What things did Ulysses S. Grant do that everyone though of him as the most brilliant general?

Answer 1

He was aggressive...he didn't wait for everything to be in place and "perfect" before taking action. Grant was not one to wait for the enemy to come to him, he would locate the enemy and attack them with whatever he had at his disposal...some would call him "reckless" and in some ways, he was.

Also, he would follow through on his actions. He wouldn't win a battle and then fall back to regroup and celebrate. He would win...and then pursue the enemy as they retreated until they were captured or eliminated.

Some Generals of his day (e.g. McClellan...who was fired by Lincoln) would treat warfare as a chess game...slow, methodical, and tediously planning strategies. (But during all of this deep thinking, you never notice that your car is being stolen from the parking lot and your wife is being attacked by a perverted neighbor)

Grant prosecuted the war more in the fashion of a high-speed pursuit on an LA freeway. You're gonna wreck a lot of cars and hurt a lot of people...but you'll always get the bad guy.

All this said and done, he is mostly remembered for and regarded highly by both the North and the South for the very benevolent and generous peace terms he allowed his former enemies at the conclusion of the war.

One historian explains his strategic genius:

"Grant understood topography, the importance of supply lines, the instant judgment of the balance between his own strengths and the enemy's weaknesses, and above all the need to keep his armies moving forward, despite casualties, even when things have gone wrong--that and the simple importance of inflicting greater losses on the enemy than he can sustain, day after day, until he breaks. Grant the boy never retraced his steps. Grant the man did not retreat--he advanced. Generals who do that win wars."

Answer 2

The successful capture of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson, which secured the Tennessee River for the Union and ensured the fall of Nashville was #1.

#2 His successful capture of Vicksburg, which secured the Mississippi for the Union.

#3 His battering and ultimate destruction of the Army of Northern Virginia.

Grant didn't win pretty, but ugly works when you have the resources that it takes. Ultimately, Grant's greatest military virtue was that he had the stomach for war and lots of it.

Answer 3

His Vicksburg campaign is the most brilliant campaign of the civil war.Only Lee's campaign at Chancellorsville can compare.

Answer 4

Simply put: He won.