dsome letter of
congratulation. The fortunate general had been made a major-general of
volunteers after his victory at Donelson; and he was now promoted to
the rank of major-general in the regular army.

A new department had been created for Major-General Grant, covering
nearly all the territory south of the Ohio. He was worn out and sick
after the severe exertions of the summer; but when informed that
Rosecrans was shut up and closely besieged by Bragg, in Chattanooga,
he set out for this point with only his personal staff. On the way he
used the telegraph and the mails, and suggested or ordered such steps
as would relieve the place, for the Army of the Cumberland, shut off
from supplies, was in desperate straits, sick and famished.
Reinforcements were hurried, and the result of his preparations was
the decided victory of the battle of Chattanooga and Missionary Ridge.
In this battle General Sheridan came to his notice for the first time.

General Grant was thanked, and presented with a gold medal by
Congress. He had become the idol of the loyal nation; but he bore his
honors very meekly. The grade of lieutenant-general was revived, and
conferred upon him. All the armies of the United States were now under
his command. He was called to Washington, and it is not possible even
to mention the honors that were showered upon him. In due time he took
his place at the head of the Army of the Potomac, and fought some of
the most terrible battles of the war. Richmond was his first objective
point, and failing in the direct approach to the capital of the
Confederacy, he moved upon it from the south. It was a long struggle,
but in the end Richmond fell.

At Appomattox Court House Grant received the surrender of General Lee,
granting the most magnanimous terms to the defeated army. The other
armies of the Confederacy soon followed the example of the Army of
Virginia, and the long and terrible conflict of over four years was
ended in a victorious Union. As soon as the surrender was effected,
General Grant, without any pomp or parade, proceeded to Washington,
not even taking in Richmond on his way, and reported in person to
President Lincoln. He advised the immediate reduction of the army,
sustained at an enormous expense, and no longer needed.

The war was ended! Perhaps no man ever stood higher in the estimation
of his country than Grant, and it was inevitable that he should become
a candidate for the Presidency. He had been a