Welcome to the Hardcore Husky Forums. Folks who are well-known in Cyberland and not that dumb.
Anyone read Ron Chernow's recent bio of U.S. Grant yet?
Only to 1862 so far, but skrong recommend. His biography of Worshington was excellent as well. That Ulysses Grant was a fighter and knew how to win.
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I always liked that about him
Winners win.
Foreshadowing of the future.
Strap into your wheelchair before you hurt yourself.
I haven’t read Chernow’s Grant biography yet but I enjoyed both his Washington and Hamilton books.
Grant has always been one of my favorite figures in history. People love to say that he wasn’t as good of a general as Lee - that he merely won because of superior numbers he tirelessly threw at the Confederates (Mary Todd Lincoln called him a butcher for all the Union casualties he racked up), but I think he did some impressive work in his field victories in the West that this criticism is unfair. As to his Presidency, I think he inherited a bit of shit show and was (much like our dear Chris Petersen) too loyal to the wrong people.
Anyone who wants a good TLDR review of Chernow’s book and Grant’s life venture here:
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/10/02/pour-one-out-for-ulysses-s-grant
Oh, and read Grant’s memoirs if you get a chance, even if it’s an annotated copy. He’s actually an excellent writer, concise yet engaging.
Grant was brilliant in the West- e.g., Vicksburg. In VA he grasped that it would save more lives in the long run to win once and for all. He was good at Maff n stuff and knew that Lee couldn't replace his losses. Sometimes war is a battle of attrition and the sooner you can end it the better.