officer appointed by me to receive them.

This will not embrace the side arms of the officers, nor their private

horses or baggage. This done, each officer and man will be allowed to

return to their homes, not to be disturbed by United States authority so

long as they observe their paroles and the laws in force where they may

reside.'

"To that he added the verbal agreement with General Lee

that every man of the Confederate Army who claimed to own a

horse or mule, should be permitted to take the animal home.

General Lee observed that these conditions would have a happy

effect upon his army. Within a few hours after the capitulation

had been signed, largely by reason of the generosity of its terms,

the men of the two armies were freely fraternizing, and the cap-

tured supply trains of the Confederates had been placed again at

their disposal, in order that the half-famished soldiers might be

properly fed. Describing this incident in his Memoirs, General

Grant wrote:

"'I said (in talking with General Lee) I took it that most of the

men in the ranks were small farmers. The whole country had been so

raided by the two armies that it was doubtful whether they would be able

to put in a crop to carry themselves and their families throughout the next

winter without the aid of the horses they were then riding. The United

States did not want them, and I would, therefore, instruct the officers that

I left behind, to receive the paroles of his troops, to let every man of the

Confederate Army who claimed to own a horse or mule take the animal

to his home. Lee remarked again that this would have a happy effect.'

"In making such conditions, in thus recognizing the vast

difficulties of consolidating the peace won through years of suf-

fering and privation, there spoke the great, true heart of the man

who could see into the future and realize its problems.

"Many years later, when his life was ebbing, and he strug-

gled to the end of his memoirs, all the American people knew of

his brave fight, and the inevitable outcome, and the man of mag-

nanimity found himself the recipient of a genuinely nation-wide

sympathy. His acknowledgment in the closing paragraph of his

exceptional book reveals the soul of a great life. Concerning

these kindly expressions he wrote, at the very conclusion of his

Memoirs:

"'I am not egotist enough to suppose all this significance should be

be given because I was the object of it. But the war between the States

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was a very bloody and a very costly war. One side or the other had to

yield principles they deemed dearer than life before it could be brought to

an end. I commanded the whole of the mighty host engaged on the vic-

torious side. I was, no matter whether deservedly so or not, a representa-

tive of that side of the controversy. It is a significant and gratifying fact

that Confederates should have joined heartily in this spontaneous move.

I hope the good feeling inaugurated may continue to the end.'

"He saw union follow disunion, but it was not his to live to

see complete concord where discord had flourished. I wish he

somehow might know that in the more than a third of a century

since his one and only surrender, the indissoluble ties of union

have been more firmly riveted, and in the shared burdens and

triumphs of American progress we have indeed continued at

peace at home. Geographical sectionalism is only a memory now,

and Mason and Dixon's line remains only a historical record,

where an ambiguity in the Federal Constitution was wiped out,

and the Nation resumed the onward march on its destined way.

"Seemingly, it was a long time in which to re-establish a con-

cord so manifestly essential to the Nation's greater achievements,

but the understanding of the magnificent Lee was not universal

throughout the South, the magnanimity of Grant was not mani-

fest throughout the North. Wounds had to be healed, and par-

tisan politics temporarily profitted more in irritation than in heal-

ing. But the war with Spain consecrated North and South to a

common cause, and the sacrifice and nation-wide service in the

World War revealed the common American soul. Grant, the

great nationalist, who appraised union and nationality above all

the frightful cost and suffering, would rejoice to acclaim the

Republic of today.

"I do not mean to say that everywhere in our land we are

all in complete accord about fundamentals of government or the

basic principles upon which society is founded. But the sec-

tionalism of Grant's and Lee's time has been effaced, and the

geographical divisions which hindered the formation of the

Union, and later threatened its disruption, have given way to

the far less menacing divisions which have challenged all civili-

zation, and which make the ferment out of which all progress

comes. We are today incontestably one people, with a common

purpose, universal pride, nation-wide confidence, and one flag.

The contentions which beset us are not ours alone, they are the

irritants to civilization throughout the world. They are not to

be ignored, but they have never halted the human procession,

and will not hinder the progress of this firmly founded Republic.

"Grant was himself the supreme example of American op-

portunity. Standing before his humble birthplace, amid the sur-

roundings of his obscure boyhood life, one doubts if three-

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Centennial Anniversary of the Birth of Ulysses S. Grant 229

 

quarters of a century ago anyone should have sought here for

the military chieftain of a century. We have not a few, even

today, who think small-town vision to be pitifully circumscribed.

And yet this little Clermont County furnished in Ulysses S. Grant

and Henry C. Corbin two of the thirteen lieutenant generals who

have been commissioned in all our history.

"Grant had even less of likelihood to eminence than his un-

promising and unprophetic beginning. There was the suggestion

of mediocrity in his development, and even the steadfastness of

his early manhood was stamped with failure. But there was the

inheritance of quality, and he dwelt and grew rugged in the free-

dom of democracy.

"Even the beckoning opportunity of war left him seemingly

unfavored by fate. Politically he was out of accord with the

Master Martyr who became his commander in chief. But he

believed in Union and the Nation supreme. He brought to the

armed service preparedness to command, sturdiness of purpose,

patience and forbearance, great generosity of soul, and a confi-

dence never to be shaken. The seizure of opportunity, more to

serve than to achieve, made him victor, and the quiet man, garbed

in failure at Galena, marched to the surpassing heights of mili-

tary glory. All conquering in command and magnanimous in

his triumph, the world saw the soldier and the man, the soldier

adored and the man beloved.

"Other military leaders hitherto had mounted to lofty heights

in the annals of human history. It is useless to compare, but it

is befitting to recall that General Grant was not making con-

quest of territory or expanding empire. He was only seeking to

preserve. He did not fight to enslave; he only battled to sustain

Lincoln, whom God inspired to bestow freedom. He did not

seek to punish or destroy; he was fighting to save and reunite.

In his heart were no drastic terms of surrender; he craved the

blessings of peace restored.

"The other day I received a letter from an old gentleman

now living at Annapolis, Maryland, Mr. James W. Owens, who

at the age of eighty-two is still practicing law in Maryland's

capital city. He related an incident in his own career that was

so characteristic of General Grant that it was worth repeating.

He told me that he was a soldier in General Lee's army, sur-

rendered at Appomattox, and returned to his home in Maryland.

There he was confronted with an order of the Union general

commanding the Department of Maryland, which required that

all paroled Confederates should take the oath of allegiance. Mr.

Owens in his letter to me explained:

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"'As Dick Taylor and Kirby Smith were still fighting, I declined

and was put in prison, and released on condition that I would leave the

State. I went with an exiled comrade to see General Grant. We left a

note, explaining our banishment, and he immediately issued an order say-

ing that in accepting the surrender of General Lee he had made it a con-

dition that the paroled men should return to their homes, and there remain

as long as they observed the conditions imposed. Not designating a loyal

or disloyal State, General Grant directed that the general in command in

Maryland should rescind his order. I accordingly returned here, and here

I am yet, at the age of eighty-two. We veterans of the Confederacy have

only a feeling of good will for his memory.'

"I wonder sometimes if the magnanimity of Grant, the

dogged, persistent, unalterable Grant in warfare-the Uncon-

ditional surrender Grant-would not be helpful in the world

today. The great world struggle, which we might reasonably

designate the Civil War of western civilization, and in which we

so creditably and helpfully participated, left peoples and nations

prostrate, hardly knowing which way to turn for restoration. I

can not help but believe that something of the spirit with which

Grant welcomed victory, something of his eagerness to return

to peaceful ways, would have speeded the restoration and

hastened the return to prosperity and happiness, without which

there can be no abiding peace. He perpetuated no resentments

of war. Perhaps he felt his own wounds which came of calumny,

recalled how he was humiliated through misunderstanding, and

menaced by jealousy and hampered by politics. But he clung

to his vision of union restored, and believed the shortest route

to peace to be the surest way of lasting triumph.

"Many an incident of the war, many a revelation of his

sturdy character showed that his face was set on the one supreme

achievement-union and the preserved ark of the American

covenant of liberty. No hurting heart, no rivalry, no triumph

of other commanders, no promotion of the aspiring or deserving,

could remove his gaze from the great end sought. He wrote

Sherman, in Grant-like simplicity and sincerity, that he would

serve under him as willingly as over him, to attain preserved

union. Out of such consecration, out of such unchanging de-

votion, came his signal victory.

"It is not hard to understand effective endeavor and inspir-

ing leadership where men are consecrated to service. He was

not concerned about his individual fortune, he was battling for

the Union. He was not seeking self-promotion, he was fighting

for the Nation. Rivals sought his removal and disgrace, but he

kept on fighting. Lincoln repulsed his enemies. 'I can't spare

this man; he fights,' was all Lincoln would say. He fought for

a preserved Union and restored Nation, and succeeding genera-

tions are richer because of his example. One may guarantee the

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security of this Republic so long as leaders among men put the

country's good above personal and political advantage.

"It is not to be said of Grant that he sought to preserve a

political or social order, or even a government, which had es-

pecially favored him. He was too little favored by the existing

order. Nor can it be said that he sought personal or political

popularity. These things were apart from his early life.

"It is conceivable that men are prejudiced in their attitude

toward great problems by their own experiences - more by their

disappointments than their successes. Grant's own experience in

life might have led a less deliberate character to welcome an

upheaval, or disunion, or any reversal to the government. But

this silent man did not appraise his country by the scale of his

own misfortunes.

"He had seen much of the Republic. In boyhood he drove

often to Cincinnati and saw the developing city, much as he

saw St. Louis later on, in his early married life. Between these

two periods of observation he had graduated from West Point,

he had served creditably in the Mexican War, and was stationed

as a military officer on the Pacific coast.

"He saw the westward course of the star of empire. He

saw two typical American cities grow under the impulse of im-

migration and an expanding Republic. He saw the foreigner

come to breathe deeply in the atmosphere of American freedom

and stand erect amid the inspirations of American citizenship.

He saw the schooling children, rollicking in the laughter of

youth and freedom and equality, garbed in essentially the same

raiment, no matter whence they came, and walking in the light

of the same opportunity. He saw the dreams of the founding

fathers more than made true. He cherished the inheritance which

came of their heroism, and he chose to hand that inheritance on

to his children and his children's children.

"There must have come some such appraisal to this ordinary

American boy when grown to manhood. He had yearned for

no star, dreamed of no destiny. He merely went the normal

way, face ever forward, ready to quicken his step when oppor-

tunity called or responsibility summoned. Like most men who

have left their names conspicuous on the rolls of public service,

responsibility brought forth the greatness of his heart and mind

and soul.

"He no more resented criticism than he courted applause.

He made no outcry against failure, he trusted his own convic-

tions and clung to them with a calm fidelity which challenged

every crisis. His modesty was as notable as his serenity was

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Centennial Anniversary of the Birth of Ulysses S. Grant 233

 

reassuring. Surely in such a breast there was an appraisal of

his country, which made consciousness of service the compen-

sation for every denial, and a healing salve to every hurt.

"We know he wished the Republic to go on. His 20 years

of public and private life, following the war, give proof enough.

Though he proclaimed the doctrine of moral disarmament at

Appomattox, he believed in a nation equipped for righteous de-

fense. But no aggression was in his breast.

"We know his cherishment of peace, intensified by his in-

timate knowledge of the horrors of war. I can well believe he

would have approved all that the Republic has so recently done

in joining other nations in lifting the burdens of armament and

promoting understandings which make war less likely. I know

he would have approved, because we surrendered no independ-

ence, we gave up none of nationality for which he fought, but

we have furthered the assurances of peace, which was the su-

preme yearning of his great, brave heart.

"It is fifty-seven years since Grant garlanded victory with

magnanimity. It is thirty-seven years since he laid down the

wearied autobiographer's pen and made his one and only sur-

render. His fame is secure. The Republic has not forgotten

and will not forget.

"What of the Republic itself? It will not be unseemly to

say that American example and American conception of justice

and liberty since then have influenced the world little less sig-

nificantly than Grant's service to the Union shaped the course of

our own land.

"A score of new republics have unfurled their flags, and

democracy has opened new avenues of liberty and made justice

more secure. Civilization meanwhile has made such advances

that there has seemed a divinity pointing the way. And yet

that very civilization, more advancing than entrenched, was

threatened by the World War, and in war's aftermath established

order has been assaulted and revolution has threatened through-

out the world. In our own land the enemies within have been

more threatening than those without. Greed and anarchy have

menaced. But a calm survey gives every reassurance. Twenty

centuries of modern civilization could not have been builded on

foundations which are false. A century and a half of gratifying

American achievement dates from the sacrifices of the founding

fathers, and their firm structure was preserved by the patriots

whom Grant commanded, and will be held secure by the patriotic

citizenship of the Republic today and the grateful Americans

of the morrow."

