Ulysses Simpson Grant

1822-1885.

President Lincoln, when asked to name the greatest of American generals, unhesitatingly replied, "U.S. Grant." The calm determination which made Grant remain before Vicksburg for months without even mildly resenting the ridicule which was being heaped upon him, and the firm resolution that never failed to carry out a project once fixed upon, only partly explains the great success and remarkable career of Grant as a warrior. Many of his biographers have given credit to these qualities alone, but even a cursory glance at his achievements cannot fail to demonstrate that, in addition to courage and unfaltering persistency, he was endowed with such far-reaching judgment and skill both in the planning and execution of great projects as cannot be said to have been surpassed by any of the most notable commanders of the world. From obscure and unpromising boyhood he advanced by merit alone to an eminence attained by but few American citizens. Through it all he remained the same modest, unassuming character as when he worked in his youth in his father's tannery. In every difficulty and under the most discouraging and perilous conditions that imperturbable calm, which was a characteristic of the man, was never broken. There is no instance recorded in which Grant ever showed anger, nor has there ever been any denial of the assertion that he never used a profane word. His accomplishments as a soldier in meeting and overcoming obstacles of apparently insurmountable proportions is little short of marvellous. In addition to other qualities which made him great as a soldier, was the confidence and loyalty which he inspired in his troops by his own example. He was quick to see a fault, but quicker to pardon offence. He never forgot to thank his soldiers for the part they had taken in bringing about victory, and his addresses to his troops read like the stirring addresses of Napoleon. The grateful nation which he had served remembered and honored him both before and after his death. Twice he was chosen President of the United States, and was offered a third term. Congress created for him a rank of distinction which no other American ever received, and when his brilliant career ended a whole nation bent with grief. His name and fame will live long after the magnificent marble tomb in which he sleeps has crumbled and become a thing of the past.