Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant

18th President of the United States
Term of office	March 4, 1869 – March 3, 1877
Preceded by	Andrew Johnson
Succeeded by	Rutherford B. Hayes
Date of birth	April 27, 1822
Place of birth	Point Pleasant, Ohio
Date of death	July 23, 1885
Place of death	Mount McGregor, New York
Spouse	Julia Grant
Political party	Republican

Ulysses S. Grant (April 27, 1822 – July 23, 1885) was the 18th President of the United States (1869–1877). He achieved national fame as a hero of the American Civil War, in which he commanded Union forces as a general, and as general-in-chief (1864–1869).

Grant has been described by military historian J. F. C. Fuller as "the greatest general of his age and one of the greatest strategists of any age." He won many important battles and is often credited with defeating the Confederacy. As President, many historians consider him less successful: he led an Administration plagued by scandal and the corruption of his subordinates, and was criticized for failing to respond strongly; at the same time he governed during the contentious period of Reconstruction of the South, struggled to preserve Reconstruction, and took an unpopular stand in favor of the legal and voting rights of blacks.

To Grant's credit, he was respected both in the North and South, and avoided a perception of retribution on the part of the Federal government that might have provoked an insurgency.

Birth and early years

Grant was born Hiram Ulysses Grant in Point Pleasant, Clermont County, Ohio, 25 miles (40 km) east of Cincinnati on the Ohio River, to Jesse Root Grant (1794–1873) and Hannah Simpson (1798–1883). His father, a tanner, and his mother were born in Pennsylvania. In the fall of 1823 they moved to the village of Georgetown in Brown County, Ohio, where Grant spent most of his time until he was 17.

At the age of 17, and having barely passed West Point's height requirement for entrance, Grant received a cadetship to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, through his U.S. Congressman, Thomas L. Hamer. Hamer erroneously nominated him as Ulysses Simpson Grant, and although Grant protested the change, it was difficult to resist the bureaucracy. Upon graduation, Grant adopted the form of his new name with middle initial only, never acknowledging that the "S" stood for Simpson. He graduated from West Point in 1843, ranking 21st in a class of 39. At the academy, he established a reputation as a fearless and expert horseman. Grant drank distilled liquor and, during the American Civil War, began smoking huge numbers of cigars (one story had it that he smoked over 10,000 in five years) which may well have contributed to his throat cancer of later life.

Grant married Julia Boggs Dent (1826–1902) on August 22, 1848. They had four children: Frederick Dent Grant, Ulysses S. (Buck) Grant, Jr., Ellen (Nellie) Grant, and Jesse Root Grant.

Military career

General Grant at Cold Harbor, photographed by Mathew Brady in 1864

Mexican War

Grant served in the Mexican-American War (1846–48) under Generals Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott, taking part in the battles of Resaca de la Palma, Palo Alto, Monterrey, and Veracruz. He was twice brevetted for bravery: at Molino del Rey and Chapultepec.

Between the Wars

After the Mexican war ended in 1848, Grant remained in the army and was moved to several different posts. He was sent to Fort Vancouver in the Washington Territory in 1853, where he served as regimental quartermaster of the 4th U.S. Infantry regiment. His wife could not accompany him because his salary could not support a family (she was eight months pregnant with their second child) on the frontier. In 1854, he was promoted to captain and assigned to command Company F, 4th Infantry, at Fort Humboldt, California. Despite the increase in pay, he still could not afford to bring his family out West. He tried some business ventures while in California to supplement his income, but they failed. He started drinking heavily because of money woes and missing his wife. Because his drinking was having an effect on his military duties, he was given a choice by his superiors: resign his commission or face trial. He resigned on July 31, 1854. Seven years of civilian life followed, in which he was a farmer, a real estate agent in St. Louis, and finally an assistant in the leather shop owned by his father and brother in Galena, Illinois. He went through serious debt at this time, and once sold his gold pocket watch to get Christmas presents for his family.

