Ulysses S. Grant

"Ulysses Grant" redirects here. For other uses, see Ulysses Grant (disambiguation).

General of the Army Ulysses S. Grant
18th President of the United States
In office March 4, 1869 – March 4, 1877
Vice President	Schuyler Colfax (1869–1873) Henry Wilson (1873–1875) None (1875–1877)
Preceded by	Andrew Johnson
Succeeded by	Rutherford B. Hayes
17th Commanding General of the United States Army
In office March 9, 1864 – March 4, 1869
Appointed by	Abraham Lincoln
Preceded by	Henry Wager Halleck
Succeeded by	William Tecumseh Sherman
Personal details
Born	Hiram Ulysses Grant (1822-04-27)April 27, 1822 Point Pleasant, Ohio
Died	July 23, 1885(1885-07-23) (aged 63) Mount McGregor, New York
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Julia Dent Grant
Children	Jesse Grant, Ulysses S. Grant, Jr., Nellie Grant, Frederick Grant
Alma mater	United States Military Academy at West Point
Occupation	Soldier
Signature
Nickname	"Unconditional Surrender" Grant
Military service
Allegiance	United States Union
Branch/service	Union Army United States Army
Years of service	1839 –1854, 1861 –1869
Rank	General of the Army of the United States
Commands	21st Illinois Infantry Regiment Army of the Tennessee Military Division of the Mississippi Armies of the United States United States Army (postbellum)
Battles/wars	Mexican-American War Battle of Resaca de la Palma Battle of Palo Alto Battle of Monterrey Battle of Veracruz Battle of Molino del Rey Battle of Chapultepec American Civil War Battle of Fort Donelson Battle of Shiloh Siege of Vicksburg Battle of Chattanooga Overland Campaign Siege of Petersburg Appomattox Campaign

Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822 – July 23, 1885) was the 18th President of the United States (1869–1877) as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America. Grant began his lifelong career as a soldier after graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1843. Fighting in the Mexican American War, he was a close observer of the techniques of Generals Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott. He resigned from the Army in 1854, then struggled to make a living in St. Louis and Galena, Illinois.

After the American Civil War began in April 1861, he joined the Union war effort, taking charge of training new regiments and then engaging the Confederacy near Cairo, Illinois. In 1862, he fought a series of major battles and captured a Confederate army, earning a reputation as an aggressive general who seized control of most of Kentucky and Tennessee at the Battle of Shiloh. In July 1863, after a long, complex campaign, he defeated five Confederate armies (capturing one of them) and seized Vicksburg. This famous victory gave the Union control of the Mississippi River, split the Confederacy, and opened the way for more Union victories and conquests. After another victory at the Battle of Chattanooga in late 1863, President Abraham Lincoln promoted him to the rank of lieutenant general and gave him charge of all of the Union Armies. As Commanding General of the United States Army from 1864 to 1865, Grant confronted Robert E. Lee in a series of very high casualty battles known as the Overland Campaign that ended in a stalemate siege at Petersburg. During the siege, Grant coordinated a series of devastating campaigns launched by William Tecumseh Sherman, Philip Sheridan, and George Thomas. Finally breaking through Lee's trenches at Petersburg, the Union Army captured Richmond, the Confederate capital, in April 1865. Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox. Soon after, the Confederacy collapsed and the Civil War ended.

During Reconstruction, Grant remained in command of the Army and implemented the Congressional plans to reoccupy the South and hold new elections in 1867 with black voters. This gave Republicans control of the Southern states. Enormously popular in the North after the Union's victory, he was elected to the presidency in 1868. Reelected in 1872, he became the first president to serve two full terms since Andrew Jackson did so forty years earlier. As president, he led Reconstruction by signing and enforcing civil rights laws and fighting Ku Klux Klan violence. He helped rebuild the Republican Party in the South, an effort that resulted in the election of African Americans to Congress and state governments for the first time. Despite these civil rights accomplishments, Grant's presidency was marred by economic turmoil and multiple scandals. His response to the Panic of 1873 and the severe depression that followed was heavily criticized. His low standards in Cabinet and federal appointments and lack of accountability generated corruption and bribery in seven government departments. In 1876, his reputation was severely damaged by the graft trials of the Whiskey Ring. In addition, his image as a war hero was tarnished by corruption scandals during his presidency. He left office at the low point of his popularity.

After leaving office, Grant embarked on a two-year world tour that was received favorably with many royal receptions. In 1880, he made an unsuccessful bid for a third presidential term. In 1884, broke and dying of cancer, he wrote his memoirs. Historians have ranked his Administration poorly due to tolerance of corruption. His presidential reputation has improved among scholars who are impressed by the Administration's support for civil rights for freed slaves.

Early life and family

Ulysses S. Grant's birthplace in Point Pleasant, Ohio

Hiram Ulysses Grant was born in Point Pleasant, Ohio on April 27, 1822 to Jesse Root Grant (1794–1873), a tanner, and Hannah Simpson Grant (1798–1883), both Pennsylvania natives. The Grant family trace their ancestry back to Matthew Grant, who landed in Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630. In the fall of 1823, the family moved to the village of Georgetown in Brown County, Ohio. Raised a Methodist, although not an official member of the church, Grant prayed in private and opposed religious pretentiousness. At the age of 17, Grant entered the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, New York, secured by Congressman Thomas L. Hamer's nomination. An opening had been made at USMA when Georgetown cadet, T. Bartlett Baily, resigned in October 1838.

Ulysses S. Grant's boyhood home in Georgetown, Ohio

Hamer mistakenly nominated him as "Ulysses S. Grant of Ohio." At West Point, he adopted this name with a middle initial only. His nickname became "Sam" among army colleagues at the academy, since the initials "U.S." stood for "Uncle Sam". 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, setting an equestrian high jump record that lasted almost 25 years. Although naturally suited for cavalry, he was assigned to duty as a regimental quartermaster, achieving the rank of lieutenant. He helped to manage supplies and equipment.

Mexican–American War

Grant from West Point to Appomattox, an 1885 engraving by Thure de Thulstrup. Clockwise from lower left: Graduation from West Point (1843); In the tower at Chapultepec (1847); Drilling his Volunteers (1861); The Battle of Fort Donelson (1862); The Battle of Shiloh (1862); The Siege of Vicksburg (1863); The Battle of Chattanooga (1863); Appointment as Lieutenant General by Abraham Lincoln (1864); The Surrender of General Robert E. Lee at Appomattox Court House (1865)

During the Mexican American War (1846–1848), Lieutenant Grant served under Generals Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott. Although assigned as a quartermaster, he got close enough to the front lines to see action, participating in the battles of Resaca de la Palma, Palo Alto, Monterrey, and Veracruz. At Monterrey, he carried a dispatch voluntarily on horseback through a sniper-lined street. He was twice brevetted for bravery: at Molino del Rey and Chapultepec. He was a remarkably close observer of the war, learning to judge the actions of colonels and generals, particularly admiring how Zachary Taylor campaigned. At the time he felt that the war was a wrongful one and believed that territorial gains were designed to spread slavery throughout the nation, writing in 1883, "I was bitterly opposed to the measure, and to this day, regard the war, which resulted, as one of the most unjust ever waged by a stronger against a weaker nation."

Between wars

On August 22, 1848, Grant married Julia Boggs Dent (1826–1902), the daughter of a slave owner. Together, they had four children: Frederick Dent Grant; Ulysses S. "Buck" Grant, Jr.; Ellen Wrenshall "Nellie" Grant; and Jesse Root Grant.

Lieutenant Grant remained in the army and was assigned to several different posts. He was sent west to Fort Vancouver in the Oregon Territory in 1852, initially landing in San Francisco during the height of the California Gold Rush. Julia was eight months pregnant with their second child and could not accompany him because a lieutenant's salary, at the time, would not support a family on the frontier.

