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Grant Moves South: 1861 - 1863

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Grant Moves South is part one of a two part Civil War study of Ulysses S. Grant. It covers the period 1861-1863, the period in which Grant emerges as the key commander in the Federal western army. Grant was something of an enigma. In a period of armchair Federal generals, when ego, as opposed to performance, ran rampant in the Federal High Command, quiet Sam Grant unassumingly went about capturing not one but two Confederate armies in the field. During the entire length of the Civil War no other commander on either side captured even one.

The study of Grant in these years is really the study of Federal victory in the Western Theater of operations. Belmont, Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Corinth and Vicksburg are all key Union victories. With the exception of Corinth, they were all battles in which Grant was in command. It was Grant who was primarily responsible for opening the Mississippi and cutting the Confederacy in two. Emerging from the Civil War as the finest general produced by either side, during this phase of the war, while not the best, he certainly is the equal of Stone wall Jackson or Robert E. Lee.

His audacious Vicksburg campaign was a signal event. Cutting free from reinforcements and resupply he moves rapidly, deep into enemy territory fighting not one but four major battles to invest Vicksburg from its land side. He then conducts siege operations while keeping Joe Johnston continually at bay. Vicksburg is generally acknowledged as one of the finest campaigns conducted by either side during the war.

Bruce Catton's book is extremely well done and like all of Catton's works, very ably written.

Although Bruce Catton was an accomplished historian in his own right, one cannot help but notice the influence of the great Sherman biographer Lloyd Lewis. Anyone who has read Lewis' _Sherman: Fighting Profit_ will recognize similarities; the heavy reliance on primary sources and the uncanny ability to allow the reader to draw his or her own conclusions without explicitly stating the writer's intentions. Catton imitates Lewis' sinuous narrative style that captivates and draws the reader deeper into the manuscript. Unfortunately, however, Lewis only lived to publish the first of a multi-volume biography Ulysses S. Grant titled Captain Sam Grant . Lewis' widow commissioned Catton to finish the project utilizing much of the notes Lewis had gathered in the course of his research. The results are the two subsequent biographies authored by Catton: Grant Moves South and Grant Takes Command Catton begins his duel biography in June 1861 when Grant, appointed Colonel, takes command of the 21st Illinois Volunteer Infantry. Catton portrays Grant as a man of few words, yet possessing an ability to quickly earn the respect of his men. Grant stresses discipline and training particularly of his company grade officers. About half of the book is devoted to Grants participation at the battles of Belmont, Fort Henry, Fort Donelson and the near disaster at Shiloh. The remainder of the text focuses on the Vicksburg Campaign. Catton prefers a loosely structured chronological approach and provides his readers with a commanding view from headquarters. Catton relies upon letters, cables, and other communiques between officers, which tends to keep the focus on Grant and other high level players. Besides handwritten orders and other official documentation, Catton allows Grant to speak for himself through the only vestige we have: his memoirs. In contrast, Catton listens to what other observers have to say about Grant in their memoirs, particularly William T. Sherman and the unpublished memoir of Grant's wife, Julia Dent Grant. Juxtaposing this top-down approach is Catton's ability to portray the human frailties of Grant's personality. Grant's drinking is a recurring theme in which Catton bestows an admirable defense. Catton devotes considerable space to the Grant's uneasy relationship with General Henry Wager Halleck. To Halleck's charge that Grant disobeyed orders and failed to communicate his intentions at Fort Donelson, Catton counters by stating the Union communication system, as a whole was substandard. He suggests Confederate sympathizers manned telegraph offices squelching vital communiques.   Catton credits Halleck for saving Grant's command during the controversial political maneuvering of General John A. McClernand. Overall, Catton concludes that Grant certainly had his hands full during his early campaigns. On the one hand, Grant had the Vicksburg Campaign to plan and orchestrate; On the other hand, Grant was the target of dubious machinations from jealous staff officers and politicians in Washington bent of relinquishing his command. What is more, Grant was faced with economic issues and the problem of what to do with displaced contraband slaves that were pouring into his army camps on a daily basis. Referring to the former slaves as "Darkeys." Grant immediately put the Negro refugees to work maintaining roads, bridges and other military necessities that required manual labor.Catton again comes to the defense of Grant in his handling of these sensitive civil-military relations. In a controversial order, Grant categorized northern businessmen attempting to exploit profits from the sale of cotton as "Jews." Though these complex themes surrounding Ulysses S. Grant, are significant, they tend to diminish the genius for war Grant displayed during the Vicksburg Campaign. Taking into account that this is a biography of Grant and not a comprehensive treatment of the campaign that sealed his place in history, Catton could have evened out the balance rather than treating the campaign as a mere backdrop. Catton's eloquent literary style and his excellent syntheses of primary sources, make this a must have for any Grant afficionado.

