THREE YEARS WITH GRANT: As Recalled by War Correspondent Sylvanas Cadwallader

by Benjamin- Ed Thomas ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

Thomas is best known for his numerous works on Lincoln. Now he turns his gifts to an excellent job of editing the hitherto unpublished recollections of a war correspondent. Cadwallader was sent to Grant by the Chicago Tribune to secure the release from military prison of his predecessor. He stayed to become the best type of war correspondent, ranking virtually as a member of Grant's staff, not only in the campaigns leading up to the fall of Vicksburg, but subsequently as correspondent for Gordon Bennett's Herald with Grant and the Army of the Potomac to the end. A correspondent of Cadwallader's abilities was much more than a journalist. His memoirs, written after the war, in his later years, were never published, and this text is carefully culled from, them, using two thirds of the text, and omitting only those sections not relating to Grant. At points Cadwallader differs with other historians; at most points he holds close to known facts, presenting them in a personal and lively way. His careful analysis of Grant's drinking -- kept out of his war communications -- is made credible by the honesty of his devotion to Grant, his determination to save him from the results of his occasional bouts. The whole text while probably not adding materially to informed knowledge of the operations of the war, does add color and a personal, human flavor that makes it worth while.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1955

Categories: NONFICTION