JBS (JON) and I were talking a while back and realized we both had copies of U.S. Grant's personal memoirs, so it spurred me on to dig out my copy from an old box in the basement recently. What a trove of treasures!
Even though this is a day past Veteran's Day I wanted to share this little excerpt...
"The Mississippi River was low on the 7th of November, 1861, so that the banks were higher than the heads of men standing on the upper decks of the steamers. The rebels were some distance back from the river, so that their fire was high and did us but little harm. Our smoke-stack was riddled with bullets, but there were only three men wounded on the boats, two of whom were soldiers. When I first went on deck I entered the captain's room adjoining the pilot-house, and threw myself on the sofa. I did not keep that position a moment, but rose to go out on the deck to observe what was going on. I had scarcely left when a musket ball entered the room, struck the head of the sofa, passed through it and lodged in the floor."
