Hiram Ulysses Grant was born in a small town 25
miles south of Cincinnati along the Ohio River. His father was a tanner, but
Ulysses was not interested in following in his footsteps. Military service was
in his blood with a great-grandfather who died in the French and Indian War and
another who fought in the Revolution. Grant asked his Congressman to nominate
him for admission to West Point, which he did, mistakenly under the name Ulysses
S. Grant (his mother’s maiden name was Simpson). Grant was not enthusiastic
about the military academy. He was excited about seeing Philadelphia and New
York City on the trip there, but “would have been glad to have had a steamboat
or railroad collision… by which I might have received a temporary injury
sufficient to make me ineligible.” The collision did not materialize and the
seventeen-year old arrived at West Point in May 1839 where he met his roommate
Fred Dent.
Grant was not always the large man we typically picture him as. During his younger years he stood 5'7" and less than 140 lbs. |
After four years at West Point, Grant was stationed
at Fort Jefferson near St. Louis. Coincidentally, Fred’s family lived very close
to the fort allowing Grant to visit. He fell in love with Fred’s younger
sister, Julia however the Mexican American War took him away from Fort
Jefferson and in to General Zachary Taylor’s command in Mexico. Grant was made
quartermaster and commissary officer of his regiment. While he wasn’t happy
with his post, it was a crash course on how to supply an army in the field
which Grant would draw on during his Western Campaign in the Civil War.
Grant learned another lesson in Mexico which he
applied during the Civil War. When Taylor took the City of Monterrey he allowed
the Mexicans to march out under their own commanders, with their muskets and
horses. Taylor was criticized mightily by the American populace and President
James Polk for this action. However, Grant would mimic this sign of respect
when accepting General Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox.
The Mexican American War was discussed in enough
detail in the posts about Polk, Taylor, Pierce, and Jefferson Davis that I
don’t want to discuss the particulars of the war. However, as it relates to
Grant, Grant’s father was a Whig and Grant would later win the presidency on
the Republican ticket. Therefore, if you have an idea about 19th
century American politics, it is not surprising that Grant’s wartime letters to
Julia support his later claim that he “bitterly opposed” the war.
Upon returning from Mexico Grant married Julia. His
best man was future Confederate General James Longstreet while his groomsmen
included Cadmus Wilcox and Bernard Pratte. All three would surrender to Grant
at Appomattox seventeen years later. Grant and Julia’s early married life
involved moving first to Sackets Harbor in upstate New York, before being
transferred to Detroit. They were then back in Sackets Harbor. This was at the
height of the California gold rush and Grant’s infantry was soon ordered to
reinforce a barracks near San Francisco. They had been married four years and
Julia was eight months pregnant with their second child. She could not make the
trip and returned to her parent’s home in St. Louis. Grant’s time in California
was lamentable. The posting was remote giving Grant time to get involved in
numerous poor financial investments and hard drinking. Grant was probably an
alcoholic. From what we understand, he was a binge drinker who could and would
abstain for long periods of time, but when depression took hold he would go on
“sprees” as a close Army friend observed. Grant resigned from the Army while in
California. It is believed he was offered the opportunity to resign in lieu of
a court martial related to a drunken episode. Despite later accusations to the
contrary, it is not generally believed that his drinking interfered with any
critical decision making during the Civil War.
Grant returned to St. Louis with no prospects. He
failed at farming and resorted to selling firewood before resorting to a job at
his father’s tannery. The Grants were in their mid-thirties, with four
children, poor and without much to look forward to. The outbreak of the Civil
War was a blessing for Grant. Grant recruited a company of men and brought them
to Springfield, Illinois where he was given a commission to recruit more
volunteers. What Grant really wanted was reinstatement in the Army and he was eventually
given command of the rowdy 21st Illinois from Eastern-Central
Illinois. Grant was quickly promoted to Brigadier General and given his first
tests as a military tactician.
Grant attacked Confederates at Belmont, Missouri
(without permission) and Fort Henry (with permission) finding success at both.
Following Fort Henry Grant moved quickly against Fort Donelson (without
permission). Donelson was a difficult battle and Grant lost more than 500 men, however
Grant’s forces took the blows and after several days of fighting General Simon
Bucker, an old friend of Grant’s, asked for terms. Grant wrote back, “…no terms
except unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted.” About three
months had passed from Belmont to Donelson and Grant went from an unknown to hero-status
in the North, nicknamed Unconditional Surrender Grant, playing off his
initials. More importantly, the victory at Fort Donelson discouraged wavering
European nations from entering the conflict.
Two months after Donelson, Grant’s men fought the
deadliest battle to-date on American soil, Shiloh. Although the Union troops
won, they suffered more than 13,000 casualties. On top of the casualties,
rumors of Grant’s drinking resurfaced and he was removed from command. William
Tecumseh Sherman, serving under Grant at the time, convinced him not to resign.
The decision proved fortunate, Lincoln soon ordered Grant’s reinstatement
saying, “I can’t spare this man. He fights.”
Between Shiloh and the battles leading up to the
Vicksburg, Grant made an unpopular decision which became a black mark on his
military career. General Orders No. 11 expelled all Jews from his military
district, The Department of Tennessee. The order was a ham-handed attempt to
root out the illicit cotton trade in his district. Northern speculators followed
the Union Army and often worked with soldiers to smuggle cotton across the battle-lines.
This activity undermined the Union blockade of the South’s cotton trade. Most
of the speculators were not Jewish. However, several visible operators in
Grant’s district were Jewish, making them a target. The order followed Grant
for years and he was forced to acknowledge and renounce it during his run for
president.
