Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant · Concept
The Horrors and Cost of War
The narrative recounts the immense suffering, loss of life, and destruction of the Civil War, including Grant's somber feelings at Lee's surrender and his reflections on the war's unjust origins.
The narrative recounts the immense suffering, loss of life, and destruction of the Civil War, including Grant's somber feelings at Lee's surrender and his reflections on the war's unjust origins.
Grant describes the brutal realities of battle and the immense human toll of the conflict.
Grant condemns the Mexican War as 'one of the most unjust ever waged by a stronger against a weaker nation.'
Grant reflects on the political expediency of war, noting that obstructing a war is unpopular and that the defeated rebel may be honored more than the Northern traitor who conspires against his government.
The harsh treatment of mules and the loss of horses hint at the broader costs and brutalities of military life.
Characters
Chapters
- Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant
- Army Life—Causes of the Mexican War—Camp Salubrity
- Corpus Christi and the March to the Rio Grande
- Trip to Austin—Promotion to Full Second Lieutenant—Army of Occupation
- Advance of the Army—Crossing the Colorado—The Rio Grande
- VII The Mexican War—The Battle of Palo Alto—The Battle of Resaca De La Palma—Army of Invasion—General Taylor—Movement on Camargo
- The Battle of Monterey
- Political Intrigue—Buena Vista—Movement Against Vera Cruz—Siege and Capture of Vera Cruz
