Allen Ottens on  "The Grant-Rawlins Relationship" 

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 Galena lawyer and Ulysses S. Grant neighbor John a. Rawlins rose to assistant adjutant general on Grant’s staff and ultimately Grant's secretary of war. From the earliest days of the Civil War to Grant's years in the White House, John A. Rawlins was ever at Grant's side. Yet Rawlins's role in Grant's career is often overlooked, and he barely received mention in Grant's own two-volume Memoirs. 

Rawlins teamed with Grant, the two complementing each other in their abilities and ambitions. Rawlins submerged his own needs and ambition in the service of Grant. He played a pivotal role in Grant's relatively small staff, acting as administrator, counselor, and defender of Grant's burgeoning popularity. 

Allen J. Ottens is a Professor Emeritus of Counselor Education and Supervision at Northern Illinois University. He worked as a psychologist at several university counseling centers. He is also a past president of the Manuscript Society. With a lifelong interest in the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln, he is the author of the award-winning biography, General John A. Rawlins: No Ordinary Man (2021).