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Old 04-12-2019, 08:31 AM
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Arrow Samuel Clemens Biography (aka: Mark Twain)

Samuel Clemens Biography (aka: Mark Twain)
RE: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexp...grant-clemens/

Photo link: https://www-tc.pbs.org/wgbh/american...-2_upscale.jpg

"An American loves his family. If he has any love left over for some other person he generally selects Mark Twain." — Thomas Edison

The world knows him as Mark Twain, the perpetually quotable writer of such classic American novels as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. But some people don't know that Samuel Clemens was the name he was born with — or that he published the Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant, one of the most popular books of the 19th century.

Born in Florida, Missouri, in 1835, Samuel Clemens moved to Hannibal, Missouri, a Mississippi River town, when he was four. When Samuel was 11, his father died, and the boy went to work to help support his family. At 13, he began working as a printer's apprentice for his brother Orion, who published a newspaper in Hannibal. As a young man, Clemens worked as a printer in a number of towns and cities, including New York, Philadelphia, and St. Louis.

For years, Samuel had written short, funny stories and tall tales about life in America. He had even published a few. But about 1857, on a trip down the Mississippi, he abandoned his writing to pursue a lifelong dream — becoming a riverboat pilot. After 18 months of hard work, he earned his pilot's license. Altogether, Twain spent four years steaming up and down the Mississippi.

When the Civil War broke out, Twain spent a few weeks in the Confederate army before resigning and heading to Nevada, where his brother Orion had been appointed territorial secretary. While there, Clemens began to write again -- and adopted the pen name "Mark Twain." A term used in river navigation, "mark twain" means water that is two fathoms (or about 12 feet) deep.

Twain's experiences in the first three decades of his life became fodder for the stories he would later write. One famous Civil War-era incident, which Twain later recounted in Roughing It, immortalized a container of common flour as the National Sanitary Flour Sack. In 1864, a Nevada man named Reuel Gridley received a 50-pound sack of flour as payment for a wager, and decided to auction it off, with the proceeds going to the newly-formed United States Sanitary Commission, a forerunner of the Red Cross. The winner of the auction immediately put the flour up for auction again, and so did the next winner. The sack changed hands over and over, and traveled from town to town, but remained on the auction block as Gridley raised the astonishing sum of $150,000 for wounded Union soldiers and sailors. As Twain would later describe it, the coincidence of flush times for Nevada prospectors and the growing need for charitable contributions for the war was a "happy thing." In the days of the Nevada mining boom, explained Twain, "money was wonderfully plenty. The trouble was, not how to get it, but how to spend it, how to lavish it, get rid of it, squander it."

In 1865 Twain published "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," a humorous tale that earned him national attention. He followed it with Innocents Abroad, his first best-selling book, in 1869. It told the story of a trip he'd taken to Europe and the Middle East.

Twain married a woman named Olivia Langdon in 1870. At their home in Hartford, Connecticut, Twain wrote the novels that made him an American treasure. Among these were Roughing It (1872), Tom Sawyer (1876), and Huckleberry Finn (1884). The books sold well, but Twain struggled financially. A poor businessman, he invested much of his earnings in worthless inventions, and was often in debt. But his relationship with Ulysses S. Grant helped Twain bring in some desperately needed cash.

Twain had heard a rumor that the ex-president and Civil War hero was interested in publishing his memoirs. He visited Grant and proposed a deal. If Grant would let Twain publish his memoirs, he would give Grant 75% of the profits. Like Twain, Grant suffered financial troubles. After some consideration, he agreed to let Twain do the job.

Charles L. Webster & Company, a publisher co-owned by Twain and his niece's husband, published Grant's Memoirs in 1885, shortly after Grant's death. Twain sent salesmen all over the country to sell the work, which was offered as a two-volume set with a choice of three bindings. Many of the salesmen were Civil War veterans. They wore their army uniforms to create sympathy for Grant, who had died just days after finishing his manuscript.

Twain appreciated Grant's writing, and he praised the Memoirs sincerely. Of Grant he wrote, "this is the simple soldier, who, all untaught of the silken phrase-makers, linked words together with an art surpassing the art of the schools and put into them a something which will still bring to American ears, as long as America shall last, the roll of his vanished drums and the tread of his marching hosts."

Grant's memoirs won critical acclaim, and about 300,000 sets were sold. His widow Julia received over $400,000 in royalties from the project. Twain made as much as $100,000, but continued to struggle. Webster & Company went bankrupt. Twain was forced to write and lecture to pay off his debts, which he finally succeeded in doing. The deaths of his wife and two daughters contributed to the deep sadness that Twain experienced in his later years. He died in Redding, Connecticut, in 1910, with his autobiography unfinished.
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O Almighty Lord God, who neither slumberest nor sleepest; Protect and assist, we beseech thee, all those who at home or abroad, by land, by sea, or in the air, are serving this country, that they, being armed with thy defence, may be preserved evermore in all perils; and being filled with wisdom and girded with strength, may do their duty to thy honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

"IN GOD WE TRUST"
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Old 04-12-2019, 08:34 AM
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Arrow Grant's Funeral March

Grant's Funeral March
RE: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexp...grant-funeral/

Photo link: https://www-tc.pbs.org/wgbh/american...-2_upscale.jpg
Thousands of mourners accompanied Grant's tomb through New York City. New York Historical Society.

