#Ulysses s grant jr series#

The president removed a vocal critic of his policies, Secretary of War Edwin Stanton (1814-1869), from the Cabinet and replaced him with Grant.

By the summer of 1867, tensions were running high between Johnson and the Radical Republicans in Congress, who favored a more aggressive approach to Reconstruction in the South. Grant Was One of America's Most Brilliant Military Leaders From War Hero to Presidentįollowing the war, Ulysses Grant became a national hero, and in 1866 was appointed America’s first four-star general at the recommendation of President Andrew Johnson (1808-1875). Grant, and his wife had been invited to accompany the president that night but declined in order to visit family. On April 9, 1865, Confederate General Robert Lee (1807-1870) surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia, effectively ending the Civil War.įive days later, on April 14, Lincoln was assassinated by Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth (1838-1865) while attending a play at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C.

#Ulysses s grant jr series#

He led a series of campaigns that ultimately wore down the Confederate army and helped bring the deadliest conflict in U.S. Grant, who was earning a reputation as a tenacious and determined leader, was appointed lieutenant-general by Lincoln on March 10, 1864, and given command of all U.S. In July 1863, Grant’s forces captured Vicksburg, Mississippi, a Confederate stronghold. Grant: An Interactive Map of His Key Civil War Battles When the Confederate general in charge of the fort asked about terms of surrender for the Battle of Fort Donelson, Grant famously replied, “No terms except an unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted.”ĮXPLORE: Ulysses S. Grant’s first major victory came in February 1862, when his troops captured Fort Donelson in Tennessee. Later that summer, President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) made Grant a brigadier general. In 1854, he resigned from the military.Īfter the Civil War began in April 1861, Grant became a colonel of the 21st Illinois Volunteers. In the early years of his marriage, Grant was assigned to a series of remote army posts, some of them on the West Coast, which kept him separated from his family. Grant, Jr., Nellie Grant and Jesse Root Grant. The couple eventually had four children: Frederick Dent Grant, Ulysses S. The following year, he met Julia Dent (1826-1902), the sister of one of his West Point classmates and the daughter of a merchant and planter.Īfter seeing action in the Mexican-American War, Grant returned to Missouri and married Julia in August 1848. Infantry, which was stationed at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, near St. He was commissioned as a brevet second lieutenant in the 4th U.S. In 1843, Grant graduated from West Point, where he was known as a skilled horseman but an otherwise undistinguished student. Grant as his real name, although he maintained that the “S” did not stand for anything. Grant never amended the error and went on to accept Ulysses S. The congressman who appointed Grant mistakenly believed his first name was Ulysses and his middle name was Simpson (his mother’s maiden name). In 1839, Jesse Grant arranged for his son’s admission to the U.S. He spent his final days penning his memoirs, which were published the year he died and proved a critical and financial success. After retiring, Grant invested in a brokerage firm that went bankrupt, costing him his life savings. While Grant was personally honest, some of his associates were corrupt and his administration was tarnished by various scandals. A primary focus of Grant’s administration was Reconstruction, and he worked to reconcile the North and South while also attempting to protect the civil rights of newly freed black slaves. armies.Īfter the war, he became a national hero, and the Republicans nominated him for president in 1868. During the Civil War, Grant, an aggressive and determined leader, was given command of all the U.S. An Ohio native, Grant graduated from West Point and fought in the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). Ulysses Grant (1822-1885) commanded the victorious Union army during the American Civil War (1861-1865) and served as the 18th U.S.