GrantSimon and Schuster, 2001年6月29日 - 784 頁 Ulysses S. Grant was the first four-star general in the history of the United States Army and the only president between Andrew Jackson and Woodrow Wilson to serve eight consecutive years in the White House. As general in chief, Grant revolutionized modern warfare. Rather than capture enemy territory or march on Southern cities, he concentrated on engaging and defeating the Confederate armies in the field, and he pursued that strategy relentlessly. As president, he brought stability to the country after years of war and upheaval. He tried to carry out the policies of Abraham Lincoln, the man he admired above all others, and to a considerable degree he succeeded. Yet today, Grant is remembered as a brilliant general but a failed president. In this comprehensive biography, Jean Edward Smith reconciles these conflicting assessments of Grant's life. He argues convincingly that Grant is greatly underrated as a president. Following the turmoil of Andrew Johnson's administration, Grant guided the nation through the post- Civil War era, overseeing Reconstruction of the South and enforcing the freedoms of new African-American citizens. His presidential accomplishments were as considerable as his military victories, says Smith, for the same strength of character that made him successful on the battlefield also characterized his years in the White House. Grant was the most unlikely of military heroes: a great soldier who disliked the army and longed for a civilian career. After graduating from West Point, he served with distinction in the Mexican War. Following the war he grew stale on frontier garrison postings, despaired for his absent wife and children, and began drinking heavily. He resigned from the army in 1854, failed at farming and other business endeavors, and was working as a clerk in the family leathergoods store when the Civil War began. Denied a place in the regular army, he was commissioned a colonel of volunteers and, as victory followed victory, moved steadily up the Union chain of command. Lincoln saw in Grant the general he had been looking for, and in the spring of 1864 the president brought him east to take command of all the Union armies. Smith dispels the myth that Grant was a brutal general who willingly sacrificed his soldiers, pointing out that Grant's casualty ratio was consistently lower than Lee's. At the end of the war, Grant's generous terms to the Confederates at Appomattox foreshadowed his generosity to the South as president. But, as Smith notes, Grant also had his weaknesses. He was too trusting of his friends, some of whom schemed to profit through their association with him. Though Grant himself always acted honorably, his presidential administration was rocked by scandals. "He was the steadfast center about and on which everything else turned," Philip Sheridan wrote, and others who served under Grant felt the same way. It was this aura of stability and integrity that allowed Grant as president to override a growing sectionalism and to navigate such national crises as the Panic of 1873 and the disputed Hayes-Tilden election of 1876. At the end of his life, dying of cancer, Grant composed his memoirs, which are still regarded by historians as perhaps the finest military memoirs ever written. They sold phenomenally well, and Grant the failed businessman left his widow a fortune in royalties from sales of the book. His funeral procession through the streets of Manhattan closed the city, and behind his pallbearers, who included both Confederate and Union generals, marched thousands of veterans from both sides of the war. |
搜尋書籍內容
第 1 到 5 筆結果,共 80 筆
第 36 頁
Jean Edward Smith. the manner in which the subsequent war was forced upon Mexico can ... War became inevitable. “Nations, like individuals, are punished for their ... Secretary of State Calhoun had negotiated, and the prospect of American ...
Jean Edward Smith. the manner in which the subsequent war was forced upon Mexico can ... War became inevitable. “Nations, like individuals, are punished for their ... Secretary of State Calhoun had negotiated, and the prospect of American ...
第 38 頁
... Secretary of War George Bancroft to move into Texas and take up a position “on or near the Rio Grande del Norte” that would be “best adapted to repel invasion.” 17 The corps of observation was rechristened the Army of Occupation, rein ...
... Secretary of War George Bancroft to move into Texas and take up a position “on or near the Rio Grande del Norte” that would be “best adapted to repel invasion.” 17 The corps of observation was rechristened the Army of Occupation, rein ...
第 42 頁
... war remote. “We are so numerous here now that we are in no fear of an attack upon our present ground.” 37 But the ... Secretary of War William Marcy to Taylor, January 13, 1846, U.S. Congress, House, Executive Document No. 60, 30th Cong ...
... war remote. “We are so numerous here now that we are in no fear of an attack upon our present ground.” 37 But the ... Secretary of War William Marcy to Taylor, January 13, 1846, U.S. Congress, House, Executive Document No. 60, 30th Cong ...
第 42 頁
... war remote. “We are so numerous here now that we are in no fear of an attack upon our present ground.”37 But the ... Secretary of War William Marcy to Taylor, January I3, 184.6, U.S. Congress, House, Executive Document No. 6o, 30th Cong ...
... war remote. “We are so numerous here now that we are in no fear of an attack upon our present ground.”37 But the ... Secretary of War William Marcy to Taylor, January I3, 184.6, U.S. Congress, House, Executive Document No. 6o, 30th Cong ...
第 60 頁
... secretary of war in 1853 by President Franklin Pierce . headquarters also fleshed out. Scott was more dependent on staff 60 GRANT.
... secretary of war in 1853 by President Franklin Pierce . headquarters also fleshed out. Scott was more dependent on staff 60 GRANT.
其他版本 - 查看全部
常見字詞
American Andrew Johnson April army arrived artillery attack Badeau battle Battle of Belmont Beauregard Bragg brigade Buell campaign cavalry Charles chief Civil Colonel command Confederate Congress corps Democrats Dent division Donelson enemy February Federal fight force Fort Donelson Fort Henry Frémont George George Gordon Meade Grant Papers Grant to Halleck Grant to Julia Grant told Grant wrote Halleck Hamilton Fish Henry History Horace Porter ibid Illinois Indian infantry James John Johnson Julia Dent Grant Lee’s letter Lincoln Longstreet Louis March McClellan McClernand McPherson Meade Mexican Mexico miles military Mississippi move North officers Ohio peace Personal Memoirs Porter Potomac president rebel Rebellion regiment reported Republican Richmond river secretary Senate Sheridan Sherman Shiloh Smith soldiers South Southern Stanton Taylor Tennessee Thomas tion troops U.S. Grant Ulysses Union Union army United Vicksburg victory Virginia vote Washburne Washington White House William York York Tribune