Grant goes South. Changes to history?

Ak-84

Banned
US Grant despite what he later said had some southern sympahties. His wife was the daughter of a Missouri slaveholder who was pro-confederate. Grant himself owned a slave for a while, and his wife continued to have personal slaves until the end, they even used to come to his HQ when he was general in chief.

Lets say that his father-in-law convinces his (Grants) wife, to lean on him to join the South. Grant had been rebuffed in his efforts to join the army again (by McClellen) in OTL and lets say that he accepts.


How would this change history. Grant was possibly the best tactical general of the war, maybe the other Southern generals were his superiors, but strategically and in logistics he was in a class of his own. Incidentally, the two areas where confederate generals came up short.

A Grant in grey, how dose he engage in the war for the Confederacy? Strategically, he might do a reverse of what he did as a Union general, which is to control as much of the Missisippi as he could, he would have been a lot better than Lee and the rest in supplying his men.
 
Grant would probably buried in the ranks. Davis would overlook him time and time again in preferance for his favorites. Grant will likely only end up as, at most, a corps commander probably in the Army of Tennessee or in some army in the Mississippi/Trans-Mississippi theatre.

The Union on the other had will make the most of the strategically good but tctically poor Sherman and the good all round general Thomas.

Sherman is likely to replace Grant as the Idol of the Union as Thomas was not that abitious of a man and would be somewhat misstrusted because of being a Virginian.

Unless Grant can take the place of Polk and not invade Kentucky and unless he can rise high enough in the Confederate ranks to influence the campaigns he will be unlikely to change anything in the long run, the Confederacy will still lose.
 

Ak-84

Banned
Something like that happened to him in the Union army in OTL, he only came to the fore because he could win. Even Davis can't keep a general who seems to know how to win away.
 
Well, actually....:rolleyes:

Since Grant would not be much liked by Jefferson Davis (at first), he would probably be sent somewhere out west. Likely he would not replace Polk...

Instead, he would replace Crittenden, at the time only Brigadier General and commander of maybe 10,000 men in northeastern Tennessee (basically the lowest commander out there). As in OTL, after Polk's fatal move into Kentucky (opposed, let's say, by 'Crump' Wallace, since Buell, Pope, Thomas, and Sherman have their own commands), ending as in OTL, A. S. Johnston orders all of his forces northward towards their main OTL defensive positions in Kentucky.

Well, by lucky chance, the Union commander of Camp Dick Robinson, and just north of Grant's army, is Brigadier General George Thomas:D:eek::D! (OTL). So the two of them will have a comparatively major starts-as-OTL-diverges-rapidly fight at Mill Springs. If anyone can conclusively state the outcome with evidence I will worship them.

Anyway, if Grant loses as Crittenden did, then we have OTL and he probably ends up a mediocre corps commander in AotTennessee.

But, if Grant draws or wins, then Thomas earns a bad reputation, and Johnston's right flank is held. Meanwhile, without Grant leading the western army, and without a previous victory to the east, there is no guarentee that someone (Sherman? Or Wallace?) will go for forts Henry and Donelson, at least before they can be completed and corresponding works built on the Kentucky side (such works had been started, but had not proceded far in OTL).

In which case, Johnston does not even have to retire from Kentucky until some battle at Bowling Green, most likely not until Mid-Summer. At which point, the butterflies become too numerous, but in any case it is a big advantage to the Confederacy over OTL.
 

Ak-84

Banned
Its hard to tell who would win at Mill Springs Grant vs Thomas (and considering the well attested dislike the men had in OTL; I love this speculation:D), but I can't see Grant making the mistake Crittenden made, which is marching all night in rain and attacking in the morning. At Mill Springs if memory serves, there was about a 1/3 more Confederates engaged.


So even money he wins.

I agree too many variables to say decisivly what would occur after mid '62. But, no collapse in Tennesse, and perhaps no loss of the Missisippi.
 
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