Ulysses S. Grant

Grant's career in the closing months of 1861 has been obscured by the success which came to him on the battlefield early in the following year, beginning with the victory at Fort Donelson in February 1862. Hence, Volume 3 of this definitive edition will be especially valuable to historians of the presidency as well as the Civil War for the clear, com prehensive insight itprovides into Grant's attitudes and motives on the eve of his military victories. The fourteen-week period covered by this volume has been exhaustively researched, and includes a great store of previously un published material, which has been combined with already available Grant documents-- many of them now printed from the original manuscripts. All the correspondence has been placed in context and annotated. As in previous volumes of the Papers, a deepening portrait of Grant emerges. Here is the key to his future actions and policies and a guide to the thought of generations who looked to him for military and political leadership.

This comprehensive volume contains all known documents, both military and private, written by and to Grant during the first six months of the Civil War. Of unusual interest are his letters to his wife, father, and sister which provide the best insight into his complex character. Thirty of the letters to Julia have never before been published. The letters trace Grant's early career as a Civil War officer to his promotion to brigadier general. His assignments to command at Ironton and Jefferson City, Missouri, and Cairo, Illinois, are fully covered. At Cairo, Grant's area of responsi bility straddled the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, forming a military command Grant considered to be " third in importance in the country." From here he advanced the first federal troops into Kentucky, winning recognition for quick, sure judgment and military competence which started him on the road to Appomattox. A new and deepening picture of Grant continues to emerge with the publication of these letters. Important as original history, they deserve reading for their own sake.