Grant And Confederate

The following anecdote is related by General Horace Porti r in bis "Canipaigning With Grant," in The Centniy: Whilc ridiug about the field General Grant stopped at a house and expressed a desire to prepare some dispatches. A nuinbcr of wounded were lying upon the porch and in the rooms. They had made their way there in accordanee with the usual onstom of wounded men to seek a house. It seems to be a natural instinct, as a house conveys the idea of shelter and of home. I walked with the general into a back room to see whether there was a dry spot which he might take possession of for a short time to write messages and look over the maps. As we entered there was seen sitting in the only chair a Confedérate lieutenant of infautiy who had been shot in the left cheek, the ball passing through his mouth and coming out near the right ear. A mass of coagulated blood covered his face and neck, and he presented a shocking appearance. He arose the moment we entered, pushed his chair forward toward the general and said, with a bow and a smile, "Here, take my chair, sir. ' ' General Grant looked at him and replied: "Ah, you need that chair much more than I. Keep your seat. I see you are badly hurt. ' ' The officer_ answered good naturedly: "If you folks let me go back to our lines, I think I ought to be able to get a leave to go home and see my girl. But I reckon she wouldn't know me now. " The general said, "I will see that oue of our surgeons does all in his power for you, ' ' and thon stepped out of the room. He told one of the surgeons who was dressing the wounds of our men to do what he could for the Confedérate. We did not hear what became of him afterward. He probably never knew that he had been talking to the general in chief of the Yankee armies. The dispatches were afterward written in another room.