Ulysses S. Grant, the leader of the Union army during the Civil War. The eighteenth president. A husband, father, and national hero. The outcome of the Civil War was not just a turning point for slaves, but a thorough modification of the United States, preparing it for many kinds of diversity. Ulysses S. Grant was a determined, brave, and non-judgemental person, which helped to lead his actions. To start off, Ulysses Grant had an unexceptional childhood, filled with many learning experiences. Ulysses S. Grant was born Hiram Ulysses Grant, “Lyss,” on April 27,1822 in Point Pleasant, Ohio. Grant’s father was Jesse Root Grant, and his mother was Hannah Simpson Grant. In 1823 the Grants moved to Georgetown, Ohio, where Jesse Grant owned a tannery …show more content…
Grant prefered reading novels and drawing than studying. He ranked high in mathematics, and set records in horsemanship. Grant was an average student, graduating in 1843 at the middle of his class. After school, he planned on teaching math at a college, rather than the military being his whole career. He was commissioned Second Lieutenant of the Fourth U. S. Infantry Regiment, not in the cavalry as he had hoped. Grant was sent to Louisiana, Texas, and then was quartermaster during the Mexican War in 1846. The purpose of the war was to fight the Mexicans and acquire more land, which Grant believed wrong, and thought he should have resigned. As quartermaster, Grant had to order and hand out supplies, and take care of the mules transporting them. General Winfield Scott, and Zachary Taylor were two generals Grant admired. General Scott was kind to the Mexicans, not stealing from them, but paying fair and square for any goods they needed. General Taylor was also kind, and calm in times of panic. At the Battle of Monterrey, Grant played a crucial role. The troops were out of ammunition, so Grant volunteered to cross the danger zone. He rode past the enemies, using his horse as a shield, to deliver the message. In 1847, Grant helped capture Mexico City, and got advanced to First
General Grant’s military skills were gained throughout his life as a soldier. All of these skills were used as he defeated countless enemies and won major battles. His expertise’s led him to victories throughout the whole war, which ultimately helped him play a major role in the Union victory. Grant started his military career in May 1839, at the military academy called WestPoint. He didn’t want to go to the academy; however, his father, Jesse Grant, forced him to go.
Grant was the son of an Ohio tanner. He was educated at West Point, where he graduated 21st out of 39. Grant fought in both the Mexican and Civil Wars. In 1864 President Abraham Lincoln appointed Grant to the Position of General in Chief.
"With a rusted sword in one hand and a Confederate battle flag in the other,a grim-faced Stonewall Jackson desperately rallied his faltering troops. What Rebel worthy of the name could abandon ‘Old Jack’ in his hour of need?”- Robert C. Cheeks. Thomas J. Jackson was a modern day hero for the great impact he made on any man or women who met him. He was a leader who had many qualities. His death was a major setback to the Confederacy because not only was he courageous, he was brilliant, and most importantly his strong religious beliefs.
A military genius, Grant possessed the vision to see that modern warfare requires total application of military and economic strength and was thus able to lead the Union to victory. In civilian life, however, he was unable to provide the leadership necessary for a growing industrial nation, even though he always retained the affection of the American public.
Ever since Cornelius Vanderbilt was little, he had plans to be a boatman and become rich, and he did just that. Cornelius Vanderbilt was born on May 27, 1794, in Port Richmond, Staten Island, New York. He was born into a hardworking family of farmers and he had many siblings as well as a father named Cornelius van Derbilt and a mother named Phebe Hand. At just eleven years old, Cornelius Vanderbilt started working with his
Douglas Macarthur was born on 26th January 1880, in Little Rock, Arkansas to General Arthur Macarthur and wife, Mary Pinckney Hardy. Like his father, he decided to pursue a military career and entered the army. He went to West Point Military Academy and graduated as a valedictorian in 1903. He began his career as an engineering officer in the army but climbed through the ranks and became a General. He was also nominated and given several honors and awards throughout his lifetime. He was known to be aggressive, radical and brave, which led him to make some decisions that were not generally approved (McCullough).
One of the most colorful characters of the Civil War was a General named William T. Sherman. During the period of the war (1861-1865), General Sherman went full circle from being forced to retire on trumped up charges that he was insane, to becoming a key player in bringing this bloody war to a close. He entered the annals of military history as one of the greatest and most distinguished generals of all time.
George Brinton McClellan was a Union general during the Civil War. He was born December 3, 1826 in Philadelphia, PA. He was also commander of the Army of the Potomac twice, which was the Union’s largest army. He fought as the General-in-Chief of the Union army until 1862, when he was removed by Abraham Lincoln, who thought he was a coward. This was because although he had many more men in his army, he often thought that he was outnumbered. This is a reason why Lincoln fired him. McClellan was a meticulous organizer and was very cautious about his war strategies.
James was born in Orange Township, Ohio on November 19, 1831. James parents are Eliza and Abram Garfield. He was named James for his brother James who died at an early age and Abram for his Father. James was the youngest of the five children. Abram (James’ father) died when James was not even two years old!
On April 23, 1791, a great man was born; fifteenth president of the United States, James Buchanan.He was born near Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. His father, James Buchanan, and his mother Elizabeth Speer Buchanan, raised their son a Presbyterian. He grew up in a well to do home, being the eldest of eleven other siblings. His parents cared for them all in their mansion in Pennsylvania. They sent him to Dickinson College.
If Civil Wars could be represented by a single person, the personification of the struggle in the United States between the North and the South would be a frightful individual to behold. Unfortunately, for Jefferson Davis, his life and temperament came close to embodying the gruesome inward fight of the American Civil War (or at least the Southern part). As men go, he was labeled an enigma. He was both a contradiction and a confirmation of himself, unpredictable yet foreseeable. His insecurities were major weaknesses. Without the special skills of a “people person”, he was thrust into a position of leadership over unorganized and untrained men. Despite these things, Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy, attempted to overcome all of it. In this way, he exemplified the Civil War and the further internal strains of the American South.
The power of the federal government can also be seen during Lincoln’s presidency at the time of the Civil War. He swayed the entire purpose of the war to something far off from what had been the initial purpose. From fighting for the preservation of the Union, Northerners readily began to accept that the abolition of slavery was the cause of the war for them, not the Union. Lincoln and his power made this happen.
Grant remained a child at heart throughout his life, and seems never to have realized that he was one. His faith in the goodness of humanity was unbounded, and he was taken advantage of. His simplicity of nature was remarkable, yet this simplicity was the mainspring of his success; certainly it was the first asset of his generalship. While McClellan could see nothing beyond his own operations and Halleck nothing outside of his textbooks, Grant saw things as they were, uncontaminated by his ideas or anyone elses. He saw that the entire problem of winning the civil war was nothing more than an equation between pressure and resistance. The side which pressed the hardest along the lines of least resistance was going to win.
Abraham Lincoln was one of the greatest presidents to ever serve in office in the history of the U.S., serving from 1860 to 1865. A self-educated attorney from Illinois, he proved himself to be a brilliant leader throughout the Civil War period. Although President Abraham Lincoln faced the biggest crisis in American history, he saved the nation by preserving the Union during the Civil War, boosting the economy, by fighting for the abolition of slavery, and by boosting the Northern economy.
James a Garfield was born, the youngest of four, in orange Township, Ohio on November 19, 1831 (Duckster). His father, Abraham Garfield, died when James A. Garfield turned two years of age leaving his mother, Eliza Ballou Garfield, to fend for herself and four young boys (The American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans). Garfield, around age seventeen, drove steamboats through Ohio canals for a year to assist his mother financially while in their state of poverty(The American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Amer...