American Civil War Centennial Medallion - Generals Lee & Grant 1961-1965

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Seller: scmbgetty ✉️ (8,964) 100%, Location: Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, US, Ships to: US & many other countries, Item: 145677870235 AMERICAN CIVIL WAR CENTENNIAL MEDALLION - GENERALS LEE & GRANT 1961-1965 . AMERICAN CIVIL WAR CENTENNIAL COMMISSION COMMEMORATIVE MEDALLION - DEPICTING GENERALS LEE & GRANT 1961-1965 by the Official Civil War Centennial Commission. The medallion is done by the Metallic Art Company and comes in the original box with paperwork detailing the Commission, the design of the medal, the Sculptor - Joseph Emile Renier and the medalist. It measures 2.5 inches in diameter and is metal ( I think bronze but not sure). On the front is ULYSSES S. GRANT and ROBERT E. LEE - " LET US HAVE PEACE " & " CONSCIOUSNESS OF DUTY FAITHFULLY PERFORMED ". On the reverse is a Union and Confederate soldier standing by the shield of the United States  'THE CIVIL WAR CENTENNIAL COMMISSION 1961 - 1965 ". Very well detailed and the highest quality. Insured USPS mail delivery in the Continental US. The American Civil War Centennial was the official United States commemoration of the American Civil War, also known as the War Between the States. Commemoration activities began in 1957, four years prior to the 100th anniversary of the commencement of hostilities, and ended in 1965 with the 100th anniversary of the surrender at Appomattox. The public commemoration of the Civil War commenced with the passage, by Congress in 1957, of a public act creating the United States Civil War Centennial Commission. The Commission was asked to work with, and encourage, the forty-eight U.S. states (especially the states that were in existence at the time of the Civil War) to create state-level commissions to commemorate the war, and to some extent coordinate centennial activities by the private sector. The shadow of ongoing conflict over the Civil Rights Movement affected implementation of these commemorative activities. Neither Congress nor President Dwight D. Eisenhower were interested in a single, unified, national theme for the commemoration. To avoid this, the law creating the federal Commission reflected clear expectations that most of the implementation work of the commemoration would be carried out by the various state commissions. Almost all of the states did indeed set up centennial commissions. A 1961 Civil War Centennial postage stamp depicts a cannon and its gunner. At the same time, the National Park Service, and other federal agencies that controlled key Civil War battlefields, used the Centennial to successfully lobby Congress for increased funding to re-landscape and interpret these battlefields for the general public. The U.S. Post Office issued a series of commemorative stamps to mark the centennial. At the national Commission, key members urged different priorities. Emory University Professor Bell Wiley recommended a major effort to document and preserving information from historic letters, newspapers and public documents. Ulysses S. Grant III, the first chairman, wanted to emphasize large-scale events that appealed to the public, such as "sham battles" or reenactments. Businessman Karl Betts, the first executive director of the Commission, looked for ways it could spur economic development. They agreed on a Cold War consensus to the effect that all Americans were ideologically united, with the result that potentially divisive civil rights issues were not emphasized.[1] Differing themes The same geographical divisions that had played a role in sparking the Civil War itself also affected the works of the separate state commissions that tried to oversee the Centennial. Not surprisingly, the Northern states' commissions and the Southern states' commissions looked at the war in very different ways, used different key words and phrases to reflect their viewpoints, and sponsored and encouraged different public memorials and activities.[2] In particular, the governments of U.S. Southern states saw the Civil War centennial as an opportunity to reinforce their view that the infrastructure of Jim Crow and segregation was an organic reflection of a distinctive Southern "way of life." Many white Southerners responded with enthusiasm to invitations to celebrate their heritage, which they saw as one of courage on the battlefield and continuity afterwards. For the first time, many Americans, especially white Southerners, volunteered or were recruited into historical reenactment groups that performed pageants and re-creations of Civil War battles, field maneuvers, and encampments. The Centennial also saw efforts to use the various commemorations as a launching pad for serious adult education of the facts and issues surrounding the war. Historian Robert J. Cook, in a 2007 full-length study of the commemoration, asserts that these efforts were comprehensively unsuccessful and constituted a significant missed opportunity.[3] Legacy Issuance of this postage stamp in April 1965 marked the end of the Civil War Centennial. One major legacy of the Civil War Centennial was the creation of an infrastructure of Civil War reenactment.