President Trump Presents American Civil War History Lesson

[AussieMick]

David,
I havent watched the video of Pres Trump's speech/talk ... I havent time and I have to admit to finding his style awkward ... but then I'm not the audience he's speaking to. I rely on news reports and people like you to give an accurate assessment of his actions and comments. ( Yes, I know ... that can lead to problems but thats how it is)

You write : "General Grant was not at either Antietam or Gettysburg when General Lee was clearly defeated and these battles were very important Union wins."

Antietam was 'not an overwhelming success' according to David Donald. Outnumbered two-to-one, Lee committed his entire force, while McClellan sent in less than three-quarters of his army, enabling Lee to fight the Federals to a standstill. The North lost more men than the South. It could be argued that McClellan's caution again allowed the Confederates to continue the war longer than it would otherwise have done.

The work done by Grant's forces along the Mississippi in dividing the Confederate forces was enormously influential.

David, you also ask ...
"Do you agree with the following statement made by President Trump at the 1:36 mark of the video of his speech?
... 'Grant really did. He had a serious problem - a serious drinking problem. But, man, he was a really good general. And, he's finally being recognized as a great general.'

I agree with that. 100%. Grant was indeed a great general. Drinking problem? According to what I read, he was sometimes a very heavy drinker. So was Winston Churchill ( There's an anecdotal story that one of Churchill's famous speeches to Parliament 'We shall never sh-urrender' was given when affected by alcohol ... and that an impersonator gave the speech over the radio)

But Grant appear's have been able to function very well as general. If he'd made poor decisions due to his drinking I am sure that there would be documentation from his various enemies.

You also ask ...
"Do you agree with President Trump and believe that General Grant had an uncontrolled drinking problem during the American Civil War?"

Did Trump say "uncontrolled" ? If he did, then I'd say he is wrong. My understanding is that Grant had his drinking under control. He could certainly function in his role ... which suggests that it wasnt full scale addiction. Binge-drinking probably.

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As far as comparing Winston Churchill (war time leader) to Grant (war general) ... Churchill's drinking IMO was more of an addiction than Grant's. Churchill's drinking was continuous, every day, strong spirits from when he woke up until he went to bed. I cannot point to any instance where his decisions were affected by alcohol ... but I think they must have been to at least to some extent if he was continuously drinking.
So was Churchill addicted to alcohol? IMO , yes. Was Grant an alcoholic (or had an uncontrolled drinking problem)? IMO ... no.