What a disappointing Christmas Day with a Chiefs loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. However, it was only a tiny fraction of my day as I spent time with my lovely wife and read Kenneth Williams' work on Ulysses Grant. I gifted myself some books to help my research for a future book. The two books were recommended to me by a friend, but the titles are Eyewitnesses at the Battle of Shiloh and Eyewitnesses at the Battle of Fort Donelson. Both are a bit dated now, but I trust they provide insight into the events of both battles.
I already mentioned that I read Kenneth Williams' third volume of Lincoln Finds His General, but more specifically, he talked about Grant's involvement with the Navy during the Battle of Fort Donelson. I read multiple primary source accounts of Grant's orders to naval captains and requests for cooperation. One order he sent to Foote during the Battle of Fort Donelson says, "If all the gunboats that can will immediately make their appearance to the enemy it may secure victory…If the gunboats do not show themselves, it will reassure the enemy and still demoralize our troops."
Grant was not an expert on naval matters, but his flexibility in coordinating military actions with the Navy led to victories at Fort Henry, Shiloh, Vicksburg, Fort Fisher, and Trent's Reach. This analysis makes it seem like Grant would have performed well in the Navy. If given proper training, he may have done well in the Navy. Horace Porter noted his interest in ships during the Richmond-Petersburg Campaign writing,
There had been so much talk about the formidable character of the double-turreted monitors that General Grant decided one morning to go up the James and pay a visit to the Onondaga and invited me to accompany him. The monitor was lying above the pontoon-bridge in Trent's Reach. After looking the vessel over, and admiring the perfection of her machinery, the general said to the commander: "Captain, what is the effective range of your 15-inch smooth-bores?" "About eighteen hundred yards, with their present elevation," was the reply. The general looked up the river, and added: "There is a battery which is just about that distance from us. Suppose you take a shot at it, and see what you can do." The gun was promptly brought into position by revolving the turret, accurate aim taken, and the order given to fire. There was a tremendous concussion, followed by a deafening roar as the enormous shell passed through the air; and then all eyes were strained to see what execution would be done by the shot. The huge mass struck directly within the battery, and exploded. A cloud of smoke arose, earth and splintered logs flew in every direction, and a number of the garrison sprang over the parapet. The general took another puff at the cigar he was smoking, nodded his head, and said, "Grood shot!" The naval officers indulged in broad smiles of triumph, and tried to look as if this was only one of the little things they always did with equal success when they tried hard.
It is best that Grant decided to attend West Point and never consider joining the Navy, as the war's outcome could have been very different. Nevertheless, Grant’s ability to work with several captains and admirals made his success in the war all the better.
Notes
Horace Porter, Campaigning with Grant, (New York: The Century Co., 1897), 376.
Kenneth Williams, Lincoln FInds a General vol. 3, (New York: Macmillan Co., 1952), 244.
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