Description:

Grant Ulysses 1822 - 1885

Ulysses Grant, in an early war dated ALS, heartily approves Col. Leonard Ross' orders to his regiment enforcing strict discipline in camp.

Early war dated ALS, "U.S. Grant Grig. Gen Com," 1 page, 7.5" x 7", Cairo, [Illinois], September 17, 1861 to Colonel Leonard Fulton Ross, in command of Fort Jefferson. Minor partial separation at lower horizontal fold, light soiling, trimmed edges, mounting remnants along verso of top margin, else fine condition.

In the early months of the Civil War, the Union call to arms met an enthusiastic and spirited response. However, most of those who heeded the call had never served as professional soldiers, and camp discipline proved shaky at best. On September 16, Colonel Leonard Fulton Ross, who, like Grant, was a veteran of the Mexican War, issued a detailed set of orders to bring his unruly men under control. Of the twenty-one items listed in the orders Ross issued on September 16, 1861 as his men encamped on the Kentucky side of the river, three dealt with the improper discharge of weapons--a significant problem among young, raw recruits. Article 11 warned that "The discharging of arms... will be considered evidence of an attack, and the command will immediately prepare for action." Ross ordered that gambling was to be strictly prohibited; peddlers were not allowed to vend in the camp without permission; and "drunkenness" was prohibited and "the use of all kinds of intoxicating liquors be avoided among both officers and men." (The Iowa Historical Record, 1888, 4:161-163)

Grant wholeheartedly approved of Ross' orders, writing, in full: "Col. Your orders meet with my entire approval, I hope you will see them enforced."

At this early point in the war Grant had just been appointed to his first command post and had established his headquarters in Cairo earlier in September. Two weeks earlier he had led his troops to a peaceful capture of Paducah, Kentucky, which gave the Union control of the mouth of the Tennessee River. He soon met his first test in combat with the Battle of Belmont in November, moving from Cairo across the Mississippi River to attack the Confederate stronghold at Columbus, Kentucky. Grant's victory in this fight first brought him to the attention of President Abraham Lincoln as one of the few Union officers willing to fight, paving the way for his future as the Union Army's commanding general.

Ross (1846-1901) would continue to serve in the Western theater, seeing action at Fredericktown in October 1861 and in April 1862 at the Battle of Shiloh. He would be promoted to brigadier general of volunteers soon after the April 1862 battle and resigned his commission on July 22, 1863.

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