Savannah in Hardin County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)
Grant at Cherry Mansion
"Gentlemen, the ball is in motion"
— Battle of Shiloh —
Photographed By Don Morfe, April 21, 2014
1. Grant at Cherry Mansion Marker
Inscription.
Grant at Cherry Mansion. "Gentlemen, the ball is in motion". After the February 1862 Union victories at Forts Henry and Donelson, Gen. Don Carlos Buell’s army occupied Nashville while Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s army penetrated to Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee River. Buell and Grant planned to attack the rail center of Corinth, Mississippi, but on April 6, Confederate Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston struck first. The Battle of Shiloh was a near Confederate victory the first day, although Johnston was killed. On the second day, Grant’s counterattack succeeded, and the Confederates retreated to Corinth. Shiloh was the war’s bloodiest battle to date, with almost 24,000 killed, wounded or missing.
This is the house of Unionist William H. Cherry and his wife, Ann (“Annie”) Irwin Cherry. In March 1862, Union Gen. Charles F. Smith (who died here in April 25) made it his headquarters. On March 17, at Cherry’s request, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant established his headquarters here while he awaited Gen. Don Carlos Buell’s army, which was marching overland from Nashville. Grant’s army was camped two miles upriver at Pittsburg Landing.
At dawn on April 6, Confederate Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston suddenly attacked at Pittsburg Landing. Annie Cherry later recalled Grant’s reaction to the sounds of battle rumbling down the valley: “He was at my breakfast-table when he heard the report of a cannon. Holding, untasted, a cup of coffee, he paused…at the report of another cannon. He hastily arose, saying to his staff,..’Gentlemen, the ball is in motion; let’s be off.’ His flagship was lying at the wharf, and in fifteen minutes he, staff officers, orderlies, clerks, and horses had embarked.” Grant quickly steamed away toward the roar of the guns.
An ardent supporter of the Confederate cause whose two brothers served in the Southern army, Annie Cherry later remarked that Grant had “(conducted) himself as a gentleman; was kind, courteous, genial, and considerate” to all members of her family, and was “uniformly kind to citizens, irrespective of politics.” To rebut rumors that her famous houseguest had been intoxicated that morning, she asserted, “General Grant was thoroughly sober,” and “never appeared in my presence in a state of intoxication.”
(Inscription under the photos in the lower left) , Gen. Ulysses S. Grant-Courtesy Library of Congress-Annie Irwin Cherry with daughter Mary Cornelia Cherry-Courtesy Hardin County Historical Society.
(Inscription under the photo in the lower right) , “Steamboat Landing, Savannah, Tennessee” (Cherry Mansion at right above steamboat), Battles and Leaders (1887-1888)
After the February 1862 Union victories at Forts Henry and Donelson, Gen. Don Carlos Buell’s army occupied Nashville while Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s army penetrated to Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee River. Buell and Grant planned to attack the rail center of Corinth, Mississippi, but on April 6, Confederate Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston struck first. The Battle of Shiloh was a near Confederate victory the first day, although Johnston was killed. On the second day, Grant’s counterattack succeeded, and the Confederates retreated to Corinth. Shiloh was the war’s bloodiest battle to date, with almost 24,000 killed, wounded or missing.
This is the house of Unionist William H. Cherry and his wife, Ann (“Annie”) Irwin Cherry. In March 1862, Union Gen. Charles F. Smith (who died here in April 25) made it his headquarters. On March 17, at Cherry’s request, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant established his headquarters here while he awaited Gen. Don Carlos Buell’s army, which was marching overland from Nashville. Grant’s army was camped two miles upriver at Pittsburg Landing.
At dawn on April 6, Confederate Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston suddenly attacked at Pittsburg Landing. Annie Cherry later recalled Grant’s reaction to the sounds of battle rumbling down the valley: “He was at my breakfast-table when he heard the report of a cannon.
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Holding, untasted, a cup of coffee, he paused…at the report of another cannon. He hastily arose, saying to his staff,..’Gentlemen, the ball is in motion; let’s be off.’ His flagship was lying at the wharf, and in fifteen minutes he, staff officers, orderlies, clerks, and horses had embarked.” Grant quickly steamed away toward the roar of the guns.
An ardent supporter of the Confederate cause whose two brothers served in the Southern army, Annie Cherry later remarked that Grant had “(conducted) himself as a gentleman; was kind, courteous, genial, and considerate” to all members of her family, and was “uniformly kind to citizens, irrespective of politics.” To rebut rumors that her famous houseguest had been intoxicated that morning, she asserted, “General Grant was thoroughly sober,” and “never appeared in my presence in a state of intoxication.”
(Inscription under the photos in the lower left) Gen. Ulysses S. Grant-Courtesy Library of Congress-Annie Irwin Cherry with daughter Mary Cornelia Cherry-Courtesy Hardin County Historical Society.
(Inscription under the photo in the lower right) “Steamboat Landing, Savannah, Tennessee” (Cherry Mansion at right above steamboat), Battles and Leaders (1887-1888)
Location. 35° 13.548′ N, 88° 15.384′ W. Marker is in Savannah, Tennessee, in Hardin County. Marker is on West Main Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Savannah TN 38372, United States of America. Touch for directions.
This marker is a short distance from the Cherry Mansion.
Credits. This page was last revised on October 16, 2021. It was originally submitted on June 28, 2014, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. This page has been viewed 917 times since then and 26 times this year. Last updated on March 20, 2015, by J. Makali Bruton of Accra, Ghana. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on June 28, 2014, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. 4. submitted on October 16, 2021. 5. submitted on June 28, 2014, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.