ULYSSES S. GRANTwas born on April 27, 1822 in a two-room log cabin in Point Pleasant in
southwestern Ohio. His father, Jesse Root Grant, born January 23, 1794, near
Greensburg, Pennsylvania, was a tanner and made a great deal of money. His
mother, Hannah Simpson Grant was born November 23, 1798, in Montgomery,
Pennsylvania. He was born Hiram Ulysses Grant, and became known as Ulysses
Simpson Grant when U. S. Congressman Thomas L. Hammer of Ohio mistakenly erred
on his application in securing Grants admission to the U.S. Military Academy at
West Point in 1839.
Growing up, Grant was the son of a frontier family living in Georgetown,
Ohio. He worked his father’s farm, but was not fond of the work in his
father’s tannery, choosing to do anything else. At eight and a half years, he
became a regular driver, using his father’s team to haul wood and at ten he
drove a pair of horses to Cincinnati to bring back a load of passengers. He
excelled at horsemanship and mathematics at West Point but when he graduated in
1843, he was 21st in a class of 39. He was assigned to infantry duty on the
southwestern frontier and for two years he served in various posts in Missouri
and Louisiana. While in Missouri, Grant met Julia Dent, the sister of a West
Point classmate, whose family had a plantation near St. Louis. When he left, he
gave her his school ring and the two were married four years later on August 22,
1848. They had four children, three boys and a girl and were a very devoted
couple throughout their lives together.
Grant fought in the Mexican War (1846-1848) but had little heart for the
campaign. Grant served at army posts in Detroit, Michigan and Sackets Harbor,
New York. In 1852 he was transferred to the Pacific Coast and this duty left him
homesick and isolated and missing his young family. He grew morose and started
drinking heavily and he quarreled with his commander. Two months later, he was
made to resign having reached the rank of captain. In August 1854 he returns to
Missouri and starts working a 60-acre farm near St. Louis that his father-in-law
had given to Julia. He builds a home, sells wood in St. Louis and unable to turn
a profit, he is forced to pawn his pocket watch and chain in 1857 to buy his
family Christmas presents. In 1858, he enters a real estate and property
management business partnership with one of Julia’s cousins. This too did not
work out as he was incapable of collecting the back due rents and was frequently
late for work. He moved his family to Galena, Illinois and accepted a job as a
clerk in his brother’s leather shop, living comfortably in a snug house
overlooking a cemetery. At about this time, the Civil War broke out and Grant
applied to serve as an officer when a call for troops went out.
On June 17, 1861, Grant is appointed a Colonel of the 21st Illinois
Infantry and in August he his appointed Brigadier General. His first engagement
as a General was the Battle of Belmont, Missouri and three months later aided by
Commodore Andrew H. Foote, he captured Fort Donelson and Fort
Henry. These were the first major Union victories of the war. The victory
won Grant a promotion to Major General volunteers.
Two months later, in April 1862, the Battle of Shiloh caught Grant unaware
of a Confederate attack as he waited for General Buell and the Army of the Ohio.
He had not fortified his position and his forces suffered severe losses before
Buell arrived and turned back the attack. In the fall of 1862, Grant began
planning the drive on Vicksburg, Mississippi, the Confederate stronghold that
would be one of his greatest military successes. On July 4, 1863, after a siege
lasting months, the confederate General John C. Pemberton surrendered his 30,000
men to Grant. The same day the Union victory at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania brought
great joy to the North. Grant was made a Major General in the regular army.
During the summer of 1863, Grant was recovering from a fall from his horse
and spent his time with his family in a house near Vicksburg. He was bedridden
for weeks and was on crutches until mid-fall. On October 22, 1863, he took
command at Chattanooga, Tennessee and was victorious in the Battle of
Chattanooga, forcing the Confederates to retreat into Tennessee. In March of
1864, he received his commission as Lieutenant General from President
Lincoln and on March 12 he is appointed General in Chief of all United
States Armies. From the middle of June 1864 until early April 1865, Grant
besieged Petersburg, the railroad and supply link between Richmond and the rest
of the South. He cut Lee’s transportation lines and sent out flanking
expeditions against Southern forces. Grant slowly starved out Lee’s men, and
on April 9, 1865, Lee surrendered to Grant in the
McLean House in Appomattox, Virginia. When the Union soldiers got to
impassioned, Grant showed his great decency and delicately quieted them, saying “The
war is over, the Rebels are again our countrymen, and the best sign of rejoicing
is to abstain from all demonstrations in the field.” In his memoirs, Grant
said that he felt no exultation on the surrender, rather he felt sad and
depressed for the foe that had suffered so much for a cause.
In 1866, Grant was given the grade of full general, a rank held only by George
Washington previously. He supervised the demobilization of the army and he
administered the reconstruction of the South. Because of his great popularity as
a war hero, Grant was launched on a career in politics and on May 21, 1868, the
republican National Convention that was meeting in Chicago nominated him as a
candidate for President. He was unanimously nominated, with House Speaker
Schuyler Colfax as his running mate. Grant did no active campaigning and easily
won the presidency, receiving 214 electoral votes to his opponent’s 80.
However, the war hero proved a poor chief executive, filling many
government posts with corrupt or incompetent relatives and friends. Although
personally honest, he drew criticism for accepting expensive gifts and his two
terms as President were plagued by scandals. However, the president remained
loyal to his friends, almost regardless of what their conduct had been or of how
seriously they had damaged his reputation.
His followers planned to nominate him for a third term in 1876, but the
leaders of the Republican Party opposed his re-nomination. Grant left office in
Match 1877, with a few thousand dollars saved and a desire to see the world. On
May 17, he sailed with his family on the first leg of an around the world
journey. He was well received everywhere, not as the former president of the
United States, but as the Civil War hero. After two years of travel, he returned
home and in June 1880 he was unsuccessful in securing the Republican nomination
for President. It is difficult to know whether he actually coveted the
Presidency again, though his wife, Julia certainly wanted to return to the White
House. His friends and sons were convinced he didn't care and the evidence shows
they were correct.
