With Grant at Fort Donelson, Shiloh and Vicksburg / and an appreciation of General U. S. Grant

Chapter 3: FOREWORD

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About This Book

A Civil War veteran recounts his experiences serving under U. S. Grant during the campaigns at Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Shiloh, and Vicksburg, blending battle narratives with camp anecdotes. The account moves from river transport and camp routine through the chaos of assaults and siege operations, offering chronological battlefield descriptions from the viewpoint of a soldier of the 45th Illinois. Personal vignettes illustrate small-unit actions, daily hardships, foraging, and discipline. The memoir concludes with a reflective appreciation of Grant, assessing his leadership and decision-making based on the author’s firsthand observations.

FOREWORD

In this year of 1915, when the sounds of battle and strife come wafted to us across the sea from Europe, the younger generation are asking questions of the Veterans of the Civil War about their experiences in battle.

Formerly I lived in Galena, Ill., and having been personally acquainted with, and a neighbor of General U. S. Grant, and one of the “Boys in Blue” who followed him in the battles of Fort Donelson, Shiloh and Vicksburg, I deem it my privilege to add my mite to the history that clusters round the greatest military genius of modern times.

To please many friends who have heard my lectures on the Civil War, and at the request of my children, the following pages have been written, from data made at the time and since, and from a vivid memory of the stirring days of 1862 and 1863.

Wilbur F. Crummer.

Oak Park, Ill., June 14, 1915.