[4] At least two major Civil War battlefields, Pea Ridge National Military Park in Arkansas and Wilson's Creek National Battlefield in Missouri, were added to the roster of parklands administered by the National Park Service during the Centennial years. Civil War-related State parks, such as Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site in Kentucky, also trace their heritage back to the Centennial years. In addition, much of the current interpretive infrastructure of other major American Civil War battlefields dates back to planning decisions made in the early 1960s. Prior to 1957, celebrants of Southern heritage adopted a wide variety of signs and symbols. In the late 1950s, many white Southerners united around a modified version of the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia as the flag to be used in commemoration of the Centennial, and this flag was raised at many 100th-anniversary events. For example, the modified Confederate flag was raised on the grounds of the South Carolina State House in April 1961 as part of the 100th-anniversary commemoration by South Carolina's government of the reduction of Fort Sumter.[5] Eleven months later, state lawmakers passed a law requiring the flag's commemorative appearance be made permanent and that the flag be flown over the capitol itself. This decision (reversed in 2015) accompanied white resistance to integration and the civil rights movement.[6][7][8] Medallic Art Company, Ltd. based in Dayton, Nevada is "America’s oldest and largest private mint" and specializes in making academic awards, maces, medallions, along with chains of office and universities medals for schools.[1][2] The Medallic Art Company makes custom 2D and 3D medals[3] and "has produced some of the world’s most distinguished awards such as the Pulitzer Prize, the Peabody Award, the Newbery and Caldecott medals, and the Inaugural medals for eleven U.S. Presidents."[4][5] The Medallic Art Company also struck medals for two important medallic art series in the United States: the Circle of Friends of the Medallion[6] and The Society of Medalists.[7] Contents 1 History 2 See also 3 Notes 4 External links History Henri Weil, "a highly respected French sculptor living in New York City," founded the Medallic Art Company in 1903.[8] Henri, along with his brother Felix, worked at Deitsch Brothers, a company that made die-struck ornaments for woman's handbags.[5] When the styles of handbags changed, the Weil brothers repurposed the presses to make medals and purchased Medallic Art Company from Deitsch.[5] One of its first commissions was the Hudson-Fulton Medal of the Circle of Friends of the Medallion in 1909.[5][9] The Medallic Art Company was originally located in Manhattan, New York and moved to Danbury, Connecticut in 1972, Sioux Falls, South Dakota in 1991 then to Dayton, Nevada in 1997 where it operated a 115,000-square-foot (10,700 m2) facility.[8] In August 1971, Joseph B. Hartzog, Jr., director of the National Park Service, awarded a contract to the Kalispell, Montana, firm of Roche Jaune Inc. to produce a series of 37 medals, called the “National Parks Centennial Series”, that depict a scene in each of America's national parks. The medals, designed by Frank Hagel, were struck by the Medallic Art Company which was still operating in New York City at the time.[10] In July 2009, Medallic Art Company was purchased by Northwest Territorial Mint.[11] The Northwest Territorial Mint declared bankruptcy in April 2016;[12] in 2018, after protracted bankruptcy proceedings, Medallic Art’s “tradename, website, customer lists, archives, tools, specific machinery, certain company owned Medallic dies and other property” were purchased by Medalcraft Mint, Inc. (Western District of Washington (Seattle) Bankruptcy Petition #: 16-11767-CMA). Medallic Art’s archives and about 20,000 pre-1998 dies were acquired from the Northwest Territorial Mint 2018 bankruptcy by the American Numismatic Society, a New York City-based institution dedicated to researching, curating, and educating about coins and medallic arts.[13] Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was an American Confederate general best known for his service to the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War, during which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Northern Virginia, the Confederacy's most powerful army, from 1862 until its surrender in 1865. During the war, Lee earned a solid reputation as a skilled tactician, for which he was revered by his officers and men as well as respected and feared by his Union Army adversaries. A son of Revolutionary War officer Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee III, Lee was a top graduate of the United States Military Academy and an exceptional officer and military engineer in the United States Army for 32 years. During this time, he served throughout the United States, distinguished himself during the Mexican–American War, and served as Superintendent of the United States Military Academy. Lee married Mary Anna Custis Lee, great-granddaughter of George Washington's