During the American Civil War, the Northern Army (the Union) under a succession of generals suffered a series of military defeats at the hands of General Robert E. Lee, who is widely considered one of the most effective generals America has ever produced. His campaigns are still studied in today's military academies.

One of the reasons Lee was so effective was because the northern Generals, one after another, were terrified of him and constantly worried about where he would show up next or what dramatic move he would pull. Their inability to accomplish anything was caused by their constant knee-jerk reaction to the slightest thing Lee did, or even seemed to do.

That is until Ulysses Grant was appointed General-in Chief of the Union Armies and took control of the Army of the Potomac, the army that directly faced Lee. Grant's staff drove him crazy with their constant concerns about what Lee would do next until finally exasperated, he said to them, "I'm sick of hearing about what Lee is going to do. From now on, we will only discuss what we are going to do and we will let him (Lee) worry about us."

It was a magic turn of events. From that point on it was Grant who held the upper hand and within 13 months he had forced Lee to surrender, marking the end of the war.

Labels: Politics