JULY 22, 1863:
General
Grant writes to President Lincoln recommending the promotion of William
Tecumseh Sherman. His letter reads in part:
“I would most
respectfully but urgently recommend the promotion of Maj.-Gen. W. T. Sherman…to
the position of brigadier-general in the regular army. The first reason for
this is…great fitness for…command…Second…great purity of character…Third [he
has] honorably won this distinction upon many well-fought battlefields…To
General Sherman I was greatly indebted for his…forwarding to me, during the
siege of Fort Donelson, reinforcements…At the battle of Shiloh, on the first
day, he held with raw troops the key points to the landing. To his individual
effort I am indebted for the success of that battle. Twice hit, and (I think
three) horses shot under him on that day, he maintained his position with his
raw troops…I do not believe there was another division commander on the field
who had the skill or experience to have done it.”
Lincoln did not know it yet, but in Grant, Sherman and
Philip Sheridan he had found the Union answer to Lee, Jackson and Stuart.
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