“The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can and keep moving on.” General Ulysses S. Grant
At this time, some one hundred and sixty-one years ago, Grant made one of the riskiest decisions of the Civil War. For a year after the fighting of the Battle of Shiloh, Grant was under a cloud of disgrace. After gaining the unconditional surrender of Simon Bolivar Buckner’s forces at Fort Donelson, Grant was totally surprised at Shiloh on April 6th, 1862. Word falsely spread that Grant was drunk, incompetent, and this forced General Henry Halleck to assume command. For agonizing weeks, Grant’s military opinion was bypassed, as he was ignored over the slow Union movement to take Corinth, Mississippi. Grant planned to go home, as he was not willing to stay in a position that did not recognize his ability to fight. General William Tecumseh Sherman persuaded him to stay as his luck was bound to change.
When Lincoln ordered Halleck to run the entire war effort, Grant regained his old position, and for several months, he was on the defensive. As he operated outside of Memphis, Tennessee, Grant watched Vicksburg and was determined to take the “Gibraltar of the West.” He ordered Sherman to attack the northern position of Vicksburg at Chickasaw Bayou. With three divisions, the Confederates easily defeated Sherman, who was forced to strike a well-entrenched and elevated enemy gun. Attacking in the open and through parts of waters that were chest high in late December, Sherman far outnumbered the Confederates, but was unable to make any gains against this strong position. As Sherman was assaulting the outskirts of Vicksburg, on December 20th, 1862, Confederate raiders operating behind Grant’s lines captured a large Union supply depot at Holly Springs, Mississippi. Grant was unable to aid Sherman with reinforcements of men and materials.
At Chickasaw Bayou, the Confederates awaited the Union soldiers and unleashed a defensive fury against them that cost the Union seventeen hundred casualties, compared to two hundred that was lost by the southerners. This lopsided battle victory for the Confederacy continued to provide information to Grant about the impregnable position of Vicksburg that was commanded by Pennsylvania native Lieutenant General John Pemberton. Again, these failures stimulated the rumors that Grant was drinking on duty and that he should be quickly fired by Lincoln. Little was said about the immense task in capturing Vicksburg that was surrounded by nine major forts, a garrison of 30,000 men, that was protected by 172 guns to hit any water movements towards Vicksburg from the Mississippi River. As this river ran north and south, it completely bent to provide a geographic barrier to hinder Union drive to hit this position from the water.
Lincoln never personally met Grant, but he continued to defend his ability to overcome this military obstacle. Under pressure, Lincoln often said that he was “Grant’s only friend,” and that he had to keep “this man, because he fights.” While Lincoln had to prod other generals to defeat the Confederates, especially in Northern Virginia, this was not the case for Grant. But there was constant friction over the presence of Grant that Lincoln wanted to learn more about this officer and his leadership style. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton directed writer Charles A. Dana to visit Grant’s headquarters as an Assistant Secretary of War. At once, Dana observed that Grant rarely drank, was an intelligent and brave officer, and had a temper that was rarely disturbed. He identified Grant as an incredibly devoted officer to his tasks, a likable leader who understood the common soldier, and that he was fully capable of opposing the Confederacy.
After several failed schemes to move closer to Vicksburg, Grant informed Sherman and his key officers that most of the army, horses, supplies, would float down the Mississippi River and proceed under the enemy guns. Sherman never doubted the bravery of Grant, but he believed that this was a poor idea that would hurt the Union war effort. At Vicksburg, Pemberton never estimated the will of Grant to move his army in this manner and he offered to send troops to Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Grant understood that he would be risking his own job if these plans failed, but he firmly believed in the necessity of this plan to travel south of the guns and to land his army on the same riverside as the enemy.
On April 16th, Grant and the navy assembled seven ironclads, three army transports and barges that had coal, food, hay, cotton and ammunition for his army. Next to Grant, was his military circle and his wife and son Jesse. They had the best seat to view the ferocity of the armaments that lit up the sky in the Confederate efforts to destroy Union vessels and its precious cargo. As they approached Vicksburg, the guns opened up against the northern ships, as Dana counted over 525 shots and observed the unflappable nature of Grant. Whereas Sherman was correct to state the risks that were involved with moving past these fortifications, Grant’s unflinching ability to be daring against the enemy was needed to attain this triumphant moment. Shortly after Grant landed south of Vicksburg, Pemberton recalled his soldiers that were sent to Tennessee to reinforce Confederate troops. This operation was the start of one of the strongest ever conducted by an American general in our history.