I Dont Underrate The Value Of

This observation, attributed to Grant in Civil War era sources, reflects his practical skepticism about the value of formal military doctrine when divorced from judgment. Grant had graduated from West Point in 1843 but was not a theorist; his genius was for reading terrain, logistics, and the moral state of armies in real time. He was an admirer of Napoleon Bonaparte's campaigns but applied principles flexibly rather than rigidly. His conduct at Vicksburg (1863) — a campaign involving multiple crossings, feints, and a bold march through enemy territory — showed a willingness to improvise well outside any textbook formula.