In June, 1861, he was appointed Colonel of the Twenty-First Illinois Regiment, whose previous colonel had been forced to resign because he could not manage it. Although the men were at first disposed to laugh at their new colonel, yet they soon found that he was not to be trifled with, and he had been accustomed to obedience. He was at first sent into Missouri, but soon after, having

been made Brigadier-General, he was assigned to the district of Cairo. In this position he made an attack upon Fort Donelson, which capitulated.

Soon after this, Grant's district was enlarged, and called that of West Tennessee, the Tennessee River forming its southern boundary. He was also raised to the position of Major-General.

In December, 1862, he began an attack upon Vicksburg. He at first attempted to carry the place by assault,

but failing in this, he saw no other method than to settle down before the place in regular siege. This resulted in the unconditional surrender of the city and all its military investments.

Soon after this, he engaged at Orchard Knob, Lookout Mountain, and Chattanooga. An Indian chief who was among Grant's troops during the battle at the latter point, thus describes his impressions of him: "It has been a matter of universal wonder that General Grant was not killed, for he was always in front, and perfectly heedless of the storm of hissing bullets and screaming shells flying around him. His apparent want of sensibility does not arise from heedlessness, heartlessness, or vain military affectation, but from a sense of the responsibility resting on him when in battle. When at Ringgold, we rode for half a mile in the face of the enemy, under an incessant fire of cannon and musketry; nor did we ride fast, but on an ordinary trot; and not once, do I believe, did it enter the General's mind that he was in danger. I was by his side, and watched him closely. In riding that distance, we were going to the front, and I could see that he was studying the positions of the two armies, and, of course, planning how to defeat the enemy, who was here making a desperate stand, and slaughtering our men fearfully. Roads are almost useless to him, for he takes short cuts through fields and woods, and will swim his horse through almost any stream that obstructs his way. Nor does it make any difference to him whether he has daylight for his movements, for he will ride from breakfast until two o'clock next morning, and that, too, without eating. The next day he will repeat the same, until he has finished the work."

In acknowledgement of the victory gained, the President addressed Grant as follows:

"WASHINGTON, December 8th.

"MAJOR GENERAL GRANT :

"Understanding that your lodgment at Chattanooga and Knoxville is now secure, I wish to tender you and all under your command my more than thanks-my profoundest gratitude for the skill, courage, and perseverance with which you and they, over so great difficulties, have effected that important object. God bless you all. "A. LINCOLN."

Congress also voted him a medal, and the different Legislatures passed a vote of thanks, and the people

began to demand that he should be made commander-inchief of all the armies. In answer to this demand, a bill was passed creating the rank of Lieutenant-General; and soon after the President sent in Grant's name for the office, and it was agreed to bestow it upon him.

Grant at once proceeded to Washington, and on the

9th of March, 1864, met the President at the White House, in the presence of his Cabinet and General Halleck. In presenting him his commission of Lieutenant-General, President Lincoln expressed his confidence in him, and said: "As the country here trusts you, so, under God, it will sustain you." Grant, after paying a compliment "to the noble Union armies," ended by saying: "I feel the full weight of the responsibilities devolving upon me, and I know 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."

A prominent historian says: "All felt that a new era was now to commence. Congress, in creating the rank, confessed that it had interfered quite long enough in the conduct of military affairs, and thought the Cabinet had, too. The Secretary of War saw in it that the country was tired of his management, and that hereafter he must confine himself to the appropriate duties of his department, which he knew so well how to perform. The new strategy he had introduced, to move immediately on the enemy's works, had had its full and bloody trial, costing the country probably a hundred thousand men. The ruling politicians had become alarmed. Setting out with the determination to control the war, they began to see that under their management the country would soon. get sick of it altogether; and hence, if they did not want to break down utterly, they must place its conduct exclusively in military hands. There was a general sentiment that they dare not lay their hands on Grant, for with his removal there seemed nothing but chaos beyond."

Assuming command of the Armies of the Union, General Grant a once commenced a series of operations which resulted in the downfall of Richmond and the

surrender of General Lee. This last event occurred on the 9th of April, 1865, just one year and one month after he had assumed command of the entire army.

When General Grant received the sword of General Lee, he contemplated it a moment, and then handed it back, saying: "It could not be worn by a nobler man." He spoke the truth-a nobler man than General Lee

never lived. He may have been mistaken in his choice of what he believed to be right, but he always did that which Christian duty seemed to dictate. Grant considered him every whit a hero, and treated him as such. A Southern historian, referring to the surrender of Lee wrote: "The victors were magnanimous; they abstained from every appearance of insult toward the vanquished. Abundant victuals were distributed to prisoners, who were dying of hunger."