UNION GENERAL STAFF SET 2 - AMERICAN CIVIL WAR

Ulysses Simpson Grant was born in April 1822 and died in July 1885. He was one of the highest ranking generals of the Union during the Civil War (1861-1865) and the president of the USA from 1869-1877. In 1843 he graduated from the military academy at West Point, and from 1846-1848 he took part in the Mexican-American War. He was then promoted to the rank of lieutenant. As a result of problems with alcohol, he was forced to retire from service in 1855, taking up the cultivation of the land. Shortly after the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted in the Union's army and in 1861 was promoted to brigadier general. In 1862, he successfully fought for Fort Henry and Fort Donelson. He also took part in the Battle of Shiloh that same year. However, his greatest fame came in 1863, when he won the great victory at Vicksburg and at Memphis and Port Hudson. As a result of a series of victories in December 1863, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the US army. It is also believed that he was the author or co-author of the US strategy in the declining period of the Civil War, which, despite considerable losses suffered in 1864, led the US to victory over the Confederation. It is worth noting that Grant at that time was still haunted by alcohol problems - there are many indications that he was a heavy alcoholic. After the Civil War, he entered politics and was elected president twice. It is worth adding that, in particular, Grant's first cabinet was famous for its incompetence and corruption.