I am no fan of Abraham Lincoln, but I have a great deal of respect for some of the Union officers, and Grant is way up there in my esteem.
Tactically, I think the greatest American general was Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson. In fact, I think he should be included among the top five American military leaders of all time. My top five (not in any particular order, as there is a difference between a strategic leader and a tactical leader) are:
- Robert E. Lee (strategic)
- Stonewall Jackson (tactical)
- U.S.S. Grant (strategic)
- D.D. Eisenhower (strategic)
- G.S. Patton (tactical)
I have purposely not included George Washington, because, really, he holds a place all to himself. He was at once a strategic and tactical leader. He had his ass kicked all over the landscape, but was always able to execute extraction to live to fight another day, and to keep his forces from dissolution, and then to rally them to strike when the enemy least expected it (i.e., Christmas at Trenton). George Washington was an uncommon man for an uncommon time in history.
With all respect, I must say we are birdwalking here! My original thought was not about General Grant but about us! We are just like all those Union officers who thought Lee was superhuman when we attribute similar powers to the Olberman, Dionne, Behar and yes, even Bubba Clinton. We “have the enemy by the nose and its time to kick him in the ass” a la Patton instead of doubting ourselves every darn day over every idiotic thing that gets spewed by Ed Schultz,Rachel Maddow or any other marginal “media peronality”