GRANT 



2567 



GRANT 



hike by the new cadet, but they did not feel 

 authorized to correct it. Ulysses Simpson he 

 was on the rolls, and Ulysses Simpson he re- 

 mained to the end of his days. 



At graduation, in 1843, he was appointed sec- 

 ond lieutenant and was then assigned to duty 

 at Saint Louis. In the autumn of 1845, with 

 his regiment he joined the army of occupation 

 in Texas, and . during the Mexican War took 



THE GRANT HOME IN GALENA 

 Preserved by the city as "Grant Memorial 

 Home," with the aid of an appropriation by the 

 *tate of Illinois. In it are displayed memorials of* 

 the Grant family 



part in every important battle except that of 

 Buena Vista. He was brevetted first lieutenant 

 for conspicuous services at Molino del Re}', 

 and was brevetted captain for bravery at the 

 storming of Chapultepec (see BREVET). For 

 several years after the close of the war he was 

 assigned to garrison duty in various parts of 

 the United States. In the meantime, August 



28, 1848, he had married Miss Julia Dent, ih 

 sister of a West Point classmate, but when 

 he was detailed to duty in California his wife 

 and children remained in Saint Louis. Two 

 years of separation from his family and the 

 seemingly endless prospect of garrison life led 

 him to resign his commission on July 31, 1854. 



Returning to Saint Louis, Grant settled with 

 his family on a sixty-acre tract which his father- 

 in-law set aside for them. Here, for nearly 

 four years, Grant lived the life of a farmer. 

 With his own hands he built a log cabin, which 

 he called "Hardscrabble." He cleared the land, 

 plowed and hoed, hauled wood to the mini -. 

 and worked hard all the time. But his efforts 

 met with little success, and in May, 1860, he 

 took his family to Galena, 111., where he became 

 clerk in a leather and hardware store owned by 

 his father. He was thus employed when the 

 War of Secession broke out the event which 

 so completely changed his prospects. 



It is the truth, and no reflection on his abili- 

 ties as proved at a later time, that in 1861 

 Grant was regarded by his family and friends 

 as a broken man. He was nearly forty years 

 old, he had tried first one occupation and then 

 another, and had been successful in none. His 

 army career had started well enough, but ap- 

 parently wasted into nothing. As a farmer he 

 had barely been able to make a living on land 

 which cost him nothing, and some real estate 

 dealings by which he hoped to improve his 

 financial affairs^-fcurned out badly. In 1861 

 his younger brother, who managed the Galem 

 store, felt that the services of the future 1'n -i- 

 dent were worth only $15 a week. 



His Great Military Service 



In the War of Secession. Immediately after 

 the commencement of hostilities he offered his 

 services to the national government, but re- 

 ceived no reply to his letter. Meanwhile, he 

 was acting as mustering officer of the Illinois 

 volunteers, and in June was chosen colonel 

 of the Twenty-first Illinois regiment of in- 

 fantry. After several months he was made 

 brigadier-general of volunteers and was given 

 command of the district of Southeastern Mis- 

 souri, with headquarters at Cape Girardeau. 

 Learning that Confederate forces were about 

 to seize Paducah, Ky., at the junction of the 

 Tennessee and Ohio rivers, he occupied the 

 city on his own initiative, and thus prevented 

 the enemy from gaining a foothold in We>ii m 

 Kentucky. His first battle as a commander 



was at Belmont, Mo., where he showed IUIHM li 

 a capable leader, though he achieved no ma- 

 terial advantage. Early in 1862 he saw tin- 

 strategic importance of Fort Henry and Fort 

 Donelson (which see), and after much pleading 

 for permission was allowed to undertake tin 

 campaign which ended with the capture of 

 those forts. His reward was promotion to (he 

 rank of major-general of volunteers. It wiw a! 

 Fort Donelson that Grant won his nickname. 

 ''Unconditional Surrender." When General 

 Buckner, in command of the Confederate 

 forces, asked that commissioners be appointed 

 to arrange terms for surrender. Grant replied: 

 ''No terms other than unconditional and im- 

 mediate surrender can be accepted. I propose 

 to move immediately upon your works." The 



