Since I started reading about the American Civil War in 2017, I have visited every battlefield where Grant held tactical command. The only two that I have not visited are Port Gibson and Belmont. Most of the battlefield at Belmont is currently under the Mississippi River, and Port Gibson is privately owned. Nevertheless, I always intended to stand where Grant stood to better understand what he saw and why he acted the way he did. The landscape has changed dramatically in 170 years. A great example is the Hill of Death, which is no longer the same height as it was because, in the 1950s, farmers took much of the soil from the Hill of Death to use for nearby roads. Similarly, Cold Harbor is now covered with foliage and trees that did not exist in the 19th century. These changes did not disrupt the diverse landscape that General Grant led armies across.
It should be noted that each had its challenges, such as Virginia having limited access points for the large Union army to outmaneuver the Army of Northern Virginia. The distances between the Union and Confederate flanks made it impossible for Grant to view the battlefield from its entirety from any point on the battlefield, unlike Missionary Ridge. Every time Grant arrived at a new position on the Petersburg or Richmond front in 1864 and 1865, he had to consider how the new line would work into the defenses they currently possessed while still analyzing how to launch offensive attacks from their positions. The most challenging landscape Grant and his men dealt with was the backwaters of Mississippi, a complex network of swamps, bayous, and rivers that made traditional military tactics ineffective. There was no approach from which Grant could take Vicksburg. No amount of luck could have achieved what Grant did during the Vicksburg Campaign and the siege. Improvisation was a key element of Grant’s success in that campaign based on the ground he covered.
Fort Donelson was no easy task, considering he did not even reconnoiter the ground before moving against the citadel. Grant began operations against Fort Donelson, not knowing he was initially outnumbered by Confederate forces, but due to his decisiveness and forward action, the Confederates dared not attack. Then there is the battlefield of Shiloh. Here, Grant displayed some of his shortcomings as a commander, whether overconfidence or ignorance, and he persevered in not abandoning the field at the first breaks of the Union lines. Instead, he managed to scour the ground, look for strong defensive positions, hold back the Confederate onslaught, and strike the following day, retaking all the lost ground. Therefore, Shiloh represents Grant's best traits; between his dogged determination and coup d’oeil, he solidified one of the greatest victories of the war. It is my humble opinion that Shiloh still provides the best interpretation and display of Grant’s abilities as a general. Military members today would benefit from 'staff rides', a method of professional military education that uses historical battlefields as a classroom, to learn from each of Grant's battles.
Comentários