Ulysses S. Grant

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Early military career and personal life

Grant's father wrote to Senator Thomas L. Hamer, requesting that he nominate Ulysses to the United States Military Academy (USMA) in West Point, New York. Despite political differences with Jesse Root Grant, Hamer, a Democrat, nominated his 17-year-old son to West Point in spring 1839. Grant was accepted on July 1, but he had reservations about his academic capabilities. Hamer, who was unfamiliar with Grant, gave West Point a wrong name. Cadet "U.S. Grant" at the national academy was enlisted on September 14 by Grant. Since the initials "U.S." stood for "Uncle Sam," his nickname at West Point became "Sam" among army colleagues.

Grant was initially indifferent to military service, but after a year, he reexamined his desire to leave the academy and later wrote, "on the whole, I love this place very much." While at the academy, his greatest passion was horses, and he gained a reputation as the "most skilled" horseman. Although riding York, a large and strong horse that only Grant could handle, he set a new high-jump record of 25 years at the graduation ceremony. He learned under Romantic artist Robert Walter Weir, who created nine living artworks, seeking relief from military service. He spent more time reading books from the library than reading academic texts, including works by James Fenimore Cooper and others. On Sundays, cadets were expected to march to and attend services at the academy's church, something Grant disapproved of. Grant, who was quiet by nature, had a few close friends among fellow cadets, including Frederick Tracy Dent and James Longstreet. Both Captain Charles F. Smith, the commandant, and General Winfield Scott, who visited the academy to investigate the cadets, inspired him. "There is a lot to dislike, but not so much to love" in Grant's account of the military life.

Grant was named 21st out of 39 students in his class on June 30, 1843, and then promoted to the rank of brevet second lieutenant the next day. He had only been 5 foot (2 inches) tall at 17 years old, only at 5 feet 2 inches (1.70 m) tall; upon graduation four years later, he had reached his height of 5 foot 7 inches (1.70 m). After his four-year service, Grant decided to resign his position. He'd later tell a friend that the day he left the presidency and the day he left the academy were two of his life's finest days. Despite his outstanding horsemanship, he was not sent to the Cavalry but to the 4th Infantry Regiment. Grant's first assignment took him to the Jefferson Barracks near St. Louis, Missouri. For Grant's late returns from White Haven, Lt. Col. Robert C. Buchanan fined Grant wine bottles. Colonel Stephen W. Kearny's barracks was the country's largest military base in the West. Grant was content with his new commander, but he was looking forward to his military service and a future teaching career.

In Missouri, Grant visited Dent's family and became engaged to his sister Julia, 1844. They were married at Julia's home in St. Louis four years ago on August 22, 1848. Grant's abolitionist father condemned the Dents' owning slaves, and neither of Grant's parents attended the wedding. Grant was flanked by three other West Point graduates, many dressed in their blue jackets, including Longstreet, Julia's cousin. Julia was warmly welcomed by Grant's family in Bethel, Ohio, at the end of the month. They had four children: Frederick, Ulysses Jr. ("Buck"), Ellen ("Nellie"), and Jesse. Grant obtained a two-month leave extension and returned to St. Louis after he decided, with a wife to help, that he would remain in the army.

Following rising tensions with Mexico as a result of the US annexation of Texas, the war broke out in 1846. Grant came out as a vain and deserving soldier during the war. Grant's unit had been sent by Louisiana as part of the Army of Observation under Major General Zachary Taylor before the war, but not before the war. In September 1846, Tyler's replacement, James K. Polk, was unable to provoke Mexico into war at Corpus Christi, Texas, and ordered Taylor to march 150 miles south to the Rio Grande. Grant was marched south to Fort Texas to prevent a Mexican siege for the first time on May 8, 1846, during the Battle of Palo Alto.

