Born in Point Pleasant, Ohio, Ulysses S. Grant was educated at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He served in the military during the Mexican War but resigned in 1854 to embark upon a career in business. At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, he re-entered the military as colonel of an Illinois volunteer regiment. Soon appointed brigadier general of volunteers, Grant led a 1862 expedition that resulted in the capture of Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, and a Confederate army of 15,000 soldiers. For this success he was appointed major general. Grant was in command at the important Battle of Shiloh in 1862, and he captured Vicksburg, Mississippi, the following year. In 1864 he was promoted to lieutenant general and placed in command of all U.S. armies. In 1865 he accepted Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Courthouse, thus ending the Civil War. The following year, Grant was promoted to general of the army. In 1867 he became secretary of war. The following year Grant was elected president of the United States. He served two terms, during which he presided over Reconstruction. His administration was marked by several scandals.
