Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant · Chapter
XXV explained
Grant reflects on the Battle of Shiloh, emphasizing the inexperience of his troops and the importance of drill over fortifications.
What happens
Grant reflects on the Battle of Shiloh, emphasizing the inexperience of his troops and the importance of drill over fortifications. He discusses the leadership of General Buell, the death of Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston, and the strategic shift toward total war that followed the battle.
Themes in this chapter
The Horrors and Cost of War
Grant describes the heavy losses, the burial of the dead, and the shift to a policy of destruction that hastened the war's end.
Leadership and Humility
Grant defends Buell against unjust charges, critiques Johnston's vacillation, and acknowledges his own decision to prioritize drill over fortifications.
Personal Integrity and Self-Reliance
Grant emphasizes the importance of discipline and drill for volunteer soldiers, and reflects on his own integrity in handling reports and correspondence.
Characters to notice
- Ulysses S. Grant
Author and narrator; reflects on his command at Shiloh and his relationship with Buell.
- Don Carlos Buell
Brave and intelligent officer; Grant defends him against charges of disloyalty.
- Albert Sidney Johnston
Confederate commander at Shiloh; mortally wounded on the first day; Grant critiques his vacillation.
- P. G. T. Beauregard
Second in command to Johnston; opposed the attack but succeeded to command after Johnston's death.
- William T. Sherman
Division commander at Shiloh; his troops carried out burial instructions; later published a correct report of the battle.
- John A. McClernand
Division commander; some of his parties carried out burial instructions.
- Henry W. Halleck
Grant's superior; assumed command at Pittsburg Landing after Shiloh and ignored Grant.
- Jefferson Davis
Confederate President; wrote an unofficial letter to Johnston expressing anxiety about the disasters.
Key passages
“The army engaged the first day was without experience or even drill as soldiers. The officers with them, except the division commanders and possibly two or three of the brigade commanders, were equally inexperienced in war.”
On the first day of battle, the troops and most of their officers lacked combat experience and proper training.
Grant highlights the inexperience of his forces at Shiloh.
“After this, however, I regarded it as humane to both sides to protect the persons of those found at their homes, but to consume everything that could be used to support or supply armies.”
After Shiloh, Grant adopted a policy of sparing civilians but destroying all military resources, believing this would shorten the war.
Grant explains his shift to a strategy of total war.
“General Albert Sidney Johnston, who commanded the Confederate forces at the beginning of the battle, was disabled by a wound on the afternoon of the first day. This wound, as I understood afterwards, was not necessarily fatal, or even dangerous. But he was a man who would not abandon what he deemed an important trust in the face of danger and consequently continued in the saddle, commanding, until so exhausted by the loss of blood that he had to be taken from his horse, and soon after died.”
Johnston was wounded on the first day but refused to leave his post, eventually dying from blood loss.
Grant recounts Johnston's fatal wound and his determination to remain in command.
“I do not question the personal courage of General Johnston, or his ability. But he did not win the distinction predicted for him by many of his friends. He did prove that as a general he was overestimated.”
Grant acknowledges Johnston's bravery but concludes that his military reputation exceeded his actual performance.
Grant offers a critical assessment of Johnston's generalship.