Western Theater of the Civil War

Shortly after hostilities broke out on April 12, 1861, when Confederate forces fired upon Fort Sumter, President Abraham Lincoln put out a call for 75,000 volunteers. When word of his plea reached Galena, Grant made up his mind to get into the war. He helped recruit a company of volunteers, and despite declining the unit's captaincy, he accompanied it to Springfield, the state capital.

There, Grant met the governor, who offered him a position recruiting volunteers. Grant accepted. What he really wanted though was a field officer's commission. After numerous failures on his own to attain one, the governor, recognizing that Grant was a West Point graduate, appointed him Colonel of the 21st Illinois Infantry (effective June 17, 1861).

With sentiments in Missouri divided, opposing forces began gathering in the state. Shortly after assuming command, Grant's regiment was ordered there, and upon arriving, he concentrated on drilling his men and establishing discipline. Then before ever engaging with the enemy, on August 7, he was appointed brigadier general of volunteers. After first serving in a couple of lesser commands, at the end of the month, Grant was assigned command of the critical district of south-east Missouri.

In February 1862, Grant gave the Union cause its first major victory of the war by capturing Forts Henry and Donelson in Tennessee. Grant not only captured the forts' garrisons, but also electrified the Northern people with his famous demand at Donelson, "No terms except an unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works."

In early April 1862, he was surprised by Gens. Albert Sidney Johnston and P.G.T. Beauregard at the Battle of Shiloh. The sheer violence of the Confederate attack sent the Union forces reeling. Nevertheless, Grant refused to retreat. With grim determination, he stabilized his line. Then, on the second day, with the help of timely reinforcements, Grant counterattacked, turning a serious reverse into a victory.

Despite Shiloh being a Union victory, it came at a high price; it was the bloodiest battle in United States history up until then, with over 23,000 casualties. Henry W. Halleck, Grant's theater commander, was unhappy by Grant being surprised and the disorganized nature of the fighting. In response, Halleck took command of the Army in the field himself. Removed from planning strategy, Grant decided to resign. Only by the intervention of his subordinate and good friend, William T. Sherman, did he remain. When Halleck was promoted to general-in-chief of the Union Army, Grant resumed his position as commander of the Army of West Tennessee.

In the campaign to capture the Mississippi River fortress of Vicksburg, Mississippi, Grant spent the winter of 1862–63 conducting a series of operations, attempting to gain access to the city, through the region's bayous. These attempts failed. Then in the spring of 1863, Grant launched a new plan, and the subsequent operation is considered one of the most masterful in military history.

Grant marched his troops down the west bank of the Mississippi and crossed the river by using the U.S. Navy ships that had run the guns at Vicksburg. (This was the largest amphibious operation in American military history and would hold that record until the Battle of Normandy in World War II.) There, he moved inland and, in a daring move, defying conventional military principles, cut loose from most of his supply lines^[1]. Operating in enemy territory, Grant moved swiftly, never giving the Confederates, under the command of John C. Pemberton, an opportunity to concentrate their forces against him. Grant's army went eastward, captured the city of Jackson, Mississippi, and severed the rail line to Vicksburg.

Knowing that the Confederates could no longer send reinforcements to the Vicksburg garrison, Grant turned west and won at Champion Hill. The defeated Confederates retreated inside their fortifications at Vicksburg, and Grant promptly surrounded the city. Finding that assaults against the impregnable breastworks were futile, he settled in for a six-week siege. Cut off and with no possibility of relief, Pemberton surrendered to Grant on July 4, 1863. It was a devastating defeat for the Southern cause, effectively splitting the Confederacy in two, and, in conjunction with the Union victory at Gettysburg the previous day, is widely considered the turning point of the war.

In September 1863, the Confederates won the Battle of Chickamauga. Afterwards, the defeated Union forces under William S. Rosecrans retreated to the city of Chattanooga, Tennessee. The victorious Confederate forces, led by Braxton Bragg, followed closely behind. They took up positions on the hillsides, overlooking the city and surrounding the Federals.