wife Martha. When Virginia's 1861 Richmond Convention declared secession from the Union, Lee chose to follow his home state, despite his desire for the country to remain intact and an offer of a senior Union command. During the first year of the Civil War, he served in minor combat operations and as a senior military adviser to Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Lee took command of the Army of Northern Virginia in June 1862 during the Peninsula Campaign following the wounding of Joseph E. Johnston. He succeeded in driving the Union Army of the Potomac under George B. McClellan away from the Confederate capital of Richmond during the Seven Days Battles, although he was unable to destroy McClellan's army. Lee then overcame Union forces under John Pope at the Second Battle of Bull Run in August. His invasion of Maryland that September ended with the inconclusive Battle of Antietam, after which he retreated to Virginia. Lee then won two decisive victories at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville before launching a second invasion of the North in the summer of 1863, where he was decisively defeated at the Battle of Gettysburg by the Army of the Potomac under George Meade. He led his army in the minor and inconclusive Bristoe Campaign that fall before General Ulysses S. Grant took command of Union armies in the spring of 1864. Grant engaged Lee's army in bloody but inconclusive battles at the Wilderness and Spotsylvania before the lengthy Siege of Petersburg, which was followed in April 1865 by the capture of Richmond and the destruction of most of Lee's army, which he finally surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House. In 1865, Lee became president of Washington College (later Washington and Lee University) in Lexington, Virginia; in that position, he supported reconciliation between North and South. Lee accepted "the extinction of slavery" provided for by the Thirteenth Amendment, but opposed racial equality for African Americans. After his death in 1870, Lee became a cultural icon in the South and is largely hailed as one of the Civil War's greatest generals. As commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, he fought most of his battles against armies of significantly larger size, and managed to win many of them. Lee built up a collection of talented subordinates, most notably James Longstreet, Stonewall Jackson, and J. E. B. Stuart, who along with Lee were critical to the Confederacy's battlefield success.[1][2] In spite of his success, his two major strategic offensives into Union territory both ended in failure. Lee's aggressive and risky tactics, especially at Gettysburg, which resulted in high casualties at a time when the Confederacy had a shortage of manpower, have come under criticism.[3] Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Military engineer career 3 Marriage and family 4 Mexican–American War 5 Early 1850s: West Point and Texas 6 Late 1850s: Arlington plantation and the Custis slaves 6.1 The Norris case 6.2 Lee's views on race and slavery 7 Harpers Ferry and return to Texas, 1859–1861 7.1 Harpers Ferry 7.2 Texas 8 Civil War 8.1 Resignation from United States Army 8.2 Early role 8.3 Commander, Army of Northern Virginia (June 1862 – June 1863) 8.4 Battle of Gettysburg 8.5 Ulysses S. Grant and the Union offensive 8.6 General in Chief 9 Summaries of Lee's Civil War battles 10 Postbellum life 10.1 President Johnson's amnesty pardons 10.2 Postwar politics 11 Illness and death 12 Legacy 12.1 Monuments, memorials and commemorations 12.1.1 Unite the Right rally 12.2 Biographies 13 Dates of rank 14 In popular culture 15 See also 16 References 17 Notes 18 Bibliography 18.1 Historiography 19 Further reading 20 External links 20.1 Primary sources 20.2 Monuments and memorials Early life and education Stratford Hall, Westmoreland County the family seat, Lee's birthplace Oronoco Street, Alexandria, Virginia "Lee Corner" properties Lee was born at Stratford Hall Plantation in Westmoreland County, Virginia, to Henry Lee III and Anne Hill Carter Lee on January 19, 1807.[4] His ancestor, Richard Lee I, emigrated from Shropshire, England to Virginia in 1639.[5] Lee's father suffered severe financial reverses from failed investments[6] and was put in debtors' prison. Soon after his release the following year, the family moved to the city of Alexandria which at the time was still part of the District of Columbia (it retroceded back to Virginia in 1847), both because there were then high quality local schools there, and because several members of Anne's extended family lived nearby. In 1811, the family, including the newly born sixth child, Mildred, moved to a house on Oronoco Street.[7] In 1812 Lee's father moved permanently to the West Indies.[8] Lee attended Eastern View, a school for young gentlemen, in Fauquier County, Virginia, and then at the Alexandria Academy, free for local boys, where he showed an aptitude for mathematics. Although brought up to be a practicing Christian, he was not confirmed in the Episcopal Church until age 46.