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Much has been written about the cottage in which

General Grant was born. To those who attended the

Centenary at Point Pleasant, a lean-to little kitchen in

the rear of a small two story building on the grounds

formerly occupied by the Grant cottage was pointed

out as a remaining portion of the original cottage.

Local histories, however, carry the information that

the lean-to kitchen was built after the Grant family had

moved away.

Accounts of the building of the Grant cottage and

its builders vary somewhat in detail.  A history of

Clermont and Brown Counties published in 1913 is

authority for the statement that, on June 24, 1821, Jesse

R. Grant who had earlier come from Ravenna, Ohio,

married Hanna Simpson, of Clermont County. Soon

afterward they took up their residence in "a strong

frame house, covered with good full inch Allegheny

pine, and containing two nice rooms with a cellar, where

none of their simple needs were stinted." Here Ulysses

S. Grant was born April 27, 1822. Jesse R. Grant was

a tanner by trade, having followed this occupation on

the Western Reserve, at one time with John Brown "of

Osawatomie and Harper's Ferry fame."   He moved

with his young bride to Point Pleasant to take charge of

a tannery that had been erected there.

The Grant cottage has sometimes been represented

as a "log cabin" and as a "log cabin weather-boarded."

In fact, as the building still clearly shows, it was neither

but a substantial, small, one-story, frame building of

two rooms. We learn that it was provided with a well-

walled cellar, ample for the storage of a goodly supply

of fruits and vegetables. Very humble and unpreten-

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Centennial Anniversary of the Birth of Ulysses S. Grant 235 tious it seems today, but at the time when Grant was born it was one of the most comfortable dwellings in the little hamlet. The cottage has had a rather interesting career. After Grant became famous as warrior and President

of the United States, the owner conceived the idea that a neat sum might be made by moving the cottage about to fairs and expositions and charging a small fee to see this historic relic. At the time of the Cincinnati Cen- tennial Exposition the cottage, minus the lean-to kitchen

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236     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

which was left in Point Pleasant, was set up on the

banks of the canal outside of the Exposition grounds

in the Queen City. Here a young school teacher, thor-

oughly familiar with the history of the cottage and the

distinguished man who was born in it, gave brief talks

on both and invited visitors to pay the fee and enter.

It was here that Henry T. Chittenden, of Columbus,

saw the little cottage and the use to which it was put.

He had been well acquainted with General Grant who

died only a few years before, in 1885, and as he listened

to the talk of the teacher and saw the people coming and

going to this unattractive spot on the bank of the canal,

this cheap exhibition of the cottage seemed to him

little short of profanation.  After he left Cincinnati

this thought remained with him and he determined to

make an effort to rescue the cottage and place it where

it would be carefully preserved for future generations,

Ohioans especially, to whom it was sure to be an object

of increasing interest through coming years.

To effect a purchase of the building, if possible, he

took with him to Cincinnati William F. Burdell, then a

young banker of Columbus, and at present an officer of

the State Savings Bank and Trust Company in that city.

Mr. Burdell after spending some time with the owner

finally negotiated the purchase for Mr. Chittenden and

the cabin was brought from Cincinnati and erected on

the Fair Grounds at Columbus, where it was an object of

great interest during the Ohio Centennial of 1888. In

1896 the cottage was enclosed in a substantial building

of masonry and glass on the Ohio State Fair Grounds,

where it is viewed every year by thousands of visitors.

In the removal of the cabin from Cincinnati to

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Centennial Anniversary of the Birth of Ulysses S. Grant 237

Columbus the teacher who had charge of it when he

first saw it was employed by Mr. Chittenden. He aided

in the re-erection of the building on the State Fair

Grounds and in its presentation to visitors at the Cen-

tennial. The building enclosing the Grant cottage was

completed in 1896 by the Ohio State Board of Agri-

culture and at the fair in that year was dedicated with

appropriate ceremonies, including an address by Mr.

Chittenden. On other pages of this issue will be found

the essential portions of that address and an account of

the dedicatory ceremonies.

After the speech of President Harding at Point

Pleasant, many of the visitors who came on the boats

made use of the brief interval before the return in a

hasty survey of the little village. In spite of a rather

liberal use of the paint brush preparatory to this occa-

sion, one could not help feeling that Point Pleasant, like

Rip Van Winkle, was waking up from the sleep of a

century and rather confusedly rubbing its eyes. The

population is now perhaps not more than it was one

hundred years ago and the industrial enterprise of the

place when little Ulysses S. Grant first opened his eyes

to the light was without doubt greater than it is today.

Someone has said that in Europe a village expects al-

ways to remain so; in America every village expects to

become a city.  It may seriously be doubted whether

this ambitious expectation is entertained in Point Pleas-

ant today. There has sprung up recently, however, if

we may credit report, an ambition to establish a national

or state park in Clermont County on the Ohio that will

include the historic and delightfully situated village of

Point Pleasant.

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One of the visitors on this occasion saw a flag wav-

ing from a small building at the street corner in which

a restaurant was established for the day.  This ap-

peared to be a service flag of the World War. On it

were twenty-five stars, four of them gold stars.  He

stepped into the restaurant and asked the significance of

the flag -adding that he presumed it represented the

contribution of the village to the World War.

"Does that flag indicate the number of men who

went from  Point Pleasant to the World War?" he

asked.

"I don't know," said the woman at the counter.

"Have a cup of coffee?"

"Yes, please," said the visitor, hoping still to elicit

some information. "Did four of the soldier boys from

this place lose their lives in the war?"

"I don't know," was the response. "Have a sand-

wich ?"

As the sandwiches were not especially inviting in

the rather gloomy little room the visitor passed on. He

was kindly directed by a citizen of the village to the

old tannery, still standing, which Jesse Grant managed

while he was in Point Pleasant.

It appears that the father of General Grant was very

successful in a business way during his short stay at

Point Pleasant.  He remained there but twenty-two

months and when he moved to Georgetown, the county

seat of Brown County, he took with him in addition to

his little family eleven hundred dollars "of which one

thousand was in silver, which proves that he was one in

a thousand."

After the conclusion of the program at Point Pleas-

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ant, the President's boat, followed in order by the other

vessels, returned without incident of note to the city of

Cincinnati, from which later the President and his party

proceeded to Washington.

 

CELEBRATION AT BETHEL, CLERMONT COUNTY,

OHIO

The morning dawn of April 28 was cloudy and cold

but early in the forenoon the skies cleared, the sun shone

brightly and the weather was ideal for the second day

of the Grant Centenary at the historic village of Bethel.

One coming from the humble hamlet of Point Pleas-

ant for the first time to Bethel is agreeably surprised on

his arrival. The village impresses him at once with the

fact that here is a wide awake, modern, progressive

community. What the ambitions of Bethel are we did

not learn, but there is no reason why the village should

not in due time become a prosperous city.  A fine

modern school building has recently been erected.  A

number of churches are in evidence.  The merchants

along the main thoroughfare seem to be prosperous.

Manufacturing establishments have been built up in

recent years. Comfortable residences have been erected

along the well paved streets. What the visitor sees on

either hand impresses him with the thought that here

would certainly be a pleasant place to live.

At Point Pleasant, as one looked over the vast as-

sembly on the shore and the hillside he naturally asked

himself whether these people all came here to honor

a general and president who years ago passed away, or

to welcome and applaud the president of today who

came to deliver the principal address. At Bethel and

on the following day at Georgetown, the interest in the

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Centennial Anniversary of the Birth of Ulysses S. Grant 241

event celebrated answered any mental questions in re-

gard to what called forth the crowds of people.  Two

United States Senators, Willis and Pomerene, spoke at

these two places.  President Harding was not present.

Many of the persons assembled had heard the United

States Senators before, and while the presence of either

of them would call forth good sized audiences in any

part of the state, the personalities of the speakers at the

celebrations in Bethel and Georgetown would not alone

account for the vast audiences.  The correspondent of

the Cincinnati Enquirer estimated the crowd that lis-

tened attentively to the address of Senator Willis at

twelve thousand.   The exercises were introduced by

an invocation, music and remarks by the chairman of

the day. An eloquent address was delivered by Con-

gressman Kearns who paid a glowing tribute to "that

remnant of the grand army that followed Grant."

Many veterans of the Civil War occupied places of

honor on the speakers' stand.    The following paper

written by Miss Louise Abbott, a school teacher of Cov-

ington, Kentucky, but a resident of Bethel, was read in

her absence by Honorable Charles A. Brannock, an at-

torney of the village and former State Representative:

 

"THE GRANTS IN BETHEL

"In 1840 there came to the village of Bethel the family of the

man whom we meet today to honor. Jesse R. Grant and Hannah

Simpson Grant with their family lived first in the house on Plane

Street now occupied by Mr. George Clare. Later they moved

into the residence afterward known as the Allen House, and

finally Mr. Grant bought the property across the street built by

Senator Morris, and here the Grant family remained during their

residence in Bethel. The front portion of this house, which stood

on this spot, was destroyed by fire many years ago and the re-

maining part of the building was razed recently.

"For the following information we are indebted to Dr. W. E.

Vol. XXXI-16.

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242       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

Thompson, who remembers well the Grant family and Ulysses

S. Grant as a cadet at West Point; to Mrs. Ella Beck, who re-

members the family in Bethel, and to the late Ezekiel South and

N. B. Morris, early residents of Bethel who a number of years

ago gave the writer some very interesting reminiscences of the

Grant family.

"It is a well know fact that Ulysses had been appointed to

West Point before the family came to Bethel from Georgetown,

so the earliest memories of him in this town are as a cadet, when

he came home to visit his parents. The story of his experience

with Harrison Scott has been told by the great general himself

in his Memoirs and retold by others so often that it is not neces-

sary to repeat it here. The sequel, however, was omitted because

of the modesty of General Grant, and we shall tell it later.

"Dr. Thompson gives us the following description of the

parents of Ulysses S. Grant: Jesse R. Grant was a man of rather

sedate manners, large, bony frame, dark hair, high cheek bones,

and wore burnside whiskers. He was near sighted and slightly

stooped. Mrs. Grant was a small, quiet, good-looking woman.

"The names of the younger children were Samuel, Clarissa,

Virginia, Orville and Mary. While their elder brother was at

West Point, these were in school in the old three-story brick

building in Bethel, which stood north of the present school build-

ing.

"The tannery owned by Jesse R. Grant was at the south-

west corner of Charity and Water Streets. It was a large frame

building, part of which had been the old Baptist Church. The

teams used to haul to Cincinnati the great rolls of tanned hides

and bring back quantities of buffalo skins for tanning. It took

about three years to complete the tanning process. When the

time came to dry the skins, they were hung on the fences. Dr.

Thompson tells us that he has seen them on the fences on both

sides of the road from the corner of the Floyd property down

the hill to the tannery, west on Water Street to Union and south

on Union to the top of the hill. The Jesse R. Grant tannery

must have been a big affair in those days. The only sale for

leather in the village was to Moses Warden, a saddler, so the

greater part of it was taken by wagon to Cincinnati.

"When the village was incorporated, Jesse R. Grant was

elected first Mayor and was twice re-elected. There are some

few documents extant which bear his signature as Mayor. One

of these, now in the possession of Mr. A. H. Beck, is a deposition

by James Denham, son of the proprietor of Bethel, in which he

tells of the widening of Plane Street by consent of the property

owners. A number of tools used in the tannery are now in the

• 22
 

Centennial Anniversary of the Birth of Ulysses S. Grant 243 possession of citizens of Bethel. Some years ago L. W. Pemberton bought the old work bench used in the tannery and made many canes, paper weights, etc. from it. These are to be found in a number of Bethel homes. "An incident related concerning a trial over which Jesse R. Grant presided, is as follows: Two men were brought before him for fighting. The trial was held in the currying room of the tannery. Some small boys had climbed upon a heap of rolls of tanned hides. During the proceedings, one of these boys rolled off and fell with his legs knee-deep in a tub of dubbing which

was very close to the Mayor's chair. As this mixture consisted of fish-oil and tallow, the boy's predicament gave much amuse- ment to the crowd. "While Ulysses Grant was at home, he rode a beautiful bay horse named Agua Nova, which belonged to his father. He rode well and was often seen riding about with one of the Morris girls who was an accomplished horse-woman. During his service in the Mexican War, his father spoke with much pride of his con- duct in the war, and well he might, for the young man was already showing his great ability as a military man. Upon his return

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244      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

 

from the Mexican War, he brought with him a little Mexican boy

who afforded much entertainment to the Bethel people for a time

by lassoing children and playing pranks. He proved a little too

much of a charge, however, and was sent back home.

