The History Book Club discussion
PRESIDENTIAL SERIES
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5. GRANT ~ CHAPTERS 8 and 9 (258 - 312) (11/01/10 - 11/07/10) ~ No spoilers, please
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On November 23rd, the scene is set. We have Sherman on the Union left hoping to flank Bragg on Missionary Ridge. On the right we have Hooker hoping to take out Lookout Mountain, then Thomas in the center of Missionary Ridge. On the 23rd, Grant orders Thomas to push on the center to test Bragg and get him to draw men to the center. It works because on the 24th, Hooker takes Lookout Mountain. The next day Thomas attacks as Sherman gets bogged down on the left. In an incredible surge, Thomas moves his men up the center taking Missionary Ridge. They pursue Bragg towards Atlanta, and then head up to Knoxville to help Burnside hold that city. The chapter ends with Sherman striking Meridan MS and Grant wanting to strike Mobile, Alabama.
Chapter 9 begins with Grant's promotion to Lt. General, a post not filled since George Washington in 1798. He is pressed to run for president as a Democrat, but privately tells people no. Grant goes to Washington in March 1864 leaving Sherman in charge. He talks to Lincoln with Lincoln reassuring Grant he would not interfere with the conduct of the army. Grant visits Meade at the Army of the Potomac and is impressed by Meade that he keeps him in command of that army. So, Grant formulates a simple but effective plan: Sherman in charge of the West, Meade in charge of the Army of the Potomac with Grant near by in the field, and Halleck in charge of administration and organization in Washington. After a trip out West about a plan to attack Johnston while Grant attacks Lee, Grant begins to reshape the army. He gets more rear-area men to the front lines, concentrate troops around the country, and coordinate attacks: Banks to move on Mobile, Butler to City Point, VA to cut the railroad lines between Petersburg and Richmond, Sigel up the Shenandoah Valley, and Crook taking Lynchburg. Grant also puts Phil Sheridan in charge of Union cavalry.
Once in Culpeper with the Army of the Potomac, Grant begins a plan to attack Lee, who is entrenched below the Rapidan River. Grant can't go right because Lee could strike Washington and the land is devoid of crops to live off of. So, he decides to strike left but the Wilderness terrain will be tough to fight through. He hopes to just march through and hit Lee. However, Lee put together Grant's plan and waits for his attack.

This really sums up his work before his Lt. General promotion, doesn't it?


This begins the fifth week's reading in our new Presidential Series group discussion.
The complete table of contents is as follows:
Table of Contents
Preface p.13
ONE: The Early Years p.21
TWO: Mexico p.34
THREE: Resignation p.70
FOUR: War p.98
FIVE: "Unconditional Surrender" p.133
SIX: Shiloh p.167
SEVEN: Vicksburg p.206
EIGHT: Chattanooga p. 258
NINE: General in Chief p. 284
TEN: The Wilderness p. 313
ELEVEN: Grant and Lee p. 340
TWELVE: Appomattox p. 369
THIRTEEN: Reconstruction p. 408
FOURTEEN: Let Us Have Peace p. 431
FIFTEEN: Grant in the White House p. 458
SIXTEEN: Diplomacy p. 491
SEVENTEEN: Great White Father p. 516
EIGHTEEN: Reconstruction Revisited p. 542
NINETEEN: The Gilded Age p. 573
TWENTY: Taps p. 606
Notes p. 629
Bibliography p. 707
Acknowledgments p. 747
Index p. 427
Syllabus
Week One - October 4th - October 10th -> Preface, Chapter ONE, and Chapter TWO p. 13 - 69
PREFACE, ONE - The Early Years, and TWO - Mexico
Week Two - October 11th - October 17th -> Chapter THREE and FOUR. p. 70 -132
THREE - Resignation and FOUR - War
Week Three - October 18th - October 24th -> Chapter FIVE and SIX p. 133 - 205
FIVE - "Unconditional Surrender" and SIX - Shiloh
Week Four - October 25th - October 31st -> Chapter SEVEN p. 206 - 257
Chapter SEVEN - Vicksburg
Week Five - November 1st - November 7th -> Chapters EIGHT and NINE p. 258 - 312
EIGHT - Chattanooga and NINE - General in Chief
Week Six - November 8th - November 14th -> Chapters TEN and ELEVEN p. 313 - 368
TEN - The Wilderness and ELEVEN - Grant and Lee
Week Seven - November 15th - November 21st -> Chapter TWELVE p. 369 - 407
TWELVE - Appomattox
Week Eight - November 22nd - November 28th ->
Chapter THIRTEEN and FOURTEEN p. 408 - 457
THIRTEEN - Reconstruction and FOURTEEN - Les Us Have Peace
Week Nine - November 29th - December 5th ->
FIFTEEN - Grant in the White House and SIXTEEN - Diplomacy p. 458 - 515
Week Ten - December 6th - December 12th - > Chapter SEVENTEEN and EIGHTEEN p. 516 - 572
SEVENTEEN - Great White Father and EIGHTEEN - Reconstruction Revisited
Week Eleven - December 13th - December 19th - > Chapter NINETEEN and TWENTY p. 573 - 628
NINETEEN -The Gilded Age and TWENTY - Taps
The assignment for this week includes the following segments/pages:
Week Five - November 1st - November 7th -> Chapters EIGHT and NINE p. 258 - 312
EIGHT - Chattanooga and NINE - General in Chief
We look forward to your participation; but remember this is a non spoiler thread.
We will open up threads for each week's reading. Please make sure to post in the particular thread dedicated to those specific chapters and page numbers to avoid spoilers.
This book was kicked off on October 4th. This will be the fifth week's assignment for this book.
We look forward to your participation. Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other noted on line booksellers do have copies of the book and shipment can be expedited. The book can also be obtained easily at your local library, or on your Kindle.
A special welcome to those who will be newcomers to this discussion and thank you to those who have actively contributed on the previous Presidential Series selection. We are glad to have you all.
~Bentley
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