Joseph Rose

Grant vs Lee: The Flag of Truce at Cold Harbor

 in Cold Harbor / Grant / Grant biographies / Historiography / Lee / Meade / Reliability  tagged Grant / Historians by

One of the episodes that demonstrates how General Ulysses S. Grant’s biographers continue an undue exultation of their hero—and simultaneously denigrate General Robert E. Lee—is the much-belated flag-of-truce after his horrendous defeat at Cold Harbor on June 3, 1864. Probably hundreds of Union soldiers died unnecessarily as a result. Grant’s former staff member, Adam Badeau, directly blamed Lee for the fiasco, since Grant supposedly had “at once” sent to the […]

General U.S. Grant gets his fifth star

 in Generalship / Grant / Grant biographies / Historiography / Presidency  tagged Grant / Historians by

In the ‘‘James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, one section relates to General Grant: SEC. 583. POSTHUMOUS APPOINTMENT OF ULYSSES S. GRANT TO GRADE OF GENERAL OF THE ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES.The President is authorized to appoint Ulysses S. Grant posthumously to the grade of General of the Armies of the United States, equal to the rank and precedence held by General John J. […]

Joseph A. Rose vs. Dr. Brooks D. Simpson: What Really Happened on Orchard Knob and at Missionary Ridge?

 in Battles / Chattanooga / Favoritism / Generalship / Grant / Grant biographies / Historiography / Reliability / Tactics  tagged Chattanooga / Grant by

Joseph A. Rose vs. Dr. Brooks D. Simpson: What Really Happened on Orchard Knob and at Missionary Ridge? One of the Civil War’s most intriguing controversies concerns the “miraculous” charge up Missionary Ridge during the Battle of Chattanooga on November 25, 1863 and whether Major-General Ulysses S. Grant intended the soldiers to ascend, as he claimed. The Confederate defenders dug in at the bottom of the ridge, the top, and […]

Book review: River of Death–The Chickamauga Campaign: Volume 1

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River of Death–The Chickamauga Campaign: Volume 1: The Fall of Chattanooga by William Glenn Robertson. California: University of North Carolina Press, 2018. ISBN-10: 146964312X; ISBN-13: 978-1469643120. Photographs. Maps. Appendix. Pp. xvi, 680. $45.00. This highly detailed narrative of Union General William Rosecrans’ 1863 campaign against the key transportation center of Chattanooga, Tennessee, starts on July 4th of that year, just as his Tullahoma campaign—“a resounding success”—was prematurely stopped by the […]

An expanded review of Chernow’s Grant biography

 in Battles / Chattanooga / Generalship / Grant / Grant biographies / Grant's Memoirs / Historiography / Presidency / Reliability / Shiloh by

[So much is wrong with Chernow’s biography. This expanded review adds further examples of his mistakes and partisanship.] There is no doubt that Ron Chernow tells a beautiful story in his recent biography of Ulysses S. Grant. He is especially compelling in discussing the fight for Black civil rights during Reconstruction. But throughout, the author takes a highly partisan view of his subject in controversy after controversy when the evidence […]

Response to “The American Left Needs a History Lesson”

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Response to Dr. Williamson Murray’s essay, “The American Left Needs a History Lesson” https://www.newsweek.com/american-left-needs-history-lesson-opinion-1518488 When some of the participants in protest marches commit indiscriminate vandalism and engage in looting, there is little to defend it. That is insufficient reason to disparage the whole movement with accusations of historical ignorance. Dr. Williamson Murray’s essay, incidentally, has a few problems of its own. The 54th Massachusetts Regiment was not “the first Black […]

A critique of the History Channel’s Ulysses S. Grant miniseries 1 comment

 in Appomattox / Battles / Belmont / Chattanooga / Drinking / Generalship / Grant / Grant's Memoirs / Henry & Donelson / Historiography / Hooker / Horace / Lee / Lew Wallace / Lincoln / Longstreet / Meade / Petersburg / Porter / Presidency / Reliability / Sheridan / Sherman / Shiloh / Thomas / Vicksburg / Wilderness by