On October 17, Grant was placed in overall charge of the besieged forces. He immediately relieved Rosecrans and replaced him with George H. Thomas. Devising a plan known as the "Cracker Line", Grant's chief engineer, William F. "Baldy" Smith, launched the Battle of Wauhatchie (October 28–29, 1863) to open the Tennessee River, allowing supplies and reinforcements to flow into Chattanooga, greatly increasing the chances for Grant's forces.

Upon reprovisioning and reinforcing, the morale of Union troops lifted. In late November, they went on the offensive. The Battle of Chattanooga started out with Sherman's failed attack on the Confederate right. He not only attacked the wrong mountain, but committed his troops piecemeal, allowing them to be defeated by one Confederate division. In response, Grant ordered Thomas to launch a demonstration on the center, which could draw defenders away from Sherman. Thomas waited until he was certain that Hooker, with reinforcements from the Army of the Potomac, was engaged on the Confederate left before he launched the Army of the Cumberland at the center of the Confederate line. Hooker's men broke the Confederate left, while Thomas's men made an unexpected, but spectacular, charge straight up Missionary Ridge and broke the fortified center of the Confederate line. Lt. Arthur MacArthur won the Congressional Medal of Honor for taking up and charging forward with his unit's colors. He was the father of General Douglas MacArthur. Grant was initially angry at Thomas that his orders for a demonstration were exceeded, but the assaulting wave sent the Confederates into a head-long retreat, opening the way for the Union to invade Atlanta, Georgia, and the heart of the Confederacy.

Grant's willingness to fight and ability to win impressed President Abraham Lincoln, who appointed him lieutenant general—a new rank recently authorized by the U.S. Congress with Grant in mind—on March 2, 1864. On March 12, Grant became general-in-chief of all the armies of the United States.

General-in-chief and strategy for victory

Statue of Grant at Vicksburg, Mississippi

Grant's fighting style was what one fellow general called "that of a bulldog". Although a master of combat by out-maneuvering his opponent (such as at Vicksburg and in the Overland Campaign against Robert E. Lee), Grant was not afraid to order direct assaults or tight sieges against Confederate forces, often when the Confederates were themselves launching offensives against him. Once an offensive or a siege began, Grant refused to stop the attack until the enemy surrendered or was driven from the field. Such tactics often resulted in heavy casualties for Grant's men, but they wore down the Confederate forces proportionately even more and inflicted irreplaceable losses. Grant has been described as a "butcher" for his strategy, particularly in 1864, but he was able to achieve objectives that his predecessor generals had not, even though they suffered similar casualties over time.

In March 1864, Grant put Major General William T. Sherman in immediate command of all forces in the West and moved his headquarters to Virginia where he turned his attention to the long-frustrated Union effort to destroy the army of Lee; his secondary objective was to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, but Grant knew that the latter would happen automatically once the former was accomplished. He devised a coordinated strategy that would strike at the heart of the Confederacy from multiple directions: Grant, George G. Meade, and Benjamin Franklin Butler against Lee near Richmond; Franz Sigel in the Shenandoah Valley; Sherman to invade Georgia, defeat Joseph E. Johnston, and capture Atlanta; George Crook and William W. Averell to operate against railroad supply lines in West Virginia; Nathaniel Banks to capture Mobile, Alabama. Grant was the first general to attempt such a coordinated strategy in the war and the first to understand the concepts of total war, in which the destruction of an enemy's economic infrastructure that supplied its armies was as important as tactical victories on the battlefield.

Overland Campaign, Petersburg, and Appomattox

File:Ulysses s grant.jpg

Lieut. General Ulysses S. Grant, portrait by Mathew Brady

The Overland Campaign was the military thrust needed by the Union to defeat the Confederacy. It pitted Grant against the great commander Robert E. Lee in an epic contest. It began on May 4, 1864, when the Army of the Potomac crossed the Rapidan River, marching into an area of scrubby undergrowth and second growth trees known as the Wilderness. It was a terrible place to fight, but Lee sent in his Army of Northern Virginia anyway because he recognized the close confines would prevent Grant from fully exploiting his numerical advantage.

