Ulysses Grant and His Diplomatic Contribution to Civil War - Essay Example

Ulysses Grant and His Diplomatic Contribution to Civil War The American civil war fought between 1861 and 1865 began after some southern slave states declared a secession and formed a confederation of southern states (referred to as the Confederate States of America). The southern, mainly composed of slaves, were dependent on agriculture and exports to the European nations, and they thought that Europe would intervene in the war due its dependence on the cotton supplied by the southerners (Patterson et al 130). This was not to be, and it saw the emergence of the civil war that lasted for 5 years. It is at this civil war that Ulysses Grant emerged as one of the most successful war commanders of his time after he prevented the secession from taking place. He would later become elected as the 18th president of the United States of America. Ulysses began his career in military action by first serving as a cadet after enrolling at West Point Military Academy at the age of 17 years. After graduation from the military academy, where he emerged at number 21 out of 39 cadets, Grant went on to serve in the American Mexican war. Being under generals such as Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott, Grant was able to learn the strategies of war. He retired from active service in 1854, and was working at his father’s tannery as a clerk, when the civil war began. Born Hiram Ulysses Grant, he had to change his name due to a clerical error when at the military academy in West Point. According to Bunting and Schlesinger (2004), Grant grew up under easy discipline and devoted attention (p10). Therefore, it was not hard for him to adapt to the demands of military action. His parents were rather opposites in opinions, with his father Jesse praising the young boy at every opportunity he had while his mother Hannah, was an unbeliever in praise (Bunting and Schlessinger 10). His boyhood and education was conventional at the time (Bunting and Schlessinger 11). At the age of 10, most of the qualities that people admired of him as a military man were already evident. Problems did not frighten him nor was he a seeker of help and advice but rather, a person willing to conquer and advance. Grant married a sister’s friend upon graduation from West Point but his wedding had to delay due to the threat of war with Mexico, which he later took part in unknowing that this would be an important phase of his career as a soldier. His performance in the war was exemplary, and lead to his promotion to first lieutenant due to his bravery. He played a huge part in the capture of Mexico City and his experience at this Mexico-American war would later come as an advantage to him during the civil war (Hickman Para 3). The Civil War The civil war began in 1861 when Grant was serving in his father’s tannery, and this offered him the chance he was so much willing to take- that of getting back to military action. In 1852, Grant had been stationed in Fort Vancouver, a place he considered lonely and could not take his family with him. Due to this, he started drinking heavily, and was charged for it though no formal evidence emerged. He later had to resign to avoid getting the boot. On coming back to the civil war, Grant served in the union army that was seeking to end the confederates reign. At the union army, Grant began as a trainer for the new recruits in the army and was promoted to colonel in June 1861, where Major General Fremont later appointed him as commander of the district of Cairo in Illinois. President Lincoln would later appoint him as Brigadier General of the army after serving for the adjutant in Illinois. His diplomatic achievements would start early on in his career as a civil war soldier, where after training the new recruits as commissioned by Governor Yates, he was successful in convincing congressman Elihu B Washburn to appoint him as colonel (Patterson et al 150). His colonel duty saw him lead the Illinois infantry a largely unruly unit, but was able to reform the unit into the best fighting unit in the region. This was what prompted his appointment to brigadier general by the president Lincoln. Grant was a successful military man who was promoted thrice in the year he rejoined the military stance against the confederates. After establishing his headquarters in Illinois in September 1861, he made his first real input in the war in November 1861, when he received orders from Fremont to take action against the confederates in Columbus. He moved his more than 3000men down the Mississippi river to the shore overlooking the confederates in Belmont. Here, he engaged the confederates’ troops and was successful but the enemy would later rally and retake their positions. Though this was a setback, it greatly boosted his confidence as a war commander. The January of 1862, after some months of inaction saw him rally his troops towards fort Henry in Tennessee. The command had come from Major General Henry, who was the commander at department of Missouri. Armed with gunboats, Grant began his advance towards Fort Henry in February, but the enemy withdrew and he captured the fort easily. The