? Citizens of Paducah,I have come among you not as your enemybut as your friend and fellow...

� Citizens of Paducah,
I have come among you not as your enemy
but as your friend and fellow citizen,
not to injure or annoy you but to respect the rights
and to defend and enforce the rights
of all loyal citizens. ‐ Grant issues a proclamation
to try to quell civilian fear, and Abraham Lincoln
takes note. Lincoln right away saw that
proclamation and recognized, "Here's a man who understands
people and is plain‐spoken, just like me." ‐ Grant successfully
occupied Paducah, Kentucky without a shot being fired, and so he gets orders
to attack a Confederate supply link
on the Mississippi River at the small village
of Belmont. Belmont is very important. It's Grant's first real test
of combat in the Civil War