Grant and Lee

Victorious American and Vanquished Virginian

Edward H. Bonekemper III

• Publisher: Praeger
• Year: 2007
• Print ISBN:
  9780313349713
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9780313349720
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: American Civil War History
• Index: History

Grant and Lee: Victorious American and Vanquished Virginian is a comprehensive, multi-theater, war-long comparison of the commanding general skills of Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee. Unlike most analyses, Bonekemper clarifies the impact both generals had on the outcome of the Civil War - namely, the assistance that Lee provided to Grant by Lee's excessive casualties in Virginia, the consequent drain of Confederate resources from Grant's battlefronts, and Lee's refusal and delay of reinforcements to the combat areas where Grant was operating. The reader will be left astounded by the level of aggression both generals employed to secure victory for their respective causes, demonstrating that Grant was a national general whose tactics were consistent with achieving Union victory, whereas Lee's own priorities constantly undermined the Confederacy's chances of winning the war.

Building on the detailed accounts of both generals' major campaigns and battles, this book provides a detailed comparison of the primary military and personal traits of the two generals. That analysis supports the preface discussion and the chapter-by-chapter conclusions that Grant did what the North needed to do to win the war: be aggressive, eliminate enemy armies, and do so with minimal casualties (154,000), while Lee was too offensive for the undermanned Confederacy, suffered intolerable casualties (209,000), and allowed his obsession with the Commonwealth of Virginia to obscure the broader interests of the Confederacy. In addition, readers will find interest in the 18 clean-cut and lucid battle maps as well as a comprehensive set of appendices that describes the casualties incurred by each army, battle by battle.

Table of contents

• Contents
• List of Maps
• Preface
• Introduction: Why Grant Won and Lee Lost
• 1. Tough Beginnings and Mexican War Experience
• 2. 1861: Open and Closed Doors to Civil War Command
• 3. Late 1861 / Early 1862: Lee's First Loss and Grant's Early Victories
• 4. March–June 1862: Grant Wins at Shiloh While Lee Stymies McClellan
• 5. 1862–63: Lee Conducts a Costly Offensive While Grant Aims for Vicksburg
• 6. May–July 1863: Lee Loses Gettysburg as Grant Captures Vicksburg
• 7. Autumn 1863: Lee Lends an Assist as Grant Saves Chattanooga and a Union Army
• 8. Early 1864: Both Generals Prepare for Confrontation
• 9. Spring 1864: Grant Attacks and Besieges Lee
• 10. Late 1864: Grant and Sherman Move Toward Victory
• 11. Early 1865: Lee Surrenders to Grant
• 12. A Comparison of Grant and Lee
• Appendix 1: Casualties in Grant's Battles and Campaigns
• Appendix 2: Casualties in Lee's Battles and Campaigns
• Notes
• Selected Bibliography
• Index
• Map Grant's Early Western Battles and Campaigns (1861–62)
• Map The First Day of Shiloh (April 6, 1862)
• Map The Peninsula Campaign (April–June 1862)
• Map Battle of Seven Pines (May 31–June 1, 1862)
• Map Seven Days' Battle (June 25–July 1, 1862)
• Map McClellan's Slow Movement from the Peninsula to Second Manassas (August 1862)
• Map Maryland Campaign (September 3–13, 1862)
• Map Maryland Campaign (September 14–16, 1862)
• Map The Battle of Antietam (September 17, 1862)
• Map McClellan's Failure to Promptly Pursue Lee after Antietam (September 18–November 6, 1862)
• Map Highlights of the Battle of Chancellorsville (May 2–4, 1863)
• Map Armies' Movements to Gettysburg (June–July 1863)
• Map The Battle of Gettysburg (July 1–3, 1863)
• Map Grant's Vicksburg Campaign (March–July 1863)
• Map Grant's Breakout at Chattanooga (October–November 1863)
• Map Grant's and Sherman's Pincers Movements (1864–65)
• Map The Overland Campaign (May–June 1864)
• Map The Appomattox Campaign (April 2–9, 1865)