Audio
US Grant Biography - The Early Years
Transcript
Hiram Ulysses Grant was born April 27, 1822, in Point Pleasant, Ohio. /photo of Grant/ He was the first child of Jesse and Hannah Grant. The family named him Hiram but called him by his middle name.
When Ulysses was a baby, his family moved to the nearby town of Georgetown. His three sisters and two brothers were born there. Jesse Grant was a tanner. He worked animal skins into leather. Ulysses did not like working at the tannery. He did like working on the family farm and caring for the animals. He especially liked spending time with the horses. As a young boy he started riding horses and was able to train them easily.
As a young boy he went to a one-room schoolhouse. He was not very interested in school. He preferred spending time with horses.
When Ulysses was seventeen years old, his father arranged to have him attend the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York. By mistake, someone wrote “Ulysses S. Grant” instead of Hiram Ulysses Grant on the school’s paperwork. Ulysses tried to correct the mistake, but the Academy told him that it wasn’t possible. Ulysses decided to accept the change in his name. His classmates soon nicknamed him “United States” or “Uncle Sam Grant,” and then called him Sam Grant. While Grant didn’t like attending classes at the Academy, he did quite well in math. /drawing of Grant with horse/ His classmates admired his excellent horsemanship. He was known for jumping his horse at great heights. One of his classmates said, “it was as good as any circus to see Grant ride.”
Description
Audio recording of the short biography of Ulysses S. Grant for Junior Rangers
Date Created
06/21/2022
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