Ulysses Simpson Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; 27 April 1822 - July 23, 1885) was an American soldier and statesman who served as Commander General of the Army and the 18th President of America United, the highest position in the military and the government of the United States. A famous United States Army General during the American Civil War, Grant led the Union Armed Forces to victory over the Confederacy under the supervision of Abraham Lincoln. When the President of the United States (1869-77) Grant led the Republican Party in their bid to remove the remnants of Confederate nationalism and slavery during the Reconstruction.
Grant was born and raised in Ohio by Methodist parents whose lineage in the new world returned several generations. As a young man he often worked on his father's tannery and showed off his initial talent for horseback riding, taming horses and managing horses. After graduating from West Point in 1843, Grant served with differences in the Mexican-American War. Upon his return he married Julia Dent, and together they had four children. Grant retired from the army in 1854 and fought financially in civilian life. When the Civil War began in 1861, he rejoined the army and quickly promoted. As a general he mastered Kentucky, most of Tennessee, won a major battle at Shiloh and captured Vicksburg, seized the Mississippi River and divided the Confederacy. These victories, combined with the Chattanooga campaign, persuaded Abraham Lincoln that Grant was the best fit to lead the Union's combined forces. Grant was promoted to Lieutenant General, the rank previously reserved for George Washington, in March 1864. He confronted Robert E. Lee, trapping his troops to defend Richmond, while coordinating a series of campaigns in other theaters. In April 1865, Lee succumbed to Grant at Appomattox, effectively ending the war. Historians have praised Grant's military genius, and his strategy is featured in military history textbooks.
After the Lincoln assassination, Grant was increasingly disillusioned by President Andrew Johnson's approach to Reconstruction, and drifted toward the "Radical" Republican. The president was elected in 1868, the youngest man in office on that date, Grant stabilizing the postwar national economy, creating the Justice Department, using the military to enforce the law in the former Confederacy and sue the Ku Klux Klan. The grant strengthens Republicans in the South and signs three civil rights measures into law. He appoints African-Americans and Jewish-Americans to prominent federal offices. In 1871 he created the first Civil Service Commission. The Democrats and the Liberal Republic united behind the enemy of Grant in the 1872 presidential election, but Grant was reelected by a large margin. Generally regarded as an honest person, he still faces allegations of corruption in his government. Grant's Peace Policy with Native Americans is a bold departure for his time. In foreign policy, Grant seeks to increase trade and influence while remaining at peace with the world. With the Minister of Foreign Affairs Hamilton Fish, he managed to settle Alabama's claims with the United Kingdom. Grants and Fish negotiate a peaceful resolution with Spain over the affairs of Virginius . Congress rejected Grant's initiative to annex the Dominican Republic, creating a rift between Republicans. In national affairs, Grant's government implements the gold standard and seeks to strengthen the dollar. Grant's immediate response to Panic of 1873 failed to stop the severe industrial depression that resulted in high unemployment, deflation and bankruptcy.
When he left office in 1877, Grant embarked on a two-and-a-half year world tour that drew global attention that was profitable for him and the United States. In 1880, Grant failed to obtain a Republican presidential nomination for a third term. Faced with a severe investment reversal and dying of throat cancer, he wrote his memoir, which proved to be a major critical and financial success. His death in 1885 encouraged an outpouring of support for national unity.
Historical assessments of Grant's inheritance have varied considerably over the years. Although Grant's presidency has been criticized for the Gilded Age scandal, modern scholars regard him as an embattled president who does a difficult job during Reconstruction. Although the President's initial rating judged his administration among the worst, the modern appreciation for Grant's support of civil rights and diverse federal elections has greatly enhanced his historical reputation.
Video Ulysses S. Grant
Early life and education
Hiram Ulysses Grant was born in Point Pleasant, Ohio, on April 27, 1822, to Jesse Root Grant, a tanner and merchant, and Hannah Grant (nÃÆ' Â © e Simpson). His ancestors, Matthew and Priscilla Grant, arrived on the Mary and John ship in Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630. Grant's great-grandfather fought in the French and Indian Wars, and his grandfather, Noah, served in the American Revolution in Bunker Hill. After that, Noah settled in Pennsylvania and married Rachel Kelley, daughter of an Irish pioneer. Their son Jesse (Ulysses' father) is a supporter of the Whig Party and a persistent abolitionist.
Jesse Grant moved to Point Pleasant in 1820 and found work as a foreman in a tannery. He soon met his future wife, Hannah, and both married on June 24, 1821. Ten months later Hannah gave birth to their first child, a son. At a family gathering a few weeks later, the boy's name, Ulysses, was taken from a ballot placed in a hat. Wanting to honor his father-in-law, Jesse declared the boy to be Hiram Ulysses, though he would always call it Ulysses.
In 1823, the family moved to Georgetown, Ohio, where five siblings were born: Simpson, Clara, Orvil, Jennie, and Mary. At the age of five, Ulysses began his formal education, starting from a school of subscriptions and then at two private schools. In the winter of 1836-1837, Grant was a student at the Maysville Seminary, and in the fall of 1838 he attended John Rankin's academy. In his youth, Grant developed an unusual ability to ride and manage horses. Because Grant expressed his strong dislike of the tanning, his father placed his ability with horses to use by giving him the job of riding a cart that loaded up loads and transported people. Unlike his siblings, Grant was not forced to attend church by his Methodist parents. For the rest of his life, he prayed personally and never formally joined any denomination. To others, including at the end of his life, his own son, Grant appears to be an agnostic. He inherited some Hannah Methodist piety and calmness while adopting his father's Whig political predisposition.
Maps Ulysses S. Grant
Beginning of military career and personal life
West Point and first assignment
Grant's father wrote to Representative Thomas L. Hamer requesting that he nominate Ulysses to the United States Military Academy (USMA) in West Point, New York. When a place opened in March 1839, Hamer nominated Grant who was 16 years old. He mispronounced "Ulysses S. Grant", which became the name of his adoption because West Point could not change the name raised. Initially reluctant because of concerns about his academic ability, Grant entered the academy on 1 July 1839, as a cadet and trained there for four years. His nickname became "Sam" among his fellow soldiers since the initials "AS" also stood for "Uncle Sam".
