Ulysses S. Grant (1822 to 1885) was a Union general in the American Civil War and, later, the 18th president of the United States of America. He is generally regarded as the most effective Civil War commander, whose refusal to retreat after engagements contributed significantly to the Union victory in 1865 when Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House.

Grant first came to national attention after his victories at the Battle of Fort Henry and the Battle of Fort Donelson in February 1862 and achieved his greatest victory at the Siege of Vicksburg in 1863. By 1865, Grant was a national celebrity and easily won the presidential election of 1868. Although his tenure as president was marred by scandals, owing largely to Grant's trusting nature in believing what others told him, he became the most popular public figure of the late 19th century, not only in the USA, but around the world, as evidenced by the grand reception he received in foreign countries on his world tour, beginning in 1877.

His reputation began to suffer in the early 20th century as proponents of the "Lost Cause" myth repeatedly portrayed him as a "butcher" and corrupt politician. Accurate assessments by historians beginning in the 1950s and continuing to the present, including Grant (2017) by Ron Chernow, have debunked this portrayal, and Grant is understood today as an effective president, humanitarian, civil rights advocate, and the Union general who, more than any other, won the Civil War.

Owing to considerations of word count and space, this article will focus on Grant's early years and the Civil War, not his presidency.

Hiram Ulysses Grant was born in Point Pleasant, Ohio, on 27 April 1822, the son of Jesse R. Grant and Hannah Grant (née Simpson), the first of six children. In 1823, the family moved to Georgetown, Ohio, and Grant was sent to school beginning at age five. He showed an early aptitude for mathematics and horsemanship.

Although a bright student, Grant applied himself only to those subjects that interested him and, according to his father, lacked direction upon the completion of his studies in 1838. Jesse Grant petitioned Representative Thomas L. Hamer to nominate Grant for admittance to West Point Military Academy in 1839, and, when Hamer was filling out the application, he mistakenly wrote "Ulysses S. Grant" on the form. Grant was afraid that, if he corrected this mistake, his application might be rejected, and so he became "Ulysses S. Grant" – but the S had no meaning. His classmates assumed it stood for "Samuel" and so took to calling him "Sam." Grant preferred his new name because he had always objected to his initials – H.U.G. – never liked the name "Hiram", and was used to answering to "Ulysses."

As with his earlier educational endeavors, Grant was a lackluster student who spent more time pursuing his own reading interests than on required course texts. He also chafed at the military discipline of the academy, and, on his way there, had hoped that it would miraculously close before he arrived. After his first year, however, he had come to embrace life at West Point, excelled at horsemanship and mathematics, and had become close friends with his roommate Frederick Tracy Dent and Dent's relative James Longstreet.

Grant graduated in 1843, ranked 21st in a class of 39, and was assigned to the Jefferson Barracks outside of St. Louis, Missouri. At this time, Grant had no interest in pursuing a military career and planned on becoming a professor of mathematics. Chernow writes:

The young Grant, twenty-one, who reported to Jefferson Barracks on September 30, 1843, misunderstood the nature of his special gifts.
(29)

So, it seems did his commanding officer. Grant was an exceptional horseman but was assigned to the 4th Infantry Regiment, and his requests to be transferred to the cavalry were repeatedly refused by his commander, Stephen W. Kearny, who objected to Grant's overall attitude.

The plantation of the Dent family, White Haven, lay five miles away from Jefferson Barracks, and Frederick Dent had encouraged Grant to visit. Dent himself was out west at this time, but James Longstreet, related to Dent's mother, accompanied Grant on his first visit to the plantation in the fall of 1843 and introduced him to the family of his future wife, Julia Dent. Grant would not meet Julia until February 1844 (because she had been away at finishing school), and, later, they would both claim it was love at first sight. After a four-year engagement, they were married on 22 August 1848. Eventually, the couple would have four children.

The Dents were a slave-holding family, and Jesse Grant was an ardent abolitionist. Both fathers objected to the marriage, which took place in St. Louis, and the Grants refused to attend. Among Grant's groomsmen was James Longstreet, later a Confederate adversary.

Prior to the wedding, however, Grant received orders to report to Louisiana in 1846 and was assigned to the command of General Zachary Taylor as the Mexican-American War began. Although Grant would later serve under General Winfield Scott, he would be more significantly influenced by Taylor and would later even emulate his former commander's casual military attire.

