#18 Ulysses S. Grant

1869-1877

“Sam” Grant

Born: April 27, 1822 in Point Pleasant, OH

Parents: Jesse and Hannah (Simpson) Grant

Wife: Julia Boggs DentChildren: Frederick,

Ulysses, Ellen, and Jesse

Background

Grant’s real name was Hiram Ulysses Grant. He was born to a modest family in Pt. Pleasant. When he was one year old, Grant’s family moved to

nearby Georgetown, Ohio where his father opened a tannery.

As a youth Grant worked on his father’s farm and in his tannery.

Even as a young boy, Grant fell in love with horses, becoming an expert horseman.

Grant attended local schools in Ohio and in Maysville, Kentucky.

Birthplace and Home

Grant was born in neighboring Clermont County, and grew up in Georgetown Ohio, which is in Brown County.

West Point

Grant was nominated for admission to West Point in 1839.

His congressman mistakenly nominated him as Ulysses S. Grant. He didn’t complain, and that became his name. Sam was his nickname.

Grant graduated 21st in his class of 39, and was well liked and respected by his classmates.

Military Service

Grant began his career as a quartermaster.

He served in the Mexican War, and was brevetted twice for bravery.

Grant once rode through fire on horseback to get ammunition for his men and rescued his future brother-in-law.

Marriage

Grant married Julia Dent in 1848, the daughter of a slave owner from St. Louis.

The two met one another because Grant was a classmate of her brother at West Point.

There marriage was very successful and they were said to truly love each other.

Out of the Army

After the Mexican War Grant served in many places, where he was usually accompanied by his family.

Grant was eventually promoted to Captain, and was sent to remote Fort Hombolt in California where he could not afford to bring his family. Here Grant turned to the bottle.

Grant resigned his commission in1854, many say to avoid a court martial for drunkenness.

Civilian Life

Grant struggled in civilian life, first as a farmer for seven years, then as a bill collector, and in real estate.

Grant eventually went to work in his fathers store in Galena, Illinois.

Civilian life was hard for Grant and he met little success.

Back in the Army

After Ft. Sumter, Grant worked to recruit volunteers for the Union.

From this, Grant was made the Colonel of a company of Illinois volunteers, and later Brigadier General of Volunteers.

Forces under Grant quickly won victories at Ft. Henry and Ft. Donellson, where he told the Confederates that no terms would be accepted except “unconditional surrender”, which matched his initials and became a nickname.

Grant’s superior did not like him though, and he was even temporarily removed from command.

Shiloh

Grants Army of the Tennessee was attacked by the Confederates at Pittsburgh Landing on April 6, 1862. The Confederates almost won the Battle of Shiloh that day, but Grants forces held.

On April 7th, Grant led his troops in driving back the Confederates, and the Union won the battle.

The Union suffered over 13,000 casualties and the Confederates almost 11,000.

Grant was criticized by some because his troops had not prepared proper defenses, but his coolness under fire won him respect.

Vicksburg and Chattanooga

Grant was given command of a new Army and was ordered to capture the Confederate city of Vicksburg.

The Campaign for Vicksburg was one of the most complex of the war, and proved that Grant had a good military mind.

After a six week siege, an entire Confederate Army surrendered to Grant.

Grant was hailed as a hero, and was then sent to rescue the Army of the Cumberland, which he did by winning the Battles of Chattanooga and Lookout Mountain.

General-in-Chief

Impressed with his victories, Lincoln made Grant a Lieutenant General, the first since Washington.

Grant was given command of the entire U.S. Army and he immediately put forth his anaconda plan, which blockaded the coasts, sent Sherman to the sea, and sent three separate armies to attack Richmond.

Victory

The summer of 1864 Grants forces attacked Lee continuously at the Battles of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Courthouse, and Cold Harbor.

Despite the heavy losses at these battles, Grant kept attacking, eventually forcing Lee into a siege at Petersburg.

The following spring, after months of siege warfare, Lee was forced to surrender to Grant at Appomattox Courthouse Virginia.

Grant became the biggest hero of the Union.

Grant During the War

After the War

Grant is commissioned “General of the Army”.

He is chosen by Andrew Johnson to be the Secretary of War, but he refused to replace Edwin M. Stanton, infuriating Johnson, but making him a hero to the Radical Republicans, who nominated him for president.

