Meade was Not Grant’s First…

It is well-known amongst Civil War buffs that Ulysses Grant oversaw the Army of the Potomac during the Virginia Campaign despite Meade being the commander of the Army of the Potomac. Grant was general-in-chief, but he often looked over the shoulder (both physically and metaphorically). Grant involved himself in tactical matters that were Meade’s responsibility. It frustrated Meade because Grant was praised in the newspapers, while Meade was lambasted and criticized. Meade got the worst of it for a year, just about being sidelined by the end of the campaign. Nevertheless, he remained with the army, and Grant wanted him promoted. This was not the same story that involved Grant and John McClernand in May of 1863.

John McClernand was a political general from Illinois. Since his attack, he served with Grant, Belmont, acting competently amongst most of his officers. However, he was a stereotypical opportunist trying to get command of an army himself. He took advantage of such an opportunity during the Vicksburg Campaign. He visited Abraham Lincoln when he met with George McClellan during the Antietam Campaign to lobby for command. He almost got it by assembling an army and launching a successful attack against the Arkansas Post. Sherman planned the attack, but McClernand received the credit for it. Grant was able to put McClernand back into his place with the help of Henry Halleck, but that did not put the two men at ease with one another.

After numerous attempts to reach Vicksburg through unorthodox routes to avoid high casualties, Grant finally settled on running the guns near Vicksburg on the Mississippi River. The Confederate guns overshot their target, and the Union navy headed south. The first attempt was unsuccessful at Grand Gulf, then at Bruinsburg. After landing there, ten miles to the east, Confederate Brigadier Generals Edward Tracy and Martin Green held a thin Confederate line. The Union Thirteenth Corps, under the command of John McClernand, advanced to meet the enemy. They quickly overwhelmed the Confederate left held by Green and then the Confederate right held by Tracy. Grant's strategic decisions and the unfolding of the battle created a tense and uncertain atmosphere.

As the battle raged, McClernand believed he was in overall command and would receive the lion's share of the glory. Then, looking over next to him, he saw Ulysses Grant. A soldier from Wisconsin remembered both men on the field and was in the thick of the fighting as much as the soldiers near Magnolia Church. He believed McClernand was then enthused about the matter. Grant was equally displeased with his political general because, after the fighting, Elihu Washburne and Governor Richard Yates of Illinois tagged along with Democrats from Illinois. Strangely enough, as Grant and McClernand rallied the men near Magnolia Church, the men cheered for their victorious officers.

Grant's feelings about McClernand never changed. However, one must wonder if Grant ever missed him in 1864. The corps commanders in the Army of the Potomac were all professional soldiers, but they seemed to cause greater difficulties for Grant than McClernand ever did. There was also the fact that McClernand was at least competent in battle when many of his corps commanders and Meade gave subpar performances throughout the Virginia Campaign. There surely were a few instances in which Grant wished he had McClernand in command out east.