On December 24, 1883, Grant slipped on the pavement outside his home while
handing a cab driver a $20 bill. He falls heavily on is side and suffers a
serious injury to his hip, remaining bedridden for weeks and walking with a cane
or crutches for the rest of his life. The brokerage firm that he had invested in
failed in May 1884 and Grant lost his family’s fortune, begging for a personal
loan from William Vanderbilt, which he eventually repaid with his war trophies
and uniforms. The failure plunged Grant into a prolonged depression and in
September he is diagnosed with cancer of the throat. The cancer spreads and he
is only able to swallow liquids in small portions, the pain is unbearable but he
works on his Memoirs in an effort to provide for his family after his death. He
finishes his Memoirs on July 19, 1885, by this time he is down to 120 pounds and
is so weak he sometimes falls from his chair.
At 8:06 am on July 23, 1885, Grant dies, surrounded by his family and
physicians. His Memoirs sell over 300,000 copies and earn Julia a staggering
$450,000.
GRANT, Ulysses S., eighteenth
president of the United States under the Constitution, born at Point Pleasant,
Clermont County, Ohio, 27 April, 1822; died on Mount McGregor, near Saratoga,
New York. 23 July, 1885. (See the accompanying view of Grant's birthplace.) He
was of Scottish ancestry, but his family had been American in all its branches
for eight generations. He was a descendant of Matthew Grant, who at-rived at
Dorchester, Massachusetts, in May, 1630. His father was Jesse R. Grant, and his
mother Hannah Simpson. They were married in June, 1821, in Clermont County,
Ohio. Ulysses, the oldest of six children, spent his boyhood in assisting his
father on the farm, a work more congenial to his tastes than working in the
tannery of which his father was proprietor. He attended the village school, and
in the spring of 1839 was appointed to a cadetship in the United States military
academy by Thomas L. Hamer, M.C.
The name given him at birth was Hiram Ulysses, but he was always called by
his middle name. Mr. Hamer, thinking this his first name, and that his middle
name was probably that of his mother's family, inserted in the official
appointment the name of Ulysses S. The officials at West Point were notified by
Cadet Grant of the error, but they did not feel authorized to correct it, and it
was acquiesced in and became the name by which he was always known. As a
student, Grant showed the greatest proficiency in mathematics, but he gained a
fair standing in most of his studies, and at cavalry-drill he proved himself the
best horseman in his class, and afterward was one of the best in the army. He
was graduated in 1843, standing twenty-first in a class of thirty-nine. He was
commissioned, on graduation, as a brevet 2d lieutenant, and was attached to the
4th infantry and assigned to duty at Jefferson barracks, near St. Louis. (See
portrait taken at this period on page 711.) In May, 1844, he accompanied his
regiment to Camp Salubrity. Louisiana. He was commissioned 2d lieutenant in
September, 1845. That month he went with his regiment to Corpus Christi (now in
Texas) to join the army of occupation, under command of General
Zachary Taylor.
He participated in the battle of Palo Alto, 8 May, 1846; and in that of
Resaca de la Palma, 9 May, he commanded his company. On 19 August he set out
with the army for Monterey, Mexico, which was reached on 19 September He had
been appointed regimental quartermaster of the 4th infantry, and was placed in
charge of the wagons and pack-train on this march. During the assault of the
21st on Black Fort, one of the works protecting Monterey, instead of remaining
in camp in charge of the quartermaster's stores, he charged with his regiment,
on horseback, being almost the only officer in the regiment that was mounted.
The adjutant was killed in the charge, and Lieutenant Grant was designated to
take his place. On the 23d, when the troops had gained a position in the City of
Monterey, a volunteer was called for, to make his way to the rear under a heavy
fire, to order up ammunition, Lieutenant Grant volunteered, and ran the gantlet
in safety, accomplishing his mission. Garland's brigade, to which the 4th
infantry belonged, was transferred from Twiggs's to Worth's division, and
ordered back to the mouth of the Rio Grande, where it embarked for Vera Cruz, to
join the army under General Scott. It landed near that City on 9 March, 1847,
and the investment was immediately begun.
Lieutenant Grant served with his regiment during the siege, until the capture
of the place, 29 March, 1847. On 13 April his division began its march toward
the City of Mexico; and he participated in the battle of Cerro Gordo, 17 and 18
April. The troops entered Pueblo on 15 May, and Lieutenant Grant was there
ordered to take charge of a large train of wagons, with an escort of fewer than
a thousand men, to obtain forage. He made a two days' march, and procured the
necessary supplies. He participated in the capture of San Antonio and the battle
of Churubusco, 20 August, and the battle of Molino del Rey, 8 September, 1847,
in the latter engagement he was with the first troops that entered the mills.
Seeing some of the enemy on the top of a building, he took a few men, climbed to
the roof, received the surrender of six officers and quite a number of men. For
this service he was brevetted a 1st lieutenant. He was engaged in the storming
of Chapultepec on 13 September, distinguished himself by conspicuous services,
was highly commended in the reports of his superior officers, and brevetted
captain. While the troops were advancing against the City of Mexico on the 14th,
observing a Church from the top of which he believed the enemy could be
dislodged from a defensive work, he called for volunteers, and with twelve men
of the 4th infantry, who were afterward joined by a detachment of artillery, he
made a flank movement, gained the Church, mounted a howitzer in the belfry,
using it with such effect that General Worth sent for him and complimented him
in person. He entered the City of Mexico with the army, 14 September, and a few
days afterward was promoted to be 1st lieutenant.
He remained with the army in the City of Mexico till the withdrawal of the
troops in the summer of 1848, and then accompanied his regiment to Pascagoula,
Mississippi He there obtained leave of absence and went to St. Louis, where, on
22 August, 1848, he married Miss Julia B. Dent, sister of one of his classmates.
He was soon afterward ordered to Sackett's Harbor, New York, and in April
following to Detroit, Michigan In the spring of 1851 he was again transferred to
Sackett's Harbor, and on 5 July, 1852, he sailed from New York with his regiment
for California via the Isthmus of Panama. While the troops were crossing the
isthmus, cholera carried off one seventh of the command. Lieutenant Grant was
left behind in charge of the sick, on Chagres River, and displayed great skill
and devotion in caring for them and supplying means of transportation. On
arriving in California, he spent a few weeks with his regiment at Benicia
barracks, and then accompanied it to Fort Vancouver, Oregon. On 5 August, 1853,
he was promoted to the captaincy of a company stationed at Humboldt bay,
California, and the next September he went to that post.
He resigned his commission, 31 July, 1854, and settled on a small farm near
St. Louis. He was engaged in farming and in the real-estate business in St.
