Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant · Chapter
First Meeting with Secretary Stanton—General Rosecrans—Commanding Military Division of Mississippi—Andrew Johnson’s Address—Arrival at Chattanooga explained
Grant recounts his first meeting with Secretary Stanton in Louisville, his acceptance of command of the Military Division of Mississippi, and his urgent journey to Chattanooga to relieve the besieged Army of the Cumberland under Rosecrans.
What happens
Grant recounts his first meeting with Secretary Stanton in Louisville, his acceptance of command of the Military Division of Mississippi, and his urgent journey to Chattanooga to relieve the besieged Army of the Cumberland under Rosecrans. He describes the dire supply situation, the defeat at Chickamauga, and his initial actions to stabilize the front, including coordinating with Generals Thomas, Sherman, and W. F. Smith.
Themes in this chapter
Leadership and Humility
Grant accepts command without fanfare, listens to subordinates like Thomas and W. F. Smith, and makes decisive changes to relieve the crisis.
The Horrors and Cost of War
The chapter vividly describes the starvation of thousands of animals, debris of broken wagons, and the near-annihilation of the Army of the Cumberland.
National Union and Constitutional Crisis
The strategic maneuvers and command changes reflect the high stakes of preserving the Union and the federal government's response to military emergencies.
Characters to notice
- Ulysses S. Grant
Narrator and commander; meets Stanton, accepts command of Military Division of Mississippi, travels to Chattanooga to relieve Rosecrans.
- Edwin M. Stanton
Secretary of War; meets Grant in Indianapolis and travels with him to Louisville, delivers orders creating the Military Division of Mississippi.
- William T. Sherman
Grant requests his assignment to command the Army of the Tennessee; Sherman is already en route to reinforce Rosecrans.
- George H. Thomas
Commands the corps that stood firm at Chickamauga; Grant meets with him at Chattanooga and later assigns him to replace Rosecrans.
- William F. Smith
Chief engineer of the Army of the Cumberland; briefs Grant on the situation and has already begun constructing bridges and a steamer.
- Ambrose E. Burnside
Grant telegraphs him from Jasper to secure ammunition for his artillery and small-arms.
- Oliver O. Howard
Has his headquarters at Jasper; Grant stops there and telegraphs Burnside.
- John A. McClernand
Not mentioned in excerpts.
Key passages
“If he had stopped and intrenched, and made himself strong there, all would have been right and the mistake of not moving earlier partially compensated. But he pushed on, with his forces very much scattered, until Bragg’s troops from Mississippi began to join him.”
Grant criticizes Rosecrans for not entrenching after crossing the Tennessee River, instead advancing with scattered forces until Bragg was reinforced.
Grant reflects on the tactical error that led to the defeat at Chickamauga.
“A retreat at that time would have been a terrible disaster. It would not only have been the loss of a most important strategic position to us, but it would have been attended with the loss of all the artillery still left with the Army of the Cumberland and the annihilation of that army itself, either by capture or demoralization.”
Grant asserts that retreating from Chattanooga would have meant losing a key position and destroying the Army of the Cumberland.
Grant emphasizes the critical importance of holding Chattanooga.
“I found that he had established a sawmill on the banks of the river, by utilizing an old engine found in the neighborhood; and, by rafting logs from the north side of the river above, had got out the lumber and completed pontoons and roadway plank for a second bridge, one flying bridge being there already.”
Grant discovers that General W. F. Smith had ingeniously set up a sawmill and built bridges and a steamer using salvaged materials.
Grant praises Smith's resourcefulness in preparing for a supply route.
