Ulysses S Grant the President Who Almost Wasn't

Ulysses S Grant the President Who Almost Wasn’t

Andrew J Groneman

4336849

American Military University

History 102

Professor Carl Bradshaw

18 October 2012

Ulysses S Grant the President Who Almost Wasn’t

Before being assigned the General of the Union Army in 1864, Ulysses S Grant was considered a mediocre officer at best and an abject failure at least. He could not stand the sight of blood, which made him sick, and was characterized as a functioning alcoholic. He was so down on the military and its’ duties, he actually resigned his commission and left the service. General Grant, the savior of the Union, was very near to being nothing more than a faceless name in the history of the American Army. If it not for certain unavoidable circumstances, President Lincoln may have never found the leader required to defeat the Southern Rebels.

Ulysses Grant applied for and received an appointment to West Point in 1839. He did so out of necessity vice wanting to; Grant has been quoted as saying,” A military life had no charms for me, and I had not the faintest idea of staying in the army even if I should be graduated, which I did not expect”(1) While at West Point, Grant could have been considered a poor student. He was not a distinguished cadet and he rarely, if ever, studied. Grant was so disconnected from the military life; that when Congress had thoughts of abolishing the academy, he viewed this as a way for him to get out and go home.(2) But needless to say, the resolution failed, and amazingly enough Grant was able to graduated at the lower end of his class. His one and only saving grace being his exceptional ability to ride a horse.

Upon graduation, Grant was assigned to the 4th Infantry Regiment stationed Missouri. He performed well enough in the Mexican War to miraculously earn a couple promotions. (3) But because of his disdain for the military life, he turned to the bottle, and resigned in disgrace for constantly being drunk. Grant returned to Illinois to work for his father at the family’s leather goods store. At the age of 39 and still working for his father when the Civil War broke out, he immediately petitioned the Army for re-instatement and commission. He wrote a letter stating,” I see myself competent to command a regiment, if the President, in his judgment, should see fit to in-trust one to me”. (4)

But due to his reputation from his previous years of service, the Army’s Adjutant General ignored his request. At that point in time, given Grant’s military history and his inability to be successful in the civilian world,