Last updated: July 22, 2021
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Military Career
Library of Congress
War With Mexico (1846-1848)
After the Texas Revolution, slavery was made legal in the state of Texas in 1836 through the Constitution of the Republic of Texas, although Mexico did not recognize Texas as an independent state. James K. Polk won the presidential election in 1845 on a campaign of Manifest Destiny and signed a bill on December 28, 1845 to accept Texas as the 28th state of the Union. Tensions between the United States and Mexico raised over whether the Nueces River or the Rio Grande, 130 miles farther south, formed the southern border of Texas.
During this time, Grant and the 4th Infantry Regiment were stationed in Corpus Christi, TX outside the Rio Grande under future President, Major General Zachary Taylor. James K. Polk ordered Taylor to march 150 miles south to the Rio Grande, the border that the Polk administration believed was the southern Texas border. Taylor ignored Mexico’s demands to retreat north to the Nueces river, which Mexico believed was the southern border of Texas, causing Mexican forces to prepare for war.
Ulysses was sent to Fort Texas, where he experienced combat for the first time on May 8, 1846 during the Battle of Palo Alto. Grant received a brevet promotion from quartermaster to first lieutenant as a result of his bravery and horsemanship during the Battle of Monterrey on September 21-23, 1846. Grant was then awarded a brevet promotion to captain following the Battle for Chapultepec on September 13, 1847 due to his bravery and resourcefulness for dragging a disassembled howitzer up a church tower, reassembling it, and then firing on Mexican troops. On September 14, 1897, Major General Winfield Scott’s army, which Grant was a part of, captured Mexico City, resulting in peaceful negotiations between Mexico and the U.S. and ultimately the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
Although the War with Mexico gave Grant confidence that he was a highly capable soldier, he later quipped “I was bitterly opposed to the measure…and to this day, regard the war which resulted as one of the most unjust ever waged by a stronger against a weaker nation.” The war also provided Grant with insights into the abilities of many of the officers who he would be serving with or against during the Civil War.
The United States gained 525,000 square miles of new territory in what is now parts of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. The new territory created from the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo raised concerns between abolitionists and slave owners over the balance between North and South which would later escalate into the Civil War.
In his memoirs Grant reflected that “The Southern rebellion was largely the outgrowth of the Mexican war. Nations, like individuals, are punished for their transgressions. We got our punishment in the most sanguinary and expensive war of modern times.”
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Calls to Service
Many southern military officers felt loyalty to their states instead of to the federal government, which Grant summarized by saying “The Southern feeling in the army among high officers was so strong that when the war broke out the army dissolved.”In April 1861, President Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to serve for the Union militia. Grant, who was working at his father’s leather store in Galena, Illinois at the time, joined the Galena volunteers who called themselves the Jo Daviess Guard, named after their county. Grant advocated to be in a higher post due to his past military experience but received no response.
On April 25, Grant and the Jo Daviess Guard traveled to Springfield, IL to offer his services to Governor Yates, who gave Grant the responsibility of mustering regiments in the state to join the Illinois militia. Following his success in mustering troops, Grant was promoted to Colonel and put in charge of the 21st Illinois Infantry in June 1861. Later that summer, Grant was promoted to Brigadier General of volunteers and made his headquarters in Cairo, IL to oversee activity along the Mississippi river.
Library of Congress
Fort Donelson (February 16, 1862)
President Lincoln recognized that Kentucky was pivotal, being situated between the North and South as a buffer state, saying “I hope to have God on my side, but I must have Kentucky.”During the battle, Grant and the Union army were able to overtake the Confederate soldiers, and when Confederate General Simon Buckner asked Grant for his terms, he replied “No terms except an unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted,” to which Buckner accepted.
Grant’s seizure of this vital fortress, as well as its sister fort, Fort Henry, ensured that Kentucky would remain in the Union, and allow the Union army to utilize both the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers to advance into Tennessee.
