Ulysses S. Grant

Alexis Stack
Chapman Junior High School, Farmington

Ulysses S. Grant overcame early failures to do many extraordinary things. He was born at Point Pleasant, Ohio, on April 27, 1822, the son of Hannah and Jesse Grant. Ulysses S. was not his real name; some say it was Hiram Ulysses, and some say it was Hiram Simpson.

When Grant was one-year old, he moved with his parents to Georgetown, Ohio, where he was educated in local and boarding schools. On May 20, 1839, he arrived at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York. The academy staff made a mistake, enrolling Grant as Ulysses Simpson and the name stuck throughout his life. In 1843 Grant graduated from West Point twenty-fourth in a class of thirty-nine.

After graduation, the twenty-one-year-old Grant was assigned to Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, and it was there that he met Julia Dent. The couple was married August 22, 1848, after the Mexican War. The Grants had four children, Frederick Dent, Ulysses S., Ellen, and Jesse, Jr.

From 1846 to 1848, Grant served under Generals Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott during the Mexican War. After Grant's tour of duty in the North he was sent to California where he was sta-

The city of Galena presented this home to Grant when he returned victorious from the Civil War.

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tioned at Fort Humboldt. While stationed at Fort Humboldt, Grant resigned his commission because of loneliness and a drinking problem.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Grant was appointed colonel. Grant was soon appointed brigadier general of the Illinois volunteers, and in September 1861 he seized Paducah, Kentucky, but did not gain fame until his raid on Belmont, Missouri. In February 1862, in cooperation with the navy, Grant succeeded in reducing Forts Henry and Donelson, Tennessee, forcing General Simon B. Buckner to surrender. At Shiloh in April 1862, the Confederates surprised Grant, who held his ground and them moved on to Corinth. He established his reputation as a strategist in the brilliant campaign against Vicksburg, Mississippi, that was fought on July 4, 1863. In November 1863 Grant was appointed commander in the west and went on to defeat Braxton Bragg at Chattanooga. Grant's victories made him so distinguished that he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general, and in February 1864 he was given command of all Union armies.

Galena, Illinois, where Grant lived briefly before the war, celebrated the return of its Civil War hero. The proud town presented the Grants with a beautiful house although he spent little time in it. In 1873 Grant commented that "although it is probable I will never live much time among you, but in the future be only a visitor as I am at present. . . I hope to retain my residence. . . I expect to cast my vote here always." The local newspaper reported that it was "in excellent order and ready for occupation at any time," adding that "visitors are always welcome." Grant made final visits in 1879 and 1880 and saw that a new sidewalk had been laid out, the outbuildings repaired, the trees well trimmed, and a new wash house built. In 1904 Grant's children gave the house to the city of Galena. The property was to be kept in memorial of the late General Grant and for no other purpose. The maintenance of the home proved to be too costly for the city, who deeded the home to the State of Illinois in 1931.

Because he was commander of the army, Grant engaged in the struggles between President Andrew Johnson and Congress. The general gradually moved closer to the radicals in Congress and cooperated with Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton in carrying out the Congressional Reconstruction plan for the South. Grant accepted appointment as secretary ad interim after Johnson dismissed Stanton, but disagreed violently with the president when the Senate ordered Stanton reinstated. Grant, the country's best known military leader, became the Republican candidate for president in 1868. He defeated his Democratic rival, Horatio Seymour.

From the beginning, Grant's administration was plagued with problems of Reconstruction, civil service reform, and economic adjustment. Grant did not know how to choose proper advisors or how to avoid the pitfalls in an age of corruption.

The Cherry Residence served as Grant's headquarters during the Battle of Shiloh.

Encouraged by the final return of all the southern states to the Union, Grant honestly tried to carry out congressional Reconstruction, but in the long run could not sustain it. Grant tried to protect the rights of former slaves, but he could not prevent the rise of some whites who thought themselves superior.

Grant was challenged for reelection by the Liberal Republican Party who endorsed Horace Greeley. Grant won easily, but his second administration was soiled by three major scandals. One scandal included the Credit Mobilier Affair that involved accusations against the vice president and others of accepting bribes. The Panic of 1873 also tarnished the administration because of widespread unemployment and the loss of the House of Representatives to the Democrats. Grant's only success was in foreign affairs.

After his presidency Grant took a long trip around the world. When he returned in 1879 he attempted to run for a third term but was unsuccessful. In 1881 he moved to New York City where he became a partner in the Wall Street firm of Grant and Ward. The company collapsed in 1884, leaving Grant close to ruin. To get the family out of debt, Grant began writing his memoirs even as he was dying of throat cancer. The memoirs were published and titled The Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant. These were not only profitable to his family but they have become an American classic.

Grant died at the age of sixty-three in Mount McGregor, New York, on July 23, 1885. His body was laid to rest in an imposing tomb on Riverside Drive in New York City.—[From Wyatt Blassingame, The Look-It-Up Book of Presidents; Sarah K. Bolton, Lives of Poor Boys Who Became Famous; Internet: <www.outfitters.com/illinois/history/civil/grant-us>, "Famous Illinoisians with Civil War Ties, Ulysses S. Grant," and <www.state.il.us/hpa/Grantus.html>, "U.S. Grant Home State Historic Site."]

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