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Ulysses S. Grant
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Ulysses S. Grant was born on April 27, 1822. He later graduated from
United States Military Academy called West Point. Two years after he graduated
he served in the Mexican -American War and would later become one of the
best Civil War generals. According to Grant his strategy was “The art of
war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at
him as soon as you can. Strike at him as hard as you can and as often
as you can, and keep moving on.” |
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His first battle of the Civil War was at Belmont, Missouri on November
7, 1861. Grant left Cairo, Illinois on steamboats and he had two
gunboats. When they got to Columbus, Missouri they were out of the
Confederates firing range and they had to march a mile to Belmont.
They got to Belmont at about 9:00 a.m. Grant lost the battle and
had to retreat, but he gained two things out of the battle: First he earned
the respect of his men because of how calm he was about the retreat and
second his aggressiveness on the field helped win the support of his superiors. |
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His next battle was fought at a Confederate fort called Fort Henry, which
was built on the Tennessee River. The battle took place February
6, 1862. Grant went down the Tennessee River with 17,000 men and
with a flotilla of gunboats that were under the command of Commodore Foote.
Grant was delayed so Foote got there before him and decided to attack the
fort alone because Grant's ship was delayed. The Confederates were
forced to withdraw to fort Donelson. |
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The next battle he fought was about ten days later on February 16, 1862.
The fighting lasted only a day before the Confederate general asked for
terms that would make the Union cease-fire and in reply Grant said, “ No
terms except an unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted.
I propose to move immediately upon your words.” The Union victory
broke the Confederates first line of defense in Confederate Valley and
opened up the south for invasion. Along with the victory Grant got
the publics support. |
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The next battle is called the Battle of Shiloh because it was close to
a church named Shiloh. The battle happened in Tennessee on April
6, 1862. Grant brought his troops up the Tennessee River to attack
Confederate forces. When the fighting started the Union was being
steadily driven back. The following day the Confederates surprised
Grant and attacked at 5:00 in the morning. Grant had got 25,000 reinforcements
over the night. Grant forced the Confederates to go to Corinth, Missouri
and this allowed Grant to regain the ground he lost and the Union won the
battle. |
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Grant's next battle was at Vicksburg, Mississippi on May 22, 1863.
The first thing Grant did was cutoff the supplies to Vicksburg and ordered
a 6 week bombing. Then he had Union troops dig a Shaped canal to
allow boats to bypass Confederates from the high bluffs. After Grant
built the canal the Confederates constructed a line of defensive earthworks
around the city. The infantry could then fire down at the Union soldiers
in safety. In response to this Grant had his soldiers trenches or
saps that zigzagged toward the Confederates line and came within ten or
twenty yards sometimes. Then Grant began an assault against the Confederate
line and the Union gunboats on the Mississippi River began firing on Vicksburg.
This made the people of Vicksburg stay in caves to escape bombing and they
had to eat cats, dogs, and rats. After forty-seven days Vicksburg
finally gave in and surrendered. This battle was said to mark the
beginning of the end for the Confederacy because it opened the south for
invasion. After the battle Lincoln promoted Grant to Lieutenant General
and he was given command of all the armies in the west. |
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Grant then moved on to Chattanooga, Tennessee on November 23, 1863.
Chattanooga was a key railroad center. The Confederates laid siege
on it and cutoff Union supplies and communications. The Confederates
entrenched themselves on Lookout Mountain. Union forces seized Brown's
ferry on the Tennessee River and doing this restored the supply route to
the city. General Hooker of the Union seized the valley of Lookout
Creek. Then Grant halted all operations until the arrival of four
reinforcement divisions under General Sherman of the Union. On November
23rd the Union captured Orchard Knob, which was between Chattanooga and
Missionary Ridge. Grant then ordered an assault on Lookout Mountain on
November 24th. By the morning of the 25th Hooker drove the Confederates
out of their positions. The decisive phase of the battle began early
in the morning on the 25th when General Sherman’s forces attacked Confederate’s
entrenchment, but the attack barely helped. Then Grant ordered General
Thomas to make an assault on the Confederate earthworks along the western
base of the ridge. After that Grant ordered Hooker’s forces to storm
southern and eastern flanks. Thomas’s men disregarding orders continued
up the slope and defeated the Confederates. Then the Confederate
troops fled in panic. The victory made it possible for General Sherman
to move through Georgia. |
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
| Harold Holzer. "First in War."
Cobblestone History Magazine. October 1995:16-23 |
| Richard K. Munro. "By Land, By Sea,
and By Horse." Cobblestone History Magazine. December 1998:8-10 |
| Craig E. Blohm. "The siege of Vicksburg."
Cobblestone History Magazine. December 1998:12-13 |
| "Encarta." Multimedia Encyclopedia.
Microsoft Corporation. 1995 ed. |
Eric Olberding |