[9] Anne Lee's family was often supported by a relative, William Henry Fitzhugh, who owned the Oronoco Street house and allowed the Lees to stay at his country home Ravensworth. Fitzhugh wrote to United States Secretary of War, John C. Calhoun, urging that Robert be given an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point. Fitzhugh had young Robert deliver the letter.[10] Lee entered West Point in the summer of 1825. At the time, the focus of the curriculum was engineering; the head of the United States Army Corps of Engineers supervised the school and the superintendent was an engineering officer. Cadets were not permitted leave until they had finished two years of study and were rarely allowed off the Academy grounds. Lee graduated second in his class, behind only Charles Mason[11] (who resigned from the Army a year after graduation). Lee did not incur any demerits during his four-year course of study, a distinction shared by five of his 45 classmates. In June 1829, Lee was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers.[12] After graduation, while awaiting assignment, he returned to Virginia to find his mother on her deathbed; she died at Ravensworth on July 26, 1829.[13] Military engineer career Lee at age 31 in 1838, as a Lieutenant of Engineers in the U.S. Army On August 11, 1829, Brigadier General Charles Gratiot ordered Lee to Cockspur Island, Georgia. The plan was to build a fort on the marshy island which would command the outlet of the Savannah River. Lee was involved in the early stages of construction as the island was being drained and built up.[14] In 1831, it became apparent that the existing plan to build what became known as Fort Pulaski would have to be revamped, and Lee was transferred to Fort Monroe at the tip of the Virginia Peninsula (today in Hampton, Virginia).[15][citation not found] While home in the summer of 1829, Lee had apparently courted Mary Custis whom he had known as a child. Lee obtained permission to write to her before leaving for Georgia, though Mary Custis warned Lee to be "discreet" in his writing, as her mother read her letters, especially from men.[16] Custis refused Lee the first time he asked to marry her; her father did not believe the son of the disgraced Light-Horse Harry Lee was a suitable man for his daughter.[17] She accepted him with her father's consent in September 1830, while he was on summer leave,[18] and the two were wed on June 30, 1831.[19] Lee's duties at Fort Monroe were varied, typical for a junior officer, and ranged from budgeting to designing buildings.[20][citation not found] Although Mary Lee accompanied her husband to Hampton Roads, she spent about a third of her time at Arlington, though the couple's first son, Custis Lee was born at Fort Monroe. Although the two were by all accounts devoted to each other, they were different in character: Robert Lee was tidy and punctual, qualities his wife lacked. Mary Lee also had trouble transitioning from being a rich man's daughter to having to manage a household with only one or two slaves.[21] Beginning in 1832, Robert Lee had a close but platonic relationship with Harriett Talcott, wife of his fellow officer Andrew Talcott.[22] Fort Monroe, Hampton Lee's early duty station Fort Des Moines, Montrose Lee's hand-drawn sketch Life at Fort Monroe was marked by conflicts between artillery and engineering officers. Eventually, the War Department transferred all engineering officers away from Fort Monroe, except Lee, who was ordered to take up residence on the artificial island of Rip Raps across the river from Fort Monroe, where Fort Wool would eventually rise, and continue work to improve the island. Lee duly moved there, then discharged all workers and informed the War Department he could not maintain laborers without the facilities of the fort.[23] In 1834, Lee was transferred to Washington as General Gratiot's assistant.[24] Lee had hoped to rent a house in Washington for his family, but was not able to find one; the family lived at Arlington, though Lieutenant Lee rented a room at a Washington boarding house for when the roads were impassable.[25][citation not found] In mid-1835, Lee was assigned to assist Andrew Talcott in surveying the southern border of Michigan.[26] While on that expedition, he responded to a letter from an ill Mary Lee, which had requested he come to Arlington, "But why do you urge my immediate return, & tempt one in the strongest manner[?] ... I rather require to be strengthened & encouraged to the full performance of what I am called on to execute."[15] Lee completed the assignment and returned to his post in Washington, finding his wife ill at Ravensworth. Mary Lee, who had recently given birth to their second child, remained bedridden for several months. In October 1836, Lee was promoted to first lieutenant.[27] Lee served as an assistant in the chief engineer's office in Washington, D.C. from 1834 to 1837, but spent the summer of 1835 helping to lay out the state line between Ohio and Michigan. As a first lieutenant of engineers in 1837, he supervised the engineering work for St. Louis harbor and for the upper Mississippi and Missouri rivers. Among his projects was the mapping of the Des Moines Rapids on the Mississippi above Keokuk, Iowa, where the Mississippi's mean depth of 2.4 feet (0.7 m) was the upper limit of steamboat traffic on the river. His work there earned him a promotion to captain. Around 1842, Captain Robert E. Lee arrived as Fort Hamilton's post engineer.