[bfld]

I knew how I was going to vote 'til I started reading everyone else, now I'm ambivalent; Thanks A Lot!

Still will go with Grant. I'm looking for a CIC, not a field general (otherwise I'd take Sherman). Lee certainly muffed some of the more political aspects of his job (e.g. Richmond as capitol), but I don't hold that against him because Grant was spared those tasks by Lincoln. Lee certainly did amazing things, but he had the advantage of being a defensively oriented general at a time when defense was at a higher advantage than it normally is (nasty Mini balls). But Grant was the only one whose mind was flexible enough to understand how to apply all the resources of the North and what it would take to truly defeat the South. While in hindsight it is hard to understand why no other Northern general could grasp these two things, the difficulty of it is shown by how many tried and failed.