First, I’ll stipulate that Ulysses S. Grant had many good qualities as a person, a general, and even as a president. The History Channel’s recent three-part miniseries on Grant, however, contained a surprising number of egregious mistakes and strained arguments, especially given the prominent “talking heads” involved. Even though the long list of executive producers starred Grant biographer Ron Chernow, little comprehension of the American Civil War was shown. It […]

Myth & Mistake in U.S. Grant’s Civil War History 5 comments

 in Grant / Grant biographies / Grant's Memoirs / Historiography / Shiloh  tagged Fort Donelson / Hamlin Garland / John Thayer / Shiloh by

Shortly after General Ulysses S. Grant captured Fort Donelson in mid-February 1862, his superior, Henry Halleck, ordered Grant’s main force on an expedition up the Tennessee River under a subordinate, General Charles Smith. Grant was to remain downriver at Fort Henry. He was certainly not, however, “virtually in arrest and without a command,” as claimed in his Personal Memoirs. Such noted biographers as Ron Chernow, Dr. Brooks Simpson, and Bruce […]

A Critical Review of Ron Chernow’s “Grant” 2 comments

 in Uncategorized by

There is no doubt that Ron Chernow tells a beautiful story in his recent biography of Ulysses S. Grant. He is especially compelling in discussing the fight for Black civil rights during Reconstruction. But throughout, the author takes his subject’s side in controversy after controversy, even when the evidence doesn’t support it. And Chernow has a seriously deficient understanding of Grant, of the Civil War, and of military matters, in […]

The Civil War’s Most Persistent Myth

 in Chattanooga / Cold Harbor / Discrimination / Drinking / Favoritism / Generalship / Grant / Grant biographies / Grant Under Fire / Grant's Memoirs / Henry & Donelson / Historiography / Honesty / Hooker / Lee / Lew Wallace / McClernand / Meade / Paducah / Presidency / Reliability / Rosecrans / Sheridan / Sherman / Shiloh / Strategy / Tactics / Thomas / Vicksburg / Wilderness by

A forthcoming book posits that the “Civil War’s Most Persistent Myth” involves the existence or non-existence of Black Confederate soldiers. Yet, the Amazon description admits that it “largely originated in the 1970s.” Many myths concerning that conflict have persisted well beyond fifty years. I would nominate a far older and much more egregious example of distorted history. General Ulysses S. Grant has acquired a sterling reputation as an officer and […]

Horace Porter falsified history 2 comments

 in Battles / Cold Harbor / Grant / Grant biographies / Historiography / Petersburg / Porter / Wilderness by

James M. McPherson, in his introduction to the Penguin Classics edition of U.S. Grant’s Personal Memoirs, noted how Horace Porter served on Grant’s staff from the Wilderness to Appomattox. McPherson concluded that, Porter’s “own version of those events, entitled Campaigning with Grant, is next in value only to Grant’s memoirs as a firsthand account of command decisions in that campaign.” Porter in his own preface maintained that, “While serving as […]

Busbey at Grant’s Savannah headquarters and on Tigress April 6th

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I located Sgt. William H. Busbey’s post-war article about his being near Grant’s Savannah headquarters and on Tigress during the trip to Pittsburg Landing on April 6th in the Chicago Inter-Ocean. Some obvious errors make it not completely reliable, and it may be completely unreliable, but it does make for interesting reading: “I was at Savannah in April, 1862, associated with the work of the Adams Express company . Myself […]

The apparent mishandling of Shiloh after-battle reports

 in Sherman / Shiloh by

On May 2, 1881, William T. Sherman, the Commanding General of the United States Army, apparently received the Shiloh after-action report of Lieutenant-Colonel Robert A. Fulton of Colonel Jesse Appler’s 53rd Ohio Regiment, and had it forwarded to Colonel Scott (probably for inclusion into the Official Records). He endorsed it as being “substantially correct,” as far as his own memory went. But why wasn’t this report, dated April 9th, sent […]

