Ulysses S. Grant
was born on April 27, 1822, in Point Pleasant, Ohio, a town on the Ohio River near Cincinatti. In 1823, the Grant family moved to Georgetown, Ohio, where Ulysses attended school until he was 14. He then spent one year at an acadamy in Maysville, Kentucky and in 1838 he entered an academy in Ripley, Ohio. In 1839, Ulysses's father, Jesse, found out that a neighbor's son had been dismissed from West Point. Jesse asked his congressman to appoint Ulysses as a replacement, and the congressman agreed.
Grant was an average student at West Point, although he did rank high in mathematics and horsemanship. He graduated from West Point on July 1, 1843 and was promoted in the Army to ...
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for his skill and bravery. Grant's experiences in the Mexican War taught him lessons that will later help him during the Civil War.
Grant was almost 39 years old when the Civil War began in 1861. He strongly opposed secession and as soon as war broke out he knew he had a duty to fight for the Union. He had been retired from the Army for seven years, but when President Abraham Lincoln called for volunteers, Grant rejoined the Army as a volunteer on April 23, 1861. He then went to Springfield where he worked for the Illinois adjutant general. Grant asked the federal govern- ment for a commission as colonel, but his request was ignored. On June 17, 1861, Grant was appointed colonel of the 21st Illinois Regiment of Volunteers by the governor of Illinois, Richard Yates.
Steadily, Grant began to show the qualities of a great military commander. On September 4, 1861 he established his headquarters in Cairo, Illinois, in command of the District of Southern Illinois ...
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Surrender" Grant. Because of his initiative at Fort Donelson, Grant was promoted to Major General of Volunteers.
On April 6, 1862, the Confederates launched a surprise attack on Grant's forces at Pittsburg Landing in Tennessee, beginning the Battle of Shiloh. After being driven back, the Union troops were able to barely hold off the Confederates until reinforcements were able to arrive. Over 13,000 Union soldiers died at Shiloh, more than on sixth of the troops that fought the battle. ("Battle Stats" 1) Grant learned from his mistake at the Battle of Shiloh and never again allowed himself to be surprised in battle. Although the Battle of Shiloh was a victory for ...
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"Ulysses S. Grant." Essayworld.com. December 20, 2006. Accessed April 24, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Ulysses-S-Grant/57405.
"Ulysses S. Grant." Essayworld.com. December 20, 2006. Accessed April 24, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Ulysses-S-Grant/57405.
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