Louis until May, 1860, when he removed to Galena, Illinois, and there became a
clerk in the hardware and leather store of his father, who in a letter to
General Jas. Grant Wilson, dated 20 March, 1868, writes : " After
Ulysses's farming and real-estate experiments in St. Louis County, Missouri,
failed to be self-supporting, he came to me at this place [Coyington, Kentucky]
for advice and assistance. I referred him to Simpson, my next oldest son, who
had charge of my Galena business, and who was staying with me on account of ill
health. Simpson sent him to the Galena store, to stay until something else might
turn up in his favor, and told him he must confine his wants within $800 a year.
That if that would not support him he must draw what it lacked from the rent of
his house and the hire of his Negroes in St. Louis. He went to Galena in April,
1860, about one year before the capture of Stunter; then he left. That amount
would have supported his family then, but he owed debts at St. Louis, and (lid
draw $1,500 in the year, but he paid back the balance after he went into the
army."
When news was received of the beginning of the civil war, a public meeting
was called in Galena, and Captain Grant was chosen to preside. He took a
pronounced stand in favor of the Union cause and a vigorous prosecution of the
war. A company of volunteers was raised, which he drilled and accompanied to
Springfield, Illinois Governor Yates, of that state, employed Captain Grant in
the adjutant general's department, and appointed him mustering officer. He
offered his services to the National government in a letter written on 24 May,
1861, but no answer was ever made to it. On 17 June he was appointed colonel of
the 21st Illinois regiment of infantry, which had been mustered in at Mattoon.
The regiment was transferred to Springfield, and on 3 July he went with it from
that place to Pahnyra, Missouri, thence to Salt River, where it guarded a
portion of the Hannibal and St. Joseph railroad, and thence to the town of
Mexico, where General Pope was stationed as commander of the military
district.
On 31 July, Grant was assigned to the command of a sub-district under General
Pope, his troops consisting of three regiments of infantry and a section of
artillery. He was appointed a brigadier-general of volunteers on 7 August, the
commission being dated back to 17 May, and was ordered to Ironton, Missouri, to
take command of a district in that part of the state, where he arrived 8 August
Ten days afterward he was ordered to St. Louis, and thence to Jefferson City.
Eight days later he was directed to report in person at St. Louis, and on
reaching there found that he had been assigned to the command of the district of
southeastern Missouri, embracing all the territory in Missouri south of St.
Louis, and all southern Illinois, with permanent headquarters at Cairo. He
established temporary headquarters at Cape Girardeau, on the Mississippi, to
supervise the fitting out of an expedition against the Confederate Colonel Jeff
Thompson, and arrived at Cairo on 4 September.
The next day he received information that the enemy was about to seize
Paducah, Kentucky, at the mouth of the Tennessee, having already occupied
Columbus and Hickman. He moved that night with two regiments of infantry and one
battery of artillery, and occupied Paducah the next morning. He issued a
proclamation to the citizens, saying, "I have nothing to do with
opinions, and shall deal only with armed rebellion and its aiders and
abettors." Kentucky had declared an intention to remain neutral in the
war, and this prompt occupation of Paducah prevented the Confederates from
getting a foothold there, and did much toward retaining the state within the
Union lines. General Sterling Price was advancing into Missouri with a
Confederate force, and Grant was ordered, 1 November, to make a demonstration on
both sides of the Mississippi, to prevent troops from being sent from Columbus
and other points to re-enforce Price.
On 6 November, Grant moved down the River with about 3,000 men on steamboats,
accompanied by two gun-boats, debarked a few men on the Kentucky side that
night, and learned that troops of the enemy were being ferried across from
Columbus to re-enforce those on the west side of the river. A Confederate camp
was established opposite, at Belmont, and Grant decided to attack it. On the
morning of the 7th he debarked his troops three miles above the place, left a
strong guard near the landing, and marched to the attack with about 2,500 men. A
spirited engagement took place, in which Grant's horse was shot under him. The
enemy was routed and his camp captured, but he soon rallied, and was re-enforced
by detachments ferried across from Columbus, and Grant fell back and
re-embarked. He got his men safely on the steamboats, and was himself the last
one in the command to step aboard. He captured 175 prisoners and two guns, and
spiked four other pieces, and lost 485 men. The Confederates lost 642. The
opposing, troops, including re-enforcements sent from Columbus, numbered about
7,000.
In January, 1862, he made a reconnaissance in force toward Columbus. He was
struck with the advantage possessed by the enemy in holding Fort Henry on
Tennessee River, and Fort Donelson on the Cumberland, and conceived the idea of
capturing them before they could be further strengthened, by means of an
expedition composed of the troops under his command, assisted by the gun-boats.
He went to St. Louis and submitted his proposition to the department commander,
General Halleck, but was listened to with impatience, and his views were not
approved. On 28 January he telegraphed Halleck, renewing the suggestion, and
saying, "If permitted, I could take and hold Fort Henry on the
Tennessee." Commander Foote, commanding the gun-boats, sent a similar dispatch.
On the 29th Grant also wrote, urging the expedition. Assent was obtained on 1
February, and the expedition moved the next day. General Tilghman surrendered
Fort Henry on the 6th, after a bombardment by the gun-boats. He with his staff
and ninety men were captured, but most of the garrison escaped and joined the
troops in Fort Donelson, eleven miles distant, commanded by General Floyd, who,
after this re-enforcement, had about 21,000 men.
Grant at once prepared to invest Donelson, and on the 12th began the siege
with a command numbering 15,000, which was increased on the 14th to 27,000; but
about 5,000 of these were employed in guarding roads and captured places. His
artillery consisted of eight light batteries. The weather was extremely cold,
the water high, much rain and snow fell, and the sufferings of the men were
intense. The enemy's position, naturally strong, had been entrenched and
fortified. There was heavy fighting on three successive days. On the 15th the
enemy, fearing capture, made a desperate assault with the intention of cutting
his way out. Grant detected the object of the movement, repelled the assault,
and by a vigorous attack secured so commanding a position that the enemy saw
further resistance would be useless. Floyd turned over the command to Pillow,
who in turn resigned it to Buckner, and Floyd and Pillow escaped in the night on
a steamboat. Over 3,000 infantry and the greater portion of Forrest's cavalry
made their escape at the same time. On the 16th Buckner wrote proposing that
commissioners be appointed to arrange for terms of capitulation. Grant replied: "No
terms other than an unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted. I
propose to move immediately upon your works."
The garrison was surrendered the same day, unconditionally. The capture
included 14,623 men, 65 cannon, and 17,600 small-arms. The killed and wounded
numbered about 2,500. Grant's loss was 2,041 in killed, wounded, and missing.
This was the first capture of a prominent strategic point since the war began,
and indeed the only substantial victory thus far for the National arms. It
opened up two important navigable rivers, and left the enemy no strong foot-hold
in Kentucky or Tennessee. Grant was soon afterward made a major-general of
volunteers, his commission dating from 16, February, and his popularity
throughout the country began from that day. He urged a prompt following up of
this victory, and set out for Nashville, 28 February, without waiting for
instructions, but telegraphing that he should go if he received no orders to the
contrary. For this, and under the pretence that he had not forwarded to his
superiors in command certain reports showing the strength and positions of his
forces, he was deprived of his command, and ordered to remain at Fort
Henry.
He was not restored to command until 13 March, When his services were again
required in view of the enemy's having concentrated a large army near Corinth,
Mississippi, and he transferred his headquarters to Savannah, on Tennessee
River, on the 17th. He found the forces under his command, numbering about
38,000 men, encamped on both sides of the River, and at once transferred them
all to the west side and concentrated them in the vicinity of Pittsburgh
Landing. He there selected a favorable position, and put his army in line, with
the right resting at Shiloh Church, nearly three miles from the river. He was
directed not to attack the enemy, but to await the arrival of General Buell's
army of 40.000 men, which was marching southward through Tennessee to join
Grant.
On 6 April the Confederate army, numbering nearly 50,000 men, commanded by
General Albert S. Johnston, made a vigorous attack at daylight, drove the
National troops back in some confusion, and continued to press the advantage
gained during the entire day. General Johnston was killed about one o'clock, and
the command of the Confederates devolved upon General
Beauregard; 5,000 of Grant's troops did not arrive on the field during the
day, so that his command was outnumbered, and it required all his efforts to
hold his position on the River until evening. Late in the afternoon the head of
Buell's column crossed the River, but not in time to participate actively in the
fighting, as the enemy's attacks had ceased. Grant sought shelter that night in
a hut; but the surgeons had made an amputating hospital of it, and he found the
sight so painful that he went out into the rain-storm and slept under a
tree.
He had given orders for an advance all along the lines the next morning.
Buell's troops had now joined him, and the attack was pushed with such vigor
that the enemy were steadily driven back, and retreated nineteen miles to
Corinth. On this day Grant's sword-scabbard was broken by a bullet. His loss in
the battle was 1,754 killed, 8,408 wounded, 2,885 missing: total, 13,047. The
enemy acknowledged a loss of 1,728 killed, 8,012 wounded, and 957 missing;
total, 10.699; but there are evidences that it was much greater. The National
officers estimated the Confederate dead alone at 4,000. On the 11th General
Halleck arrived at headquarters, and took command in person. The forces
consisted now of the right and left wings, center, and reserve, commanded
respectively by Generals Thomas, Pope, Buell, and McClernand, numbering in all
nearly 120,000 men. The enemy was behind strong fortifications, and numbered
over 50,000. Grant was named second in command of all the troops, but was
especially entrusted with the right wing and reserve.
On 30 April an advance was begun against Corinth, but the enemy evacuated the
place and retreated, without fighting, on 30 May. On 21 June, Grant moved his
headquarters to Memphis. General Halleck was appointed general-in-chief of all
the armies, 11 July. Grant returned to Corinth on 15 July, and on the 17th
Halleck set out for Washington, leaving Grant in command of the Army of the
Tennessee; and on 25 October he was assigned to the command of the Department of
the Tennessee, including Cairo, Forts Henry and Donelson, northern Mississippi,
and portions of Kentucky and Tennessee west of Tennessee river. He ordered a
movement against the enemy at Iuka to capture Price's force at that place, and a
battle was fought on 19 and 20 September The plan promised success, but the
faults committed by the officer commanding one wing of the troops engaged
permitted the enemy to escape. The National loss was 736, that of the
Confederates 1,438. Grant strengthened the position around Corinth, and remained
there about eight weeks. When the enemy afterward attacked it, 3 and 4 October,
they met with a severe repulse. General William
S. Rosecrans was in immediate command of the National troops. On the 5th
they were struck while in retreat, and badly beaten in the battle of the
Hatchie. The entire National loss was 2,359. From the best attainable sources of
information, the Confederates lost nearly twice that number.
After the battle of Corinth, Grant proposed to Halleck, in the latter part of
October, a movement looking to the capture of Vicksburg. On 3 November he left
Jackson, Tennessee, and made a movement with 30,000 men against Grand Junction,
and on the 4th he had seized this place and La Grange. The force opposing him
was about equal to his own. On the 13th his cavalry occupied Holly Springs; on 1
December he advanced against the enemy's works on the Tallahatchie, which were
hastily evacuated, and on the 5th reached Oxford. On the 8th he ordered Sherman
to move down the Mississippi from Memphis to attack Vicksburg, Grant's column to
cooperate with him by land. On 20 December the enemy captured Holly Springs,
which had been made a secondary base of supplies, and seized a large amount of
stores. Colonel Murphy, who surrendered the post without having taken any proper
measures of defense, was dismissed the service.
The difficulties of protecting the long line of communication necessary for
furnishing supplies, as well as other considerations, induced Grant to abandon
the land expedition, and take command in person of the movement down the
Mississippi. Sherman had reached Milliken's Bend, on the west side of the River,
twenty miles above Vicksburg, on the 24th, with about 32,000 men. He crossed the
River, ascended the Yazoo to a point below Haines's Bluff, landed his forces,
and made an assault upon the enemy's strongly fortified position at that place
on the 29th, but was repelled with a loss of 175 killed, 930 wounded, and 743
missing. The enemy reported 63 killed, 134 wounded, and 10 missing.
