Grant and Lee.doc

Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. LeeCommanders of the Union and Confederate Armies Ulysses S. GrantUlysses S. Grant was not as well known at the start of the Civil War as Robert E. Lee but proved to be just as valuable during the war. Grant was a West Point graduate, and his record in the Mexican War was good. But when the Civil War broke out, Grant was a civilian. He was working in his brothers leather-goods store in Illinois. He thought of himself as a failure, “stuck in the mud,” washed up at 40. When he tried to rejoin the army in 1861, he had to beg for a job. Finally he was made a colonel.Northerner against retreat. As a soldier, Grant believed, “When in doubt, fight.” And he did fight. He won fame for demanding unconditional (complete) surrender from the Southern commanders he was fighting. In fact, people in the North began saying Grants initials, “U.S.,” stood for “Unconditional Surrender.” In battle, Grant was tough and hard. He was not “a retreating man.” As cannons roared, he sometimes carved wood or smoked big cigars. Sometimes he took a drink.Soon Grant was made a general. He became a leading figure of the war in the West. In 1863 he captured the city of Vicksburg, Mississippi. He starved the city into surrender. Grants victory at Vicksburg came the same day as Lees retreat from Gettysburg. With Vicksburg in Union hands, the North had control of shipping on the Mississippi River.Lincoln had searched for a winning commander for two years. Six top generals had come and gone. None of them had made great headway against the South. But now there was Ulysses. S. Grant. “Grant is my man,” Lincoln said. “He pounded Vicksburg - and won. He fights!”Early in March 1864, Grant was called to the White House. There he met Lincoln for the first time. Grant didnt look much like a general. He didnt even look like a soldier. He was sloppy in his dress uniform. He didnt stand straight, the way a general should. And he had a rough, untidy beard. But his blue eyes were bright and cold.A few days later, Lincoln promoted Grant to the highest rank in the army. Other officers grumbled. Some said that Grant drank too much. But Lincoln didnt care. He said that Grant was the man he needed. Grant was afraid of no one, not even Robert E. Lee. When Grant became commander of the Union armies, he attacked without letup. He lost 50,000 men, all told. Some people called him a “butcher.” This hurt him, but he knew only one way to win attack. Such was the man who finally pounded the South into surrender. Robert E. LeeGeneral Robert E. Lee was watching the Union lines through field glasses. He was in his middle 50s, and his beard was gray. He stood tall and straight. Suddenly a young soldier was at this side. “Yes, my son,” Lee said, “what can I do for you?” “Sir,” the boy answered, “Im all out of tobacco. Could you let me have a chew?” General Lee did not smoke or chew tobacco. But he called over an officer and made sure the boy got some.This was the strong, kind, religious man who led the Confederate armies. He came from an old Virginia family. His father, “Light Horse Harry” Lee, had been one of George Washingtons favorite officers. Robert E. Lee had been graduated second in his class at West Point. He had also won honors in the Mexican War of 1846-1848. Later he became head of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.Southerner against slavery In March 1861, Robert E. Lee was a colonel in the U.S. Army. He was against slavery and had set his own slaves free. He did not like the idea of the South seceding from the Union. He knew that a war which pitted brother against brother would be a terrible tragedy. But he also knew that he could not fight against his own state, Virginia. Like most Southerners, Lee believed that his state and its rights were more important than the Union.On April 18, five days after the fall of Fort Sumter, President Lincoln offered Lee the job of commanding the Union army. A Union general had told Lincoln, “Lee is so valuable; his life should be insured for five million dollars.” Lincolns offer was a great honor, but Lee turned it down. The day before, Virginia had voted to secede from the Union. With a heavy heart, Lee then left the U.S. Army and joined the Confederacy. Lee said: “If I owned four million slaves, I would cheerfully give them up to save the Union. But to lift my hand against Virginia is impossible.”Lee did indeed prove to be a valuable general. He led Confederate soldiers through four bloody years of combat. He had a great ability to measure an enemys strength and location. He knew how to move an army quickly over many miles. He had a superb sense of when to attack and when to withdraw. All in all, he has been judged one of the greatest military leaders in U.S. history. General Ulysses S. GrantUnion Commanding General for the last year of the war.He was not well known at the beginning of the war.He graduated from West Point Military Academy.He fought in the war with Mexico.When the Civil War began, Grant was not a soldier. When he attempted to re-enlist in the army in 1861, he almost was not allowed to rejoin.Grant had a reputation for being a tough fighter in battle who would never give up.He smoked big cigars, and some officers claimed that he was an alcoholic.He was the seventh Commanding General of the North.He was elected President of the United States in 1869.Northerners said his initials stood for “Unconditional Surrender” because he vowed to continue to fight until the South surrendered.He was a sloppy dresser and did not take care of his uniform.At the surrender he showed great respect and compassion to General Lee and the Southern soldiers.General Robert E. LeeConfederate Commanding General from the beginning of the war until the end of the war.From the Southern state of Virginia.Graduated from West Point MilitaryAcademy at the top of his class.War hero from the war with Mexico.He was a Southerner against slavery.He did not like the idea of the South seceding from the Union.He knew he could not fight against his home state of Virginia.He believed that his state and its rights were more important than the Union.President Lincoln offered him the job of Commanding General of the Union Army.He led Confederate soldiers through four bloody years of combat.He knew how to move an army quickly over many miles, and he had a great sense of when to attack and when to withdraw.He was a famous general considered one of