“The truth is rarely pure, and never simple.” — Oscar Wilde

Ulysses S. Grant has long been viewed as one of the finest generals in American history, the man who won the Civil War. To a point that is true; but he did not win the war all by himself. And it is not unreasonable to examine what all of those other generals who helped win the war have to say.

Only by dispassionately examining the past, and by giving ear to more than one voice, can we come to a balanced understanding of our own history. Grant’s memoirs, no matter how entertaining or well-written, no matter how dramatic the circumstances of their genesis, should not be allowed to stand as the sole arbiter of truth. For the sake of history, and for the sake of the truth itself, we must be willing to set aside preconceptions and consider impartially just what really happened all those years ago. Sometimes the process can be painful. That does not, however, mean that we should turn our back on it. The truth is there, if we are willing to look.

Frank Varney earned his undergraduate degree at William Paterson University, his MA, and Ph.D. at Cornell University. He regularly takes student groups to historic sites - especially Civil War battlefields - and makes frequent speaking appearances before Civil War roundtables, historical societies, and other interested groups. He has also been the keynote speaker at several veteran’s memorials. He was a briefly-retired Distinguished Professor of History until he received an offer too good to refuse. Dr. Varney currently teaches U.S. and Classical History at St. Michael’s College, in Vermont. He has written numerous appendices, chapters, and introductions – for books by other historians - and articles, and is the author of General Grant and the Rewriting of History, 2013 and General Grant and the Verdict of History, 2023.