Grant served as the regimental quartermaster but craved for a war role; when finally allowed, he led a charge at the Battle of Resaca de la Palma. He demonstrated his equestrian skills at the Battle of Monterrey by volunteering to carry a message past snipers, where he stood off the side of his horse, separating the horse and the enemy. He told some injured Americans that he would come for assistance before leaving the area. Polk, wary of Taylor's growing fame, divided his forces, assassinating some troops (including Grant's troops) under Major General Winfield Scott's command. Scott's army arrived at Veracruz and moved to Mexico City by sea. At the battles of Molino del Rey and Chapultepec, just south of Mexico City, the army met the Mexican forces. Grant was brevetted first lieutenant on September 30 for his bravery at Molino del Rey. Grant ordered his troops to pull a disassembled howitzer into a church steeple, then reassembled it and bombarded nearby Mexican troops at San Cosmé. His courage and initiative earned him his brevet aspiration aspirations aspirant. Scott's army marched into the city on September 14, 1847; Mexico ceded the vast territory, including California, to the United States on February 2, 1848.

Grant maintained a respectable record, investigated Scott and Taylor's tactics, and even argued that this was how he learned so much about military leadership during the war. Although he respected Scott, he related his leadership style to Taylor's. Grant, on the other hand, said that the Mexican war was morally unjustified and that territorial gains were meant to increase slavery, adding, "I was adamantly opposed to the initiative, and that the struggle against a poorer nation was one of the most unfair ever waged." The Civil War, according to him, was divine punishment for the United States' war against Mexico. Grant gained his "moral courage" during the war and started to think of a career in the army.

Grant's service as an assistant quartermaster has been increasingly cited by historians as a hero during the war. Although he was initially opposed to the position, Grant was aided in comprehending military supply routes, transportation systems, and logistics, particularly in the case of "provisioning a large, mobile army serving in a hostile zone," according to biographer Ronald White. Grant came to understand that wars could be won or lost by determining factors that were not visible on the battlefield. Grant made Grant a complete soldier, and learning how to supply an entire army gave Grant the tools to maintain large armies.

Grant's first war service took him and Julia to Detroit on November 17, 1848, but he was soon transferred to Madison Barracks, a defunct outpost in upstate New York in dire need of supplies and repair. Grant was sent back to his quartermaster position in Detroit after four months. Grant and the 4th infantry were ordered to reinforce the small garrison in California when gold was discovered in the territory, bringing droves of prospectors and settlers. Grant was charged with carrying the soldiers and a few hundred civilians from New York City to Panama, overland to the Pacific, and then north to California. Julia, who was eight months pregnant with Ulysses Jr., did not accompany him. Although Grant was in Panama, a cholera epidemic broke out and claimed the lives of many soldiers, civilians, and children. Grant established and operated a field hospital in Panama City, and the worst cases were transferred to a hospital barge one mile offshore. Grant did a good job of the nursing himself when orderlies protested having to attend to the sick, receiving high praise from observers. Grant came from San Francisco in August. He was sent north to Vancouver Barracks in the Oregon Territory for his next assignment.

Grant tried several ventures but failed, in one case, his business partner absconded with $800 of Grant's investment, which would be equivalent to $20,000 in 2020. Grant assured Julia by letter that they were harmless, and he developed sympathy for their plight. White agents deceived Indians, as well as the destruction of smallpox and measles carried by white settlers.

Grant was promoted to captain on August 5, 1853, and he was sent by the newly constructed Fort Humboldt in California to command Company F, the 4th Infantry. Grant was on hand at Fort Humboldt on January 5, 1854, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Robert C. Buchanan, a martinet officer with whom Grant had earlier crossed paths at Jefferson Barracks. Grant began to drink after being estranged from his wife and family. Colonel Buchanan reprimanded Grant for one drinking incident and warned Grant that he should "resign or reform." "I resign if I don't change," Grant told Buchanan, "if I don't reform." Grant was influenced by alcohol consumption on Sunday but not incapacitated at his company's paytable, but not incapacitated. Grant resigned after keeping his promise to Buchanan, as of July 31, 1854. Buchanan endorsed Grant's resignation letter but did not submit any information that verified the event. Grant did not appear in court or in court, but the War Department said "nothing stands against his good name." "The vice of intemperance (drunkenness) had nothing to do with my resignation," Grant said years later. Grant returned to St. Louis and reunited with his family, but worried about his future.

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