Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant - Couverture souple

Grant, Ulysses Simpson

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0486285871 ISBN 13 : 9780486285870

Editeur : Dover Publications Inc., 2003

Synopsis

In 1854, after serving in the U.S. Army for 11 years, Ulysses Simpson Grant (1822-1885) resigned his commission and found himself out of a job and out of money. Over the next seven years he tried his hand at several occupations but succeeded in none. Only the outbreak of the Civil War and Grant's eventual command of the Union Army provided the opportunity to display the military brilliance for which he would best be remembered.
Following the war and two scandal-ridden terms as President of the United States, Grant again fell on hard times after involvement in some disastrous business dealings. Suffering from terminal cancer, he hoped to secure his family's financial future -- at least in part -- by publishing his memoirs. That remarkable work -- considered by many authorities among the finest military memoirs ever written -- is reprinted here, complete and unabridged.
Concentrating primarily on Civil War military campaigns, Grant's firsthand accounts of those campaigns offer students and historians an incomparable vantage point on the conflict. There are also excellent observations of the Mexican War and glimpses of Grant's personal life -- boyhood, the years at West Point, his marriage to Julia Dent, and more. Throughout, Grant displays a calm detachment, generosity, integrity, and intelligence that are deeply moving.
The present volume reproduces the unabridged text, lengthy Appendix and all illustrations from the original two-volume edition published in 1885-86. The work is further enhanced by the addition of historic photographs by famed Civil War photographer Mathew Brady and others.
In this affordably priced unabridged edition, Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant will be eagerly welcomed by students of American history and the legions of military enthusiasts and Civil War buffs.

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

This book contains the complete memoirs of the revered United States General and President, Ulysses S. Grant, including the original illustrations and maps.

In Volume I, we learn of Grant's early life and education, his entry into the West Point military academy, and what influenced his views on life and the situation of the United States as a nation. General Grant's gradual rise from his original posting as second lieutenant is charted through the various conflicts and skirmishes he was involved in.

Various battles such as Monterrey, and sieges such as Vera Cruz, are recounted in this volume, with Mexico's actions and abilities as an enemy much detailed. Grant is keen to narrate the experience from his perspective as a junior officer, bringing perspective of both the strategic planning and the tactical maneuvers such conflicts entailed together with the morale of the rank and file ahead of each skirmish.

We also hear of Grant's resignation in 1854, and how issues over supporting his family financially and emotionally played their part. His return to the Army, as tensions rose following the election of the anti-slavery President Abraham Lincoln, is thereafter related along with the activities of the U.S. Army as war crept closer and was declared by the secessionist states of the Confederacy.

The later chapters of Volume I mention Grant's injury and participation in battles such as Shiloh, and his famous advance upon Chattanooga. Ulysses S. Grant demonstrated courage and ability in the face of an enemy more dogged and skilled than he had ever faced before; through levelheaded aptitude, he steadily rose through the command structure.

Volume II begins with Ulysses S. Grant assuming his place as commander of the Chattanooga detachment of the Union Army. Early difficulties with supply lines are detailed, as the military sets about rebuilding railways to ensure the ultimate success of their campaign. Hereafter, we witness Grant's activities as he gradually wore down the Confederate war machine, physically outmaneuvering the opposing army and gradually outmatching them for resources of men, arms and essential supplies.

Grant's immense devotion to his country, and his essential honesty - such as in downplaying the much-discussed final surrender of General Lee at the Appomattox Court House, is demonstrated at the conclusion of this volume. Declining to glorify war, Grant writes meditatively on the loss of life and destruction he beheld in his military roles. To a large extent this autobiography corroborates accounts by Grant's associates that he was a methodical and moral person, able in his work and convinced of the righteous abolition of slavery.

Chiefly, accounts of battle as it was in the nineteenth century characterize this memoir. First and foremost, Ulysses S. Grant was a military man with an intense interest in strategical movements and battle tactics. However, he also frequently recalls the personalities and views of his friends, colleagues and enemies in a manner which enlivens the book's tone. Furthermore, we gain an impression of Grant as a family man, with a profound devotion to his wife and children.

Together with U.S. Grant's own recollections, which are detailed and comprehensive, we find in this edition appendices in the form of original correspondences sent and received regarding the Union and Confederate forces. At the time he authored his memoirs in the mid-1880s, Grant was determined in spite of illness to add to the burgeoning historical narrative as a reliable source. With this autobiography, it is indisputable that he achieves this goal.

Biographie de l'auteur

Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885) was the 18th President of the United States (1869–1877) as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America. Grant began his lifelong career as a soldier after graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1843. Fighting in the Mexican American War, he was a close observer of the techniques of Generals Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott. He resigned from the Army in 1854, then struggled to make a living in St. Louis and Galena, Illinois. After the American Civil War began in April 1861, he joined the Union war effort, taking charge of training new regiments and then engaging the Confederacy near Cairo, Illinois. In 1862, he fought a series of major battles and captured a Confederate army, earning a reputation as an aggressive general who seized control of most of Kentucky and Tennessee at the Battle of Shiloh. In July 1863, after a long, complex campaign, he defeated five Confederate armies (capturing one of them) and seized Vicksburg. This famous victory gave the Union control of the Mississippi River, split the Confederacy, and opened the way for more Union victories and conquests. After another victory at the Battle of Chattanooga in late 1863, President Abraham Lincoln promoted him to the rank of lieutenant general and gave him charge of all of the Union Armies. As Commanding General of the United States Army from 1864 to 1865, Grant confronted Robert E. Lee in a series of very high casualty battles known as the Overland Campaign that ended in a stalemate siege at Petersburg. During the siege, Grant coordinated a series of devastating campaigns launched by William Tecumseh Sherman, Philip Sheridan, and George Thomas. Finally breaking through Lee's trenches at Petersburg, the Union Army captured Richmond, the Confederate capital, in April 1865. Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox. Soon after, the Confederacy collapsed and the Civil War ended. During Reconstruction, Grant remained in command of the Army and implemented the Congressional plans to reoccupy the South and hold new elections in 1867 with black voters. This gave Republicans control of the Southern states. Enormously popular in the North after the Union's victory, he was elected to the presidency in 1868.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Dover Publications Inc.
• Date d'édition: 2003
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0486285871
• ISBN 13: 9780486285870
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 528
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: Soc. Agr. La Raia Ss; http://www.la-raia.it; ; Strada Monterotondo, 79; Novi Ligure; 15067; Italie