Julia Dent's parents' home, where the Grants stayed in St. Louis

The journey proved to be a horrid ordeal and Grant narrowly escaped a cholera epidemic while traveling overland through Panama. At Fort Vancouver, he served as quartermaster of the 4th Infantry Regiment. Grant came in contact with western American Indian tribes. In 1853, Grant stated that the Native Americans were "harmless" and that they would be "peaceful" had they not been "put upon by the whites". He stated that the Klickitat tribe was formerly "powerful", yet had been inundated by white civilization's "whiskey and Small pox."

In 1854, he was promoted to captain, one of only 50 still on active duty, and assigned to command Company F, 4th Infantry, at Fort Humboldt, on the northwest California coast. Without explanation, he abruptly resigned from the Army with little notice on July 31, 1854. The commanding officer at Fort Humbolt, Bvt. Lt. Col. Robert C. Buchanan, had learned that Grant was intoxicated off duty while seated at the pay officer's table. Buchanan gave him an ultimatum and told him to leave the Army either by court-martial or resignation. Whether the threat of court-martial by Buchanan was justifiable, Grant decided to resign, the War Department having stated on his record, "Nothing stands against his good name." Rumors, however, persisted in the regular army of Grant's intemperance.

"Hardscrabble" home Grant built in Missouri for his family. Photo: 1891

A civilian at age 32, Grant struggled through seven financially lean years. From 1854 to 1858, he labored on a family farm near St. Louis, Missouri, using slaves owned by Julia's father, but it did not prosper. In 1856, Grant, in an attempt to impress his wife Julia, made a house he called "Hardscrabble". Julia, however, did not like the house, what she described as an "unattractive cabin". In 1858, Grant bought a slave from Julia's father, which made him one of twelve U.S. Presidents who owned slaves during their lifetime. From 1858 to 1859, he was a bill collector in St. Louis. In 1860, after many failed business pursuits, he was given a job as an assistant in his father's tannery in Galena, Illinois. The leather shop, "Grant & Perkins", sold harnesses, saddles, and other leather goods and purchased hides from farmers in the prosperous Galena area. He moved his family to Galena and lived in a brick house before the Civil War broke out.

Up until the outbreak of the Civil War, Grant kept any political opinions private and never endorsed any candidate running for public office. He also, at this time, had no animosity toward slavery. His father-in-law was a prominent Democrat in St. Louis, a fact that contributed to a failed attempt to become county engineer in 1859. In the 1856 presidential election, he voted for the Democratic candidate James Buchanan to prevent secession and because "I knew Frémont," the Republican presidential candidate. In 1860, he favored Democratic presidential candidate Stephen A. Douglas over Abraham Lincoln, but did not vote. His own father, Jesse Root, was a prominent Republican in Galena. It was during the Civil War that his political sympathies coincided with the Republicans' aggressive prosecution of the war. In 1864, his patron Congressman Elihu B. Washburne used Grant's private letters as campaign literature for Lincoln's reelection. In 1868, Grant, affiliated with the Radical Republicans, was nominated as the Republican presidential candidate.

Civil War

Main article: American Civil War

Further information: Ulysses S. Grant and the American Civil War

On April 13, 1861, Union Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina was attacked by Confederate forces and surrendered. Two days later, on April 15, President Lincoln put out a call for 75,000 volunteers. Grant helped recruit a company of volunteers and accompanied it to Springfield, the capital of Illinois. He accepted a position offered by Illinois Gov. Richard Yates to recruit and train volunteers. Grant, who wanted a field command, was efficient and energetic in the training camps and made a positive impression on the volunteer Union recruits. With the aid of his advocate in Washington D.C., Elihu B. Washburne, Grant was promoted to Colonel by Governor Richard Yates on June 14, 1861, and put in charge of the unruly Twenty-first Illinois volunteer regiment. By the end of August 1861, Grant was given charge of the District of Cairo by Maj. Gen John C. Fremont, an outside Lincoln appointment, who viewed Grant as "a man of dogged persistance, and iron will." Grant's own demeanor changed; having renewed energies, he began to walk with a confident step.

Belmont, Henry, and Donelson

Grant's first battles during the Civil War centered on Cairo, Illinois, where the Ohio River runs into the Mississippi River. The Confederate Army was stationed in Columbus, Kentucky under General Leonidas Polk. Grant, who was headquartered at Cairo, was given an open order by Union General John C. Frémont to make demonstrations against the Confederate Army at Belmont. Taking 3,114 Union troops by boat, Grant attacked Fort Belmont on November 7, 1861. Initially taking the fort, his army was pushed back to Cairo by Confederate General Gideon J. Pillow. Though considered a defeat, the battle gave confidence to Grant and the Union Army. Following Beltmont, Grant moved Union forces down the Mississippi River to capture Confederate water fortresses. Grant's troops, in collaboration with the Union Navy under Andrew H. Foote, successfully captured Fort Henry on February 6, 1862 and Fort Donelson on February 16. Fort Henry, undermanned by Confederates and nearly submerged from flood waters, was taken over with few losses; however at Fort Donelson the Union Army and Navy experienced stiff resistance from the Confederate forces under General Pillow. Grant's initial 15,000 troop strength was increased by 10,000 reinforcements. Grant’s first attack on Fort Donelson was countered by Pillow's forces, pushing the Union Army into disorganized retreat eastward on the Nashville road. However, Grant was able to rally the troops; he resumed the offensive and the Confederates forces surrendered. Grant’s surrender terms were popular throughout the nation: “No terms except unconditional and immediate surrender.” With these victories, President Abraham Lincoln promoted Grant to major general of volunteers.

Shiloh

The Union advances achieved by Maj. Gen. Grant and Adm. Foote at Forts Henry and Donelson caused significant concern in the Confederate government. The Union army, known as the Army of the Tennessee, under Grant had increased to 48,894 men and were encamped on the western side of the Tennessee River. On April 6, 1862 a determined full-force attack from the Confederate Army took place at the Battle of Shiloh; the objective was to destroy the entire Western Union offensive once for all. Over 44,699 confederate troops led by Albert Sidney Johnston and P.G.T. Beauregard, vigorously attacked five divisions of Grant’s army bivouacked nine miles south at Pittsburgh Landing. Aware of the impending Confederate attack, Union troops sounded the alarm and readied for battle, however, no defensive entrenchment works had been made. The Confederates struck hard and repulsed the Union Army towards the Tennessee River. Grant and Maj. General William T. Sherman were able to rally the troops and make a stand. After receiving reinforcement troops from Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell and Maj. Gen. Lew Wallace's missing division, Grant succeeded in stabilizing the Army of the Tennessee. Confederate General Johnson was killed in the battle on the first day of fighting. On April 7, Grant launched a costly counter-offensive and pursuit that forced the Confederate Army, now under P.G.T. Beauregard, to retreat to Corinth.

The battle was the costliest in the Civil War up until this time, having 23,746 combined Union and Confederate casualties. The carnage at Shiloh demonstrated to both Confederates and Unionists that the Civil War was both very serious and extremely costly. Shiloh was the first battle in the American Civil War with tremendous casualties and Grant received much criticism for keeping the Union Army bivouacked rather than entrenched. As a result, Grant's superior Maj. Gen Henry Halleck demoted him to second-in-command of a newly formed 120,000-strong Union Army. Grant was ready to resign from command when Maj. Gen. Sherman talked him into remaining in Halleck's army. After Halleck slowly moved on Corinth unopposed, the 120,000-man army was broken up and Grant returned to his previous command over the Army of the Tennessee. After being restored to command, Grant was responsible for the refugee slave contraband whom President Lincoln had authorized to be recruited into the Union Army. Grant put the refugees under the protection of Chaplain John Eaton who authorized them to work on abandoned Confederate plantations. Eventually, these refugees were paid to cut wood to fuel Union steamers, and were the beginnings of the Freedman's Bureau during Reconstruction.