Grant initially ignored military life, but within a year he re-examined his desire to leave the academy and then wrote, "overall I really like this place". While at the Academy, his greatest interest is the horse, and he earns the reputation of being the "most adroit rider". During the graduation ceremony, while riding a York horse, a big and powerful horse that Grant can only handle well, he made a high jump record that lasted for 25 years. Seeking help from military routines, he also studied under Romantic artist Robert Walter Weir and produced nine surviving artworks. He spent more time reading books from the library than his academic texts, often reading James Fenimore Cooper and others. On Sundays, the cadets are required to march and attend services at the academy church, a requirement that Grant does not like. Calm by nature, Grant founded several close friends among fellow cadets, including Frederick Tracy Dent and James Longstreet. He was inspired both by the Commander, Captain Charles F. Smith and by General Winfield Scott, who visited the academy to review the cadets. Grant then wrote about the life of the military, "there is much that is not preferred, but is preferred."
Grant graduated on June 30, 1843, ranked 21 of the 39 alumni, and was promoted on July 1 to the rank of two rank two. Small for his age at 17, he has entered the academy weighing just 117 pounds at five feet two inches; after graduating four years later he has grown as tall as five feet seven inches. Pleased to leave the academy, he plans to resign from his post after a four-year term. Grant would then write to a friend that among the happiest days of his life was the day he left the presidency and the day he left the academy. Though he had excellent horsemanship skills, he was not assigned to the cavalry, but to the 4th Infantry Regiment. Grant's first assignment took him to Jefferson Barracks near St. Louis, Missouri. Initiated by Colonel Stephen W. Kearny, the barracks are the nation's largest military base in the west. Grant was pleased with his new commander, but waited for the end of his military service and possible teaching career.
Marriage and family
In Missouri, Grant visited the Dent family and became engaged to his sister, Julia, in 1844. Four years later on August 22, 1848, they married at Julia's home in St. Louis. Louis. Grant's abolitionist father, Jesse, who disagreed with the slave dwarves, refused to attend their marriage, which took place without one of Grant's parents. Grant was flanked by three West Point graduates, all dressed in blue uniforms, including Longstreet, Julia's cousin. At the end of the month, Julia was warmly received by the Grant family in Bethel, Ohio. They have four children: Frederick, Ulysses Jr. ("Buck"), Ellen ("Nellie"), and Jesse. After the marriage, Grant obtained a two-month extension for leave and returned to St. Louis when he decides, with a wife to support, that he will remain in the army.
Mexican-American War
After escalating tensions with Mexico after the annexation of the United States in Texas, war broke out in 1846. During the conflict, Grant distinguished himself as a courageous and competent warrior. Before the war, President John Tyler had ordered the Grant unit into Louisiana as part of the Army Observations under Major General Zachary Taylor. In September 1846, Tyler's successor James K. Polk, unable to provoke Mexico into war in Corpus Christi, Texas, ordered Taylor to march 150 miles south to the Rio Grande. Line up south to Fort Texas, to prevent a Mexican siege, Grant underwent a battle for the first time on May 8, 1846, at the Battle of Palo Alto.
Grant was tapped to serve as a regimental quartermaster, but missed the role of combat; when finally allowed, he led a cavalry attack at the Battle of Resaca de la Palma. He demonstrated his riding ability at the Battle of Monterrey by bringing sniper shoots in the past while hanging on the side of his horse, keeping the animal between him and the enemy. Before leaving town, he stopped at a house occupied by injured Americans, giving them assurances that he would send help. Polk, alert to Taylor's growing popularity, divides his troops, sends several troops (including Grant's unit) to form new troops under Major General Winfield Scott. Traveling by sea, Scott's troops landed in Veracruz and headed for Mexico City. Soldiers meet Mexican troops at the battle of Molino del Rey and Chapultepec outside Mexico City. For his courage at Molino del Rey, Grant was put to sleep as the first lieutenant on September 30. At San Cosmà © ©, the people under Grant's guidance dragged the disassembled howitzers into the church tower, replaced it, and bombarded nearby Mexican troops. Her courage and initiative earned her a second brevet promotion for the captain. On September 14, 1847, Scott's troops marched to the city; Mexico handed over a vast territory, including California, to the United States on February 2, 1848.
During the war, Grant made a commendable note, studied Scott and Taylor's tactics and strategies, and emerged as an experienced officer, writing in his memoirs that this is how he learned so much about military leadership. In retrospect, although he respects Scott, he identifies his leadership style with Taylor. However, Grant also wrote that the Mexican War was wrong and territorial gains were designed to extend slavery, stating, "I am strongly opposed to size... and to this day, considers war, which produces, as one of the most unfair ever launched by the stronger to a weaker country. "He argues that the Civil War is a divine punishment of the nation for its aggression in Mexico. During the war, Grant discovered his "moral courage" and began to consider a career in the army.
Post-war task
Grant's first postwar assignment took him and Julia to Detroit on November 17, 1848, only to find that after a four-month hiatus absence, he was replaced as a quartermaster and sent to Madison Barracks, a desperate post in Sackets Harbor in the north. New York, needing bad supplies and repairs. Concerned for Julia, Grant filed an official complaint requesting a transfer. When Ulysses has the cash, he will go to nearby Watertown and buy supplies for himself and presents for Julia in the dry goods store. After four months of living, Grant's request for a transfer was approved and he was sent back to Detroit where he continued his work as a regiment quartermaster.
When the gold discovery in California brought the seekers and settlers into the region, Grant and the fourth infantry were ordered to strengthen the small garrison there. Grant was assigned to bring troops and several hundred civilians from New York City to Panama, land to the Pacific and then north to California. Julia, eight months pregnant with Ulysses Jr., did not accompany her. When in Panama, a cholera epidemic takes place and takes many lives of soldiers, civilians and children. In Panama City, Grant founded and organized field hospitals and moved the worst cases to a hospital a mile offshore. When the protesting spell to take care of the sick, Grant does a lot of his own maintenance, earning high praise from the observer. In August, Grant arrived in San Francisco, the booming city of the busy Gold Rush. Grant's next assignment sent him north to the Vancouver Barracks in the Territory of Oregon later.
