| Grant, Ulysses S. |
|
Army general, president (1822-1885) |  |
|
|
Born and raised in Ohio, he graduated from West Point in 1843 with an unexceptional record. He served in the Mexican War (1846-1848), reaching the rank of captain by war's end. Over the next six years, he served at a series of quiet, isolated Western outposts before retiring from the military in 1854. Already a notorious heavy drinker, he settled in Missouri and took up farming, but soon found himself restless and unhappy. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Grant returned to military command in the Union forces. Soon promoted to general, he became known for his aggressive drives through enemy territory while suffering high casualty rates. In 1864, Lincoln made him commander of all Union forces, and he oversaw the final defeat of the Confederacy the following year. |
 | | Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885) | | © 1997 State Historical Society of Wisconsin |
|
Grant afterwards became secretary of war under president Johnson. Being a popular war hero made him a prime presidential candidate, and in 1868 he ran and won on the Republican ticket. However, his military prowess did not translate well to the demands of political leadership. One historian writes, "As president, he was out of his element; a cabinet of cronies and political contributors proved largely incompetent and corrupt, and Grant had no overall vision for the country." Nonetheless, he gained reelection in 1872, and almost gained a third nomination in 1880 before retiring to write his memoirs.
SOURCES: Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography; Encyclopedia of American Biography. |
