ate feat was successfully accomplished; but
before he could land his troops at Grand Gulf, which he had selected as
his starting-point, it was necessary to run its batteries as he had
those of Vicksburg, land his troops farther down the river, and capture
the place by hard fighting. He waited for nothing. Hurrying forward the
moment he touched land, his object was to take Grand Gulf before the
enemy could reinforce it.... After conquering Grand Gulf, where he
expected Banks to join him, he was confronted with the refusal of that
general to co-operate with him. In this dilemma nothing but a
master-stroke of genius could wring success from the materials of
defeat. He saw what was before him, and with true inspiration became the
master of circumstances. At the head of his brave command he pushed
inland, aiming to crush the enemy 'in detail before he could concentrate
his forces.' By a rapid series of brilliant marches, battles and
victories, Grant had, at last, on the nineteenth of May, succeeded in
completely investing Vicksburg. The whole plan from its outset was
brilliant to an extraordinary degree, and the tireless persistence and
energy shown in its accomplishment, stamped this man as a very Gibraltar
of military genius.

"An assault on the enemy's works at first, had proven a failure, and now
the wonderful siege began. For forty-six days the digging and mining
went patiently forward, while screaming shells and booming shot produced
a reign of terror in the city, until at last, Pemberton could hold out
no longer and surrendered his starving garrison to the superior prowess
and strategy of Grant. It was the morning of the fourth of July when our
troops took possession of Vicksburg, and ran up the stars and stripes
from the top of the court-house. The soldiers, standing beneath it, sang
'Rally round the Flag,' and Grant became more than ever the popular
hero. On the thirteenth of July, Lincoln wrote him a letter of 'grateful
acknowledgment for the almost inestimable service' he had rendered the
country. In September he was placed in command of the 'Departments of
the Ohio, of the Cumberland, and of the Tennessee, constituting the
Military Division of the Mississippi.'

* * * * *

"Grant assumed the duties of his high office [the lieutenant-generalship
of the army] without flourish of any sort, and proceeded to inaugurate
the successive steps of his last great campaign. The military resou