President Abraham Lincoln promoted Grant to the head of the Army of the Potomac. After Grant’s bold and decisive triumph over the Confederate Army at Vicksburg. This volume of Catton’s acclaimed Civil War history of General Ulysses S. Destiny and President Lincoln had even loftier plans for Grant, placing the future of an entire nation in the hands of the North’s most valuable military leader.Ĭatton’s extraordinary history offers readers an look at probably the most innovative Civil War battlefield strategist, unmatched by even the South’s legendary Robert E. His bold maneuvers at Vicksburg cost the Confederacy its invaluable lifeline: the Mississippi River. He won victory after victory at Belmont, Fort Henry, and Fort Donelson. Though unskilled in military power politics and disregarded by his peers, Colonel Grant, commander of the Twenty-First Illinois Volunteer Infantry, proved to be an unstoppable force. While a succession of Union generals were losing battles and sacrificing troops due to ego, egregious errors, and incompetence, an unassuming Federal Army commander was excelling in the Western theater of operations. Grant, whose bold tactics and relentless dedication to the Union ultimately ensured a Northern victory in the nation’s bloodiest conflict. Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Bruce Catton brings to life commander Ulysses S. Both men are admired and respected though they represent opposing sides in a war that gave birth to modern America. After the long and brutal war Grant went on to become president of the U.S., and Lee became president of a college. They were also complex, brilliant and inspirational figures who helped define American history.

They were the faces of the North and South.

General grant autobiography