As Ulysses S. Grant's funeral procession made its way through New York City on August 8, 1885, it seemed everyone in the city was watching. Crowds packed every square inch of available viewing space on the ground, and buildings were draped in black in Grant's honor.

The column of mourners who accompanied Grant was seven miles long. Among those mourners were three United States presidents. If old enemies from the Civil War carried grudges, they set them aside. Grant's pallbearers were Generals William Tecumseh Sherman and Philip Sheridan, who had fought for the Union, and Simon Bolivar Buckner and Joseph Johnston, who had fought for the Confederacy. Union and Confederate officers in the procession rode together in the same carriages.

Placed in a "temporary" tomb in Riverside Park, Grant's body stayed there for nearly 12 years, while supporters raised money for the construction of a permanent resting place. In what was then the biggest public fundraising campaign in history, some 90,000 people from around the world donated over $600,000 to build Grant's Tomb.

Designed by architect John Duncan, the tomb overlooks the Hudson River in New York's Morningside Heights. The monument is partly modeled on one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the tomb built at Halikarnassos (modern-day Bodrum in Turkey) for King Mausolus by his grieving wife, Artemisia. Mausolus' tomb was so spectacular it a coined a Latin word, "mausoleum," that defined a large, stately burial structure. Grant's granite and marble monument includes mosaics depicting Grant's victories at Vicksburg and Chattanooga and General Robert E. Lee's surrender to Grant at Appomattox. A million people, including President William McKinley, attended the tomb's dedication on April 27, 1897, 10 days after Grant's body had been moved there. Grant's Tomb was — and is —the largest tomb in North America.

After her death in 1902, Grant's wife Julia was laid to rest alongside her husband. Sadly, as the 20th century wore on, Grant's Tomb deteriorated. After Grant's descendents threatened to move his body elsewhere, the National Park Service spent $1.8 million to restore the tomb. The restoration was completed and the tomb rededicated in 1997. Today, about 100,000 people visit Grant's Tomb each year.
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O Almighty Lord God, who neither slumberest nor sleepest; Protect and assist, we beseech thee, all those who at home or abroad, by land, by sea, or in the air, are serving this country, that they, being armed with thy defence, may be preserved evermore in all perils; and being filled with wisdom and girded with strength, may do their duty to thy honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

"IN GOD WE TRUST"
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Old 04-12-2019, 08:40 AM
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Arrow Biography: General Robert E. Lee

Biography: General Robert E. Lee
RE: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexp...res/grant-lee/

Picture link: https://www-tc.pbs.org/wgbh/american...-2_upscale.jpg

No man proved a more worthy opponent to Ulysses S. Grant than Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Lee was born the fourth child of Colonel Henry Lee and Ann Hill Carter on January 19, 1807. Lee's father, also known as "Light-Horse Harry," had been a cavalry leader during the Revolutionary War. Henry Lee had also served as governor of Virginia.

Despite their position in Virginia's ruling elite, the Lee family did not enjoy fantastic wealth. Without the money to attend a university, young Robert E. Lee instead entered the United States Military Academy at West Point. There, he quickly rose in the ranks and graduated second in the class of 1829.

Lee first saw battle in the Mexican War, fought in 1846-48. He served as captain under General Winfield Scott. Later, Scott would write about Lee's remarkable performance in that war, calling him "the very best soldier I ever saw in the field." In October of 1859, Lee was called upon to stop John Brown's attempted slave insurrection at Harper's Ferry, Virginia. It took Lee only an hour to put an end to Brown's raid.

Such early successes made Lee a leading candidate to command Union forces against the South once it decided to secede. Reluctant to engage in a war against the South, Lee turned down an offer of command of the Union forces. On April 18, 1861, the Virginia Secession Convention, made up of the state's ruling elite, voted to join the Southern states in secession. As practical issues, Lee did not oppose either slavery or secession. Although he felt slavery in the abstract was a bad thing, he blamed the national conflict on abolitionists, and accepted the pro-slavery policies of the Confederacy. He chose to fight to defend his homeland. He resigned from the army he had served for 36 years, and accepted the command of Virginia's forces.

After an initially unsuccessful foray as a field commander in western Virginia in 1861, Lee supervised the preparation of coastal defenses along the South Atlantic seaboard before being called to Richmond to serve as military advisor to President Jefferson Davis. He assumed command of the Army of Northern Virginia in May 1862, replacing the seriously wounded Joseph E. Johnston, and immediately embarked on a series of skillful offensive operations that repelled the Union forces outside Richmond in the Seven Days Battles in June and July 1862. Lee followed this with an offensive drive northward that culminated in victory at Second Manassas in August 1862.

However, his effort to carry the war across the Potomac nearly led to disaster when he barely fended off Union assaults at Antietam. Retreating back to Virginia, Lee again displayed deft generalship by checking Union offensives at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville; in the latter battle he prevailed, despite being outnumbered two to one, by dividing his army, outflanking the enemy, and delivering a smashing attack.