"The next lengthy stay of Ulysses S. Grant in Bethel was

after his marriage to Miss Julia Dent, of St. Louis. They made

this their home for some time and two of their children, Nellie

and Ulysses, Jr., were born here. In 1854 Jesse Grant moved to

Covington, Ky., and the Bethel people saw little of them until the

time of the Civil War; then some of the boys from our town re-

newed their acquaintance with the great general. In his Memoirs

General Grant speaks of his boyish pride in his uniform and

how the jeers of a Cincinnati boy and the teasing of Scott in

Bethel made him cease to wear it.

"A soldier from Bethel, who was with the 5₉th O. V. I. at

Pittsburg Landing, says that in the afternoon of the second day's

fight, he heard cheers at a distance which came down the line as

there rode in front of the ranks a small inconspicuous man

covered with mud. His horse was plunging along throwing the

mud in every direction. The man was General Ulysses S. Grant,

one of the most unassuming men in the whole army.

"Now for the sequel of the story of Harrison Scott. He was

about Grant's age and when the Civil War began was one of the

first to enlist, going with the three months' men. When his time

of service expired he re-enlisted and was with the army of the

Cumberland in the campaign around Chattanooga. In the fall

of 1863 after the battles of Chickamauga, Mission Ridge and

Lookout Mountain, Harrison Scott became afflicted with rheu-

matism. He was forced to walk with two canes and was very

despondent. He was at this time 44 years of age. One day, he

said to some of the boys, (we have this from Mr. F. M. Frazier),

'I am going home.' Of course they laughed and asked him how

he expected to get to go. He told them to wait and see. He

then went to General Grant's headquarters. The orderly told him

he could not see the General as he was busy. 'Will you tell

him that Harrison Scott wants to see him?' The orderly did so

and received instructions to admit Scott. General Grant re-

ceived him cordially, asked about Bethel friends and then before

the poor man could make a request for a furlough, his commander

began to speak of his afflction and said he thought Scott had

better go home. By order of General Grant himself, Harrison

Scott was discharged for disability. He came home, recovered

from the rheumatism and again enlisted. He was discharged for

the last time in 1865, having the unusual record of being honorably

discharged three times. This little story goes to show the for-

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Centennial Anniversary of the Birth of Ulysses S. Grant 245

 

giving nature of General Grant, and also that the rather annoying

conduct of Scott as a young man was little more than a prank,

and not a matter for deep offense.

"The last visit of General Grant to this neighborhood was in

the early eighties. The writer's father, Dr. Julius D. Abbott, was

attending physician to Mr. Samuel Simpson, an uncle of Gen.

Grant, who lived on the old Simpson farm about four miles west

of Bethel. One morning he went down to see the old gentleman

and found him very much excited and very happy. He was to

have a birthday dinner, and a number of his relatives were to

come, among them, his nephew, Ulysses. As Dr. Abbott drove

away from the house he saw walking across the fields from the

railroad station, the greatest military man of our country, ex-

president of the United States, lately returned from a tour of the

world in which he had been honored in every land, now coming

to give a day's pleasure to his old uncle who was in failing health.

"We shall close with a little bit of local history which seems

to prove that Providence surely manages the affairs of men.

"In the old cemetery in the north-western part of our town

lies the body of Thomas Morris, the first United States Senator

to speak in the Senate against slavery. He was ahead of his

times, became very unpopular because of his views, and finally

lost his seat in the Senate. However, he felt that some time the

slave would be free, and hurled defiance in vigorous language at

his opponents.

"Now see how strangely events come about. While Thomas

Morris was a lawyer in Bethel, he aided a young man named

Thomas L. Hamer to get legal training. This young man became

quite distinguished, and was finally elected to Congress. He ap-

pointed Ulysses S. Grant as a cadet to West Point. Grant led

the forces that freed the slaves. Bethel surely played a great part

in the cause of liberty.

"When the call to arms came such a short time ago, the

youth of Bethel responded in a way that showed that they had in

their hearts the same love for their native land that inspired to

such a successful military career the 'son of a tanner'."

Judge Hugh L. Nichols in introducing Senator Willis

praised Congressman Kearns and the Senator for their

efficient work in helping to get through Congress the bill

that made possible the raising of funds for the Grant

Memorial Highway. He also praised in generous terms

the achievements and home life of General Grant.

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246       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

Senator Willis was accorded a cordial greeting. In-

troductory to his address he stated that the paper pre-

pared by Miss Abbott contained much that he had in-

tended to say.    He then delivered his address, which

was punctuated at a number of points by hearty ap-

plause.   He spoke in part as follows:

"FELLOW CITIZENS AND FRIENDS: It is a singular and in-

teresting coincidence that Bethel was the home of the man who

did more in his day and place to preserve the foundation of the

Union than was done by any other man of his generation and at

the same time the home of the man who by his effort was to make

possible the erection on that foundation of an enduring structure

-an indissoluble union of indestructible states.

"Here the lives of Thomas Morris, the advocate and ex-

pounder, and Ulysses S. Grant, the soldier and builder, were in-

extricably interwoven and here today a grateful people in solemn

pride pay tribute to the memory of two of their former citizens.

Yet these mighty men, the gift of Bethel and Clermont county

to the Nation, are too great in character and achievement to be

circumscribed in the narrow compass of village, county or state.

Thomas Morris and Ulysses S. Grant belong to the whole Nation,

whose freedom they had such a prominent part in preserving.

"In yonder cemetery is a marble shaft bearing an appropriate

inscription. Shortly after my arrival in Bethel today I found my

way to that monument. No well beaten path to it indicates that

this shrine is frequented by the passerby; and yet I felt while

there that it was worth the journey from our national capital to

stand on this consecrated spot. On nearer approach I read:

THOMAS MORRIS

LATE

U. S. SENATOR

Was Born January 3rd, 1776

Died December 7th, 1844

Unawed by power and

uninfluenced by flattery

he was through life the

fearless advocate of human

Liberty.

"This inscription is an epitome of the life of Thomas Morris.

His twenty years of service in the General Assembly of Ohio

furnished constant exemplification of his unfailing, courageous

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Centennial Anniversary of the Birth of Ulysses S. Grant 247 devotion to free schools, free speech, free soil and free men. His elevation to the United States Senate in 1833 gave larger scope and fuller play to his powers. Unawed by threats, he battled on for the preservation of free government at a time when other great leaders were endeavoring to blow out the moral lights around them in a nation-wide effort to make slavery follow the flag. "The great triumvirate, Clay, Webster and Calhoun, were a unit in demanding that the constitutional right of petition should be overthrown to the end that the shackles of slavery should be forever riveted on the Republic. Calhoun and Clay, Wright and

Preston, Buchanan and Leigh, all leaders of the Senate, united in thunderous demand that not only the limbs of slaves but the minds and consciences of men should be fettered and chained. Slavery was to be preserved and extended at any cost; its op- ponents, few in numbers and limited in influence, were denied the right of even having their petitions heard by Congress. "In this dark hour one voice rang out in the Senate clear as a bugle call. It summoned the discouraged friends of free- dom to battle and sounded uncompromising challenge to any and all who for mere political advantage would enter into a 'covenant with Death and an agreement with Hell.' The speech of Senator Thomas Morris of Ohio, delivered in the Senate on February 9,

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248       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

 

1839, has never been excelled in that body in point of courage,

logic or far-reaching effect. It awakened a lethargic nation from

the stupor of slavery; it saved the foundation on which Grant and

his soldiers fought and won.

"The Senate and the whole country were startled by the

deliberate boldness of that speech which he concluded with these

ringing and prophetic declarations:

"'Though our national sins are many and grievous, yet repentance,

like that of ancient Nineveh, may yet divert from us that impending dan-

ger which seems to hang over our heads as by a single hair. That all

may be safe, I conclude that the negro wilt yet be free.'

"Ulysses S. Grant and Thomas Morris were brought together

in another relationship even more intimate and interesting. Sen-

ator Morris was a great lawyer. There came to his law office an

awkward country lad seeking an opportunity to study law. Judge

Morris took this man into his office and his home. This con-

fidence was not misplaced-the lad became lawyer, Congressman,

General-the Honorable Thomas Hamer, long a resident of

Bethel, who gave up his life in the Nation's service at Monterey

in 1846.

"Thomas L. Hamer and Jesse R. Grant, the father of

Ulysses, had been warm friends and belonged to the same debat-

ing society. They were of opposite political parties; Hamer was

a Democrat and Jesse R. Grant was a Whig. Political questions

at this time were the chief topics of discussion and these two men

were usually pitted against each other in debate. As General

Grant relates in his Memoirs,

"'They had a warm discussion which finally became angry-over

some act of President Jackson, the removal of the deposit of public

monies, I think-after which they never spoke until after my appoint-

ment. I know both of them felt badly over this estrangement, and would

have been glad at any time to come to a reconciliation, but neither would

make the advance.'

"Near the close of the term of Thomas Morris in the United

States Senate, Jesse R. Grant applied to him for the appointment

of his son to a cadetship at West Point. He was informed by the

Senator that he had no further appointments to his credit but that

Congressman Hamer could probably comply with his request.

The father of Grant stated that under the circumstances he could

not ask any favor from   Hamer.    Thereupon Senator Morris

made a personal request of the congressman that young Grant

be given the appointment. Hamer readily assented and, in the

language of General Grant, 'This healed the breach between the

two, never after reopened.' The intimate friendship of Senator

Morris and Jesse R. Grant was the chief influence that opened

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the way for the son of the latter to West Point and his subsequent

illustrious career.

"A short time after the appointment of young Grant to the

cadetship the term of office of Thomas Morris as United States

Senator expired and he went home politically an outcast, re-

pudiated by his own political associates because he had been the

uncompromising foe of slavery. The pioneer reformer blazes the

way. He is in advance of his time and makes sacrifices for his

cause. It is worthy of note in this connection that some of the

men who were prominent in reading Senator Morris out of his

party and retiring him to private life, in after years espoused his

principles and rendered valiant service for a more perfect Union

and universal liberty in America. Todd and Brough, both after-

wards war governors of Ohio, joined in opposing Morris and

preventing his re-election to the United States Senate. In a course

which they then condemned in him, a quarter of a century later

they found the way to enduring fame.

"Thomas Morris made the good fight. He saved the founda-

tions of constitutional liberty, and although he did not live to

know it, he provided the leader who was to build on that founda-

tion.

"Grant began where Morris left off. The afterglow of great-

ness casts a strange light on life and character and tends to ob-

scure their perfectly human qualities and to ascribe to them a

meaning and significance as unwarranted as they are fantastic.

Grant was a typical American boy, reared in a good Christian home;

he knew how to work and did work on the farm and in the

tannery, but it does not seem probable that he pleaded any harder

with his father for opportunity to begin work early in the morn-

ing than most American boys would do under similar circum-

stances or that he had to be cautioned by his parents against

overwork. The fact is that throughout his life Grant was in-

clined to be sluggish-he worked best under pressure-he was a

ponderous machine that functioned in direct ratio to the size of

the task to be done. The first thirty-eight years of his life were

not strikingly successful; his first eleven years in the Army would

have been forgotten but for his later achievements. In 1860, he

was a clerk in a tannery at Galena, Illinois, at the munificent

salary of $600 a year; eight years later he was elected President.

A crisis had come big enough to call out all his latent powers.

"General Grant has left a record that indicates clearly his

early respect for parental authority. In the winter of 1838-9

when he had returned to his home in Georgetown to spend the

Christmas holidays he was informed by his father that he was

going to receive an appointment. In answer to his surprised in-

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Centennial Anniversary of the Birth of Ulysses S. Grant 251

 

quiry his father told him that it was an appointment to West

Point. The son at once declared that he would not go. He tells us

what followed in these words: 'He said he thought I would, and

I thought so too, if he did.' This indicates that he had early ac-

quired the virtue of obedience, perhaps more common in pioneer

days than at present. In these times of a lack of respect for law

and properly constituted authority the question may well be raised

whether as a people our condition might not be vastly improved

by a more general inculcation of the ancient and homely virtue

of obedience, beginning in the home. Young Grant thought so too,

if his father did, and he certainly had abundant reason in after

years to thank this parent for his interest in his education and the

future that it assured.

