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Compare And Contrast Civil War And Robert E Lee

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The Civil War is known as one of the most destructive wars of the time with a total casualty rate of about 625,000 soldiers.1 The non-slave owning states, the Union, and the slave owning states, the Confederates, fought each other for power over the national government which would be the deciding factor in whether the upcoming states would or would not be slave states. Each side had its own prominent general, Robert E. Lee of the Confederacy and Ulysses S. Grant of the Union. Many people in America today often have their opinions on who they think was the better of the two so, I’m going to ask you. Who do you think was the greatest general of the American Civil War, Ulysses S. Grant, or Robert E. Lee? Ulysses S. Grant was the son of Jesse …show more content…

Hamer, stating a free education to any man willing to join the army.2 Grant, after a long debate, decided to enlist and take the entrance exam to attend West Point, which he passed. Grant graduated from West Point in the middle of his class and made fairly average grades; in his memoirs, he wrote, “I rarely ever read over a lesson the second time during my entire cadetship.”, which further implies his lack of interest in his studies.3&4 However, Grant loved to read and often rented books from the West Point library. More so, Grant loved horses and was a well-known equestrian with remarkable riding abilities.3 While attending West Point, Ulysses met General Winfield Scott for the first time. He recalled these accounts in his memoirs by saying, “During my first year's encampment General Scott visited West Point, and reviewed the cadets. With his commanding figure, his quite colossal size and showy uniform, I thought him the finest specimen of manhood my eyes had ever beheld, and the most to be envied.”.4 By 1840, Grant had graduated from West Point and was now enlisted into the United States Army as the quartermaster of the Fourth Infantry during the Mexican War. After the war, Grant left the army to go marry his love, Julia, and fell on hard times until he was reenlisted in 1860 when the Civil War

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