Vicksburg and Chattanooga

Resolved for more victories, President Lincoln, the Union Army and Navy, were determined to take the Confederate stronghold at Vicksburg, located on the Mississippi River. In December 1862, with headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee, Grant first campaigned to take Vicksburg by an overland route following a railroad in combination with a water expedition on the Mississippi led by Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman. Confederate cavalry raiders Bedford Forest and Earl Van Dorn stalled Grant's advance by breaking communications, while the Confederate army led by John C. Pemberton concentrated and repulsed Sherman's direct approach at Chickasaw Bayou. During the second phase to capture Vicksburg, Grant attempted a series of unsuccessful and highly criticized system of bayou and canal water routes. Finally, in April 1863, Grant marched Union troops down the west side of the Mississippi River and crossed east over at Bruinsburg using Adm. David Porter's naval ships. Grant previously had implemented two diversion battles that confused Pemeberton and allowed the Union Army to cross the Mississippi River. After a series of battles and having taken a railroad junction near Jackson, Grant went on to defeat Confederate General John C. Pemberton at the Battle of Champion Hill. After Champion Hill, Grant made a two costly direct assaults on the Vickburg fortess and finally setted for a seven week siege. Pemberton, who was in charge of the fortress, surrendered to Grant on July 4, 1863.

The Vicksburg Campaign was Grant’s greatest achievement up to this time, having opened the south to Chattanooga and gave the Union army access to the vital grainery supply in Georgia. The Union Army and Navy now controlled the entire Mississippi and divided the Confederacy in two. Grant demonstrated that an indirect assault coupled with diversionary tactics was highly effective strategy in defeating an entrenched Confederate Army. Although the success at Vicksburg was a great moral boost for the Union war effort, Grant received much criticism. During the campaign Grant had many times been accused of being drunk by military rivals and newspapers. President Lincoln sent Charles Dana to keep a watchful eye on Grant's alleged controversial drunken behavior. In addition, a personal rivalry between Maj. Gen. John A. McClernand and Grant had developed over who took credit for capturing Vicksburg. McClernand was removed from command after he published a contradictory military order to the press and the rivalry ended.

After Vicksburg, President Lincoln put Grant in charge of the newly formed Division of the Mississippi in October 1863. Grant was in charge of the entire Union war front in the West except for Louisiana. After the Battle of Chickamauga, Confederate General Braxton Bragg had forced Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans's Army of the Cumberland to retreat into Chattanooga, a central railway hub, surrounded the city and kept the Union army from escaping. Only Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas and the XIV corps kept the Army of the Cumberland from complete defeat at the Battle of Chickamauga. When informed of the ominous situation at Chattanooga, Grant relieved Maj. Gen. Rosecrans from duty and placed Maj. Gen. Thomas in charge of and reorganize the besieged Army of the Cumberland. To stop the siege and go on the attack Grant, although injured from a previous horse fall in New Orleans, personally rode out to Chattanooga and took charge of the Union Army's desperate situation. Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker and two divisions of the Army of the Potomac were sent by President Lincoln to reinforce the Army of the Cumberland, however, the Confederates kept the two Armies from meeting. Grant's first action was to open up a supply line to the Army of the Cumberland trapped in Chattanooga. Through an ingenious plan by Maj. Gen. William F. Smith a "Cracker Line" was formed with Hooker's Army of the Potomac located at Lookout Mountain and supplied the Army of the Cumberland with food and military weapons.

The situation at Chattanooga was urgent and Grant ordered Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman and four divisions of the Army of the Tennessee to get into position to attack Bragg's right flank. A week later three Union armies, the Tennessee, the Cumberland, and the Potomac were ready to make the final assault on Bragg's entrenched armies on Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain. On November 24, 1863 Maj. Gen. Hooker captured Lookout Mountain in order to draw Bragg's troops away from Missionary Ridge. On November 25, Grant began his assault on Missionary Ridge. Maj. Gen. Sherman made an attempt to attack Bragg's right flank, however, topographical difficulties and stiff Confederate resistance prevented a successful assault. The Army of the Cumberland, took matters into their own hands, stormed over Missionary Ridge, and forced Bragg to retreat in a disorganized rout. Grant, initially upset, had only ordered the Army of the Cumberland to take the rifle pits at the base of the ridge. The victory at Chattanooga increased Grant's fame throughout the country. Grant was promoted to Lieutenant General, a position that had previously been given to George Washington and given to Winfield Scott as a brevet promotion. Grant was given charge of the entire Union Army. Grant gave the Department of the Mississippi to Maj. Gen. Sherman, and went east to Washington D.C. to make and implement an overall strategy in partnership with President Lincoln to finally win the Civil War. Grant was the only General consistently winning victories for the Union. The decisive 1863 Chattanooga battle opened Georgia and the heartland of the Confederacy to Union invasion by Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman.

General Order No. 11 and antisemitism

Allegations of antisemitism -- "a blot on Grant's reputation" -- arose in the wake of the infamous General Order No. 11, issued by Grant in Oxford, Mississippi, on December 17, 1862, during the 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 New York Times denounced the order as "humiliating" and a "revival of the spirit of the medieval ages." Its editorial column called for the "utter reprobation" of Grant's order. After protest from Jewish leaders, the order was rescinded by President Lincoln on January 3, 1863. Though Grant initially maintained that a staff officer issued it in his name, it was suggested by Gen. James H. Wilson that Grant may have issued the order in order to strike indirectly at the "lot of relatives who were always trying to use him" (for example his father Jesse Grant who was in business with Jewish traders), and perhaps struck instead at what he maliciously saw as their counterpart — opportunistic traders who were Jewish. Bertram Korn suggests the order was part of a consistent pattern. "This was not the first discriminatory order [Grant] had signed [...] he was firmly convinced of the Jews' guilt and was eager to use any means of ridding himself of them." During the campaign of 1868, Grant admitted the order was his, but maintained, "It would never have been issued if it had not been telegraphed the moment it were penned, and without reflection."

The order, ostensibly in response to illegal Southern cotton smuggling, has been described by one modern historian as "the most blatant official episode of anti-Semitism in nineteenth-century American history."

Antisemitism became an issue during the 1868 presidential campaign. Though Jewish opinion was mixed, Grant's determination to "woo" Jewish voters ultimately resulted in his capturing the majority of that vote, though "Grant did lose some Jewish votes as a result of" the order. Grant appointed more Jewish persons to public office than any president before him. Although Grant's order was anti-Jewish, Grant had many Jewish friends. To one such friend Joseph Seligman, Grant offered the position of Secretary of the Treasury. Seligman, who had helped finance the Union war effort by obtaining European capital, declined the offer.

Overland Campaign

In Washington D.C., President Lincoln met with Grant and discussed an overall "total war" military strategy to end the Civil War with a Union victory. The strategy consisted of combined military Union offensives attacking the Confederacy's armies, railroads, and economic infrastructures. The overall strategy was to keep the Confederate armies from mobilizing reinforcements within southern interior lines. Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman would attack Atlanta and Georgia, while the Army of the Potomac, led by Maj. Gen. George Meade with Grant in camp, would attack Robert E. Lee's Army of Virginia. Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler was to attack and advance towards Richmond, going up the James River. Depending on Lee's actions, Grant would join forces with Butler's armies and be fed supplies from the James River. Maj. Gen. Franz Sigel was to capture the railroad line at Lynchburg, move east, and attack from the Blue Ridge Mountains. However, the efforts of both Sigel and Butler failed and Grant was left alone to fight Robert E. Lee in a series of bloody battles of attrition known as the Overland Campaign that finally ended in a stalemate siege at Petersburg. Lee's objectives were to prolong the war and discourage the Northern will to fight, keep Grant from crossing south of the James River, and protect Richmond from Union attack.

