Our Standard-Bearer; Or, The Life of General Uysses S. Grant

by Oliver Optic

They breakfasted together and talked over the affair, thus happily ended for one, thus disastrously ended for the other. During the interview which followed, Buckner alluded to the inferior force of his adversary at the commencement of the siege.

"If I had been in command, you wouldn't have reached Fort Donelson so easily," said he, with a natural desire to explain the cause of his misfortune.

"If you had been in command, I should have waited for reënforcements, and marched from Fort Henry in greater strength; for I knew that Pillow would not come out of his works to fight, and I told my staff so, though I believed he would fight behind his works."

Grant knew not only the men upon his own side, but those on the other. He weighed and measured both Floyd and Pillow, and made his calculations accordingly. He did nothing in the dark, bold and daring as his movements were. He read human character with almost infallible accuracy, and it appears that his splendid victory at Donelson was gained as much by his knowledge of the men whom he had to fight, as by his sudden and wonderful seizing of an advantage. He knew nothing of the obstinate battle which had been fought while he was on board of the gunboat, until he was informed of the fact after he came on shore. On the instant he ordered Smith to prepare for an assault. He saw the weak point of the enemy, as well as the disordered state of his own right. Here was his stroke of genius. In that he conquered, for the assault he ordered on the moment gave Smith the key to the fortress.

In this tremendous battle he exhibited the highest qualities of a man and a soldier, and showed that he was equal to any position to which he might be assigned. When the news of the fall of Fort Donelson reached Washington, Secretary Stanton immediately recommended Grant's promotion to the rank of major-general of volunteers. President Lincoln nominated him to the Senate on the same day, and he was instantly confirmed. The secretary of war seized eagerly upon the brilliant qualities of the man who had worked out this victory, and held him up to the admiration of the country, as he deserved to be held up, adding that "the true organization of victory, and military combination to end this war, were declared in a few words by General Grant's message to General Buckner: 'I propose to move immediately on your works'" And the noble secretary clung to the successful general during the rest of the war.

Sixty-five guns and fifteen thousand prisoners were the spoils of war to the victor at Fort Donelson—a whole army of captives, such as the North had not known before. On the last day of the fight, Grant had twenty-seven thousand men, and the rebels had above twenty-one thousand, so that the disparity in numbers between the combatants was by no means so great as that in position, which favored the rebels.

As the steamers with the rebel prisoners were about to start for the Ohio River, Buckner, who was very proud of his soldiers, asked Grant to go and see his own brigade. The victorious general accepted the invitation, and the prisoners crowded around him, respectfully but curiously anxious to see their captor. Buckner informed them that Grant had treated them very handsomely, and begged them, if ever the fortunes of war reversed the circumstances, to treat him, or any of his troops, as kindly and magnanimously as he had used them. Grant has a large heart, which I have several times before indicated in mentioning his relations with his friends and benefactors. It is demonstrated even more forcibly in his generous conduct to his enemies, or, rather, the enemies of the loyal cause; for until envy and jealousy developed them, it does not appear that he had any others.

The country rang with Grant's praise. A new light had loomed up in the firmament of the war, and people hailed the glorious star. His initials now meant "Unconditional Surrender"—the only terms which he could offer to men in arms against their own country. The victory at Donelson was the most important and the most suggestive one which had yet gladdened the loyal heart. It was regarded as the beginning of a new order of things; and well do I remember the confident prediction of one who weighed Grant well, that he would yet be President of the United States.

General Halleck appears to have been a stumbling-block in the path of both Grant and Sherman. There was a dirty vein in his nature, which contrasts strongly with the generosity and magnanimity of the hero of Fort Donelson. While McCullum, Halleck's chief of staff, congratulated him upon the splendid result of his "brilliant leadership," and others high in command followed his example, Halleck himself sent no letter of commendation to the conqueror, but telegraphed to Washington that "Smith, by his coolness and bravery, when the battle was against us, turned the tide and carried the enemy's outworks. Make him a major-general. You can't get a better one. Honor him for this victory, and the whole country will applaud." Thus said Halleck.

Buckner congratulated Smith on his gallant charge, after the surrender. "Yes, it was well done," he replied, "considering the smallness of the force that did it. No congratulations are due to me. I simply obeyed orders." Thus said Smith himself, with the ring of honor which swells the heart of a true soldier. The government practically decided that the victory belonged to General Ulysses S. Grant. He was promptly confirmed as a major-general, and "the whole country applauded."