To add insufficient military salaries to support his family, Grant speculated and failed in several business ventures, confirming his father's conviction that he had no head for business. Grant assures Julia in a letter that Native Americans are harmless, while he develops empathy over the suffering of the Indians from the "unfair treatment" by whites. Promoted to captain on August 5, 1853, Grant was assigned to lead F Company, 4th Infantry, at the newly built Fort Humboldt in California. He arrived at the fort on January 5, 1854, and reported to his commander Lt. Col. Robert C. Buchanan. Grant was bored and depressed because he was separated from his wife, and he started drinking. An officer staying with Grant reported his affair to Colonel Buchanan, who admonished Grant for one episode of drinking. Grant tells Buchanan if he does not reform he will resign. One Sunday, Grant was once again rumored to have been found on his company's payment table influenced by drinks. Keeping his promise to Buchanan, Grant resigned, effective July 31, 1854, without explanation. Buchanan supported Grant's resignation letter but did not submit a report verifying the incident. Grant was not arrested or facing a military tribunal, while the War Department declared, "No one is against his good name." Grant said years later, "the disappointment (drunkenness) has nothing to do with my decision to resign." Without support tools, Grant returned to St. Louis and reunited with his family, not sure about his future.
civil and political struggle
At the age of 32, without a civil call, Grant needed to work to support his growing family. It was the beginning of seven lean financial years. Her father offered her a place in Galena, Illinois, a family leather business branch on condition that Julia and the children live with her parents in Missouri or with a Grant in Kentucky. Ulysses and Julia oppose another breakup and refuse the offer. In 1855, Grant farmed on the property of his brother-in-law near St. Louis, using a slave belonging to Julia's father. The farm was unsuccessful and to make money he sold firewood on the street corners of St. Louis. Louis. With just $ 50 a month in earnings, wearing his faded military jacket, an unkempt Grant desperate for work. The following year, Grants moved to the land on the farm of Julia's father, and built Grant's house called "Hardscrabble". Julia does not like the country house, which she describes as "unattractive cabin". Panic 1857 devastated farmers, including Grant, who pawned his gold watch to pay for Christmas. In 1858, Grant rented a Hardscrabble and moved his family to the 850-acre estate of Julia's father who used slave labor. That fall, after the malaria attack, Grant retired from the farm.
That same year, Grant obtained a slave from his father-in-law, a thirty-five-year-old man named William Jones. In March of 1859, Grant freed William, worth about $ 1,500, instead of selling it when he needed money. Grant moved to St. Louis, forging a partnership with Julia's cousin Harry Boggs, who worked in the real estate business as a bill collector, was again unsuccessful, and on Julia's recommendation dissolving his partners. In August, Grant applied for a position as a regional engineer, believing that his education qualified for the job. His application came with thirty-five important recommendations, but Grant correctly assumed the position would be based on political affiliation and endorsed because he was trusted to share democratic sentiments from his father-in-law. In April 1860, Grant and his family moved north to Galena, accepting a position in his father's leather goods business run by his younger brother Simpson and Orvil. Within a few months, Ulysses paid his debts in Missouri. Ulysses and his family attended the local Methodist church and he soon proved himself to be a prominent citizen of Galena.
In the presidential election of 1856, Grant gave his first presidential vote to Democrat James Buchanan, then said he actually voted against John C. Frà © à © monten over fears that his anti-slavery position would lead to secession and war in the south. Although Grant is not an abolitionist, he is also not considered a "bondage man", and can not force himself to work. For the election of 1860, he favored Democrat Stephen A. Douglas over the eventual winners, Abraham Lincoln, and Lincoln over South Democrat John C. Breckinridge. Since she did not have residence requirements in Illinois at the time, she could not vote.
Civil War
On April 12, 1861, the American Civil War began when the Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. The news came as a surprise in Galena, and Grant shared his neighbors' concerns about the war. On April 15, Lincoln summoned 75,000 volunteers. On April 16, Grant attended a mass gathering held in Galena to assess the crisis and encourage recruitment, and a speech by his father's lawyer, John Aaron Rawlins, mobilized Grant's patriotism. Ready to fight, Grant remembered with satisfaction, "I never go to our leather shop again." On April 18, Grant led a second recruitment meeting. Grant rejected the captain's position, hoping to gain senior military rank.
Initial command
Grant's initial attempt to unveil failed, rejected by Major General George B. McClellan and Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon. On April 29, supported by Congressman Elihu B. Washburne of Illinois, Grant promoted military aid to Governor Richard Yates, and collected ten regiments into the Illinois service. On June 14, again assisted by Washburne, Grant was promoted to Colonel and headed the unruly Regiment of the Illinois Volunteer Infantry, where he restored order. Colonel Grant and his 21st regiment were transferred to Missouri, to expel the reported Confederate forces.
On August 5, with the help of Washburne, Grant was appointed as Brigadier General volunteer. Major General John C. Frà © Å © mont, commander of the Union from the West, passed a senior general and appointed Grant's commander from Missouri's Southeastern District. Grant set up his headquarters in Cairo, Illinois, a bustling Union and Union naval base, which will be used to launch a joint campaign on the Mississippi, Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. After the Confederacy moved to western Kentucky, with designs in southern Illinois, Grant, who was told Frà © mont, advanced in Paducah, Kentucky, took it without a fight on September 6, and set up a supply station. Having understood the importance for Lincoln about Kentucky's neutrality, Grant assured his citizens, "I came between you not as your enemy, but as your friend." On November 1, Pastor Montane ordered Grant to "stage a demonstration" against the Confederates on both sides of the Mississippi, but forbade him to attack the enemy.
Belmont, Forts Henry and Donelson
On November 2, 1861, Lincoln fired Frà © mont from command, a move that freed Grant to make a planned attack from Cairo on Confederate soldiers camped in Belmont, Missouri. On November 7, Grant, along with Brigadier General John A. McClernand, landed 2,500 people at Hunter's Point, two miles north of the Confederate base outside Belmont. The Union Army took over the camp, but the Confederacy, which was reinforced under Brigadier General Frank Cheatham and Gideon J. Pillow, forced the Union to resign. Grant wanted to destroy the Confederate headquarters in Belmont, Missouri and Columbus, Kentucky, but was not given enough troops and was only able to disrupt their position. Grant's army had to fight back to their Union ship and flee back to Cairo under fire from a heavily fortified fortress in Columbus. A tactical defeat, the battle gave Grant volunteer confidence and experience. Also, President Lincoln noticed that Grant was a fighting general.
Confederated Columbus blocked Union access to lower Mississippi. Grant, and General James B. McPherson, came up with a plan to pass through Columbus and with a force of 25,000 troops, move against Fort Henry on the Tennessee River and then ten miles east to Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River, with the aid of a warship, open both rivers and allowing Union access further south. Grant presented his plan to Henry Halleck, his new commander under the newly formed Missouri Department. Halleck was considering the same strategy, but dismissed Grant, believing he needed twice the number of troops. However, after Halleck sent a telegram and consulted McClellan about the plan, he finally agreed on the condition that the attack was carried out in close cooperation with Naval Flag Officer Andrew H. Foote. After the Foote warship had silenced most of the weapons in the fort, Grant's army moved and easily captured Fort Henry on February 6, 1862.
Grant then ordered a direct assault on nearby Fort Donelson, under the command of John B. Floyd, who dominated the Cumberland River. Unlike Fort Henry, Grant is now fighting the same powers as his. Unaware of the power of the garrison, Grant's army was overconfident. Grant, McClernand, and Smith positioned their division around the castle. The next day McClernand and Smith launched a probing attack at the weak points that appeared on the Confederate line, only to retreat with huge losses. On February 14, Foote's gunboats began bombarding the castle, only to be driven back by heavy weapons. Foote hurt himself. So far the Confederations have won, but soon Union reinforcements arrive, giving a total grant of more than 40,000 troops. When Foote regained control of the river, Grant resumed his deadly assault. That night the commander of the Confederate Floyd summoned the war council, unsure of his next move. Grants receive delivery from Foote, requesting that they meet. Grant rode a horse and drove seven miles over the road and a frozen trench, reached Smith's division, instructed him to prepare for the next attack, and rode and met with McClernand and Wallace. After exchanging reports, he meets with Foote. Foote continued his bombardment, which marked a general attack. After a day of battle, Fort Donelson filed Grant's request for "unconditional and immediate surrender", and Floyd hit his flag. Grant sent Halleck's telegraph, informing him that Fort Donelson had fallen.
Grant had won the first major victory for the Union, capturing all of Floyd's rebel forces totaling more than 12,000. Halleck remained angry that Grant had acted without his permission and complained to McClellan, accusing Grant of "neglect and inefficiency". On March 3, Halleck sent a telegram to Washington complaining that he had not communicated with Grant for a week. Three days later, Halleck followed up with a text that claimed "the word just reached me that... Grant has resumed his bad habits (drinking)". Lincoln, unconcerned, promoted Grant to the major general of the volunteers while the North Press treated Grant as a hero. Playing the initials, they called her "Conditional Grants Unconditionally".
Shiloh and aftermath
When large numbers of troops from both armies gathered, it was widely assumed in the North that this would be a battle to end the war. Grant, restored by Halleck at the insistence of Lincoln and Stanton, abandoned Fort Henry and traveled by boat to the Tennessee River to rejoin his troops with orders to advance with the Tennessee Army to Tennessee. Grant's main army was in Pittsburg Landing, while 40,000 Confederate troops gathered at Corinth. Brigadier General William Tecumseh Sherman convinced Grant that his green troops were ready to be attacked. Approve and let Halleck know by their judgment. Grant, whose troops number 45,000, wanted to attack the Confederacy at Corinth, but Halleck ordered him not to attack until Major General Don Carlos Buell arrived with his division of 25,000. Meanwhile, Grant prepares to attack the Confederate army with more or less the same strength. Instead of preparing a defensive fortress between the Tennessee River and Owl Creek, and clearing the fireworks, they spent most of their time drilling mostly inexperienced troops while Sherman dismissed the Confederate reports around him.
The unaffirmed Union creates an opportunity for the Confederate to attack first before Buell arrives. On the morning of April 6, 1862, Grant's army was shocked when the Confederacy, led by General Albert Sidney Johnston and P.G.T. Beauregard, first attacked "like an Alps avalanche" near the Shiloh church, attacked five divisions of Grant's army and forced a confusing retreat toward the Tennessee River. Johnston was injured and died during engagement and command fell to Beauregard. A Union line held off the Confederate attack for several hours at a place called "The Hornet's Nest", giving Grant time to assemble artillery and 20,000 troops near Pittsburg Landing. The Confederacy finally broke through the Hornet nest to capture a Union division, but "The Last Path of Grant" held a Pittsburg Landing, while the exhausted Confederacy, unassisted, stopped their advance. That night, torrential rains began to flow while Grant and his staff took cover and crowded around the fire. When asked by McPherson whether he would resign, Grant replied, "Back off? No. I propose to attack them during the day and whip them."
Supported by 18,000 new troops from the divisions of Major General Buell and Lew Wallace, Grant struck back at dawn the next day and reclaimed the fields, forcing unorganized and demoralized rebels to retreat back to Corinth while thousands left him. Halleck instructed Grant not to go for more than a day from Pittsburg Landing, to stop the Confederate Troops. Although Grant won the battle, the situation was little changed, with the Union having Pittsburg Landing and the Confederacy once again hiding in Corinth. Grant, now realizing that the South is determined to fight and that war will not be won by a single battle, will then write, "Then, indeed, I let go of all the ideas of saving Unity except by total conquest."
Shiloh was the most expensive battle in American history up to that time and a total of 23,746 total shocking citizens. Briefly praising a hero for running the Confederacy, Grant soon fell into controversy. The North Press punished Grant for very high casualties, and accused him of being drunk during combat, contrary to reports of officers and others at the time. However, Grant's victory at Shiloh ended any chance for the Confederacy to win in the Mississippi valley or regain its strategic advantage in the West.
Halleck arrived from St. Louis on April 11, took command, and assembled a combined force of about 120,000 people. On April 29, he freed Grant from field command and replaced him with Major General George Henry Thomas. Halleck slowly moves his troops to take on Corinth, wetting every night. Meanwhile, Beauregard pretends to strengthen, sends "deserters" to the Union Army with the story, and moves his troops out at night, to Halleck's surprise when he finally arrives at Corinth on 30 May. Unenthusiastic, Grant considered resigning, but Sherman was convinced. him to stay. Lincoln dismissed Grant's criticism, saying, "I can not get rid of this guy, he's fighting." Halleck divides his combined forces and returns Grant as commander of the Tennessee Army on July 11.
On September 19, Grant's forces defeated the Confederacy at the Battle of Iuka, then succeeded in defending Corinth, causing many casualties. On October 25, Grant took command of the Tennessee District. In November, after the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation of Lincoln, Grant ordered units under his command to join the former slaves into the Union Armed Forces, giving them clothing, shelter, and wages for their services.
Vicksburg campaign
The Vicksburg Confederate Confederate, Mississippi, blocked the Mississippi River Union control street, making his arrest vital. Grant's Army holds western Tennessee with nearly 40,000 troops available to fight. Grant is aggravated to know that Lincoln authorized McClernand to form a separate army for that purpose. Halleck ordered McClernand to Memphis, and placed him and his troops under Grant's authority. After Grant's army seized Holly Springs, Grant planned to attack the front of Vicksburg, while Sherman would attack the fort from behind in the Mississippi River. However, the Confederate cavalry attacks on 11 and 20 severed Union communications and recaptured Holly Springs, preventing Grant and Sherman's forces from connecting. On December 29, a Confederate army led by Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton dismissed Sherman's direct approach to the cliff to Vicksburg in Chickasaw Bayou. McClernand reached Sherman's army, took command, and independently of Grant led a campaign that captured the Confederation of Fort Hindman. During this time, Grant included African American slaves who fled to the Union Army giving them protection and paid work.
Along with his military responsibilities in the months after Grant returned to command, he was concerned over the illegal cotton trade in his district. He believes the trade undermines the Union's war effort, funded the Confederacy, and extended the war, while Union soldiers were killed in the fields. On December 17, he issued General Orders no. 11, expelled the "Jews, as a class," from the district, saying that Jewish traders violated trade rules. Writing in 2012, historian Jonathan D. Sarna says Grant "issued the most famous anti-Jewish official order in American history." Historians' opinions vary on Grant's motives for issuing orders. The Jewish leaders complained to Lincoln while the Northern press criticized Grant. Lincoln demanded that the order be revoked and Grant canceled it within three weeks. When interviewed many years after the war, in response to allegations of the anti-Jewish General Order, Grant explained: "During wartime these fine differences were ignored, we did not have time to handle things with children's gloves."
On January 29, 1863, Grant took command of the whole and sought to advance his troops through the waterway to pass Vicksburg's weapon, while the green Union army gained valuable experience. On April 16, Grant ordered Admiral David Dixon Porter's warship in the south under a shot from the Vicksburg battery to meet his troops who had marched south on the west side of the Mississippi River. Grant ordered a diversion, confusing Pemberton and allowed Grant forces to move east across Mississippi, landing troops in Bruinsburg. The Grant soldiers took Jackson, the state capital. Moving his troops to Vicksburg, Grant defeated the Pemberton army at the Battle of Champion Hill on May 16, forcing them to retreat to Vicksburg. After Grant's men attacked two defense fortresses, suffering heavy losses, they settled for a seven-week siege. During a quiet period of the campaign, Grant will be drinking occasionally. Pemberton handed Vicksburg to Grant on 4 July 1863.
The fall of Vicksburg gave Union forces control over the Mississippi River and broke the Confederacy. At that time, Grant's political sympathy coincided with Raden's aggressive suppression of the war and the liberation of the slaves. The success at Vicksburg is a moral boost for Union's war effort. The personal rivalry between McClernand and Grant continued after Vicksburg until Grant pulled McClernand out of command when he violated Grant by issuing an unauthorized order. When the War Secretary Edwin M. Stanton suggested that Grant be brought back east to run the Potomac Army, Grant refused, writing that he knew Western geography and resources better and he did not want to disrupt the chain of command in the East.
Chattanooga and promotion
Lincoln promoted Grant to the major general in the regular army and assigned him to lead the newly formed Mississippi Division on October 16, 1863, including the Ohio, Tennessee, and Cumberland Army. After the Battle of Chickamauga, the Cumberland Army retreats to Chattanooga where they are trapped. Taking over command, Grant arrives in Chattanooga on horseback with plans to supply the city and break the siege. Lincoln also sent Major-General Joseph Hooker to help Grant. Union forces arrested Brown's Ferry and opened a supply line to Bridgeport. On November 23, Grant organized three troops to attack at Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain. Two days later, Hooker's troops took Lookout Mountain. Grant ordered Major General George Henry Thomas to come forward when Sherman's troops failed to take Missionaries Ridge from the northeast. The Cumberland Army, led by Major General Philip Sheridan and Brigadier General Thomas J. Wood, struck up the hill and captured Confederate bases at the top, forcing a retreat. The decisive battle gave the Union control of Tennessee and opened Georgia, the heart of the Confederation, to the Union invasion. Grant was given a very pure horse, Cincinnati , by a grateful admirer at St. Louis.
