Rensselaer Standard, Volume 1, Number 24, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 November 1879 — A Leaf from History. [ARTICLE]

A Leaf from History.

An exchange publishes the following letter, dated Raleigh, N. C., April 24, 1865: Bitting around a blazing camp fire, a few evenings since, several Illinois officers related their experiences of General Grant in civil life. Here is, as nearly as I can recollect it, what General John E. Smith said on the subject: “I don’t-believe any man In Illinois knew Grant better than I did, and I think I had quite as much to do as any other man in bringing him into the war. I lived in Galena at the time. Grant’s place* of business was near mine. He kept a hardware and sadlery store. I used to drop in to see him very often, on my way home, and he and I would generally smoke our pipes together in his office, adjoining his store. He was a very poor business man, and never liked to wait on customers. If a customer called in the absence of the clerks, he would tell him to wait a few minutes till one of tiieclerks returned; and if he couldn’t wait, the General would go behind the counter, very reluctantly, and drag down whatever was wanted; bat he

hardly ever knew the price of it, an in nine cases out of ten he charged either too much or too little. He would rather talk about the Mexioan war thau wait on the best customer in the world, When the war broke out I told him one day that I was going down to Springfield to see Gov. Yates, who had sent for me. Grant merely remarked, in a quiet way: “You can say to the Governor that if I can be of any use to him in the organization of these regiments, I will be glad to do What I can.’ I went to Springfield and made arrangements for Grant to be sent for. He came right down and went to work to organize ten regiments called out as a sort of home-guard, fo 1 * thirty days at first, but afterwards enlisted for three years. When hefhadjdone this,and was ready to go home, Gov. Yates offered him the Colonelcy of the 21st Regiment, one of the ten. 'He accepted it, and immediately went to camp. I went with him, and I shall never forget the scene that occurred when his men first saw him. It was very laughable. Graut was dressed very clumsily, in a suit of citizens’ clothes—an old coat, worn out at the elbows, and a badly-dinged plug hat. His* men, thohgh ragged and barefooted themselves, had formed a high estimate of what a Colonel ought to be, and when Grant walked in among them they began making fun of him. They cried out in derision, ‘Look at our Colonel!’ ‘What a Colonel!’. ‘D—n such a Colonel;’ and made all sorts of fun out of him. A few of them, to‘show off’ to the others, got behind his back and began sparring at him, and while one was doing this another gave him such a push that made him hit Grant a terrible blow between the shouldere. The General soon stiowed them that they must not Judge the officer by the uniform,.and before he got through the unruly fellows felt very much mortified. One of them generously confessed that It was all in fun, aud hoped the new Colonel wouldn’t get mad about it. Grant went to work immediately, and in a very short time had his men clothed and fixed up iu good style.”