Presidency

Grant wins the election of 1868 in a landslide, and is expected to immediately begin reforming problems in the government.

Grant, however, has a hands-off approach and allows his subordinates, mostly Republican political cronies, a great deal of freedom.

As a result of Grants hands-off approach corruption is rampant in his administration.

Financial Troubles

In 1869 there was the Black Friday financial panic, when the price of gold soared, threatening financial institutions with ruin. Grant stepped in at the last minute to sell government reserves (Grant’s brother-in-law was involved in a scandal to corner the gold market which caused this panic).

The Panic of 1873 began a 5 year long depression that devastated the world economy. Grant’s policy was to do little, and he vetoed a bill that would put $100,000,000 in paper currency into the economy, because he did not want to devalue American currency.

Politics

Because Grant refused to set a party platform, the Republicans broke into factions, with some wanting reform from corruption, and others wanting to build strength in the South, especially at the expense of ex-Confederates.

The split in the Republicans hurt Grant because the reformers did not support his attempts to annex what is now the Dominican Republic, while the party regulars refused to accept his choice for Attorney General.

He learned from this, and sided with the party regulars, which won him re-election but hurt his legacy due to corruption.

Breaking Up the Klan

In 1871 Congress passed legislation against the Ku Klux Klan that allowed Grant to use Marshall Law to eliminate it.

Despite his removal of the Klan, Grant reflected the beliefs of many in the North, by reaching out to white Southerners, hoping to reconcile with them. This proved hurtful to the black cause, and paved the way for whites to come back into dominance in the South.

Grant personally felt sympathy for freed blacks, but could not muster enough political support to keep troops active to protect them.

Corruption

Many Republicans went South, and engaged in corrupt politics to gain wealth and power. Reform Republicans blamed them for this, and Southern Whites used this as an excuse to attack blacks even further.

Credit Mobilier Scandal, in which a fraudulent company was established to complete the construction of the Union Pacific Railroad. They overcharged the Federal Government by an enormous amount. Many congressmen were involved, and Grant’s personal secretary was engaged in this scandal.

In the Whiskey Ring, Republican politicians were able to siphon off millions of dollars in tax money from alcohol sales. Grant’s personal secretary was involved in this scandal as well.

Grant was notorious for hiring his old army buddies and family members for high ranking positions.

Indian Policy

Grant made many statements against the confiscation of Native American lands and attempts to exterminate them.

Unfortunately many massacres of Native Americans occurred in the West.

The Battle of Little Big Horn occurred toward the end of Grant’s presidency.

Foreign Policy

Grant signed the Treaty of Washington to avoid war with Great Britain based on damage done to U.S. shipping during the Civil War, by Confederate ships made in Britain.

Grant sought to purchase what is now the Dominican Republic, but was stopped.

Grant’s Secretary of State avoided war with Spain over the capture of a U.S. ship sailing to Cuba to aid in a rebellion.

On his way out

The election of 1876 was widely disputed and the Democrats agreed to give the election to Rutheford B. Hayes in exchange for the removal of Federal Troops in the South.

Grant began this process, by first removing troops from Florida. Hayes would remove the rest.

Post Presidency

Grant went on a world tour after his presidency traveling throughout Europe, Africa and Asia.

He met Queen Victoria, Otto Von Bismarck, Emperor Meiji, and many other dignitaries.

The trip was very expensive, so Grant entered into an investment banking partnership, to make money. He was swindled by his partner and ended up going bankrupt.

Post Presidency Continued

To help him and his destitute family, congress granted him a pension.

He wrote his memoirs to get his family out of poverty, earning them $450,000 dollars after his death.

Most experts consider his memoirs to be among the best ever written.

Death

Grant was diagnosed with throat cancer and suffered a great deal of pain in his last years.

He pushed through the pain at the end of his life to finish the memoirs.

Legacy

Grant has a mixed legacy. He is considered to be a solid general, and loyal

soldier. He was the Union’s greatest hero of the Civil War.

Grant was considered to be a failure as a politician, and despite the fact that he was never personally linked, he did little to stop the corruption that was rampant during his administration.

In recent years historians have been more sympathetic to Grant, and have seen him as a victim of the tough times he was president in.