Sherman: North’s and South’s mutual guilt in the institution of slavery

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William T. Sherman, speaking at an annual meeting of the Society of the Army of the Tennessee, concluded that the war’s penalties should be shared by both North and South, because of their mutual involvement in the institution of slavery. “And I, born of Connecticut parents, bearing in affectionate remembrance the virtues of my honored ancestors, and yielding to no man in admiration of the intelligence, refinement, industry, and thrift […]

Colonel Grant of the 21st Illinois in contention with Colonel Turner of the 15th Illinois by Mike Maxwell 3 comments

 in Grant by

To Maurice D’Aoust, You provide an impressive report, upon completion of an interesting investigation: “How lucky was Grant?” At the start of the Civil War, Ulysses S. Grant did not think of himself as lucky, but more likely, “under-appreciated.” His early attempts to gain a colonelcy, or possibly a Staff position with McClellan, came to nothing. So, when that June 1861 offer of the 21st Illinois was dangled in front […]

More on Horace Porter’s unreliability 1 comment

 in Chattanooga / Grant / Historiography / Porter / Reliability by

Horace Porter is a prime source of anecdotes that make General U.S. Grant look good. As I showed in my book, Grant Under Fire, and in an earlier article on this blog, the former staff member’s “reverential Campaigning with Grant contained innumerable, implausible justifications and apologies for his chief. It parrots many of the inaccuracies from Grant’s Personal Memoirs.” In another major discrepancy, Porter’s hagiographical volume relates how Grant, upon his October 1863 arrival in […]

Undeniably Serendipitous Grant by Maurice D’Aoust

 in Battles / Belmont / Chattanooga / Generalship / Grant / Henry & Donelson / Lew Wallace / Shiloh / Strategy / Vicksburg / Wilderness by

Serendipitous: Having an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident. Synonym—Lucky A weary Napoleon Bonaparte listened patiently as the speaker continued extolling a friend’s military prowess. Finally, unable to contain himself any longer, the Emperor abruptly cut in and asked: “Fine, he is brilliant, but is he lucky?” Taken from Napoleonic lore, the story may have some basis in truth for, though he would have been the first to acknowledge […]

Otto Eisenschiml: a scientist looks at Civil War history 6 comments

 in Grant's Memoirs / Historiography / Sherman by

While Lloyd Lewis composed his book, Sherman: Fighting Prophet—which advanced a romantic, one-sided, and severely erroneous view of William T. Sherman—Otto Eisenschiml was arguing for a more scientific investigation of the American Civil War and its participants. Although he still fell into the trap by believing much of Grant’s Memoirs, Eisenschiml’s method and many of his conclusions help us reach a more correct account of that conflict. I just read […]

Hamlin Garland’s unusual activities

 in Grant / Grant biographies / Wilson by

Going through the Hamlin Garland papers at USC today, I noticed some unusual activities of this Grant biographer from the turn of the century. At places, his notes had been obviously censored, with two sections being obviously cut out. Elsewhere, he contradicted or disbelieved his interviewees (most notably in James H. Wilson’s case), yet he said not a word when Grant’s family and supporters made outrageously incorrect claims. Worse, in […]

National Geographic’s free USGS topos on multi-page PDFs 1 comment

 in Mapping by

You can’t really know a Civil War battle if you don’t know the geography of the battlefield. “National Geographic has built an easy to use web interface that allows anyone to quickly find any 7.5 minute topo in the continental U.S.A. for downloading and printing. Each topo has been pre-processed to print on a standard home, letter size printer. These are the same topos that were printed by USGS for […]

Grant’s 9:30 a.m. arrival at Pittsburg Landing, April 6, 1862 8 comments

 in Grant / Historiography / Reliability / Shiloh / Time-keeping by

It turns out that I have too kind to General Grant in at least one area. The time of his arrival at Pittsburg Landing—after hearing cannon-fire at his headquarters ten miles downriver in Savannah and boarding his flagship Tigress for the trip upriver—has been a subject of controversy.   Grant and many of his friends and supporters selected earlier-than-actual times (with those of J.F.C. Fuller and William Rowley being absurdly […]

