I just finished reading the Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant, a wonderful, albeit lengthy, account of Grant’s military endeavors. In several scenes I was struck by the respect both sides showed for the other’s generals and in particular Grant. Prior to one of the battles, the picket lines for both sides were so close that the soldiers drew water from the same small creek the separated them. Grant rode out without his party one day to inspect the scene first-hand. As he approached the lines, the union picket guard called for the troops to salute, but Grant quipped, “Never mind the general”. As Grant rode on he neared the confederate line. Seeing Grant approaching, the confederate picket guard called for the troops to salute the general of their enemy as they would their own. Grant returned their salute. The men seemed to acknowledge that although Grant was waged in an…