[28] Marriage and family Robert E. Lee, around age 38, and his son William Henry Fitzhugh Lee, around age 8, c.1845 While Lee was stationed at Fort Monroe, he married Mary Anna Randolph Custis (1808–1873), great-granddaughter of Martha Washington by her first husband Daniel Parke Custis, and step-great-granddaughter of George Washington, the first president of the United States. Mary was the only surviving child of George Washington Parke Custis, George Washington's stepgrandson, and Mary Lee Fitzhugh Custis, daughter of William Fitzhugh[29] and Ann Bolling Randolph. Robert and Mary married on June 30, 1831, at Arlington House, her parents' house just across the Potomac from Washington. The 3rd U.S. Artillery served as honor guard at the marriage. They eventually had seven children, three boys and four girls:[30] George Washington Custis Lee (Custis, "Boo"); 1832–1913; served as major general in the Confederate Army and aide-de-camp to President Jefferson Davis, captured during the Battle of Sailor's Creek; unmarried Mary Custis Lee (Mary, "Daughter"); 1835–1918; unmarried William Henry Fitzhugh Lee ("Rooney"); 1837–1891; served as major general in the Confederate Army (cavalry); married twice; surviving children by second marriage Anne Carter Lee (Annie); June 18, 1839 – October 20, 1862; died of typhoid fever, unmarried Eleanor Agnes Lee (Agnes); 1841 – October 15, 1873; died of tuberculosis, unmarried Robert Edward Lee, Jr. (Rob); 1843–1914; served in the Confederate Army, first as a private in the (Rockbridge Artillery), later as a Captain on the staff of his brother Rooney; married twice; surviving children by second marriage Mildred Childe Lee (Milly, "Precious Life"); 1846–1905; unmarried All the children survived him except for Annie, who died in 1862. They are all buried with their parents in the crypt of the University Chapel at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia.[31] Lee was a great-great-great-grandson of William Randolph and a great-great-grandson of Richard Bland.[32] He was a second cousin of Helen Keller's grandmother,[33] and was a distant relative of Admiral Willis Augustus Lee.[34] On May 1, 1864, General Lee was present at the baptism of General A.P. Hill's daughter, Lucy Lee Hill, to serve as her godfather. This is referenced in the painting Tender is the Heart by Mort Künstler.[35] He was also the godfather of actress and writer Odette Tyler, the daughter of brigadier general William Whedbee Kirkland.[36] Mexican–American War Robert E. Lee around age 43, when he was a brevet lieutenant-colonel of engineers, c. 1850 Lee distinguished himself in the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). He was one of Winfield Scott's chief aides in the march from Veracruz to Mexico City.[37] He was instrumental in several American victories through his personal reconnaissance as a staff officer; he found routes of attack that the Mexicans had not defended because they thought the terrain was impassable. He was promoted to brevet major after the Battle of Cerro Gordo on April 18, 1847.[38] He also fought at Contreras, Churubusco, and Chapultepec and was wounded at the last. By the end of the war, he had received additional brevet promotions to lieutenant colonel and colonel, but his permanent rank was still captain of engineers, and he would remain a captain until his transfer to the cavalry in 1855. For the first time, Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant met and worked with each other during the Mexican–American War. Close observations of their commanders constituted a learning process for both Lee and Grant.[39] The Mexican–American War concluded on February 2, 1848. After the Mexican War, Lee spent three years at Fort Carroll in Baltimore harbor. During this time, his service was interrupted by other duties, among them surveying and updating maps in Florida. Cuban revolutionary Narciso López intended to forcibly liberate Cuba from Spanish rule. In 1849, searching for a leader for his filibuster expedition, he approached Jefferson Davis, then a United States senator. Davis declined and suggested Lee, who also declined. Both decided it was inconsistent with their duties.[40][41] Early 1850s: West Point and Texas The 1850s were a difficult time for Lee, with his long absences from home, the increasing disability of his wife, troubles in taking over the management of a large slave plantation, and his often morbid concern with his personal failures.[42] In 1852, Lee was appointed Superintendent of the Military Academy at West Point.[43] He was reluctant to enter what he called a "snake pit", but the War Department insisted and he obeyed. His wife occasionally came to visit. During his three years at West Point, Brevet Colonel Robert E. Lee improved the buildings and courses and spent much time with the cadets. Lee's oldest son, George Washington Custis Lee, attended West Point during his tenure. Custis Lee graduated in 1854, first in his class.