Generals Lee and Grant and most important battle of the Civil War 9/1/20
The book starts saying that both the Lee and Grant families were affected by the English Civil war and the Grants reached Massachusetts in 1630 the Lee family in Virginia.
1642-1651 English Civil War
1756 Both families fought the French and Indian Wars
1807 Robert Edward Lee born in Westmoreland County Virginia.
1812 War Andrew Jackson "Old Hickory" was the hero of the Battle of New Orleans and helped Lee get into West Point.
1929 Lee Graduated in WP in the Engineering Corps. Married Mary Curtis, part of the family of George Washington's adopted grandson.
1842 Lee entrusted with fortifying NY harbour.
1822 Ulysses Grant born in Deerfield , Ohio. Neighbours to Owen Brown the father of John Brown. He won $5 at the age of 11 for riding a wild circus horse in a challenge.
1843 Graduated at West Point and got the position through a connection to the Secretary of War. He did well in maths but was not an outstanding graduate.
1844 Texas a slave state joins the Union. The Mexican War was inevitable as a result.
1846-1848 Mexican American War. Grant was Quartermaster for this. He fought under Zahary Taylor in California also, the Battle of Monterey. Amongst the officers were Stonewall Jackson, Jefferson Davis, McClellan and well as Lee and Grant.
1847 Grant distinguished himself at the siege of Vera Cruz and fought in almost every battle of the Mexican war.
1852 Lee was appointed Superintendent at West Point.
1859 John Brown's raid at Harper Ferry.
1852 Grant resigns from the army to avoid being court marshalled for drunkenness. Now worked as a teamster and joined his brother in Galena, Illinois in the leather business in 1860
1860 Lincoln beat Stephen Douglas to become President. Grant now was unsuccessful in getting back into the army and McClellan would not see him. He was given command of 21st Illinois regiment of volunteers as nobody could cope with this wild bunch, he got it in order in days.
1861 After 36 years service Lee resigned from the army, Scott also resigned to take over leading his home Virginia. He was sent to defend western Virginia but this campaign was stopped in 1861 Oct and he was sent to fortify the coastal defenses of especially Charleston and Savannah.
1862 March President Jefferson Davis, also a West Point graduate, brought Lee as chief military advisor in Richmond.
Grant had captured Fort Henry and Fort Donaldson as well as Corinth the Union command of the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers and to control the Mississippi.
In the Shenandoah Valley, Stonewall Jackson with only 15000 troops attacked Mc Clellen larger force, McDowell's corps was sent to reinforce him.
1862 May in Johnston was severely wounded in a fierce battle and Jefferson Davis was there to summon Lee to command.
1862 Sept Lee realized that Washington was too well defended but could take Maryland which had many Confederacy supporters. They occupied Frederick City and this was immortalized in the poem "Barbara Frietchie" by John Greenleaf Whittier. The rebels arrived famished and many of them barefoot. They also took Harpers ferry with all its guns and supplies.
1862 Nov With Admiral Porter and Sherman they went towards Vicksburg by river and land, thousands of soldiers died there of malaria, yellow fever and smallpox.
A note of Southern plans found that Jackson's troops were not there and Lee's army was small. McClellan lost the opportunity to advance quickly. so had a battle at Antietam. Had McClellan been adventurous he could have ended the war at Antietam and 1862 Nov he was removed from command.
Now Lee was wounded by the falling of his horse.
1863 May closed the siege of Vicksburg, by July food had run out and Pemberton raised a white flag. The Confederate army was allowed to march home without weapons by Grant.
1863 May. The battle of Charlottesville cost Lee over 12000 men he had extricated himself and inflicted a crushing blow on the Union Army of 18000. Jackson's left arm was amputated and he died, he had been Lee's "right arm"
1863 June Lee had 70000 well armed troops and he needed to march into Pennsylvania hoping to get provisions, if he could give a crushing blow in the north the Confederacy might be recognized by England ,France and the half hearted supporters of the Union. The Confederates had every abled- body man in the army. They then marched to Gettysburg where some soldiers went in to try to procure shoes.
General Meade the Union had 90000 men and were on Cemetery Ridge when the Confederates fired cannon at them they gave volley of cannon and stopped when they saw their ammunition was low. Confederates thinking they had put out the big guns charged and launched a cavalry charge which was stopped by cannon fire and Pickets legion ran back, at the Potomac they had to construct a bridge and managed to escape.
1864 March Lincoln nominated Grant Lieutenant Colonel aged 42 of all the US armies a half a million men. He was a man who knew there is no glory in war and wanted no applauding mob and knew the fate of the fallen idols. No longer were war councils held in the White House from where secrets could leak. Lee was 58years old.
1864 July Southern General Early was sweeping through the Shenandoah Valley and suddenly turned to Washington which was unguarded. General Lew Wallace (later wrote the book Ben Hur) realized and turned them back.
Petersburg was besieged by Pennsylvanian coal volunteers as coal miner they built a tunnel under the confederate fort and exploded a mine but failed to manage the battle that followed.
1864 Sept. Sherman occupied Atlanta. He now began marching to Savannah, with a scorched earth policy tore up railroads, burned public buildings and private dwellings, and the South supplies were cut off from that starving army, they lacked everything including ammunition.
1865 April. Appatomax, Lee met Grant and allowed the South to go home and take their horses. Grant wanted no exaltation and never visited Richmond as he did not want to be portrayed as gloating.
1870 Lee died he became President of Washington Collage In 1865 he refused to stand as Governor of Virginia.
At the close of the war over a million men were in the army six month later 18300 remained
1872 Grant President till 1880 when Garfield was elected.
1885July Grant died while writing Grant's memoirs and the money supported his family well.
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