Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant · Chapter
The Military Situation—Plans For the Campaign—Sheridan Assigned to Command of the Cavalry—Flank Movements—Forrest at Fort Pillow—General Banks's Expedition—Colonel Mosby—An Incident of the Wilderness Campaign explained
Grant outlines the military situation upon assuming command of all Union armies, describing the disposition of forces from the Mississippi to the Atlantic coast.
What happens
Grant outlines the military situation upon assuming command of all Union armies, describing the disposition of forces from the Mississippi to the Atlantic coast. He explains his strategic plan for a simultaneous advance along the entire line, with the Army of the Potomac as the center, Sherman moving against Johnston in Georgia, Butler advancing up the James River, and Sigel operating in the Shenandoah Valley. Grant discusses the necessity of concentrating forces, the abandonment of certain positions, and the failure of Banks's Red River expedition. He also recounts Forrest's massacre at Fort Pillow and the capture of Plymouth, North Carolina, by Confederate forces.
Themes in this chapter
The Horrors and Cost of War
Grant recounts Forrest's report of the Fort Pillow massacre, describing the river dyed with blood and the slaughter of hundreds, highlighting the brutal reality of the conflict.
Leadership and Humility
Grant demonstrates strategic leadership by concentrating forces and coordinating a simultaneous advance, while also showing humility in acknowledging Banks's opposition to the Red River expedition and taking no credit for the plan's shortcomings.
National Union and Constitutional Crisis
The chapter emphasizes Grant's overarching goal of preserving the Union by defeating the Confederate armies in the field, with Washington's security and the integrity of the nation as central concerns.
Characters to notice
- Ulysses S. Grant
As the new general-in-chief, Grant describes the overall military situation and his strategic plan for a coordinated offensive across all theaters.
- William T. Sherman
Sherman commands the military division of the Mississippi, with a large movable force near Chattanooga, and is directed to move against Johnston's army and Atlanta.
- Benjamin F. Butler
Butler commands the Army of the James, tasked with advancing up the James River against Richmond and Petersburg. Grant visits him at Fort Monroe before the campaign.
- Ambrose E. Burnside
Burnside commands the 9th Army Corps, over 20,000 strong, initially rendezvoused at Annapolis and later moved to support the Army of the Potomac.
- Nathan Bedford Forrest
Forrest is noted as a brave and intrepid Confederate cavalry general in the West, and his actions at Fort Pillow are recounted, including his report of the massacre.
- Nathaniel P. Banks
Banks led a failed expedition up the Red River, which delayed the return of troops needed for Grant's general plan. Grant notes Banks opposed the expedition.
- Robert E. Lee
Lee commands the Army of Northern Virginia, strongly entrenched on the south bank of the Rapidan, and is described as the acknowledged ablest general in the Confederate army.
- Joseph E. Johnston
Johnston commands the Confederate army at Dalton, Georgia, opposing Sherman's advance.
Key passages
“The river was dyed with the blood of the slaughtered for two hundred yards. The approximate loss was upward of five hundred killed, but few of the officers escaping. My loss was about twenty killed.”
Forrest reported that the river was stained with blood for two hundred yards, with about five hundred of the enemy killed and few officers surviving, while his own losses were around twenty.
Grant quotes Forrest's own account of the Fort Pillow massacre to illustrate the brutality of the event.
“It is hoped that these facts will demonstrate to the Northern people that negro soldiers cannot cope with Southerners.”
Forrest expressed hope that the massacre would prove to the North that African American soldiers were no match for Southern troops.
Grant includes this statement to show the racist justification Forrest gave for the massacre.
“To get possession of Lee's army was the first great object. With the capture of his army Richmond would necessarily follow.”
Grant's primary goal was to capture Lee's army, as taking Richmond would naturally result from that victory.
Grant explains his strategic priority of destroying the Confederate army rather than capturing territory.
“It was better to fight him outside of his stronghold than in it.”
Grant believed it was preferable to engage Lee in open battle rather than assaulting his fortified positions around Richmond.
Grant justifies his decision to move against Lee in the field rather than attacking Richmond directly.