"Grant Moves South" shows why Bruce Catton is revered among Civil War readers. This book is a case study of the 1861-63 Grant, using his battles, first person accounts, records and Grant's own words to form a picture of the warrior. In this, Catton does an excellent job.

His thesis is that Grant was a different cut of General than the north possessed. One who early on grasped both the objectives of the war - to crush Southern armies and not occupy places - as well possessed of the will to learn how to win the new kind of war the country was waging.

Grant's own iron-cored (Catton's description) sense of himself, as well as his willingness to both learn and take good risks set him apart from almost every other warrior in the North. He was a fierce warrior who from his first encounter with the Confederates understood that the battle had to be taken to the enemy - and that delay for planning, training and logistics benefited the enemy as much as his forces. This appreciation Grant brought with him to the conflict. It is evident from his earliest forays at Fts. Henry and Donelson as well as the inconclusive field of Belmont. Other facets of this warrior had to be learned. In this Grant displayed an openness to the revelations of his own short comings and a willingness to show the world that he was prepared to be a student of warfare. Thus, even difficulties like Shiloh taught Grant that southern demoralization was not a constant factor and that defense in the face of the enemy were necessary and did not sap the fighting spirit of his troops. His early failed approaches to Vicksburg led him to throw away military maxims about supply lines, the necessity of holding fixed points and both the opportunity and advantages of an army living off the land.

Grant was a learner, an opportunist and a serious warrior who understood what the main thing was. In an era when political infighting and external political considerations mattered more than they seemed to in 20th Century American warfare, Grant let his actions advance his career (with some timely and great help from Congressman Washburn - his first political patron).

Catton gives the reader the whole story. This is a study of the man and his development as a warrior. Civil War readers who have feasted on the likes of Sears and others who write so well of battles and campaigns at the regimental level may be somewhat surprised that Catton's study relies much less on military detail and more on campaign strategy and command function. In this, Catton's work is more of an epic and serves to give the reader a picture of why things happened rather than an exhaustive account of what happened.

An oldie but a goodie - Catton should be required reading for every Civil War enthusiast and his Grant military biographies are wonderful examples of a master at his craft.

Before I read this book and "Grant takes command" I subscribed to the popular opinion that Grant was a butcher who simply took advantage of the vast material and manpower superiority of the northern states to win the war. Realizing that Catton idolized his subject, I still was mesmerized enough by the biographies to investigate more. I have since come to a greater appreciation of Grant the general and I couldn't recommend more Catton's two books as an introduction. This is great stuff.

Catton has a fine narrative style which is a pleasure to read, and the book includes insights into Grant's personality and the growth in his generalship, as well as detailing political and military history of the Western Theatre 1861-1863. The war in the west has been overshadowed in history by the war along the Atlantic coast (even by Catton, with his Army of the Potomoc trilogy), but it is arguably more important than what was going on in Virginia in this period. The book shows Grant feeling his way to an understanding of what it would take to win the war, and it becomes clear why Lincoln, by the end of the book, chooses him for head of the Union armies. For example, at the battle of Shiloh (1862), the Union forces were surprised and almost beaten the first day, but Grant retained his optimism and rallied the troops to fight hard and hold off the Rebels until reinforcements arrived that night. The next day they took back all the ground they had lost, although they didn't take the opportunity to destroy the Army of the Tennessee. Any other Union general in that situation would have (and did, in similiar battles in Virginia) retreated the first evening and lost the battle. One comment: If you want a hardback copy of this book, it can be easily obtained in on-line used bookstores. I just bought a good copy for 7.95 + taxes and shipping.