confederates had withdrawn to Fort Donnellson and Grant on his own command attacked the fort, which at first seemed impenetrable. He later captured the fort, and offered General Buckner, who was in charge of the confederates, and who had demanded terms of surrender an unconditional surrender. This would later become his nickname. He was later promoted to Major General after the capture. Grant experienced the first surprise attack on his troops in April of 1862 when General Beauregard attacked his troops. This saw the beginning of the battle of Shiloh where Grant barely survived and was almost forced into the river until he received reinforcements from General Buel (Hickman para 7). Though he later launched a counterattack and drove the confederates to Corinth, he came under a lot of criticism for being unprepared. The battle of Shiloh had the most casualties for the union troops with over 13000 casualties while the confederates suffered over10000casualties. President Lincoln came under a lot of pressure to replace Grant under accusations of being drunk on the night of the attack though he declined stating that Grant was a good fighter (Bunting and Schlesinger p119). The next battleground would be at Corinth, but Grant did not have direct control on his forces as he had been demoted to second in command and had even contemplated leaving the force. He was later reinstated as commander of the department of Tennessee in October, and he now focused on capturing Vicksburg. He first tried to gain a foothold in the northern part of the city, where he sent troops under General Sherman to the point where the Yazoo River flows into the Mississippi. Sherman and his troops went up the Yazoo River to attack the confederates but this was a failure and grant tried to attack through a swamp north of Vicksburg. This also came out as a failure. General Von Durn of the confederates, who attacked the supply base at Holly Springs, orchestrated halting of the union’s advance in Vicksburg. Grant devised a bold move of cutting himself out of supplies and crossed the river where he brought his men south until they were below Vicksburg. He was supported by a fleet of gunboats down the river that hoped to forge around the confederates’ guns. He later surrounded the city and cut it off its supplies, which made the confederates surrender after a two-month siege. Grant demanded an unconditional surrender from Commander Simon Buckner and declared that the Mississippi belonged to the union (GA para 6). Grant was later promoted to lieutenant general and took command of all units in the army, and this saw an organized assault plan involving the United States Army. In 1864, what is described as the epitome of civil war began, where Grant had to engage General Lee. This is described as the bloodiest assault during the civil war which saw grant lose a considerable number of soldiers (Bunting and Schlesinger p119). In May 1864, Grant began marching south to engage Lee in a battle of the wilderness, and though it looked as if Grant had the upper hand, the war resulted in a stalemate that saw Grant lose 18400 men compared to Lee’s 11000. To Grant, he considered this an acceptable outcome considering his large number of troops as compared to Lee’s and continued with his determination to have Lee surrender. The war proceeded south where Grant still pressed on lee and after two weeks, another stalemate emerged. To Grant he knew that the confederates could not replace the number of casualties it suffered and continued his attack. General Lee’s army was slowly retreating towards Appotamax where they hoped to reach the supplies, but the union army arrived and destroyed the supply trains. After the capture of General Richmond by the union army, General Lee sent out a letter to Grant that he was willing to surrender. The two war generals met at the Appotamax courthouse on April 9 1865 where Grant laid out his terms of the surrender. General Lee’s men were allowed to keep their arms horses and personal property and would not be held as prisoners (GA para 13). Serving the country at the time of the civil war was more than Grant could achieve. Though most people failed to recognize his efforts and dedication in the war due to the large number of casualties, he remained a fearless and self-confident general even when odds were against him. His greatest achievements and diplomatic contribution in the civil war was offering General Lee decent and easy surrender terms (Patterson et al p148). This would later suffice the war between the north and south. Works Cited Bunting, Josiah and Sclessinger, Arthur.Ulysses S Grant: The American Presidents Series: The 18th President, 1869-1877. New York: Times Books. 2004. Print. Hickman, Kennedy. American Civil War: Lieutenant General Ulysses S Grant.2013. Web. 24th November 2013. http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/americancivilwar/a/American-Civil- War-Lieutenant-General-Ulysses-S-Grant_3.htm Patterson, Thomas, Clifford, Gary, Maddock, Shane, Kisatsky Deborah, and Hagan, Kenneth. American Foreign Relations: A History Volume 1 to 1920. (chapter 4) NJ: Cengage Learning. 2009. Print. 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