Hiram Ulysses Grant: The Most Famous Union General

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This famous Union General was born Hiram Ulysses Grant on April 27, 1822, in Point Pleasant, Ohio. Many of the people who knew him described him as a very loyal man. He had a wife,
Julia, and four children. He was also considered humble and shy. Against Grant’s wishes, his father arranged for him to enter the United States Military Academy at West Point at the age of 17. A clerical error caused him to change his name from Hiram Ulysses Grant to Ulysses S. Grant, just so he wouldn’t be rejected by the school. He did not excel, rather he was just average in grades, with multiple demerits for messy clothing and tardiness. He graduated in 1843, number 21 out of 39 students. His early plans were to resign from the U.S. military after the four years he was required to serve. He met his wife …show more content…

After he was allowed to lead a company into combat, we was greatly credited for his bravery under fire. Also, he felt that the Mexican-American War was wrong and that it was only being fought to increase the slavery territory. After a 4 year engagement, he finally married Julia in 1848. Following, in 1852, he was sent to Fort Vancouver, in a place now known as Washington State. He deeply missed his family, and ended up joining failed business attempts to get his family out by him. This lead him into drinking, something that would plague him for the rest of his military career. He was promoted to captain, then relocated to Fort Humboldt on the coast of Northern California. While there, he had a run-in with the commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Robert C. Buchanan. Because of his drinking, Grant resigned from the military on July 31, 1854. He then moved back to Missouri with his family, where he hit a low point. He was given land from his in-laws that he unsuccessfully tried farming, tried working with a real estate venture which failed, then was denied employment as an engineer and clerk, then had to sell