In "Grant Moves South" Bruce Catton picks up the story of Ulysses S. Grant as he returns to the U.S. Army at the start of the Civil War. This is the second volume of a trilogy on Grant begun by Lloyd Lewis and completed by Catton. Catton, one of the two best narrative historians of the Civil War (with Shelby Foote), is in excellent form in this extremely well-written biography of Grant's progression from Colonel of Illinois volunteers to victor at Vicksburg.

As General William Sherman acknowledged, Grant was something of a mystery to everyone, perhaps even himself. This man, a failure at virtually everything but his marriage and working as a clerk in his father's tannery in 1861, leverages his West Point education and some political connections into a commission as a regimental commander and never looks back. The Grant portrayed in these pages by Catton is like many officers at the beginning of the Civil War in that he is learning his trade as he went along. But Grant is different from most of his contemporaries, many of whom had far better reputations in the peacetime army. First, Grant had a remarkable ability to make sound common sense judgements under stress. Second, Grant married his ability to make decisions to an utter determination to see a project through. Third, Grant was a man seemingly without illusions; his ability to correctly characterize the task in front of him in order to attack it is rare among his contemporaries. These characteristics carried Grant through his apprenticeship as a regimental commander of volunteers, his successful campaign to secure middle Tennesee through victories at Forts Henry and Donelson, and finally his tenacious campaign to reduce the Confederate stronghold at Vicksburg. Grant's ability to understand and lead volunteers was a key underpinning of his success throughout the war.

Catton does not sugarcoat Grant's record. Grant was not above politicking for jobs or assignments. He was badly surprised by the Confederates at Shiloh and avoided being beaten to some degree by refusing to admit defeat and retreat. His pre-war problems with alcohol pursued him into the service, including an apparently memorable bender during the Siege of Vicksburg that Catton unflinchingly documents. The Vicksburg campaign was marked by costly trial and error, as Grant tried and discarded several unsuccessful approaches to the city. Grant, to his credit, persisted, finally rolling the dice by crossing the Mississippi and boldly placing his army between two Confederate forces while temporarily cut loose from his lines of communication.

This book was first published in 1960. Details and interpretations of events have evolved, but Catton's superb prose stands the test of time as a wonderful reading experience. This book is highly recommended to the general reader with some knowledge of the Civil War and to the student of the Civil War looking for the broad sweep of history not found in highly specialized studies.

Grant Moves South and Grant Takes Command are fine narrative history. With insight into human nature and a dead lock on military strategy, Catton strikes deep into the myth to rescue the man. Mission accomplished.

As usual Bruce Catton did a great job. The book is thoroughly researched, and is extremely readable.

Very readable biography. Mr. Catton brings Grant to life. What I especially like about this book is that the author shows how Grant evolved into a great commander. (To help do this, Mr. Catton includes important passages of Grant's letters and military orders.) Yes, Grant made mistakes. Yes, he sometimes got lucky, but at his core, Grant was a humble man of great courage and resolve, who was able to see the road to victory while others, too afraid to fail, could not.

A good, overall account of the military operations of the Western theatre of the Civil War.

I have always looked upon Grant as a symbol of the real America. Heres a Man who has seen and done it all. What with going from the rock bottom of poverty to commander of the entire Yankee Army then the House House to poverty again. Who never the less maintains his dignity and sense of honor thru out. Then follows up with heroically battling cancer to finish his memoirs to provide for his family. In this 1st book Mr. Catton who writes so well covers Grants rise to the top. Or as he said a major cog just dropped into the machine that would destroy the Confederacy. If you like to read some well chosen words on the War between the States, then get this series of books.