Major Jonathan Bratton

I don't think you can.

I think you have to have a combination of a bunch of circumstances.

I'm not one for, I don't love the great man theory of history.

I think able subordinates and the valor and courage of so many service members are what sort of these great generals are built on.

And so I always view them sort of with a little bit of a jaundiced eye of, all right, what are you taking credit for that

Some poor kid from Iowa did when the whole plan broke down and then they got a Medal of Honor out of it, but then lost their own life.

Grant's a fascinating guy, man.

The hardest part about this, Don, is that we have to spend so little time on each of these guys when they could each be their own episode.

This is a new clever form of torment you've come up for me.

But I enjoy it nonetheless.

The whole thing with Grant, he shares this thing with Washington where they don't know that they're supposed to have been beaten.

And the key moment in this comes to the Battle of Shiloh.

The end of the first day when Grant has absolutely his army has been pummeled.

They're caught out in the open.

They're pushed back miles.

They're pushed to the bank of a river.

Any military tactician would look at this and say, hey, you better dig in and just, you know, fight on the defense for all it's worth.

You'll be lucky to escape annihilation.

And Sherman comes up to Grant.

It's raining at night under a tree.