Why ulysses s grant is important

Louis street. Finally, in , he humbled himself and went to work in his father's tannery business as a clerk, supervised by his two younger brothers. This act of rebellion sparked Grant's patriotism, and he volunteered his military services. Again he was initially rejected for appointments, but with the aid of an Illinois congressman, he was appointed to command an unruly 21st Illinois volunteer regiment. Applying lessons that he'd learned from his commanders during the Mexican-American War, Grant saw that the regiment was combat-ready by September When Kentucky's fragile neutrality fell apart in the fall of , Grant and his volunteers took the small town of Paducah, Kentucky, at the mouth of the Tennessee River.

In February , in a joint operation with the U. Navy, Grant's ground forces applied pressure on Fort Henry and Fort Donelson, taking them both — these battles are credited as the earliest significant Union victories of the American Civil War. After the assault on Fort Donelson, Grant earned the moniker "Unconditional Surrender Grant" and was promoted to major general of volunteers.

In April , Grant moved his army cautiously into enemy territory in Tennessee, in what would later become known as the Battle of Shiloh or the Battle of Pittsburg Landing , one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War.

Confederate commanders Albert Sidney Johnston and P. Beauregard led a surprise attack against Grant's forces, with fierce fighting occurring at an area known as the "Hornets' Nest" during the first wave of assault. Confederate General Johnston was mortally wounded, and his second-in-command, General Beauregard, decided against a night assault on Grant's forces. Reinforcement finally arrived, and Grant was able to defeat the Confederates during the second day of battle.

The Battle of Shiloh proved to be a watershed for the American military and a near disaster for Grant. Though he was supported by President Abraham Lincoln, Grant faced heavy criticism from members of Congress and the military brass for the high casualties, and for a time, he was demoted.

A war department investigation led to his reinstatement. Union war strategy called for taking control of the Mississippi River and cutting the Confederacy in half. In December , Grant moved overland to take Vicksburg — a key fortress city of the Confederacy — but his attack was stalled by Confederate cavalry raider Nathan Bedford Forest, as well as due to getting bogged down in the bayous north of Vicksburg.

In his second attempt, Grant cut some, but not all, of his supply lines, moved his men down the western bank of the Mississippi River and crossed south of Vicksburg. Failing to take the city after several assaults, he settled into a long siege, and Vicksburg finally surrendered on July 4, Though Vicksburg marked both Grant's greatest achievement thus far and a moral boost for the Union, rumors of Grant's heavy drinking followed him through the rest of the Western Campaign.

Grant suffered from intense migraine headaches due to stress, which nearly disabled him and only helped to spread rumors of his drinking, as many chalked up his migraines to frequent hangovers.

However, his closest associates said that he was sober and polite and that he displayed deep concentration, even in the midst of a battle.

In October , Grant took command at Chattanooga, Tennessee. The following month, from November 22 to November 25, Union forces routed Confederate troops in Tennessee at the battles of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, known collectively as the Battle of Chattanooga.

The victories forced the Confederates to retreat into Georgia, ending the siege of the vital railroad junction of Chattanooga — and ultimately paving the way for Union General William Tecumseh Sherman's Atlanta campaign and march to Savannah, Georgia, in Grant saw the military objectives of the Civil War differently than most of his predecessors, who believed that capturing territory was most important to winning the war.

Grant adamantly believed that taking down the Confederate armies was most important to the war effort, and to that end, set out to track down and destroy General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. From March until April , Grant doggedly hunted for Lee in the forests of Virginia, all the while inflicting unsustainable casualties on Lee's army.

On April 9, , Lee surrendered his army, marking the end of the Civil War. The two generals met at a farm near the village of Appomattox Court House, and a peace agreement was signed. In a magnanimous gesture, Grant allowed Lee's men to keep their horses and return to their homes, taking none of them as prisoners of war. During post-war reorganization, Grant was promoted to full general and oversaw the military portion of Reconstruction.

He was then put in an awkward position during President Andrew Johnson's fight with the Radical Republicans and Johnson's impeachment. Even though Grant was not directly involved in the scheme, his reputation suffered because he had become personally associated with Fisk and Gould prior to the scandal. Another major scandal was the Whiskey Ring, which was exposed in and involved a network of distillers, distributors and public officials who conspired to defraud the federal government of millions in liquor tax revenue.

In order to combat the corruption and inefficiency that resulted from this system, Grant established a civil service commission to develop more equitable methods for hiring and promoting government workers.

After leaving the White House in March , Ulysses Grant and his family embarked on a two-year trip around the world, during which they met with dignitaries and cheering crowds in many of the countries they visited. At the Republican National Convention, a group of delegates voted to nominate Grant for president again; however, James Garfield , a U.

He would go on to win the general election and become the 20th U. To provide for his family, the former president decided to write his memoirs. In late , he was diagnosed with throat cancer. His memoirs, published that same year by his friend Mark Twain , became a major financial success.

When Julia Grant died in , she was buried beside her husband. Grant Waged His Greatest Battle. I can better trust those who have helped to relieve the gloom of my dark hours than those who are so ready to enjoy with me the sunshine of my prosperity. Then he who continues the attack wins. 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. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present.

For decades after his death in , Ulysses S. But in more recent years, historians have taken another look at the Civil War hero. Harry S. Truman , the 33rd U. In the White House from to , Truman made the decision to use the atomic bomb against Japan, helped rebuild postwar Europe, worked to His phantom middle initial is the result of an error from Ohio Congressman Thomas Hamer, who accidentally Not only does the U.

President Ulysses S. Grant exercised both of these powers in , during the Whiskey Ring Scandal. Before the scandal was over, Grant also did something no In March , Ulysses S. Grant went to Washington, D. After several years of frustration with a parade of unsuitable commanders, the president had finally found the man A devoted wife, Julia Grant often joined her husband at his military postings, including several trips to the Ulysses S. But having the name "U.

Grant was an average student at West Point. His future battlefield foe, Robert E. Grant and Lee served in the army during the Mexican War. Both men received high marks from their superiors. Grant and Lee met twice at the end of the Civil War. After their famous meeting at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, , Grant rode out to the Confederate Army the next day, accompanied by a few men, to seek out Lee. The men discussed military matters, and Grant asked Lee to ask all the Confederate armies to lay down their arms.

Lee deferred, saying that was a matter for President Lincoln to address. As a general, Grant was close to President Lincoln.