Ulysses Simpson Grant
(1822-1885)
Historians as well as Confederate military have often described General Robert E. Lee with the phrase "His name might be audacity" . This, of course, was due to his ability to take chances and act quickly and boldly to secure victory.
If one word was used to describe the military and personal philosophy of U.S. Grant, that word might be "relentless".
Experience in the Mexican war of 1846-1848 shaped his future military career. In his memoirs Grant described his, then commanding officer, General Zachary Taylor who became his role model. Grant thought Taylor to be...."Not an officer to trouble the administration much with his demands, but was inclined to do the best he could with the means given him...No soldier could face either danger or responsibility more calmly than he...General Taylor never made any show or parade of uniform or retinue....In dress he was possibly too plain, rarely wearing anything in the field to indicate his rank".
That description could very easily be applied to Grant. His concern was to" get the job done". His record shows that he accomplished his objectives in a most tenacious manner with little accompanying pomp and pageantry. He made mistakes but always attempted to learn from them. 
At Shiloh (Pittsburg Landing) on April 6-7, 1862 he was completely surprised when attacked by Southern troops under Johnston and Beauregard. With great numbers of Northern troops routed, Grant refused to withdraw and instead, indicated his intention to reinforce, regroup and attack the following day. The Southern advance was subsequently stopped and repelled. This expanded his reputation as a fighter. He never again allowed himself to be so unprepared in a combat situation.
A study of the Vicksburg Campaign (May-July, 1863) reveals that although frustrated by Confederate forces as well as the natural elements, he persisted in his efforts to capture the town. This was finally accomplished after a long, bitter siege with great military and civilian loss.
The fall of Vicksburg marked the turning point in his career. Promoted to Major General, he was sent to Eastern Tennessee where he raised the siege of Chattanooga in November 1863.
In March 1864 Grant was appointed General-in-Chief commanding all armies of the U.S. Throughout the War, President Lincoln had bemoaned the fact that although the North outnumbered the South in population, resources and finances, he could find no Union general to take advantage of this disparity. Lincoln had found his general who"knew how to do the arithmetic."
Grant immediately planned to launch coordinated assaults against the Confederacy during the Spring of 1864. Although major parts of the plan were unsucessful, he persisted in attempting to outmaneuver Lee. When each attempt was frustrated, Grant persevered and the Eastern area of operations turned into a war of attrition. Huge casualty figures earned him the label of "butcher" in the Northern press.
Noted Civil War historian James M. McPherson in his book "Drawn With the Sword" has attempted to bring this charge into perspective. He points out that Union casualties at the assault on Cold Harbor (June 3, 1864) numbered 7,000 in less than an hour. This attack gave Grant his reputation as a butcher. By coincidence, Confederate casualties in Pickett's assault at Gettysburg also totaled 7,000 in less than an hour. This was a 50 percent casualty rate-compared with 15 percent of troops at Cold Harbor. Yet Pickett's charge has been celebrated in legend and history as the ultimate act of honor and courage while Cold Harbor symbolizes callous stupidity. Students of the War will have to arrive at their own conclusions.
In April, 1865 Grant's maneuvers finally stretched Southern resources to the breaking point. After several days the heavily outnumbered and undersupplied Confederates under General Lee were compelled to surrender.
Unsurprisingly, Grant's personality was the same in victory as defeat. Surrender terms were brief, to the point, and generous. Rations were ordered to feed the starving Confederate troops. No celebrations by Northern troops were permitted.
After serving two terms as President and making a world tour, in 1884 Grant was diagnosed with cancer of the throat. Accepting the verdict with the same dignity that had marked his entire life, he realized that his time was very limited. As several unsuccessful business ventures had left his family in poor financial straits, he was asked by Mark Twain to write his memoirs. Twain would, in turn, publish them and give 70 percent of the profits to Grant's family.
By force of will, he finished the memoirs while in great pain. The work was completed less than one week before his death on July 23, 1885.
The funeral was held in New York City. The procession stretched 8 1/2 miles long with an estimated one and a half million mourners. An estimated 40,000 soldiers marched up Broadway. Most were men from his former commands but four Confederate companies also marched . Among the pallbearers were Confederate Generals Joseph Johnston and Simon Bolivar Buckner. Confederate General Fitzhugh Lee assisted General Winifield Scott Hancock in planning the funeral. As historian John Keegan described him, Grant was an "unheroic hero".
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