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By Sherman Fleek
USMA Historian
Few cadets had the same experience as one particular young man did in June 1839, when he arrived at the U.S. Military Academy.
Born as a Hiram Ulysses Grant in 1822, whose initials were “HIG,” he later insisted on Ulysses Hiram Grant as his proper name. But his Ohio congressman erroneously thought the name of the young man representing his district was Ulysses Simpson Grant, taking his mother’s maiden name as his middle, a very common practice in those days. Yet, soon his fellow cadets simple called him “Sam” Grant, short for Uncle Sam Grant.
Thus, began the cadet experience, life and career of one the greatest Soldiers in American history, the first four-star general in Army history and 18th president of the United States.
U.S. Grant led the Union armies to victory over the rebellion of seceding Confederate states, and as a combat commander and general, he had three separate field armies surrendered to him.
Grant’s time and record at the U.S. Military Academy was not stellar. First, he did not want to attend, as his father, Jesse Root Grant, basically forced him.
In his famous Personal Memorials published at the time of his death in 1885, he wrote, “A military life has no charm 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.”
The main fascination to him was the trip itself to New York and living in the Hudson River valley. He wrote a cousin his plebe year, “it is decidedly the most beautiful place I have ever seen... I do love the place.”
Grant did graduate on July 1, 1843, 21st in his class of 39, whereas with some 43 others who did not graduate. He was an average cadet with no great achievements in scholarship, in fact he preferred reading novels to studying his lessons, “I devoted more time to these (novels) than to books relating to the course of studies.”
Grant excelled in one area—horsemanship. Growing up as young boy in Ohio, he had a keen sense and talent for horses, and his ability at riding and jumping at West Point became legend. The day before graduation in 1843, with many guests and the Board of Visitors present, Cadet Grant was called on to mount a feisty horse and attempt a very high jump, which he and the horse did with ease. The crowd was astounded.
The connections he would make at the academy would affect his entire life. He married Julia Dent in 1848, after his service in Mexico, who was the sister of his roommate Frederick Dent. He met future comrades in Union arms, such as George Thomas and William T. Sherman, both Class of 1840, as well as others who fought against him, namely, Simon Bolivar Buckner, who surrendered his Confederate Army and Fort Donelson to Grant in February 1862.
(Editor’s note: This is the first in a series on Ulysses Grant until his statue dedication at West Point on April 25.)
| Date Taken: | 01.16.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 01.25.2019 13:56 |
| Story ID: | 307237 |
| Location: | NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 128 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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