He was all that Lee was not <br />A shorter and record tarnished soldier <br />Lee the perfect cadet at West Point <br />Poor Grant barely makes it through. <br /> <br />The way he wooed his wife as though a war. <br />The way he built his own farm house from scratch. <br />The way he resigned his Captain’s Commission <br />The way he worked for his father and brother. <br /> <br />The way he volunteered in the Mexican War, <br />To ride a horse for help through enemy lines. <br />The way he pushed his army to the breaking point. <br />The way he wore down the most steadfast enemy. <br /> <br />The way he waged peace, and waged war. <br />His kind heart, yet cold-hearted warring. <br />His daring Inchon-like invasion of Vicksburg. <br />His relentless pursuit of the Army of NOVA <br /> <br />His presidency was attacked relentlessly, <br />Yet he was America at its best, <br />Always moving fast on a swift horse, <br />Toward some achievable goal. <br /> <br />With muddy boots he gave Lee generous terms; <br />Spotless General Lee with his jeweled sword: <br />And ordered celebrations of victory stopped, <br />Yet Gen. Lee and the South never accepted defeat. <br /> <br />Lincoln was shot to death and the peace plans died, <br />The nation had fallen the son of a Tanner from Galena, <br />A failed shopkeeper, and an unsuccessful farmer, <br />A hardscrabble victor in a difficult war to win.<br /><br />Robert Founder<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/grant-general-and-president-ii/
