Saruman
Sergeant
- Joined
- Jun 10, 2011
U.S. Grant was ultimately the Union's most successful commander, but suffered a few bloodied noses along the way. Which Confederate General inflicted Grant's most notable defeat?
Leonidas Polk
Battle of Belmont, 7 November 1861. Grant's 3,100 strong expeditionary force attacked Polk's troops at Belmont and brushed aside Gideon Pillow's 2,500 poorly positioned troops. Polk counterattacked with an additional 2,500 troops under Benjamin Cheatham and compelled Grant's men to retreat. Grant lost 607 (20%) of his troops, his mess chest, his gold pen, and his finest horse. He was lucky to survive the battle as Confederate soldiers had him in their sights but Cheatham instructed them not to shoot out of a sense of chivalry. He didn't recognize Grant and thought the Union General was merely a harmless straggler trying to find his way back to the main body of retreating Federals. Here is a picture of Polk:
Albert Sidney Johnston
First day of the battle of Shiloh, 6 April 1862. Johnston's 44,000 strong Army of Mississippi attacked Grant's unsuspecting 42,000 strong Army of the Tennessee encamped near Shiloh Church. Johnston's men drove the Union forces back to the northeast, in the direction of Pittsburg Landing. Johnston was mortally wounded inspiring the Confederate attack and the resultant lull enabled the Union army to stabilize and bolster their position near the landing with artillery. Later that evening, the arrival of Lew Wallace's division and Don Carlos Buell's Army of the Ohio gave Grant the ability to counterattack on the 7th. However, on that first day, Grant lost 10,500 (25%) of his troops and was almost killed twice (his aide-de-camp was decapitated while riding beside Grant and then a canister shot hit Grant on his sword scabbard and bent it. An inch or two in either direction could have killed or mortally wounded him). Here is a picture of Johnston:
John C. Pemberton
Second Vicksburg Assault, 22 May 1863. Grant's 45,000 strong Army of the Tennessee attacked Pemberton's 20,000 strong Vicksburg garrison in an attempt to capture the city without resorting to a siege. Lack of coordination and communication with his corps commanders resulted in a bloody repulse for Grant. The failure of the Union to defeat the Confederates in this action resulted in the start of the Siege of Vicksburg. His army lost 3,199 (7%) of its soldiers but only inflicted a mere 500 losses on Pemberton's defenders. Here is a picture of Pemberton:
Robert E. Lee
Battle of Cold Harbor, 31 May to 12 June 1864. Continuing his relentless drive towards Richmond in the Overland Campaign of 1864, Grant launched a frontal assault with his army of 117,000 men against Lee's entrenched 62,000 strong army at Cold Harbor. The Union attack was repulsed with heavy losses. Grant later wrote: "I have always regretted that the last assault at Cold Harbor was ever made. ... No advantage whatever was gained to compensate for the heavy loss we sustained." His army lost 12,738 (11%) of its men whereas Lee only suffered 5,287 losses. Here is a picture of Lee:
Pierre G.T. Beauregard
Battle of Petersburg, 15 to 18 June 1864. Grant attempted to capture Petersburg before it could be reinforced by Lee's entire army. Grant's 14,000 but gradually reinforced to 62,000 strong force repeatedly assaulted Beauregard's much smaller 5,000 but gradually reinforced to 38,000 strong army. The Union attacks were plagued by poor coordination and generalship and were repulsed with heavy losses. The failure of the Union to defeat the Confederates in these actions resulted in the start of the ten-month Siege of Petersburg. Grant lost 11,386 (18%) men compared to Beauregard and Lee's 4,000 losses. Here is a picture of Beauregard:
Leonidas Polk
Battle of Belmont, 7 November 1861. Grant's 3,100 strong expeditionary force attacked Polk's troops at Belmont and brushed aside Gideon Pillow's 2,500 poorly positioned troops. Polk counterattacked with an additional 2,500 troops under Benjamin Cheatham and compelled Grant's men to retreat. Grant lost 607 (20%) of his troops, his mess chest, his gold pen, and his finest horse. He was lucky to survive the battle as Confederate soldiers had him in their sights but Cheatham instructed them not to shoot out of a sense of chivalry. He didn't recognize Grant and thought the Union General was merely a harmless straggler trying to find his way back to the main body of retreating Federals. Here is a picture of Polk:
Albert Sidney Johnston
First day of the battle of Shiloh, 6 April 1862. Johnston's 44,000 strong Army of Mississippi attacked Grant's unsuspecting 42,000 strong Army of the Tennessee encamped near Shiloh Church. Johnston's men drove the Union forces back to the northeast, in the direction of Pittsburg Landing. Johnston was mortally wounded inspiring the Confederate attack and the resultant lull enabled the Union army to stabilize and bolster their position near the landing with artillery. Later that evening, the arrival of Lew Wallace's division and Don Carlos Buell's Army of the Ohio gave Grant the ability to counterattack on the 7th. However, on that first day, Grant lost 10,500 (25%) of his troops and was almost killed twice (his aide-de-camp was decapitated while riding beside Grant and then a canister shot hit Grant on his sword scabbard and bent it. An inch or two in either direction could have killed or mortally wounded him). Here is a picture of Johnston:
John C. Pemberton
Second Vicksburg Assault, 22 May 1863. Grant's 45,000 strong Army of the Tennessee attacked Pemberton's 20,000 strong Vicksburg garrison in an attempt to capture the city without resorting to a siege. Lack of coordination and communication with his corps commanders resulted in a bloody repulse for Grant. The failure of the Union to defeat the Confederates in this action resulted in the start of the Siege of Vicksburg. His army lost 3,199 (7%) of its soldiers but only inflicted a mere 500 losses on Pemberton's defenders. Here is a picture of Pemberton:
Robert E. Lee
Battle of Cold Harbor, 31 May to 12 June 1864. Continuing his relentless drive towards Richmond in the Overland Campaign of 1864, Grant launched a frontal assault with his army of 117,000 men against Lee's entrenched 62,000 strong army at Cold Harbor. The Union attack was repulsed with heavy losses. Grant later wrote: "I have always regretted that the last assault at Cold Harbor was ever made. ... No advantage whatever was gained to compensate for the heavy loss we sustained." His army lost 12,738 (11%) of its men whereas Lee only suffered 5,287 losses. Here is a picture of Lee:
Pierre G.T. Beauregard
Battle of Petersburg, 15 to 18 June 1864. Grant attempted to capture Petersburg before it could be reinforced by Lee's entire army. Grant's 14,000 but gradually reinforced to 62,000 strong force repeatedly assaulted Beauregard's much smaller 5,000 but gradually reinforced to 38,000 strong army. The Union attacks were plagued by poor coordination and generalship and were repulsed with heavy losses. The failure of the Union to defeat the Confederates in these actions resulted in the start of the ten-month Siege of Petersburg. Grant lost 11,386 (18%) men compared to Beauregard and Lee's 4,000 losses. Here is a picture of Beauregard: