Chattanooga What really happened at Chattanooga?

That is true. I can't recall reading any such communication but maybe Sherman was referring to the fact that Grant did not join in the chorus of criticism against Sherman when he underwent some kind of mental distress when commanding in Kentucky. Ironically, Sherman was actually accused by the press of being hysterical ("crazy") because he privately told War Secretary Cameron that something like 200,000 troops would be needed to defend that region. In that respect, Sherman was not inaccurate when taking the long view.
At the end of the first year of the war, he was at home in the care of his wife because he had been contemplating suicide
 
I read today that 7 Union color-bearers were awarded the Medal Of Honor for their actions on Missionary Ridge.
When the flag-bearer of the 24th Wisconsin was shot down, Arthur MacArthur, Jr. seized the flag and planted the regimental flag on the crest of the ridge, shouting "On Wisconsin". He was also awarded the Medal of Honor and brevetted colonel in the Union a year later at only 19 years old. His son was Douglas MacArthur. They share the distinction of having been the first father and son to each be awarded a Medal of Honor.
 
Grant's original plan utterly failed. The army of the Cumberland saved the day, again
The Army of the Cumberland was resentful of having a secondary role at Chattanooga because the Army of the Tennessee and two corps from the Army of the Potomac had to come to their aid after their defeat at Chickamauga and had nearly starved when their supply line into the city had been cutoff
 
@wausaubob, this is how American Caesar by William Manchester portrayed the event. On page 13 and 14 it begins;

"....Confederate Army of Tennessee, 46,165 strong....a continuous chain of gray-clad sentries...walked the crest...two lines of works...."
"....59,359 men of the Union Army of the Cumberland....ordered to feel for the confederate position the next morning....An intricate series of maneuvers by Sherman ended up in a ravine on Bragg's right. Stalled, Sherman asked for a demonstration
[to Grant]....At 3:30 Grant sent [...] word to seize the Confederate rifle pits at the base of the ridge. At 4:15 the men were ready. At 4:20 the signal guns were heard...and the assault began....Legend has it that Phil Sheridan drained half a pint of whiskey, hurled the bottle up the slope [...] and climbed after it...."

I had a question as to whether this legend was as well-known as what Grant spoke to Thomas? It seems 'Little Phil' drank the same kind of whiskey as Grant!!
Lubliner.
It mentions in the Ken Burns companion book to the Civil War series that Sheridan pulled out a flask and toasted the Confederate gunners saying "Here's at you" and the gunners fired and splattered him and his officers with mud. And he said "That was ungenerous. I'll take your guns for that." I'm not sure that's entirely what happened
 
True - Grant always gravitated towards the known quality and quantity, and he hadn't been impressed by either Buell, Thomas, or Rosecrans, the former commanders of the AOC, all of whom he had grudges against.
He almost had Thomas removed from command just before the battle of Nashville because he felt that Thomas was too slow to attack Hood's army due to the ice storm that was raging across the area. Grant was worried that Hood's army might escape and invade Kentucky.
 
I always wondered about Grant and Sherman during Sherman's mental breakdown. I've never seen any communication between the two at the time.
That is true. I can't recall reading any such communication but maybe Sherman was referring to the fact that Grant did not join in the chorus of criticism against Sherman when he underwent some kind of mental distress when commanding in Kentucky...
Sherman suffered his "problem" at a time before he was under Grant's command so there was no reason (nor likely any opportunity) for there to be any official contact or correspondence between the two. I don't think they had any real close relationship prior to Grant assuming command over the forces camped at and near Pittsburg Landing, which if true is interesting because Grant could easily have made Sherman the perfect scapegoat for the surprise attack at Shiloh - an event both men stoutly denied for the rest of their lives! Grant may have favored fellow West Point-trained Sherman because his other division commanders were "political" generals whom he tended to distrust or had already experienced difficulties with: John A. McClernand, Lew Wallace, and Stephen Hurlbut. (W.H.L. Wallace and C. F. Smith both died soon following Shiloh and Prentiss - another political general - had been captured.)
 
He almost had Thomas removed from command just before the battle of Nashville because he felt that Thomas was too slow to attack Hood's army due to the ice storm that was raging across the area. Grant was worried that Hood's army might escape and invade Kentucky.
Grant must have not known that an ice storm would also affect Hood.
 
He almost had Thomas removed from command just before the battle of Nashville because he felt that Thomas was too slow to attack Hood's army due to the ice storm that was raging across the area. Grant was worried that Hood's army might escape and invade Kentucky.
If Grant hadn't already felt a twinge of jealousy over Thomas' early and easy victory at Mill Springs in Jan., 1862 he was led by subsequent events to believe - probably unjustly - that he had a part in Halleck's clumsy attempt to replace Grant with Thomas following Shiloh.
 
The Army of the Cumberland was resentful of having a secondary role at Chattanooga because the Army of the Tennessee and two corps from the Army of the Potomac had to come to their aid after their defeat at Chickamauga and had nearly starved when their supply line into the city had been cutoff
The A of the C, A of the T & A of the P had fought very different wars. The chance to exchange ideas & adopt best practices was a unique event. The army Sherman took to Atlanta benefitted greatly from that.
Grant must have not known that an ice storm would also affect Hood.
There is a back story... really a back-stab-back-story to the Grant /Thomas/Nashville hoo-ha. Schofield was pulling a Hood, sending critical messages through a back channel to Washington. When Thomas was told about Schofield’s subterfuge, his response was, ‘Why would he do such a thing?’ When the light went on, like Hood, Schofield schemed to get his boss’ job. It is ironic that Grant, who despised backstabbing gossip mongers, would fall victim to Schofield’s insubordination.
If you wonder why Schofield’s messages, which became an open secret, were not included in the official record, look on the title page. He used his editorship to sanitize his chronic curtain climbing & the reaction to it.
On the substantive side, Grant & Thomas were very different generals. Grant was all about tempo, the embodiment of the OODA curve. Thomas was a deep preparation smash-em with one great blow general. They both had great victories, but in very different ways.
 
The A of the C, A of the T & A of the P had fought very different wars. The chance to exchange ideas & adopt best practices was a unique event. The army Sherman took to Atlanta benefitted greatly from that.

There is a back story... really a back-stab-back-story to the Grant /Thomas/Nashville hoo-ha. Schofield was pulling a Hood, sending critical messages through a back channel to Washington. When Thomas was told about Schofield’s subterfuge, his response was, ‘Why would he do such a thing?’ When the light went on, like Hood, Schofield wanted his boss’ job. It is ironic that Grant, who despised backstabbing gossip mongers, would fall victim to Schofield’s insubordination.
If you wonder why Schofield’s messages, which became an open secret, were not included in the official record, look on the title page. He used his editorship to sanitize his chronic curtain climbing & the reaction to it.
On the substantive side, Grant & Thomas were very different generals. Grant was all about tempo, the embodiment of the OODA curve. Thomas was a deep preparation smash-em with one great blow general. They both had great victories, but in very different ways.

First Grant hounded Thomas. Then he decided to send John Logan. Then he must have realized he was disrespecting Thomas, and decided he would to to Nashville himself. Obviously the ice melted and Thomas attacked before Grant departed for the west.
 
I stlll maintain, though I cannot produce the citation, that Grant took a long lunch the day of the attack. He permitted the division and brigade commanders of the army of the Cumberland to proceed up the ridge, if they could, without requiring it. The Cumberland Army did not believe the Confederate Army of Tennessee could whip the Cumberlanders in a fair fight, and they were pretty determined to prove it.
 
I stlll maintain, though I cannot produce the citation, that Grant took a long lunch the day of the attack. He permitted the division and brigade commanders of the army of the Cumberland to proceed up the ridge, if they could, without requiring it. The Cumberland Army did not believe the Confederate Army of Tennessee could whip the Cumberlanders in a fair fight, and they were pretty determined to prove it.
In his new Grant at Chattanooga book, David Powell documents the short time lag between Grant issuing the command & the attack stepping off.
 
The A of the C, A of the T & A of the P had fought very different wars. The chance to exchange ideas & adopt best practices was a unique event. The army Sherman took to Atlanta benefitted greatly from that.