The Battle of the Wilderness was a stubborn, bloody two-day fight. It was an inauspicious start for the Union. Grant was leading a campaign that, in order to win the war, had to destroy the Confederacy's main battle armies. On May 7, with a pause in the fighting, there came one of those rare moments when the course of history fell upon the decision of a single man. Lee backed off, permitting Grant to do what all of his predecessors, as commanders of the Army of the Potomac, had done in this situation, and that was retreat. Grant, ignoring the setback, ordered an advance around Lee's flank to the southeast, lifting the morale of his army.

Siegel's Shenandoah campaign and Butler's James River campaign both failed. Lee was able to reinforce with troops used to defend against these assaults.

The campaign continued, but Lee, anticipating Grant's move, beat him to Spotsylvania, Virginia, where, on May 8, the fighting resumed. The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House lasted 14 days. On May 11, Grant wrote a famous dispatch containing the line "I propose to fight it out along this line if it takes all summer". These words summed up his attitude about the fighting, and the very next day, May 12, he ordered a massive assault that nearly broke Lee's lines.

In spite of mounting Union casualties, the contest's dynamics changed in Grant's favor. Most of Lee's great victories had been won on the offensive, employing surprise movements and fierce assaults. Now, he was forced to continually fight on the defensive. Even after suffering horrific casualties at the Battle of Cold Harbor, Grant kept up the pressure. He stole a march on Lee, slipping his troops across the James River.

Arriving at Petersburg, Virginia, first, Grant should have captured the rail junction city, but he failed because of the overly cautious actions of his subordinate, William F. "Baldy" Smith. Over the next three days, a number of Union assaults were launched, attempting to take the city. But all failed, and finally on June 18, Lee's veterans arrived. Faced with fully manned trenches in his front, Grant was left with no alternative but to settle down to a siege.

Grant approved an innovative plan by Ambrose Burnside's corps to break the stalemate. Before dawn on July 30, they exploded a mine under the Confederate works. But due to last-minute changes in the plan, involving the reluctance of Meade and Grant to allow a division of African-American troops to lead the attack, the ensuing assault was poorly coordinated and lacked vigor. Given an opportunity to regroup, the Confederates took advantage of the situation and counterattacked, winning the Battle of the Crater, and the Federals lost another opportunity to hasten the end of the war.

As the summer drew on and with Grant's and Sherman's armies stalled, respectively in Virginia and Georgia, politics took center stage. There was a presidential election in the fall, and the citizens of the North had difficulty seeing any progress in the war effort. To make matters worse for Abraham Lincoln, Lee detached a small army under the command of Major General Jubal A. Early, hoping it would force Grant to disengage forces to pursue him. Early invaded north through the Shenandoah Valley and reached the outskirts of Washington, D.C.. Although unable to take the city, but by simply threatening its inhabitants, Early embarrassed the Administration, making Abraham Lincoln's reelection prospects even bleaker.

In early September the efforts of Grant's coordinated strategy finally bore fruit. First, Sherman took Atlanta. Then, Grant dispatched Philip Sheridan to the Shenandoah Valley to deal with Early. It became clear to the people of the North that the war was being won, and Lincoln was reelected by a wide margin. Later in November, Sherman began his March to the Sea. Sheridan and Sherman both followed Grant's strategy of total war by destroying the economic infrastructures of the Valley and a large swath of Georgia and the Carolinas.

At the beginning of April 1865, Grant's relentless pressure finally forced Lee to evacuate Richmond and after a nine-day retreat, Lee surrendered his army at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. There, Grant offered generous terms that did much to ease the tensions between the armies and preserve some semblance of Southern pride, which would be needed to reconcile the warring sides. Within a few weeks, the American Civil War was effectively over, although minor actions would continue until Kirby Smith surrendered his forces in the Trans-Mississippi Department on June 2, 1865. The final surrender of Confederate forces happened on June 23 in Indian Territory, when General Stand Watie surrendered his Cherokee troopers to Union Lt.Col. A.C. Matthews. The last Confederate raider, the 'CSS Shenandoah', did not lower its flag until November in Liverpool, England.

