“Massaponax Church, Va. View of the church, temporary headquarters of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, surrounded by soldiers” May 21, 1864
From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in May 1864:
TO ALL PATRIOTS. – The New York Times proposes that the whole country send up prayers to Heaven for the protection of the great leader of our army, Lieut-Gen. Grant. His great Lieutenant has fallen – Sedgwick is no more. The heroic Wadsworth sleeps in death. Hays, Stevenson, Rice and Owens have fought their last fight. many others of his staunchest Generals, scores upon scores of his Colonels, and hundreds of other invaluable officers, have been killed or put out of the field by wounds. How terrible the thought that some one of the million whizzing bullets may perchance strike the head or heart of Gen. Grant. God save the Lieutenant General! God save the Lieutenant General! Amen! Amen!
I got fooled when I read this. I thought the Seneca County Democrat newspaper exaggerated the call for prayer in the Times into a sarcastic comment on the war and the Times’ support for its “vigorous prosecution”, but I was wrong. The Democrat paper played it straight except for the final Amens. From The New-York Times May 13, 1864:
To ALL PATRIOTS.
— Let the whole country send up prayers to Heaven for the protection of the great leader of our army, Lieut.-Gen. GRANT. His great lieutenant has fallen — SEDGWICK is no more. The heroic WADSWORTH sleeps in death. HAYS, STEVENSON, RICE and OWENS have fought their last fight. Many others of his staunchest Generals, scores upon scores of his Colonels, and hundreds of other invaluable officers, have been killed or put out of the field by wounds. How terrible the thought that some one of the million whizzing bullets may perchance strike the head or heart of Gen. GRANT. God save the Lieutenant-General! God save the Lieutenant-General!
“Massaponax Church, Va. “Council of War”: Gen. Ulysses S. Grant examining map held by Gen. George G. Meade” May 21, 1864
