Ulysses S. Grant - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Overview

Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

(1869–1877) as well as military commander during the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

defeated the Confederate military

Military of the Confederate States of America

The Military of the Confederate States of America comprised three branches:* Confederate States Army - The Confederate States Army the land-based military operations...

and ended the Confederate States of America

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

. Grant began his lifelong career as a soldier after graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point

United States Military Academy

The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...

in 1843. Fighting in the Mexican–American War

Mexican–American War

The Mexican–American War, also known as the First American Intervention, the Mexican War, or the U.S.–Mexican War, was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848 in the wake of the 1845 U.S...

, he was a close observer of the techniques of Generals Zachary Taylor

Zachary Taylor

Zachary Taylor was the 12th President of the United States and an American military leader. Initially uninterested in politics, Taylor nonetheless ran as a Whig in the 1848 presidential election, defeating Lewis Cass...

and Winfield Scott

Winfield Scott

Winfield Scott was a United States Army general, and unsuccessful presidential candidate of the Whig Party in 1852....

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Unanswered Questions

WAS ULYSSES GRANT AN ALCOHOLIC?

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Discussions

What were some of the scandals that plagued the Grant administration?

Grant's military career

Grant's presidency

Who is your personal hero and why?

What were Grant's policies about Civil Rights?

How did Grant's military strategy lead to Union victory in the American Civil War?

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Timeline

1861 American Civil War: Forces under Union General Ulysses S. Grant bloodlessly capture Paducah, Kentucky, which gives the Union control of the mouth of the Tennessee River.

1861 American Civil War: Battle of Belmont: In Belmont, Missouri, Union forces led by General Ulysses S. Grant overrun a Confederate camp but are forced to retreat when Confederate reinforcements arrive.

1862 American Civil War: Ulysses S. Grant gives the United States its first victory of the war, by capturing Fort Henry, Tennessee, known as the Battle of Fort Henry.

1862 American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant attacks Fort Donelson, Tennessee.

1862 American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant captures Fort Donelson, Tennessee.

1862 American Civil War: The Battle of Shiloh begins – in Tennessee, forces under Union General Ulysses S. Grant meet Confederate troops led by General Albert Sidney Johnston.

1862 American Civil War: Battle of Shiloh ends – the Union Army under General Ulysses S. Grant defeats the Confederates near Shiloh, Tennessee.

1862 American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant issues ''General Order No. 11'', expelling Jews from Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky.

1863 American Civil War: Battle of Chattanooga begins – Union forces led by General Ulysses S. Grant reinforce troops at Chattanooga, Tennessee and counter-attack Confederate troops.

1864 American Civil War: The Army of the Potomac, under General Ulysses S. Grant, breaks off from the Battle of the Wilderness and moves southwards.

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Quotations

The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can, and keep moving on.

Statement to John Hill Brinton, at the start of his Tennessee River Campaign, early 1862, as quoted in Personal Memoirs of John H. Brinton, Major and Surgeon U.S.V., 1861-1865 (1914) by John Hill Brinton, p. 239

No terms except an unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works.

To General S.B. Buckner, Fort Donelson (16 February 1862)

God gave us Lincoln and Liberty, let us fight for both.

A toast made by Grant before his operations in the Vicksburg Campaign|Vicksburg Campaign, (22 February 1863); as quoted in A Popular and Authentic Life of Ulysses S. Grant (1868) by Edward Deering Mansfield

I propose to fight it out on this line, if it takes all summer.

Dispatch to Washington, during the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House|Battle of Spotsylvania Court House (11 May 1864)

Wherever the enemy goes let our troops go also.

Dispatch to General Henry Wager Halleck|Henry W. Halleck from City Point, Virginia (1 August 1864)

The war is over — the rebels are our countrymen again.

Upon stopping his men from cheering after Robert E. Lee|Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House (9 April 1865)

Reports of my death greatly exaggerated. Returning to Washington immediately.

Telegram (14 April 1865); published in The Memoirs of General Ulysses S. Grant (1885)

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