[CHAPTER XII.]
Wherein Captain Galligasken rehearses the persistent Efforts of the illustrious Soldier to obtain Permission to attack Fort Henry, and follows him to the Capture of that important Position.
General Grant gained no immediate credit for his brilliant action at Belmont. The objects of the movement were not understood, and as the victorious army did not retain the position it had won, the general public regarded it as a defeat. The balance of injury was against the rebels, and in favor of the national arms. Grant gained all, and more than all, he intended. He had no occasion to be forgiven for Belmont. It was his first battle in the Rebellion, and the first of the unbroken line of victories he achieved which gladdened the heart of the nation from time to time.
Grant was always generous, even to magnanimity. His report of the battle bestows the warmest praise upon those who deserved it. There was none of that petty, sixpenny jealousy in his composition which belittled some other able generals, and which in a few instances seriously interfered with the progress of the Union arms. He had no occasion to decry others in order to magnify himself. He was willing to let his fame take care of itself. He did everything for the cause, nothing at all for himself. He was too magnanimous to mention the indiscretions of the officers who, through lack of experience, imperilled the day, for they were errors of the head, and not of the heart.
A few days after the battle of Belmont, Fremont was superseded by Halleck. The change did not injure the immediate prospects of Grant, though for two months the general was employed only in organizing and drilling troops, some of which were for service in his own district, and some were intended for other parts of the department, and he was permitted to make no forward movement. For the old name the new commander substituted the District of Cairo, and changed its limits so as to include the portion of Kentucky west of the Cumberland River.
During this period of comparative inaction, flags of truce frequently passed between Cairo and Columbus, and interviews between the generals in command of the posts took place. General Polk seems to have been a very hospitable gentleman, and at the close of each conference invariably brought out his wine to treat his guests. It was not unusual to propose a toast, and on one occasion the bishop general offered one which he declared all could drink. The glasses were filled,—Grant's with water, of course,—and Polk gave, "To General Washington—" He paused there, and the company raised their glasses to their lips, and were in the act of honoring the great name, when the proposer of the sentiment added—"the first rebel."
"That was scarcely fair, general," interposed Grant, who had nearly finished his glass; "but I will be even with you some other time."