After taking the month of April 1864 to assemble and ready the Union Army of the Potomac, Grant crossed the Rapidan River on May 4 and attacked Lee in the Wilderness, a hard-fought battle with many casualties, lasting three days. Rather than retreat as his Union predecessors had done, Grant flanked Lee's Army of Virginia to the southeast and attempted to wedge the Union Army between Lee and Richmond at Spotsylvania. Lee's army got to Spotsylvania first and a costly and lengthy battle began that lasted 13 days. During the battle, Grant attempted to break through Lee's line of defense at the Mule Shoe, which resulted in one of the most violent assaults during the Civil War, known as The Battle of the Bloody Angle. Unable to break Lee's line of defense after repeated attempts, Grant flanked Lee to the southeast east again at North Anna, a battle that lasted three days. This time the Confederate Army had a superior defensive advantage on Grant, however, due to sickness Lee was unable to lead the battle. Grant then maneuvered the Union Army to Cold Harbor, a vital railroad hub that was linked to Richmond, however, Lee was able to make strong trenches to defend a Union assault. During the third day of the 13-day Cold Harbor battle, Grant led a costly fatal assault on Lee's trenches, and as news spread in the North, heavy criticism fell on Grant, who was called "the Butcher", having lost 60,000 casualties in 30 days since crossing the Rapidan. Unknown to Robert E. Lee, Grant pulled out of Cold Harbor and stealthily moved his Army south of the James River, freed Maj. Gen. Butler from the Bermuda Hundred, and attacked Petersburg, Richmond's central railroad hub.

Petersburg and Appomattox

After Grant and the Army of the Potomac had successfully crossed the James River undetected by Lee and rescued Maj. Gen. Butler from the Bermuda Hundred, Grant advanced the Union army southward to capture Petersburg. Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard, in charge of Petersburg, was able to defend the city until Lee's veteran reinforcements arrived. Grant forced Lee into a long nine month siege of Petersburg and the Union War effort stalled. Northern resentment grew as the Copperhead movement led by Clement Vallandigham demanded that the war be settled through peace talks. During the Petersburg siege, Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman was able to take Atlanta, a victory that allowed President Lincoln to be reelected. Maj. Gen. Phil Sheridan had also defeated Confederate General Early in the Shenandoah Valley; saving Washington D.C. from capture. Lee had sent Early up the Shenandoah Valley to attack Washington D.C. and draw troops away from Grant's Army of the Potomac. Sheridan's cavalry, after Early was defeated, destroyed vital Confederate supply farms in the Shenandoah Valley. Grant was able to blow up part of Lee's trenches from an underground tunnel, however, the Union troops were disorganized and unable to break through Lee's entrenchments and capture Petersburg.

Finally in April 1865, Grant was able to break through Lee's entrenchments and capture Richmond. Knowing that Maj. Gen. Sherman's army, who had cost vast economic destruction in the south, would eventually link up with Grant's Army, Confederates troops in Lee's trenches deserted to the Army of the Potomac. Lee retreated from Petersburg and attempted to link up with the remnants of Confederate General Joe Johnson's defeated army in order to continue the war, however, Union cavalry led by Maj. Gen. Phil Sheridan, a close friend of Grant, was able to stop the two armies from converging. Lee and the Army of Virginia reluctantly surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. Grant gave generous terms; Confederate troops surrendered their weapons and were allowed to return to their homes on the condition they would not take up arms against the United States. Within a few weeks the Civil War was over.

On April 14, 1865, President Lincoln was fatally shot by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theater. The President—who had been one of Grant’s staunchest supporters, had consulted with the general on military strategy, and had become a close friend—died the next morning. Grant and his wife were originally invited to accompany Lincoln to the theater, but they declined and instead took a train to Philadelphia. Grant was, at various points, a potential target in the Lincoln assassination plot. An unknown assailant allegedly attempted to break into Grant's railroad car; however, with the car securely locked and protected by porters the assailant fled. Upon returning to Washington, D.C. the following day and having learned that Lincoln was dead, Grant, became enraged and carelessly ordered arrests of paroled Confederate officers. Maj. Gen. Edward Ord, however, was able to calm the growing hysteria in Washington through the use of accurate army intelligence and persuaded Grant to reverse his arrest orders. Attending Lincoln's funeral on April 19, Grant stood alone and wept openly. Grant said of Lincoln, "He was incontestably the greatest man I have ever known."

After the war

The post-Civil War home of Ulysses S. Grant, in Galena, Illinois.

On July 25, 1866, Congress promoted Grant to the newly created rank of General of the Army of the United States, a form of the rank General of the Armies of the United States. Grant was the most popular man in the country and became the Republican presidential candidate in 1868.

Maximilian in Mexico

Following the Civil War, Grant, as commanding general, immediately had to contend with Maximilian and the French army who had taken over Mexico under the authority of Napoleon III. Grant put military pressure on the French Army to leave Mexico by sending 50,000 troops to the south Texas border led by Phil Sheridan. Grant secretly told Sheridan to do whatever it took to get Maximilian to abdicate and the French Army to leave Mexico. Sheridan sent Benito Juárez, the ousted leader of Mexico, 60,000 U.S. rifles to aid in an effort to defeat Maximillian. By 1866, the French Army completely withdrew from Mexico, leaving Maximilian to fend for himself. Maximilian, who had been installed as the Emperor of Mexico in 1864, was executed by the Mexican Army in 1867.

Stopped Fenian Canadian invasion

After the war, thousands of Irish veterans joined the Fenian Brotherhood and formed the Irish Republican Army with the intention of invading and holding Canada hostage in exchange for Irish independence. In June 1866, Grant went to Buffalo, NY, to assess the situation. He ordered the Canadian border closed to prevent Fenian soldiers from crossing over at Fort Erie and that more weapons be confiscated. In June 1866, the U.S. Army arrested 700 Fenian troops at Buffalo and the Fenians gave up on their attempt to invade Canada.

Reconstruction

Main article: Reconstruction Era of the United States

To bear the fruits of a Northern victory over the South, Radical Republicans deployed troops in the former confederate states to ensure constitutional rights to loyal whites and freedmen. Grant, as the highest military commander next to President Johnson, favored the will of Congress through the enforcement of congressional Reconstruction. Grant reported to President Johnson that military occupation should remain in the South and that the Freedman's Bureau was an "absolute necessity". Throughout the Reconstruction period, thousands of blacks were elected to political office, sheriffs, and accessors while Grant and the military protected their rights initially by overturning the black codes in 1867. The southern states were divided into five military districts to ensure that African Americans newly granted constitutional and congressional rights were protected. Although Grant was initially in favor of using limited military force, he authorized Phil Sheridan to remove public officials in Louisiana who were against congressional Reconstruction. Congressional Reconstruction finally ended with the Compromise of 1877 and the complete withdrawal of military troops from the southern states.

1868 presidential campaign

This is an 1868 presidential campaign poster for Ulysses S. Grant, created by superimposing a portrait of Grant onto the platform of the Republican Party.

As commanding general of the army, Grant had a difficult relationship with President Andrew Johnson, who preferred a moderate approach to reconstruction of the South and was increasingly at swords-point with the Radicals in Congress. Johnson tried to use Grant to defeat the Radical Republicans by making him the Secretary of War "ad-interim" in place of Edwin M. Stanton. Under the Tenure of Office Act, Johnson could not remove Stanton without the approval of Congress. When Congress reinstated Stanton as Secretary, Grant handed over the keys to the War Department and continued his military command. This made him a hero to the Radical Republicans, who gave him the Republican nomination for president in 1868. He was chosen as the Republican presidential candidate at the 1868 Republican National Convention in Chicago; he faced no significant opposition. In his letter of acceptance to the party, Grant concluded with "Let us have peace," which became his campaign slogan.

