General Ulysses S. Grant: The Soldier and the Man

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Hachette Books, Jun 19, 2006 - Biography & Autobiography - 338 pages
Despite his reputation for rash decisions, brutal tactics, and intemperate behavior, Ulysses S. Grant was the only Union general who could win the war for Lincoln. Grant's aggressive strategies, swift movements and uncompromising battlefield attacks were praised in the North, feared in the South, and reviled by many of his own associates and staff. General Grant is, perhaps, one of the most controversial, enigmatic, and misunderstood generals in our nation's history. In this new biography of Grant, acclaimed Civil War historian, Edward G. Longacre, examines Grant's early life, military training at West Point, and his later military career for insights into his great battlefield successes and his personal misfortune. Longacre, to a degree that no other historian has done before, investigates Grant's drinking as well as his devout religious affiliation with temperance movements, and the role these conflicting forces had on his military career and conduct. Longacre's conclusions may surprise readers, but no one will doubt the research and scholarship behind them. As he has done in all his previous military biographies, Longacre challenges readers and scholars alike with a new perspective on the ever-fascinating life of General Grant.
 

Contents

A Most Remarkable and Valuable Young Soldier
23
3
32
Union and Separation
45
Hardscrabble Years
65
Trial and Error
87
A Hero in Disgrace
111
I Cant Spare This Man
133
The Sword of Damocles
151
The Idol of the Hour
193
No Turning Back
217
12
223
Additional and Magnificent Successes
241
Notes
269
Bibliography
303
Index
329
Copyright

A Degree of Relief Scarcely Ever Equaled
169

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About the author (2006)

Edward G. Longacre is the author of numerous biographies of Civil War generals. He is a recipient of the prestigious Fletcher Pratt Award for Civil War writing. He lives in Newport News, Virginia.