GAJS.COM Web Catalogue Ulysses S Grant as Commander

GRANT AS SUPREME COMMANDER OF THE WEST IN TENNESSEE

GRANT, ULYSSES S. (1822-1885). Eighteenth President of the United States (1869-1877). Autograph Letter Signed, “U.S. Grant,” on blind-embossed stationery. Two pages, quarto. “Chattanooga Tennessee,” December 9, 1863. Excellent condition. To “Hon. E.B. Washburn, Washington, D.C.” Grant writes:

“Dear Sir: I enclose to you a letter directed to the Sec. of War [Edwin M. Stanton], recommending Surgeon Kittner for transfer to the regular Army, and promotion in the Inspector’s Department, which I wish you would do me the favor to deliver in person. You have known Dr. Kittner for many years and can substantiate all I have said of him, and much more. I do not know a single volunteer surgeon, except probably Brinton, who has won the same reputation among the old officers of the Medical Staff of the Army with whom he has come in contact as Kittner. Yours truly, U.S. Grant.”

The Union Army enjoyed great military success in the summer of 1863, taking both Gettysburg and Vicksburg as they advanced into northern Georgia. In September, the Confederate Army, commanded by General Bragg, dealt a painful blow to Union forces, led by General Rosecrans, driving them back to Chattanooga. Faced with a crisis that threatened to undo the Union gains of the summer, the Lincoln Administration rushed reinforcements to the struggling Rosecrans. The most important reinforcement was, without a doubt, the newly appointed commander of all Union forces in the theater Ulysses S. Grant. Within a month of his arrival, Grant had successful cleared the enemy from Union supply line. Soon thereafter, Union forces under Grant had driven the Confederate Army of Tennessee twenty miles into Georgia, opening a path for future Union advances into Confederate territory. The hero of the Union, Grant was appointed to the rank of Lieutenant General, a post last held by George Washington, and assumed command of all Union Armies. Re-evaluating the Union strategy, Grant devised a coordinated plan of attack on all fronts and the Civil War entered its final, bloody stage.

At the outset of the Civil War, John Hill Brinton enlisted in the Union Army. In August, he was commissioned a brigade surgeon in the United States volunteers and assigned to Grant’s staff. During and after the war, Brinton played a central role in the advancement of medicine both on and off the battlefield. A well trained doctor who had studied in both America and Europe, Brinton was shocked by the lack of experience and knowledge of his medical associates (Most had never treated a gun shot wound, and many had never performed surgery) and soon organized the Army Medical and Surgical Society of Cairo (Illinois) as a school to improve their skills. In April 1862, Brinton was reassigned to the office of the U.S. Surgeon General, where he organized the Army Medical Museum, a key research and education facility for future generations, and pushed for the establishment of an Army Medical school for graduate medical studies, which was refused authorization by Secretary of War Stanton. After the war, Briton continued to contribute to advancement of medical science, assisting Samuel Gross in the formation of the Jefferson Medical College Alumni Association (1870), the Philadelphia Academy of Surgery (1879), and the American Surgical Association (1880).


GRANT AS SUPREME COMMANDER OF THE WEST IN TENNESSEE GRANT, ULYSSES S. (1822-1885). Eighteenth President of the United States (1869-1877). Autograph Letter Signed, “U.S. Grant,” on blind-embossed stationery. Two pages, quarto. “Chattanooga Tennessee,” December 9, 1863. Excellent condition. To “Hon. E.B. Washburn, Washington, D.C.” Grant writes: “Dear Sir: I enclose to you a letter directed to the Sec. of War [Edwin M. Stanton], recommending Surgeon Kittner for transfer to the regular Army, and promotion in the Inspector’s Department, which I wish you would do me the favor to deliver in person. You have known Dr. Kittner for many years and can substantiate all I have said of him, and much more. I do not know a single volunteer surgeon, except probably Brinton, who has won the same reputation among the old officers of the Medical Staff of the Army with whom he has come in contact as Kittner. Yours truly, U.S. Grant.” The Union Army enjoyed great military success in the summer of 1863, taking both Gettysburg and Vicksburg as they advanced into northern Georgia. In September, the Confederate Army, commanded by General Bragg, dealt a painful blow to Union forces, led by General Rosecrans, driving them back to Chattanooga. Faced with a crisis that threatened to undo the Union gains of the summer, the Lincoln Administration rushed reinforcements to the struggling Rosecrans. The most important reinforcement was, without a doubt, the newly appointed commander of all Union forces in the theater Ulysses S. Grant. Within a month of his arrival, Grant had successful cleared the enemy from Union supply line. Soon thereafter, Union forces under Grant had driven the Confederate Army of Tennessee twenty miles into Georgia, opening a path for future Union advances into Confederate territory. The hero of the Union, Grant was appointed to the rank of Lieutenant General, a post last held by George Washington, and assumed command of all Union Armies. Re-evaluating the Union strategy, Grant devised a coordinated plan of attack on all fronts and the Civil War entered its final, bloody stage. At the outset of the Civil War, John Hill Brinton enlisted in the Union Army. In August, he was commissioned a brigade surgeon in the United States volunteers and assigned to Grant’s staff. During and after the war, Brinton played a central role in the advancement of medicine both on and off the battlefield. A well trained doctor who had studied in both America and Europe, Brinton was shocked by the lack of experience and knowledge of his medical associates (Most had never treated a gun shot wound, and many had never performed surgery) and soon organized the Army Medical and Surgical Society of Cairo (Illinois) as a school to improve their skills. In April 1862, Brinton was reassigned to the office of the U.S. Surgeon General, where he organized the Army Medical Museum, a key research and education facility for future generations, and pushed for the establishment of an Army Medical school for graduate medical studies, which was refused authorization by Secretary of War Stanton. After the war, Briton continued to contribute to advancement of medical science, assisting Samuel Gross in the formation of the Jefferson Medical College Alumni Association (1870), the Philadelphia Academy of Surgery (1879), and the American Surgical Association (1880). For more details or to buy this item, please contact us. $6,500
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