Ulysses S. Grant Launched an Illegal War Against the Plains Indians, Then Lied About It

 in Grant / Presidency / Reliability / Sheridan / Sherman by

Smithsonianmag.com just published an article by Peter Cozzens: Ulysses S. Grant Launched an Illegal War Against the Plains Indians, Then Lied About It The president promised peace with Indians — and covertly hatched the plot that provoked one of the bloodiest conflicts in the West http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/ulysses-grant-launched-illegal-war-plains-indians-180960787/?no-ist In this article, Cozzens cogently argues—and his deep-delving research proves it—that modern biographers of Ulysses S. Grant “have either misinterpreted the beginnings of the […]

The unreliability of Horace Porter’s Campaigning with Grant 4 comments

 in Grant / Grant biographies / Historiography / Wilderness by

In Grant Under Fire, I demonstrated how Horace Porter—Ulysses S. Grant’s staffer, friend, and biographer—could not be trusted for a true history of the General in the Overland campaign. Porter’s reverential Campaigning with Grant contained innumerable, implausible justifications and apologies for his chief. It parrots many of the inaccuracies from Grant’s Personal Memoirs. Porter offered a verbatim, 199-word speech by Grant on how he decided to cross the Rapidan downstream […]

Sherman’s 200,000 in Kentucky & bad historiography 2 comments

 in Battles / Chattanooga / Grant / Historiography / Sherman by

After Brigadier-General William T. Sherman took over command of the Department of the Cumberland from General Robert Anderson (of Fort Sumter fame) in 1861, he began to get nervous about his army’s dispositions in Kentucky. Sherman believed that the enemy had superior numbers (or easily could have with a rapid concentration, by utilizing the railroad system). In reality, his Federals outnumbered the Confederates on his front by two to one. […]

Waiting for (Don Carlos) Godot: a tragicomedy in two acts 4 comments

 in Favoritism / Generalship / Grant biographies / McClernand / Sherman / Shiloh by

Of the myriad blunders that needed to be excused or covered up concerning the Battle of Shiloh, one of the most notorious was Ulysses S. Grant’s absence from his army. Maintaining headquarters from approximately March 17th to the start of the battle on April 6th in a mansion at Savannah, Tennessee—ten miles downriver and on the opposite bank from his army at Pittsburg Landing—General Grant took a steamboat up to […]

Ulysses S. Grant hagiographies

 in Grant / Grant biographies by

Ethan Rafuse recently commented about “those who have pushed Grant scholarship to the point where history becomes hagiography.” Now, I have just run across Russell Bonds’ review of H.W. Brands’ “The Man Who Saved the Union.” In it, Bonds noted how the publication of William S. McFeely’s “Grant: A Biography” “sparked a flurry of responses trending toward hagiography. More than a dozen biographies, ‘dual biographies’ and studies of Grant have […]

Errors in U.S. Grant Biographies (Part One: Missionary Ridge) 2 comments

 in Chattanooga / Generalship / Grant / Grant biographies / Grant's Memoirs / Hooker / Reliability / Sheridan / Sherman / Tactics / Thomas by

Although the standard version of Ulysses S. Grant’s war-time history portrays him to be a military genius and a reliable chronicler of the American Civil War, his biographers have exaggerated, distorted, or omitted certain, salient facts. One of the most stark examples of this practice is from the Chattanooga campaign, which featured many of the most famous Union generals: Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman, George H. Thomas, Joseph Hooker, […]

The Historian’s Ten Commandments

 in Historiography by

I can’t vouch for the authenticity of the following, but it’s amusing and of interest nonetheless. The Historian’s Ten Commandments (Revised and Enlarged) Original attributed to William B. Hesseltine (1902-1963) Department of History, The University Of Wisconsin Thou shalt not use the passive voice. Thou shalt not use the present voice. Thou shalt not quote from secondary sources. Thou shalt not quote more than three lines–and never shalt thou use […]