[44] Lee was enormously relieved to receive a long-awaited promotion as second-in-command of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment in Texas in 1855. It meant leaving the Engineering Corps and its sequence of staff jobs for the combat command he truly wanted. He served under Colonel Albert Sidney Johnston at Camp Cooper, Texas; their mission was to protect settlers from attacks by the Apache and the Comanche. Late 1850s: Arlington plantation and the Custis slaves Arlington House, Arlington Mary Custis's inheritance in 1857 Christ Church, Alexandria, where the Lees worshiped In 1857, his father-in-law George Washington Parke Custis died, creating a serious crisis when Lee took on the burden of executing the will. Custis's will encompassed vast landholdings and hundreds of slaves balanced against massive debts, and required Custis's former slaves "to be emancipated by my executors in such manner as to my executors may seem most expedient and proper, the said emancipation to be accomplished in not exceeding five years from the time of my decease."[45] The estate was in disarray, and the plantations had been poorly managed and were losing money.[46] Lee tried to hire an overseer to handle the plantation in his absence, writing to his cousin, "I wish to get an energetic honest farmer, who while he will be considerate & kind to the negroes, will be firm & make them do their duty."[47] But Lee failed to find a man for the job, and had to take a two-year leave of absence from the army in order to run the plantation himself. Lee's more strict expectations and harsher punishments of the slaves on Arlington plantation nearly led to a slave revolt, since many of the slaves had been given to understand that they were to be made free as soon as Custis died, and protested angrily at the delay.[48] In May 1858, Lee wrote to his son Rooney, "I have had some trouble with some of the people. Reuben, Parks & Edward, in the beginning of the previous week, rebelled against my authority—refused to obey my orders, & said they were as free as I was, etc., etc.—I succeeded in capturing them & lodging them in jail. They resisted till overpowered & called upon the other people to rescue them."[47] Less than two months after they were sent to the Alexandria jail, Lee decided to remove these three men and three female house slaves from Arlington, and sent them under lock and key to the slave-trader William Overton Winston in Richmond, who was instructed to keep them in jail until he could find "good & responsible" slaveholders to work them until the end of the five-year period.[47] By 1860 only one slave family was left intact on the estate. Some of the families had been together since their time at Mount Vernon.[49] The Norris case In 1859, three of the Arlington slaves—Wesley Norris, his sister Mary, and a cousin of theirs—fled for the North, but were captured a few miles from the Pennsylvania border and forced to return to Arlington. On June 24, 1859, the anti-slavery newspaper New York Daily Tribune published two anonymous letters (dated June 19, 1859[50] and June 21, 1859[51]), each claiming to have heard that Lee had the Norrises whipped, and each going so far as to claim that the overseer refused to whip the woman but that Lee took the whip and flogged her personally. Lee privately wrote to his son Custis that "The N. Y. Tribune has attacked me for my treatment of your grandfather's slaves, but I shall not reply. He has left me an unpleasant legacy."[52] Wesley Norris himself spoke out about the incident after the war, in an 1866 interview printed in an abolitionist newspaper, the National Anti-Slavery Standard. Norris stated that after they had been captured, and forced to return to Arlington, Lee told them that "he would teach us a lesson we would not soon forget." According to Norris, Lee then had the three of them firmly tied to posts by the overseer, and ordered them whipped with fifty lashes for the men and twenty for Mary Norris. Norris claimed that Lee encouraged the whipping, and that when the overseer refused to do it, called in the county constable to do it instead. Unlike the anonymous letter writers, he does not state that Lee himself whipped any of the slaves. According to Norris, Lee "frequently enjoined [Constable] Williams to 'lay it on well,' an injunction which he did not fail to heed; not satisfied with simply lacerating our naked flesh, Gen. Lee then ordered the overseer to thoroughly wash our backs with brine, which was done."[48][53] The Norris men were then sent by Lee's agent to work on the railroads in Virginia and Alabama. According to the interview, Norris was sent to Richmond in January 1863 "from which place I finally made my escape through the rebel lines to freedom." But Federal authorities reported that Norris came within their lines on September 5, 1863, and that he "left Richmond ... with a pass from General Custis Lee."[54][55] Lee freed the Custis slaves, including Wesley Norris, after the end of the five-year period in the winter of 1862, filing the deed of manumission on December 29, 1862.