

He led a series of campaigns that ultimately wore down the Confederate army and helped bring the deadliest conflict in U.S. Grant, who was earning a reputation as a tenacious and determined leader, was appointed lieutenant-general by Lincoln on March 10, 1864, and given command of all U.S. In July 1863, Grant’s forces captured Vicksburg, Mississippi, a Confederate stronghold. Grant: An Interactive Map of His Key Civil War Battles When the Confederate general in charge of the fort asked about terms of surrender for the Battle of Fort Donelson, Grant famously replied, “No terms except an unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted.”ĮXPLORE: Ulysses S.

Grant’s first major victory came in February 1862, when his troops captured Fort Donelson in Tennessee. Later that summer, President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) made Grant a brigadier general. In 1854, he resigned from the military.Īfter the Civil War began in April 1861, Grant became a colonel of the 21st Illinois Volunteers. In the early years of his marriage, Grant was assigned to a series of remote army posts, some of them on the West Coast, which kept him separated from his family. Grant, Jr., Nellie Grant and Jesse Root Grant.

The couple eventually had four children: Frederick Dent Grant, Ulysses S. The following year, he met Julia Dent (1826-1902), the sister of one of his West Point classmates and the daughter of a merchant and planter.Īfter seeing action in the Mexican-American War, Grant returned to Missouri and married Julia in August 1848. Infantry, which was stationed at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, near St. He was commissioned as a brevet second lieutenant in the 4th U.S. In 1843, Grant graduated from West Point, where he was known as a skilled horseman but an otherwise undistinguished student. Grant as his real name, although he maintained that the “S” did not stand for anything. Grant never amended the error and went on to accept Ulysses S. The congressman who appointed Grant mistakenly believed his first name was Ulysses and his middle name was Simpson (his mother’s maiden name). In 1839, Jesse Grant arranged for his son’s admission to the U.S. He spent his final days penning his memoirs, which were published the year he died and proved a critical and financial success. After retiring, Grant invested in a brokerage firm that went bankrupt, costing him his life savings. While Grant was personally honest, some of his associates were corrupt and his administration was tarnished by various scandals. A primary focus of Grant’s administration was Reconstruction, and he worked to reconcile the North and South while also attempting to protect the civil rights of newly freed black slaves. armies.Īfter the war, he became a national hero, and the Republicans nominated him for president in 1868. During the Civil War, Grant, an aggressive and determined leader, was given command of all the U.S. An Ohio native, Grant graduated from West Point and fought in the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). Grant.Ulysses Grant (1822-1885) commanded the victorious Union army during the American Civil War (1861-1865) and served as the 18th U.S. Go through the motivational quotes and sayings by Ulysses S. Here is a compilation of thoughts and quotations by the great military general and political leader. This paved his path to the chair of the U.S President where he went on to successfully serve for two consecutive terms. Backed by his bravery and experience, he became the General of the U.S Army in the later part of the Civil War. He used this second term and led the battalion to victory in a couple of battles. During the Civil War, his patriotism compelled him to join the army and although he faced rejection but eventually went on to lead a battalion. His civilian life witnessed a lot of failures and he ended up selling firewood for survival. He was promoted to the post of a captain but ruined his reputation with his drinking habits and eventually had to resign. He was appointed as a quartermaster during the ‘Mexican-American War’ and further commanded a company and was appreciated for his bravery. He studied at the Military Academy, where he was an average student and decided to leave the army after serving the mandatory term.
