tony_gunter
2nd Lieutenant
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2011
- Location
- Mississippi
James Wilson's accounts of the war are often dismissed due to his tenuous relationship with the truth when it failed to paint him as a hero.
Cadwallader rarely wrote about specific instances of Grant imbibing in drink, but he's most well known for the lurid account of Grant's bender on the trip up the Yazoo to Satartia. But there's a second account of Grant drinking in the Vicksburg Campaign that's been overlooked because nobody understood the context.
Grant's plan as outlined by Wilson was to close in on Pemberton at the railroad with Sherman and McClernand's corps and gauge Pemberton's reaction. If Pemberton left Raymond undefended, he would have McPherson swing out from the rear through Raymond and cut the railroad at Clinton, then possibly continue on to Jackson; but by the time McPherson reached Raymond, Pemberton had occupied it with 2700 men under General John Gregg, resulting in the Battle of Raymond.
Rather than retreat towards Pemberton, Gregg withdrew in the direction of Jackson. McPherson's intel told him Beauregard (actually Johnston) had arrived in Jackson with a gathering army close behind.
Wilson writes of riding to Raymond on the afternoon of May 12th with orders from Grant for McPherson to continue on to the railroad at Clinton. McPherson tells Wilson to kiss his [censored], that the XVII Corps will not budge unless Grant turns his entire army upon Jackson. Wilson, shocked, repeats the order and gets the same response.
Wilson rides to Grant expecting drama, but Grant thinks about it a bit then begins issuing orders for the entire army to shift into Raymond the next day, Sherman continuing on the direct road to Jackson and McClernand guarding the rear. It's a major gamble: Grant will be cutting loose from his base of supply at Grand Gulf, the clock is ticking and the time available for Grant to reach Vicksburg or cut his way back out to Grand Gulf is now measured in days.
Wilson's account cannot be easily dismissed. It was written soon after the war, and does nothing to paint him as anything but a confused observer.
Cadwallader writes that on May 12th around midnight, Grant enters Cadwallader's tent without speaking a word, pours a tin cup of whiskey, and throws it back. He pours a second cup, throws it back, pours a third cup, throws it back, then exits the tent without ever speaking a word.
Cadwallader rarely wrote about specific instances of Grant imbibing in drink, but he's most well known for the lurid account of Grant's bender on the trip up the Yazoo to Satartia. But there's a second account of Grant drinking in the Vicksburg Campaign that's been overlooked because nobody understood the context.
Grant's plan as outlined by Wilson was to close in on Pemberton at the railroad with Sherman and McClernand's corps and gauge Pemberton's reaction. If Pemberton left Raymond undefended, he would have McPherson swing out from the rear through Raymond and cut the railroad at Clinton, then possibly continue on to Jackson; but by the time McPherson reached Raymond, Pemberton had occupied it with 2700 men under General John Gregg, resulting in the Battle of Raymond.
Rather than retreat towards Pemberton, Gregg withdrew in the direction of Jackson. McPherson's intel told him Beauregard (actually Johnston) had arrived in Jackson with a gathering army close behind.
Wilson writes of riding to Raymond on the afternoon of May 12th with orders from Grant for McPherson to continue on to the railroad at Clinton. McPherson tells Wilson to kiss his [censored], that the XVII Corps will not budge unless Grant turns his entire army upon Jackson. Wilson, shocked, repeats the order and gets the same response.
Wilson rides to Grant expecting drama, but Grant thinks about it a bit then begins issuing orders for the entire army to shift into Raymond the next day, Sherman continuing on the direct road to Jackson and McClernand guarding the rear. It's a major gamble: Grant will be cutting loose from his base of supply at Grand Gulf, the clock is ticking and the time available for Grant to reach Vicksburg or cut his way back out to Grand Gulf is now measured in days.
Wilson's account cannot be easily dismissed. It was written soon after the war, and does nothing to paint him as anything but a confused observer.
Cadwallader writes that on May 12th around midnight, Grant enters Cadwallader's tent without speaking a word, pours a tin cup of whiskey, and throws it back. He pours a second cup, throws it back, pours a third cup, throws it back, then exits the tent without ever speaking a word.
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