Grant's headquarters were established at Memphis on 10 January and
preparations were made for a concentrated movement against Vicksburg. Oil the
29th he arrived at Young's Point, opposite the mouth of the Yazoo, above
Vicksburg, and took command in person of the operations against that City, his
force numbering 50,000 men. Admiral Porter's co-operating fleet was composed of
gun-boats of all classes, carrying 280 guns and 800 men. Three plans suggested
themselves for reaching the high ground behind Vicksburg, the only position from
which it could be besieged:
First, to march the army down the west bank of the River, cross over below
Vicksburg, and co-operate with General Banks, who was in command of an
expedition ascending the River from New Orleans, with a view to capturing Port
Hudson and opening up a line for supplies from below. The high water and the
condition of the country made this plan impracticable at that time.
Second, to construct a canal across the peninsula opposite Vicksburg,
through which the fleet of gun-boats and transports could pass, and which
could be held open as a line of communication for supplies. This plan was
favored at Washington, and was put into execution at once ; but the high water
broke the levees, drowned out the camps, and flooded the country, and after
two months of laborious effort Grant reported it impracticable.
Third, to turn the Mississippi from its course by opening a new channel via
Lake Providence and through various bayous to Red river. A force was set to
work to develop this plan; but the way was tortuous and choked with timber,
and by March it was found impossible to open a practicable channel.
In the mean time an expedition was sent to the east side of the River to open
a route via, Yazoo pass, the Tallahatchie, the Yalabusha, and the Yazoo rivers;
but insurmountable difficulties were encountered, and this attempt also had to
be abandoned. Grant, having thoroughly tested all the safer plans, now
determined to try a bolder and more hazardous one, which he had long had in
contemplation, but which the high water had precluded. This was to run the
batteries with the gun-boats and transports loaded with supplies, to march his
troops down the west side of the River from Milliken's Bend to the vicinity of
New Carthage, and there ferry them across to the east bank. The movement of the
troops was begun on 29 March. They were marched to New Carthage and Hard
Times.
On the night of 16 April the fleet ran the batteries under a severe fire. On
29 April the gun-boats attacked the works at Grand Gulf, but made little
impression, and that night ran the batteries to a point below. On 30 April the
advance of the army was ferried across to Bruinsburg, below Grand Gulf and 30
miles south of Vicksburg, and marched out in the direction of Port Gibson.
Everything was made subordinate to the celerity of the movement. The men had no
supplies except such as they carried on their persons. Grant himself crossed the
River with no personal baggage, and without even a horse; but obtained one
raggedly equipped horse on the east side. The advance encountered the enemy,
under General Bowen, numbering between 7,000 and 8,000, on 1 May, near Port
Gibson, routed him, and drove him in full retreat till nightfall. Grant's loss
was 131 killed and 719 wounded. The Confederates reported their loss at 448
killed and wounded, and 384 missing; but it was somewhat larger, as Grant
captured 650 prisoners.
At Port Gibson he learned of the success of Grierson, whom he had dispatched
from La Grange, 17 April, and who had moved southward with 1,000 cavalry, torn
up many miles of railroad, destroyed large amounts of supplies, and arrived,
with but slight loss, at Baton Rouge, Louisiana. 2 May. On 3 May, Grant entered
Grand Gulf, which had been evacuated. He was now opposed by two armies--one
commanded by General John C. Pemberton at Vicksburg, numbering about 52,000 men;
the other by General Joseph E. Johnston at
Jackson, 50 miles east of Vicksburg, who was being rapidly re-enforced.
General Sherman had been ordered to make a demonstration against Haines's
Bluff, to compel the enemy to detach troops for its defense and withhold them
from Grant's front; and this faint was successfully executed, 30 April and 1
May, when Sherman received orders to retire and join the main army. Grant
determined to move with celerity, place his force between the two armies of the
enemy, and defeat them in detail before they could unite against him. He cut
loose from his base, and ordered that the three days' rations issued to the men
should be made to last five days. Sherman's command reached Grand Gulf on the
6th. On the 12th Grant's advance, near Raymond, encountered the enemy
approaching from Jackson, and defeated and drove him from the field with a loss
of 100 killed, 305 wounded, 415 prisoners, and 2 guns. Grant's loss was 66
killed, 339 wounded, and 37 missing.
He pushed on to Jackson, and captured it on the 14th, with a loss of 42
killed, and 251 wounded and missing. The enemy lost 845 in killed, wounded, and
missing, and 17 guns. Grant now moved rapidly toward Vicksburg, and attacked
Pemberton in a strong position at Champion Hill. After a hotly contested battle,
the enemy was completely routed, with a loss of between 3,000 and 4,000 killed
and wounded, 3,000 prisoners, and 30 guns; Grant's loss being 410 killed, 1,844
wounded, and 187 missing. The enemy made a stand at Big Black River bridge on
the 17th, holding a strongly entrenched position; but by a vigorous assault the
place was carried, and the enemy was driven across the River in great confusion,
with the loss of many killed, 1,751 prisoners, and 18 guns. Grant's loss was but
39 killed, 237 wounded, and 3 missing. On the 18th the National army closed up
against the outworks of Vicksburg, driving the enemy inside his fortifications.
Sherman took possession of Haines's Bluff, a base for supplies was established
at Chickasaw Landing, and on the 21st the army was once more supplied with full
rations. On 19 and 22 May assaults were made upon the enemy's lines, but only a
few outworks were carried, and on the 23d the siege was regularly begun. By 30
June there were 220 guns in position, all light field-pieces except six
32-pounders and a battery of heavy guns supplied by the navy.
Grant now had 71,000 men to conduct the siege and defend his position against
Johnston's army threatening him in the rear. The operations were pressed day and
night; there was mining and countermining; and the lines were pushed closer and
closer, until the garrison abandoned all hope. On 3 July, Pemberton asked for an
armistice, and proposed the appointment of commissioners to arrange terms of
capitulation. Grant replied that there would be no terms but unconditional
surrender; and this was made on the 4th of July. He permitted the officers and
men to be paroled, the officers to retain their private baggage and side-arms,
and each mounted officer one horse. Grant showed every consideration to the
vanquished, supplied them with full rations, and, when they marched out, issued
an order saying, "Instruct the commands to be orderly and quiet as these
prisoners pass, and to make no offensive remarks." The surrender
included 31,600 prisoners, 172 cannon, 60,000 muskets, and a large amount of
ammunition. Grant's total loss in the Vicksburg campaign was 8,873; that of the
enemy nearly 60,000. Port Hudson now surrendered to Banks, and the Mississippi
was opened from its source to its mouth. Grant was made a major general in the
regular army; and congress, when it assembled, passed a resolution ordering a
gold medal to be presented to him (see illustration), and returning thanks to
him and his army.
