Crucible of command : Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee -- the war they fought, the peace they forged

689 Pages·2014·5.03 MB·English

by  Davis

(cid:43)
CRUCIBLE COMMAND
U L Y S S E S S . G R A N T A N D
R O B E R T E . L E E —
T H E W A R T H E Y F O U G H T ,
T H E P E A C E T H E Y F O R G E D
W I L L I A M C . D AV I S
CRUCIBLE of
COMMAND
(cid:43)
CRUCIBLE
of
COMMAND
ULYSSES S. GRANT AND
ROBERT E. LEE—
THE WAR THEY FOUGHT,
THE PEACE THEY FORGED
W I L L I A M C . DAV I S
Da Capo Press
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
Copyright © 2014 by William C. Davis
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
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Editorial production by Marrathon Production Services. www.marrathon.net
Book design by Jane Raese
Set in 12-point Dante
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from the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-0-306-82245-2 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-0-306-82246-9 (e-book)
Published by Da Capo Press
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
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2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1
For Bird, who gave me the idea

CONTENTS
List of Maps ix
Preface xi
Introduction: Icons xvii
1 Sons and Fathers 1
2 School of the Soldier 25
3 Fighting on the Same Side 51
4 Times of Trial 75
5 A Crisis Made for Them 104
6 “What Has Become of Gen. Lee?”—
“Who Is General Grant?” 128
7 Lee Frustrated and Grant Victorious 160
8 Shiloh and Sevens 189
9 Lee Victorious and Grant Frustrated 221
10 “What have we to live for if not victories?” 252
11 Two Rivers to Cross 283
12 July 1863 314
13 Hints of the Inevitable 346
14 “If defeated nothing will be left us to live for.” 373
15 “A mere question of time.” 405
16 Meeting Again 429
17 Grant and Lee in 1868 455
18 The Last Meeting 481
Notes 495
Bibliography 593
Acknowledgments 609
Index 613
vii

MAPS
1. Grant and Lee’s War, 1861–1865 xiv
2. The Virginia Theater of the War xv
3. Grant and Lee in Mexico, 1846–1848 55
4. The Battle of Cheat Mountain, September 12, 1861 148
5. The Battle of Belmont, November 7, 1861 155
6. The Battle of Fort Donelson, February 15, 1862 187
7. The Battle of Shiloh, April 6, 1862 204
8. The Seven Days, June 25–July 1, 1862 217
9. The Second Manassas Campaign, July 17–August 30, 1862 231
10. The Battle of Antietam, September 17, 1862 245
11. The Battles of Iuka and Corinth, September 19 and
October 3, 1862 247
12. The Battle of Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862 269
13. The Battle of Chancellorsville, May 1–6, 1863 309
14. The Battle of Gettysburg, July 1–3, 1863 327
15. Grant’s Approaches to Vicksburg 332
16. The Battles for Chattanooga, November 24–25, 1863 371
17. The Battle of the Wilderness, May 5–6, 1864 399
18. The Battles around Spotsylvania Court House,
May 8–19, 1864 401
19. Grant’s Crossing of the James, June 13–16, 1864 410
20. The Siege of Petersburg, June 1864–April 1865 421
21. Grant’s Pursuit of Lee to Appomattox, April 3–9, 1865 450
ix