Ulysses Simpson Grant

Born Hiram Ulysses Grant, April 27, 1822, Point Pleasant, Ohio
Graduated U.S. Military Academy, 1843, an average student who excelled only in math, art and horsemanship
Served in the Mexican War; garrisoned at western posts; attained rank of Captain
Married Julia Dent from St. Louis in 1848; they had four children, three sons and one daughter
Resigned from U.S. Army, 1854. Farmed near his father-in-law’s plantation (White Haven) in St. Louis, MO; built “Hardscrabble” log cabin
Came to Galena, April 1860; employed with his two brothers, Orville and Simpson, in the family leather store
Commissioned Colonel of 21st Illinois Infantry, June 1861, at the outbreak of the Civil War

Promoted Brigadier General, August 1861; Promoted Major General, February 1862
Promoted Lieutenant General, March 1864; Made General in Chief of All U.S. Forces, March 1864
Named Secretary of War, August 1867

Elected President of the U.S. in 1868; ran his campaign from the DeSoto House Hotel. Re-elected in 1872
Conducted Around the World tour, 1877-1879; met heads of state in more than a dozen countries
Sustained financial losses in 1884; recouped by authoring his widely successful “Personal Memoirs,” finished just days before his death
Died at Mt. McGregor, New York, July 23, 1885, of throat cancer; buried in New York City’s Riverside Park