There is a back story... really a back-stab-back-story to the Grant /Thomas/Nashville hoo-ha. Schofield was pulling a Hood, sending critical messages through a back channel to Washington. When Thomas was told about Schofield’s subterfuge, his response was, ‘Why would he do such a thing?’ When the light went on, like Hood, Schofield schemed to get his boss’ job. It is ironic that Grant, who despised backstabbing gossip mongers, would fall victim to Schofield’s insubordination.
If you wonder why Schofield’s messages, which became an open secret, were not included in the official record, look on the title page. He used his editorship to sanitize his chronic curtain climbing & the reaction to it.
On the substantive side, Grant & Thomas were very different generals. Grant was all about tempo, the embodiment of the OODA curve. Thomas was a deep preparation smash-em with one great blow general. They both had great victories, but in very different ways.
In that sense, Thomas sounds something like Longstreet. Longstreet, as we know, muscled up and then delivered hammering attacks at Second BR, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, and the Wilderness. Two succeeded and the other two came close. Both Thomas and Longstreet took plenty of verbal hits for their style and preferences. The irony is that Grant and Pete were tight and Grant and Pap were not. It raises the question what if Longstreet had kept his commission and ended up under Grant.
 
He almost had Thomas removed from command just before the battle of Nashville because he felt that Thomas was too slow to attack Hood's army due to the ice storm that was raging across the area. Grant was worried that Hood's army might escape and invade Kentucky.
Grant must have not known that an ice storm would also affect Hood.
First Grant hounded Thomas. Then he decided to send John Logan. Then he must have realized he was disrespecting Thomas, and decided he would to to Nashville himself. Obviously the ice melted and Thomas attacked before Grant departed for the west.
But what was logan going to do? Schofield ran a department, so he would have been in charge.
 
Grant must have not known that an ice storm would also affect Hood.

But what was logan going to do? Schofield ran a department, so he would have been in charge.
Schofield was, administratively, in the Dept of the Cumberland. The forces concentrated in Nashville were, no matter where they came from, or what their title was, subordinate to the commander of the Army of the Cumberland. Under Grant, the kind of command by hissy fit that plagued the A of TN & some Union commands was stomped out. I have never read what Grant’s opinion of Schofield was. He did not have a reputation for admiring curtain climbers, but I await enlightenment from somebody who has taken a dive into this subject. I suspect, by sending Black Jack Logan, Grant manifested his opinion of Schofield.
 
Schofield was, administratively, in the Dept of the Cumberland. The forces concentrated in Nashville were, no matter where they came from, or what their title was, subordinate to the commander of the Army of the Cumberland. Under Grant, the kind of command by hissy fit that plagued the A of TN & some Union commands was stomped out. I have never read what Grant’s opinion of Schofield was. He did not have a reputation for admiring curtain climbers, but I await enlightenment from somebody who has taken a dive into this subject. I suspect, by sending Black Jack Logan, Grant manifested his opinion of Schofield.

Stanley at Franklin was superior to Schofield, but Schofield was in command due to being a department commander. I suspect Grant was confused, as he wanted Schofield to replace Thomas, then ordered Logan to Nashville, then decided to go himself.
 
The Army of the Cumberland was resentful of having a secondary role at Chattanooga because the Army of the Tennessee and two corps from the Army of the Potomac had to come to their aid after their defeat at Chickamauga and had nearly starved when their supply line into the city had been cutoff
I understood that the AotC's secondary role at Chattanooga was partly predicated on Grant's favoritism towards Sherman and the AotT, for which Grant, as an original commander, retained a close affection towards. After all, by that time Grant and Sherman had clicked together in some sort of fashion so it's not surprising that Grant would assign the primary flanking role to the AotT. Moreover, as became apparent during the later Atlanta campaign, the larger AotC seemed to fulfill the role of a massive central force that would take advantage of breakthroughs on the flanks. Just so happened, though at Chattanooga, the AotC ended up being the unexpected assault force when Sherman's AotT failed to capture its objective in the assigned fashion.
 
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