Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant · Chapter
Commissioned Brigadier-General — Command at Ironton, Mo. — Jefferson City — Cape Girardeau — General Prentiss — Seizure of Paducah — Headquarters at Cairo explained
Grant recounts his surprise at being recommended and confirmed as brigadier-general, the selection of his staff including John A.
What happens
Grant recounts his surprise at being recommended and confirmed as brigadier-general, the selection of his staff including John A. Rawlins, and his early commands at Ironton and Jefferson City, Missouri. He describes the chaotic state of volunteer recruitment, the broken-up expedition against Jeff. Thompson due to General Prentiss's misinterpretation of orders, and his swift seizure of Paducah, Kentucky, anticipating Confederate forces by only a few hours.
Themes in this chapter
Leadership and Humility
Grant's surprise at his promotion and his willingness to serve under Prentiss despite seniority, as well as his decisive but measured actions at Ironton and Paducah.
Personal Integrity and Self-Reliance
Grant's selection of Rawlins for his firmness and integrity, and his independent decision to seize Paducah without waiting for orders.
The Horrors and Cost of War
Description of Union refugees in Jefferson City, destitute and having lost everything, and the demoralized state of troops at Ironton.
Characters to notice
- Ulysses S. Grant
Narrator and protagonist; newly commissioned brigadier-general, takes command at Ironton, Jefferson City, and Cairo, and leads the seizure of Paducah.
- John A. Rawlins
Appointed by Grant as assistant adjutant-general with rank of captain; later becomes brigadier-general and chief-of-staff.
- Ambrose E. Burnside
Mentioned indirectly as General Prentiss; Burnside is not present, but Prentiss is the focus.
- John C. Frémont
Referenced as the department commander whose scout reported Confederate movements toward Paducah.
- William J. Hardee
Mentioned as the Confederate general at Greenville, Missouri, with five thousand troops.
- Sterling Price
Confederate general thought to be threatening central Missouri towns including Jefferson City.
- Jefferson Davis
Colonel Jefferson C. Davis (Union officer) delivers orders to Grant at Jefferson City.
- John C. Pemberton
Not directly mentioned in this chapter; excluded.
Key passages
“I had not been in Mexico many weeks when, reading a St. Louis paper, I found the President had asked the Illinois delegation in Congress to recommend some citizens of the State for the position of brigadier-general, and that they had unanimously recommended me as first on a list of seven.”
While still in Mexico, Grant learned from a newspaper that the Illinois congressional delegation had unanimously recommended him as the top candidate for brigadier-general.
Grant's surprise at his unexpected promotion.
“General Rawlins was a very useful officer in other ways than this. I became very much attached to him.”
Rawlins proved invaluable beyond his firmness, and Grant grew deeply fond of him.
Grant's personal regard for Rawlins.
“I never after saw such consternation depicted on the faces of the people. Men, women and children came out of their doors looking pale and frightened at the presence of the invader.”
The citizens of Paducah were utterly terrified when Union troops arrived, expecting Confederate forces instead.
The shock of Paducah's residents at the Union occupation.