"From Donelson to Mt. McGregor the life of Ulysses S.

Grant is history-he was part of the nation's life, and for a con-

siderable period a very dominant part.

"Shiloh, Vicksburg, Chattanooga, Richmond, Appoomattox

were the steps by which he mounted the heights of military fame

to take place along side Hannibal and Napoleon as one of the

greatest captains in history. He was a common-sense commander

-he relied more upon action than he did upon Jomini; his theory

of warfare he summarized as follows: 'The art of war is simple

enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as

you can. Strike at him as hard as you can, and keep moving on.'

"Grant maintained from the hour he came to the notice of

President Lincoln the unbroken confidence of that great leader.

Had it not been for the stoic firmness of the President in sustain-

ing Grant in the Vicksburg campaign, the outcome would have

been doubtful. The President said of him, 'I can't spare this man,

he fights.' Again he said, 'I rather like this man Grant, I think

we will try him a little olnger.' To Carpenter, Lincoln said, 'The

great thing about Grant is his perfect coolness and persistency of

purpose. He is not easily excited and he has the grit of the bull

dog; once let him get his teeth in and nothing can shake him off.'

"The great captain was always confident of himself; though

modest and quiet, he did not underestimate his own powers. When

one of his generals in alarm reported, 'General, Lee is on our

flank,' General Grant cooly replied: 'Very well then, we are on

General Lee's flank.' In the darkest days of 1864 Grant said, 'I

feel as certain of capturing Richmond as I do of dying.'

"His terse expressions as a leader are illustrative of his

character. His reply to General Buckner at Fort Donelson was:

'An immediate and unconditional surrender; I propose to move

immediately on your works.' Again, after a great disaster in the

advance on Richmond, 'I propose to fight it out on this line if it

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takes all summer.' But while he was oak and rock in battle, he

was generous as a woman and tender as a child. After General

Buckner surrendered at Fort Donelson, General Grant remem-

bered the friendly help given him by Buckner when he had been

left penniless in New York. In General Buckner's own words,

describing the surrender, he says: 'General Grant left the officers

of his own army and followed me with that modest manner

peculiar to himself into the shadows, and there tendered me his

purse. In the modesty of his nature he was afraid the light would

witness this act of generosity and sought to hide it from the

world.'

"The credit for the final success of the great campaigns in

the East for the capture of Richmond must be adjudged by im-

partial history to belong to General Grant. That Mr. Lincoln

sought to interfere as little as possible with the military affairs

after General Grant took charge of the army will be shown by the

following letter:

"'WASHINGTON, April 30, 1864.

"'Lieutenant-General Grant: Not expecting to see you before the

spring campaign opens, I wish to express in this way my entire satisfac-

tion with what you have done up to this time, so far as I understand it.

The particulars of your plan I neither know nor seek to know. You are

vigilant and self-reliant, and [I put no] restraints or constraints upon

you. While I am very anxious that any great disaster or capture of any

of our men in great numbers shall be avoided, I know that these points

are less likely to escape your attention than they would be mine. If there

be anything wanting which is within my power to give, do not fail to let

me know it. And now with a brave army and a just cause, may God

sustain you !

" 'Yours very truly,

"'A. LINCOLN,'

"And then when the last shot had been fired and the last drop

of blood shed the great leader was magnanimous, kind and gener-

ous. His treatment of General Lee and his army at Appomattox

did more than any other one thing to make the South realize

that after all we were all citizens of the common country with a

common hope and a single flag. Happily now, North and South

are united, each proud of the heroism of the other and rejoicing

in the achievements of the heroes in blue and gray-all Americans.

"Loncoln's prophecy had been realized-

"'Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of

affection. The mystic cords of memory, stretching from every battlefield

and patriot grave to every living heart and hearth-stone all over this broad

land, will yet again swell the chorus of the Union when touched, as surely

they will be, by the better angels of our natures.'

"The conquering hero said, 'Let us have peace.' The memory

of this patient, silent, courageous, typical American is one of the

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Centennial Anniversary of the Birth of Ulysses S. Grant253

mightiest forces making for union and the maintenance of our

institutions.

"General Grant never sought political preferment. He was

elevated to the presidency in response to the people's demands.

As President he was as courageous as he had been as General.

When, following the financial difficulties oof 1873, his own party

lost its sense of proportion and passed the inflation bill to author-

ize an increase in the greenbacks to four hundred millions, he

bravely vetoed the action of the Congress, believing it to be a

departure from the true principles of sound finance.

"Grant stood by his friends even to his own hurt. Some of

them sought to use their connection with the old hero for their

own personal profit. General Grant was loth to believe that any

human being could entertain a motive so foreign to his own

thought. When criticised because he stood by a friend who was

under fire, Grant said: 'The true test of friendship, after all,

isn't to stand by a man when he is in the right; anyone can do

that; the true test is to stand by him when he is in the wrong.'

"As he stood by his friends, so he remembered his enemies

in a thoroughly human way, and sometimes he castigated them

mercilessly. It will be recalled that when it was brought to his

attention that a certain prominent leader did not believe in the

Bible, Grant said, 'Certainly not, he does not believe in it because

he did not write it himself.'

"His San Domingo policy was criticised bitterly at the time

it was announced. Yet subsequent events have shown that Grant

was not far from right in this matter.

"While educated for war, he was devoted to peace; the treaty

of Washington and the settlement of the Alabama claims was the

first long step forward in the direction of arbitration and world

peace.

"The Washington Conference of 1921 was in no small degree

an outgrowth of Grant's policy of peace and international good-

will. American ships now sail unimpeded through the Panama

Canal--Grant foresaw and planned it. His statesmanship was as

far sighted as his generalship. Modestly, quietly, patiently, he

planned and executed.

"Great in war and official station, he was majestic in private

life. Imposed upon by trusted friends, the meager savings of a

life-time were lost in an hour and the old hero had to begin over

again to earn support for wife and family. Already fatal disease

had laid its palsying hand upon him. Toiling at Mt. McGregor

to finish his memoirs he looked death in the face without a tremor,

He stoically worked on that he might pay his creditors and pro-

vide for those dependent upon him. He won his last fight and

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when the spirit fled a sorrowing world cherished the memory of

this mighty oak whose falling 'left a lonesome place against the

sky.'

"So lived and toiled and struggled and achieved this sturdy,

upright, patient, modest, typical American, whose life is an in-

spiration and whose memory is a benediction to us all."

Senator Willis' tribute to former United States Sen-

ator Thomas Morris was delivered with earnestness

and evident sympathy for this distinguished Ohio

pioneer statesman and early advocate of emancipa-

tion when his was the only voice that was heard in favor

of the freedom of the slave in the United States Senate.

Thomas Morris had an interesting career that is identi-

fied with the early history of Ohio.  His life, written

by his son, B. F. Morris, was published in a volume of

408 pages in 1856. The dates of the birth and death of

this good citizen and courageous statesman are indi-

cated on his monument in the old burying ground on the

outskirts of Bethel.  Dr. W. E. Thompson, a physician

of Bethel still in active practice at the age of eighty-six,

when he was a child, frequently saw Senator Morris

and has a very distinct recollection of his personal ap-

pearance, which by the way is not referred to in the life

of Morris by his son.  Dr. Thompson is doubtless the

only man living who from memory could give a por-

traiture of the Senator.

To Morris, more perhaps than to any other man of

the time, was due the appointment of Grant to the cadet-

ship at West Point.  He had been almost a father to

Honorable Thomas L. Hamer who made this appoint-

ment. Hamer was under many obligations to him and

in large measure because of this acceded to the sugges-

tion of Senator Morris.  General Grant in his Memoirs

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256      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

relates that the vacancy which he was appointed to fill

was not generally known to exist at the time. Bartlett

Bailey, a son of Dr. Bailey, next door neighbor to the

Grant family, had been given the appointment, but his

failure to meet the entrance requirements at West Point

left a vacancy.  General Grant thus describes the situa-

tion at that time:

"There were no telegraphs in those days to disseminate news

rapidly, no railroads west of the Alleghenies, and but few east;

and above all, there were no reporters prying into the people's

private affairs. Consequently it did not become generally known

that there was a vacancy at West Point from our district until

I was appointed. I presume Mrs. Bailey confided to my mother

the fact that Bartlett had been dismissed, and that the doctor

had forbidden his son's return home."

Jesse R. Grant, learning of this vacancy, promptly

requested the assistance of his friend, Senator Morris,

to secure, if possible, the appointment for his son as

already related. The appointment was made while the

Grant family was still living in Georgetown, the county

seat of Brown County. The father of General Grant

always manifested a deep interest in the welfare of his

children and gave them the best possible education with-

in his limited means. He was especially eager that his

eldest son should start in life with the advantages of the

course at West Point and to this interest in no small

degree was due young Grant's opportunity to enter upon

the path to success and distinction.

While Grant was at West Point his father moved

from Georgetown to Bethel. That he was a man of

influence in the community is attested by the fact that

he was elected the first mayor of the village when it was

incorporated.* The docket which he kept in his own

* Jesse R. Grant had previously been mayor of Georgetown.

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Centennial Anniversary of the Birth of Ulysses S. Grant 257

handwriting was on exhibition on the occasion of the

Centenary.    It is an interesting document and it is to

the credit of those who own it that it has been thus

carefully preserved to the present time. We learn from

its pages that the first case tried before Mayor Grant

was an "action for shooting a pet deer, damage $10."

This case was tried July 18, 1851. The plaintiff, C. R.

Crumm, by decision of the mayor received $4.00. The

costs in the case amounted to $5.93. The next case was

tried February 4 to February 6, 1852.     The record of

the case is as follows:

STATE OF OHIO

V. S.                      PEACE WARRANT

WM. & JAMES HARP

BETHEL, Feb ₄th, 1852.

On complaints of J. A. I. Ross warrant issued directed to

A. Senteny Marshall of Bethel. Warrant returned served and

"I have the Defts. present Feb. ₄th, 1852."

A. Senteny Marshall.

Subpeona issued for five witnesses.

"Returned served. A. Senteny Marshall."

Feb. 5th Subpeona isued for 10 witness for the Deft. Re-

turned "Served. A. Senteny Marshall."

Feb. 5th John Patten sworn and examined, when on motion

of the Deft. the further consideration of the subject is post-

poned until tomorrow evening.

Feb. 6th on application of Deft. subpeona issued for two

witnesses.

Returned "Served.

A Senteny Marshall."

The parties met at the school house at early candlelight,

with Counsel. Defts. Counsel moved to quash the proceedings

for informality. Motion overruled. Whereupon he filed the

following exception:

"STATE OF OHIO

V. S.

WILLIAM & JOHN HARP

The Defts. excepts the opinion of the Mayor, in this that

the Deft. moved to quash the proceedings, in this that there is

Vol. XXXI-17.

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258      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

a variance between affidavit and the warrant in this that the

matter set forth in the affidavit varies from the warrant."

On motion of Defts. Counsel the Defts. were ordered tried

separately. Whereupon James Harp was put upon his trial.

Subpeona issued for Hester Ann Noble.

Returned "Served. A. Senteny Marshall."

Harrison Coulter, William Beck, John Holmes, J. A. I.

Ross, Jr., John Irwin and Hester Ann Noble, were sworn and

examined when Defts. Counsil moved to discharge the Prisoner

on the grounds that the state has failed to prove the time and

place when the alleged offense had been committed, also that the

testimony was insufficient to make out the case. The first objec-

tion being overruled, the parties proceeded to argue the merits

of the case. Whereupon it is considered by me that the testimony

is insufficient to bind Deft. to keep the peace and that therefore

the Deft. James Harp be discharged, and that judgment be

rendered against J. A. I. Ross the complaining witness for his

costs therein expended; and that James Harp pay the costs he

made; which is one dollar seventy cents besides his witnesses

who were not called on to testify.

J. R. GRANT, Mayor.

Litigation in the court of Mayor Grant seems to

have been rather infrequent as only two other cases are

recorded, one an "action of trespass" and the other

"assault and battery."