Cartoon by Thomas Nast on Grant's opponents in the re-election campaign

Grant's General Orders No. 11 and antisemitism became an issue during the 1868 presidential campaign. Though Jewish opinion was mixed, Grant's determination to "woo" Jewish voters ultimately resulted in his capturing the majority of that vote, though Grant did lose some Jewish votes as a result of the order. In the general election of that year, Grant won against former New York Governor Horatio Seymour with a lead of 300,000 votes out of 5,716,082 votes cast. Grant commanded an Electoral College landslide, receiving 214 votes to Seymour's 80. When he assumed the presidency, Grant had never before held elected office and, at the age of 46, was the youngest person yet elected president. After the election, in an attempt to reconcile with Jewish leaders and people, Grant offered the position of Secretary of the Treasury to Joseph Seligman, a prominent Jewish businessman. Seligman, who had helped finance the Union war effort by obtaining European capital, declined the offer. Grant appointed more Jewish persons to public office than any president before him.

Presidency 1869–1877

Main article: Presidency of Ulysses S. Grant

The second president from Ohio, Grant was elected the 18th President of the United States in 1868, and was re-elected to the office in 1872. He served as President from March 4, 1869, to March 4, 1877. He was the first U.S. President to be elected after the nation had outlawed slavery and given citizenship to former African American slaves by U.S. constitutional amendments. Although Grant desired economic expansion and a productive citizenry, his Presidency from the start had to contend with Klu Klux Klan violence, Native American conflicts between settlers in the West, and an unsuccessful attempt to annex Santo Domingo. Reconstruction dominated most of Grant's presidency, with sectional riots over the status of what the new Freedman would have in post-Civil War society. Booming post-war industrial markets and the expansion of the American west fueled wild speculation and corruption throughout the United States, only to come to a halted crash with the Panic of 1873. National wounds brought on by the massive socio-economic upheaval of the Civil War continued to mend. Grant's innovative "Peace" policy advocated Native American citizenship and denounced wars of extermination as "immoral and wicked". Grant, however, allowed millions of buffalo to be hunted without restriction that resulted in the depletion of Native American food supply and tribal independence.

Although there were initial scandals in his first term, Grant remained popular in the country and was re-elected a second term in 1872. His notable accomplishments as President include the enforcement of Civil Rights for African Americans in the Reconstruction states, the Treaty of Washington in 1871, and the Resumption of Specie Act in 1875. Grant's personal reputation as President suffered from the continued scandals caused by many corrupt appointees and personal associates and for the ruined economy caused by the Panic of 1873. A faction of the Republican party, the Liberal Republicans, bolted in 1872; publicly denounced the political patronage system known as Grantism and demanded amnesty to Confederate soldiers. In his re-election campaign, Grant benefited from the loyal support of Harper's Weekly political cartoonist Thomas Nast. As more scandals were exposed during Grant's second term in office, his personal reputation was severely damaged, while any chance for a consecutive third term nomination vanished.

Domestic policies

Reconstruction

Grant presided over the last half of Reconstruction. He supported amnesty for former Confederates and signed the Amnesty Act of 1872 to further this. He favored a limited number of troops to be stationed in the South—sufficient numbers to protect Southern Freedmen, suppress the violent tactics of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), and prop up Republican governors, but not so many as to create resentment in the general population. President Grant signed the Naturalization Act of 1870 that allowed persons of African descent to become citizens of the United States.

By 1873, Grant was confronted by a Northern public angry with the economic depression that began in 1873 and tired of continuing to use the army to control politics in the former Confederate states. In 1873–75, he watched as the Democrats (called Redeemers) took the control of all but three Southern states. The Republican coalition in the South was collapsing. When urgent telegrams from Republicans begged for Army help to put down the violence by paramilitary groups at election time, he told his Attorney General that, "the whole public is tired of these annual autumnal outbreaks in the South,", insisting that state militias should handle the problems, not the Army. Grant was concerned that increased military pressure in the South might cause white supremacists in the North to bolt from the Republican Party.

Civil and human rights

Grant's second inauguration as President by Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase on March 4, 1873.

A distinguishing characteristic in the Grant Presidency was his concern with the plight of African Americans and native Indian tribes, in addition to civil rights for all Americans. Grant's 1868 campaign slogan, "Let us have peace," defined his motivation and assured his success. As president for two terms, Grant made many advances in civil and human rights. In 1869 and 1871, he signed bills promoting black voting rights and prosecuting Klan leaders. He won passage of the Fifteenth Amendment, which gave freedmen the vote, and the Ku Klux Klan Act, which empowered the president "to arrest and break up disguised night marauders."

Grant continued to fight for black civil rights when he pressed for the former slaves to be "...possessed of the civil rights which citizenship should carry with it." However, by 1874, a new wave of paramilitary organizations arose in the Deep South. The Red Shirts and White League, who conducted insurgency in Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Louisiana, operated openly and were better organized than the Ku Klux Klan had been. They aimed to turn Republicans out of office, suppress the black vote, and disrupt elections. In response to the renewed violent outbreaks against African Americans, Grant was the first President to sign a congressional civil rights act: the Civil Rights Act of 1875. This legislation mandated equal treatment in public accommodations and jury selection.

Grant's attempts to provide justice to Native Americans marked a radical reversal of what had long been the government's policy: "Wars of extermination... are demoralizing and wicked," he nobly told Congress. The president lobbied, though not always successfully, to preserve Native American lands from encroachment by the westward advance of pioneers.

Panic of 1873

The Panic of 1873 was a world-wide depression that started when the stock market in Vienna crashed in June 1873. Unsettled markets soon spread to Berlin, and throughout Europe. Three months later, the Panic spread to the United States when three major banks stopped making payments, the New York Warehouse & Security Company on September 8, Kenyon, Cox, & Co. on September 13, and the largest bank, Jay Cooke & Company, on September 18. On September 20, the New York Stock Exchange shut down for ten days. All of these events created a depression that lasted five years in the United States, ruined thousands of businesses, depressed daily wages by 25% from 1873 to 1876, and brought the unemployment rate up to 14%. Some 89 out of 364 American railroads went bankrupt.

The causes of the panic in the United States included over-expansion in the railroad industry after the Civil War, losses in the Chicago and Boston fires of 1871 and 1872, respectively, and insatiable speculation by Wall Street financiers. All of this growth was done on borrowed money by many banks in the United States having over-speculated in the railroad industry by as much as $20,000,000 in loans. Grant, who knew little about finance, relied on bankers for advice on how to curb the panic. Secretary of Treasury William A. Richardson responded by liquidating a series of outstanding bonds. The banks, in turn, issued short-term clearing house certificates to be used as cash. By October 1, $50,000,000 had been released into an economy desperate for paper currency. This was done without undermining the value of the dollar. By January 10, 1874, Richardson continued to liquidate bonds that released a total of $26,000,000 of greenback reserves into the economy. Although this curbed the Panic on Wall Street it did nothing to stop the ensuing five year depression. Grant did nothing to prevent the panic and responded slowly after the banks crashed in September. The limited action of Secretary Richardson did nothing to increase confidence in the general economy.

Political cartoon by Thomas Nast: Grant congratulated for vetoing the "inflation bill" on April 22, 1874.

Vetoes inflation bill

After the Panic of 1873, Congress debated an inflationary policy to stimulate the economy and passed the Inflation Bill on April 14, 1874. The bill released an additional $100,000,000 into the nation's tight money supply. Many farmers and working men in the southwest anticipated that Grant would sign the bill. Those with outstanding loans needed greenbacks to stay in business. Eastern bankers favored a veto because of their reliance on bonds and foreign investors. On April 22, 1874, Grant unexpectedly vetoed the bill on the fiscal grounds that it would destroy the credit of the nation. Initially, Grant favored the bill, but decided to veto after evaluating his own reasons for wanting to pass the bill.