The North won its first great victory in the Civil War, and gained a new hero in Grant, who became known as “Unconditional Surrender” Grant and was promoted to Major General of volunteers. For more information about the Battle of Fort Donelson, visit nps.gov/FODO
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Battle of Shiloh (April 6-7, 1862)
On the morning of April 6, 1862, Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston made the decision to initiate offensive operations against Union forces, surprising Grant and his unfortified position. Heavy fighting raged for two days while the Union army consolidated and slowly halted the Confederate assault. Casualties during the Battle of Shiloh eclipsed the total in the War of 1812, the War with Mexico, and the Revolutionary War. Although no new territory was taken by either side, the battle was considered a victory for the Union, although at a cost of 13,000 union casualties. Many called for Grant’s removal after the battle, and he was briefly relieved of duty before being reinstated.In July of 1862, the Militia Act was passed by Congress which allowed African Americans to participate in the Civil War as soldiers and laborers, as well as the Second Confiscation Act which said that slaves of military or civilian Confederates “shall be forever free.” Grant enforced these new federal regulations by accepting runaway slaves into camp, providing them with shoes, clothes, shelter, and work to earn wages. To learn more about the Battle of Shiloh, visit nps.gov/shil
New York Public Library
Siege of Vicksburg (May 18 - July 4, 1863)
Capturing Vicksburg, which separated the Confederate states East and West of the Mississippi River would effectively split the Confederacy in two and give the Union control of the river. On May 18, Grant and his soldiers began to encircle Vicksburg and on May 19 the Union opened fire, bombarding the Confederates. Grant scheduled a second attack on May 22 with help from Sherman, McClernand, and McPherson until the Union forces were again driven back. After these two assaults, Grant realized that Vicksburg could not be taken by force and instead would lay siege on the city.
During this time, Lincoln never wavered in his support of Grant, writing on May 26 that “Whether Gen. Grant shall or shall not consummate the capture of Vicksburg his campaign from the beginning of this month up to the twenty second day of it, is one of the most brilliant in the world.” Grant succeeded in cutting off and entrapping General John Pemberton’s Army at Vicksburg, surrendering the city to the Union on July 4, 1863.
Once Vicksburg fell, Grant set about arming black soldiers with captured weapons from the Confederates, and assigning them to help police the city. After signing the Emancipation Proclamation that year, Lincoln told Gran that recruiting black soldiers was "a resource which if vigorously applied now, will soon close the contest - It works doubly, weakening the enemy & strenghtening us. Grant and Eaton, a member of his staff, created a "colored military force," which would eventually lead to the creation of the Sixty-Third and Sixty-Fourth United States Colored Infantry Regiments.
The capture of Vicksburg guaranteed the eventual defeat of the confederacy, and secured Grant’s reputation as an aggressive commander which resulted in his appointment to command all western armies and general in chief of the Union armies within the next year. To learn more about the Siege of Vicksburg, visit nps.gov/vick
Library of Congress
Battle for Chattanooga (November 23-25, 1863)
To Abraham Lincoln, capturing Chattanooga, TN was as important as capturing the Confederate capital of Richmond. The city served as a crucial supply point for the Confederate army, laying on the banks of the Tennessee River where four major railroads converge. If the Union army captured Chattanooga, it would cripple the Confederate supply lines.
Chattanooga was controlled by Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg and his Army of the Tennessee until Union Gen. William Rosecrans threatened the Confederate army after moving his Army of the Cumberland south across the Tennessee River and over Lookout Mountain. General Bragg realized the Confederate army had been outmaneuvered and was forced to abandon the city of Chattanooga in September.
Although Rosecrans thought the Confederate army was retreating to Atlanta, the opposing army instead decided to contest Chattanooga after receiving extra support from Gen. James Longstreet. The two armies clashed at the Battle of Chickamauga, forcing the Union army to retreat into Chattanooga where General Braxton Bragg laid siege to the city.
Grant traveled to Chattanooga to relieve the city with assaults against the Confederates in Orchard Knob, Lookout Point, and Missionary Ridge. Between November 23 and November 25, numerous attacks took place between the Confederate Army, and three Union armies: the Army of the Tennessee, the Army of the Cumberland, and the Army of the Potomac. Following the attack at Missionary Ridge Grant and the Union defeated General Bragg, who had one of the south’s major armies, causing the Confederate army to flee to Georgia. Chattanooga became a major base supporting General Sherman’s 1864 campaign to seize Atlanta and “march to the sea,” making war on southern civilians and undermining the Confederate war effort. To learn more about the Battles for Chattanooga, visit https://www.nps.gov/chch/index.htm
National Archives
Battles of the Wilderness (May 5-7, 1864)
The Wilderness was Grant’s first major battle after taking command of the Union armies as lieutenant-general, and his first time facing Confederate General Robert E. Lee and the Army of the Northern Virginia. At this time, Grant’s troops greatly outnumbered Lee’s, which would give Grant the advantage if the two collided in an open field, which Grant preferred over fighting in the wooded area known as “the wilderness.”
On May 4, the Union forces negotiated the Rapidan River, which Lee easily spotted from his signal stations. Lee immediately ordered his Confederate troops to march east and strike their Union opponents in the familiar and foreboding Wilderness, where Grant’s legions would be neutralized by the inhospitable terrain. On the morning of May 5, Grant directed his troops to continue southeast through the woods and into open ground, however word quickly arrived that the Confederates were approaching from the west – threatening Grant’s advance. Heavy fighting erupted in the wilderness, and the dense foliage made artillery useless, leading to devastating hand to hand combat.
