Ulysses S. Grant

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Ulysses S. Grant was born on April 27, 1822 in Point Pleasant, Ohio. He grew up in Georgetown, Ohio until he was fourteen. Ulysses had two brothers and three sisters. He was the oldest and his father’s name was Jesse Root Grant, and his mother’s name was Hannah Simpson Grant.

Ulysses went to school in Georgetown, Ohio, until he was fourteen. He liked to read but he wasn’t a very good student. While Grant was in school kids thought that his name was unusual so instead of calling him Ulysses they called him “useless.” They didn’t know his future at all!

Ulysses lived and worked on his father’s farm. Because he was very skilled at handling horses, farmers from all over the region came to him for assistance.

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While Ulysses was at West Point he set a high jump record that lasted for more than twenty-five years! He never really wanted to be a soldier but his father made him go to West Point. He didn’t do very well there either as a student. He was ranked 21 out of 39 at West Point.

On August 28th, 1848 Grant married Julia Dent. They had four children; three boys and one girl. In the Battle of Black River Bridge, Grant’s oldest son, Fred, was with him and was wounded when he was shot in the left thigh.

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Before Ulysses joined the war he worked in his father’s leather store. When Ulysses was young his father wanted him to join the military academy. Grant’s father wanted him to go into the military academy but Ulysses had no interest. His father made him go in 1839 when he was seventeen. And he usually got in trouble. He served in the military for fifteen years.

Grant left the army for a little while so he could spend time with his family and when he came back he was put at a Brigadier General. Later after very good leading he became head of the whole Union Army! At the end of the Civil War Grant made Robert E. Lee, general of the Confederate Army, surrender. In 1868 Ulysses was elected as the 18th president of the United States!

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In his sixty-three years of life Ulysses fought in the Mexican War and, of course, the Civil War. Of course slavery was going on in his life.

On the day Abraham Lincoln was killed, Grant’s wife, Julia Dent, was stalked by John Wilkes Booth. If Grant and his wife accepted the invitation to go to Ford’s theater there may have been a double tragedy. Instead they went to New Jersey to see their kids.

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Throughout Grant’s life he was very good at working on his father’s farm. He was also very skilled with horses, and he was always committed to his duties.

Ulysses S. Grant died on July 23rd, 1885. He died in Mount McGregor, New York surrounded by his family. Ulysses S. Grant is a major hero to the U.S.A. He led our country as the 18th president. He also helped our country by keeping it together in the Civil War. He won the war and stopped slavery. He showed empathy and confidence in his life.