Jesse R. Grant and Senator Thomas Morris were

very close friends, as may be inferred from what has

already been related.   Just what was the basis of this

intimate friendship has not been fully stated.  Possibly

agreement on the slavery question had something to do

with it. General Grant prior to the Civil War was not

in sympathy with the abolition movement. In the presi-

dential election of 1856 he voted for James Buchanan

for president of the United States. His father, however,

was strangely opposed to slavery.     Possibly his con-

tact with the anti-slavery sentiment of the Western

Reserve before he came to Clermont had something to

do with his opinion on this subject and it is reasonable

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Centennial Anniversary of the Birth of Ulysses S. Grant 259

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260      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

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Centennial Anniversary of the Birth of Ulysses S. Grant 261

to surmise that this had something to do with the inti-

mate relations of Morris and the father of Grant near

the close of the career of the former in the United

States Senate.

After Grant had finished his course at West Point he

returned to Ohio and spent some time at the home of

his father in Bethel.  Still later, after he had married,

his family lived in Bethel. Two of his children, Nelly

and Ulysses S., Jr., were born here.  The latter now

lives in San Diego, California, where he owns the hotel

which he has named in honor of his distinguished

father.

It is needless to say that Bethel abounds in legends

and secondhand reminiscences of General Grant. Much

of this is interesting and a goodly portion of it doubt-

less authentic, but space will not permit its inclusion

here.  It is rather remarkable that Thomas Morris

should have been defeated in a race for Congress by

Thomas L. Hamer,* the youth whom he had befriended

and taken into his family, that Morris should have been

elected 'within two months after his defeat' to the

United States Senate, that he and Hamer served the

same length of time in Congress, that the latter was suc-

ceeded by the son of the former, Jonathan D. Morris,

who remained firm in his allegiance to the Democratic

party after his father had been read out of it and had

died in the service of the Liberty party. Jonathan D.

Morris delivered a eulogy on Hamer in the House of

Representatives and served two terms as his successor.

 

*The vote in this election was as follows: Hamer, 2,171; Fish-

back, 2,069; Morris, 2,028; Russell, 403. Fishback was the Whig candi-

date.

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262     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

Assuredly Bethel figured conspicuously in the early

political history of Ohio.

 

CELEBRATION AT GEORGETOWN, BROWN COUNTY

Fine weather greeted the thousands who flocked to

Georgetown Saturday, April 29, 1922, to do honor to the

memory of General Grant and hear the scholarly and

eloquent address of Senator Atlee Pomerene.

Following chronologically the years of Grant's life

in Ohio, the celebration at Georgetown should have

preceded that at Bethel.  When Grant was about

eighteen months old, in the fall of 1823, his father

moved with his family to the former village, the county

seat of Brown County.  Here young Grant made his

home until he was seventeen years old, in 1839, when

he went to West Point. Here he attended school in the

little brick building that is still standing.  Here his

father built a tannery and a substantial brick residence,

probably at the time the best dwelling in Brown County.

All these buildings have been carefully preserved and

are pointed out with pride by citizens to visitors.  In

recent years the residence of Jesse R. Grant has been

somewhat improved by the addition of a comfortable

veranda, but the main walls stand as they were almost

a century ago. It is a two story building and must still

be numbered among the substantial and attractive

homes of Georgetown, aside from its historical im-

portance.

Here Thomas L. Hamer lived at the zenith of his

career and to this village his remains were brought after

his death near Monterey in the Mexican War. In that

conflict he had attained the rank of brigadier general.

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264     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

At the time of his death he had been elected again to

Congress.  He was succeeded, as already noted, by

Jonathan D. Morris, the son of Senator Thomas Mor-

ris, who in 1844 had died in the service of the anti-

slavery cause.

There are many interesting biographical sketches of

Thomas L. Hamer and an extended review of his life

would be superfluous here. After teaching school for a

time he was admitted to the practice of the law.  He

was an eminent orator at a time when orators in Ohio,

especially in the southern counties, were comparatively

more numerous than they are today.    His forensic

training he received in the rural debating societies,

which were then maintained in every school district.

Politics furnished the absorbing topics of discussion in

those days. Hamer, the Democratic orator of the time,

rivaled, and his friends claimed even surpassed the

oratory of famous Tom Corwin. While the latter was

fulminating against the Mexican War and declaring

that if he were a Mexican he would welcome the invad-

ing soldiers from the United States with "bloody hands

to hospitable graves," Hamer was vigorously support-

ing that war and backing his eloquent words in the uni-

form of a brigadier general on the field of battle.  It

has sometimes been said that Hamer's service to his dis-

trict was forgotten and that not even a headstone had

been erected at his grave.

The old cemetery in Georgetown today presents a

rather desolate appearance. Tombstones, some of them

humble and some of them large and artistically wrought,

are strewn about somewhat promiscuously. Not a few

of them have broken in the fall. Most of them, how-

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Centennial Anniversary of the Birth of Ulysses S. Grant 265

ever, are still erect, but the grounds for the most part

are overgrown with tall grass, weeds, trailing vines and

vigorous shrubs that run riot over the graves. In one

part of the burying ground a substantial enclosure

marks the final resting place of Thomas L. Hamer and

his wife.  No tombstone or monument is erected to

him here, but the flat stone over the grave of Mrs.

Hamer bears testimony to the fact that she was an

exemplary Christian mother, devoted to her husband

and children.

The citizens of Georgetown and Brown County,

however, have appropriately honored the memory of

Hamer by erecting in the Court House yard of the vil-

lage a substantial granite monument.  This was un-

veiled with appropriate ceremonies in 1917. A number

of the descendants of Hamer were present on that occa-

sion.

The speaking on the afternoon of April 29 was

from a platform in front of the large grandstand on

the Fair Grounds. Every available seat was occupied

and a large crowd listened standing. After invocation

there was music and introductory addresses by Con-

gressman Kearns and Judge Hugh L. Nichols. A very

interesting feature of the preliminary exercises were

some songs of Civil War time in which a few of the

veterans, led by comrade John Hank, heartily joined.

Mr. Hank attended all three of the celebrations and at

Bethel as at Georgetown he was heard by throngs of

people who listened to the songs of the sixties that he

sang in excellent voice despite his seventy-seven years.

Hank is a man of commanding presence, tall and as

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266       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

 

straight as when he marched in the Union Army sixty

years ago.

Judge Nichols in well chosen words introduced Sen-

ator Pomerene who spoke as follows:

"Mr. Chairman, Judge Nichols, members of the Grand Army

of the Republic, ladies and gentlemen, we come to Georgetown

today to do homage to the great captain of the Civil War. I

understand with what pardonable pride the citizens of this good

community recite the boyhood deeds of him who rose from com-

parative obscurity in a few short years to become the great com-

mander of our great armies in suppressing the rebellion.

"General Grant's boyhood days in Georgetown did not differ

materially from the youthful days of many Americans in every

community in the country. All who knew him or the history of

his generation will recognize in him a boy clear of head, pure of

heart, and clean of hand. His parents did not permit him to in-

dulge in idleness. He did not fritter away his days. He always

was occupied either at school or in his father's tannery or with his

team. He was never idle.

"His father must have been a very positive character-am-

bitious for his son's advancement, as any father should be. Full

of hope, aye, of confidence, in his future, he determined that his

son should have every advantage which his limited means would

permit him to give.

"Grant, the boy, does not seem at first to have been ambitious

for a military career. In his personal memoirs he tells us that

his father had received a letter from Hon. Thomas Morris,

United States Senator from Ohio, and after reading it, he said:

" 'Ulysses, I believe you are going to receive the appointment.'

'What appointment ?' I inquired. 'To West Point; I have applied

for it.' 'But I won't go,' I said. He said, 'He thought I would,'

and then General Grant adds, quaintly, 'I thought so, too, if he

did.'

"Again he tells us that a military life 'had no charms' for

him, and he did not 'have the faintest idea of staying in the Army

even if I should be graduated.'

"He received his education at the National Military Academy,

but his career at West Point can hardly be regarded as a brilliant

success if we are to rate him according to prevailing standards.

He had an unusually retentive memory. He tells us he 'rarely ever

read over a lesson the second time during my entire cadetship.'

He devoted more time to the books in the library than he did

to those relating to his course of study. As a result, as he puts

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268       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

it, 'I never succeeded in getting squarely at either end of my

class in any one study during the four years.'

"He thought of obtaining a permanent position as a college

professor, but he tells us 'circumstances always did shape my

course different from my plans.'

"He left the academy 'with a good average record as a stu-

dent and a very high record as a man.' It was said of him, 'He

betrayed no trust, falsified no word, violated no rights, manifested

no tyranny, sought no personal aggrandizement, complained of

no hardships, displayed no jealousy, oppressed no subordinate,

and was ever known for his humanity, sagacity, courage, and

honor.' High praise this for any man.

"His first military service was in the Mexican War. He was

then a very young man. He occupied minor positions of respon-

sibility. There is nothing extraordinary in his experience in

Mexico, but a careful scrutiny of the history of the Mexican War

shows that even in his minor position of lieutenant he always was

ready to do and did do his duty.

"On one occasion his colonel called for volunteers to get word

to General Twiggs, division commander, calling for ammunition

and reinforcements. 'It is a dangerous job,' said Colonel Gar-

land, 'and I do not like to order any man to do it. Who will

volunteer?' 'I will,' said Quartermaster Grant promptly, 'I have

got a horse.' 'You are just the man to do it,' said the colonel.

'Keep in the side streets and ride hard.' Needless to say, the

message was delivered.

"While Grant was acting as quartermaster he was always at

the front during the fighting. General Longstreet, who served

with Grant in Mexico, said of him, 'You could not keep Grant

out of battle.' Again he said, 'Grant was everywhere on the

field. He was always cool, swift, and unhurried in battle. He

was as unconcerned as if it were a hailstorm instead of a storm

of bullets. I had occasion to observe his superb courage under

fire-so remarkable was his bravery that mention was made of it

in the official report, and I heard his colonel say, 'There goes a

man of fire.'

"Shortly after the close of the Mexican War Grant was sent

to the Pacific slope with his regiment. He was separated from

family and friends. His record in the far West his most en-

thusiastic friends can hardly claim to have been creditable. On

April 11, 1854, he resigned his position as captain in the United

States Army, and apparently his military career had closed. He

returned to the East.

"Later he located on a small farm which had been given to

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Centennial Anniversary of the Birth of Ulysses S. Grant 269

him by his father-in-law. It was almost entirely, if not quite,

virgin soil, covered by a virgin forest.

"To use a homely expression, Grant was all but down and

out. Almost any other man would have become discouraged and

quit. Not so Grant. His clearness of vision and his high resolve

enabled him to see his duty to himself, his family, and his country.

He cleared the forest. He built his log hut. He plowed and

sowed and reaped. He cut firewood and hauled it to St. Louis.

He did teaming for his neighbors. Nothing that he found to do

was left undone. In this way for a time he maintained himself,

his wife, and his growing family.

"Later he engaged in the real estate business in St. Louis.

He was not fitted for this work. He was not successful in it,

and he resigned his position.

"Still later, in April, 1860, he went to Galena, Illinois, entered

his father's leather store, and joined his brothers as salesman.

"While in private life he was devotion itself to his wife and

children. During all this period he was a great reader, a close

student and observer of the passing events which were rapidly

drawing the peoples of the North and South into the maelstrom

of fratricidal war. He seemed to have a premonition that the

fateful struggle was coming.

"Hard this life may have seemed to him and his family, as

well as to those who knew him, but these experiences were not in

vain. They were the crucible in which were melted, purified, and

fused together the elements of his manhood. It made him master

of himself, and having mastered himself he was fitted to become,

and did become, the master and the leader of men. In no period

of his life did he develop more than in the time between his

resignation and the date when he tendered his services again to

his country in the darkest hour of her history.

"On May 24, 1861, while at Galena, Grant wrote to the

Adjutant General of the Army at Washington, tendering his

services until the close of the war 'in such capacity as may be

offered.' So little was thought of this man that his letter was not

even acknowledged.

"With that clearness of vision which always characterized

Grant, whether in peace or in war, whether in camp or battle,

or at the council table, he foresaw the conflict coming. In his

judgment it was to decide two questions:

First. Has a State the right to secede from the Union ?

Second.  Shall we tolerate slavery under the Stars and

Stripes ?

"Grant believed, as Webster believed, that the Union was

'one and inseparable.' Grant believed with the advancing progress

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of civilization no human being ought to be held in bondage. In

both these beliefs he was right-eternally right, and though we

accord to those who held different beliefs, honesty of conviction,

if these same questions were to be presented now to the people,

North or South, for decision at the ballot box they would be

decided overwhelmingly in the negative.

