Ulysses S. Grant: A Victor, Not a Butcher

The Military Genius of the Man Who Won the Civil War

Edward H. Bonekemper

• Publisher: Regnery History
• Year: 2010
• Print ISBN: 9781596986411
• eBook ISBN: 9781596981669
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military Biographies
• Index: History

Ulysses S. Grant is often accused of being a cold-hearted butcher of his troops. In Ulysses S. Grant: A Victor, Not a Butcher, historian Edward H. Bonekemper III proves that Grant's casualty rates actually compared favorably with those of other Civil War generals. His perseverance, decisiveness, moral courage, and political acumen place him among the greatest generals of the Civil War; indeed, of all military history. Bonekemper proves that it was no historical accident that Grant accepted the surrender of three entire Confederate armies and won the Civil War. Bonekemper ably silences Grant's critics and restores Grant to the heroic reputation he so richly deserves.

Appendix II

CASUALTIES IN GRANT’S BATTLES AND CAMPAIGNS

Determination of the number of casualties is one of the most difficult issues in writing about the Civil War. Not only did the Union and the Confederacy calculate their casualties differently, but individual armies on both sides took different approaches to doing so. The deterioration of the Army of Tennessee in late 1864 and of the Army of Northern Virginia in 1864 and 1865 resulted in a dearth of complete and reliable Confederate records of their casualties for the last two calendar years of the war.

Defining casualties is another aspect of the problem. A full casualty count often includes killed, wounded, and missing/captured, but many records and writers include only killed and wounded. Distinctions between killed and wounded became difficult because of battle-related deaths that occurred during the days, weeks, and months after a battle. The missing category was particularly amorphous because it might or might not include soldiers who had wandered away or deserted under cover of battle—as well as those captured by the enemy.

Another problem has been determining the number of combatants on either side in order to calculate percentages of killed, wounded, or missing. The complexity of this chore can be demonstrated by the following description of three different ways that Union troops were counted:

Present: Including all...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Dedication
• Introduction
• Preface
• One - LIVING A TROUBLED LIFE
• Two - 1861: SEEKING A CHANCE TO FIGHT
• Three - WINTER 1862: CAPTURING FORTS HENRY AND DONELSON
• Four - SPRING 1862: SALVAGING A VICTORY AT SHILOH
• Five - 1862-1863: SURVIVING FRUSTRATION UPON FRUSTRATION
• Six - MAY-JULY 1863: VANQUISHING VICKSBURG
• Seven - AUTUMN 1863: SAVING CHATTANOOGA
• Eight - EARLY 1864: PLANNING A NATIONAL CAMPAIGN
• Nine - SUMMER 1864: ATTACKING LEE’S ARMY
• Ten - 1864-1865: TIGHTENING THE NOOSE
• Eleven - EARLY 1865: WINNING THE WAR
• Twelve - GRANT’S WINNING CHARACTERISTICS
• Appendix I - HISTORIANS’ TREATMENT OF ULYSSES S. GRANT
• Appendix II - CASUALTIES IN GRANT’S BATTLES AND CAMPAIGNS
• Appendix III - THE CRITICAL ELECTION OF 1864: HOW CLOSE WAS IT?
• GRANT INSIDERS
• GRANT’S MAJOR OPPONENTS
• GRANT’S UNION HANDICAPS
• WARTIME VIEWS
• BIBLIOGRAPHY
• Acknowledgements
• NOTES
• INDEX
• About the Author
• Copyright Page