Sherman agreed it was necessary to destroy the ConfederacyвЂ™s capacity to support its armies in the field. The relationship with Sherman was pivotal in GrantвЂ™s ultimate success as commander of all Union armies, from August 1864. While horrified by the Вcarnage he witnessed, and more than once under direct Confederate fire, including at ВShiloh, Grant never wavered in his determination to crush the rebellion by destroying the Confederate armies and their industrial base.

This encounter says much about GrantвЂ™s leadership during the terrible violence of the American Civil War. He had already told Sherman that when both sides seem defeated in battle, the first to assume the offensive would surely win. вЂњLick вЂ™em tomorrow though.вЂќ The statement expressed GrantвЂ™s intestinal fortitude which communicated itself to his officers. вЂњYes,вЂќ replied Grant with a drag on his cigar. вЂњWell, Grant, weвЂ™ve had the devilвЂ™s own day, havenвЂ™t we?вЂќ Sherman remarked. Sherman found him standing there, streaming with rain, hat pulled low over his face, collar upturned, holding a lantern and chewing a cigar.

Wrapped in his greatcoat, Grant returned to the haven of the nearby oak tree with its spreading canopy of branches. Grant, as Ron Chernow Вdetails in his outstanding biography, Grant: None of this fazed Union commander ВGeneral Ulysses S. As reinforcements were ferried across the Tennessee River, they confronted thousands of Union deserters and shirkers cowering on the riverbank. On the evening of the first day of the Battle of Shiloh in April 1862, the Union forces at Pittsburgh Landing reflected the partial rout that had been suffered.

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