Immediately after Lee's surrender, Grant had the sad honor of serving as a pallbearer at the funeral of his greatest champion, Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln had been quoted after the massive losses at Shiloh, "I can't spare this general. He fights." It was a two-sentence description that completely caught the essence of Ulysses S. Grant.

After the war, Congress authorized Grant the newly created rank of General of the Army (the equivalent of a four-star, "full" general rank in the modern Army). He was appointed as such by President Andrew Johnson on July 25, 1866.

Presidency

Grant was the 18th President of the United States and served two terms from March 4, 1869 to March 3, 1877. He was chosen as the Republican presidential candidate at the Republican National Convention in Chicago, Illinois on May 20, 1868, with no real opposition. In the general election that year, he won with a majority of 3,012,833 out of a total of 5,716,082 votes cast.

Grant's presidency was plagued with scandals, such as the Sanborn Incident at the Treasury and problems with U.S. Attorney Cyrus I. Scofield. The most famous scandal was the Whiskey Ring fraud in which over $3 million in taxes were taken from the federal government. Orville E. Babcock, the private secretary to the President, was indicted as a member of the ring and escaped conviction only because of a presidential pardon. After the Whiskey Ring, Grant's Secretary of War, William W. Belknap, was involved in an investigation that revealed that he had taken bribes in exchange for the sale of Native American trading posts.

Although there is no evidence that Grant himself profited from corruption among his subordinates, he did not take a firm stance against malefactors and failed to react strongly even after their guilt was established. He was weak in his selection of subordinates. He alienated party leaders by giving many posts to his friends and political contributors, rather than listen to their recommendations. His failure to establish adequate political allies was a factor in the scandals getting out of control.

Despite all the scandals, Grant's administration presided over significant events in U.S. history. The most tumultuous was the continuing process of Reconstruction. He favored a limited number of troops to be stationed in the South—sufficient numbers to protect rights of southern blacks and suppress the violent tactics of the Ku Klux Klan; not so many that would harbor resentment in the general population. In 1869 and 1871, Grant signed bills promoting voting rights and prosecuting Klan leaders. The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, establishing voting rights, was ratified in 1870.

A number of government agencies were instituted during the Grant administration:

• Department of Justice (1870)
• Post Office Department (1872)
• Office of the Solicitor General (1870)
• "Advisory Board on Civil Service" (1871); after it expired in 1873, it became the role model for the "Civil Service Commission" instituted in 1883 by President Chester A. Arthur, a Grant faithful. (Today it is known as the Office of Personnel Management.)
• Office of the Surgeon General (1871)

In 1876, Colorado was admitted into the Union. In foreign affairs the greatest achievement of the Grant administration was the Treaty of Washington negotiated by Grant's best appointment, Secretary of State Hamilton Fish, in 1871. In 1876 Grant helped to calm the nation over the Hayes-Tilden election controversy by appointing a federal commission that helped to settle the election.

Grant was known to visit the Willard Hotel to escape the stress of the White House. He referred to the people who approached him in the lobby as "those damn lobbyists," possibly giving rise to the modern term lobbyist.

Cabinet

OFFICE	NAME	TERM
President	Ulysses S. Grant	1869–1877
Vice President	Schuyler Colfax	1869–1873
	Henry Wilson	1873–1875
Secretary of State	Elihu B. Washburne	1869
	Hamilton Fish	1869–1877
Secretary of the Treasury	George S. Boutwell	1869–1873
	William Richardson	1873–1874
	Benjamin Bristow	1874–1876
	Lot M. Morrill	1876–1877
Secretary of War	John A. Rawlins	1869
	William T. Sherman	1869
	William W. Belknap	1869–1876
	Alphonso Taft	1876
	James D. Cameron	1876–1877
Attorney General	Ebenezer R. Hoar	1869–1870
	Amos T. Akerman	1870–1871
	George H. Williams	1871–1875
	Edwards Pierrepont	1875–1876
	Alphonso Taft	1876–1877
Postmaster General	John A. J. Creswell	1869–1874
	James W. Marshall	1874
	Marshall Jewell	1874–1876
	James N. Tyner	1876–1877
Secretary of the Navy	Adolph E. Borie	1869
	George M. Robeson	1869–1877
Secretary of the Interior	Jacob D. Cox	1869–1870
	Columbus Delano	1870–1875
	Zachariah Chandler	1875–1877