"Grant, in discussing the question of secession, says, in his

Memoirs:

"'Doubtless the founders of our Government, the majority of them

at least, regarded the confederation of the Colonies as an experiment.

Each colony considered itself a separate government; that the confedera-

tion was for mutual protection against a foreign foe and the prevention

of strife and war among themselves. If there had been a desire on the

part of any single State to withdraw from the compact at any time while

the number of states was limited to the original 13 I do not suppose

there would have been any to contest the right, no matter how much the

determination might have been regretted. The problem changed on the

ratification of the Constitution by all the Colonies; it changed still more

when amendments were added; and if the right of any one State to with-

draw continued to exist at all after the ratification of the Constitution, it

certainly ceased on the formation of new States, at least so far as the

new States themselves were concerned.'

"Secession, says Grant, 'was illogical as well as impractic-

able. It was revolution.' He believed that as man has the in-

herent right of self-defense, so has a government the right to

protect itself against revolution.

"But it is purely academic to discuss such problems now.

They were settled by the arbitrament of the sword, and out of

the Civil War our Union of States was cemented together more

closely than ever before.

"I have often indulged the thought that if the people of the

South before the Civil War had known the people of the North

as they know them now, and if the people of the North before

the Civil War had known the people of the South as they know

them now, there would have been no war. And of this, too, I am

perfectly clear; if there had been more Grants in the North and

more Lees in the South these questions would have been settled

without the shedding of a single drop of blood.

"A few days after the firing upon Fort Sumter a meeting of

the loyal citizens of Galena was held and Captain Grant was

made chairman of the meeting. He did not devote his time

to grandiloquent talk. He was even then the soldier, the com-

mander. Calling the meeting to order, he said in substance:

"'Fellow citizens, this meeting is called to organize a company of

volunteers to serve the State of Illinois. * * * Before calling upon

you to become volunteers, I wish to state just what will be required of

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Centennial Anniversary of the Birth of Ulysses S. Grant 271

 

you. First of all, unquestioning obedience to your superior officers. The

Army is not a picnicking party, nor is it an excursion. You will have

hard fare. You may be obliged to sleep on the ground after long marches

in the rain and snow. Many of the orders of your superiors will seem to

you unjust, and yet they must be borne. If an injustice is really done you,

however, there are courts-martial where your wrongs can be investigated

and offenders punished. If you put your name down here it should be in

full understanding of what the act means. In conclusion, let me say that

so far as I can I will aid the company, and I intend to re-enlist in the

service myself.'

"This was the Grant whom the country later learned to know

and love. His direct and straightforward statements as chair-

man of the Galena meeting were characteristic of his every

thought and act during the entire period of the war.

"The enlisted soldiers offered to make Grant captain of the

company. He refused, stating that he thought he could serve

the state better at Springfield. He tendered his services to Gov.

Richard Yates, but the governor could find nothing for him to do.

After some days he determined to go home. Governor Yates,

learning of his intention, asked him to remain overnight and call

at his office in the morning. Grant was assigned to a desk in the

adjutant general's department doing clerical work. Grant was

hoping for a command. He returned to Galena almost in despair

because he did not receive suitable recognition of his military ex-

perience.

"Mr. Houghton, the editor of a local paper, wrote concerning

him:

"'We are now in want of just such soldiers as he is, and we hope

the Government will invite him to higher command. He is the very soul

of honor, and no man breathes who has a more patriotic heart. We want

among our young soldiers the influence of the rare leadership of men like

Captain Grant.'

"Grant was a newcomer in Illinois. Public men did not know

him. Other men unfitted by training or experience were given

positions in the organization of the state troops, but there seemed

to be no place for Grant, the West Point cadet.

"He went to Cincinnati and tendered his services to Gen.

George B. McClellan, then in command of the military district.

He met his old comrade, Carr B. White, in Georgetown, a member

of the Ohio Legislature, and to him he related the circumstances

and his ambition to serve in the Army. Mr. White replied that

there ought to be a command for him, and said, 'I am going to

Columbus and I will see what I can do.' In a few days he re-

turned with a commission for Grant as colonel of the Twelfth

Ohio, but meanwhile Governor Yates had wired him, asking him

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272        Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

to accept the command of the Seventh District Regiment. This

position he accepted, and it gave him his opportunity.

"His regiment lacked in discipline and was said to ba a 'little

unruly.' When asked if he could manage them, his quiet reply

was, 'I think I can.' When presented to his regiment by Colonel

Goode, he said, after returning the salute of the adjutant: 'A

soldier's first duty is to learn to obey his commander. I shall

expect my orders to be obeyed as exactly and instantly as if we

were on the field of battle.'

"A little later, while at St. Louis, Grant received a telegram

from his friend, Washburne, advising him that the President had

appointed him as brigadier general of volunteers.

"In the brief space of time allotted to me it is, of course, im-

possible to go into all the details of this wonderful commander's

activities.

"Grant was the one man above every other commanding

officer in the West who seemed to have the military genius to bring

order out of chaos, to convert raw recruits into trained veterans,

and to inspire them with the bravery of spirit and love of country

which was necessary to suppress the rebellion and preserve the

Union.

"Shortly after he had assumed command he found that the

Confederates were marching onto the city of Paducah.        On

September 6, 1861, he issued this proclamation to its citizens:

"'I have come among you, not as an enemy but as your friend and

fellow citizen, not to injure or annoy you but to respect the rights and

defend and enforce the rights of all loyal citizens. An enemy in rebellion

against our common Government has taken possession of and planted its

guns upon the soil of Kentucky and fired upon our flag. Hickman and

Columbus are in his hands; he is moving upon our city. I am here to

defend you against this enemy, and to assert and maintain the authority

and sovereignty of your Government and mine. I have nothing to do

with opinions. I deal only with armed rebellion and its aiders and abettors.

You can pursue your usual vocations without fear or hindrance. The

strong arm of the Government is here to protect its friends and to punish

only its enemies. Whenever it is manifest that you are able to defend

yourselves, to maintain the authority of your Government and protect the

rights of all its loyal citizens, I shall withdraw the forces under my com-

mand from your city.'

"Lincoln, later seeing this address, said, 'The man who can

write like that is fitted to command in the West.'

"He took Belmont. The Confederates held Columbus. In

the midst of the fighting one of the Union officers shouted, 'My

God, we are surrounded.' Grant replied, Grant-like, 'We cut our

way in and we can cut our way out.'

"He moved with vigor and precision. On February 5 he ad-

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Centennial Anniversary of the Birth of Ulysses S. Grant 273

 

vanced against Fort Henry. On the day following it fell, and

he telegraphed Halleck, 'Fort Henry is ours,' and added, 'I shall

take and destroy Fort Donelson on the 8th and return to Fort

Henry.'

"Weather and other conditions, however, prevented his taking

Fort Donelson as quickly as he thought, but he moved on to his

objective with that persistence and determination which always

carried him through every obstacle that came in his way. Gen-

erals Floyd, Pillow, and Buckner were in charge for the Con-

federates. Floyd and Pillow fled. General Buckner thought it

useless to continue further fighting. He sent word to Grant,

asking for terms of capitulation. Grant replied, 'No terms except

immediate and unconditional surrender can be accepted. I pro-

pose to move immediately upon your works.'

"Victory was now in the air. The North began to find it-

self. They had a general who could fight and win. He was little

known either to the people of the North or the East. The whole

Nation began to inquire, 'Who is this man Grant, who fights

battles and wins them?'

"After Shiloh great pressure was begun to have the President

remove Grant from his command in the West. But Lincoln, after

full investigation, replied, 'I can't spare Grant; he fights.'

"Shiloh was one of the most terrific battles in the West. An

eminent writer, after reviewing this battle, says:

"'The Battle of Shiloh showed Ulysses Grant to be a commander of

a new type. His personal habits in conflict were now apparent to all his

staff. He did not shout, vituperate, or rush aimlessly to and fro. He

had no vindictiveness. While other officers in the heat of battle swore

and uttered ferocious cries, Grant voiced all his commands in plain Anglo-

Saxon speech, without oaths or abridgment. His anxiety and intensity of

mental action never passed beyond his perfect control. He fought best

and thought best when pushed hard.

"'A man of singular gentleness, he had displayed the faculty which

enables a man to consider soldiers en masse, to look over and beyond the

destruction of human life in battle to the end for which the battle is

fought. Unwilling to harm any living thing himself, he had the resolution

to send columns of men into battle calmly and without hesitation. With-

out this constitution of mind no great commander can succeed.'

"Perhaps his next greatest achievement was the capture of

Vicksburg. He laid seige to the city in the spring of 1863. It

was a giant's task. The public began to lose faith in the hero

of Donelson and Shiloh. Lincoln declared, 'Even Washburne

has deserted Grant.' Charles A. Dana was sent to the front by

the Secretary of War to report on the conditions of the Army.

Later Gen. Lorenzo Thomas was sent with an order relieving

Grant, if he should find it necessary. Commodore Porter told

Vo.l XXXI-18.

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General Thomas that 'if the news got out the boys would tar

and feather him.' The order was never delivered. The siege

continued. He assumed all responsibility. He knew if he failed

his reputation would be lost; if he won, it would greatly cripple

and discourage the South and correspondingly encourage the

North. The siege and the fighting continued. At last, on July 3,

a white flag appeared on the Confederate works. The com-

manding general asked for commissioners to arrange terms of

surrender; and again Grant replied, 'I have no terms other than

unconditional surrender.'

"After some little negotiation terms were concluded. They

were so liberal that they were criticised in the North; but at 10

o'clock on July 4 the besieged 'marched out of their entrench-

ments. With sad faces the men of each regiment stacked their

arms, threw down upon them knapsacks, belts, cartridges, and

cap pouches, and then tenderly crowned the piles with their faded

and riddled colors.'

"Thus ended the siege of Vicksburg.

"Then followed Chattanooga and Missionary Ridge. As

Grant rode along the lines he was recognized by the soldiers, and

they cried, 'Now we know we have a general.'

"The Assistant Secretary of War sent this message to Wash-

ington: 'Glory to God, the day is decisively ours. Our men are

frantic with joy and enthusiasm, and received Grant as he rode

along the lines after the victory with tumultuous shouts.'

"The next day was Thanksgiving Day and all over the Nation

grateful millions of people blessed the name of Grant.

"These victories, like the finger of fate, pointed to Grant as

the one man in America who ought to command the forces in the

East against Lee.

"Washburne offered a bill reviving the grade of lieutenant

general. In speaking of Grant he said:

"'He has fought more battles and won more victories than any man

living. He has captured more prisoners and taken more guns than any

general of modern times.'

"The President signed the bill and nominated General Grant

to be lieutenant general of the armies of the United States.

This announcement was received with universal acclaim. The

modest Grant on March 4, 1864, wrote to General Sherman, and

spoke of the success which had met his efforts, and his place in

the public confidence, but he did not take all the credit to him-

self. With his characteristic generosity of soul, he said:

"'No one feels more than I how much of this success is due to the

skill and energy and the harmonious putting forth of that energy and skill

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Centennial Anniversary of the Birth of Ulysses S. Grant 275

 

of those whom it has been my good fortune to have occupying a sub-

ordinate position under me.

"'There are many officers to whom these remarks are applicable to

a greater or less degree, proportionate to their ability as soldiers; but

what I want is to express my thanks to you and McPherson as the men

to whom, above all others, I feel indebted for whatever I have had of

success. * * * I feel all the gratitude this letter can express, giving it

the most flattering construction.'

"To this letter General Sherman replied, in part:

"'You do yourself injustice and us too much honor in assigning to

us too large a share of the merits which have led to your high advance-

ment. You are Washington's legitimate successor and occupy a place of

almost dangerous elevation; but if you can continue, as heretofore, to be

yourself, simple, honest, and unpretending, you will enjoy through life

the respect and love of friends and the homage of millions of human

beings that will award you a large share in securing them and their

descendants a government of law and stability. * * *

"'I believe you are as brave, patriotic, and just as the great pro-

totype Washington, as unselfish, kind-hearted, and honest as a man should

be; but your chief characteristic is the simple faith in success you have

always manifested, which I can liken to nothing else than the faith a

Christian has in a Savior. This faith gave you victory at Shiloh and

Vicksburg. Also, when you have completed your last preparations, you

go into battle without hesitation, as at Chattanooga-no doubts, no re-

serves - and I tell you it was this that made us act with confidence.'

