Grant, Ulysses Simpson, 1822–85, commander in chief of the Union army in the Civil War and 18th President (1869–77) of the United States, b. Point Pleasant, Ohio. He was originally named Hiram Ulysses Grant.
Military Career
Grant spent his youth in Georgetown, Ohio, was graduated from West Point in 1843, and served creditably in the Mexican War. He was forced to resign from the army in 1854 because of excessive drinking. Grant failed in attempts at farming and business, and was working as a clerk in the family leather store in Galena, Ill., when the Civil War broke out. He was commissioned colonel of the 21st Illinois Volunteers, and in Aug., 1861, became a brigadier general of volunteers.
Grant assumed command of the district of Cairo, Ill., in Sept. and fought his first battle, an indecisive affair at Belmont, Mo., on Nov. 9. In Feb., 1862, aided by Union gunboats, he captured Fort Henry on the Tennessee River and Fort Donelson Fort Donelson (dŏn`əlsən), Confederate fortification in the Civil War, on the Cumberland River at Dover, Tenn.
..... Click the link for more information. on the Cumberland. This was the first major Union victory, and Lincoln at once made Grant a major general of volunteers. In April at Shiloh (see Shiloh, battle of Shiloh, battle of, Apr. 6–7, 1862, one of the great battles of the American Civil War. The battle took its name from Shiloh Church, a meetinghouse c.3 mi (5 km) SSW of Pittsburg Landing, which was a community in Hardin co., Tenn., 9 mi (14.
..... Click the link for more information. ), however, only the arrival of the army of Gen. Don Carlos Buell may have saved him from defeat.
The Vicksburg campaign Vicksburg campaign, in the American Civil War, the fighting (Nov., 1862–July, 1863) for control of the Mississippi River. The Union wanted such control in order to split the Confederacy and to restore free commerce to the politically important Northwest.
..... Click the link for more information. (1862–63) was one of Grant's greatest successes. After repeated failures to get at the town, he advanced in cooperation with a fleet and finally took Vicksburg by siege. The victory of Braxton Bragg, the Confederate general, at Chickamauga (see Chattanooga campaign Chattanooga campaign, Aug.-Nov., 1863, military encounter in the American Civil War. Chattanooga, Tenn., which commanded Confederate communications between the East and the Mississippi River and was also the key to loyal E Tennessee, had been an important Union
..... Click the link for more information. ), led to Grant's accession to the supreme command in the West, Oct., 1863. At Chattanooga in November his forces thoroughly defeated Bragg. The President, in Mar., 1864, made Grant commander in chief with the rank of lieutenant general, a grade especially revived by Congress for him.
Grant himself directed George G. Meade's Army of the Potomac against Gen. Robert E. Lee in the Wilderness campaign Wilderness campaign, in the American Civil War, a series of engagements (May–June, 1864) fought in the Wilderness region of Virginia. Early in May, 1864, the Northern commander in chief, Grant , led the Army of the Potomac (118,000 strong) across the Rapidan
..... Click the link for more information. . His policy of attrition against Lee's forces was effective, though it resulted in slaughter at Spotsylvania and Cold Harbor. Failing to carry Petersburg Petersburg, city (1990 pop. 38,386), politically independent and in no county, SE Va., on the Appomattox River; inc. 1850. A port of entry and an important tobacco market, it has industries producing chemicals, pharmaceuticals, furniture, structural steel, lumber,
..... Click the link for more information. by assault in June, 1864, Grant had that city under partial siege until Apr., 1865. Philip H. Sheridan's victory at Five Forks Five Forks, crossroads near Dinwiddie Courthouse, SW of Petersburg, Va. The last important battle of the Civil War was fought there on Apr. 1, 1865. Philip H. Sheridan , leading his own and Gouverneur K.
..... Click the link for more information. made Petersburg and Richmond no longer tenable. Lee retreated, but was cut off at Appomattox Courthouse (see under Appomattox Appomattox Courthouse on Apr. 9, 1865. After Gen. Philip Sheridan's victory over the Confederates at Five Forks on Apr. 1, Lee abandoned Petersburg and Richmond and retreated westward.
..... Click the link for more information. , where he surrendered, receiving generous terms from Grant, on Apr. 9, 1865.
Grant went about the distasteful business of war realistically and grimly. He was a skilled tactician and at times a brilliant strategist (as at Vicksburg, regarded by many as one of the great battles of history). His courage as a commander of forces and his powers of organization and administration made him the outstanding Northern general. Grant also was notably wise in supporting good commanders, especially Sheridan Sheridan, Philip Henry, 1831–88, Union general in the American Civil War, b. Albany, N.Y. Although not a brilliant general, Sheridan's flair for leadership and his ready fighting ability made him the outstanding Union cavalry commander.
..... Click the link for more information. , William T. Sherman Sherman, William Tecumseh, 1820–91, Union general in the American Civil War, b. Lancaster, Ohio. Sherman is said by many to be the greatest of the Civil War generals.
..... Click the link for more information. , and George H. Thomas Thomas, George Henry, 1816–70, Union general in the American Civil War, b. Southampton co., Va. He served in the Seminole War and in the Mexican War. Later he taught at West Point and served in Texas.
..... Click the link for more information. . Made a full general in 1866, he was the first U.S. citizen to hold that rank.
Presidency
Grant at first seemed to favor the Reconstruction Reconstruction, 1865–77, in U.S. history, the period of readjustment following the Civil War. At the end of the Civil War , the defeated South was a ruined land.
