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The grand result of the battle of Chattanooga, therefore, was of the highest value to the struggling Republic. It struck a staggering blow at the great Rebellion. It went far to free Kentucky and Tennessee from the despotic tyranny of rebel rule, and opened a door of hope for the panting Union spirit of Northern Alabama and Northern Georgia. It secured what remained to be possessed of the Valley of the Mississippi, and guarded securely the now wideopen and already thronged gateway of the mighty West.

If the victory of Chattanooga had not been won as it was by Grant, it would have been impossible to have subsisted any longer our armies in that region. We should have been compelled to have surrendered Knoxville and Nashville, Tenn., two of the most important posts in all that quarter of the West, and given an onward impetus to the Rebellion in the spring of 1864 it would have been well-nigh impossible to have resisted.

At the time of the arrival of Grant at Chattanooga our armies had been greatly depleted in numbers and impaired by deficiency of provisions. Rank after rank had fallen away; train after train of supplies had failed; men, horses and mules staggered in weakness along the beleaguered thoroughfares to suffer and to die. But in the midst of all this blackness of darkness the mind of Grant was illumined with light. He saw toil, privation, battle and death

His personal

in the distance; but he also saw victory. It was this that nerved and cheered him on. attention was directed to every thing. The minutest cbject of importance did not escape his searching eye. He at once proceeded to organize the victory of Chattanooga. It was all his — from the beginning to the ending.

Walking through the post of Chattanooga, entirely alone, with no mark or badge of distinction about him, although little observed by others he was constantly observing them all. His quarters were of the most unpretending character. His orders were strict, stern and direct. When he took private-property for government purposes it was assessed at a fair valuation and its ultimate payment guaranteed. Rich rebels were made to disgorge their ill-gotten gains to aid in putting down the wicked Rebellion they had helped originate. The returning spirit of loyalty was welcomed with open arms.

Many attempts had been made by the principal rebel generals of the West to flank the Union position several miles to the eastward of Chattanooga, for the purpose of marching into Tennessee and capturing Knoxville. But Grant foiled the enemy in these plots at every point. He was duly apprised of the position of affairs, and made all his movements accordingly, developing his remarkable strategy in a manner never to be forgotten. By attacking the thin line of the enemy on the flank, taking his inner

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line of rifle pits and other defences running along the valley, capturing Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain, he plucked the key of the whole position from the hand of the Rebellion. This was the work before Grant, and history has shown how nobly he did it. From the moment of launching the first reconnoitring boat and the firing of the first warning gun, Grant was the personal director of the fight. From the ramparts of Fort Wood he watched the whole scene of conflict, and issued his orders with all the coolness of a man conscious of a just cause and well assured of final victory. The location

of corps and commanders was all his own. Stationed himself within reach of the enemy, his directions were applicable at every point. The ascent of the steeps of Missionary Ridge, the storming of the heights of Lookout Mountain, were movements controlled by him, through his united and gallant associates. What seemed like madness to other men was sane and sure to Grant. Who but he would have dared that intervening valley between him and the enemy, where bullets rained down in fiery showers? Who but he would have swept up that hill-side, lined with rifle pits to its summit? Who but he would have mounted the heights where the parks of artillery were blazing with death?

A hundred thousand people were engaged in the The voice of Grant, low, subdued, calm, could be occasionally heard issuing an order, and

scene.

the panorama of battle changed and passed to and fro as if touched by magic. One, two, three, four, five, six, at intervals of two seconds, the signal guns of Grant sounded the advance. The troops of the hero passed to the field with the precision of a review. Every man was in his place; every foot kept time; every bayonet was erect; every banner full high unfurled. Now the fight begins. The cannon are roaring through the hills at the rate of sixty a minute, while the rattle of the musketry of tens of thousands of men is like the long roll of drums. Streams of fire blaze out from the rifled cliffs as from uncapped volcanoes. The valley fills with smoke as if it had suddenly become a lake. The tide of deadly strife surges on, hour after hour, and the hard-fought victory is won. The boasting rebels were scattered before us on every side. Their army stores for miles in extent were committed to the flames. The triumph was complete.

The modest Grant announced this great result in a four-line despatch, dated at Chattanooga, Nov. 25, 1863, in which he says:

"I believe I am not premature in announcing a complete victory."

So quietly had the General conducted his preparatory movements that when he began his first attack, the rebels from their lofty parapets thought he was engaging in a review. They were taken by surprise in the open daylight. Grant at once moved out in

AT CHATTANOOGA.

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person, riding along the entire advanced line, and reviewing the position from each headquarters of the whole army. His own headquarters were constantly under fire during the closing hours of the battle, and until the glorious victory was secure.

Such was Grant at Chattanooga.

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