"No one doubts the great and commanding genius and patriot-

ism of General Sherman. His devotion to General Grant, his

commanding officer, is almost unparalleled in the history of

warfare.

"Sherman advised him not to stay in Washington. True, it

was the Capital of the Nation, but it seemed to be full of in-

trigue and political connivance which since the outbreak of

the war had had its effect upon every commanding general who

preceded Grant and often jeopardized the movements of the

troops in the field.

"After Grant had assumed control and had gone West to

close up his work there and have a conference with General Sher-

man and other generals, he returned to the East, and pitched his

tent in the fields with his armies.  He was not given to osten-

tation and display.   He went straight to his headquarters at

Culpeper. He announced, 'There will be no grand review and

no show business.'

"Grant had work to do. He was commander of all of the

forces of the North.   'The far-flung' battle line of the north-

ern forces was more than 1,000 miles in length. The Army

was, to use Sherman's words, 'a unit now in action.' He kept

his own counsel. The Army of the Potomac was moved with

the same untiring vigor and energy, with the same clear intel-

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ligence and precision with which he commanded the forces in

the West and brought victory to our colors. He was pitted

against the greatest military genius in the Southern Confederacy.

Neither Grant nor Lee underestimated one another. Greek had

met Greek. But Grant was fighting a winning cause-Lee a

losing cause.

"The Army of the Potomac was well trained, but it had not

been well led. Grant removed some officers. He placed others.

Lincoln had implicit confidence in him. He did not interfere

with Grant's action in the field.

"At this time a correspondent writes of him:

"'Grant is not intoxicated with flattery. * * * I never met with

a man of so much simplicity, shyness, and decision. He has lost nothing

of his freshness of mind. He avoids Washington and its corrupting

allurements. He is essentially a soldier of the camp and field. All his

predecessors were ruined by Washington influences. He has established

his headquarters 10 miles nearer the enemy than Meade. His tents are

almost among the soldiers. That is a western and not a Potomac Army

custom. He travels with the simplicity of a second lieutenant, with a

small trunk, which he often forgets and goes off without. If Grant fails,

then a curse is on this Army. He is a soldier to the core, a genuine

commoner, commander of a democratic army from a democratic people.

* * * From what I learn of him, he is no more afraid to take the

responsibility of a million men than of a single company.'

"Up until Grant became lieutenant general and took charge

of the armies in the field our forces, whether east or west,

seemed to act without system, without unity of purpose. The

officers in the field were partly responsible for this condition.

But the Congress and the War Department at Washington must

bear their share of the responsibility. Grant demanded of Presi-

dent Lincoln the assurance that the War Department would

cease to command in the field.

"On arriving in Washington he made up his mind to say to

Lincoln: 'I will accept the command of the Armies of the United

States, provided I can be free from the interference of the War

Department; otherwise I shall be obliged to decline the honor.'

But this was not necessary. Lincoln knew all too well the defects

in his fighting machine.

"The President in presenting him with his commission as

lieutenant general, said:

"'The Nation's appreciation of what you have done and its reliance

upon you for what remains to be done in the existing great struggle are

now presented with this commission constituting you lieutenant general in

the Army of the United States. With this high honor devolves upon you,

also a corresponding responsibility. As the country herein trusts you, so,

under God, it will sustain you. I scarcely need to add that with what I

here speak goes my own hearty concurrence.'

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Centennial Anniversary of the Birth of Ulysses S. Grant 277

 

"General Grant replied:

"'I accept the commission with gratitude for the high honor con-

ferred. With the aid of the noble armies that have fought in so many

fields for our common country, it will be my earnest endeavor not to dis-

appoint your expectations. I feel the full weight of the responsibilities

now devolving upon me, and I know that if they are met it will be due to

those armies and, above all, to the favor of that Providence which leads

both nations and men.'

"Other great generals had preceded him in commanding the

Army of the Potomac. Many of them were men of great ability,

brave in action, brilliant in achievement, but none of them had

to their credit as many or as great victories as Grant had won

in the West.

"Reserved of manner, plain of dress, and soft of speech, he

was not at home in the social whirl of Washington. His place

was in the camp or on the battle field. There he was master of

men and of measures-quick to conceive and quick to act. Entire

battlefields were spread before him like a panorama. He knew

what to do and when to do it. To think was to execute. His

great brain worked like a Corliss engine.

"After Grant's appointment as lieutenant general he returned

to Nashville for a conference with Sherman, promising to return

to Washington within nine days from the date of his leaving.

"Upon his return Lincoln said to him:

"'I have never professed to be a military man, nor to know how

campaigns should be conducted, and never wanted to interfere in them.

But procrastination on the part of generals and the pressure of the people

at the North, and of Congress, which is always with me, have forced me

into issuing a series of military orders. I don't know but they were all

wrong, and I'm pretty certain some of them were. All I want or ever

wanted is some one to take the responsibility and act-and call on me for

all assistance needed. I pledge myself to use all the power of government

in rendering such assistance.'

"Grant replied:

"'I will do the best I can, Mr. President, with the means at hand.'

"Later Lincoln said in reply to a question:

"'I don't know General Grant's plans, and I don't want to know

them. Thank God, I've got a general at last.'

"From the hour Grant assumed command of the Army of the

Potomac a new spirit had been breathed into it. They knew

they had a leader, and they knew that proper leadership was

the one essential for complete victory.

"The South, too, began to realize that a new man was at the

helm. A Southern editor gave this warning:

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"'Grant is a determined man, and has a tremendous force under his

hand, and we may rest assured that when he is beaten it will be only when

the last capacity for fight has been taken out of him and his army. Until

this is done our generals, army, and government should brace every nerve,

stretch every sinew, force nature, and yield nothing to fatigue.'

"The South began its preparations for the last and final

struggle. All men between 17 and 50 were called. Grant, in

referring to this call, said the South was 'robbing the cradle and

the grave.'

"Grant was confident of final victory, but he knew    the

bravery and the spirit of his foe, and he did not underestimate

either. In the great Battle of the Wilderness the two armies met

in deathlike struggle. It was a long, a bloody battle. No man

who survived it on either side, whether officer or private, ever

lost his admiration for the courage of his foe.

"Grant had supreme confidence in his men as well as his

generals.  To illustrate: During this terrific battle an excited

orderly cried out, 'They have broken through. Hancock has

given way.' Grant replied, 'I do not believe it.' He knew

Hancock.

"For days the tide of battle ebbed and flowed. Lee had

failed to break the line or check the advance. At one time he was

told Grant was retreating. 'You are mistaken,' Lee replied

'quite mistaken. Grant is not a retreating man.'

"After three days of fighting, Grant wrote: 'The results ot

the three days' fighting are in our favor. I shall take no back-

ward steps.' And later he wrote to General Halleck, 'I pro-

pose to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer.'

"The spirit of the men was equaled only by that of the com-

manding general. A historian tells us that at a critical period

in the battle a part of the Union forces began to feel that they

were again whipped by Lee. They feared another retreat would

be sounded. But the orders were given. The march was for-

ward. The men broke out with this refrain:

"'Ulysses leads the van!

For we will dare

To follow where

Ulysses leads the van.'

"After Grant established his headquarters at Culpeper, Vir-

ginia became the great battlefield of the war. The struggle was

gigantic. Not one, but many battles were fought. The slaughter

was unparalleled in the history of our warfare. The world

shuddered at the fratricidal contest. Union and the freedom of

the race were in the balance. Grant knew that the cause must be

won or lost in Virginia. Fair-minded men can not say whether

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Centennial Anniversary of the Birth of Ulysses S. Grant 279

 

the soldiers of the North or of the South fought with the greater

valor or under the more brilliant leadership. Determination to

win characterized both armies. For a time only the god of battles

knew where success would lie. But Lincoln and Grant, their

generals and their soldiers, aye, the entire North kept up their

courage and did not falter. The superior strength and resources

of the North were destined to win.

"As I read the history of this struggle, no one battle decided

the contest. It was a succession of battles, characterized by

masterly generalship and a courageous soldiery. Who, whether

he be of the North or of the South, does not recall with pride

the heroism in the Wilderness, at Spottsylvania, at Cold Harbor,

at Petersburg, at Appomattox, or in many another battle of per-

haps less importance, but fought with the same spirit of heroism?

"Grant's genius for command seemed to grow as the occasion

demanded.   True, he did not escape criticism, aye, virulent

abuse; but what great man who served his country ever has?

The greater his victories and the more battles he won, the more

shafts of slander were hurled at him. He must have been stung

to the quick, for he was a very sensitive man. But criticism, cruel

and unjust as it was, never swerved him from his path of duty.

He saw beyond the smoke of battle the glory of the country re-

united and human slavery forever wiped out.

"As this terrific contest progressed, the critics became more

severe in denunciation. They called him 'butcher'; and it must

be admitted that blood flowed freely on both sides of the battle

line. But great battles were never won without bloodshed.

Carping critics never fought a battle, much less won a war. Of

course they do not shed blood, because they do not fight battles

with the sword. They never assault the enemy. They fight their

friends from behind, and they fight them from afar off. Their

swords are their pens and their tongues. Occasionally some of

them are wounded, but they are not wounded in the front while

facing and advancing upon the enemy. Their wounds are in

their backs while running from danger.

"During the fighting in Virginia he said in reply to his

critics:

"'I am commanding an army. The business of an army is to fight.

This is war. I am determined to whip out the rebellion. There is no

other way. I am pursuing the same policy which I began at Belmont. It

is my intention to fight.'

"Again, after he had been twice unanimously nominated for

the Presidency by his party, and after he had been twice elected

by overwhelming majorities, during his second inaugural address

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280       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

he referred with dignity to the abuse which had been heaped upon

him in these words:

"'I did not ask for place or position, and was entirely without influ-

ence or the acquaintance of persons of influence. But I was resolved to

perform my part in a struggle threatening the very existence of the Union.

I performed a conscientious duty without asking promotion or command.

Notwithstanding this, throughout the war and from my candidacy for my

present position in 1868, I have been the subject of abuse and slander

scarcely ever equaled in political history, which yet today I feel I can

afford to disregard in view of your verdict, which I gratefully accept as

my vindication.'

"No man among our dead, save Washington and Lincoln, has

been more greatly vilified than Grant, but like Washington and

Lincoln, Grant will live long after his traducers shall have faded

from the memory of man.

"Grant, like many people of the North, did not believe the

war would last long. Neither did the people of the South. Be-

fore the actual fighting began Grant thought with Seward the

rebellion would be suppressed in 90 days. This must have been

the thought of Lincoln himself, because his first call for troops

was for 90 days.

"The people in the North did not think the South would

fight.

"The people of the South were certain the North would not

fight. Orators in the South spoke of the northerners as cowards

-claimed that one southern man was equal to five northern men

in battle, and if the South would stand up for its rights the North

would back down.

"Jefferson Davis said in a speech, 'He would agree to drink

all of the blood spilled south of the Mason and Dixon line if

there should be a war.' Too bad they did not know one another

better. Neither side appreciated the valor, the spirit, the worth

of the other.

"What a tribute the history of the Civil War is to the fine

courage of the people of both North and South! The people

of both sections were sprung from the same loins. They were

all all-American.

"Many who knew Grant in his youth and early manhood be-

fore and even during the Civil War had little confidence in his

ability or fitness for high command. Some who knew him inti-

mately referred to him as a mere 'accident.' Such criticisms hurt,

but they did not unmake the man.

"The God of battles does not choose great commanders of

great armies by accident. Accidents are not placed in the niches

of the temple of fame. Maybe that occasionally, by some fortui-

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Centennial Anniversary of the Birth of Ulysses S. Grant 281

 

tous combination of circumstances, an inferior man may win

where a superior man may lose. Accident may win a battle. It

never won a magnificent series of battles. It never won a war.

Ulysses Simpson Grant did both.

"Accident did not win commendation from his superior

officers for bravery on the battlefields of Mexico or for ability

as quartermaster.

"Accident was not in the saddle at Belmont, or Fort Thomas,

or Fort Donelson, or Shiloh, or Vicksburg, or Chattanooga in

the West.

"Accident did not make Grant commander-in-chief of the

armies of the field. It did not win in the Wilderness or at

Spottsylvania or at Petersburg or at Appomattox.

"Had he been an accident he could not have had the sustained

confidence and the continued loyal devotion of the Shermans,

the Sheridans, the McPhersons, and the Meades. Accident did

not tie his faithful soldiery to him by hooks of steel.