the greatest military leaders in United States history.He believed that being dressed in a proper, well cared for uniform was important. Grant with Union Generals Grant as President Lee with Confederate Generals Grant vs. LeeBy Dan ZeiserThe Cleveland Civil War RoundtableCopyright 2008, All Rights ReservedEditors note: This article was originally published in The Charger in December, 2002.The age old question. The two best-known generals of the war. The commanders who battled one other at the end of the war. Lees surrender to Grant is generally, and incorrectly, considered the end of the war. Given his besting of Lee, is Grant the better general? Much has been written over the years, yet the question remains.Here we go again.Lee, second in his West Point class, an engineering officer, a career military officer, truly was a great general. As a tactician, he was head and shoulders above Grant. (Thomas, however, is another question.) Good defensively, Lee was even better on the offensive. He was bold and decisive, a calculating gambler. Can anyone who has studied the battle of Chancellorsville deny it? Splitting his army on several occasions, he surprised his opponents and won the day. Lee was a master of the holding attack, a tactic George Marshall would later instill as the only tactic taught at the Army War College prior to World War II. Lee and Jackson confer at ChancellorsvilleAs do all great generals, Lee knew his commanders and his opponents. With Jackson as his right arm, he had the confidence to divide his command and attack whenever he saw the opportunity. After Jacksons death, he realized his subordinates were not cut from the same cloth. Never again would he attempt a Chancellorsville type maneuver. He was a wise evaluator of his opponents capabilities, also. Prior to Antietam, with McClellan again in command, Lee knew he would have time to take Harpers Ferry before McClellan attacked. At Gettysburg, Lee realized Meade was a solid, if not spectacular, commander who would likely not make a mistake.Because of these traits, he won battles one of the measures of a great general. His men loved him and would do anything for him. They fought when they were cold, tired, hungry, and hopeless. They did everything he asked, except win the war.However good he was, Lee was flawed. Two flaws in particular come to mind, one minor, one major. As a minor flaw, Lee was not a good quartermaster. The Army of Northern Virginia was always poorly equipped. Much of its equipment and supplies were taken from the Army of the Potomac after their numerous victories, but there was never enough. Not all of this blame can be laid at the feet of Lee, though. The Confederacy was woefully short of the industry needed to supply its armies and the Northern blockade prevented adequate supplies from being imported as the war dragged on. Some may lay additional fault on the Souths lack of railroads to deliver supplies. Virginia, however, did not suffer from this lack. Finally, northern Virginia was fought-over so much that it simply could not feed the army.While these factors played a role, Lee, as commander, shoulders much of the blame. He never seemed overly concerned about the supply situation, leaving it to the government in Richmond. For instance, a major reason Lee invaded the North in 1863 was the lack of food to be found in northern Virginia following the wintering of both armies there. Rather than deal with the supply problem at home, he chose to invade Pennsylvania and live off the land. But how long could he possibly stay? This only solved part of his problems. More important, a battle was inevitable. He would have to return to deal with his wounded and replace his losses, even if he were victorious.Lees major flaw, though, was as a strategist. In a word, he was not. His concern was northern Virginia and nothing else. Throughout the war, he resisted attempts by Jefferson Davis to draw forces from the Army of Northern Virginia to reinforce the western armies. Only once did it happen, when Longstreet went west and fought at Chattanooga, but not without Lees efforts to stop it. He also opposed attempts to make him commander-in-chief of Southern forces until it was too late for it to be of any benefit.Additionally and most importantly, he failed to realize that the Confederacys best hope of survival was to hold out. Since the South had a lack of fighting men compared to the North, its best hope was to keep casualties to a minimum, to live to fight another day. Lees offensive tactics ensured the Army of Northern Virginia sustained greater casualties than it could afford. Had he fought defensively most of the time, Lee would have saved soldiers who could fight again, perhaps outlasting the Norths will to win.In some ways, Grant is the mirror image of Lee. He was a mediocre student, 21st of a class of 39, and a failure as a career military man. He was not very good as a civilian, either, failing as a farmer and a president. And, unlike Lee, he was a good quartermaster who made certain his men were well-supplied. In other ways, they were very much alike. Like Lee, Grant was decisive and bold. The Vicksburg campaign alone proves this. Grant also was not afraid to fight. He won battles and his men loved him.Grant also had his flaws. As a tactician, he was horrible. He seemed to know only one tactic the frontal assault. Time and time again, he threw troops at entrenched positions, only to suffer incredible casualties. At Vicksburg, he attacked strong fortifications and suffered accordingly. Did he learn to try other methods? No. At Spotsylvania and Cold Harbor he did it again on an even grander scale, suffering even grander casualties. Grant seems to be one of those Civil War generals, of whom there are quite a few, who did not understand the changes the rifled musket forced on tactics. Frontal assaults no longer worked, but many a general seemed to think if only another division were thrown in, the result would be different. Only once did Grant try a flank attack. At Chattanooga, Sherman was to strike the right flank of Braggs army, but was defeated by Cleburnes division. Seeing it fail, Grant seems to have discarded the idea as antiquated. Burying the dead at Cold HarborGrants true talent lay as a strategist. He saw the big picture clearly. His Vicksburg campaign was brilliant, even though the battles were won in a pedestrian manner. He outmaneuvered his opponent and prevented him from combining forces. As comma