What I posted about Grant came from memory as improved by Jean Edward Smith's biography.

Because I'm writing a book that involves both Grant and Pillow, I've done a great deal of reading about them.

There's an excellent biography of Pillow by Hughes and Stonesifer. It's drawn almost entirely from primary sources because very little has been written about Pillow by anyone else.

Grant was fortunate to have the militarily incompetent Pillow as as opponent in Southeast Missouri, including Belmont, and at Donelson.

From Cooling's book on Henry and Donelson, this is Grant to Buckner about Pillow: “Grant smiled and replied that if he had captured Pillow, he would have turned the Tennessean loose, for ‘I would rather have him in command of you fellows than as a prisoner.’”