Foreign policies

Santo Domingo

The Caribbean island of Hispaniola, now Haiti, and the Dominican Republic (sometimes known as Santo Domingo), were the sources of bitter political discussion and controversy during Grant's first term in office. Grant wanted to annex the island to allow Freedmen, oppressed in the United States, to work, and to force Brazil to abandon slavery. Senator Charles Sumner was opposed to annexation because it would reduce the amount of autonomous nations run by Africans in the western hemisphere. Also disputed was the unscrupulous annexation process under the supervision of Grant's private secretary, Orville E. Babcock. The annexation treaty was defeated by the Senate in 1871; however, it led to unending political enmity between Senator Sumner and Grant.

Grant with family at their cottage in Long Branch, New Jersey, 1870.

Treaty of Washington

Historians have heralded the Treaty of Washington for settling the Alabama Claims dispute between Britain and the United States by International Arbitration. In 1871, Grant’s Secretary of State Hamilton Fish had orchestrated many of the events leading up to the treaty. The main purpose of the arbitration treaty was to remedy the damages done to American merchants by three Confederate war ships: CSS Florida, CSS Alabama, and CSS Shenandoah, built by or purchased from the British. These ships had inflicted tremendous damage to U.S. merchant ships during the Civil War with the result that relations with Britain were severely strained. A commission met in Washington and designed a treaty whereby an international tribunal would settle the damage amounts; the British admitted regret, rather than fault. Grant and the Senate approved the Treaty of Washington. The international tribunal awarded the United States $15,500,000. Historian Amos Elwood Corning noted that the Treaty of Washington and arbitration “bequeathed to the world a priceless legacy”.

Virginius incident

Main article: Virginius Affair

On October 31, 1873, a merchant ship, Virginius, carrying war materials and men to aid the Cuban insurrection, was taken captive by a Spanish warship. Virginius was flying the United States flag and had an American registry; the U.S. did not at first realize it was secretly owned by Cuban insurgents. 53 of the passengers and crew, eight being United States citizens, were trying to illegally get into Cuba to help overthrow the government; they were executed, and many Americans such as William M. Evarts, Henry Ward Beecher, and even Vice President Henry Wilson made impassioned speeches calling for war with Spain.

Hamilton Fish handled the crisis coolly. He found out there was question over whether Virginius had the right to bear the United States flag. Spain's President expressed profound regret for the tragedy and was willing to make reparations through arbitration. Fish met with the Spanish Ambassador in Washington and negotiated reparations. Spain surrendered the Virginius and paid a cash indemnity to the families of the executed Americans.

Scandals

Main article: Ulysses S. Grant presidential administration scandals

President Grant and family pose in an informal portrait outside. Grant is seated to the left and his wife Julia is seated to the right. Their son Jesse is standing between Grant and Julia.

President Grant with his wife, Julia, and son, Jesse, in 1872.

Grant's inability to establish personal accountability among his subordinates and cabinet members led to many scandals during his administration. Grant often attacked vigorously when critics complained, being protective of his subordinates. Although personally honest with money matters, Grant was weak in his selection of subordinates, often favoring military associates from the war over talented and experienced politicians. He also protected close friends with his Presidential power and pardoned several convicted officials after they had served only a few months in prison. His failure to establish working political alliances in Congress allowed the scandals to spin out of control. At the conclusion of his second term, Grant wrote to Congress that, "Failures have been errors of judgment, not of intent." Nepotism was rampant. Around 40 family relatives financially prospered while Grant was President.

There were 11 scandals directly associated with Grant's two terms as President of the United States. The main scandals included Black Friday in 1869 and the Whiskey Ring in 1875. The Crédit Mobilier is not considered a Grant scandal; it actually began in 1864 during the Abraham Lincoln Administration and carried over into the Andrew Johnson Administration. The Crédit Mobilier scandal was exposed during the Grant Administration in 1872 as the result of political infighting between Congressman Oakes Ames and Congressman Henry S. McComb. The involvement of U.S. Ambassador to Britain, Robert C. Schenck, owning stock in the Emma Silver Mine, although corrupt, was an embarrassment to the Administration, rather than a scandal. The primary instigator and contributor to many of these scandals was Grant's personal secretary, Orville E. Babcock, who indirectly controlled many cabinet departments and was able to delay investigations by reformers. Babcock had direct access to Grant at the White House and had tremendous influence over who could see the President.

Grant appointed Benjamin Bristow to the Secretary of Treasury in 1874, who uncovered and shut down the notorious Whiskey Ring. When Secretary Bristow discovered that the President's personal secretary Babcock was involved in the ring, Grant became defensive. Grant eventually defended Babcock in an unprecedented 1876 deposition during the Whiskey Ring graft trials. The result of Grant's deposition saved his friend Babcock with an acquittal. However, political enemies and the unpopularity of giving the deposition for Babcock ruined any chances for Grant getting a third term nomination.

Grant Administration Scandals and Corrupt Activities	Description	Date
Black Friday	Speculators corner the gold market and ruin the economy for several years.	1869
New York custom house ring	Three investigations, two congressional and one Treasury, looked into alleged corruption ring set up at the New York Custom House under two of Grant's appointments, collectors Moses H. Grinnell and Thomas Murphy.	1872
Star Route Postal Ring	Corrupt system of postal contractors, clerks, and brokers to obtain lucrative Star Route postal contracts.	1872
Salary Grab	Congressmen receive a retroactive $5,000 bonus for previous term served.	1872
Sanborn Contract	John Sanborn collected taxes at exorbitant fees and split the profits among associates.	1874
Delano Affair	Secretary of Interior, Columbus Delano, allegedly took bribes to secure fraudulent land grants.	1875
Pratt & Boyd	Attorney General George H. Williams allegedly received a bribe not to prosecute the Pratt & Boyd company.	1875
Whiskey Ring	Corrupt government officials and whiskey makers steal millions of dollars in national tax evasion scam.	1875
Trading Post Ring	Secretary of War William Belknap allegedly takes extortion money from trading contractor at Fort Sill.	1876
Cattelism	Secretary of Navy George Robeson allegedly receives bribes from Cattell & Company for lucrative Naval contracts.	1876
Safe Burglary Conspiracy	Private Secretary Orville Babcock indicted over framing a private citizen for uncovering corrupt Washington contractors.	1876

Administration and Cabinet

Further information: Ulysses S. Grant presidential administration

Supreme Court appointments

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

• Edwin M. Stanton – 1869 (died before taking seat)
• 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

Government agencies and parks

• Department of Justice (1870)
• 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)
• Army Weather Bureau (currently known as the National Weather Service) (1870)
• Yellowstone National Park (1872)

Post-presidency

World tour

Ulysses S. Grant sometime in the postbellum period

After the end of his second term in the White House, Grant spent over two years traveling the world with his wife. In Britain the crowds were enormous. The Grants dined with Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle and with Prince Bismarck in Germany, met Pope Leo XIII at the Vatican then ventured east to Russia, Egypt, the Holy Land, Siam (Thailand), Burma, and China.

In Japan, they were cordially received by Emperor Meiji and Empress Shōken at the Imperial Palace. Today in Shiba Park in 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 worked with Japanese and Chinese officials to arrange a compromise, by which Japan would get most of the Ryukyus, and China would get the southernmost island groups, and Taiwan, thus settling the dispute over Taiwan at the same time. In the end, after Grant's departure, and much negotiation, China refused to sign the agreement.

