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born
Ulysses was born on this date -
Period: to
Hiram Ulysses Grant
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Ulysses s grant
when grant was 17, his father arranged for him to enter the united states millitary academ. A denical error had listed him as ulysses s. grant insted of hiram ulysses grant. Not wanting to be rejected by the school he changed his name on the spot. -
school
in 1843 he graduted 21st out of 39,and was glade to be out. he planned to resign from the military after he served his mandatory four years of duty -
work
After graduation, Lieutenant Ulysses S. Grant was stationed in St. Louis, Missouri, where he met his future wife, Julia Dent. -
wife
Grant proposed marriage in 1844, and Julia accepted. -
first war
Before the couple could wed, however, he was shipped off for duty. During the Mexican-American War, Grant served as quartermaster, efficiently overseeing the movement of supplies. -
first time leading a army in war
After getting the opportunity to lead a company into combat, Grant was credited for his bravery under fire. He also developed strong feelings that the war was wrong, and that it was being waged only to increase America's territory for the spread of slavery. -
weding
After a four-year engagement, Ulysses and Julia were finally married in 1848. -
Fort Vancouver
In 1852, he was sent to Fort Vancouver, in what is now Washington State. He missed Julia and his two sons—the second of whom he had not yet seen at this time—and thusly became involved in several failed business ventures in an attempt to get his family to the coast, closer to him. -
promotion
In the summer of 1853, Grant was promoted to captain and transferred to Fort Humboldt on the Northern California coast, where he had a run-in with the fort's commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Robert C. Buchanan. -
strugle
In 1854, Ulysses S. Grant moved his family back to Missouri, but the return to civilian life led him to a low point. He tried to farm land that had been given to him by his father-in-law, but this venture proved to be unsuccessful after a few years. Grant then failed to find success with a real estate venture, and was denied employment as an engineer and clerk in St. Louis. To support his family, he was reduced to selling firewood on a St. Louis street. -
resigned
July, 31, 1854, Grant resigned from the Army amid allegations of heavy drinking and warnings of disciplinary action. -
the civil war begins
On April 13, 1861, Confederate troops attacked Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. This act of rebellion sparked Ulysses S. Grant's patriotism, and he volunteered his military services. Again he was initially rejected for appointments, but with the aid of an Illinois congressman, he was appointed to command an unruly 21st Illinois volunteer regiment.