At first, Grant served as the regimental quartermaster but saw action at the Battle of Palo Alto and led troops at the Battle of Resaca de la Palma. At the Battle of Monterey, Grant volunteered for a dangerous mission to carry requests for more ammunition through enemy lines. Chernow writes:

With daredevil dexterity, wound one foot around the saddle, draped an arm over the neck of the horse, and rode off at full gallop, using the horse to shield his entire body. The Mexicans got only brief, intermittent glimpses of his hidden, low-slung figure as he streaked by at high velocity.
(48)

When Winfield Scott took over from Taylor, he "assembled a first-rate team of bright junior officers" to lead (Chernow, 50). Besides Grant, these included, but were not limited to:

Chernow notes:

The Mexican War seemed a dress rehearsal for the later conflict. With a retentive memory for faces and events, Grant accumulated a detailed inventory of knowledge about these varied men that he drew on later.
(51)

Grant's other memorable moments during the war included taking apart a howitzer, carrying the components up to a church steeple, reassembling it, and firing upon the enemy at San Cosme. Grant was breveted to the rank of captain by the war's end. Even so, he considered the war unjust, later writing, "I am always ashamed of my country when I think of that invasion" (Chernow, 43).

Afterwards, separated from his family by posts in Panama and California, Grant began to drink heavily. He resigned from the army in 1854 and returned to civilian life where he struggled to make a living. In 1856, Grant and his family moved to a stretch of land on White Haven, and he tried his hand at farming, but with little success. His family had almost no furniture, makeshift clothing, and he took to selling firewood to make some money. Chernow writes:

As his life steadily unraveled, he pawned his gold watch and chain for $20 on December 23, 1857, to purchase Christmas presents for his children – perhaps the symbolic nadir of his life.
(102)

His father-in-law, who had never liked him, provided him with a slave named William Jones in 1858, possibly to irk him, because he knew of Grant's anti-slavery sentiments, possibly out of a sincere desire to help his daughter's family. Grant could have sold Jones for at least $1,000.00, a substantial sum, especially considering his dire financial situation, but freed Jones in 1859 through a deed of manumission at the circuit courthouse in St. Louis, Missouri.

His financial situation continued to decline until he accepted a position at his father's tanning business in Galena, Illinois, in 1860. He was working in Galena, had paid off all his debts, and was finally bringing in a regular income when news came of the Battle of Fort Sumter and the beginning of the Civil War in April 1861.

On 29 April 1861, Grant was recommissioned, appointed a military aide, and then a colonel of the 21st Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment, which was transferred to Missouri. By August, Grant was promoted to Brigadier General of Volunteers, and Major General John C. Fremont appointed him Commander of the District of Southeastern Missouri.

Battle of Belmont

In September 1861, Confederate General Leonidas Polk, acting without orders and relying on his own judgment, occupied Columbus, Kentucky, in violation of the state's neutrality. The Kentucky State Legislature appealed to the Union for assistance, and Grant occupied the city of Paducah, Kentucky, shortly after Polk's arrival.

Grant's first combat action in the Civil War came at the Battle of Belmont (7 November 1861) when he moved his troops by riverboat down the Mississippi River to Belmont, Missouri, with the objective of destroying the Confederate garrison there and preventing Polk from reinforcing other Confederate units in the region.

Grant swiftly took the Confederate encampment at Belmont, but his opponents were reinforced from Columbus, driving him back and leading to a disorderly Union retreat. The battle was inconclusive, but Grant considered it a victory, as he had succeeded in his objectives: the camp was destroyed, and Polk's forces were now on the defensive against the threat of further attacks and would not be sending forces out from Columbus. Grant's actions at Belmont first brought him to the attention of President Abraham Lincoln.

Fort Henry & Fort Donelson

Because Polk had broken the terms of Kentucky's neutrality and aligned it with the Union, Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston had to extend his lines all the way to the Cumberland Gap in eastern Kentucky. Union General George H. Thomas defeated Confederate forces of this region at the Battle of Mill Springs (19 January 1862), opening the Cumberland Gap for Union troop movements, and eliminating any threat to Grant's plan to take Fort Henry and Fort Donelson in Tennessee.

Grant moved up the Tennessee River to take Fort Henry on 6 February 1862 with support from the Union Navy under Flag Officer Andrew H. Foote. The fort fell quickly, and Grant assumed Fort Donelson would as well, quickly ordering an assault. Donelson was heavily garrisoned and well-fortified, however, and the Battle of Fort Donelson would last from 11 to 16 February 1862, when the Confederates had enough.

On the 16th, when Confederate commander Simon Bolivar Buckner asked Grant for terms, he replied:

No terms except unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works.
(Chernow, 182)

Fort Donelson was a major victory for the Union, capturing over 12,000 Confederate soldiers, supplies, small arms, and ordnance. Grant's reply was published by the Northern Press, and he was nicknamed "Unconditional Surrender Grant", which played well with his initials and established him as a formidable Union general and a national hero. After seeing a photograph of him smoking a cigar, people all over the North sent boxes of cigars to him.

