Susan in NC’s Reviews > Grant > Status Update

“He proceeded with a secrecy that became a trademark of his operations, confiding in the fewest number of people. Even Grant’s commanders were kept in the dark until the last moment… Striving to perfect a new style of swiftly mobile warfare, he planned to have the whole army travel lightly and elected to dispense with cumbersome baggage trains as well as cavalry for the high command.”

“Sherman gave Halleck credit for having already mapped out the general move against the Tennessee forts a month earlier, but Grant insisted he was first to spot the precise point of Confederate vulnerability…However impeccable in preparation, Halleck was slow and lumbering in execution and did not appreciate the rapid tempo, daring decisions, and assertive nature of his gifted subordinate.”

“Short-tempered, impatient, he shook Grant’s hand coldly, resumed his seat, and told Grant to “state briefly the nature of the business connected with your command which brought you to headquarters.” Unfurling a map, Grant showed how twenty-five thousand men, backed up by gunboats, could grab the two riverside forts….Having pulled rank, Halleck stormed from the room while Grant stood nursing his wounds.”

“Contemplating his next action, Grant chafed at Halleck’s hidebound style…he had requested permission…to see Halleck and present plans for the conquest of Forts Henry and Donelson… Halleck had an “abrupt, brusque style,” according to William Tecumseh Sherman, and lost no time treating Grant in patronizing fashion, making clear who stood higher in the military hierarchy.”

“…he took advantage of the momentary confusion to initiate more decisive action. After his hard knocks during the prewar period, one might have expected him to be pessimistic, cautious, and self-doubting. Instead he was becoming the most self-confident of Union commanders, perhaps needing to wipe away the stigma of earlier failures in civilian life…”

“When Lincoln set eyes on Grant’s proclamation, he was impressed. “The modesty and brevity of that address shows that the officer issuing it understands the situation and is a proper man to command there at this time.”6 Elihu Washburne touted Grant for major general, reporting to him from Washington that his Paducah actions “had attracted the attention of the President and met with his approval.”“

“ For the first time, Grant demonstrated his fine political tact and a command of the English language that would assist his success. He only stayed in Paducah for a day, leaving behind strict instructions that occupying soldiers should refrain from plunder and respect the rights of residents.”

“This anticlimactic moment was formative for Grant, who never forgot the nugget of practical wisdom learned. He would emerge as a master of the psychology of war, intuitive about enemy weakness. Henceforth he would project himself into opponents’ minds and comprehend their fears and anxieties instead of blowing them up into all-powerful bugaboos, giving him courage when others quailed.”

“Grant struck up an intimate friendship with the regimental chaplain, James L. Crane, whom he asked to deliver blessings at meals. Crane marveled at Grant’s cool, unruffled temperament, his candor among trusted friends, and his charitable nature: “He has no desire to rise by the fall of others; no glorying over another’s abasement; no exulting over another’s tears.””