[56][57] Biographers of Lee have differed over the credibility of the account of the punishment as described in the letters in the Tribune and in Norris's personal account. They broadly agree that Lee had a group of escaped slaves recaptured, and that, after recapturing them, he hired them out off of the Arlington plantation as a punishment; however, they disagree over the likelihood that Lee flogged them, and over the charge that he personally whipped Mary Norris. In 1934, Douglas S. Freeman described them as "Lee's first experience with the extravagance of irresponsible antislavery agitators" and asserted that "There is no evidence, direct or indirect, that Lee ever had them or any other Negroes flogged. The usage at Arlington and elsewhere in Virginia among people of Lee's station forbade such a thing."[58] In 2000, Michael Fellman, in The Making of Robert E. Lee, found the claims that Lee had personally whipped Mary Norris "extremely unlikely," but found it not at all unlikely that Lee had ordered the runaways whipped: "corporal punishment (for which Lee substituted the euphemism 'firmness') was (believed to be) an intrinsic and necessary part of slave discipline. Although it was supposed to be applied only in a calm and rational manner, overtly physical domination of slaves, unchecked by law, was always brutal and potentially savage."[59] In 2003, Bernice-Marie Yates's The Perfect Gentleman, cited Freeman's denial and followed his account in holding that, because of Lee's family connections to George Washington, he "was a prime target for abolitionists who lacked all the facts of the situation."[60] Lee biographer Elizabeth Brown Pryor concluded in 2008 that "the facts are verifiable," based on "the consistency of the five extant descriptions of the episode (the only element that is not repeatedly corroborated is the allegation that Lee gave the beatings himself), as well as the existence of an account book that indicates the constable received compensation from Lee on the date that this event occurred."[61][62] In 2014, Michael Korda wrote that "Although these letters are dismissed by most of Lee's biographers as exaggerated, or simply as unfounded abolitionist propaganda, it is hard to ignore them. ... It seems incongruously out of character for Lee to have whipped a slave woman himself, particularly one stripped to the waist, and that charge may have been a flourish added by the two correspondents; it was not repeated by Wesley Norris when his account of the incident was published in 1866. ... [A]lthough it seems unlikely that he would have done any of the whipping himself, he may not have flinched from observing it to make sure his orders were carried out exactly."[63] Lee's views on race and slavery Several historians have noted what they consider the contradictory nature of Lee's beliefs and actions concerning race and slavery. While Lee protested he had sympathetic feelings for blacks, they were subordinate to his own racial identity.[64] While Lee held slavery to be an evil institution, he also saw some benefit to blacks held in slavery.[65] While Lee helped assist individual slaves to freedom in Liberia, and provided for their emancipation in his own will,[66] he believed the enslaved should be eventually freed in a general way only at some unspecified future date as a part of God's purpose.[64][67] Slavery for Lee was a moral and religious issue, and not one that would yield to political solutions.[68] Emancipation would sooner come from Christian impulse among slave masters before "storms and tempests of fiery controversy" such as was occurring in "Bleeding Kansas".[64] Countering Southerners who argued for slavery as a positive good, Lee in his well-known analysis of slavery from an 1856 letter (see below) called it a moral and political evil. While both Robert and his wife Mary Lee were disgusted with slavery, they also defended it against abolitionist demands for immediate emancipation for all enslaved.[69] Lee argued that slavery was bad for white people but good for black people,[70] claiming that he found slavery bothersome and time-consuming as an everyday institution to run. In an 1856 letter to his wife, he maintained that slavery was a great evil, but primarily due to adverse impact that it had on white people:[71] In this enlightened age, there are few I believe, but what will acknowledge, that slavery as an institution, is a moral & political evil in any Country. It is useless to expatiate on its disadvantages. I think it however a greater evil to the white man than to the black race, & while my feelings are strongly enlisted in behalf of the latter, my sympathies are more strong for the former. The blacks are immeasurably better off here than in Africa, morally, socially & physically. The painful discipline they are undergoing, is necessary for their instruction as a race, & I hope will prepare & lead them to better things. How long their subjugation may be necessary is known & ordered by a wise Merciful Providence.[72] Lee's father-in-law G. W. Parke Custis freed his slaves in his will.