who quietly resumed it where Smith had left off-"accepted the situation"-made few or no changes, and fought on the ground which had been selected by General Smith, the bloody battle of Shiloh.

During this fiercely contested battle he displayed the coolness, the personal courage, forethought and deliberation, which afterwards made him famous among men; yet was he traduced, slandered and wronged, not only by the press universally, but by those who were in positions of authority over him.

You, however, who were at the battle's front, stood by him. true and loyal always, and to his dying day he loved the Army of the Tennessee above all others, by reason of their loyalty to him in these the darkest days of his eventful life.

Nor was the end yet. After this great battle three armies were assembled on that bloody field-Buell's, Pope's and Grant's; and General Halleck came in person from St. Louis to command the whole, with the declared purpose to assume the bold offensive. These armies were reorganized. Buell's army became the "centre," Pope's the "left," and Grant's was broken up—one part under General George H. Thomas was styled the "right,” whilst the other under General McClernand composed the “reserve." General Grant was absolutely left out in the cold with a title "second in command," unknown to American law or history. All moved forth to Corinth, consuming the whole month of May, and during that month became cemented the personal friendship between us which lasted to the end.

Not one word of complaint came from him, no criticism on the acts of his superiors or government, yet the trembling eyelid, the silent tear and averted head told that his big heart was troubled.

He knew that every officer and soldier that had followed him with such noble courage and simple faith at Belmont, Henry, Donelson and Shiloh, felt for him, respected him, and understood the load of neglect, if not of positive insult he was carrying. He knew and felt that he was in the way of the Commanding General, as a fifth wheel to a coach-with no real authority, no command, no positive right to order, or even advise his former subordinates, but I am sure he knew that he was ever welcome to our bivouacs, and that we understood, and appreciated the entire situation.

Then occurred the most questionable "strategy" of the whole war. That magnificent army of near an hundred thousand of the best men on this continent, who could, if united, have marched to Vicksburg or to Mobile was deliberately scattered. General Buell with the Army of the Cumberland, which Thomas had rejoined, was sent eastward towards Chattanooga, and the others were scattered defensively from Eastport to Memphis. General Grant was sent to command the District of Memphis, and General Hallack himself, being summoned to Washington, cast about for a new commander for the Army of the Tennessee. He offered the post to a most worthy Quartermaster, who had the good sense to decline, and himself being compelled to leave, the command at the West devolved on General Grant, not by selection, but by virtue of his superior commission.

Thenceforward his career was ever onward and upward, and when on the fourth day of July 1863 Vicksburg surrendered to him, and the mighty Mississippi "went unvexed to the sea" the whole country arose and recognized in him the agent who was destined to guide and lead us all to final victory and triumph.

These circumstances were all known to you at the time, were little appreciated, and were in truth the fires designed by Providence to test the ability, courage and endurance of him on whom a whole epoch in history was destined to hinge.

Others have told the whole story of the war, and still others are repeating and elaborating it. Even he himself, almost in his dying hours was engaged in recording his experience, and we all await the publication with profound interest. I have seen some of the manuscript, and have been told of the rest, but prefer to await the whole publication, certain that whatever he has recorded of his own knowledge will stand the test of time, and I am sure that he himself will have recognized the truth, and will have recorded the fact that his campaigns from Belmont to Vicksburg were the most valuable of his whole life. In that brief period he discovered the power that was in him, that he in fact, impersonated the great mass of our best people who abhored war, and only resorted to it when national honor and safety demanded it.

He knew little and cared less about "strategy," and I doubt if he ever read Fomini, Grotius, or any books on the art and laws of war, except the West Point text-books. So with "Tactics," he

never, so far as I recall expressed a preference for Hardee over Scott, Casey or Morris. Still he loved to see order and system, and wanted his Corps, Divisions, Brigades and Regiments handy and well instructed when called for. He aimed to achieve results, caring little for the manner by which they were accomplished. He possessed and always asserted the most perfect faith in the justice of our cause, and always claimed that, sooner or later, it must prevail, because the interest of all mankind demanded the existence of just such a Republic as we had inherited, and that, as by the concurrence of political causes, the conflict had fallen upon us, we had only to meet it like brave men, and conquer as a matter of course. He always claimed that we must follow up and defeat the rebel armies, and compel them to submit to the authority of the National Government. He believed in deeds not words-in a war of aggression not of maneuver, and from Belmont to Appomattox his strategy and tactics were the same-ever straight to the mark till all armed resistance had ceased, and absolute submission to lawful authority was promised. He was always outspoken in his praises of the Army of the Tennessee by reason of its earnestness at Henry and Donelson, its stubborn courage at Shiloh, its quiet submission to unfriendly authority at Corinth, its quick response to his call at Iuka, and the splendid qualities displayed throughout the Vicksburg campaign, or in his own words, as recently recorded "The campaign of Vicksburg was suggested and developed by circumstances; and it now looks as though Providence had directed its course, while the Army of the Tennessee executed the Decree." Yes! my comrades! "there is a Providence which shapes our ends, roughhew them as we may," and fortunate was it for us, and for all mankind, that two such men as Lincoln and Grant were "on duty" during the critical year 1863, each the full compliment to the other, the one to think, the other to do, forming the solid arch on which our glorious Union could safely repose in the then earthquake of passion and folly.

