other victory of the war, except the great final triumphs which it was given to the hero of the Donelson fight to win also. Spontaneous meetings were held everywhere and all manner of jubilant public demonstrations were indulged in. The anniversary of Washington's birthday came within a day or two after the public obtained the particulars of the fight; and there has never been so fervently patriotic a celebration of the birthday of the Father of his Country as took place on the 22nd of February, 1862. The writer had the privilege of listening, at Milwaukee, to a very eloquent oration from Hon. Matthias H. Carpenter, in which the elogium in memory of the great dead was gracefully interwoven with a tribute to our northern soldiery and to their intrepid leader in Tennessee. Little did his hearers then think, when mingling their tears of gratitude to the living and of bereavement for the dead, that the same gifted orator would, ten years after, be called upon to defend the fame of the same gallant General from attacks of slander and innuendo made in the United States Senate, and inspired by motives far less worthy of charity than those which made necessary the attack upon Donelson! PROMOTED TO MAJOR GENERAL. The victory achieved at Forts Henry and Donelson was most prolific of good results. The navigation of the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers was assured by it, and the Rebel line of occupation was so effectually penetrated that it had to be with drawn fully two hundred miles on the average, necessitating the abandonment, within a few days, of the strongholds of Columbus, Bowling Green, and Nashville, all of which were speedily occupied by the Union armies. For this achievement Grant was promoted to be a Major General of volunteers. His name was also greatly promoted in the affections of all loyal people, who, whether or not they appreciated the strategic advantages of his position, or the military difficulties which he had overcome, did appreciate the value of a trustworthy leader for the troops whose fighting qualities had been so bravely demonstrated. And it was very refreshing to the souls of the patriotic to learn of a signal victory to the national arms after hearing scarcely aught for months but disaster to a cause and an army that deserved only good fortune. SHILOH. Six months afterwards-as soon as the new levies of troops, now rapidly pouring in from the North, under Lincoln's call for half a million of men, could be organized and drilled a little-came the battle of Pittsburgh Landing; or, as the Rebels called it, Shiloh. This was a step in the aggressive campaign which had been inaugurated (though unfortunately with Halleck, the least aggressive of generals, to direct it) against the strong and threatening forces of the Rebels. These forces had been strengthened by the arrival of Beauregard from Manassas, with 15,000 troops; and an army of at least 60,000 was raised at Corinth, under command of General Albert Sidney Johnston, probably the ablest of all the Rebel generals. To dislodge this army, and to prevent it from assuming the offensive, was the task of Grant. To this end he crossed the Tennessee at Savannah and took up a position on the left bank of the river at Pittsburgh Landing. The ground, a series of wooded ridges and ravines, flanked by creeks, was selected by General C. F. Smith, with reference to its defensibility against the attack which the enemy was deemed sure to make. The attack came rather sooner than was expected, on the morning of the 6th of April, and before Buell's army, which formed a part of Grant's force, could come up from Savannah. The organization and officering of the contending armies were as follows: Force, 45,000. REBELS. Commander-in-chief, Gen. A. S. Johnston. Force, 38,000. UNION FORCES. Commander-in-chief, Maj.-Gen. U. S. Grant. First Division, Maj.-Gen. John A. McClernand. Second Division, Brig.-Gen. W. H. L. Wallace. Third Division, Maj.-Gen. Lewis Wallace. Fourth Division, Brig.-Gen. S. A. Hurlbut. Fifth Division, Brig.-Gen. W. T. Sherman. (The Division of Gen. Lew. Wallace, 5,000 strong, was not engaged during the first days.) In the disposition of Grant's forces for the battle, Gen Prentiss occupied the left, resting on the left bank of the river, near the mouth of Lick Creek. At his right, his line stretching in a curvilinear direction to Owl Creek, was Gen. Sherman, supported in the rear by McClernand, while W. H. L. Wallace was posted with his command a mile in the rear, so as to command the bridge across Owĺ Creek. (or Snake Creek, into which it has emptied) and at the same time act as a reserve for use in case the attack should be pressed too hotly upon the left and center. To guard the flank and rear, Lew Wallace was stationed with his division in column by brigades across the Burdy road, near Crump's Landing, six miles below. The story of the battle was briefly this (for we must not go into detail in regard to each of Grant's battles there were too many of them): The fight was precipitated by a collision between a small reconnoitering party sent out from Prentiss's headquarters, and the advance guard of the enemy, who had already assembled for the attack. The two or three companies of scouts were driven in pell-mell. and Prentiss's force a good deal disordered by the suddenness of the onset. They ral lied, however, and, with help from McClernand, were soon able to make a stand. The battle was waged fiercely all the forenoon, all along Sherman's and Prentiss's lines (the latter officer was taken prisoner early in the day, together with a considerable portion of his command), and again about four o'clock in the afternoon, when the Rebels made a furious charge on our left. This last was directed by Beauregard, General Johnston having fallen mortally wounded at half past two o'clock. The plan of the Rebel commander was to turn Grant's left flank and crowd him away from the river altogether; and to this end the whole force of the enemy was hurled impetuously against the raw levies who made up the larger part of Grant's army. But they fought with all the firmness and more than the desperation of the coolest veterans. The discharge of musketry and artillery was deafening and continuous, from daylight till dark, and the wooded ridges and ravines which formed the battle ground were covered with the dead and wounded, men and horses. Night closed in upon two defeated and shattered armies. That is, the Union forces were driven back a mile all along, and were in-a bad plight for fighting on the morrow; and as for the Rebels, when Grant, reinforced by a few regiments brought by Buell, and by the division of Wallace, now tardily arrived from Crump's Landing, ordered an advance and an attack at daybreak, it was found that the "Johnnies," too, had fallen back, and were so weak as to afford next to no |