Gen. Grant's native State is Ohio; he was born in Clermont county, in the town of Point Pleasant, April 27, 1822; he was educated at West Point, graduating in 1843; was second lieutenant in the Fourth Infantry; served in the Mexican war, and participated in nearly every battle; was promoted to the rank of captain; he resigned his commission in 1854, and took up his residence on a farm near St. Louis; in 1859 he came to Illinois, locating at Galena, where he was residing when the war for the Union ensued. How GRANT ENTERED THE ARMY. Governor Yates, in his last biennial message to the General Assembly of 1865, thus graphically tells how Gen. Grant first entered the service of his country in 1861: "Prominent among the many distinguished names who have borne their early commissions from Illinois, I refer, with special pride, to the character and priceless services to the country of Ulysses S. Grant. In April, 1861, he tendered his personal services to me, saying that he had been the recipient of a military education at West Point, and that now, when the country was involved in a war for its preservation and safety, he thought it his duty to offer his services in defense of the Union, and that he would esteem it a privilege to be assigned to any position where he could be useful.' The plain, straightforward demeanor of the man, and the modesty and earnestness which characterized his offer of assistance, at once awakened a lively interest in him, and impressed me with a desire to secure his counsel for the benefit of volunteer organizations then forming for Government service. At first I assigned him a desk in the Executive office; and his familiarity with military organization and regulations made him an invaluable assistant in my own and the office of the Adjutant-General. Soon his admirable qualities as a military commander became apparent, and I assigned him to command of the camps of organization at Camp Yates,' Springfield, 'Camp Grant,' Mattoon, and 'Camp Douglas,' at Anna, Union county, at which the 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 18th, 19th and 21st regiments of Illinois Volunteers, raised under the call of the President of the 15th of April, and under the "Ten Regiment Bill,' of the extraordinary session of the Legislature, convened April 23, 1861, were rendezvoused. His employment had special reference to the organization and muster of these forces-the first six into United States, and the last three into the State service. This was accomplished about the 10th of May, 1861, at which time he left the State for a brief period, on a visit to his father, at Covington, Kentucky. The 21st regiment of Illinois volunteers, raised in Macon, Cumberland, Piatt, Douglas, Moultrie, Edgar, Clay, Clark, Crawford and Jasper counties, for thirty-day State service, organized at the camp at Mattoon, preparatory to three years' service for the Government, had become very much demoralized, under the thirty days' experiment, and doubts arose in relation to their acceptance for a longer period. I was much perplexed to find an efficient and experienced officer to assume command of the regiment, and take it into the three years' service. I ordered the regiment to Camp Yates, and after consulting Hon. Jesse K. Dubois, who had many friends in the regiment, and Col. John S. Loomis, Assistant AdjutantGeneral, who was at the time in charge of the AdjutantGeneral's office, and on terms of personal intimacy with Grant, I decided to offer the command to him, and accordingly telegraphed Captain Grant, at Covington, Kentucky, tendering him the Colonelcy. He immediately reported, accepting the commission, taking rank as Colonel of that regiment from the 15th day of June, 1861. Thirty days previous to that time the regiment numbered over one thousand men, but in consequence of laxity in discipline of the first commanding officer, and other discouraging obstacles connected with the acceptance of troops at that time, but six hundred and three men were found willing to enter the three years' service. In less than ten days Col. Grant filled the regiment to the maximum standard, and brought it to a state of discipline seldom attained in the volunteer service, in so short a time. His was the only regiment that left the camp of organization on foot. He marched from Springfield to the Illinois river, but, in an emergency requiring troops to operate against Missouri rebels, the regiment was transported, by rail, to Quincy, and Col. Grant was assigned to the command for the protection of the Quincy and Palmyra and Hannibal and St. Joseph railroads. He soon distinguished himself as a regimental commander in the field, and his claims for increased |