America's Hardscrabble General

How Grant’s humble beginnings shaped his unique military genius

Renowned for his military skill, courage, and indomitability during the Civil War, Ulysses S. Grant is considered the savior of the Union and a model for American generalship. However, unlike most of his fellow officers, Grant came from humble beginnings and experienced a number of professional failures before rising to military prominence.

Grant grew up on a farm on the Ohio frontier and reluctantly attended West Point, where he finished in the middle of his class. In his early career, he was often underestimated by his peers despite valiant service. Between the Mexican War and the Civil War, Grant’s “Hardscrabble” farm failed, and when he decided to rejoin the U. S. army, he was given the unenviable command of a rowdy regiment, the 21st Illinois.

How did Grant—an average student, failed farmer, and common man—become such a successful general? In America's Hardscrabble General, historian Jack Hurst argues that Grant’s military genius stemmed not from his West Point education but rather from his roots in America’s middle class and its commonsense values. Hurst’s revolutionary approach follows Grant’s early life and career, from boyhood through the Battle of Shiloh, examining how his modest upbringing and first years in combat shaped his military brilliance.

Hurst shows how Grant’s background ultimately led him to abandon the traditional military practice of his time, which relied upon military maneuver, and instead focus on fighting. His strategy to always move forward, win or lose, turned even his losses into essential elements of victory and characterized his aggressive, relentless approach. Grant’s experiences in the Mexican War prefigured his greatest military triumphs, from Vicksburg to the dogged fight against Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia.

Going beyond mere strategy, Hurst reveals how Grant’s upbringing undergirded his military skill. Hurst argues that Grant’s prewar underdog status helped him develop an innate humility, sense of justice, and ability to focus, leading him to form a close relationship with his men and eventually become the first president to actively oppose white supremacist groups. This new window into the early life and military mindset of Ulysses S. Grant provides fascinating insights for anyone hoping to understand this American hero.