Third term attempt

In 1879, the "Stalwart" faction of the Republican Party led by Senator Roscoe Conkling sought to nominate Grant for a third term as president. He counted on strong support from the business men, the old soldiers, and the Methodist church. Publicly Grant said nothing, but privately he wanted the job and encouraged his men. His popularity was fading however, and while he received more than 300 votes in each of the 36 ballots of the 1880 convention, the nomination went to James A. Garfield. Grant campaigned for Garfield, who won by a narrow margin. Grant supported his Stalwart ally Conkling against Garfield in the battle over patronage in spring 1881 that culminated in Conkling's resignation from office.

Bankruptcy

The trip around the world, although successful, was costly. When Grant returned to America, he had depleted most of his savings from the long trip and needed to earn money. In 1881, Grant purchased a house in New York City and 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. In 1884, Ward swindled Grant (and other investors who had been encouraged by Grant), bankrupted the company, Grant & Ward, and fled. Depleted of money, Grant was forced to repay a $150,000 loan to one of his creditors, William H. Vanderbilt, with his Civil War mementos.

Last days, death, and funeral

Grant funeral train passing through West Point, New York

Grant learned at the same time that he was suffering from throat cancer. Grant and his family were left destitute, having forfeited his military pension when he assumed the office of President. Deep in debt, Grant wrote a series of literary works that improved his reputation and eventually brought his family out of bankruptcy. Grant first wrote several warmly received articles on his Civil War campaigns for The Century Magazine. Mark Twain offered Grant a generous contract for his memoirs, including 75% of the book's sales as royalties. Congress restored Grant to General of the Army with full retirement pay.

Grant is reclining in a chair on a porch suffering from throat cancer and writing his memoirs.

Grant, in constant pain, spent most of his last days writing his memoirs on a wicker chair at Mount McGregor.

Terminally ill, Grant finished his memoir just a few days before his death. The Memoirs sold over 300,000 copies, earning the Grant family over $450,000. Twain promoted the book as "the most remarkable work of its kind since the Commentaries of Julius Caesar." Grant's memoir has been regarded by writers as diverse as Matthew Arnold and Gertrude Stein as one of the finest works of its kind ever written.

Grant's death mask

Ulysses S. Grant died on Thursday, July 23, 1885, at the age of 63 in Mount McGregor, Saratoga County, New York. After lying in state, Grant's body was placed on a funeral train and traveled south from Albany, New York, and passed through the West Point station of Garrison, across the Hudson River from the Academy. The train carrying Grant's body was draped in black and slowly passed on its way to New York City. As it passed through West Point the whole undergraduate battalion with Cadet Captain John J. Pershing at its head stood at present arms. Grant's body lies in New York City's Riverside Park, beside that of his wife, in Grant's Tomb, the largest mausoleum in North America. Grant is honored by the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial at the base of Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

Fifty dollar bill

Grant appears on the U.S. $50 bill.

Grant was placed on the United States fifty-dollar bill in 1913. The portrait was challenged in March 2010 by North Carolina Republican Representative Patrick T. McHenry, who requested President Ronald Reagan's portrait be put on the fifty dollar bill because "Every generation needs its own heroes," and that a Wall Street Journal poll ranked Reagan sixth and Grant 29th. California Democratic Representative Brad Sherman said that Reagan was too controversial and that, "Our currency should be something that unites us." A Marist poll of 956 Americans taken in March 2010 showed that 79% favored keeping Ulysses S. Grant on the $50 bill, while 12% supported the proposed change to Ronald Reagan.

Grant on U.S. postage

Along with presidents Washington and Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant is one of the few Presidents to be honored and portrayed on a US Postage stamp more than twice. Grant was first honored when the US Post Office released the first Grant postage stamp, issued on June 2 of 1890. The engraving of Grant was modeled after a photograph taken in 1872 by William Kurtz. Printed by the American Bank Note Company, it was issued five years after Grant's death in 1885. In contrast, the first Lincoln stamp was issued in 1866, one year after Lincoln's death. The last postage issue to honor Grant was released in 1986, one of a series of 36 stamps with a US President portrayed on each, commonly referred to as the AMERIPEX Presidential issues. To date (2010) Grant has appeared on US postage for a total of nine issues. After Washington, Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln, Taylor and Garfield, Ulysses S. Grant is the seventh President to first appear on a US postage stamp.

1st Grant StampIssue of 1890

Sherman ~ Grant ~ Sheridan1938 commemorative issue

Presidential Issue of 1938

Statuary Hall vote

In early 2010, Grant was proposed by the Ohio Historical Society as a finalist in a statewide vote for inclusion in Statuary Hall at the United States Capitol.

Cinema and media portrayals

The following is a sample of persons who portrayed Ulysses S. Grant as a character in either historical-dramatic or documentary media formats. A more complete list can be found at Ulysses S. Grant.

Film

Actors have played Ulysses S. Grant in 35 movies. Grant is the third most popular President to be portrayed in movies, films, or cinema.

Portrayals include:

The Birth of a Nation, 1915 silent epic movie, played by Donald Crisp.

Only the Brave, 1930, played by Guy Oliver.

They Died with their Boots On, 1941, played by Joseph Crehen (uncredited).

The Horse Soldiers, 1959 John Wayne movie, played by Stan Jones.

How the West Was Won, 1962, played by Harry Morgan.

Wild Wild West, 1999, played by Kevin Kline

Jonah Hex, 2010, played by Aidan Quinn

Grant has often been portrayed in film as a scowling drunkard, which is historically inaccurate, and has also frequently been placed in false historical events. One notable exception was by Kevin Kline in the 1999 film Wild Wild West. Kline consulted Grant scholar John Y. Simon for advice on how to play Grant, and portrays him as a formidable authority figure who has courage mixed with a hard-bitten sense of humor.

Television series and documentary

The Wild Wild West, aired on CBS, 1965–1969, portrayed by James Gregory (voice) and Roy Angle.

The Blue and the Gray, aired on CBS, 1982, portrayed by Rip Torn.

North and South (TV Miniseries), aired on ABC, 1986, portrayed by Anthony Zerbe.

Gore Vidal's Lincoln, 1988, portrayed by James Gammon.

The Civil War, aired on PBS, 1990, portrayed by Jason Robards. Titled The American Civil War in the United Kingdom.

Lincoln, aired on PBS, 1992, portrayed by Rod Steiger.

The Day Lincoln Was Shot, aired on TNT, 1998, portrayed by John Ashton.

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, aired on HBO, 2007, portrayed by Senator Fred Thompson.

Sherman's March, aired on the History Channel, 2007, portrayed by Harry Bulkeley.

To Appomattox, an HBO miniseries currently in pre-production, will be portrayed by Michael C. Hall.

In The Wild Wild West, President Grant appeared occasionally, as Secret Service agents West and Gordon worked exclusively for him. In Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee Senator Fred Thompson played Grant as an astute leader who listens to both sides of an argument.

Plays

Momma's Boys, 2011, A historical play that centers around eight previous Presidents of the United States from Ohio in a humorous and dramatic discussion of their lives. Ulysses S. Grant is portrayed by Dan Jadwisiak.

