The Last Full Measure Quotes

“world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion …”
― Jeff Shaara, The Last Full Measure

“The word began to filter down the lines, and the grumbling stopped, there was something new about this march, something these men had never been a part of before. If the fight in the Wilderness had not gone their way—the most optimistic called it a draw—they were not doing what this army had always done before, they were not going back above the river. If they had never said much about Grant, had never thought him any different from the ones who had come before, if they had become so used to the steady parade of failure, this time there was a difference. Some wanted to cheer, but were hushed by nervous officers. So along the dusty roads hats went up and muskets were held high, a silent salute to this new commander. This time, they were marching south.”
― Jeff Shaara, The Last Full Measure

“Richmond serves one purpose. Lee must defend it. If we threaten the city, he will have to confront us. Lee will soon learn … we are not going away. If the newspapers and all those people in Washington must hear that, fine, I will write it down, send a letter to Stanton. You can deliver it yourself, read it to him, to all of them, make them understand what we are going to do. If it takes all summer … if it takes all year … it is only a matter of time before General Lee must face the consequences.”
― Jeff Shaara, The Last Full Measure

“If you are not affected, if you are not hurt by what we do, then you will not do anything to stop it. The war will simply continue. As long as it is just the soldiers,”
― Jeff Shaara, The Last Full Measure

“Colonel, General Sheridan will be big enough for all of us before this is through.”
― Jeff Shaara, The Last Full Measure

“Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war and my fingers to fight … touch the mountains and they shall smoke … He had memorized that verse years before, Psalm 144, knew somehow, strangely, that it was for him, that God had put those words there as a sign, words to guide him to his duty.”
― Jeff Shaara, The Last Full Measure

“As long as there are armies, there will be a war. I don’t care about symbols.”
― Jeff Shaara, The Last Full Measure

“who blamed Lee. Longstreet knew that somewhere”
― Jeff Shaara, The Last Full Measure

“Burnside was in the best position on the field, could have moved at any time toward a weak defense, a defense that was weaker still”
― Jeff Shaara, The Last Full Measure

“I’m not concerned about General Burnside right now. I’m much more concerned with how far Lee will let us go before he does something.”
― Jeff Shaara, The Last Full Measure

“Meade looked at Grant, and Grant turned, moved toward his tent, said quietly, “General, a moment, if you please …”
― Jeff Shaara, The Last Full Measure

“Lee made small greetings to the others, saw the sour expression of Jubal Early, Ewell’s division commander,”
― Jeff Shaara, The Last Full Measure

“he is appointed Lieutenant Colonel, second-in-command of the Twentieth Maine Regiment of Volunteers.”
― Jeff Shaara, The Last Full Measure

“see the strength of the blue lines in front of them. But it was”
― Jeff Shaara, The Last Full Measure

“responsibility, had been shifted from the president’s weakening shoulders. It was now up”
― Jeff Shaara, The Last Full Measure

“For a long time he had believed, hoped, that surely mankind would learn from that war, would carry the lesson into the future. Our war was different, after all, he thought... This time, there were pictures... If we start to forget, then look, see it, the blood, broken pieces of men, the horrible things we can do to each other. That should be enough. He shook his head. But it is not enough. The rest of the world seems to pay no mind to our lesson, and the guns are still getting better... We are killer angels.”
― Jeff Shaara, The Last Full Measure

“Not every responsibility is a glorious one.”
― Jeff Shaara, The Last Full Measure

“LIEUTENANT COLONEL HORACE PORTER Grant’s most trustworthy and efficient staff officer remains in the army after the war, is promoted to Brigadier General. He resigns in 1873, returns to Pennsylvania to become an executive for the railroad. He is a frequent contributor to magazines whose audiences hunger for the “real” stories of the war, and in 1897 he writes his own memoirs, considered one of the most accurate and readable accounts of life with General Grant. He survives until 1921.”
― Jeff Shaara, The Last Full Measure

“That is the lesson. This war will be won by the men who move forward, who do not stop to question what they do or what the consequences will be. It is not cause or country or the fellow beside you. It is simple and direct. The rebels were winning this war when they had men like Jackson. Now we are winning this war because we have men like Sheridan. Whether Warren’s removal was justified or Glenn’s death was my fault doesn’t matter now. Those questions will be answered later. Now, we will simply move forward.”
― Jeff Shaara, The Last Full Measure

“We cannot fault the corps commanders every time a battle does not go according to plan. War is not fought on paper, you cannot draw a line with a pencil and account for what might happen. When change is needed, change is made.”
― Jeff Shaara, The Last Full Measure

“But there had been confusion, hesitation—the curse of the army—commanders who could not see what lay in front of them, men who would not take the responsibility. If there was no initiative, no risk, there was no victory.”
― Jeff Shaara, The Last Full Measure

“That made the trenches, the defensive tactics, an absolute necessity, because there was nothing he could do about Grant’s vastly greater numbers. But it is more than numbers, he thought. It has always been more than numbers. Every victory had come against superior forces. The advantage was strategy, tactics, the willingness to do what must be done to win the fight. The Federal commanders had never brought that to the field. And so he had always felt he had the edge, knew that Jackson would devour an enemy many times his size by sheer audacity.”
― Jeff Shaara, The Last Full Measure

“Longstreet gave them shovels, at Fredericksburg, on the heights, and they laughed, the men thought it was not … manly. We would stand up and face the guns. Lee shook his head. Now we do not have enough shovels. No one believes in standing up in front of certain death. There is no honor in foolishness”
― Jeff Shaara, The Last Full Measure

“the stifling dignity of meeting Important People.”
― Jeff Shaara, The Last Full Measure

“He thought of the past few days, the drudgery of the meetings, the arguments, men with great opinions and little understanding. He had known it would be this way, that by coming to Richmond he would be pulled into it, hear it firsthand, that men with oil in their voices would take him aside, greet him with fat handshakes, take him into their confidence, seek his valuable approval, the influence of a powerful, respected man.”
― Jeff Shaara, The Last Full Measure

“throwing”
― Jeff Shaara, The Last Full Measure

“Vegetables were almost nonexistent, and what passed for meat was either rancid or pure fat. The men were surviving on crackers and moldy flour. Lee was beginning to understand what this meant to the fighting strength of the army.”
― Jeff Shaara, The Last Full Measure