![GRANT, Ulysses S. (1822-1885). Two autograph letters signed ("U.S. Grant") to Admiral David D. Porter, City Point, 3 & 4 January 1865 [With:] letter signed ("U.S. Grant") to David D. Porter, City Point, 30 December, 1864.](https://www.christies.com/img/LotImages/2018/NYR/2018_NYR_16392_0144_001(grant_ulysses_s_two_autograph_letters_signed_to_admiral_david_d_porter095214).jpg?w=1)
![GRANT, Ulysses S. (1822-1885). Two autograph letters signed ("U.S. Grant") to Admiral David D. Porter, City Point, 3 & 4 January 1865 [With:] letter signed ("U.S. Grant") to David D. Porter, City Point, 30 December, 1864.](https://www.christies.com/img/LotImages/2018/NYR/2018_NYR_16392_0144_002(grant_ulysses_s_two_autograph_letters_signed_to_admiral_david_d_porter095223).jpg?w=1)
![GRANT, Ulysses S. (1822-1885). Two autograph letters signed ("U.S. Grant") to Admiral David D. Porter, City Point, 3 & 4 January 1865 [With:] letter signed ("U.S. Grant") to David D. Porter, City Point, 30 December, 1864.](https://www.christies.com/img/LotImages/2018/NYR/2018_NYR_16392_0144_003(grant_ulysses_s_two_autograph_letters_signed_to_admiral_david_d_porter013043).jpg?w=1)
![GRANT, Ulysses S. (1822-1885). Two autograph letters signed ("U.S. Grant") to Admiral David D. Porter, City Point, 3 & 4 January 1865 [With:] letter signed ("U.S. Grant") to David D. Porter, City Point, 30 December, 1864.](https://www.christies.com/img/LotImages/2018/NYR/2018_NYR_16392_0144_000(grant_ulysses_s_two_autograph_letters_signed_to_admiral_david_d_porter095207).jpg?w=1)
PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN
GRANT, Ulysses S. (1822-1885). Two autograph letters signed ("U.S. Grant") to Admiral David D. Porter, City Point, 3 & 4 January 1865 [With:] letter signed ("U.S. Grant") to David D. Porter, City Point, 30 December, 1864.
細節
GRANT, Ulysses S. (1822-1885). Two autograph letters signed ("U.S. Grant") to Admiral David D. Porter, City Point, 3 & 4 January 1865 [With:] letter signed ("U.S. Grant") to David D. Porter, City Point, 30 December, 1864.
10 pages total, 265 x 204mm.
Grant plans the successful attack on Fort Fischer: the operation that closed the last Confederate oceanic port, "the final nail in the Confederate Coffin" (Gragg, Fort Fisher, 243). An important set of letters in which Grant sets forth plans to capture the Confederate stronghold, which had been the target of a failed expedition under the command of Benjamin H. Butler the previous week. That battle had been marked by poor coordination between the Army and the naval force assigned to support it. This time, Grant was determined to correct this problem. In a series of three letters, Grant organizes a new expedition under the command of a far more experienced leader, General Alfred H. Terry, who had led forces against Charleston harbor and understood the importance of coordination between land and naval forces. On 30 December Grant asks Admiral Porter, who had supported Butler's failed attempt on the fort: "hold on where you are for a few days, and I will endeavor to be back again with an increased force, and without the former commander." Mindful of the need for secrecy, he informs Porter that not even Terry would know the object of his mission "until he gets out to sea. He will go with sealed orders." On 3 and 4 January, Grant offered further details and strategic advice: "My views are that Fort Fisher can be taken, from the water front, only in two ways. One is to surprise the enemy when they have an insufficient force there. The other is for the Navy to run into Cape river with vessels enough to contain against anything the enemy may have there. If the landing of troops can be effected before this is done, well and good. But if the enemy are in very strong force a landing may not be practicable until we have possession of the river." On 15 January, Terry and Porter launched a decisive sea and land assault on Fort Fischer, capturing it that night after a long and bloody battle. The loss of Fort Fischer closed off the Confederacy to oceanic trade. Provenance: William Randolph Hearst (his sale, Parke-Bernet, 16-17 November 1938, lot 63).
10 pages total, 265 x 204mm.
Grant plans the successful attack on Fort Fischer: the operation that closed the last Confederate oceanic port, "the final nail in the Confederate Coffin" (Gragg, Fort Fisher, 243). An important set of letters in which Grant sets forth plans to capture the Confederate stronghold, which had been the target of a failed expedition under the command of Benjamin H. Butler the previous week. That battle had been marked by poor coordination between the Army and the naval force assigned to support it. This time, Grant was determined to correct this problem. In a series of three letters, Grant organizes a new expedition under the command of a far more experienced leader, General Alfred H. Terry, who had led forces against Charleston harbor and understood the importance of coordination between land and naval forces. On 30 December Grant asks Admiral Porter, who had supported Butler's failed attempt on the fort: "hold on where you are for a few days, and I will endeavor to be back again with an increased force, and without the former commander." Mindful of the need for secrecy, he informs Porter that not even Terry would know the object of his mission "until he gets out to sea. He will go with sealed orders." On 3 and 4 January, Grant offered further details and strategic advice: "My views are that Fort Fisher can be taken, from the water front, only in two ways. One is to surprise the enemy when they have an insufficient force there. The other is for the Navy to run into Cape river with vessels enough to contain against anything the enemy may have there. If the landing of troops can be effected before this is done, well and good. But if the enemy are in very strong force a landing may not be practicable until we have possession of the river." On 15 January, Terry and Porter launched a decisive sea and land assault on Fort Fischer, capturing it that night after a long and bloody battle. The loss of Fort Fischer closed off the Confederacy to oceanic trade. Provenance: William Randolph Hearst (his sale, Parke-Bernet, 16-17 November 1938, lot 63).