Lee followed up this triumph with another invasion of the North, this time suffering a major defeat at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, from July 1 through July 3, 1863. Skilled as he was in repelling Union offensives and outfoxing his Northern counterparts, Lee's preference for battle cost his army dearly. By the time he confronted Ulysses S. Grant in 1864, the drain upon his manpower was noticeable. Despite waging an adroit defensive campaign, he was unable to halt Grant's drive southward or to prevent him from laying siege to Richmond and Petersburg by the summer of 1864. Efforts to divert Union forces with operations in the Shenandoah Valley, including several strikes northward across the Potomac, forced Lee to contemplate how best to continue the war by abandoning the Confederate capital.

By the beginning of April 1865, Grant's armies broke through what remained of the Confederate defenses, and Lee evacuated Richmond and Petersburg on the evening of April 2. A week later, he surrendered what remained of his army to Grant at Appomattox Court House. After the war, Lee accepted the presidency of Washington College in Lexington, Virginia, where he died on October 12, 1870.

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Letters from Lee
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexp...s/lee-letters/

Painting of Lee & His Generals:
https://www-tc.pbs.org/wgbh/american...-2_upscale.jpg

Letter from Robert E. Lee to Winfield Scott, written two days after his meeting with Francis Blair where he refused command of the Union Army. In this letter Lee explains his reasoning behind his resignation from the U.S. Armed Forces.

Arlington, Washington City, P.O
20 Apr 1861
Lt. Genl Winfield Scott
Commd U.S. Army

#1 - Genl, Since my interview with you on the 18th Inst: I have felt that I ought not longer to retain any Commission in the Army. I therefore tender my resignation which I request you will recommend for acceptance. It would have been presented at once but for the struggle it has Cost me to separate myself from a Service to which I have divoted all the best years of my life, & all the ability I possessed. During the whole of that time, more than a quarter of a century, I have experienced nothing but kindness from my superiors & the most Cordial friendships from any Comrades. To no one Genl have I been as much indebted as to yourself for kindness & Consideration & it has always been my ardent desire to merit your approbation. I shall carry with me, to the grave the most grateful recollections of your kind Consideration, & your name & fame will always be dear to me. Save in the defense of my native state shall I ever again draw my sword. Be pleased to accept any more [illegible] wishes for "the Continuance of your happiness & prosperity & believe me.

Most truly yours,
R E Lee

#2 - The following is a letter penned by Lee to his youngest daughter Mildred, whom he called "Precious Life," near the end of the war. Many of Lee's letters to his children are published in Robert E. Lee Jr.'s book, Recollections and Letters of General Robert E. Lee.

Camp Petersburg, November 6, 1864

#3 - My Precious Life:

This is the first day I have had leisure to answer your letter. I enjoyed it very much at the time of its reception, and have enjoyed it since, but I have often thought of you in the meantime, and have seen you besides. Indeed, I may say, you are never out of my thoughts. I hope you think of me often, and if you could know how earnestly I desire your true happiness, how ardently I pray you may be directed to every good and saved from every evil, you would as sincerely strive for its accomplishment. Now in your youth you must be careful to discipline your thoughts, words, and actions. Habituate yourself to useful employment, regular improvement, and to the benefit of all those around your. You have had some opportunity of learning the rudiments of your education--not as good as I should have desired, but I am much cheered by the belief that you availed yourself of it-- and I think you are now prepared by diligence and study to learn whatever you desire. Do not allow yourself to forget what you have spent so much time and labour acquiring, but increase it every day by extended application. I hope you will embrace in your studies all useful acquisitions. I was much pleased to hear that while at 'Bremo' you passed much of your time in reading and music. All accomplishments will enable you to give pleasure, and thus exert a wholesome influence. Never neglect the means of making yourself useful in the world. I think you will not have to complain of Rob again for neglecting your schoolmates. He has equipped himself with a new uniform from top to toe, and, with a new and handsome horse, is cultivating a marvellous beard and preparing for conquest. I went down on the lines to the right, Friday, beyond Rowanty Creek, and pitched my camp within six miles of Fitzhugh's last night. Rob came up and spent the night with me, and Fitzhugh appeared early in the morning. They rode with me till late that day. I visited the battlefield in that quarter, and General Hampton in describing it said there had not been during the war a more spirited charge than Fitzhugh's division made that day up the Boydton plank road, driving cavalry and infantry before him, in which he was stopped by night. I did not know before that his horse had been shot under him. Give a great deal of love to your dear mother, and kiss your sisters for me. Tell them they must keep well, not talk too much, and go to bed early. Ever your devoted father.

R E Lee
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O Almighty Lord God, who neither slumberest nor sleepest; Protect and assist, we beseech thee, all those who at home or abroad, by land, by sea, or in the air, are serving this country, that they, being armed with thy defence, may be preserved evermore in all perils; and being filled with wisdom and girded with strength, may do their duty to thy honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

"IN GOD WE TRUST"
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