Errors in Grant’s official map for the Battle of Belmont 2 comments

 in Belmont / Historiography / Mapping / McClernand / Reliability by

A close reading of the official reports for the Battle of Belmont indicates that Ulysses S. Grant’s official map, echoed by authors afterward, incorrectly portrayed Jacob Lauman’s move to the right side of the battle line during the engagement. Although this detailed map of the action, which accompanied Grant’s report of the battle, showed Henry Dougherty’s Second Brigade (22nd Illinois and 7th Iowa) moving to the right soon after forming […]

When is a quote on Ulysses S. Grant insufficient for historical purposes? 2 comments

 in Generalship / Historiography / Lee / Longstreet by

Although it assuredly happens all-too-often in histories and biographies, I have run across many seemingly fabricated stories about an heroic Ulysses S. Grant, which have been repeated without regard to the evidentiary background. One of them, concerning Richard Ewell, figures in my book, Grant Under Fire: In regard to Albert Richardson’s anecdote of Ewell’s warning other rebel officers early in the war of one as-yet-undiscovered federal leader whom they should […]

U.S. Grant’s overconfidence turned into a positive virtue 4 comments

 in Belmont / Generalship / Grant biographies / Grant's Memoirs / Henry & Donelson / Wilderness by

An article in the current (online) New Yorker, “Why the leadership industry rules,” Joshua Rothman discusses the concept of a leader. He refers, at one point, to the Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant, in which Grant tells a story of himself as a recently commissioned colonel in the Union’s volunteer army. Approaching the presumed location of an enemy camp, Grant related how, “‘My heart kept getting higher and higher, […]

“Grant Under Fire” and “Lincoln’s Autocrat”

 in Book reviews / Grant / Grant Under Fire / Stanton by

Civil War News has finally posted my response to Dr. John Marszalek’s unprofessional and mistake-ridden review of Grant Under Fire. As the Executive Director of the Ulysses S. Grant Association, whose mission it is to “preserve the knowledge of [Ulysses S. Grant’s] importance in American history,” Dr. Marszalek should have recused himself if chosen for this task. Especially if he himself selected Grant Under Fire for a review, his own […]

Log Book of the Civil War Gunboat “Tyler”

 in Military Affairs / Shiloh by

In an auction five years ago, the 1861–62 Log Book of U.S.S. Tyler was sold, as it had been in a previous auction in 2005. As this Civil War Gunboat was engaged in the Battles of Belmont, Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, and Shiloh (the logbook apparently ends sometime in April 1862), a transcription or reproduction of its pages should be of huge interest to many in the American Civil War community. It […]

A response to John F. Marszalek’s review of Grant Under Fire 2 comments

 in Book reviews / Drinking / Grant Under Fire / Historiography / Vicksburg by

I would have hoped that, as Executive Director of the Ulysses S. Grant Association and with 29 years as a professor (and as a Distinguished Professor Emeritus and director of a Distinguished Scholars Program), Dr. John F. Marszalek would have provided an objective, comprehensive, and professional book review or else recused himself for partiality, especially as he charges me with a lack of objectivity and impartiality. He complains that Grant […]

America’s Civil War (March 2016): Review of “Grant Under Fire”

 in Book reviews / Grant biographies / Grant Under Fire / Historiography by

Dr. Ethan Rafuse, in his review from the March 2016 edition of America’s Civil War, offers a good description of Grant Under Fire: An Exposé of Generalship & Character in the American Civil War. It “offers a strident, contrarian take on the union commander, ” he noted, and ”Rose’s book will surely be welcomed by admirers of other Union generals.” In what appears to be a commendation of the research […]

Ulysses Grant’s Intoxication on the Yazoo River—the Contemporary Evidence 7 comments

 in Drinking / Grant / Historiography / Vicksburg by

While the siege of Vicksburg progressed, on June 6, 1863, Major-General Ulysses S. Grant embarked for a boat trip up the Yazoo River to Satartia, Mississippi. Union troops from there and just inland were retreating south along the river. His chief-of-staff, John Rawlins, had written a letter to Grant early that morning. Rawlins thought that Grant had been drinking the night before, and “the lack of your usual promptness of […]

