The moment marked a watershed in Grant’s life as he developed an avowed ideological commitment to the war as profound as his military contribution. Widening his outlook, he transcended the ethic of a mere soldier and, under Lincoln’s tutelage, showed a touch of statesmanship. His new militance on abolition, coupled with his encouragement of black recruitment and devotion to “contraband” welfare, established a political outlook that would govern the rest of his career, setting an agenda from which he never deviated.