Shiloh & Corinth

Grant was now supremely confident, but at the Battle of Shiloh (6 to 7 April 1862), he was surprised by an attack designed by P. G. T. Beauregard and led by Albert Sidney Johnston on the morning of the 6th, driving Grant's forces back to Pittsburg Landing. Johnston was mortally wounded in the attack, dying shortly afterward, and command went to Beauregard, who, certain that his enemy was beaten, called off the advance, planning on finishing the battle the next morning.

That night, however, Grant was reinforced, and he led a counterattack on the morning of the 7th, driving the Confederates from the field and back to the city of Corinth. At first, Grant was hailed again as a hero, but then the high casualty counts were published – roughly 13,000 Union and 10,000 Confederate – the costliest battle of the Civil War up to that point, and popular opinion turned against Grant.

Henry Halleck, General-in-Chief of the Armies of the United States 1862 to 1864, relieved Grant of command and promoted George H. Thomas to his position. Halleck then led a cautious advance against Corinth, rejecting Grant's plan for swifter movements, giving Beauregard time to slip away. Halleck reinstated Grant as field commander in July.

Vicksburg Campaign & Chattanooga Campaign

Grant continued as he always had: constantly advancing, never going backward. He also always followed his conscience in doing what he felt was right. Early in the Vicksburg Campaign (December 1862 to July 1863), Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing slaves held in Confederate States, and freedmen began flocking to advancing Union armies, including Grant's. Acting on his own, without orders, Grant hired these men and women as laborers, an initiative that was at first resisted by the Lincoln administration.

After a series of battles and maneuvers, Grant laid siege to Vicksburg, Mississippi, for seven weeks until the city surrendered on 4 July 1863, one day after the Union victory in the east at the Battle of Gettysburg. The fall of Vicksburg split the Confederacy in two and gave the Union control of the Mississippi River.

The Chattanooga Campaign (September to November 1863) was also successful, though costly, giving the Union access to Georgia and Tennessee. By early 1864, Grant was the most effective field commander in the Union Army, and, in March, Lincoln promoted him to the rank of lieutenant general and handed him command of all Union forces as general-in-chief. Grant was transferred from the Western to the Eastern theater of the war and launched his Overland Campaign.

Overland Campaign & The War's End

The Overland Campaign (May-June 1864) was a major Union offensive into Virginia which saw some of the most brutal and costly engagements of the war:

Throughout the war, Grant had established a reputation of continually advancing, never pausing and never retreating. Lee is quoted as remarking, after the Battle of the Wilderness, "Grant is not retreating; he is not a retreating man" (Chernow, 384). Grant came to be criticized for his high casualty count, but his losses were so heavy because he was so often on the offensive, attacking entrenched defensive positions. Grant's overall casualty count was actually lower than Lee's.

Grant maintained this same strategy throughout the Overland Campaign, from the decisive Union victory at the Battle of Nashville to the Siege of Petersburg, also a Union victory. He relentlessly pursued Lee during the Appomattox Campaign (March-April 1865) until Lee was trapped and surrendered his army to Grant on 9 April 1865 at Appomattox Court House. Although fighting continued after this date, the war was effectively over.

Grant was invited to join the Lincolns at Ford's Theater on the night of 14 April 1865 but declined. After Lincoln was assassinated, Grant blamed himself, believing he might have been able to prevent Lincoln's death if he had been there. He worked closely with President Andrew Johnson to implement the post-war Reconstruction policies.

The two came into conflict over Grant's enforcement of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and his other initiatives on behalf of newly emancipated African Americans. He won the presidential election of 1868 and served two terms between 1869 and 1877. Between 1877 and 1879, Grant and his wife toured the world, traveling to Europe, Africa, India, the Near East, and the Far East.

In 1885, Grant was diagnosed with cancer and, at this time, was struggling financially again as he had in his youth. He was helped by his friend Mark Twain, who arranged for a generous royalty percentage upon the publication of The Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant, which he completed on 18 July 1885. He died on 23 July 1885. Over 1.5 million people attended his funeral in New York City, and his memoirs became a bestseller, securing financial stability for his wife.

At this time, Grant was a national hero, respected by people in the North and South as the man who had saved the Union, had offered generous terms of surrender, prevented punitive policies toward the South after the war, had served with distinction as a two-term president, advocated civil rights policies, attempted fair policies with Native Americans, and had also served as an unofficial ambassador of the United States to the world.

Although his reputation suffered in the early 20th century, for reasons noted above, this is how Ulysses S. Grant is generally remembered today. His goal was to destroy the Confederacy's ability to wage war and, thereby, save the Union; he met that goal admirably. In any historically accurate list of the greatest Civil War generals, Grant appears at the top, and in those lists where he does not, he should.