Grant on crutches at Shiloh? 2 comments

 in Grant biographies / Historiography / Reliability / Shiloh by

Although it is a rather common assertion in many biographies of Grant and in battle histories of Shiloh, there seems to be little reliable evidence that the General was using crutches when he boarded Tigress at Savannah on April 6th and debarked to ride around the battlefield. This may be one of the stories which had their genesis in his Personal Memoirs (“As it was, my ankle was very much […]

Bruce Catton’s reliability, Ulysses Grant, and the Battle of Chattanooga 6 comments

 in Chattanooga / Grant / Grant biographies / Historiography / Hooker / Nashville / Sherman / Shiloh / Thomas by

Although Bruce Catton’s books are far better than many others written about the American Civil War, they cannot be said to be free from substantial mistakes. Starting at the bottom of page 295 in the 1956 edition of This Hallowed Ground, Catton outlined General Ulysses Grant’s plan for the battle at Chattanooga: “Grant proposed to hit the two ends of the Confederate line at once. Hooker would strike at Lookout […]

Did General Joe Hooker disrespect Ulysses S. Grant? 2 comments

 in Chattanooga / Favoritism / Grant / Grant biographies / Grant Under Fire / Hancock / Historiography / Rosecrans / Shiloh / Thomas by

Yesterday, I helped confirm one of the many smaller points that Grant Under Fire makes. General Joe Hooker is often criticized for trying it on with his superior, Ulysses S. Grant, on November 21, 1863 at Stevenson, Ala., while the latter was on his way to Chattanooga, Tenn. When Hooker sent a staff officer and wagon to take Grant from the railroad station to Hooker’s headquarters, Grant responded: “If Gen. […]

Directions for Lew Wallace at Shiloh on April 6, 1862 1 comment

 in Grant / Grant Under Fire / Grant's Memoirs / Lew Wallace / Reliability / Sherman / Shiloh by

Although Grant tried to argue that he wanted Lew Wallace merely to march to Pittsburg Landing and had ordered him there, the evidence contradicts him. Even John Rawlins used a different destination while defending Grant and assailing Wallace.The Third Division’s destination was assuredly William Sherman’s right flank. Lew Wallace and four of his subordinates identified the orders’ stated objective as the right of the army, denoting Sherman’s right. Algernon Baxter, […]

National Archives – Lexington log book April 6, 1862, 4 Pages 2 comments

 in Shiloh / Time-keeping by

Here is the log book of U.S.S. Lexington for April 6, 1862, the first day of the Battle of Shiloh. It helps to answer some questions about what happened that day, but raises others. The name of the transport, John Raine, is almost assuredly transcribed incorrectly as John Ramm in the Official Records. Whether the boat actually was John Warner is another question altogether. [All images are from the National […]

Who’s to blame for the Hornets’ Nest surrender at Shiloh? 8 comments

 in Generalship / Grant's Memoirs / Prentiss / Reliability / Shiloh / Tactics by

The valiant stand in the Hornets’ Nest position at Shiloh by Union generals William H.L. Wallace and Benjamin M. Prentiss helped to save the rest of the Union army from ignominious defeat on April 6, 1862. Instead of honoring their achievement, General Ulysses S. Grant offered two implausible assertions in his Personal Memoirs. First, he unjustly cast blame on one of his subordinates for the surrender: “In one of the […]

Corrections to “What Trump Could Learn From U.S. Grant”

 in Discrimination / Grant / Presidency by

Some corrections need to be made to the recent article on RealClearPolitics.com titled: “What Trump Could Learn From U.S. Grant,” concerning General Ulysses S. Grant’s expulsion of all Jews “as a class” from his Civil War military department in December 1862. [http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2015/12/17/what_trump_could_learn_from_us_grant_129073.html] Grant was not “a cashiered U.S. Army captain,” but had resigned in 1854. He left his family’s leather goods store for good just before his 39th birthday, not […]

Review of “My Greatest Quarrel with Fortune”: Major General Lew Wallace in the West, 1861–1862, by Charles G. Beemer

 in Book reviews / Grant / Henry & Donelson / Historiography / Lew Wallace / Shiloh by