On March 2, 1864, Lincoln promoted Grant to the lieutenant general, gave him command of all Union Armed Forces, only to answer to the president. Grant arrived in Washington on March 8, and he was officially commissioned by Lincoln the next day at a Cabinet meeting. Grant developed a good working relationship with Lincoln, allowing Grant to devise his own strategy as long as Lee was defeated. Grant set up his headquarters with General George Meade at Potomac in Culpeper, northwest of Richmond, and met weekly with Lincoln and Stanton in Washington. After Halleck's protest, Grant canceled the risky invasion plan from North Carolina, and adopted a five-coordinated attack plan on five fronts, so the Confederate forces could not move troops along interior lines. Grant and Meade will conduct a direct frontal attack on Robert E. Lee's Army in Northern Virginia, while Sherman, named Grant as head of the western army, will destroy the Joseph E. Johnston Army in Tennessee and take Atlanta. Major-General Benjamin Butler will advance on Lee from the southeast, climb onto the James River, while Major General Nathaniel Banks will capture Mobile. Major General Franz Sigel was to capture the granaries and railroads in the Shenandoah Valley supplying the Confederate Army. Grant ordered a total of 533,000 ready-to-combat troops scattered on the eighteen-mile front, while the Confederates had lost many officers in combat and had great difficulty finding a replacement.
Grant's own popularity has increased, and there is talk that Union's victory at the start of the year could lead to his candidacy for the presidency. He was aware of the rumor, but had ruled out political candidacy; that possibility will soon disappear with a delay on the battlefield.
Overland Campaign and Petersburg Siege
The Overland Campaign was a series of brutal fighting that took place in Virginia for seven weeks during May and June 1864. The attempts of Sigel and Butler stuttered, and Grant was left alone to fight Lee. On the morning of Wednesday, May 4, wearing his full uniform, with his sword at his side, Grant left from his base at Culpeper to Germanna Ford, on his war horse, Cincinnati. That day, Grant crossed Rapidian without resistance, while supplies were hauled in four pontoon bridges. On May 5, Union soldiers attacked Lee in the Wilderness, a three-day battle with the estimated casualties of 17,666 Union and 11,125 Confederates. Instead of backing down, Grant flanked Lee's army to the southeast and attempted to attack his troops between Lee and Richmond at Spotsylvania Court House. Lee's army arrived in Spotsylvania and an expensive battle ensued, lasting for thirteen days, with high casualties. On May 12, Grant attempted to break through the prominent Lee's
Grant sent his troops to Cold Harbor, an important railway center connected to Richmond, but the Lee people had a defensive advantage and were deeply entrenched. On the third day of the thirteen-day battle, Grant led an expensive attack and was soon lashed as "The Butcher" by the Northern press after taking 52,788 Union victims; Confederate Lee's army suffered 32,907 victims, but he was less able to replace them. This battle is the second of the two that Grant later said he regretted (the other was his initial attack on Vicksburg). Undetected by Lee, Grant moved his army south of the James River, freeing Butler from Bermuda Hundred, and headed to Petersburg, the central railroad center in Virginia. After crossing James, Grant arrived in Petersburg, threatening Richmond nearby. Beauregard defended the city, and Lee's veteran reinforcements soon arrived, resulting in a siege of nine months. Northern hatred grew during the war. Lee was forced to defend Richmond, unable to strengthen other Confederate forces. Sheridan was assigned the Army Union command of Shenandoah and Grant directed him to "follow the enemy to their death" and to destroy the vital Confederate inventory in the Shenandoah Valley. When Sheridan reported an attack suffered by an irregular John M. Mosby Confederate cavalry, Grant recommended gathering their families for incarceration as a hostage at Fort McHenry. After Grant's failed attempt to capture Petersburg, Lincoln supported Grant in his decision to proceed. Due to the high casualties, Lincoln arrived at Grant's headquarters in City Point on June 21 to assess the situation of Grant's troops, meeting with Grant and Admiral Porter. By the time Lincoln left his award, Grant had grown.
In Petersburg, Grant approved a plan to blow some of the enemy's trench from an underground tunnel. The explosion created a crater, where the poorly-led Union forces were poured. Recovering from surprise, the Confederate surrounds the crater and easily takes Union troops inside. More than 3,500 victims of The Union outnumbered Confederates' by three to one; although the plan could be successful if properly implemented, Grant admitted that the tactic was a "tremendous failure". Rather than fighting Lee in a full frontal attack like he did in Cold Harbor, Grant continued to expand Lee's defense in south and west Petersburg to capture important rail links.
After the Federal army rebuilt the City Point Railroad, Grant used a mortar to attack Lee's overpowering army. Union troops immediately arrested Mobile Bay and Atlanta and now controlled the Shenandoah Valley, ensuring the election of Lincoln in November. Sherman convinces Grant and Lincoln to send his troops to march in Savannah and destroy the heart of the Confederacy. Sherman cut the 60's path of destruction of the Southern infrastructure without resistance, reaches the Atlantic Ocean, and seizes Savannah on December 22. On December 16, after much encouragement by Grant, the Union Armed Forces under Thomas destroyed the Hood Confederate Army in Nashville. It was the beginning of the end for the Confederation, with Lee's troops in Petersburg being the only significant remaining obstacle.
In March 1865, Grant had greatly weakened Lee's strength, after extending his line to 35 miles. Lee's forces were abandoned by thousands of people due to starvation and tension of trench warfare. Grant, Sherman, Porter, and Lincoln held a conference to discuss the surrender of the South Korean Confederation and Reconstruction army on March 28.
Appomattox campaign, and victory
On April 2, Grant ordered a general attack against Lee's deep-rooted troop. Union troops took Petersburg and arrested Richmond who was evacuated the next day. Lee and some of his troops were free and attempted to connect with the remaining defunct Joseph E. Johnston troops, but the Sheridan cavalry stopped the two forces from converging, cutting them off their supply trains. Grant was communicating with Lee before he entrusted his aide Orville Babcock to bring his last shipment to Lee requesting his surrender with instructions to escort him to Lee's chosen meeting place. Grant immediately mounted his horse, Cincinnati, and drove west, past Lee's army, to join Sheridan who had captured Appomattox Station, blocking Lee's runaway route. On the way, Grant was praised by a Meade staff member carrying a letter Lee sent through the picket line, telling Grant that he was ready to surrender officially.
