Quote#Pain
He did not say a monument to what, but he meant, I am sure, to leave…
Quote byDavid Dixon Porter · 1813–1891
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Incidents and Anecdotes of the Civil War (1885), p. 296, emphasis added.
English (original)
He did not say a monument to what, but he meant, I am sure, to leave it as a monument to the loyalty of our soldiers, who would bear all the horrors of Libby sooner than desert their flag and cause. We struggled on, the great crowd preceding us, and an equally dense crowd of blacks following on behind all so packed together that some of them frequently sang out in pain.
— David Dixon Porter
More from David Dixon Porter
There was a time not long ago when Vicksburg could have been easily captured, but it is now a second Gibraltar, and the navy alone could do nothing toward capturing it.
The people fairly went wild; they set fire to the cotton along the levees, and seemed determined that nothing valuable should fall into our hands. They did not apparently remember that, so far, our navy had respected private rights and …
I was much disappointed at seeing those who had once belonged to the United States navy excelled in matters of honor and propriety by the officers of another corps.
I think every man should be obliged to take that oath, for I have seen more treason in the last ten days than I ever supposed could exist in the United States Navy.
As to the navy, it is said the several commanding officers grounded on the beef-bones thrown overboard from their flag-ships, but this I do not believe.
Why, Mister President, the general impression is that Grant won the battle of Shiloh; as he commanded the army, he would seem entitled to the credit.