"Accident did not win for him two nominations and two elec-

tions to the Presidency of the Republic.

"No; Grant was not an accident. He was the one man born

from the womb of time to lead our armies to victory and to re-

store the Union, never again to be dissolved. Like Minerva, he

sprung full fledged from the head of Jove. He was born to com-

mand. Lincoln discovered him. He won where others failed.

"Great as Grant was on the battle field, he was greater at

the peace table. Determined and tenacious in conflict, he was

magnanimous in victory. Nothing finer appears in all history

that his treatment of Lee and his armies at Appomattox. He

required all arms, artillery, and public property to be parked

and stacked and turned over to the officer appointed by him to

receive them. This did not embrace either the side arms of the

officers or their private horses or baggage. This done, each officer

and man was allowed to return to his home, 'not to be disturbed

by the United States authorities so long as they observe their

parole and the laws in force where they reside.'

"Lee was surprised at the generosity of Grant's proposal, and

added, 'this will have a most happy effect upon my army.'

"What a temptation it would have been to many a general to

have demanded terms both exacting and humiliating! Not so

with Grant. Now that the war had been won, his one thought

was to win the peace.

"Later on came Lincoln's assassination and Andrew John-

son's succession to the Presidency. He proposed 'to make treason

odious.' He thought to have Lee and other leading southerners

indicted for treason. General Lee appealed to Grant, saying he

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had learned that he was to be indicted for treason by the grand

jury at Norfolk. He adds:

"'I had supposed that the officers and men of the Army of Northern

Virginia were by the terms of the surrender protected by the United States

Government from molestation so long as they conformed to its condi-

tions. * * *'

"Grant wrote to the Secretary of War with firmness and

magnanimity:

"'In my opinion the officers and men paroled at Appomattox Court-

house, and since upon the same terms given to Lee, can not be tried for

treason so long as they observe the terms of their parole. This is my

understanding. Good faith as well as true policy dictates that we should

observe the conditions of that convention. Bad faith on the part of the

Government or a construction of that convention subjecting the officers to

trial for treason would produce a feeling of insecurity in the minds of all

paroled officers and men. * * *'

"He wrote to Lee:

"'I have forwarded your application for amnesty and pardon to the

President with the following indorsement: "Respectfully forwarded,

through the Secretary of War, to the President, with the earnest recom-

mendation that this application of Gen. R. E. Lee for amnesty and pardon

be granted him."'

"General Grant was not content with a mere protest. He

said to the President, 'The people of the North do not wish to

inflict torture upon the people of the South.'

"President Johnson answered, 'I will make treason odious.

When can these men be tried?'

"Grant replied, 'Never, never; unless they violate their

parole.'

"Grant was determined that the Government should keep the

faith, and he finally won. From this time on his every thought

and every act looked to the healing of the wounds of war. He

wanted the sections reunited in fact and in spirit as well as in

name.

"When, after his first nomination as a candidate for the

Presidency he wrote his letter of acceptance, this same thought

was uppermost in his mind, and after his letter had been com-

pleted he added these four words:

" "Let us have peace.'

"It was not in his heart after victory to trample the people of

the South under the iron heel of war. Rather he looked upon

them as wayward brothers, whom he wanted to bring back to

the protecting folds of our glorious flag.

"How well he succeeded the reestablished Union proclaims

to the world for all time. Peace to the ashes of Ohio's greatest

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Centennial Anniversary of the Birth of Ulysses S. Grant 283

son. May we honor ourselves by writing his name large upon

the tablets of our memories.

Vice-President Coolidge in a recent address at

Columbus, Ohio, complimented the state on having as

its representatives in the United States Senate two able

and patriotic senators.  This seemed to please the

audience who heard the Vice-President and a similar

sentiment seemed to prevail, regardless of party, among

the thousands who heard Senators Willis and Pomerene

at Bethel and Georgetown. Senator Pomerene was

heard with the closest attention and heartily applauded.

General Grant in his Memoirs comments rather

freely on the southern sentiment prevailing in Brown

County at the opening of the Civil War. "There was

probably," he writes, "no time during the Rebellion

when, if the opportunity could have been afforded, it

(Georgetown) would not have voted for Jefferson Davis

for President of the United States, over Mr. Lincoln,

or any other representative of his party.  *  *  *

The line between the rebel and union element in George-

town was so marked that it led to divisions even in the

churches.  There were churches in that part of Ohio

where treason was preached regularly, and where, to

secure membership, hostility to the government, to the

war and to the liberation of the slaves, was far more

essential than a belief in the authenticity and credibility

of the Bible."

The southern counties of Ohio bordering on the

river were settled largely from the South and sym-

pathy with that section in the sixties was natural.  It

must be remembered, however, that among these settlers

from Kentucky, Virginia and other southern states

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284     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

were many eminent opponents of slavery. Conspicuous

among these were Alexander Campbell, state legislator

and United States Senator, and John Rankin, of Ripley,

Brown County, whose name ranks with those of Gar-

rison, Lundy and Birney. With them were numerous

other anti-slavery advocates in Clermont and Brown

Counties. The conspicuous service of Thomas Morris

in the cause has already been told.

Whatever may have been the attitude of the citizens

of Georgetown in Civil War times, there was evidence

on every hand throughout the Centenary celebration of

patriotic pride in the life and services of the great gen-

eral who spent the formative period of his early life

in the village.  In the Civil War and all subsequent

wars Brown County has given to the Republic a number

of brilliant military leaders, out of proportion to her

population, of whom any county in the state might well

be proud.

The exercises at Georgetown closed the series of

celebrations in honor of the one hundredth anniversary

of the birth of General Ulysses S. Grant. These cele-

brations had been carefully planned and the program

was most successfully carried out in every detail. Much

praise is due all the members of the Centenary com-

mittee but everyone will accord first honor for these in-

spiring educational and patriotic celebrations to the

chairman of the committee, Judge Hugh L. Nichols,

who for the past year has devoted practically all of his

time to afford the opportunity for this series of events

which gratified the thousands in attendance.

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Centennial Anniversary of the Birth of Ulysses S. Grant 285

 

HOME LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT

General Grant figured so conspicuously in his public

career that not much has been written of his home life.

That his youth in spite of the arduous physical labor

that was expected of boys in pioneer days was spent in

the midst of home influences in many respects ideal is

attested by the General himself who wrote in his

Memoirs:

"There was never any scolding or punishing by my parents.

No objection to rational enjoyments, such as fishing, going to

the creek a mile away to swim in summer, taking a horse and

visiting my grandparents in the adjoining county, fifteen miles

off, skating on the ice in winter, or taking a horse and sleigh

when there was snow on the ground."

The recollection of the attitude of his parents toward

him doubtless had great influence with him as husband

and father. His son, Ulysses S. Grant, Jr., who was

born in Bethel, Ohio, and now lives in San Diego, Cali-

fornia, and owns a large hotel which he has named in

honor of his father, gives an interesting account of life

in the home of the General, which is here quoted in part

from the Columbus Citizen of April 27, 1922:

"His unfailing calmness, his ability to think out every act

before making it, and his remarkable memory, are the traits which

stand out most clearly in my memory as I look back on the life

of my father.

"He was a splendid family man. We all loved him, but with

that affection was a respect, almost an awe, that nobody else has

ever commanded from me.

"Although we were reared in the days of 'spare the rod and

spoil the child,' he never laid the weight of his hand on one of

us. He didn't need to. His slightest rebuke held a greater sting

than the whip.

"I remember one day when we were living in Washington.

We were preparing to go for a drive. The carriage was crowded

and I was sitting on the box with the coachman. Without think-

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286       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

 

ing of the consequences, I cracked the whip and only the good

horsemanship of the coachman saved us from a runaway.

"'That was thoughtless,' was all my father said to me, and

yet the rebuke has burned in my memory ever since.

"I like to recall the love and loyalty between my father and

my mother. Mother loved to tell us of father during the days of

his courting, when he was a second lieutenant fresh from West

Point, and she was the daughter of a southern planter. 'A

beautiful young man,' she called him.

"She always said Grandmother Dent predicted, even in the

days of his young lieutenancy, that he would be president of the

United States.

"'Julia,' mother said grandmother told her, 'that young man

can explain politics so clearly I can understand the situation

perfectly. I know he will be president of the United States.'

"Like all the Grants, father cared very little for music. He

used to say all music was divided to him into two selections,

'Hail! the Conquering Hero Comes,' which he had heard so often

he couldn't forget it, and the 'other piece.'

"He was fond of reading and could consume an inordinate

amount of reading matter. Throughout all his life he retained

his intense love for horses, which is the outstanding trait of his

boyhood. He was always a little disappointed that his three sons

didn't share his enthusiasm for good horseflesh.

" 'Fred,' he would say, 'knows very little about horses; Buck

(which was my nickname) knows nothing, and Jesse less than

that.'

"Father had a remarkable memory for names and dates.

"My brother Fred and I usually read him the proof sheets

of his Memoirs as they came from the printers. He often would

stop us while he gave a word or a statement the most thorough

study. He disliked a misstatement and always lost confidence in

the person who made one.

"During that last sad year of his life as he held death at bay

while he struggled under almost insurmountable difficulties to

finish his book, he showed the same courage, the same patience

and consideration for others that was always a part of him.

"'Son,' he would say to me, 'no Grant is afraid to die.'

"He never let mother know that he knew he was afflicted

with cancer and death was inevitable. Before her he was always

cheerful, concealing his pain."

The General's concern for the welfare of his chil-

dren is shown in his last request to his wife which was

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Centennial Anniversary of the Birth of Ulysses S. Grant 287

published in the character sketch by Judge Hugh L.

Nichols in the April QUARTERLY.

 

 

POETIC TRIBUTES

 

ON THE OCCASION OF THE GRANT CENTENARY

Though General Grant, as his son has stated, cared

little for music and, as other writers have told us, was

not fond of poetry, the centennial celebration of his

birth called forth poetic tributes.         The following ap-

peared in the papers of Georgetown, the first two on

April 28 and the last on May 11:

 

U. S. GRANT

 

BY BERTYE Y. WILLIAMS

On the banks of the Ohio,

In a humble little cot,

He was born -our nation's hero;

But the busy world recked not.

None came by to do him honor,

Only April breezes sweet

From the peach and apple orchards

Scattered petals at his feet.

There the little new-born baby

Grew and stretched each sturdy limb;

And the beautiful Ohio

Sang a cradle-song for him.

 

On the fair banks of the Hudson,

In a tomb of stately grace,

They have laid our nation's hero.

They have given him a place

Where the world goes by in pageant,

Where the city's full tide swells;

And the great of earth, in passing,

Place their wreathes of immortelles.

 

There the weary warrior resteth

From the stress of conflicts grim;

And the blue and shining Hudson

Sings a requiem for him.

-From   the Georgetown News Democrat.

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288        Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

 

U. S. GRANT

ONE OF OUR BOYS

BY BERTYE Y. WILLIAMS

One of our boys! In the long ago

He trudged along through the winters' snow

To the old school-house that you see there still.

Oft' he went with grist to the White Oak mill

When the days of summer were long and fair,

Met the other boys, and went swimming there.

0, he knew these woods and hills and streams,

And 'twas here he dreamed his boyhood dreams,

One of our boys,

Just one of our boys!

One of our boys! When the crisis came,

And our land was scorched by the battle's flame,

When the small faith died, and the weak heart quailed,

And the cause of the Union almost failed,

There was one whose hand held the foe at bay;

One whose courage grim saved the losing day;

One who, loving peace, faltered not in war

Till our flag was saved with its every star.

One of our boys,

Just one of our boys!

- From the Georgetown Gazette.

AT GRANT'S TOMB AFTER THE CENTENARY

BY ADDA HIGGINS TATMAN

The pomp and pageantry are o'er,

The music and the shouting stilled;

The voice of orator no more

With eulogy and praise is filled.

No longer wave the stripes and stars,

The flowers, wreaths and bunting gay

From arches, masts and steamboat spars

Along the great triumphal way.

So quiet now each little town,

Each little corner of the earth

That claims a share in your renown,

Your homes, and humble place of birth.

Back to its desk, its plough, its mill

Has turned a busy world again;

But your brave spirit moves us still,

O rarest, truest, best of men.

Not all the praise, the blame, the power,

That came to you in your sad day,

Could swerve you even for an hour

From the firm purpose of your way.

O hero! though no lesson new

Is blazoned in your modest story

To conscience and to country true,

You found the way to fame and glory.

-From the Georgetown News Democrat.

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