no protest even when he found himself removed from the front to
superintend the fortifying of the coast. A small-minded man would
probably have retired in sulky silence under such circumstances, but
Lee entered upon his new duties with cheerful energy, and in four
months he devised such skillful defenses for Charleston, Savannah
and other points on the Confederate coast line, that they were
enabled to defy all assaults of the Union army and navy until
almost the close of the war. This invaluable service attracted no
public attention, but it was fully appreciated by the Confederate
authorities, who in no wise shared the popular opinion concerning
Lee's talents. On the contrary, President Jefferson Davis, himself
a graduate of West Point, continued to have the highest regard for
his ability, and in March, 1862, he reappointed him as his chief
military adviser at Richmond.

It was about this time that the roar of cannon in the West attracted
the attention of the country, making it realize for the first time
how far flung was the battle line of the contending armies; and
on hard-fought fields, hundreds and hundreds of miles away from
Washington and Richmond, the mud-splashed figure of Grant began to
loom through heavy clouds of smoke.

It was by no brilliant achievement that Grant regained his standing
in the army. The unruly 21st Illinois had been sufficiently
disciplined within a fortnight after he assumed command to take
some pride in itself as an organization and when its short term of
service expired, it responded to the eloquence of McClernand and
Logan, two visiting orators, by reenlisting almost to a man. Then
the Colonel set to work in earnest to make his regiment ready for
the field, drilling and hardening the men for their duties and