He soon recommended a movement against Mobile, but it was not approved. He
went to New Orleans, 30 August, to confer with Banks, and while there was
severely injured by a fall from his horse, while engaged in a trial of speed
with the senior editor of this work. For nearly three months he was unable to
walk unaided, but on 16 September set out for Vicksburg, being carried on board
the steamboat. He received orders from Washington on the 27th to send all
available forces to the vicinity of Chattanooga, to co-operate with Rosecrans.
While personally superintending the carrying out of this order, he received
instructions, 10 October, to report at Cairo. He arrived there on the 16th, and
was directed to proceed to Louisville, At Indianapolis he was met by Mr.
Stanton, secretary of war, who accompanied him to Louisville and delivered an
order to him placing him in command of the military division of the Mississippi,
which was to embrace the departments and armies of the Tennessee, the
Cumberland, and the Ohio.
He at once went to Chattanooga, arriving on the 23d, and took command there
in person. On 29 October the battle of Wauhatchie was fought, and a much-needed
line of communication for supplies was opened to the troops in and around
Chattanooga, besieged by Bragg's army, which held a strongly fortified position.
Thomas commanded the Army of the Cumberland, which held Chattanooga; Sherman,
who had succeeded Grant in command of the Army of the Tennessee, was ordered to
bring all his available troops to join Thomas; and Burnside, who was in
Knoxville, in command of the Army of the Ohio, besieged by Longstreet's
corps, was ordered to hold his position at all hazards till Bragg should be
crushed and a force could be sent to the relief of Knoxville. Grant, having
concentrated his troops near Chattanooga, made an assault upon the enemy's lines
on the 23d, which resulted in carrying important positions. The attack was
continued on the 24th and 25th, when the enemy's entire line was captured, and
his army completely routed and driven out of Tennessee. Grant's forces consisted
of 60,000 men; those of the Confederates, 45.000. The enemy's losses were
reported at 361 killed and 2,180 wounded, but were undoubtedly greater. There
were captured 6.442 men, 40 pieces of artillery, and 7,000 stands of small-arms.
Grant's losses were 757 killed, 4,529 wounded, and 330 missing.
On the 28th a force was dispatched to Knoxville, the command of the
expedition being given to Sherman. On the 29th Longstreet
assaulted Knoxville before the arrival of the troops sent for its relief, but
was repelled by Burnside, and retreated. Grant
visited Knoxville the last week in December, and went from there to Nashville,
where he established his headquarters, 13 January 1864. He now ordered Sherman
to march a force from Vicksburg into the interior to destroy the enemy's
communications and supplies, it moved on 3 February, went as far as Meridian
reaching there 14 February, and, after destroying railroads and great quantities
of supplies, returned to Vicksburg. The grade of lieutenant-general was revived
by act of congress in February, and Grant was nominated for that office on 1
March, and confirmed by the senate on the 2d. He left Nashville on the 4th, in
obedience to an order calling him to Washington, arrived there on the 8th, and
received his commission from the president on the 9th. He was assigned to the
command of all the armies on the 12th (Sherman
being given the command of the military division of the Mississippi on the
18th), and established his headquarters with the Army of the Potomac at
Culpepper, Virginia, on the 26th.
Grant now determined to concentrate all the National forces into several
distinct armies, which should move simultaneously against the opposing
Confederate armies, operate vigorously and continuously, and prevent them from
detaching forces to strengthen threatened points, or for the purpose of making
raids. He announced that the Confederate armies would be the only objective
points in the coming campaigns. Sherman was to
move toward Atlanta against Johnston. Banks's army, after it could be withdrawn
from the Red River expedition, was to operate against Mobile. Sigel i was to
move down the valley of Virginia against Breckenridge to destroy communications
and supplies, and prevent raids from that quarter. Butler
was to ascend the James River and threaten Richmond. The Army of the Potomac,
re-enforced by Burnside's troops and commanded
by Meade, was to cover Washington, and assume the offensive against the Army of
northern Virginia, commanded by General Robert E. Lee.
Orders were issued for a general movement of all the armies in the field on 4
May. During the night of the 4th and 5th Grant crossed the Rapidan and
encountered Lee in the Wilderness, where a
desperate battle was fought on the 5th, 6th, and 7th. Grant's loss was 2,261
killed, 8.785 wounded, and 2,902 missing. Lee's
losses have never been reported; but, as he was generally the attacking party,
he probably lost more. He fell back on the 7th, and on that day and the next
took up a strong defensive position at Spottsylvania. Grant moved forward on the
night of the 7th. As he rode through the troops, the men greeted him as their
new commander with an extraordinary demonstration in recognition of the victory,
shouting, cheering, and kindling bonfires by the road-side as he passed. The 8th
and 9th were spent by both armies in skirmishing and maneuvering for position. Sheridan's
cavalry was dispatched on the 9th to make a raid in rear of the enemy and
threaten Richmond. On the 10th there was heavy fighting, with no decisive
results, and on the 11th skirmishing and reconnoitering.
On the morning of this day Grant sent a letter to Washington containing the
famous sentence, "I propose to fight it out on this line, if it takes
all summer." On the 12th a heavy assault was made on Lee's
line, near the center, in which he lost nearly 4,000 prisoners and 30 guns.
Violent storms now caused a cessation in the fighting for several days. On the
19th, Ewell's corps, of Lee's army, moved around Grant's right flank and
attacked, but was repelled after hard fighting. Grant's losses from the 8th to
the 21st of May, around Spottsylvania, were 2,271 killed, 9,360 wounded, and
1,970 missing. The estimate of the enemy's loss, in killed and wounded, was
nearly as great as that of the National army, besides about 4,000 prisoners and
30 cannon captured.
In the mean time Butler
had occupied Bermuda Hundred, below Richmond. Sherman
had reached Dalton, Georgia, and was steadily driving Johnston's army toward
Atlanta. But Sigel had been forced to retreat before Breckinridge. On the 21st,
Grant moved by the left flank to North Anna River, where he again encountered
Lee, and after several engagements moved again by the left from that position on
the 27th toward Cold Harbor. Grant's losses between the 20th and 26th were 186
killed, 792 wounded, and 165 missing. Lee's losses during this period have never
been fully ascertained.