Supreme Court appointments

Grant appointed the following Justices to the Supreme Court of the United States:

• William Strong – 1870
• Joseph P. Bradley – 1870
• Ward Hunt – 1873
• Morrison Remick Waite (Chief Justice) – 1874

States admitted to the Union

• Colorado – August 1, 1876

Later life

After the end of his second term, Grant spent two years traveling around the world. He visited Sunderland, where he opened the first free municipal public library in England. Grant also visited Japan. In the Shibakoen section of Tokyo, a tree still stands that Grant planted during his stay.

In 1879, the Meiji government of Japan announced the annexation of the Ryukyu Islands. China objected, and Grant was asked to arbitrate the matter. He decided that Japan's claim to the islands was stronger and ruled in Japan's favor.

In 1880 Grant contemplated a return to politics and sought the Republican nomination once more. However he failed to gain sufficient support at the party convention that year, which instead selected James Garfield as its nominee.

In 1883, Grant was elected the eighth president of the National Rifle Association.

In 1881, Grant placed almost all of his financial assets into an investment banking partnership with Ferdinand Ward, as suggested by Grant's son Buck (Ulysses, Jr.), who was having success on Wall Street. Ward was known as the "Young Napoleon of Finance." Perhaps Grant should have taken that name seriously; as with the other Young Napoleon, George B. McClellan, failure was in the wings. In this case, Ward swindled Grant in 1884, bankrupted the company, Grant and Ward, and fled. And to make matters worse, Grant found out at the same time that he was suffering from throat cancer. Grant and his family were left destitute (this was before the era in which retired U.S. Presidents were given pensions).

In one of the most ironic twists in all history, Ward's treachery led directly to a great gift to posterity. Grant's Memoirs are considered a masterpiece, both for their writing style and their historical content, and until Grant bankrupted, he steadfastly refused to write them. Only upon his family's future financial independence becoming in doubt, did he agree to write anything at all.

He first wrote a couple of articles for The Century magazine, which were warmly received. Afterwards, the publishers made Grant an offer to write his memoirs. It was a standard contract, one which they issued to most any new writer. Independently of the magazine publishers, the famous author, Mark Twain, approached Grant. Twain, who was suspicious of publishers, was appalled by the magazine's offer. He rightly realized that Grant was, at that time, the most significant American alive, and he offered Grant a generous contract, including 75% of the book's sales as royalties. Grant accepted Twain's offer.

Now, terminally ill and in what many historian's believe was his greatest struggle, Grant fought to finish his memoirs. Although wracked with pain and unable to speak at the end, he triumphed, finishing them just a few days before his death. The memoirs succeeded, selling over 300,000 copies and earning the Grant family over $450,000 ($9,500,000 in 2005 dollars). Twain called the memoirs "the most remarkable work of its kind since the Commentaries of Julius Caesar," and they are widely regarded as among the finest memoirs ever written.

Ulysses S. Grant died at 8:06 a.m. on Thursday July 23, 1885, at Mount McGregor, Saratoga County, New York. His body lies in New York City, beside that of his wife, in Grant's Tomb, the largest mausoleum in North America.

