Nevertheless, while other Union Commanders were failing, grant had climbed steadily up the military ladder with resounding victories, stretching from fort henry in 1862, through vicksburg to Missionary Ridge in 1863. He was clearly the norths man of the hour. When lincoln ordered an east early in 1864 to take command of all federal forces. The somewhere near 500,000 combat ready soldiers grant would have authority over the largest post any american officer had ever led. The new Lieutenant General wasted little time in making his strategic intentions known. In the past, grant asserted, union armies had quote, acted independently and without concept like a bulky team of mules, no two pulling to the. And this allowed confederates to shift men from one sector to the other to meet the most pressing danger. Union generals seemed content to maneuver. But that was not the road to victory, grant announced. The north had far superior numbers, and materiel. It was time to switch games. To stop pl
Years after the war, that is filled with literary inventions. I suspect that is one of his many literary inventions. Its true that soldiers of the army of the potomac had done that before in earlier battles. This would be in november of 1863. But theres no evidence that it actually happened here at cold harbor. But everybody knew it was going to be a fierce and terrible day. 4 30 a. M. , the signal gun goes off, and this huge union monolith heaves forward. Or parts of it do. Thats the sad thing about the battle of cold harbor. Down on the lower end of the battlefield, general hancocks second corps punches forward. Across from them at one spot, they make a breakthrough in a salient in the federal line where general breckenridge is positioned. But lee has a lot of reserves. One myth is that lee did not have reserves, that his line was thin. Thats not true. Some parts of the confederate line this entire divisions behind them and that was the position on the lower end of the battlefield wh
Stymied. Lee is any a powerful position and grant cant break through. What does he do . Maneuvers. He pulled the army of the potomac ought of the wilderness and goes to the spotseslvania courthouse and then lee has to come out from the wilderness and fight him on opened ground. This is a tactical maneuver aimed at pulling lee from his strong entrenchmentes. The army of the potomac shifts south, a drama take point in the war because up to this point, whatever Union Generals had been trounced in the battle as bad as lee had defeated grant and in the wilderness they always retreated but grant moved south to the court house and lee gets awe finger of his army in front of grant and blocks him and theres brutal fighting in places with names like the mule shoe and the bloody age that will goes on for over a week, will be 10 days and then finally grant realizes he cant break through there so grant maneuvers again. He pulls the union army out from spots vain yeah courthouse and send the finger
Can take petersburg, cut the supply line to the army in Northern Virginia, and finally defeat lee. The union plan works like clock work. Sheridan heads off on his raid. It will end disastrously at the battle of torrian station, but it serves its purpose for the time. And on the morning of the 13th of june, lee and his men look across and discover that the union earth works are empty. Grant once again has managed to pull his army away without lee figuring out what had happened. The union army swings south, down to the james river. Grant intends to cross. But lee does not understand what grant means to do. Lee thinks that what grant might be preparing to do is to swing back toward Richmond North of the james river. So lee stays here at cold harbor, sends some of his soldiers to the south, but doesnt do a major shift, because, again, hes uncertain as to what grant will do. Well, as you civil war historians know, by june 15th, union forces are attacking at petersburg. Lee is now alerted to
Youre going to get funded. What is the chance the grant is going to get funded . Its about one in six. Traditionally it has been one in three. In the Cancer Institute it is one in 10. Its even lower. You might say we were funding too much stuff before, and we werent putting a tight enough filter on this. The filter is rigorous peer review by experts in the field. Went back and looked. This was in Heart Disease research, but i imagine its true across the board. I can 2001 we were funding a third of the grants back in 2000 when we were funding a third of the grants. Does a grant in the 10th percentile turnout more productive than a grant funded in the 25th percentile . It is. Viewed, so is one better than the other . What happened . Peerreviewed, so is it better than the other . There is not a difference anyone can tell between the 10th percentile and the 25th percentile. They are both great. That shows we are living have to grade science on the table right now. Just at this moment of gr