Ulysses S. Grant

27 April 1822 – 23 July 1885

Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885) was the commanding general of the Union Army during the American Civil War and the 18th President of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. His victories at Vicksburg and in the Overland Campaign led to Confederate surrender at Appomattox in 1865. As president he oversaw Reconstruction and worked to protect the civil rights of newly freed African Americans; his posthumously published memoirs are regarded as a classic of American literature.

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Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Ulysses S. Grant.

Life events

Born in Point Pleasant, Ohio
27 April 1822

Hiram Ulysses Grant was born in Point Pleasant, Ohio, the son of a tanner.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Attended the United States Military Academy at West Point
July 1839 – July 1843

Grant entered West Point, where a clerical error recorded his name as Ulysses S. Grant, and graduated 21st in his class of 39.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Served in the Mexican-American War
1846 – 1848

Grant served as a quartermaster and fought in several battles under Generals Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Married Julia Dent
22 August 1848

Grant married Julia Boggs Dent in St. Louis, Missouri; the couple had four children.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Captured Vicksburg, splitting the Confederacy
4 July 1863

Grant's forces took the fortress city of Vicksburg, Mississippi, giving the Union control of the Mississippi River.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Promoted to lieutenant general and general-in-chief of the Union armies
9 March 1864

President Lincoln promoted Grant to lieutenant general and gave him command of all Union armies.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Accepted Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House
9 April 1865

Grant received the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, effectively ending the American Civil War.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Served as 18th President of the United States
4 March 1869 – 4 March 1877

Grant served two terms as president, supporting Reconstruction, ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment, and prosecution of the Ku Klux Klan.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Completed his Personal Memoirs while dying of cancer
July 1885

Racing terminal throat cancer, Grant finished his memoirs days before his death; published by Mark Twain, they restored his family's finances.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Died at Mount McGregor, New York
23 July 1885

Grant died of throat cancer at a cottage on Mount McGregor, New York, at the age of 63.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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