The 18th U.S. President

Ulysses S. Grant

Born: April 27, 1822

Died: July 23, 1885

Term in Office: 1869-1877

"I can't spare this man; he fights." With these words Lincoln put Ulysses S. Grant in charge of the Union army at the turning point of the Civil War.

I've got mixed feelings when considering the positives and negatives regarding this guy. On one hand, as the leader of the Union Army during the Civil War, he has always been a hero to me. But as President, he was relatively clueless to the corruption and scandal in his administration and has always ranked close to the bottom of best/worst lists for that office. As is the case in most folks' lives, circumstances beyond his control contributed to Grant's successes and failures, though his tenacious bulldog-like command of his forces contributed to his reputation as 'Unconditional Surrender' Grant. 

After serving in the war with Mexico in 1846 and largely drinking away his appointment on the coast of Northern California, Grant left the Army in 1854 and lived a fairly unremarkable life in Illinois, working for his father-in-law for a time and being reduced to selling firewood for another bit of time.

When the Civil War broke out, he rejoined the Army and made a name for himself with victories in the westernmost engagements. In the meantime Lincoln went through a series of generals who did little to impress him and ultimately found his guy in Ulysses S. (by the way, the 'S.' does not stand for anything more than its initial; actually a mistake made by West Point when he enrolled, his real name being Hiram Ulysses Grant).

Some other miscellaneous notes, pro and con:

• He was a gracious victor in accepting Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox, allowing the vanquished soldiers to keep their horses, knowing that the small farmers among them would need help in the season's plantings. 
• One of his major regrets in life was skipping the night at the theater that took Lincoln's life. He and his wife were slated to be in the box with the President but had prior engagements out of D.C. He always felt that had he been in attendance he could have somehow saved Lincoln's life.
• Policies against Native Americans during his presidency by and large were not charitable to the western tribes. Remember that Custer's campaign against the Indians ended in his 'last stand' in the summer of 1876 (in Grant's second term).
• Mark Twain convinced him to write his memoirs as his life was drawing to a close, which helped bring him out of debt and resulted in one of the most popular autobiographies in American history.

Peace to all, and keep on keeping on.

Thanks to www.history.com for some of the tidbits contained herein.