His friends called him “Sam.” His wife called him “Ulyss.” His initials inspired a nickname tied to one of his greatest battlefield triumphs: “‘Unconditional Surrender’ Grant.”
Ulysses S. Grant never expected to play a role in the Civil War, yet by its end, he commanded every soldier in the United States Army. Along the way, he secured impressive victories, learned from critical mistakes, broke the Confederacy’s resolve, overcame the criticism of his immediate superior, and earned the steadfast support of the president. “Grant is my man and I am his the rest of the war!” exclaimed Abraham Lincoln after the pivotal victory at Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Born in a modest clapboard house along the Ohio River, Grant first made his military mark near the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. He later used “the Father of Waters” to split the Confederacy in two. This success propelled him to Chattanooga, the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, the prolonged siege of Petersburg, and finally Appomattox Court House—some of the war’s most intense and infamous battles. In under three years, the unassuming colonel of an Illinois volunteer regiment rose to become the army’s highest-ranking officer and the first permanent lieutenant general since George Washington. His ultimate victory paved the way for two terms in the White House.
Ulysses S. Grant’s meteoric rise from obscurity made him a figure of profound irony: unassuming, unpretentious, yet resolute. “There will be no turning back,” he once famously declared.
Unconditional Surrender invites readers to follow Grant’s journey with Dr. Curt Fields, the nation’s foremost Ulysses S. Grant living historian. Since February 2010, Fields has portrayed Grant in first-person reenactments. Drawing on years of extensive research, this book offers an ideal introduction to the “dust-covered man” from the West who won the Civil War and preserved the United States.
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REVIEW
"Fields does an excellent job of making sense of the enigmatic figure that Grant was through the idea of “living history”. Each chapter begins with an image of Fields wherever Grant was in that chapter: from Galena to Appomattox, helping to give a sense of interaction. Fields’ deep understanding of Grant’s character makes this book a valuable resource for those interested in Grant’s character and life as well as his decision-making that allowed for his meteoric rise to Lieutenant General. Rather than focusing on the tactics of Civil War battles or overall strategy behind it, Fields instead focuses on Grant’s own character and decision making, especially as it comes to his interactions with his contemporaries. Through this meticulous study of Grant’s character and evolution throughout the Civil War, Fields and Mackowski successfully deliver a well-written, comprehensive narrative in the style of “living history” that does the frequently-tarnished figure of Grant justice." --Strategy Page
