Ulysses S. Grant was born as Hiram Ulysses Grant on April 27, 1822. He was an American general and the eighteenth President of the United States from 1869 to 1877. He achieved international fame as the head Union general in the American Civil War.
During the Civil War, Grant reached his first national prominence by taking Forts Henry and Donelson in 1862. The following year, the surrender of Confederate troops at Vicksburg secured Union control of the Mississippi and helped turn the tide of the war in the North's favor. In 1864, Grant was named commanding general of the Federal armies and implemented a strategy of simultaneous attacks which aimed to destroy the South's ability to carry on the war. In 1865, Grant accepted the surrender of Robert E. Lee and his troops at Appomattox Court House. Grant has been described by J.F.C. Fuller as "the greatest general of his age and one of the greatest strategists of any age."
In 1868, Grant was elected President of the United States as a Republican. He was the first president to serve for two full terms since Andrew Jackson forty years before him. Grant led the Radical Reconstruction and built a powerful patronage-based Republican party in the South, with the clever use of the army. He also took a hard line that reduced violence by groups like the Ku Klux Klan.
Presidential experts and historians typically rank Grant as one of the worst U.S. presidents, primarily for his tolerance of corruption. However, in recent years, his reputation as president has improved slightly among scholars due to his support for civil rights for black Americans.
President Grant died on July 23, 1885 due to throat cancer.
The art of war is simple enough. 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.
I have made it a rule of my life to trust a man long after other people gave him up, but I don't see how I can ever trust any human being again
If you see the President, tell him from me that whatever happens there will be no turning back.
Hold fast to the Bible. To the influence of this Book we are indebted for all the progress made in true civilization and to this we must look as our guide in the future.
The friend in my adversity I shall always cherish most. I can better trust those who helped to relieve the gloom of my dark hours than those who are so ready to enjoy with me the sunshine of my prosperity.
No other terms than unconditional and immediate surrender. I propose to move immediately upon your works.
There never was a time when, in my opinion, some way could not be found to prevent the drawing of the sword.
Labor disgraces no man; unfortunately, you occasionally find men who disgrace labor.
In every battle there comes a time when both sides consider themselves beaten, then he who continues the attack wins.
My failures have been errors in judgment, not of intent.