The Chiefs play the Texans today. They can win against the Texans; however, I am unsure who I would rather play next, the Ravens or the Bills. Whoever wins that game will be a challenge for the Chiefs. Outside of the sports world, I acquired a couple of essential books for my manuscript. The first is written by Ulysses Grant III (Ulysses’s grandson) and entitled Ulysses S. Grant: Warrior and Statesman. Grant III does an excellent job describing Grant’s early life through his own readings and oral history. The second book is History of the Thirteenth Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry in the War of the Rebellion 1861-1865. I was introduced to this regimental history at the Richmond Battlefield Archives by National Park Ranger Bert Dunkerly. It is an excellent and detailed history and provides some accounts of Ulysses S. Grant in battle.
One of my least favorite subjects to discuss is Grant’s drinking. I do not feel strongly about it one way or the other, and both sides have brought some up key points. James Wilson claimed that Grant drank sometime during the Vicksburg Campaign while Oliver O. Howard said Grant never took a sip of alcohol. These arguments bore me. I understand that claims of Grant’s drinking were to disintegrate his character, which speaks more to the character of the person making such an accusation.On the other hand, we cannot ignore some evidence that might corroborate Grant’s drinking. A couple weeks after the Battle of Shiloh, Grant wrote to Julia, explaining how well he and the other men had been doing following the battle. He wrote, “We are all well, and I am sober as a deacon no matter what is said to the contrary.” Interpreting this quote is difficult, considering that Grant may have joked with Julia about what the papers and rumors were about him. Chris Mackowski made a good point about this quote last week, asking why Grant would mention it if it was invalid. I think it is an excellent point that should be considered.
The rumors of Grant’s drinking from his time in California seemed to follow him everywhere and only increased with the fame he attained after the capture of Fort Donelson. Lincoln knew not to ignore these rumors because he later promoted him to General-in-Chief of all armies. There is no evidence of Grant ever taking a drink while engaging. Grant had vices and was hardly perfect, but trying to disintegrate Grant’s character based on possible drinking habits is a very weak argument. It is a boring conversation that should give little weight to Grant’s overall character. When speaking about Grant’s drinking, it should be essential to consider all the evidence, but even if Grant did drink, does that not make all his accomplishments even more impressive?
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