In  all  his  brilliant  career  he  never  suffered
defeat.  It  has  been  well  said  of  him  that
to  his  soldiers  he  was  "  an  inspiration — a
prophecy  of  success ;  they  believed  him
invincible."

His  Promotion.
Another  point  in  the  military  career  of
General  Logan  stands  out  in  bold  relief,
greatly  to  his  credit,  and  showing  the  esti
mation  in  which  he  was  held  by  those  in
authority  who  sou  ght  for  the  best  possible
material  to  place  in  command  when  the
dismemberment  of  the  Union  was  threat
ened  and  the  speedy  ending  of  the  fratri
cidal  and  unnatural  war  was  a  "  consum
mation  most  devoutly  to  be  wished."  It
is  this  :  General  Logan  was  the  one  and
only  exception  to  the  rule  :  was  the  single
instance  in  which  a  volunteer  officer,
who  had  risen  from  a  private  to  the  rank
of  Major- General,  ever  commanded  an
army.
General  Summary.
The  following  summary  exhibits  in  one
paragraph,  the  political  and  military  posi
tions  held  by  General  John  A.  Logan,  and
they  illustrate  what  an  amount  can  be  per
formed  by  one  man.
In  the  fall  of  the  year  (1852)  he  was
chosen  to  represent  the  counties  of  Frank
lin  and  Jackson  in  the  legislature  and  re-
elected  in  1856.  He  was  in  1853  appointed
Prosecuting  Attorney,  retaining  the  office
until  the  fall  of  1856  ;  the  same  year  was
chosen  a  Presidential  elector  and  elected
to  the  XXXVIth  and  XXXVIIth  Cong-
resses,  resigning  to  enter  the  Union  Army,
carrying  a  musket  in  the  first  battle  of  Bull


58


JOHN  A.    LOGAN.
