Over the past couple of weeks, I have meticulously edited my book and dissertation in hopes of getting a publisher. I added various accounts of other soldiers to my dissertation, and in my book on Grant, I added more information about Grant's plans regarding the Steele Bayou expedition. As far as this week is concerned, I will be at Vicksburg and the Champion Hill Battlefield, working on a staff ride with a former Major in the military. We aim to create a new product on the Battle of Champion Hill that gives soldiers varying perspectives of battlefield command at war's tactical and operational levels.
Frequently, when people think of Grant's first command, they associate it with the Battle of Belmont or taking over the 21st Illinois. However, Grant's first actual test was during the Battle of Resaca de la Palma. He had already experienced his first combat at the Battle of Palo Alto, but in his Memoirs, he wrote, "Captain McCall, of my company, to take one hundred and fifty picked men each and find where the enemy had gone. This left me in command of the company, an honor and responsibility I thought very great." Grant belonged to the Fourth. The infantry was divided to move against the left and right flanks of the Mexican Army. The Mexican army defended a position that was 12-foot deep and 200-foot wide resaca. To negate the effectiveness of Taylor's artillery, the Mexicans placed their artillery on their open flanks while placing brush in their front, fortifying their position. Grant moved down against the right wing of the American army. Grant and his company came under fire. Grant looked for places he could move his company through the thicket. He ordered them to reach precise openings in the thicket as they advanced, and they quickly came upon the enemy works. Their position was so close to the enemy that he ordered his men to lie down after taking heavy fire. Realizing they could not advance further, Grant ordered his men to withdraw from their current position.
The Mexican fire slackened around Grant's company, and at that moment, Grant saw an opportunity: "I at last found a clear space separating two ponds. There seemed to be a few men in front, and I charged upon them with my company. There was no resistance, and we captured a Mexican colonel, who had been wounded, and a few men." Following the battle, Grant gave little credit to himself and his men. Rightfully so, Grant did little to change the outcome of events. Zachary Taylor won the battle using the Fourth Infantry against the flank cap, turning an enemy battery, and repulsing a Mexican cavalry charge. Nevertheless, Grant's quick thinking and seizing a moment of opportunity represented early signs of leadership and reading the terrain that few others possessed. It was such a small moment in Grant's early career that it is often overlooked, but it is significant to note how early he held command over a few men and found some success in only his second battle. These early signs of success represent more important consequences for his future military career.
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