“My Greatest Quarrel with Fortune”: Major General Lew Wallace in the West, 1861–1862. By Charles G. Beemer, Kent State University Press, 2015 ISBN-10: 1606352369; ISBN-13: 978-1606352366 One hundred fifty years after being denied justice, Lew Wallace is finally receiving a portion of his just due from several historians of the Civil War. And Charles G. Beemer’s new book, “My Greatest Quarrel with Fortune”: Major General Lew Wallace in the West, […]

Maybe the worst insubordination against a commander-in-chief in U.S. history 1 comment

 in Favoritism / Grant / Presidency by

Why do most Grant biographers ignore this damning episode, in early 1868, when General-in-Chief Grant tried to help depose his superior, President Andrew Johnson? [From Grant Under Fire, pg. 560] In what may well have been the worst case of insubordination against a commander-in-chief in the nation’s history, the General-in-Chief actually lobbied certain senators to gain a conviction. Bolstering efforts to overthrow Johnson, Grant publicly forecast a threat to the […]

Four quotes related to the writing of history 2 comments

 in Historiography by

“Men hate the truth more than falsehood.”—Fire-eater R. B. Rhett Sr. to his namesake son, July 31, 1861, from the private papers of Wiley Sword. “A lot of folks like their Civil War history cut and dried, with a predictable cast of characters – they like to cheer the hero and hiss the villain. The curtain falls, and they say, ‘Very good, just as I remember the play.’”—Brian Pohanka, as […]

Did Grant “win” the American Civil War? 1 comment

 in Grant / Henry & Donelson / Lincoln / Military Affairs / Petersburg / Shiloh / Vicksburg by

Certain historians claim that Ulysses S. Grant “won” the American Civil War, a formulation far too simplistic to accurately reflect what actually happened. This chart is a simple reminder that other factors were involved. Grant may have led the Union army for the last year of the war, but Abraham Lincoln served as commander-in-chief of the nation’s entire armed forces, and historians rank him as one of the most effective […]

A great one is gone: Wiley Sword passed away November 9

 in Historiography by

  According to Crowell Brothers Funeral Homes: http://crowellbrothers.com/index.php?id=aa&q=848 Winfield Wiley Sword, age 77, of Suwanee, GA passed away Monday, November 9, 2015. Wiley was born in Mexico, Missouri on December 7, 1937 and lived there until the age of 7. He was a Civil War historian and published author who greatly enjoyed traveling and lecturing. Wiley was also an avid golfer, but nothing meant more to him that this family. […]

Fallacies concerning the Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant 1 comment

 in Battles / Book reviews / Favoritism / Grant / Grant biographies / Grant Under Fire / Grant's Memoirs / Henry & Donelson / Historiography / Honesty / Lew Wallace / McClernand / Paducah / People / Reliability / Rosecrans / Sheridan / Sherman / Shiloh / Thomas by

Michael B. Ballard’s review of Chris Mackowski’s Grant’s Last Battle: The Story Behind the Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant (November 2015 Civil War News Book Review), exemplifies the mind-set that my book, Grant Under Fire, so comprehensively opposes. Grant “did not rewrite history,” Dr. Ballard maintains, “he wrote it as he understood and lived it.” The reviewer does refer to “the accuracy, or lack thereof, of the memoirs,” yet […]

Bill O’Reilly credits U.S. Grant for Lincoln’s eminence

 in Favoritism / Grant / Grant Under Fire / Lincoln / Sherman by

In an interview in AARP, October/November 2015, Bill O’Reilly stated, “Lincoln, I think the greatest American president, would not have been that without U.S. Grant. It’s not just one person.” Well, I also argue that it’s not just one person, when I hear the constantly reiterated refrain, “Ulysses S. Grant won the American Civil War.” But in Lincoln’s case, I would assert that Grant was actually a drag on his […]

Shiloh, a strategic defeat for the Union?

 in Battles / Shiloh by

Grant Under Fire, takes a revisionist view of the Battle of Shiloh, declaring it a strategic defeat for the Union. The text describes John Pope’s and Andrew Foote’s success at Island No. 10 on the Mississippi, and then remarks on how they were next aiming for Fort Pillow and Memphis, Tennessee. It concludes: “Foote expected success within days. Just before the attempt, Halleck summoned Pope’s army to the Tennessee River […]

