Ulysses S. Grant: Victor of the American Civil War

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[Ottohagop]

Ulysses S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman friendship cannot be overestimated "Grant stood by me when I was crazy, and I stood by him when he was drunk, and now we stand by each other"

[geoff]

"I can't spare this man, he fights."

What an awesome quote.

[ethanramos]

“In every battle there comes a time when both sides consider themselves beaten, then he who continues the attack wins”
Ulysses S. Grant

[Starwarsdude]

This man’s ending was perhaps the saddest and most heroic. He took care of his family till the end

[bonnwolff]

Grant has always been one of my favorite historical figures. A humble, honorable man who wouldn't let failure keep him down.

[grahampowelljr]

I read about Grant freeing the slave many years ago and I still admire that greatly. At the time he was a nobody, and no one cared if he supported slavery or not. Plus slaves were valuable and Grant needed money. But he knew it was wrong, and he did the right thing.

[StylesV]

Adviser: "He is a drinker Sir."
Lincoln "Well what does he like to drink?"
Adviser: "Whiskey Sir."
Lincoln: "Well get him some more!"

[nicolaswiedemann]

Fun fact: Grant met Julia shortly after his time in West Point as he was a roomate and friend of her brother Fred. At one point her pet canary died, so Ulysses made a little yellow coffin and summoned other eight fellow officers for an avian funeral. And they say romance is dead.

PD: here's hoping for an Abraham Lincoln biographic soon!

[bp]

Grant is, in my mind our greatest general. Never defeated, he won in the East, the West, the South, walloped Lee twice. He saved our country. Nothing more to be said except, perhaps, that he freed his family's slaves BEFORE the Civil War.

[Jason-ervf]

Honestly the main reason Grant was so brilliant as a general was that he took General Lee's greatest strengths and pretty much nullified it. What made Lee won all those early battles was his ability to maneuver around the union forces and take the initiative away from them. Grants aggressive strategy forced Lee in place between him and Richmond, not letting him have any room to maneuver. And while Lee did win tactical victories at those battles, his army was shrinking, morale was dropping and his supply line was being burned by Sherman, and doing anything to intervene would have left Richmond vulnerable. A lot of people don't give Grant enough credit for that.

[SWyrick]

Grant selling his gold watch to buy his kids Christmas presents, that is the love of a true father.

[joshuaescopete]

Not mentioned, but Grant was also a staunch supporter of peace with the native tribes of the U.S, which put him in stark opposition with William T. Sherman and Philip Sheridan, who vehemently hated natives and spent the majority of Grant’s terms engaging in the Indian Wars, while Grant stood powerless to stop them. They advocated the extinction of the buffalo and saved George Custer from obscurity to massacre at Washita Creek and his eventual failure at Little Bighorn, which gave Sherman and Sheridan the excuse to fully commit the U.S Armies efforts to bringing the tribes to heel. A terrible stain on Grant’s legacy unfortunately.

[Curbsidehustle]

As young black man in 2021 America I solute u Grant it’s so rare in any age especially in his time to have such a upstanding and Righteous man in war and especially politics my hats off

[theredhunter]

An honest man who tried his best his whole life, but was continuously taken advantage of by those around him... that's really sad man, grant thanks for trying and what you have accomplished will not be forgotten.

[ericmaher]

His memoirs are a must read. A candid and down to earth man, with respect for all, including his enemies.

[WolfMaiden]

I feel that Grant's kindness and caring nature were both his assets and his downfall because many of the people he had called friends turned out to be corrupt officials who took advantage of his kind heart, and dragged him down into the mud with them.

[matthewdopler]

Another few interesting details about Lee’s surrender to Grant. It took place in a home of a family who lived near Bull Run but moved to avoid the war after the battle only to ironically have the war end in their home.

Lee wore his best uniform and carried a sword while Grant had muddy boots and a Private’s jacket. They spoke casually before the terms of surrender were given. In exchange of the complete surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, Lee’s men were allowed to keep they sidearms, horses (plowing season was coming up), and they can all go home. Grant also wanted his men to be respectful to Lee’s army rather than rub their victory in their faces since they were their countrymen again.

[marquisdelafayette]

I just finished reading Ron Chernow’s awesome book on Grant. It’s about time he gets his dues after being maligned by “lost causers” in “history “ books. He was a man who never lost a battle, came up with a winning strategy to win a war no one else could, and had a lower casualty rate than most (Lee was the highest ).

He also appointed blacks to positions of power and made sure to pass and enforce the 14th and 15th amendments making black people citizens with voting rights (he also appointed the first Native American to a cabinet position, Ely Parker, but they say Biden did it first 🙄). He created the justice system to crush the KKK since no southern would arrest or convict.

Frederick Douglass eulogized Grant as “a man too broad for prejudice, too humane to despise the humblest, too great to be small at any point. In him the Negro found a protector, the Indian a friend, a vanquished foe a brother, an imperiled nation a savior.” Douglass didn't even praise Lincoln like that.

[dcbandnerd]

U.S. Grant was not only a Civil War hero but one of the more forward thinking Presidents this country has had - especially in regard to Civil Rights. Were it not for reactionaries undermining him (and his own relative inexperience in politics), this country could have been decades - maybe even a century - ahead of its time.

[NoahWickersham]

He was born and died the same: penniless and in near-destitution. Which is a true shame for the glory, honor, and unforgettable compassion this man displayed in between