Ulysses S. Grant: The ‘Unconditional Surrender Continues

For most general officers, a headline-making victory accompanied by the abject surrender of an entire enemy army, such as Ulysses “Unconditional Surrender” Grant accomplished at Fort Donelson in February 1862, would have been quite enough for one career. But Grant would make the most of two more opportunities for practicing the “art of surrender,” starting 17 months later at Vicksburg. This fortress city was the key to the Mississippi River and very nearly the last Confederate holdout on the “Father of Waters” by 1863. Federal assaults — two by the Navy and one by the Army — had been turned back three times in 12 months. After mid-May, the town was under siege, with no relief in sight.

Finally, on the morning of July 3, Confederate General John C. Pemberton sent a dispatch through the lines under a flag of truce asking for an armistice and a conference to discuss “terms of capitulation.” What he had in mind was a traditional negotiating session between commissioners from the respective sides, a process that could drag out for days or even weeks. At the time Grant was preparing for a major assault on the city’s fortifications and believed a successful military resolution of the siege was in sight. The Confederate communiqué was carried by Maj. Gen. John Bowen, chosen specifically because he and Grant had been friends back in Missouri before the war. Bowen was first taken to Union Maj. Gen. James McPherson, who unlike Brig. Gen. C.F. Smith at Fort Donelson, sent the Confederate representative on without comment to Grant’s headquarters.

In his dispatch, Pemberton spouted the usual rhetoric about wishing to “save the further effusion of blood” and how long he could continue to hold out, but Grant would have none of it. He did not need Smith to advise him this time. His reply was blunt and identical in essence to what he had told Brig. Gen. Simon Bolivar Buckner at Fort Donelson: “The useless effusion of blood you propose stopping by this course can be ended at any time you may choose by an unconditional surrender of the city and the garrison.” The words “unconditional surrender” came naturally to him now, but he cushioned the harshness of his response by telling Bowen, “I can assure you you will always be treated with all the respect due to prisoners of war.” He added that he was opposed to the idea of appointing commissioners for the simple reason that “I have no terms other than those indicated above,” and offered instead to meet Pemberton between the lines that very afternoon.

As at Donelson, old fraternal ties interjected themselves into the proceedings from the start. Not only was Bowen a personal friend of Grant’s, but Pemberton and Grant had served in the same division in Mexico. When the two commanders met on the Jackson Road a little after 3 p.m., Grant greeted Pemberton as “an old acquaintance.” The warm greeting did not cover up their differences. Pemberton came in full dress uniform, while Grant, following the pattern established at Fort Donelson, wore his usual fatigue dress under a field jacket. Bowen accompanied Pemberton to add the weight of his influence, while Grant brought along a full house of corps and division commanders plus assorted staff officers. There was no small talk between the two principals on this occasion. Pemberton was sensitive about the position he found himself in and full of bluster, while Grant was his usual taciturn self, showing no emotion while he chewed on an unlit cigar. With nothing but an empty field to host their discussion, the two senior officers sat down on camp chairs. Pemberton misinterpreted Grant’s casual dress and boyish tugging at the grass beneath his chair as signs of weakness. The Southerner stiffly asked for terms, while Grant took time out from his cigar long enough to reiterate his stock answer — that he had no terms to offer but unconditional surrender. At that, Pemberton sniffed, “If this is all you have to offer, the conference might as well end,” and prepared to mount his horse. Grant refused to be intimidated and would have let Pemberton go except that Bowen intervened to suggest that the two commanders go off and chat while their lieutenants talked things over. After 30 minutes the subordinates were back with a proposal pushed by Bowen, whose key point was that the garrison be paroled, not incarcerated as POWs. On top of that, they would be allowed to march out with their small arms, artillery and “all the honors of war.” Grant flatly rejected the proposal, and that ended the meeting. However, Grant promised to contact Pemberton again with his final terms by 10 o’clock that evening.