Timeline

• 1822 Birth of Ulysses S. Grant as "Hiram Ulysses Grant" on April 27th
• 1823 Family moves to Georgetown, Ohio
• 1864 Begins term as General-in-chief
• 1869 Ends term as General-in-chief
• 1869 Begins term as 18th President of the United States
• 1877 Ends term as 18th President of the United States
• 1880 US Census in Galena, Illinois
• 1885 Death of Ulysses S. Grant in Wilton, New York on July 23rd

Legacy

Rumors & misunderstandings

Grant's legacy has been marred by the possibility of anti-Semitism. The most frequently cited example is the infamous General Order No. 11, issued by Grant's headquarters in Oxford, Mississippi, on December 17, 1862, during the early Vicksburg Campaign. The order stated in part:

The Jews, as a class, violating every regulation of trade established by the Treasury Department, and also Department orders, are hereby expelled from the Department [comprising areas of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky].

The order was almost immediately rescinded by President Lincoln. Grant and his supporters (originally those who endorsed his bid for the White House) maintain that he was unaware that a staff officer issued it in his name. It also was portrayed as being outside the normal inclinations and character of the man, an aberration that was at most a temporary failure of judgment. And it was meant to apply to certain businessmen ("peddlers") with whom Grant had personal and professional difficulties over the years, not an entire religious class. There is evidence in other personal correspondence that this was Grant's focus.

The issue of anti-Semitism was raised during the 1868 presidential campaign and Grant consulted with a number of Jewish community leaders, all of whom he was able to convince (at least according to their public reactions) that Order 11 was an anomaly and he was not an anti-Semite. He won the majority of the Jewish vote in his two election campaigns and maintained good relations with the community throughout his administration, on both political and social levels.

Unificationist viewpoint : Gen. U. S. Grant was a righteous man, whom had the intestinal fortitude to stand up against slavery, recognizing that all humankind are sisters & brothers. Unbeknownst to him, he was able to help establish the Foundation of Substance, which in Divine Principle is the key to God's Providence of Restoration. Grant suffered greatly externally, lost his fortune, but was steadfast in his faith.

Grant as he appears on the 2004 series U.S. $50 note

In World War II, the British Army produced an armored vehicle known as the Grant tank (a version of the American M3 model, which was ironically nicknamed the "Lee").

Grant's portrait appears on the U.S. fifty-dollar bill.

The Ulysses S. Grant Memorial, located on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., honors Grant.

There is a U.S. Grant Bridge over the Ohio River at Portsmouth, Ohio.

Counties in ten U.S. states are named after Grant: Arkansas, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Trivia and Quotes

• Grant's nicknames included: The Hero of Appomattox, "Unconditional Surrender" Grant ("U.S. Grant"), Sam Grant (originating at West Point, from "U. S." Grant suggesting "Uncle Sam"), The Great Captain and, in his youth, Ulys, Lyss and Useless.

• Grant is the only president on record to receive a speeding ticket for running his horse and buggy through the streets of Washington, D.C.

QUOTES:

• "As soon as slavery fired upon the flag it was felt, we all felt, even those who did not object to slaves, that slavery must be destroyed. We felt it was a stain to the Union that men should be bought and sold like cattle." Grant's comment to Otto von Bismark in his trip around the world in 1878

• "I would not have the anniversaries of our victories celebrated, nor those of our defeats made fast days and spent in humiliation and prayer; but I would like to see truthful history written. Such history will do full credit to the courage, endurance and soldierly ability of the American citizen, no matter what section of the country he hailed from, or in what ranks he fought."

"For the present, and so long as there are living witnesses of the great war of sections, there will be people who will not be consoled for the loss of a cause which they believed to be holy. As time passes, people, even of the South, will begin to wonder how it was possible that their ancestors ever fought for or justified institutions which acknowledged the right of property in man." Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant. New York: Charles L. Webster & Co. 1885, Vol. 1, p. 170

• "The Southern rebellion was largely the outgrowth of the Mexican War. Nations, like individuals, are punished for their transgressions. We got our punishment in the most sanguinary and expensive war of modern times." Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant, Vol. 1, p. 56

" If humanity wants an end to war, it must accept Rev.Sun Myung Moon's truth.

Tens of thousands of years have passed from the time that God created humankind, but until now we have lived without knowoing the fact that God & humankind are in a relationship of parent & child. This must be ther greatest tragedy in the history of humankind.

