Later in 1863, Grant changed his area of operations and assumed personal control of the Union effort at East Tennessee. Après une brillante carrière militaire au cours de laquelle il commanda les armées nordistes durant la guerre de Sécession, il fut élu président en 1868. Grant's goal was the same as Lee's: get the men to where they can do the most good. In March 1864, Ulysses S. Grant went to Washington, D.C., to receive his commission from Abraham Lincoln as lieutenant-general in command of all the Union armies. Historian James M. McPherson put it succinctly: “The South could ‘win’ the war by not losing; the North could win only by winning.” Concurring with that analysis was Southern historian Bell I. Wiley, who said: “ . Operations link the strategic level with the tactical level; operations are the use of tactics to achieve strategic objectives. December 15, 2020. Grant’s War Strategy: General Military Skills, Between Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant, both generals were quite aggressive. General Ulysses S. Grant was decisive in the American Civil War through his Clausewitzian understanding of the conflicts character, his ability to operationalize President Abraham Lincolns policy into a matching military strategy of total war, and his relentless execution of its campaigns. Historian Jeffry Wert described how Grant’s Civil War strategy vision and perseverance (see above) combined to reinforce each other: “On May 4, 1864, more than a quarter of a million Union troops marched forth on three fronts. The only Union frontal attack (unsuccessful) of the siege took place only after a great mine had exploded under a portion of the defenders’ lines; otherwise, Grant avoided direct attacks until March 1865, when success was assured. For example, he left Union lines to visit Commodore Foote, several miles away, without leaving a designated second-in-command; and he did not ensure that his right flank was set firmly against the Cumberland River, thereby permitting the Confederate cavalry under Forrest (and whomever chose to accompany them) to escape the Union encirclement. It may be helpful to put these numbers in perspective by comparing them to the casualty figures for the Army of Northern Virginia under Lee’s command and to those for other Confederate commanders. After Lee took command of the Army of Northern Virginia, he lost two of the three mortally wounded Confederate lieutenant generals (corps commanders), four of the seven mortally wounded Confederate major generals (division commanders), and 33 of 53 mortally wounded Confederate brigadier generals (brigade commanders). This appears to have been innately learned, since Grant denies having read the standard books on tactics11 or the military pronouncements of the French general, Henri Jomini, or the American Thomas Mahan, whose tactical doctrine dominated Civil War thinking.12. General George Meade was to lead the Union's massive Army of the Potomac against … Fuller concluded, “If anything, Lee rather than Grant deserves to be accused of sacrificing his men.” Gordon Rhea similarly concluded that “Judging from Lee’s record, the rebel commander should have shared in Grant’s ‘butcher’ reputation.” James McPherson compared the casualties of Lee and Grant: “Indeed, for the war as a whole, Lee’s armies suffered a higher casualty rate than Grant’s (and higher than any other army). But Grant had no reserve force; as a result, when the Confederates counter-attacked, Grant’s men had to fight their way back to their boats. Their Union counterparts were unhappy with the war continuing, but they were generally sure of ultimate victory, well fed, well supplied and increasingly well led. Scott Michael Rank, Ph.D., is the editor of History on the Net and host of the History Unplugged podcast. Grant was a very good strategist whose rep was somewhat tarnished by his acceptance of the Lincoln-Halleck-Stanton attrition mandate on the Virginia Front. It simply was to align the available Union forces and move straight ahead. But having seen that the Army of Northern Virginia was not likely to break, and having arrived outside the fortifications that surrounded Petersburg and Richmond, Grant returned to his tried and true operational plan. . Cleaves, Freeman. Rock of Chickamauga: The Life of George H. Thomas. The analyst said, “ . FREE Shipping by Amazon . Thereafter, he would try to be nearer the units over which he was maintaining operational control. Given the number of battles Grant’s armies fought, this is a surprising, but informative, result. Like Washington, Grant’s battlefield performance was the only factor standing between the United States continuing as one, indivisible nation. Grant and the entire North realized the Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia was the primary enemy and defeat of that army was a major goal. But remembering that Lieutenant General John Pemberton’s forces had been badly beaten twice in prior days, and knowing that Union forces were brimming with confidence, Grant probably succumbed to the attacks just like other generals would have.19 While events at Vicksburg remain little known outside the community of Civil War scholars, they bear comparison with another campaign that is much better known to Americans generally. A historian of the Ottoman Empire and modern Turkey, he is a publisher of popular history, a podcaster, and online course creator. How to defeat Lee was the pressing operational issue. Moving then from Spotsylvania to Cold Harbor, Grant again gained a headstart, only to have the Confederates seize the better position through the initiative and skill of Lee’s subordinates as compared to Grant’s. I would direct, therefore, that you advise your advance guards to keep a sharp lookout for any movement in that direction, and should such a thing be attempted, give all the support of your division and General Hurlbut's, if necessary. During each major battle in the critical and decisive phase of the war from June 1862 through July 1863, Lee was losing an average 19 percent of his men while his manpower-rich enemies were suffering casualties at a tolerable 13 percent. . Group of answer choices A. The capture of Ft. Henry, February 1862, first brought fame to Grant, although it was the Navy who won the battle before Grant’s army troops could get into action. Both were fraught with potential issues. 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