Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (2005), 480 pages
Description
"We were as brothers," Sherman said, describing his relationship to Grant, a friendship forged on the battlefield. They were prewar failures--Grant, forced to resign from the Army because of his drinking, and Sherman, who held four different jobs during the four years before the Confederates fired on Fort Sumter. But heeding the call to save the Union, each struggled to join the war effort. And taking each other's measure at the Battle of Shiloh, ten months into the war, they began their unique collaboration. They shared the demands of family life and the heartache of loss, including the death of Sherman's favorite son. They supported each other in the face of criticism by press and politicians. Their growing mutual admiration and trust, which President Lincoln increasingly relied upon, would set the stage for the crucial final year of the war.--From publisher description.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member nbmars
This brief book retells the highlights of the lives of Ulysses S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman. There’s no analysis, a few inaccuracies, and some major elisions, but it’s still a great story. You’ve got Grant, Sherman, Lincoln, the Civil War – it would be pretty hard to make it dull.
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And you can’t help but wonder what would become of men in today’s world who had to slog through all the setbacks Grant and Sherman had and still go on to push themselves to the top. I wouldn’t recommend this as the sole source of background on the Civil War or its northern generals, but it’s not a bad place to start. Show Less
LibraryThing member LeahsChoice
This book is on my list of "Books to read again." (When I get caught up on all the ones I haven't read yet, that is). What a study in contrasts these two men were.
LibraryThing member ALincolnNut
Many historians have often characterized the relationship between Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson as a close relationship, in which Lee trusted Jackson implicitly. Lee himself said that Jackson's death after the Battle of Chancellorsville was 'like losing my right arm.' For
Less publicized, probably because the Union war effort is seen in such blunt, unpoetic and non-mythologized terms, is the close relationship between Union generals U. S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman. Grant trusted Sherman completely, as is evident from his lack of concern when the subordinate general abandoned normal military tactics and procedure and marched through Georgia with no communication with the commanding general for weeks.
Charles Bracelen Flood has attempted to explore this unique relationship in "Grant and Sherman: The Friendship that Won the Civil War." Beginning with their backgrounds, he shows their similarities. He then goes on to demonstrate the growing trust between the two generals during the early years of the war, when both served in the western theater. He also strongly implies that, at different times, each one helped to preserve the other's military position in times of outside criticism.
The focus on these two individuals offers an interesting look at the Civil War, particularly the Union war effort, in terms of the relationships between the military and political leaders. Instead of focusing on battlefield tactics, it is interested in backroom tactics. What emerges is a portrait of an environment in which overcoming political obstacles is as important in the outcome of the war as defeating the opposing army. (This, of course, is not an unexplored area in other American conflicts: frequently George Washington's generalship in the American Revolution is studied in this way, as is Dwight Eisenhower's command of the multi-national allied forces in World War II.)
Unfortunately, Flood oversteps by describing the relationship as a friendship, rather than a partnership. Ultimately, he may be correct, but the description he provides, like that which is often provided of Lee and Jackson, is of a highly successful partnership rather than a friendship. A similar relationship could be described, using similar letters and other evidence, of the close relationship between Grant and Abraham Lincoln, but none would suggest that it was a friendship, despite its success.
As such, I found the book a frustrating read. Flood, who also wrote "Lee -- The Last Years," a book which I greatly admire, is convinced he is describing a friendship rather than a partnership. Page after page, I just did not see it, much as I might want to agree with the hypothesis in my heart. Still, there is value in the joint biography, in suggesting the importance of relationships and cooperation in overall Civil War strategy.
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the remainder of the war, Lee lacked a similar relationship with any of the other Confederate generals.Less publicized, probably because the Union war effort is seen in such blunt, unpoetic and non-mythologized terms, is the close relationship between Union generals U. S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman. Grant trusted Sherman completely, as is evident from his lack of concern when the subordinate general abandoned normal military tactics and procedure and marched through Georgia with no communication with the commanding general for weeks.
Charles Bracelen Flood has attempted to explore this unique relationship in "Grant and Sherman: The Friendship that Won the Civil War." Beginning with their backgrounds, he shows their similarities. He then goes on to demonstrate the growing trust between the two generals during the early years of the war, when both served in the western theater. He also strongly implies that, at different times, each one helped to preserve the other's military position in times of outside criticism.