Through the Divine Principle training session here, I have for the first time come to a definite realization that it was an improper beginning to human history that has brought about endless conflict & war between peoples & nations, making it impossible to bring peace.

The Divine Principle explains the details of the creation, the fall, restoration, & other matters in a concrete manner. I think that Rev.Sun Myung Moon's Divine Principle is capable of bringing about a revolution within humankind, a revolution of character, & a revolution of consciousness.

There has been endless division, strife & war in human history. Innocent people have constantly suffered & been killed in such wars. Hell in the spirit world has come to be overflowing with people. Wars are the greatest cause of human unhappiness. How can this problem be solved? Only Unification Thought, Rev.Sun Myung Moon's philosophy of peace, can bring a fundamental solution to this problem. Rev.Moon holds the key. Who is Rev.Sun Myung Moon? He is the Messiah, the True Parent of humankind. In religion, particularly in Christianity, this is called the Lord of the Second Advent. I, Ulysses Grant, am convinced that this is true.

If all people desire an end to war, then I ask that they accept the truth revealed by Rev.Sun Myung Moon. I regret very much that I am in the spirit world & therefore am unable to give you the physical confirmation that you need to accept this. But I ask that you believe these things & follow. The people of America must listen more carefully to the Divine Principle if they want their country to remain great eternally." Ulysses Grant, Dec 14 2002 ~from God is the Parent of Humankind, messages from the Spirit World~

"I have never advocated war except as a means of peace."

"Nations. like individuals are punished for their transgressions."

"The friend in my adversity I shall always cherish most. I can better trust those who helped to relieve the gloom of my dark hours than those who are so ready to enjoy with me the sunshine of my prosperity."

See also

• U.S. presidential election, 1868
• U.S. presidential election, 1872
• History of the United States (1865–1918)

Notes

1. ^  One of the enduring stories about Grant is that he cut loose from all of his supplies and lived entirely off the land. This story was first propagated by former journalist Charles A. Dana and years later Grant wrote the same in his memoirs. However, supply requisitions at the time demonstrate that while the men and animals of the Army of the Tennessee foraged for much of their food, staples such as coffee, salt, hardtack, ammunition, and medical supplies kept a large fleet of wagons moving inland from Grand Gulf throughout the campaign. This supply train was a target of Pemberton until Champion Hill.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Eicher, John H., & Eicher, David J., Civil War High Commands, Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
• Fuller, Maj. Gen. J. F. C., Grant and Lee, A Study in Personality and Generalship, Indiana University Press, 1957, ISBN 0-253-13400-5.
• Smith, Jean Edward, Grant, Simon and Shuster, 2001, ISBN 0-684-84927-5.
• Catton, Bruce, Grant Takes Command, Little,Brown and Company, 1968, Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 69-12632.
• Official Ulysses Simpson Grant biograpy from the US Army Center for Military History

External links

• First Inaugural Address
• Second Inaugural Address
• Full text of Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant, (1885) from Project Gutenberg
• Scott, Candace, U.S. Grant homepage article on anti-Semitism
• Scott, Candace, Grant and Slavery
• White House Biography
• Emerson, Col. John W., Grant's Life in the West and His Mississippi Valley Campaigns, U.S. Grant Association website.
• Works by Ulysses S. Grant. Project Gutenberg

Preceded by: (none)	Commander of the Army of the Tennessee 1862-1863	Succeeded by: William T. Sherman
Preceded by: (none)	Commander of Union Armies in the West 1863-1864	Succeeded by: William T. Sherman
Preceded by: Henry W. Halleck	Commanding General of the United States Army 1864-1869	Succeeded by: William T. Sherman
Preceded by: Abraham Lincoln	Republican Party presidential candidate 1868 (won), 1872 (won)	Succeeded by: Rutherford B. Hayes
Preceded by: Andrew Johnson	President of the United States March 4, 1869 – March 3, 1877	Succeeded by: Rutherford B. Hayes

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• Ulysses S. Grant  ^history

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• History of "Ulysses S. Grant"

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