GRANT, Ulysses S. Autograph letter signed ("U. S. Grant"), as Lt. General, TO MAJ. GEN. GEORGE H. THOMAS Galena, Illinois, 21 August 1865. 2 pages, 4to, stationery of Headquarters of the Army of the United States . [ With :] THOMAS, George H. ALS to U.S. Grant, Nashville, 23 August 1865. 4 pp., 4to, on stationery of Head-Quarters Military Division of the Tennessee .
GRANT, Ulysses S. Autograph letter signed ("U. S. Grant"), as Lt. General, TO MAJ. GEN. GEORGE H. THOMAS Galena, Illinois, 21 August 1865. 2 pages, 4to, stationery of Headquarters of the Army of the United States . [ With :] THOMAS, George H. ALS to U.S. Grant, Nashville, 23 August 1865. 4 pp., 4to, on stationery of Head-Quarters Military Division of the Tennessee . "I WOULD...THINK FIVE THOUSAND INFANTRY FOR TENNESSEE AND THREE THOUSAND FOR KENTUCKY, MOSTLY COLORED, SUFFICIENT" A fine Grant letter regarding the demobilization of the massive military machine that vanquished the Confederacy. "It is now the desire of Government," Grant tells the "Rock of Chicamauga," "to reduce the Military force of the Country and expenses of Government, all that is possible. Under the Authority given you, in orders, you can muster out of service any organizations you may deem dispensable. My own views are that two regiments of Cavalry will be sufficient to retain in service for the whole state of Tennessee and one regiment for each of the other states in your Military Div. except Ky. where I would keep more. I would also think five thousand infantry for Tenn. and three thousand for Ky., mostly Colored, sufficient. The number of posts garrisoned ought to be reduced to three or four in each state from which troops can be sent to any part where they may be required either to suppress hostilities or to aid the civil law. Give me information of what you are doing and think you can safely yet do in the way of reducing the force at your command..." Grant was in his home town of Galena as part of an extensive tour he conducted from July to October 1865, visiting the former combat theatres, looking for signs of any smoldering threats and assessing necessary force levels (while in Galena, the locals feted him and gave him a new house). The decision to emply black troops is especially intriguing, and most likely for the pragmatic (if somewhat discriminatory) reason of allowing the maximum number of white soldiers to leave the service and return home. Yet it's also a testament to how radically race relations had changed in 1865: Grant reveals no apprehensions about the reaction of Kentuckians or Tennesseans to the presence of black troops on formerly Confederate soil. In October Grant presented a report to Secretary of War Stanton, recommending a reduction in force to 80,000 men nationwide. Stanton asked for even deeper cuts, and Grant got him to agree to a 53,000 man Army in November. Quite a sudden and dramatic drop from the 2.5 million man force in existence less than a year before. Together 2 items . (2)
GRANT, Ulysses S. Autograph letter signed ("U. S. Grant"), as Lt. General, TO MAJ. GEN. GEORGE H. THOMAS Galena, Illinois, 21 August 1865. 2 pages, 4to, stationery of Headquarters of the Army of the United States . [ With :] THOMAS, George H. ALS to U.S. Grant, Nashville, 23 August 1865. 4 pp., 4to, on stationery of Head-Quarters Military Division of the Tennessee .
GRANT, Ulysses S. Autograph letter signed ("U. S. Grant"), as Lt. General, TO MAJ. GEN. GEORGE H. THOMAS Galena, Illinois, 21 August 1865. 2 pages, 4to, stationery of Headquarters of the Army of the United States . [ With :] THOMAS, George H. ALS to U.S. Grant, Nashville, 23 August 1865. 4 pp., 4to, on stationery of Head-Quarters Military Division of the Tennessee . "I WOULD...THINK FIVE THOUSAND INFANTRY FOR TENNESSEE AND THREE THOUSAND FOR KENTUCKY, MOSTLY COLORED, SUFFICIENT" A fine Grant letter regarding the demobilization of the massive military machine that vanquished the Confederacy. "It is now the desire of Government," Grant tells the "Rock of Chicamauga," "to reduce the Military force of the Country and expenses of Government, all that is possible. Under the Authority given you, in orders, you can muster out of service any organizations you may deem dispensable. My own views are that two regiments of Cavalry will be sufficient to retain in service for the whole state of Tennessee and one regiment for each of the other states in your Military Div. except Ky. where I would keep more. I would also think five thousand infantry for Tenn. and three thousand for Ky., mostly Colored, sufficient. The number of posts garrisoned ought to be reduced to three or four in each state from which troops can be sent to any part where they may be required either to suppress hostilities or to aid the civil law. Give me information of what you are doing and think you can safely yet do in the way of reducing the force at your command..." Grant was in his home town of Galena as part of an extensive tour he conducted from July to October 1865, visiting the former combat theatres, looking for signs of any smoldering threats and assessing necessary force levels (while in Galena, the locals feted him and gave him a new house). The decision to emply black troops is especially intriguing, and most likely for the pragmatic (if somewhat discriminatory) reason of allowing the maximum number of white soldiers to leave the service and return home. Yet it's also a testament to how radically race relations had changed in 1865: Grant reveals no apprehensions about the reaction of Kentuckians or Tennesseans to the presence of black troops on formerly Confederate soil. In October Grant presented a report to Secretary of War Stanton, recommending a reduction in force to 80,000 men nationwide. Stanton asked for even deeper cuts, and Grant got him to agree to a 53,000 man Army in November. Quite a sudden and dramatic drop from the 2.5 million man force in existence less than a year before. Together 2 items . (2)
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.jpg "Quelle: Christie's")
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