Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant) was born on April 27, 1822, in Point Pleasant, Ohio, to Jesse Root Grant and Hannah Simpson. His father was a tanner and leather merchant. He was admitted to the United States Military Academy in 1839. Grant’s performance at West Point was unremarkable, and he graduated 21st in a class of 39 in 1843. Nonetheless, he earned a reputation as a “most proficient” horseman.
After graduation, he received a commission as a brevet 2nd lieutenant in the 4th United States Infantry. He was stationed at Jefferson Barracks near St. Louis, Missouri. He frequently visited his friend Frederick Dent’s family, and he fell in love with Dent’s sister Julia. The couple got married on August 22, 1848, and they had four children: Frederick, born on May 30, 1850; Ulysses, born on July 22, 1852; Ellen, born on July 4, 1855; and Jesse, born on February 6, 1858.
Grant served as a quartermaster in the Mexican American War. He fought at Palo Alto, Monterrey, and Molino del Rey, and he was twice breveted for gallantry. After the war, he served in Detroit, Michigan, and upstate New York before being transferred to California. He was promoted to captain in August 1853. Grant felt isolated without his family, and he reportedly began drinking heavily. He resigned from the army on July 31, 1854. He returned to Missouri and earned a living as a farmer. The family moved to Galena, Illinois, in April 1860, and he worked in his father’s leather goods store.
In June 1861, he received a commission as colonel of the 21st Illinois Infantry. He was promoted to brigadier general in August 1861. His first major military victories came in early 1862, with the capture of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson. He was promoted to major general in February 1862. At Shiloh in April 1862, Grant's forces sustained heavy losses, and the Union press criticized his command despite the Union’s strategic victory.
Grant's greatest triumph in the Western Theater came in July 1863, with the capture of Vicksburg. In March 1864, President Abraham Lincoln promoted Grant to lieutenant general and placed him in command of all Union armies. He accompanied the Army of the Potomac and directed the Overland Campaign, the siege of Petersburg, and the Appomattox campaign. He negotiated Confederate general Robert E. Lee’s surrender on April 9, 1865.
On July 25, 1866, Congress promoted him to General of the Army. Then, in November 1868, he was elected president of the United States. He served two terms, from 1869 until 1877, and he presided over much of Reconstruction. He supported Black citizenship and suffrage, and his presidency saw the passage of the 15th Amendment, the Ku Klux Klan Act, and the Civil Rights Act of 1875. Nevertheless, his administration was tarnished by corruption and scandal, which eroded public confidence.
After leaving office, Grant embarked on a two-year world tour, receiving honors from heads of state and global dignitaries. On returning to the United States, he became involved in an investment firm that eventually collapsed in scandal, leaving him nearly penniless. He was diagnosed with terminal throat cancer in 1884. Determined to provide for his family, he began writing his memoirs, which were completed just days before his death on July 23, 1885. His tomb in New York City, completed in 1897, is the largest mausoleum in North America.
Image: Ulysses S. Grant (courtesy Wikicommons)
DATABASE CONTENT
| (650) | Grant, Ulysses S. ~ Grant, Hiram Ulysses | 1822-04-27 | 1885-07-23 |
- Conflict Side: Union
- Role: Soldier
- Rank in: Colonel
- Rank out: Lieutenant General
- Rank highest: Lieutenant General
- Gender: Male
- Race: White
Documents - Records: 9
- (4200) [recipient] ~ Henry W. Halleck to Ulysses S. Grant, 19 December 1861
- (4072) [writer] ~ Ulysses S. Grant to Andrew H. Foote, 14 February 1862
- (9133) [writer] ~ Ulysses S. Grant to Samuel R. Curtis, 28 January 1863
- (4006) [recipient] ~ Henry W. Halleck to Ulysses S. Grant, 24 September 1863
- (3025) [writer] ~ Ulysses S. Grant to J. Waters, 20 November 1863
- (3352) [writer] ~ Ulysses S. Grant to Henry W. Halleck, 15 July 1864
- (8415) [writer] ~ Ulysses S. Grant Special Order, 20 May 1865
- (168) [recipient] ~ Alfred Pleasonton to Ulysses S. Grant, 20 January 1866
- (9266) [writer] ~ Ulysses S. Grant to David Wills, 14 May 1867
People - Records: 2
Places - Records: 3
Regiments - Records: 2
Groups - Records: 1
- (3) [politician] ~ Republican Party
SOURCES
1850, 1870, and 1880 United States Federal Censuses, available from Ancestry.com; Missouri Compiled Marriages, 1754-1850, available from Ancestry.com; “Ulysses S. Grant” Wikipedia profile, available from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulysses_S._Grant