Grant “Won” the Battle of Shiloh?

 in Battles / Favoritism / Grant / Grant biographies / Honesty / Lew Wallace / McClernand / Sherman / Shiloh by

Just as Ulysses S. Grant is credited with “winning” the American Civil War, he usually receives the acclaim for Shiloh. A multitude of facts demonstrate why this is wrong. Simply awarding praise to the commanding officer in any engagement would mean that Buell, with his independent army, deserves half (or even more, as Grant was in charge during the losing battle on April 6th). This still completely ignores how they […]

Civil War Bookshelf review of Grant Under Fire

 in Book reviews / Grant Under Fire / Historiography by

Another positive review for Grant Under Fire just appeared on Dimitri Rotov’s Civil War Bookshelf. He’s too nice in saying that the book, with “798 erudite, well-researched pages, delivers a profound, perhaps unforgettable reading experience,” and “We are in the hands of a fair, informed and intelligent author who delivers a compelling read.” Although the book directly opposes the conventional view of Ulysses S. Grant, I wrote it for those […]

Interview: Joseph A. Rose, “Grant Under Fire”

 in Book reviews / Grant Under Fire / Historiography by

Harry Smeltzer has just published a lengthy interview with me on his Bull Runnings website. It provides a good perspective on the genesis of Grant Under Fire. Although it will be difficult to change the minds of many who’ve grown up on a diet of adulatory biographies of Ulysses S. Grant, people who’ve actually read the book have been quite complimentary on the depth of its research. I’m even more […]

The Taking of Paducah 1-2-3

 in Grant's Memoirs / Paducah / Reliability by

On the CivilWarTalk website, several individuals attempted to refute the fact that Grant (admitted in his own, unsubmitted report) had received Frémont’s authorization before setting out to occupy Paducah, Ky. One person, going by the moniker “DanSBHawk” wrote: “Seems like you could put the matter to rest by showing this one telegraph of Grant acknowledging receipt of Fremonts[sic] orders on the 5th. Here it is. In his unsubmitted report, Grant […]

Little Phil: A Reassessment of the Civil War Leadership of Gen. Philip H. Sheridan

 in Book reviews / Sheridan by

With Little Phil: A Reassessment of the Civil War Leadership of Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, Eric Wittenberg has gone against the grain of current Civil War scholarship to look at the facts underneath Phil Sheridan’s sterling reputation. Such revisionism is extremely welcome. Sheridan had a very mixed military career, but his protectors, such as Ulysses S. Grant, and friendly biographers covered up the flaws in his personality and the blunders […]

Lee’s Lost Dispatch and Other Civil War Controversies by Philip Leigh

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Lee’s Lost Dispatch and Other Civil War Controversies by Philip Leigh This book is a keeper. Instead of offering the standard, often incorrect, version of American Civil War history, Philip Leigh digs deeply into many of the conflict’s controversies. His analysis of why George H. Thomas would have made a better commander of the Military Division of the Mississippi, as opposed to General Grant’s choice of William T. Sherman, is […]

Ruin Nation: Destruction and the American Civil War by Megan Kate Nelson

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Ruin Nation: Destruction and the American Civil War by Megan Kate Nelson Ms. Nelson’s book is a much-needed reminder of the costs of war, in general, and of the huge and tragic effects of the American Civil War. Among its many strengths, the book provides a compelling look at the destruction of Columbia, South Carolina, by troops under General William T. Sherman (and thus showed how he lied in disclaiming […]

Review of Sean M. Chick’s The Battle of Petersburg, June 15-18, 1864

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The Battle of Petersburg, June 15-18, 1864 offers a fresh and balanced look at an engagement that has been often draped in myth. From the start, Sean Michael Chick accurately summarizes the Overland Campaign, detailing the blunders on both sides. He doesn’t let Grant off easily, as many authors try to do, noting at one point his “almost obsessive preference for Sheridan.” When the Army of the Potomac finally reaches […]