Grant's secret service : the intelligence war from Belmont to Appomattox / William B. Feis.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Feis, William B., 1963-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Grant, Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson), 1822-1885--Military leadership.

Grant, Ulysses S.

Grant, Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson), 1822-1885.

Command of troops.

United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Secret service.

United States.

History.

Secret service.

United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Campaigns.

Physical Description:

xii, 330 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Lincoln : University of Nebraska Press, [2002]

Summary:

"The art of war is simple enough," said Ulysses S. Grant. "Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can and as often as you can and keep moving on." Much has been written on Grant and his pursuit of the latter two prescriptions; William B. Feis offers us the first scholarly examination of Grant's first principle, the often vexing question of just where his enemy was and what he was doing. In the western theater, Grant was successful despite limited intelligence resources; his victories there stemmed in part from his ability to analyze his opponents and anticipate their actions. In the absence of intelligence data, Grant's initiative, determination, and drive carried him to success. In the East, however, to overcome Lee's advantages of strategic and operational mobility coupled with his own initiative, Grant had to adapt and became more reliant on intelligence to provide information on Confederate movements and intentions.

Feis makes the new and provocative argument that Grant's use of the Army of the Potomac's Bureau of Military Information played a significant role in Lee's defeat. Feis's work articulately rebuts accusations by Grant's detractors that his battlefield successes involved little more than the bludgeoning of an undermanned and outgunned opponent.

Contents:

Introduction: "He Don't Care a Damn for What the Enemy Does Out of His Sight" 1

1 "My Means of Information Are Certainly Better Than ... Most" 11

2 "I Always Try to Keep Myself Posted" 27

3 "You Will Soon Hear if My Presentiment Is Realized" 53

4 "There Will Be No Fight at Pittsburg Landing" 77

5 "With All the Vigilance I Can Bring to Bear I Cannot Determine the Objects of the Enemy" 107

6 "I Have Reliable Information from the Entire Interior of the South" 139

7 "What Force the Enemy Have ... I Have No Means of Judging Accurately" 175

8 "That Gives Just the Information I Wanted" 191

9 "Is It Not Certain That Early Has Returned?" 219

10 "He Could Not Send Off Any Large Body without My Knowing It" 251

Epilogue: "The Difference in War Is Full Twenty Five Per Cent" 265.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 309-319) and index.

ISBN:

0803220057

OCLC:

47243858