On April 9, Grant and Lee met at Appomattox Court House. After receiving Lee's dispatch of the proposed meeting, Grant was very excited. Although Grant was depressed by the fall of "an enemy who has fought so long and valiantly," he believes the Southern cause is "one of the worst that people have ever done." After briefly discussing their long days in Mexico, Grant listed the terms of surrender, where Lee expressed his satisfaction and accepted Grant's terms. Beyond his military authority, Grant gave Lee and his men an amnesty; The Confederacy will surrender their weapons and return to their homes. At Lee's request, Grant also allowed them to keep their horses, all on condition that they would not take up arms against the United States. Grant ordered his troops to stop all the celebrations, saying "the war is over, the rebels are our comrades again." Confederate forces surrendered to Union forces, Johnson's troops in Tennessee on April 26, Alabama soldier Richard Taylor on May 4, and Kirby Smith army in Texas on May 26, the war ended. Lincoln Lincoln Assassination
On April 14, 1865, five days after Grant's victory at Appomattox, he attended a cabinet meeting in Washington. Lincoln invited him and his wife to the Ford's Theater, but they refused Julia's wife's insistence that she had plans to travel to Philadelphia. In a conspiracy that also targeted the top cabinet members, and in a last-ditch attempt to overthrow the Union, Lincoln was shot dead by John Wilkes Booth in the theater, and died the next morning. Many, including Grant himself, think that he has been targeted in the plot. Stanton told him about the President's death and called him back to Washington. Vice President Andrew Johnson was sworn in as President on April 15. Attending Lincoln's funeral on April 19, Grant stood alone and cried on his own; he later said Lincoln was "the greatest person I've ever known." After Johnson assumed the presidency, Grant told Julia that he feared a change in administration; he judged Johnson's attitude toward the white south as one that "made them unwilling to be citizens", and feared that the Civil War would be revived.
Commander General
At the end of the war, Grant remained the army commander, with tasks that included dealing with Maximilian and French troops in Mexico, the enforcement of Reconstruction in the former Confederate states, and the supervision of Indian wars in the Western Plains. Grant found a home for his family in Georgetown Heights in 1865, but instructed Elihu Washburne that for political purposes his legal residence remained in Galena, Illinois. That same year, Grant spoke at Cooper Union in New York to support Johnson's presidency. The next summer's trip took Grants to Albany, New York, back to Galena, and across Illinois and Ohio, with an enthusiastic reception. On July 25, 1866, Congress promoted the Grant to the rank of the newly created US Army General.
Reconstruction
Reconstruction is a turbulent period from 1863-1877 when the Confederate states were previously reinstated to the Union, "during which state laws and Constitutions were rewritten to guarantee the basic rights of former slaves, and the biracial government came to power throughout the defeated Confederations. "In November 1865, Johnson sent Grant to a fact-finding mission to the South. Grant recommends a continuation of Freedmen's Reform Bureau, which Johnson opposes, but advises against using black troops, which he believes encourages alternatives to farm labor. Grant did not believe that the Southern people were prepared to govern themselves, and that both blacks and blacks in the South needed protection by the federal government. Concerned that the war caused a loss of respect for civil authority, Grant continued to use the Army to maintain order. On the same day of the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified, Grant filed an unconvincing and optimistic report about his tour, expressing his faith that "the mass of thought of the South people accepted the present situation in good faith." In this regard, Grant's opinion on Reconstruction is in harmony with Johnson's policy of restoring the former Confederate to their position of power, arguing that Congress should allow representatives from the South to take their seats. Grant, like Lincoln, because of his sense of responsibility, believes that the federal government is accountable to all Union Army veterans who are in charge of both white and black wars.
Relationship with Johnson
Grant was initially optimistic about Johnson, saying he satisfied the nation "no need to fear" from the Johnson administration. Despite his different styles, Grant got along well with Johnson, and he was allowed to attend a cabinet meeting on Reconstruction. Grant's report of his tour to the South was in line with Johnson's conservative policy (Grant later ruled out the report). In February 1866, the relationship between Grant and Johnson began to break out. Johnson opposed Grant's closure of Richmond Examiner for an unfaithful editorial. Grant's commanding team implemented the Civil Rights Act in 1866, passing Johnson's veto. In need of Grant's popularity, Johnson took Grant on the "Swing Around the Circle" tour, a failed attempt to get national support for soft policies against the South. Grant personally referred to Johnson's speech as "a national disgrace" and he left the tour early. On March 2, 1867, overriding Johnson's veto, Congress issued the first of three Acts of Reconstruction, which divided the southern states into five military districts, placing the military officer responsible for enforcing the Reconstruction policy. Protecting the Grant, Congress passes the Army's Command Force, which adheres to the draft legislation, prevents displacement or relocation, and forces Johnson to give orders through Grant.
In August 1867, Johnson suspended the Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, a designated Lincoln who sympathized with the Reconstruction of Congress, replacing him with Grant as acting secretary. Stanton is a radical Republic protected by allies in Congress. Grant wanted to replace him but was advised not to pass the Office Act Ownership Period, prohibiting the removal of the cabinet without the approval of the Senate. Grant accepted the position, not wanting the Army to fall under a conservative designee that would block Reconstruction, and manage an uncomfortable partnership with Johnson. In December 1867 Congress elected to retain Stanton restored by the Senate Committee on January 10, 1868. Grant told Johnson that he would resign from office to avoid fines and imprisonment. Johnson, who plans to get rid of Grant, tells him that he will assume all such responsibilities and asks him to postpone his resignation until a suitable substitute can be found, believing Grant has agreed to do so. When the Senate elected and returned Stanton, Grant handed over his office before Johnson had a chance to appoint a replacement. Johnson was mad at Grant, accusing him of lying at a stormy cabinet meeting. The publication of angry messages between Grant and Johnson led to a total pause between the president and his generals. The controversy led to the impeachment and trial of Johnson in the Senate. Johnson was saved from impeachment by one vote. The split with Johnson popularized Grant among the Republicans and made him an undisputed candidate for the presidency in 1868.
