16. Grant and Lee as Generals (Victoria)

Ulysses Simpson Grant

Based on pages 464-466 (The War in the West), pages 471-472 (Grant Outlasts Lee) in The American Pageant: Chapter 21 and other sources identified below.

Ulysses S. Grant was the commander-in-chief of the Union army after the failure and removal of five other generals; McClellan, Pope, McClellan (again), Burnsides, Hooker, and Meade.

His war philosophy was for the enemies to give an "Unconditional Surrender", hence his nickname.

Battles at Fort Henry and Fort Donelson

• His first real success came in Tennessee with the capturing of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson in February 1862. This victory was important because it riveted Kentucky more securely to the Union and open the gateway to the strategically important region of Tennessee.

Battle At Shiloh

• After this victory, he attempted to capture the junction of the main North-South and East-West railroads in Mississippi Valley. His plan was thwarted by a Confederate force in Shiloh on April 6-7, 1862. He successfully counterattacked the Confederates at Shiloh, this battle showed that there would be no quick end to the war in the West.

Battle of Vicksburg

• Grant was then given command of the Union force attacking Vicksburg Fortress. This was his best fought campaign of the war. (For more on Vicksburg, refer to Pablo's blog on campaigns or go here: http://www.mtcarroll.com/battlelist.html, here http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/abpp/battles/ms011.htm, or here, http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/siege-vicksburg.htm)


• These victories helped ease the economical tensions in the "Butternut" region and stopped Britian from delivering the Laird Rams and France from delivering 6 naval vessels to Richmond.

Series of Battles Near Chattanooga

• After the battle at Vicksburg, Grant was transferred to Tennessee. Here, Confederate forces had driven Union forces from the battlefield at Chickmauga into the city of Chattanooga, which they sieged. Grant then won a series of engagements in November 1863 near Chattanooga, including the Battle of Missionary Ridge and the Battle Above the Clouds (also known as the Battle of Lookout Mountain). He succeeded in liberating Chattanooga, freeing the state of Confederates, and opening a gateway into Georgia. (General William Tecumseh Sherman then proceeded to invade Georgia and the Carolinas through this route.)
  
• After the Battle at Gettysburg, Grant then replaced Meade as the commander of the Army of the Potomac because Meade failed to pursue Lee after the defeat. At this time, Lincoln needed someone to pursue Lee because two previous generals, McClellan and Meade, let him slip right through their fingers.

Grant's Overland Campaign

(The following section will briefly touch upon the major points of the Overland Campaign and relate them to Grant as a general. To find out more, go here: http://www.nps.gov/archive/rich/ri_cold.htm and here: http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/abpp/battles/bycampgn.htm)

Wilderness Campaign

• Grant's strategy was to attack all the forces simultaneously so they wouldn't be able to assist each other. Grant, with 100,000 troops went to Richmond and fought General Lee in a series of battles in the wilderness of Virginia in May-June 1864.
  
• Grant lost 50,000 troops but Lee lost about as heavily in proportion.

Battle at Cold Harbor

Go here for more information: http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/abpp/battles/va062.htm

• On June 3, 1864 , Grant ordered a frontal assault on Cold Harbor. In a few minutes, 7,000 men were killed or wounded.

Conclusion

• Northern troops captured Richmond, the Confederate capital, and cornered Lee at Appomattox Courthouse in April 1865. Grant then met with Lee and granted generous terms of surrender.

Robert Edward Lee

Based on pages 452-456 ("Tardy George" McClellan and the Peninsula Campaign), pages 457-458 (The Pivotal Point: Antietam), pages 462-464 (Lee's Last Lunge at Gettysburg), and pages 471-472 (Grant Outlasts Lee) in The American Pageant: Chapter 21 and other sources identified below.

Lee was the commander-in-chief of the Confederate Army during the Civil War. Politically, he was a Whig. Ironically, he was attached strongly to the Union and to the Constitution. He entertained no special sympathy for slavery. Yet he fought on the side of the Confederacy because he held a strong attachment to his state, Virginia, and he said that he would never fight against it.

The Seven Days Battle (June 26-July 2, 1862)

• In response to the Peninsula Campaign being launched by General McClellan of the Union army, Lee launched this battle which drove McClellan's army back to the sea from whence they came. (For more on the Peninsula Campaign, refer to Pablo's blog, which covers the major campaigns of the war. You can also go to this link for more information on the Seven Days Battle: http://www.historycentral.com/CivilWar/Seven.html)

The Second Battle of Bull Run (August 29-30 1862)

• At this battle, Lee encountered General John "Spoons" Pope and inflicted a crushing defeat. (For more information, go here: http://www.historycentral.com/CivilWar/SecondManassas.html)
• The victory in this battle caused Lee to attack Maryland in hopes of encouraging foreign intervention and seduction of the Border States. (For more on the Border States, refer to Jose's Blog on the topic.)

The Battle of Antietam Creek

• Events in Maryland finally exploded at Antietam. With special intel, (Lee's battle plans) McClellan was able to stop Lee's invasion in one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. The outcome of the battle was more or less a draw, but Lee retreated afterwards and McClellan didn't pursue him. (This resulted in McClellan's final removal from the commander position of the Union Army.) (For more information, refer to Pablo's blog on Antietam)
  

Minor Victories Against Experimental Union Generals

• After McClellan's removal, General A.E. Burnsides replaced him. But to protest his position, Burnsides attacked Lee's stronghold in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Lee's army decimated them. This battle, Burnsides's Slaughter Pen, resulted in the deaths of 10,000 Union soldiers.
• Burnsides's command was then transferred to "Fighting Joe" Hooker. In the Battle at Chancellorville, Virginia, Lee divided his numerically inferior army and sent "Stonewall" Jackson to attack. This resulted in Lee's most brilliant Confederate victory. "Stonewall" Jackson was killed by friendly fire in this battle.

The Battle at Gettysburg

• The victory at Chancellorville encouraged Lee to attempt to invade Gettysburg, Pennslyvania in a hope of netting foreign intervention from Britian and France. The charge would be led by General George Pickett. Meade, Hooker's replacement as commander of the Union army, set his troops up near Gettysburg and fought Lee's army for three days. This resulted in a Union victory which broke the back of the Confederate attack and the heart of the Confederate cause. After this battle, all hopes for foreign intervention were lost. (For more information on this battle, refer to Pablo's blog)

The Final Curtian of The Civil War

• The Wilderness Campaign (refer to above for more information) and other battles with General Grant of the Union army led to the eventual defeat of the Confederate army. (Refer to above Wilderness Campaign, The Battle of Cold Harbor, and Conclusion for more details)

In conclusion, both Grant and Lee were supurb generals of their respective armies and they both fought valiantly to defend their beliefs. In the end, however, as it always is, the best man won.