The Battle of Belmont: Grant Strikes South

by Nathaniel Cheairs Hughes Jr.

Book Overview

The battle of Belmont was the first battle in the western theater of the Civil War and, more importantly, the first battle of the war fought by Ulysses S. Grant. It set a pattern for warfare not only in the Mississippi Valley but at Fort Donelson and Shiloh as well. Grant's 7 November 1861 strike against the Southern forces at Belmont, in southeastern Missouri on the Mississippi River, made use of the newly outfitted Yankee timberclads and all the...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 080785896X
• ISBN13: 9780807858967
• Release Date: February 2008
• Publisher: University of North Carolina Press
• Length: 310 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Great Civil War book on one of the little known early battles of 1861.

This short book details the small battle of Belmont in southeast Missouri in late 1861. This early battle was the first battle where Ulysses S. Grant commanded Union forces and displayed many of his leadership attributes that he used to such success throughout the war. (take the offensive, close with and attempt to destroy the enemy, combined army/naval operations, and coolness and lack of fear in a tight spot.) On the Confederate side we are introduced to Southern Generals Leonidas Polk and Gideon Pillow. (It can be strongly argued these two men did more to defeat the Confederacy in the Western theater than even general Grant!) The writing style is good and it is easy to follow the opening moves that set the stage, the campain leading upto the battle, and the battle itself. I found the maps to be good and they were also an aid in following the story. I highly reccommend this book for anyone interested in the Western/Mississippi Valley theater of the Civil War who wants to understand the early moves by both sides that set the stage for the bigger campaigns and battles that followed. (Forts Henry and Donelson, Shiloh)

Great Account of the Battle

This is an excellent synopsis of the Battle of Belmont. Belmont was a relatively small battle on the Missouri side of the Mississippi River. Though small, Belmont was important, partly because it was the first battle fought by General Grant. The writing style of the book is clear and easy to follow. There are 10 high quality maps, 7 that cover the battle itself. It is easy to correlate the maps and the text to keep track of units and their movements. Hughes writes in an interesting style. Instead of describing the battle from start to finish in a linear fashion, he switches back and forth between the Union and Confederate perspective. That is, he covers one part of the battle from the Federal point of view, then switches to the Confederate point of view and describes the events again. This approach could easily have come across poorly or been confusing. Instead, it leads to a very balanced and in depth account of the battle. I highly recommend this book to Civil War enthusiasts.

Fine telling of an important little battle

For many Americans the Civil War consisted of battles at Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Manassas, Antietam, Shiloh and a few other major battles. What is often overlooked are the smaller engagements than provide the glue that strings together the major battles. It is also in early small battles that generals like Grant, Lee and Jackson learn valuable lessons that pay dividends in subsequent battles. The Battle of Belmont is one such battle. As the other reviewers have noted this battle is best known as Grant's first battle of the war. It would prove a training ground for Grant and his men. Grant learned much from this battle. In some ways, Belmont is a smaller version of Shiloh with the sides reversed. Like at Shiloh, an army was surprised and their camps captured while the men fled to cover along the river bank. Like at Shiloh the attackers failed to drive the defenders into the river and win a clear cut victory. Like at Shiloh the defenders then went on the offensive and drove the attackers back. Given the similarities between these two battles, what did Grant learn at Belmont that would help him at Shiloh? 1) Grant learned that being caught by surprise and being pushed back to a river did not necessarily mean defeat. 2) Grant learned the importance of rallying your troops and counter attacking. 3) Grant learned the importance of following up on an initial success and aggressively pursuing your opponent. These lessons would serve Grant well at Shiloh and future battles as he continued to learn from his mistakes. However, Grant did not learn all the lessons that could have been learned at Belmont - eg. his surprise at Shiloh. Mr. Hughes has written a fine book that makes sense out of the chaos of combat. The text is easy to read and there are helpful maps.

Classes

Armies have to learn to fight as more than an armed mob. Officers have to learn how to fight their command too. Missing these classes makes all the drill worhless and a defeate possible. US Grant understood this and Belmont is his first training class for himself and his army. This small battle is either overlooked, ignored or used as an example of Grant being beaten on the field. All of those ideas are the wrong approach to understanding this battle. Was it important to the war? Not really. Was it important for giving semi-trained troops a taste of combat and instilling in them the habit of victory? Yesand this was Grant's objective. When he had accomplished his objective, he pulled back. Did everything go well? No, some officers didn't control their men, some men went off on tangents, orders were missed and a series of small problems made for a harder day than planned. All of the above makes for a good story and Nathaniel Hughes Jr. tells it well. After laying a good foundation, he takes us through each phase of the battle telling us what is going well and what isn't. Move and counter move occupy the book as Polk & Pillow, move to first stop and then try to destroy the Union invader. A series of good well placed maps allow us to follow the action. A series of illustrations place faces to the names. Coupled with good clear writting make this an enjoyable and informative reading experience. This is a very good book about one of the small battle of the Civil War.

Enjoyable account of this Civil War battle

This book offers the reader a well researched and presented account of the Battle of Belmont, the first battle in the Western Theatre and one of the first battles fought by Ulysses S. Grant. The book covers Grants attack on the Southern forces under the command of Leonidas Polk and Gideon Pillow at Belmont on the Mississippi River in Missouri on the 7th of November 1861. The maps in the book are easy to understand and guide the reader through the fighting, the narrative runs smoothly and offers a good overview of this battle. There is extensive notes and bibliography to assist the reader with further studies. Overall a decent book covering this battle of the American Civil War. An enjoyable read.