General Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As commanding general, he led the Union Army to victory in the American Civil War in 1865 and thereafter briefly served as U.S. secretary of war. Later, as president, Grant was an effective civil rights executive who signed the bill that created the Justice Department and worked with Radical Republicans to protect African Americans during Reconstruction.

Born and raised in Ohio, Grant attended West Point and graduated with the class of 1843, going on to serve with distinction in the Mexican–American War. He resigned from the army in 1854, returning to civilian life impoverished. In 1861, shortly after the American Civil War began, Grant joined the Union Army and quickly rose to prominence after winning early Union victories in the western theatre. In 1863, he led the Vicksburg campaign, gaining control of the Mississippi River, dealing a serious strategic blow to the Confederacy. President Abraham Lincoln promoted him to lieutenant general after his victory at Chattanooga. For thirteen months, Grant fought Robert E. Lee during the high-casualty Overland Campaign which ended with capture of Lee's army at Appomattox, where he formally surrendered to Grant. In 1866, President Andrew Johnson promoted Grant to General of the Army.