Grant at Cherry Mansion-"Gentlemen, the ball is in motion" - Savannah TN - Civil War Discovery Trail Sites on Waymarking.com

Grant at Cherry Mansion-"Gentlemen, the ball is in motion"— Battle of Shiloh — 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)

Type of site: Historic Home Address: West Main Street Savannah, TN USA 38372 Admission Charged: No Charge Website: [Web Link] Phone Number: Not listed Driving Directions: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Post a picture of site showing the signage or other notable feature. Please tell what you saw or learned.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   10/05/2021 Don.Morfe visited it