The focus on these two individuals offers an interesting look at the Civil War, particularly the Union war effort, in terms of the relationships between the military and political leaders. Instead of focusing on battlefield tactics, it is interested in backroom tactics. What emerges is a portrait of an environment in which overcoming political obstacles is as important in the outcome of the war as defeating the opposing army. (This, of course, is not an unexplored area in other American conflicts: frequently George Washington's generalship in the American Revolution is studied in this way, as is Dwight Eisenhower's command of the multi-national allied forces in World War II.)
Unfortunately, Flood oversteps by describing the relationship as a friendship, rather than a partnership. Ultimately, he may be correct, but the description he provides, like that which is often provided of Lee and Jackson, is of a highly successful partnership rather than a friendship. A similar relationship could be described, using similar letters and other evidence, of the close relationship between Grant and Abraham Lincoln, but none would suggest that it was a friendship, despite its success.
As such, I found the book a frustrating read. Flood, who also wrote "Lee -- The Last Years," a book which I greatly admire, is convinced he is describing a friendship rather than a partnership. Page after page, I just did not see it, much as I might want to agree with the hypothesis in my heart. Still, there is value in the joint biography, in suggesting the importance of relationships and cooperation in overall Civil War strategy.
Show Less
LibraryThing member annbury
Not a bad book for old Civil War buffs. The title is of course a tautology since it goes without saying that Grant and Sherman were the two best generals in the North and the North won. Very good on family life, early careers, and skill sets, gets bogged down after the war in the Sherman feuds.
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Tries to make a case for Grant as flexible and capable battlefield manager, instead of the usual meatgrinder view. Show Less
LibraryThing member SamSattler
Union generals Grant and Sherman shared a similar background of failure and frustration, though at the beginning of the War Between the States, Grant was probably the bigger failure of the two. Both men were very dependent upon their families for support of one sort or another, be it as simple as
Just four years later, the pair was largely credited with winning the war and preserving the Union. They would go on to worldwide and national fame, something they could hardly have imagined possible in 1860 when the coming war was still brewing. Grant, of course, would become president of the United States (although his presidency is seen as somewhat of a failure due to the scandals occurring during his years in office), and Sherman would become head of the U.S. Army and would remain a soldier for almost five decades before finally retiring on his 64th birthday.
Theirs was a special bond, one that involved true friendship and a melding of two very different military minds into one mindset that overwhelmed all the resistance that Robert E. Lee and the rest of the South could throw at them. They were exactly what the Union needed and they came along at precisely the right moment to save that Union. "Grant and Sherman" tells their story in just over 400 pages; it's a story well worth considering.
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Grant working in his father's leather shop or a bit more complicated like Sherman benefitting from the political influence of his politically-connected family. Just four years later, the pair was largely credited with winning the war and preserving the Union. They would go on to worldwide and national fame, something they could hardly have imagined possible in 1860 when the coming war was still brewing. Grant, of course, would become president of the United States (although his presidency is seen as somewhat of a failure due to the scandals occurring during his years in office), and Sherman would become head of the U.S. Army and would remain a soldier for almost five decades before finally retiring on his 64th birthday.
Theirs was a special bond, one that involved true friendship and a melding of two very different military minds into one mindset that overwhelmed all the resistance that Robert E. Lee and the rest of the South could throw at them. They were exactly what the Union needed and they came along at precisely the right moment to save that Union. "Grant and Sherman" tells their story in just over 400 pages; it's a story well worth considering.
Show Less
LibraryThing member wrjensen382
Very interesting description of the friendship between Grant and Sherman during the Civil War, and their key roles in winning the war. Also covered are their common backgrounds as West Point graduates who both left the Army before the Civil War and had undistinguished careers in civilian life. Good
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detail on the key battles they were involved in: Shiloh, Ft Donelson, Vicksburg, Chattanooga,Sherman's victory at Atlanta, Sherman's March to the Sea, Sherman's March thru the Carolinas, and Grants final battle with Lee. Very well written - it's a fairly quick read. Show Less
LibraryThing member buffalogr
Very interesting description of the friendship between Grant and Sherman during the Civil War, and their key roles in winning the war. Charles Bracelen Flood has attempted to explore this unique relationship in "Grant and Sherman: The Friendship that Won the Civil War." Beginning with their
Show More
backgrounds, he shows their similarities. He then goes on to demonstrate the growing trust between the two generals during the early years of the war. Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Booklist Editor's Choice: Adult Books (History — 2005)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2005-09-15
Physical description
480 p.; 6.25 inches
ISBN
0374166005 / 9780374166007