Vicksburg was a major victory for the Grant and the
Union. For Grant, the campaign consisted of several seemingly risky troop
maneuvers which paid off. Grant’s success in Vicksburg led to his promotion to
head the entire western theatre. For the Union, the fall of Vicksburg gave the Union
control of the Mississippi River. Further, the fall of Vicksburg came a day
after the Battle of Gettysburg, dealing the Confederacy back-to-back blows.
During the Vicksburg Campaign rumors of Grant’s drinking swirled which encouraged
Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton to send someone to keep an eye on him. He
reported back to Stanton that Grant would occasionally commandeer a steamer
overnight and get “as stupidly drunk as the immortal nature of man would allow;
but the next day he came out fresh as a rose, without any trace or indication
of the spree he had passed through.”
Vicksburg was followed by a campaign toward
Chattanooga, Tennessee which spelled disaster for the Confederate Army in the
West. With the West won, Lincoln gave Grant control over the entire Army with
the understanding that Grant would lead the offensive against Lee’s Army of
Northern Virginia. Grant and Lee’s armies fought a series of battles in the
early-Summer of 1864. These battles were bloody and are often used as evidence
when people accuse Grant of being a butcher who sacrificed mass casualties for
victory. Despite some setbacks and the high body count, Grant’s army pushed on
toward the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia with the decisive battle
taking place at Appomattox Station.
The surrender at Appomattox. Lee on the left and Grant on the right writing out the terms of surrender. |
As it became apparent the Confederacy’s position
was untenable, Grant and Lee began exchanging letters in which Grant allowed
Lee to select the location of their meeting. The Appomattox Court House was
chosen. Lee arrived first, dressed in his military finest; Grant arrived later
dressed like common infantry. The two spoke for some time before addressing the
elephant in the room. As far as terms of surrender Grant offered parole to the
entire army provided they didn’t again take up arms against the United States.
Artillery and small arms were to be “parked and stacked.” Soldiers were
permitted to retain their side-arms, private horses, and luggage. “This done,
each officer and man will be allowed to return to their homes, not to be
disturbed by US authority so long as they observe their paroles and the laws in
force where they reside.” Specifying that laws that would govern these parolees
would be “the laws in force where they reside” codified a protection from
potential federal harassment. Furthermore, Grant intervened vigorously on Lee’s
behalf to prevent a trial for treason against Lee or any of his men, going so
far as threaten resignation from the Army. Grant’s magnanimity in victory undoubtedly
went a long way to begin the country’s healing.
Grant and Julia famously declined Lincoln’s invitation to attend a
showing of Our American Cousin at
Ford’s Theatre less than a week after Appomattox. As Andrew Johnson took the
presidential reins, Grant remained in command of the Army. Grant and Johnson
began to clash over Reconstruction and then over Johnson’s desire to replace
Secretary of War Stanton with Grant in violation of the recently enacted Tenure
of Office Act. The Secretary of War issue permanently damaged their working
relationship. It also established Grant as a frontrunner for the Republican
ticket in 1868. Grant easily won the Republican nomination before soundly
defeating Horatio Seymore in the general election.
Grant as we typically picture him and as he is pictured on the $50 bill. |
Grant went on to serve two terms as president. While his presidency is
often viewed dimly, it was not all bad. Grant was a terrible judge of people.
This was true of him his whole life, plainly evident in his California
financial woes. The worst elements of the Republican Party were entrusted to
various posts within the government leading to years of corruption and scandal.
While the taint of corruption never reached the president directly, his private
secretary, Secretary of the Interior, Vice President, and even his
brother-in-law were implicated in various scandals. The post-Civil War years
were an exceptionally corrupt time in American history, yet the Grant years
stand out for their unbelievable governmental malfeasance.
The corruption is what tends to be focused on when studying Grant’s
presidency. However, Grant did a lot of good as president notably in regard to
the government’s treatment of former slaves and Indians. Grant was the first
president to unequivocally advocate universal black suffrage. The atrocities
being committed against Freedmen in the South, which he witnessed, convinced
him of this necessity. Grant pursued the perpetrators of these atrocities, the
Ku Klux Klan, with forceful legislation. Grant also instituted a rethinking of
the government’s policies toward Indian tribes in the West. This was symbolized
by the ending of the treaty system of dealing with native tribes. Grant was also a loud voice in support of the
separation of church and state at a time when the burgeoning Catholic
population was clashing with established Protestant communities. Gains made
these areas were sadly reversed by subsequent administrations obscuring the
progress Grant made.
Late in Grant’s second term there was increasing talk of the
possibility of a third term. Grant made no public announcements until he was
formally endorsed by the Pennsylvania Republican Party. Grant composed a letter
announcing his intention not to stand for another term. He then called his
cabinet to the White House on a Sunday evening and read it to them, already
having submitted the letter to the New
York Times for publishing the next day.
Grant lived eight years after leaving the White House. He spent that
time traveling Europe and Asia, meeting with world leaders as a tourist, informal
diplomat, and bonafide living legend. There were efforts made to nominate Grant
again in the election of 1880, however James Garfield won the nomination.
Grant’s poor judge of character struck one last time in his final years as he
lent his name and money to Ponzi-schemer named Ferdinand Ward. The decision
bankrupted the former president. Broke, and now dying of cancer, Grant began
writing his memoirs in an attempt to support Julia after his death. Literally
writing until days of his death Grant penned what is generally considered the
finest presidential memoirs. The book was a huge success earning significant
royalties for Julia.