Major General Lewis A. Grant was one of Vermont's greatest heroes in the Civil War. He organized the Fifth Vermont in 1861 and led the First Vermont Brigade from February 1863 to June 1865. He participated in 22 battles; most notable were Savage's Station in 1862, Marye's Heights and Bank's Ford in 1863, the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, and Cedar Creek in 1864, and the breakthrough of the Confederate lines in 1865. He was selected by General Meade to lead the brigade to suppress the Draft Riots in New York after Gettysburg, and also, to defend the Brock Road in the Battle of the Wilderness. He personally discovered the weak point in the confederate lines at Petersburg and was honored by having his brigade lead the assault on April 2, 1865, action which quickly led to the end of the war.

Major General William F. (Baldy) Smith was a genuine, but largely unsung hero of the Civil War. After he devised and carried out the plan that saved the Army of the Cumberland at Chattanooga, General Grant said," He Smith] is possessed of one of the clearest military minds in the army; is very practical and industrious." Grant advocated making General Smith commander of the Army of the Potomac, replacing General Meade. For a variety of reasons, that didn't happen.

General Smith was then assigned to command the Eighteenth Corps of the Army of the James under Major General Benjamin F. Butler, the man Lincoln called "The Damnedest Scoundrel." Grant expected Smith, "to keep him Butler] straight in military matters." It was an impossible task. Butler was powerful politically, and in a presidential year, could not be controlled. Eventually, either Butler or Smith had to go, and Smith lost out.

This book is the story about the life of Major General Baldy Smith, Vermont hero.

The Army of the Potomac experienced 141 changes in leadership and 94 changes in organization. These actions had a dramatic impact on the Army. President Abraham Lincoln was a major player in these changes. This book describes the changes, the reasons for them and shows them in 23 pictorial organization charts.

Major General Lewis A. Grant was one of Vermont's greatest heroes in the Civil War. He organized the Fifth Vermont in 1861 and led the First Vermont Brigade from February 1863 to June 1865. He participated in 22 battles; most notable were Savage's Station in 1862, Marye's Heights and Bank's Ford in 1863, the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, and Cedar Creek in 1864, and the breakthrough of the Confederate lines in 1865. He was selected by General Meade to lead the brigade to suppress the Draft Riots in New York after Gettysburg, and also, to defend the Brock Road in the Battle of the Wilderness. He personally discovered the weak point in the Confederate lines at Petersburg and was honored by having his brigade lead the assault on April 2, 1865, action which quickly led to the end of the war.