Many of us shudder at the prospect of enduring bone-chilling weather. But imagine having to endure sub-zero temperatures on a multi-day outdoor journey, on bad roads through rugged wilderness, and on horseback! That’s what Ulysses S. Grant had to face during the winter of 1864 as he searched for supply lines for his Union troops fighting the U.S. Civil War.
The Union general was laying plans to capture Atlanta, well before that assignment fell to General William Sherman. As Grant explored possible supply routes that would provide easy access to the front in Georgia, he was hoping the Cumberland Gap – straddling Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee – would fit the bill. The mountain passes in the Gap were valued by both Union and Confederate armies as a way to move men and supplies between the eastern and western theaters of war. But when Grant reached the area in January 1864, what he found was quite unpleasant:
This assessment must have been particularly disheartening for such an accomplished horseman as Grant. From an early age, he became adept at riding, training, and caring for horses, and used those skills during his military career and private life. Some historians believe he bought the White Haven property (now Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site) from his wife’s family after the Civil War mainly to breed and raise horses.
Grant ultimately had to abandon his plans to move troops through the Gap that freezing cold winter. He might have succeeded in reaching Atlanta by other routes, but President Lincoln interrupted that strategy. Lincoln promoted him to the rank of Lt. General in March 1864, and placed him in command of the Union armies.
Grant’s eventual plan to win the war involved immobilizing General Robert E. Lee’s army near Richmond, Virginia, while General Sherman led the Union army through Georgia. Grant went on to force the Confederates to surrender in 1865.
To learn more about the life and accomplishments of Ulysses S. Grant, consider a visit to Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site.
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