Sam Grant made famous the expression ‘unconditional surrender’, which is how most of his campaigns ended — for his opponents.

A hard-drinking soldier in a hard-drinking army, he led the Union armies to victory, first in the West and then in the East, eventually compelling the main Confederate army under Robert E. Lee to surrender at Appomattox in 1865.

Yet at the beginning of the Civil War no one, least of all the man himself, anticipated that Grant would lead the Union forces to victory.

Ulysses S. Grant was a failure as a pre-war soldier. His subsequent business career was even worse. His emergence as a successful general and eventual promotion to Commander-in-Chief is a stunning example of how a soldier's peacetime career sometimes gives no indication of how he will perform in a major war.

Grant's advance down the Mississippi realized General Scott’s ‘Anaconda’ plan and ultimately cut the Confederacy in half. His capture of Vicksburg, just as Robert E. Lee's invasion of the North was halted at Gettysburg, spelt the end for the Confederacy.

Yet Grant's battles in 1864 cost the Union army dearly and he has never quite shaken off the reputation as a ‘butcher’ who bludgeoned down the Army of Northern Virginia by sheer weight of numbers.

Robin Neillands investigates how and why Grant emerged from pre-war obscurity and whether his ultimate victory was won by brains or brawn.

Robin Neillands is the author of several acclaimed works on the First World War including ‘The Death of Glory’, ‘The Great War Generals on the Western Front’, ‘Attrition: The Great War on the Western Front, 1916’ and ‘The Old Contemptibles’.

Praise for Robin Neillands:

‘One of Britain’s most readable historians’ – Birmingham Post

‘Immensely readable … a blast of fresh air’ – The Spectator

‘Informed and explicit, this is military history at its best’ – Western Daily Press

‘Neilland’s willingness to call a spade a spade will catch the popular imagination. His central argument is hard to fault’ – Literary Review

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