Selection 1868
When Republicans met at the Republican National Convention of 1868 in Chicago, the delegates unanimously nominated Grant for president and Councilor Schuyler Colfax, for vice presidents. Although Grant preferred to remain in the military, he received a Republican nomination from his duties, while he believed he was the only one who could unite the nation. The Republican Party advocates "equal civil and political rights for all" and African American forgiveness. The Democrats, after leaving Johnson, nominated former governor Horatio Seymour (New York) for president and Francis P. Blair (Missouri) for vice president. The Democratic Party advocates the immediate recovery of former Confederate nations to the Union and amnesty from "all past political offenses".
Grant did not play an open role during the campaign and instead joined Sherman and Sheridan on a tour of the West that summer. However, Republicans adopted his words "Let's be peaceful" as their campaign slogan. Grant 1862 General Order No. 11 became an issue during the presidential campaign; he tried to distance himself from the command, saying "I am not prejudiced against sects or races, but want each individual to be judged by his own reward." The Democratic Party and their Clan supporters focus mainly on the closure of the Reconstruction and restore the South's control to the white Democrats and planter classes, which alienate many Democrats of War in the North. To intimidate blacks from Republican voting, the Klan, led by former Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, used violence and intimidation across the South in three states: Kansas, Georgia, and Louisiana. Grant won the general election with 300,000 votes from 5,716,082 votes, receiving a voter college of 214 votes to Seymour 80. Seymour received a majority of the white vote, but Grant assisted by 500,000 votes cast by blacks, winning him 54.7 percent of popular votes. At the age of 46, Grant was the youngest elected president, and the first president after the country banned slavery. Grant's election is widely regarded as a triumph of principles that include the restoration of reconstructed southern states, efficient governance, and sound money.
Presidency (1869-1877)
On March 4, 1869, Grant was sworn in as President of the eighteenth United States by Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase. Grant assumed the president with an aversion, which he stated in the 1868 letter, after his candidacy, to his close friend Sherman:
I have been forced into it regardless of myself. I can not retreat without, as seen for me, leaving the contest for power over the next four years between merchant trade politicians, the height at which, no matter which party wins, will lose to us, in large part, the result of an expensive war we have been through.
Grant's presidency began to be extraordinary, when President Johnson, when angry with Grant, did not attend Grant's inauguration or ride with him as he left the White House for the last time. In his inaugural address, Grant urged the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment, while large numbers of African-Americans attended his inauguration. He also urged that bonds issued during the Civil War be paid with gold and called for reforms in Indian Policy while he recommended "appropriate treatment" of Native Americans and encouraged their "civilization and core citizenship".
The appointment of Grant's cabinet was made without senatorial approval and sparked both criticism and approval. Grant chose two close friends for important posts: Elihu B. Washburne for the Secretary of State and John A. Rawlins as Secretary of War. Washburne was replaced by New York conservative statesman Hamilton Fish. Rawlins died in the office after serving only a few months, replaced by William W. Belknap of Iowa. For the Treasurer he appointed Alexander T. Stewart who was found to be ineligible and replaced by Representative George S. Boutwell, a Massachusetts Radical Republican. Philadelphia Entrepreneur Adolph E. Borie was appointed as the Navy Secretary, who was reluctant to accept, soon resigned due to poor health and was replaced by a relatively unknown, George M. Robeson, former brigadier general. Other cabinet appointments include former great general and Ohio Governor Jacob D. Cox for Interior Secretary, former Maryland Senator John Creswell as Postmaster General, and Ebenezer Rockwood Hoar (Attorney General), all well received.
Grant nominated Sherman as the successor of the Army as general leader and gave him control over the bureau chief. When Rawlins took over the War Department, he complained to Grant that Sherman was given too much authority. Grant reluctantly revoked his orders, harassed Sherman and ruined their wartime friendship. Grant's candidacy of James Longstreet, a former Confederate general, for the position of Customs Surveyor of the New Orleans port, was greeted with general admiration, and was largely seen as a sincere effort to unite the North and the South.
Grant also appointed four Supreme Court Justices to the Supreme Court: William Strong, Joseph P. Bradley, Ward Hunt, and Chief Justice Morrison Waite. Hunt chooses to enforce the law Reconstruction while Waite and Bradley do little to weaken them. To fix the controversial General Command # 11 during the Civil War, Grant appointed Jewish leaders to the office, including a recorder of Simon Wolf's deeds in Washington D.C., Edward S. Salomon, the Governor of the Territory of Washington. Grants are integrated into the executive's home, appointing African-Americans to positions and federal offices, including Ebenezer D. Bassett's minister to Haiti, and James Milton Turner serving Liberia.
Later Reconstruction and civil rights
When Grant took office in 1869, Reconstruction became a priority, Republicans controlled most of the Southern states, backed by Republican-controlled Congress, northern money, and southern military occupation. Grant advocated in his inaugural address of the Fifteenth Amendment ratification stating the right to vote for African Americans. Unlike Johnson, Grant's vision of Reconstruction includes the enforcement of federal civil rights and speaks against the intimidation of black Southern voters. Within a year, the remaining three Confederate states - Mississippi, Virginia, and Texas - were accepted at the Congress, following the Reconstruction of Congress and adopting the Fifteenth Amendment. Supported by Congress, Grant puts military pressure on Georgia, the former Confederate state remaining, to restore its black legislator and adopt a new amendment. Georgia complied, and on 24 February 1871 his Senator sat in Congress, technically ending the Reconstruction. The reconstructed southern states are controlled by carpet owners, scalars and former slaves. The Ku Klux Klan terrorist group, however, continues to weaken Reconstruction with violence and intimidation.
Grant, in 1870, signed the law and created the Department of Justice and immediately hired him to enforce the Reconstruction effort in the South. On March 23, 1871, Grant requested Congress for the law, which was adopted on April 20, known as Ku
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