Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant
Brady-Handy Photograph Collection, Library of Congress · Public domain · source
Name	Ulysses S. Grant
Caption	Grant c. 1870–1880
Order	18th
Office	President of the United States
Vicepresident	Schuyler Colfax (1869–1873), Henry Wilson (1873–1875), None (1875–1877)
Term start	March 4, 1869
Term end	March 4, 1877
Predecessor	Andrew Johnson
Successor	Rutherford B. Hayes
Office1	Commanding General of the United States Army
President1	Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson
Term start1	March 9, 1864
Term end1	March 4, 1869
Predecessor1	Henry W. Halleck
Successor1	William Tecumseh Sherman
Birth name	Hiram Ulysses Grant
Birth date	April 27, 1822
Birth place	Point Pleasant, Ohio
Death date	July 23, 1885 (aged 63)
Death place	Wilton, New York
Party	Republican
Spouse	Julia Dent, August 22, 1848
Children	Frederick, Ulysses Jr., Nellie, Jesse
Education	United States Military Academy (BS)
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army, Union Army
Serviceyears	1839–1854, 1861–1869
Rank	General of the Army
Battles	Mexican–American War, American Civil War

Ulysses S. Grant was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th President of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As commanding general of the Union Army, he led the United States to victory over the Confederate States of America in the American Civil War. His two-term presidency was marked by efforts to reconstruct the South, enforce civil rights, and manage a nation undergoing rapid industrialization, though it was also marred by significant political scandals.

Early life and education

Born Hiram Ulysses Grant in Point Pleasant, Ohio, he was the son of Jesse Root Grant, a tanner, and Hannah Simpson Grant. He spent his youth in Georgetown, Ohio, where he developed a strong affinity for horses. In 1839, Grant received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point through his congressman, Thomas L. Hamer, who mistakenly listed him as "Ulysses S. Grant," a name he subsequently adopted. A mediocre student, he excelled in horsemanship and graduated in 1843, ranking 21st in a class of 39.

Military career (1843–1861)

Grant's first assignment was with the 4th U.S. Infantry at the Jefferson Barracks near St. Louis. He served with distinction in the Mexican–American War under generals Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott, participating in key battles such as the Battle of Palo Alto, the Battle of Monterrey, and the capture of Mexico City. Following the war, he was stationed at remote posts, including Fort Vancouver in the Washington Territory, and Fort Humboldt in California. Plagued by loneliness and separation from his family, which included his wife Julia Dent, Grant resigned his commission in 1854. He subsequently struggled in civilian life, attempting farming in Missouri and working in his father's leather goods store in Galena, Illinois.

Civil War service (1861–1865)

With the outbreak of the American Civil War, Grant re-entered military service, quickly rising from colonel of the 21st Illinois Infantry Regiment to major general. His early victories at the Battle of Fort Henry and the Battle of Fort Donelson in 1862, where he earned the nickname "Unconditional Surrender" Grant, brought him national prominence. After a costly victory at the Battle of Shiloh and a successful campaign culminating in the Siege of Vicksburg, which gave the Union control of the Mississippi River, President Abraham Lincoln promoted him to lieutenant general in 1864, placing him in command of all Union armies. Grant then embarked on a relentless, bloody campaign of attrition warfare against General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, coordinating with other Union forces like General William Tecumseh Sherman's March to the Sea. Lee's surrender to Grant at the Appomattox Court House in April 1865 effectively ended the war.

Presidency (1869–1877)

Elected president in 1868 as the candidate of the Republican Party, Grant's administration focused on Reconstruction. He worked to protect the rights of newly freed African Americans, vigorously enforced the Reconstruction Acts, and signed the Enforcement Acts to combat the Ku Klux Klan. His foreign policy, overseen by Secretary of State Hamilton Fish, achieved a major success with the Treaty of Washington, peacefully settling the Alabama Claims with Great Britain. Domestically, he advocated for a sound dollar and presided over significant events like the completion of the First transcontinental railroad. However, his two terms were plagued by severe corruption scandals, including the Crédit Mobilier affair, the Whiskey Ring, and the Black Friday gold market panic, though Grant himself was not personally implicated.

Post-presidency and death

After leaving the White House, Grant embarked on a widely publicized world tour, meeting leaders such as Queen Victoria and Otto von Bismarck. Financial ruin followed after he was swindled by his business partner, Ferdinand Ward, of the firm Grant & Ward. Diagnosed with terminal throat cancer, he raced to complete his acclaimed ''Personal Memoirs'' to provide for his family, finishing the manuscript just days before his death at a cottage on Mount McGregor near Wilton, New York. He was interred in what would become the massive General Grant National Memorial in New York City. His memoirs, published by his friend Mark Twain, were a critical and commercial success and are considered a classic of military literature.

Category:Presidents of the United States Category:United States Army generals Category:American Civil War generals