The Leadership of Ulysses S. Grant: A General Who Will Fight by Harry S. Laver (review)

The development and growth of leadership skills is the focus of Harry S. Laver’s detailed study of Ulysses S. Grant’s military career. The author begins with Grant’s life as an undisciplined cadet, takes the reader through the battles he commanded and ends with Grant as the commanding general of the United States Army. The author argues that leadership skills are not always innate, but can develop and evolve through experience.

In the introduction, Laver defines analytical determination as a common denominator among most successful military leaders and describes two schools of thought used to conclude whether Grant displayed analytical determination or sheer stubbornness. He cites the work On War by Prussian military theorist Carl von Clausewitz, which describes analytical determination as a “great force of will.” Laver uses this book to show the reader how Grant developed analytical determination and utilized that skill to win a war that was endemic with faulty commanding generals.

In his first battle, Grant moved against the Confederate outpost at Belmont, Kentucky, and while he racked up a victory, he displayed little authority or understanding of the broader strategic objectives of the fight. He was already displaying a strong tenacity, but as he continued to lead armies into battle, he also demonstrated his ability to learn from his mistakes. He grew as a leader with each battle, shedding any self-doubt and learning how to probe and find the enemy’s weakness. Grant believed that the Union’s only chance of winning the war was to take the initiative and to push forth as vigorously as possible. This philosophy had many critics labeling Grant as coldhearted about the loss of his men, but Laver deftly argues for Grant’s ability to shift his strategy to incur the smallest losses, as he demonstrated at the siege of Vicksburg.

With his promotion to major general, Grant assumed leadership of the command of the Western armies and demonstrated a keen understanding of the operational situation of the armies. His display of mature leadership and ability to adapt his strategy to the constantly changing conditions both on and off the battlefield provide evidence of his analytical determination.

In 1864, Grant was promoted to lieutenant general, a rank that had not been used since George Washington, and assumed the command of all Union forces. Grant developed a strategy for a five-part assault on Confederacy and shifted the target from capturing Richmond to pursuing Lee’s Army of Virginia. When Grant accepted Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, he treated the Confederates with respect and, according to the wishes of President Lincoln, agreed to lenient terms.

The Leadership of Ulysses S. Grant: A General Who Will Fight does fulfill the objective of proving to the reader that Grant exhibited an ability to learn and mature as a military strategist and leader. The work’s contribution to the body of work detailing Grant’s military career would have been enhanced by more detailed analysis of the growth of Grant’s critical thinking and strategic planning. Another enhancement that would have been helpful would have been detailed battle maps showing troop placement to help broaden the reader’s understanding.