..... Click the link for more information. policy of President Andrew Johnson Johnson, Andrew, 1808–75, 17th President of the United States (1865–69), b. Raleigh, N.C.
Early Life
His father died when Johnson was 3, and at 14 he was apprenticed to a tailor.
..... Click the link for more information. . In Apr., 1867, Johnson appointed him interim Secretary of War, replacing Edwin Stanton Stanton, Edwin McMasters, 1814–69, American statesman, b. Steubenville, Ohio. He was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1836 and began to practice law in Cadiz.
..... Click the link for more information. . Johnson expected him to hold the office against Stanton and thus bring about a test of the constitutionality of the Tenure of Office Act Tenure of Office Act, in U.S. history, measure passed on Mar. 2, 1867, by Congress over the veto of President Andrew Johnson ; it forbade the President to remove any federal officeholder appointed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate without the further
..... Click the link for more information. , but Grant turned the office back to Stanton when the Senate refused to sanction Stanton's removal. It was apparent then that the general had thrown his lot in with the radical Republicans. The inevitable choice of the Republicans for President, Grant was victorious over the Democratic candidate, Horatio Seymour Seymour, Horatio (sē`môr, sē`mər), 1810–86, American politician, b. Pompey Hill, N.Y. He studied law at Utica, N.Y.
..... Click the link for more information. , in 1868.
Characterized chiefly by bitter partisan politics and shameless corruption, his administrations remain notorious. The punitive Reconstruction program was pushed with new vigor, and legislation favorable to commercial and industrial interests was passed (see greenback greenback, in U.S. history, legal tender notes unsecured by specie (coin). In 1862, under the exigencies of the Civil War, the U.S. government first issued legal tender notes (popularly called greenbacks) that were placed on a par with notes backed by specie.
..... Click the link for more information. ). The President associated with disreputable politicians and financiers; James Fisk and Jay Gould deceived him when they tried to corner the gold market in 1869 (see Black Friday Black Friday, Sept. 24, 1869, in U.S. history, day of financial panic. In 1869 a small group of American financial speculators, including Jay Gould and James Fisk , sought the support of federal officials of the Grant administration in a drive to corner the gold
..... Click the link for more information. ). In foreign affairs, however, much was accomplished by the able Secretary of State, Hamilton Fish Fish, Hamilton, 1808–93, American statesman, b. New York City, grad. Columbia, 1827; son of Nicholas Fish (1758–1833). He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1830.
..... Click the link for more information. .
The party unanimously renominated Grant in 1872, and he was reelected easily over Horace Greeley Greeley, Horace, 1811–72, American newspaper editor, founder of the New York Tribune, b. Amherst, N.H.
Early Life
His irregular schooling, ending at 15, was followed by a four-year apprenticeship (1826–30) on a country weekly at
..... Click the link for more information. , the candidate of the Liberal Republican party Liberal Republican party, in U.S. history, organization formed in 1872 by Republicans discontented at the political corruption and the policies of President Grant's first administration. Other disaffected elements were drawn into the party.
..... Click the link for more information. and the Democrats. Toward the end of his second term his Secretary of War, William W. Belknap Belknap, William Worth, 1829–90, U.S. Secretary of War (1869–76), b. Newburgh, N.Y. After practicing law in Iowa, he served in the Civil War, was a division commander under Sherman in Georgia and the Carolinas, and became a major general in 1865.
..... Click the link for more information. , and his private secretary, Orville E. Babcock, were implicated in graft scandals. Through the loyalty of the deceived Grant, both escaped punishment.
Later Years
The two years following his retirement from the White House were spent in making a triumphal tour of the world. In 1880 the Republican "Old Guard," led by Roscoe Conkling Conkling, Roscoe, 1829–88, American politician, b. Albany, N.Y. On his admission to the bar in 1850, he was immediately appointed district attorney of Albany. The son of Alfred Conkling, Congressman and federal judge, he became a U.S.
..... Click the link for more information. , tried to secure another nomination for Grant but failed. He took up residence in New York City, where he invested money in a fraudulent private banking business. It collapsed in 1884, leaving him bankrupt.
Dying of cancer of the throat, he set about writing his Personal Memoirs (2 vol., 1885–86) in order to provide for his family. He died a few days after the manuscript was completed. These memoirs are ranked among the great narratives of military history. The remains of the general and his wife lie in New York City in Grant's Tomb.
Bibliography
See, in addition to his memoirs, his papers ed. by J. Y. Simon (5 vol., 1967–73); biographies by U. S. Grant 3d (1969), W. McFeely (1981), G. Perret (1997), B. D. Simpson (2000), J. E. Smith (2001), J. Bunting 3d (2004), and M. Korda (2004); J. F. C. Fuller, The Generalship of U. S. Grant (1929, repr. 1968); W. B. Hesseltine, Ulysses S. Grant, Politician (1935, repr. 1957); B. Catton, U. S. Grant and the American Military Tradition (1954), Grant Moves South (1960), and Grant Takes Command (1969); A. Nevins, Hamilton Fish: The Inner History of the Grant Administration (2 vol., rev. ed. 1957); J. H. Marshall-Cornwall, Grant as Military Commander (1970); F. J. Scaturro, President Grant Reconsidered (1998); G. Perret, Ulysses S. Grant: Soldier and President (1998).