Solving the Riddle of Ulysses Grant ; He Was Not a Military Genius, but He Won with Determination

Summary

---

Even in his own day, Ulysses S. Grant was sometimes likened to the Sphinx. Inscrutable and inarticulate, he had little of the charisma associated with great soldiers. He had few friends, and they generally were Army colleagues such as William Tecumseh Sherman and John Rawlins. His life before the Civil War had brought one business failure after another, doubtless with some damage to his self-esteem.

The most recent author to attempt to decipher the "silent soldier" is Edward Longacre, a prominent Civil War historian whose earlier works include biographies of Gens. John Buford and Wade Hampton. Mr. Longacre has not provided a full biography of his subject but covers him just until the end of the war. He seeks to tell us what made Grant tick.

See the full content of this document

Extract

---

Solving the Riddle of Ulysses Grant ; He Was Not a Military Genius, but He Won with Determination

The general did not have a happy childhood. Although he had a fairly good relationship with his father, his mother, Hannah, was remote and cold. Even when Grant became the hero of the nation, he could elicit no praise from his mother, and she never ...

See the full content of this document

---