Ulysses S. Grant Timeline
1822—April 27, Hiram Ulysses Grant is born at Point Pleasant, Ohio.
1843—Grant graduates from West Point.
* Grant was mistakenly enrolled as Ulysses S. Grant.
* He is commissioned a second lieutenant of Infantry.
1846—The Mexican War begins.
* Grant is promoted to captain for taking part in the capture of
Mexico City.
1848—August 22, Grant marries Julia Dent
* During their 37-year marriage, the Grants have four
children.
1852—Grant is transferred to California.
1854—April, Grant is ordered to resign due to charges of drunkenness.
1859—After various failures, Grant begins work as a clerk in his
father’s leather goods store in Galena, Illinois.
1861—April 12, The first shots of the Civil War are fired at Fort Sumter.
1861—August 7, Grant is made a brigadier general in charge of Federal troops in
southern Illinois and southeastern Missouri.
1862—February 6, In a joint operation with the navy, Grant leads troops in the capture of
Fort Henry on the Tennessee River.
1862—February 16, Grant captures Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River.
* It is the first major Union victory.
* An entire Confederate Army is captured.
* Grant earns the nickname “Unconditional Surrender” Grant.
* Lincoln promotes Grant to major general of volunteers.
1862—April 6-7, Grant is surprised at Shiloh, but reinforcements secure a Union victory.
1862—November 2, Grant begins a campaign to capture Vicksburg.
1863—July 4, Grant captures Vicksburg after laying siege for 47 days.
* Vicksburg was the Confederacy’s last hold on the Mississippi.
* The fall of Vicksburg split the Confederacy in half.
1864—March 9, Grant is commissioned a lieutenant general.
* This was a rank previously held only by George Washington.
1864—March 12, Grant is named supreme commander of the Union armies.
* He begins an offensive focused on destroying armies instead of capturing cities.
1864—Spring, Grant faces Lee in a series of bloody battles—the Wilderness, Spotsylvania,
and Cold Harbor.
* Unlike other generals before him, he does not turn back after heavy losses.
1864—June 18, The siege of Petersburg begins.
1865—April 2, Grant launches an attack and captures Petersburg.
1865—April 3, Richmond, the Confederate capital, falls to Union forces.
1865—April 9, Lee surrenders to Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.
1869—March 4, Grant is inaugurated as the 18th President of the United States.
1884—Writer Mark Twain encourages Grant to write his memoirs.
1885—June 19, Grant finishes writing his Personal Memoirs.
1885—July 23, Ulysses S. Grant dies at age 63 in Mount McGregor, New York.
Information from the Ulysses S Grant Network website at http://saints.css.edu/mkelsey/gppg.html/