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Ulysess Grant

by Olivia from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

My hero Grant was born April 27, 1822, at Point Pleasent Ohio, his real name was Hiram Ulysess, but he went by Ulysess. He loved horses even when he was a baby.When he was 7 or 8 he could handle a full team of horses, but soon he had to stop being in love with horses because when he was 16 his dad put him in the U.S. military academy at West Point.

The Mexican War started in 1846 while Grant was studying in Texas. He did not like the sympathy aims of the Mexican War. He felt like the United States were bullying a smaller nation. As soon as the war ended Grant asked if he could leave Texas but couldn't.

In 1848 he married Julia Dent a sister to one of his West Point friends. In 1852 he was ordered to go to Pacific Coast, and because his salary of a lieutenant was so low he could not take his son or wife with him. In 1853 he was promoted to captain, but even a captain's pay was too low to take his family. He started to feel lonely and homesick, and according to army gossip he started to drink, although there is no offical record of this. After quarreling with a commanding officer, Grant resigned from the army in 1854.

Grant and his family moved (now that they could afford to) to Missouri, intending to become a farmer, he started a farm on land that his wife Julia owned and then he became a real estate partner. He had to quit farm life because of an illness, but then his civillian life was interupted by war. Slavery was becoming a big issue between the North and South and Lincoln had asked for 75,000 volunteers for the North army and then the Civil War started. Grant offered himself for sevices for the army and said that he could be a colonel, but in 1861 he was named general by president Lincoln.

Grant had his first battel in Belmont, Missouri and destroyed the Rebles (or the South),but the rebles counter-attacked with even more forces and he had to retreat. It was a bitter lesson but Grant learned it. He showed himself to Lincoln by defeating Vicksburg, Missouri and taking control of the river. So because of Grant's popularity he became 18th president of the United States. Then, sadly Grant died on July 23rd 1885. The reason Grant is my hero is because of him and Lincoln we don't have slavery, and we would not have a free country to all of us. He is also my hero because he defeated a very good, and well played general and is also the 18th president of the United States.

Page created on 9/1/2008 12:00:00 AM

Last edited 9/1/2008 12:00:00 AM

The beliefs, viewpoints and opinions expressed in this hero submission on the website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs, viewpoints and opinions of The MY HERO Project and its staff.