![]() Hard TimesĪfter leaving the Army, Grant returned to his wife and children in Missouri. It is still unclear what precipitated his resignation. In 1854, Grant resigned suddenly from the Army. He also ran into financial problems, became depressed, and, according to some accounts, began to drink to excess. He could not take his family to these distant locations and he hated being separated from them. At first, Julia was able to travel with him, but the Army then sent Grant to the Pacific Northwest, first to the Oregon Territory and then to California. ![]() The Army then transferred the young lieutenant to Detroit and New York. ![]() Unbeknownst to the groom, all three of his Southern attendants, including James Longstreet, would fight against him during the Civil War. When the war ended, Grant traveled back to St. He mourned his lost comrades and the waste that war created. Grant, however, did not glory in the ideals of war. He also greatly admired General Zachary Taylor and his calm, confident leadership. This post gave him valuable experience in the logistics of war. He was appointed quartermaster for the Fourth Infantry and was responsible for providing supplies and transportation as his regiment moved through the Mexican countryside. From 1846 to 1848, the young lieutenant fought in the Mexican War and was twice cited for his bravery. Lieutenant Grant's regiment moved further south, first to Louisiana and then Texas, to prepare for the conflict with Mexico that was brewing over the Texas territory. Their mutual devotion was deep and abiding throughout their courtship and 37 years of marriage. Charming, smart, and sociable, Julia soon attracted Grant's declaration of love, although his service in the Mexican War would delay their union for several years. One day while visiting, Grant met Frederick's sister, Julia Dent. His West Point roommate, Frederick Dent, had grown up nearby, and Grant often visited the Dent home, where the family's hospitality made him comfortable. Grant was assigned to the Fourth Infantry at the Jefferson Barracks, just south of St. The United States Army of the 1840s was a small one. He seemed sure to win a coveted spot in the Army's cavalry, its horse-soldier elite, but he was assigned to the infantry after graduating twenty-first in a class of thirty-nine. His skill with horses, however, was unmatched, and he amazed everyone with his riding abilities. He was good at math and drawing, but his prior education was limited, leaving him an otherwise unexceptional student. West Point was difficult for the humble youth from the Midwest. Although Ulysses tried to correct the mistake when he arrived at West Point, it was too late, and thereafter he signed his name as Ulysses S. When his congressman applied for Grant's appointment to West Point, he incorrectly wrote the name as Ulysses Simpson (his mother's family name) Grant instead of Hiram Ulysses Grant. His father stated that he thought his son would go, and Ulysses "thought so too, if he did." With his father's encouragement, Grant decided to go to West Point to fulfill his own desire to travel and take advantage of the education being offered to him. Told of his acceptance, the shy Ulysses did not want to go. Without telling Ulysses, Jesse Grant applied for an appointment to the Academy for his son, who was accepted. ![]() The family had little money for college, but the United States Military Academy at West Point, then as now, offered a deal: a superior free education in return for Army service after graduating. Grant's father supported his son's ambitious nature to go beyond the limited life of a tanner. On the family farm, his father often gave him the responsibility of taking care of the horses and the other farm animals, and he was renowned in the area for managing unruly horses. The simple local schools bored him, and other children mistook his quietness for stupidity, nicknaming him "Useless." The boy, however, had an incredible knack in what was a critical skill in that time and place-horsemanship. Ulysses was a small, sensitive, quiet youth. Although Grant occasionally worked in the tannery as a child, he hated the work and swore to his father that once he was an adult, he would never do it again. He made a good living, but the work conditions were horrible-skinned and raw animal carcasses everywhere, their hides tossed into kettles of stinging, stinking chemicals. His father was a tanner who took animal hides and processed them into leather. He was the first of six children born to religious and hard-working parents, Jesse and Hannah Grant. Hiram Ulysses Grant was born on April 27, 1822, in Point Pleasant, Ohio. ![]()
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