See also

• Western Theater of the American Civil War
• History of the United States (1865–1918)
• List of American Civil War generals
• List of Presidents of the United States
• US Presidents on US postage stamps
• List of US Presidents on US currency
• U.S. Grant Home, Galena, Illinois
• Ulysses S. Grant Memorial
• Grantism
• Grant's Farm
• Grant Cottage State Historic Site: site of Grant's death

References

Biographical and political

• American Annual Cyclopedia... 1868. Volume 8. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1873.
• Bunting III, Josiah. Ulysses S. Grant. New York: Times Books, 2004. ISBN 0-8050-6949-6.
• Dunning. William. Reconstruction Political and Economic 1865–1877 (1905), vol 22.
• Garland, Hamlin. Ulysses S. Grant: His Life and Character. New York, Doubleday & McClure co., 1898.
• Hesseltine, William B. Ulysses S. Grant, Politician. New York, F. Ungar Pub. Co. [1957, 1935]. ISBN 1-931313-85-7.
• Mantell, Martin E. Johnson, Grant, and the Politics of Reconstruction. New York, Columbia University Press, 1973.
• McFeely, William S. Grant: A Biography. New York: Norton, 1981. ISBN 0-393-01372-3.
• Nevins, Allan, Hamilton Fish: The Inner History of the Grant Administration. New York, Dodd, Mead, 1936.
• Rhodes, James Ford. History of the United States from the Compromise of 1850 to the McKinley-Bryan Campaign of 1896. Volume: 6 and 7, 1920.
• Scaturro, Frank J. President Grant Reconsidered. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 1998.
• Simpson, Brooks D., Let Us Have Peace: Ulysses S. Grant and the Politics of War and Reconstruction, 1861–1868. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1991.
• Simpson, Brooks D. The Reconstruction Presidents. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1998.
• Simpson, Brooks D. Ulysses S. Grant: Triumph Over Adversity, 1822–1865. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000. ISBN 0-395-65994-9.
• Simon, John Y. "Ulysses S. Grant". The Presidents: A Reference History (2nd ed. 1997), pp. 245–60.
• Skidmore, Max J. "The Presidency of Ulysses S. Grant: A Reconsideration". White House Studies. March 2005.
• Smith, Jean Edward. Grant. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. ISBN 0-684-84927-5.

Military

• Badeau, Adam. Military History of Ulysses S. Grant, from April 1861, to April 1865. New York: D. Appleton, 1881.
• Ballard, Michael B. Vicksburg, The Campaign that Opened the Mississippi. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2004. ISBN 0-8078-2893-9.
• Bearss, Edwin C.. The Vicksburg Campaign. Dayton, Ohio: Morningside, 1991. ISBN 0-89029-308-2.
• Bonekemper, Edward H., III. A Victor, Not a Butcher: Ulysses S. Grant's Overlooked Military Genius. Washington, DC: Regnery Pub., 2004. ISBN 0-89526-062-X.
• Carter, Samuel III. The Final Fortress: The Campaign for Vicksburg, 1862–1863. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1980.
• Catton, Bruce. Grant Moves South. Boston: Little, Brown, 1960. ISBN 0-316-13207-1.
• Catton, Bruce. Grant Takes Command. Boston: Little, Brown, 1968. ISBN 0-316-13210-1.
• Catton, Bruce. U. S. Grant and the American Military Tradition. Boston: Little, Brown, 1954.
• Cavanaugh, Michael A., and William Marvel. The Petersburg Campaign: The Battle of the Crater: "The Horrid Pit," June 25 – August 6, 1864. Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, 1989.
• Davis, William C. Death in the Trenches: Grant at Petersburg. Alexandria, Va.: Time-Life Books, 1986.
• Eicher, David J. The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil War. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. ISBN 0-684-84944-5.
• Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J. Civil War High Commands. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
• Fuller, Maj. Gen. J. F. C.. Grant and Lee, a Study in Personality and Generalship. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1957. ISBN 0-253-13400-5.
• Farina, William. Ulysses S. Grant, 1861–1864: His Rise from Obscurity to Military Greatness. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co., 2007.
• Gott, Kendall D. Where the South Lost the War: An Analysis of the Fort Henry-Fort Donelson Campaign, February 1862. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2003. ISBN 0-8117-0049-6.
• Korda, Michael. Ulysses S. Grant: The Unlikely Hero. New York: Atlas Books/HarperCollins, 2004.
• Lewis, Lloyd. Captain Sam Grant. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 1950. ISBN 0-316-52348-8.
• McWhiney, Grady. Battle in the Wilderness: Grant Meets Lee. Fort Worth: Ryan Place Publishers, 1995.
• McDonough, James Lee. Shiloh: In Hell Before Night. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1977.
• McDonough, James Lee. Chattanooga: A Death Grip on the Confederacy. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1984.
• McPherson, James M. Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. ISBN 0-19-503863-0.
• Maney, R. Wayne. Marching to Cold Harbor. Victory and Failure, 1864. Shippensburg, Pa., USA: White Mane Pub. Co., 1994.
• Matter, William D. If It Takes All Summer: The Battle of Spotsylvania. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1988.
• Miers, Earl Schenck. The Web of Victory: Grant at Vicksburg. New York: Knopf, 1955.
• Mosier, John. Grant. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2006. ISBN 1-4039-7136-6.
• Rhea, Gordon C. The Battle of the Wilderness May 5–6, 1864. Louisiana State University Press, 1994. ISBN 0-8071-1873-7.
• Rhea, Gordon C. The Battles for Spotsylvania Court House and the Road to Yellow Tavern May 7–12, 1864. Louisiana State University Press, 1997. ISBN 0-8071-2136-3.
• Rhea, Gordon C. To the North Anna River: Grant and Lee, May 13–25, 1864. Louisiana State University Press, 2000. ISBN 0-8071-2535-0.
• Rhea, Gordon C., Cold Harbor: Grant and Lee, May 26 – June 3, 1864. Louisiana State University Press, 2002. ISBN 0-8071-2803-1.
• Miller, J. Michael. The North Anna Campaign: "Even to Hell Itself," May 21–26, 1864. Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, 1989.
• Schenker, Carl R., Jr. "Ulysses in His Tent: Halleck, Grant, Sherman, and 'The Turning Point of the War'". Civil War History (June 2010), vol. 56, no. 2, p. 175.
• Simpson, Brooks D. "Continuous Hammering and Mere Attrition: Lost Cause Critics and the Military Reputation of Ulysses S. Grant". The Myth of the Lost Cause and Civil War History. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2000.
• Simpson, Brooks D. "After Shiloh: Grant, Sherman, and Survival". The Shiloh Campaign. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2009.
• Steere, Edward. The Wilderness Campaign. Harrisburg, Pa.: Stackpole Co., 1960.
• Sword, Wiley. Shiloh: Bloody April. New York: Morrow, 1974.
• Williams, Kenneth P. Lincoln Finds a General: A Military Study of the Civil War. New York, Macmillan, 1959 (volume 5).
• Williams, T. Harry, McClellan, Sherman and Grant. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1962.
• Woodworth, Steven E. Nothing but Victory: The Army of the Tennessee, 1861 – 1865. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. ISBN 0-375-41218-2.

Primary sources

• Grant, Ulysses S. Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant. C.L. Webster & Co., 1885.
  • Wilson, Edmund. Patriotic Gore: Studies in the Literature of the American Civil War New York: Oxford University Press, 1962. pp 131–73.
• Grant, Ulysses S. Memoirs and Selected Letters (Mary Drake McFeely & William S. McFeely, eds.) The Library of America, 1990. ISBN 978-0-940450-58-5
• Simon, John Y., ed. The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1967–2009.
• Johnson, R. U., and Buel, C. C., eds. Battles and Leaders of the Civil War. 4 vols. New York, 1887–88.
• Porter, Horace. Campaigning with Grant. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1897.
• Sherman, William Tecumseh, Memoirs of General William T. Sherman. 2 vols. New York: D. Appleton, 1875.
• First Inaugural Address
• Second Inaugural Address

External links

• Ulysses S. Grant Association
• Miller Center of Public Affairs essays on Grant and cabinet members
• Ulysses S. Grant: A Resource Guide from the Library of Congress
• Ulysses S. Grant at Find a Grave
• Many rare General Grant photographs
• Collection of US Grant Letters
• Historic White Haven (Grant-Dent home)
• Ulysses S. Grant Genealogy, Mississippi State University Library
• Template:Worldcat id
• Animations of the Campaigns of Ulysses S. Grant (Forts Henry and Donelson, Shiloh, Vicksburg, Chattanooga, Overland, and Petersburg/Appomattox)