Although the battle marked another tactical Confederate victory, Grant did not retreat as his predecessors had done. Lincoln appreciated Grant’s qualities and demeanor during the Wilderness battle saying “The great thing about Grant is his perfect coolness and persistency of purpose…he is not easily excited…and he has the grit of a bull-dog! Once let him get his ‘teeth’ in, and nothing can shake him off.”
Although both sides expected more fighting on May 7, neither side initiated hostilities, and Grant and his troops continued to head toward the Confederate capital at Richmond, VA. Confederate General Gordon believed that there was “no doubt but that Grant is retreating,” to which Lee corrected him saying “You are mistaken, quite mistaken. Grant is not retreating; he is not a retreating man.” To learn more about the Battle of the Wilderness, visit https://www.nps.gov/frsp/learn/historyculture/wildspot.htm
Library of Congress
Battle of Cold Harbor (May 31, 1864 - June 12, 1864)
Grant’s next military objective was the crossroad intersection at Cold Harbor. Union cavalry under General Philip Sheridan’s cavalry defeated the Confederate rebels near Cold Harbor and Grant advised him to hold the location.
Reinforcements from both the Union and Confederate armies soon arrived and by June 2, Grant and Lee’s armies had established a 7-mile front. Grant planned to attack but instead decided to postpone until 4:30 AM the next day on June 3. The Union delays gave General Lee time to strengthen his defenses, and as a result the Union had unsuccessful assault attacks on Confederate positions in the area of Bethesda Church and Cold Harbor.
From June 4 until June 12, both armies fortified their positions and settled into siege warfare, filled with minor attacks and sniping. Grant realized that this route to Richmond was too heavily defended, and decided to disengage and move south to target Petersburg.
Grant later remarked that “I have always regretted that the last assault at Cold Harbor was ever made.” During the two week period, the Union army lost 12,000 killed, wounded, missing or captured while the Confederate army suffered almost 4,000 casualties.
To learn more about the Battle of Cold Harbor, visit https://www.nps.gov/rich/learn/historyculture/cold-harbor.htm
National Archives at College Park
Siege of Petersburg (June 1864 - April 1865)
Only 25 miles south of Richmond, Petersburg was important supply center to the Confederate capital with five key roads and railroad lines. If Petersburg could be taken by the Union army, then Richmond would no longer be supplied essential supplies and subsistence. Between June 15-18, 1864, Grant threw his forces against the Confederate lines, only to have no success. Grant begins to lay siege on the city, which lasted nearly a year – the longest siege in American warfare.
Grant would not concede defeat, and initiated more assaults through tenacity and aggressive tactics. For nearly every attack the Union made on Petersburg another was made on the Confederate capital at Richmond, straining the Confederate army’s manpower and resources.
By early February 1865, Lee had only 45,000 soldiers, opposed to Grant’s force of 110,000 men, and by mid-March it became apparent to Confederate General Lee that he could not hold out much longer, and tried to break the Union hold on Petersburg by a surprise attack on Grant. This resulted in the Confederate loss at Fort Stedman that would be Lee’s last grand offensive of the war. On April 2, Lee ordered the evacuation of Confederate troops from Petersburg.
To learn more about the Siege of Petersburg, visit https://www.nps.gov/pete/index.htm
Library of Congress
Appomattox (April 9, 1865)
Following the fall of Petersburg and the Confederate capital at Richmond, Grant chose not to enter the city as a conqueror, and instead positioned his forces to block General Lee’s attempts to join General Joseph T. Johnston’s Army in North Carolina. Grant sent a letter to Lee on April 7, and asked him to accept the “hopelessness of further resistance.” On April 9, 1865 General Lee admitted the necessity of asking for terms of surrender and ordered his officers to offer a white flag of truce.Grant wrote out the terms of surrender: Confederate soldiers were to lay down their arms, return to their homes on parole, and promise to obey the laws of the United States. Confederate officers were allowed to keep their arms, and both officers and soldiers could keep their horses. General Lee accepted the terms, saying “this will have the best possible effect on the men. It will be gratifying, and will do much toward conciliating our people.”
Although the Army of Northern Virginia had surrendered, other Confederate forces remained in the field. Joseph Johnston’s army surrendered to General William T. Sherman on April 26, 1865, Kirby Smith’s Army of the Trans-Mississippi surrendered on May 26, and Stands Watie surrendered the Cherokee Forces in Oklahoma on June 23. The Civil War finally ended, at a cost of over 620,000 American lives. Ulysses was made the first four-star general in American history by Congress on July 25, 1866.
To learn more about Appomattox, visit https://www.nps.gov/apco/index.htm