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
Our story begins in Point Pleasant,Ohio. Hiram Ulysses Grant was born on April 27,1822. When he was young his father was a tanner. When he entered the military academy, a error had listed him as Ulysses S Grant. After graduation,Ulysses S. Grant was stationed in St. Louis, Missouri, where he met his future wife, Julia Dent.
Catton analyzes General Lee and General Grant from the stand point of how they are different in background, in personality, and in aspirations. As he continues, the distinct differences between the two Generals are very evident. Although the distinctions are clear, so are some of the similarities between them. Catton describes them as “two strong men, oddly different generals, and they represented the strengths of two conflicting currents that, through them, had come into final collision.” General Lee was an Aristocratic Man, a man who was brought up privileged.
Hiram Ulysses Grant was born on April 27, 1822, in Point Pleasant Ohio. He moved in with his parents, his father, Jesse Grant and his mother Hannah Simpson Grant to Georgetown, Ohio where his father ran a tannery. In 1839, his father, Jesse Grant, arranged his son’s to the U.S. military at West Point. The congressmen was told that Grant mistakenly believed that his name was Ulysses and that his middle name was Simpson (his mother’s maiden last name).
Grant reluctantly attended West Point against his will and graduated middle of his class. While he was not meant to do much by the time the Civil War arose Grant whipped into shape to become one of the greatest leaders of all time. It didn 't take him long to move up the ranks. In September of 1861 grant had mentioned had moved up the rank of brigadier general.
In 1840, the local congressman Joseph Fornance nominated Hancock to the West Point. He graduated 18th in his class of 25 in 1844, and he was assigned to the infantry. Hancock was brevet second lieutenant in the 6th U.S. Infantry regiment and was stationed in Indian Territory in the Red River Valley. His time being stationed in Red River Valley was not too pleasant.
Ulysses Simpson Grant is one of the most interesting people in history. If you didn't know already, Ulysses birth name was Hiram Ulysses Grant. He was born on April 27, 1822 at Point Pleasant, Ohio. He was the first son of Jesse Root Grant and Hannah Simpson Grant. Instead of taking after his father, he told after his mother because he hated the idea of working in his father's tannery business.
Grant was a very prominent figure of the time period and led the Union to victory and helped heal the fractured United States afterward. General Grant began his military career at West Point when he was just sixteen. He was top of his class and when he graduated, he began his four years of service and went into combat in the Mexican-American War. He was promoted to captain as a result of his bravery during the war. After this, his four-year commitment to the army was up, he left and did not expect to come back.
Though Lee lost the war, he contributed to the South and is one of the most influential generals of all time. When Robert E. Lee was preparing for college, he realized he didn’t have enough money for a university, so he went to the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York (“Robert E. Lee in”). He graduated second in his class with no demerits while being a cadet. Before the Civil War and after the Mexican War,
Grant led the North to multiple victories during the Civil War and served as the 18th president of the United States. After great success in the Mexican-American War, Grant halted his time in the army, until the Civil War. His victories at Vicksburg, Chattanooga, Fort Donelson, and Fort Henry all showed Abraham Lincoln that Grant was capable of leading the Union. After General Lees’ army was left starving, and exhausted during the battle of Appomattox in Virginia, Lee surrendered to General Grant. This was important during the War because Grant was first Union general who had beaten Confederate leader Robert E. Lee.
Daniel Decatur Emmett was born in Mount Vernon, Ohio in the fall of 1815. Emmett was a composer who worked as a drummer in a traveling circus, then a minstrel troupe after being discharged from the Army because he falsified his age to enlist. Emmett wrote many of what are now considered to be Confederate anthems, “…much to the chagrin of Emmett who was anything but a Southern sympathizer…” Emmett wrote these songs as walk-arounds, a dance number that was performed at the end of a show that featured the entire company of musicians in the minstrel troupe.
Ulysses S. Grant, the Commanding General of the United States, was born on April 22, 1922, and was born in Point Pleasant Ohio. Grant went to school at The United States Military Academy at West Point and graduated in 1843. He then went on to fighting in the Mexican War, and later received an honorable mention for gallantry and an honorable mention for meritorious conduct. After having to move to posts far from his family, Grant was beginning to drink heavily, and ignore his work. Because of this, he was later forced to retire in 1854, because of his fear of being kicked out of the service due to being a drunkard.
Robert E. Lee’s (1807-1870) contribution to the United States as a war general and commander received positive connotations for his commitment, attitude and inspiration on the battlefield. However, it is debateable about his contributions because of Robert Lee’s association in the Civil War (1861-1865) to the Confederate Army that fought for the Southern States. Robert Lee lead many successful campaigns and battles including the following; helping defeat Mexican armies that lead to U.S land gains and westward expansion, battles against a more powerful army in the Civil War. Despite these achievements Lee’s loyalty for the Confederate Army that fought to uphold slavery undermines his success and is highly debateable about whether his contribution is justified or not. Robert Lee’s contributions to his nation begin before the Civil War in the Mexican-American War (1846-1848).
In February 1861, a new government was on the horizon in the United States, known as the Confederate States of America. Composed of seven states from the South, this new government looked to separate from a union that they felt was tipping in power towards those who wanted to threaten the rights of the South, especially slavery. Similarly, in early 1775, colonists were preparing for revolution against a power that they felt oppressed their rights and wanted to take away their liberties. However, the Civil War was a not a complete representation of a second American Revolution. The Civil War was more than an unsatisfied party rebelling against a larger power, but a clash between two vastly different ways of life.
When he saw a list names that was close to his he avoided it because it started confusion , when grant entered the school he arrived as that person. Gant favorite subject was math and horsemanship and graduated in 1843 and was ranked number 21 out of 39 kids in his class . Ulysses was honored to be stationed in st louis missouri and he decided to resign with the military after 3 to 4 years he served. Six years after he resigned Grant again joined with the civil war and started as a colonel
General Ulysses S. Grant was a very powerful man. He was the son of a tanner on the Western frontier. He wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He was very modern, and thought you had to work hard no matter what. Grant was a man that did not live in the past.