After all, "he was headed South, toward Richmond, not back to Washington in retreat. To Grant, even the heavy losses in the Wilderness signified a victory. The Confederates had no reserves to replace the dead and wounded. But Grant could call on a huge supply of civilians to fill the Union armies" (People & events: Grant's greatest battles, 2006, PBS). At Cold Harbor, Grant lost 12,000 men but while his causalities were much higher than the Confederates, he knew that Sherman and other Union generals were destroying what was left of the South elsewhere. After nine months, the Union was able to starve the blockaded forces of Lee out of Petersburg. When Lee retreated, Grant took Richmond, and Lee eventually surrendered at Appomattox. It was Grant's willingness...
Grant's decision was bloody, but it could be argued that waiting even longer would have resulted in more Union casualties, as the South struggled on. Without Grant's audacity, the war would have surely been fought more cautiously, but perhaps with more devastating consequences.
ULYSSES S. GRANT The 18th President of the United States, Ulysses S. Grant, was a most curious American public figure. His two presidential terms are considered by political critics as the most corrupt in American history, yet his contribution and role in those most important and historic times cannot be under-estimated. He was born Hiram Ulysses Grant in 1822 to a hardworking couple in southwestern Ohio. He went to a seminary and
Ultimately, Grant may be remembered as one of America's best generals. He is still the only general in history to capture three separate armies, and he presided over Lee's surrender at Appomattox in April 1865. He was also a fair man who treated the Confederates well during their surrender. He was simply determined not to allow the South to be victorious. He sometimes misjudged his generals, and perhaps left some
Civil War and Grant The Civil War in the United States can be considered as the darkest moment in its relatively young history. (Mitgang, 2000) His Gettysburg State of the Union Address is perhaps the shortest in history; but the depth of meaning and the profundity of emotions it invokes should never be forgotten. It starkly contrasts with the inane, self-congratulatory blather of modern presidential administrations. This hotly contested War had amazing
Even "Porter Alexander, Lee's ordnance chief and one of the most perceptive contemporary observers of Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia, called his decision to stand at Antietam 'the greatest military blunder that Gen. Lee ever made'" (Owens 2004). Historians are divided as to the real purpose behind the Maryland campaign, which seems like an "isolated maneuver, another manifestation of Lee's innate aggressiveness as a commander. Some have
(Steamboats, incidentally, did even better.) Due to the heavy emphasis on steam transportation, especially by rail the government was better equipped to man and supply vast areas of the nation in combat. The train also traveled at a far greater speed than other more traditional forms of transport, as much as 5 times faster than the mule-drawn wagons of the day. Therefore fewer vehicles were needed and supplies and people
174). McPherson also points out that following the Union victory at Laurel Hill, McClellan was given the responsibility of training the newly-named Army of the Potomac at Washington, D.C. Upon arriving in the city, McClellan "found no army to command, only a mere collection of regiments, perfectly raw and dispirited... " He then "took hold with a firm hand to reorganize and train these troops" which demonstrates his excellent skills
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