Events then carried him into a higher and more enlarged sphere of action where we had to contemplate him as it were, in the distance; but when I was summoned to him at Chattanooga in the autumn of 1863, and told him that the Fifteenth Corps was close behind, it would have done your hearts good to have seen the satisfaction beam from his eyes, and to have heard the flat

tering words which poured from his lips. He was only impatient for us to get into position to attack Bragg on Missionary Ridge, before he could claim to have withdrawn without being forced. So also when events had carried us to Savannah, he was anxious to have his old Western armies come to him at Richmond to "wind up the job" as he expressed it. But he yielded gracefully to the inevitable when he came to count the ships necessary to transport us to James river.

I will not yield to the temptation to trace the wonderful career of this our comrade through his later life, which in its phases, surpasses any of which history ancient or modern records. Surely Plutarch gives no parallel, nor does Sparks. To compare Grant with Alexander, Hannibal, Cæsar, Napoleon or Wellington seems to me folly, for he was not similar to any one of them, any more than the period of time in which they existed resembled ours. No! each epoch creates its own agents, and General Grant more nearly impersonated the American character of 18615, than any other living man. Therefore he will stand as the typical hero of the great Civil War in America of the nineteenth century. Nevertheless we may continue to gather chaplets to strew on his grave as loving tokens of our remembrance.

You must all recall that at our meeting at Cleveland in October 1883, I reported to you that General Grant had told me that he had something special to say to you of the Army of the Tennessee, in consequence of which you elected him the orator for the next annual meeting at Minnetonka in August 1884.

He intended to come, but at the last moment his health and physician forbade, and we had to choose a substitute. Again was he chosen for our orator for this occasion, and by the record he is still the orator, but he is now dead, and must speak to us by his substitute, General John B. Sanborn, who has kindly consented to fill the office, and I am well assured that the special matter he wished to reveal to us, will be found fully elaborated in his forthcoming memoirs.

The newspapers of the day have been so full of all the details of the funeral that it were superfluous for me to say more, than that it was one of the most complete tributes of the living to the dead which this country has ever witnessed. Beginning at Mount McGregor on the morning of Tuesday August 4th it continued without interruption till six o'clock P. M. of Saturday

August 8th 1885 to the spot selected by his son, approved by the entire family, and accepted by all who had a right to be consulted.

This spot is "on the banks of the Hudson," at the upper end. of Riverside Park-not a park in the sense of a pleasure ground -but a hill as yet in the rough, and susceptible of infinite embellishment which will remain as firm as the granite rocks on which it stands till the earth shall give up its dead, and time shall be no more.

If the spirits of the dead have the privilege of contemplating their own tomb, then will General Grant's be content, for from the pedestal he can look up at the Old Revolutionary forts Lee and Washington at his very feet-the beautiful palisades just across the river-Tappan Zee and the Highlands above-the mighty city of New York with its busy harbor below, and Long Island Sound across the peninsula.

I am well aware that some of our comrades would have preferred Washington City as the burial place of our dead General, but let us examine the facts and precedents:

President Washington is buried at Mt. Vernon; Jefferson, at Monticello-the Adams at Quincy-Jackson at the HermitageHarrison at North Bend-Polk at Nashville-Taylor at Louisville-Lincoln at Springfield-Garfield at Cleveland;-and so also of the army-Scott is buried at West Point-Meade at Philadelphia-Thomas at Troy-McPherson at Clyde-whilst all of these, or nearly all, have statues or busts in the National Capitol. So may be it with Grant. Each city, town, and even hamlet may have whatever monument they are willing to erect, but it seems to me better that all should unite and build a strong, solid, simple monument characteristic of the man, over his grave, "On the banks of the Hudson," and then like Shakespeare, inscribe on it: "Good friend, for Jesus' sake, forbeare

To digg the dust encloased heare.

Blest be ye man yt spares thes stones,

And curst be he yt moves my bones."

memory of his

Grant needs no monument to perpetuate the virtues his weaknesses lie buried with his bones. But if one or more monuments are to be erected to gratify the living, let them be like himself, strong, simple, durable, and in good taste.

Better imitate his example, "Accept the situation," and erect