After much fighting by detached portions of the two armies, Grant made
a general assault upon Lee's heavily intrenched
position at Cold Harbor on 3 June, but did not succeed in carrying it, being
repelled with a loss of about 7,000 in killed, wounded, and missing, while Lee's
loss was probably not more than 2,500. The campaign had now lasted thirty days.
Grant had received during this time about 40,000 re-enforcements, and had lost
39,259 men--6,586 killed, 26,047 wounded, and 6,626 missing. Lee had received
about 30,000 re-enforcements. There are no official figures as to his exact
losses, but they have been estimated at about equal to his
re-enforcements.
Sherman had now reached Kenesaw, within
thirty miles of Atlanta; and on the 7th news arrived that Hunter, who had
succeeded Sigel, had gained a victory and had seized Staunton, on the Virginia
Central railroad. Grant made preparations for transferring the Army of the
Potomac to the south side of James River, to operate against Petersburg and
Richmond from a more advantageous position. The army was withdrawn from the
enemy's front on the night of 12 June, and the crossing of the River began on
the 13th, and occupied three days. A force had also been sent around by water,
by York and James rivers to City Point, to move against Petersburg. On the 15th
the advanced troops attacked the works in front of that place; but, night coming
on, the successes gained were not followed up by the commanders, and the next
morning the position had been re-enforced and strengthened. An assault was made
on the afternoon of the 16th, which was followed up on the 17th and 18th, and
the result was the capture of important outworks, and the possession of a line
closer to Petersburg.
Lee's army had arrived, and again confronted the Army of the Potomac. Grant's
headquarters had been established at City Point. On 22 and 23 June he made a
movement from the left toward the Weldon railroad, and heavy fighting took
place, with but little result, except to render Lee's
use of that line of communication more precarious. Sheridan
had set out on a raid from Pamunkey River, 7 June, and, after defeating the
enemy's cavalry, in the battle of Trevilian Station, destroying portions of the
Virginia railroad, and inflicting other damage, he returned to White House, on
York River, on the 20th. Prom there he crossed the James and rejoined the Army
of the Potomac. A cavalry force under General James H. Wilson had also been sent
to the south and west of Petersburg, which destroyed railroad property, and for
a time seriously interrupted the enemy's communications via the Danville and
South-side railroads. Hunter, in the valley of Virginia, had destroyed the
stores captured at Staunton and Lexington, and moved to Lynchburg. This place
was re-enforced, and, after sharp fighting, Hunter fell back, pursued by a heavy
force, to Kanawha river.
Early's army drove the National troops out of Martinsburg, crossed the upper
Potomac, and moved upon Hagerstown and Frederick. There was great consternation
in Washington, and Grant was harassed by many anxieties. On 11 July, Early
advanced against the fortifications on the north side of Washington; but Grant
had sent the 6th corps there, which arrived opportunely, and the enemy did not
attack. Sherman had outflanked Johnston at
Kenesaw, crossed the Chattahoochee on 17 July, driven the enemy into his works
around Atlanta, and destroyed a portion of the railroad in his rear. In Burnside's
front, before Petersburg, a large mine had been constructed beneath the enemy's
works. Many of Lee's troops had been decoyed to the north side of the James by
feints made upon the lines there. The mine was fired at daylight on the morning
of 30 July. A defective fuse caused a delay in the explosion, and when it
occurred the assault ordered was badly executed by the officers in charge of it.
Confusion arose, the place was re-enforced, and the National troops had to be
withdrawn, after sustaining a heavy loss.
Grant, in his anxiety to correct the errors of his subordinates, dismounted
and made his way to the extreme front, giving directions in person, and exposing
himself to a most destructive fire. He went to Monocacy 5 August, had Sheridan
meet him there on the 6th, and placed him in command of all the forces
concentrated in Maryland, with directions to operate against Early's command. On
14 August, Hancock's corps was sent, to the north side of the James, and made a
demonstration against the enemy at Deep Bottom, to develop his strength and
prevent him from detaching troops to send against Sheridan. This resulted in the
capture of six pieces of artillery and a few prisoners. On 18 August, Warren's
corps moved out and, after heavy fighting, seized and held a position on the
Weldon railroad. Fighting continued on the 19th, with Warren's troops
re-enforced by part of the 9th corps. Lee attempted to recover the Weldon road
by an assault on the 21st, but was repelled.
On the 23d Ream's Station was occupied by the National troops, and the enemy
attacked them in this place in force. Two assaults were successfully met, but
the place was finally captured, and the National troops were compelled to fall
back. Sherman's series of brilliant battles and
maneuvers around Atlanta had forced the enemy to evacuate that place, and his
troops entered the City on 2 September Sheridan
attacked Early's army on 19 September, and in the battle of Winchester
completely routed him. He pursued the enemy to Fisher's Hill, and on the 22d
gained another signal victory. Grant now made several movements against Richmond
and Petersburg, intended to keep Lee from detaching
troops, to extend the National lines, and to take advantage of any weak spot in
the enemy's front, with a view to penetrate it.
On 29 September, Butler's forces were ordered to
make an advance upon the works at Deep Bottom. Fort Harrison, the strongest work
north of the James, was captured, with 15 guns and several hundred prisoners. On
the 30th the enemy made three attempts to retake it by assault, but was each
time repelled with heavy loss. On the sane day Meade moved out and carried two
redoubts and a line of rifle-pits at Peebles's farm, two miles west of the
Weldon railroad. On 1 October, Meade's left was attacked; but it successfully
repelled the assault, and he advanced his line on the 2d. Butler lost, in the
engagements of the 29th and 30th, 394 killed, 1,554 wounded, and 324 missing.
Meade lost, from 30 September to 2 October, 151 killed, 510 wounded, and 1,348
missing.
On 19 October, Sheridan's army was attacked by Early at Cedar Creek.
