Civil War Years

Grant was 39 years old when the war began in 1861. He tried to get an appointment to the staff of General George B. McClellan. He was called to serve in the Illinois 21st Regiment of the Union Army.

He was a Colonel of the Seventh District Regiment at the first Bull Run battle. He captured Fort Donelson, TN on the way to Shiloh, TN. He surrounded Fort Donelson until the battle ships could reach it from the Mississippi River. After the victory of Fort Donelson he was promoted to Major General.

In November of 1861 he launched a poorly planned attack on Belmont, MO. After a fierce battle he was forced to retreat with losses.

He stopped a Confederate Army from taking Shiloh but lost 11,754 men. Confederate General A. S. Johnson was killed during a Confederate charge at that battle. The Confederates kept pushing the Union soldiers back until Grant and the other armies found what is called a hornet's nest.

At the battle of Fort Henry he lead the troops toward the fort, but they were stopped by the mud from the spring rain.

He knew he would have a harder time winning in Mississippi than at Shiloh.

In 1864, he was seen as a good leader. He was appointed Lieutenant General by President Lincoln. He was in charge of the Union troops. He was the most successful General for the Union Army.

May 1864 he was at the Battle of Spotsylvania court house. He said" I propose to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer." The battle took summer, fall and winter to end the battle. He grew to be a great military commander during the war. He was a courageous and moral leader.Many people in the North criticized him and called him a butcher because he lost so many men in battle. One of his nicknames was "Unconditional Surrender."

General Robert E. Lee of the Confederate Army surrendered to U. S. Grant on April 12, 1865 in the Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia.

He was advanced to General in Chief after the war.

Here are two reenactors portraying General Grant and a Confederate casualty.