Sheridan, who was on his return from Washington, rode twenty miles from
Winchester, turned a defeat into a decisive victory, captured 24 guns, 1,600
prisoners, and 300 wagons, and left the enemy a complete wreck. On 27 October, Butler
was ordered to make a demonstration against the enemy's line in his front, and
had some fighting. At the same time, Meade moved out to Hatcher's run; but the
enemy was found strongly entrenched, the ground very difficult, and no assault
was attempted. In the afternoon a heavy attack was made by the enemy, but was
successfully resisted. That night the National forces were withdrawn to their
former positions. Meade's loss was 143 killed, 653
wounded, and 488 missing. The enemy's casualties were greater, as he lost in
prisoners alone about 1,300 men. Butler lost on this day 700 in killed and
wounded, and 400 prisoners.
Sherman destroyed the railroad in his rear,
cut loose from his base, and set out from Atlanta, 16 November, on his march to
Savannah. General John D. Hood, who had superseded
Johnston, instead of following Sherman, turned
northward and moved his army against Thomas, who had been placed in command of
the troops left for the defense of Tennessee. Thomas concentrated his forces in
the vicinity of Nashville. Schofield was at Franklin, twenty-five miles from
Nashville, with about 26,000 men. Hood attacked him on 30 November, but after a
hotly contested battle was repelled with heavy loss. Thomas, with his entire
army, attacked Hood, and in the battle of Nashville,
15 and 16 December completely defeated the enemy, capturing 53 guns and 4,462
prisoners, and drove him south of Tennessee river.
Sherman reached the sea-coast near Savannah
on 14 December after destroying about 200 miles of railroad and $100,000,000
worth of property. He invested Savannah, and forced the enemy to evacuate it on
the night of 20 December Grant had sent Butler in charge of an expedition
against Port Fisher, at the mouth of Cape Fear River, to act in conjunction with
the naval fleet under Admiral Porter. He sailed from Fort Monroe, 14 December
landed his troops, 25 December and advanced against the fort, which had been
vigorously shelled by the navy ; but, while the assaulting party had every
prospect of entering the work, they received an order to fall back and
re-embark. The expedition reached Fort Monroe on its return 27 December Butler
was relieved, and General E. O. C. Ord was assigned to the command of the Army
of the James.
Grant fitted out another expedition against Fort Fisher, under General Alfred
H. Terry, which sailed from Fort Monroe on 6 January 1865. On the 13th the navy
directed a heavy fire against the fort. Terry landed his troops, entrenched
against a force of the enemy threatening him from the direction of Wilmington,
and on the 15th made a vigorous assault, capturing the fort with its garrison
and 169 heavy guns, and a large quantity of ammunition. It was at first thought
best to transfer Sherman's army by sea to
Virginia, but this plan was abandoned, and on 27 December he was ordered to move
north by land. His army numbered 60,000 men, and was accompanied by 68 guns and
2,500 wagons.
On 7 January Schofield was directed to bring his army, then at Clifton,
Tennessee, to the sea-coast. It reached Washington and Alexandria, 31 January
and on 9 February arrived at the mouth of Cape Fear River, with instructions to
operate against Wilmington and penetrate the interior. He entered Wilmington on
22 February, it having been evacuated by the enemy, and took 51 heavy guns, 15
light guns, and 800 prisoners. His own loss in these operations was about 200 in
killed and wounded. He moved thence to Goldsboro, where it was intended he
should form a junction with Sherman. On 2
March, Lee addressed a letter to Grant, suggesting a personal meeting with a
view to arranging subjects of controversy between the belligerents to a
convention ; but Grant replied that he had no authority to accede to the
proposition; that he had a right to act only on subjects of a purely military
character.
Sheridan moved down the valley of Virginia,
from Winchester, 27 February, and defeated Early at Waynesboro, 2 March,
capturing and scattering nearly his entire command. He then turned eastward,
destroyed many miles of the James River canal, passed around the north side of
Richmond, and tore up the railroads, arrived at White House on the 19th, and
from there joined the Army of the Potomac. Grant had been anxious for some time
lest Lee should suddenly abandon his works and fall back to unite with
Johnston's forces in an attempt to crush Sherman
and force Grant to pursue Lee to a point that would compel the Army of the
Potomac to maintain a long line of communications with its base, as there would
be nothing left in Virginia to subsist on after Lee
had traversed it. Sleepless vigilance was enjoined on all commanders, with
orders to report promptly any movement looking to a retreat. Sherman
captured Columbia on 17 February, and destroyed large arsenals, railroad
establishments, and forty-three cannon. The enemy was compelled to evacuate
Charleston.
On 3 March, Sherman struck Cheraw, and
seized a large quantity of material of war, including 25 guns and 3,600 barrels
of powder. At Fayetteville, on the 11th, he captured the finely equipped arsenal
and twenty guns. On the 16th he struck the enemy at Averysboro, and after a
stubborn fight drove him from his position, losing 554 men. The Confederates
reported their loss at 500. On the 19th Johnston's army attacked a portion of Sherman's
forces at Bentonville, and made six heavy assaults, which were all successfully
met, and on the night of the 21st the enemy fell back. The National loss was 191
killed and 1,455 wounded and missing ; that of the Confederates was reported at
223 killed, 1,467 wounded, 653 missing, but Sherman
reports his captures of prisoners at 1,621. On the 23d Sherman
reached Goldsboro, where Schofield had arrived two days before, and was again in
communication with the sea-coast, and able to draw supplies. On 20 March,
General George Stoneman set out to march eastward from east Tennessee, toward
Lynchburg, and on the same (lay General E. R. S. Canby moved against Mobile.
General Pope, who had succeeded Rosecrans in Missouri, was ordered to drive
Price beyond Red river. Hancock had been assigned to command the middle division
when Sheridan joined the Army of the Potomac, and the troops under him near
Washington were held in readiness to move.
All was now in readiness for the spring campaign, which Grant intended should
be the last. President Lincoln, between whom
and Grant had sprung up a strong personal attachment, visited him at City Point
on 22 March, and Sherman came there on the
27th. They, with Grant and Admiral Porter, held an informal conference, and on
the 28th Sherman set out again to join his
army. At daylight, on 25 March, Lee had made a determined assault, on Grant's
right, capturing Fort Steadman, breaking through the National lines, and gaining
possession of several batteries. In a few hours he was driven back, and all the
captured positions were regained. Lee took this step to endeavor to force the
withdrawal of troops in front of his left, and enable him to leave his entrenchments
and retreat toward Danville. Its failure prevented the attempt. The country
roads being considered sufficiently dry, Grant had issued orders for a general
advance on the 29th, and these were carried out at the appointed time.
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