[73] In the same tradition, before leaving to serve in Mexico, Lee had written a will providing for the manumission of the slaves he owned, "a woman and her children inherited from his mother and apparently leased to his father-in-law and later sold to him."[74] Parke Custis was a member of the American Colonization Society, which was formed to gradually end slavery by establishing a free republic in Liberia for African-Americans, and Lee assisted several ex-slaves to emigrate there. Also, according to historian Richard B. McCaslin, Lee was a gradual emancipationist, denouncing extremist proposals for the immediate abolition of slavery. Lee rejected what he called evilly motivated political passion, fearing a civil and servile war from precipitous emancipation.[75] Historian Elizabeth Brown Pryor offered an alternative interpretation of Lee's voluntary manumission of slaves in his will, and assisting slaves to a life of freedom in Liberia, seeing Lee as conforming to a "primacy of slave law". She wrote that Lee's private views on race and slavery, "which today seem startling, were entirely unremarkable in Lee's world. No visionary, Lee nearly always tried to conform to accepted opinions. His assessment of black inferiority, of the necessity of racial stratification, the primacy of slave law, and even a divine sanction for it all, was in keeping with the prevailing views of other moderate slaveholders and a good many prominent Northerners."[76] On taking on the role of administrator for the Parke Custis will, Lee used a provision to retain them in slavery to produce income for the estate to retire debt.[73] Lee did not welcome the role of planter while administering the Custis properties at Romancoke, another nearby the Pamunkey River and Arlington; he rented the estate's mill. While all the estates prospered under his administration, Lee was unhappy at direct participation in slavery as a hated institution.[77] Even before what Michael Fellman called a "sorry involvement in actual slave management", Lee judged the experience of white mastery to be a greater moral evil to the white man than blacks suffering under the "painful discipline" of slavery which introduced Christianity, literacy and a work ethic to the "heathen African".[78] Columbia University historian Eric Foner notes that: Lee "was not a pro-slavery ideologue. But I think equally important is that, unlike some white southerners, he never spoke out against slavery"[79] By the time of Lee's career in the U.S. Army, the officers of West Point stood aloof from political-party and sectional strife on such issues as slavery, as a matter of principle, and Lee adhered to the precedent.[80][81] He considered it his patriotic duty to be apolitical while in active Army service,[82][83][84] and Lee did not speak out publicly on the subject of slavery prior to the Civil War.[85][86] Before the outbreak of the War, in 1860, Lee voted for John C. Breckinridge, who was the extreme pro-slavery candidate in the 1860 presidential election, not John Bell, the more moderate Southerner who won Virginia.[87] Lee himself owned a small number of slaves in his lifetime and considered himself a paternalistic master.[87] There are various historical and newspaper hearsay accounts of Lee personally whipping a slave, but they are not direct eyewitness accounts. He was definitely involved in administering the day-to-day operations of a plantation and was involved in the recapture of runaway slaves.[88] One historian noted that Lee separated slave families, something that prominent slave-holding families in Virginia such as Washington and Custis did not do.[70] In 1862, Lee freed the slaves that his wife inherited, but that was in accordance with his father-in-law's will.[89] Foner writes that "Lee's code of gentlemanly conduct did not seem to apply to blacks" during the War, as he did not stop his soldiers from kidnapping free black farmers and selling them into slavery.[79] Princeton University historian James M. McPherson noted that Lee initially rejected a prisoner exchange between the Confederacy and the Union when the Union demanded that black Union soldiers be included.[70] Lee did not accept the swap until a few months before the Confederacy's surrender.[70] After the War, Lee told a congressional committee that blacks were "not disposed to work" and did not possess the intellectual capacity to vote and participate in politics.[89] Lee also said to the committee that he hoped that Virginia could "get rid of them," referring to blacks.[89] While not politically active, Lee defended Lincoln's successor Andrew Johnson's approach to Reconstruction, which according to Foner, "abandoned the former slaves to the mercy of governments controlled by their former owners."[90] According to Foner, "A word from Lee might have encouraged white Southerners to accord blacks equal rights and inhibited the violence against the freed people that swept the region during Reconstruction, but he chose to remain silent."[89] Lee was also urged to condemn the white-supremacy[91] organization Ku Klux Klan, but opted to remain silent.[87] In the generation following the war, Lee, though he died just a few years later, became a central figure in the Lost Cause interpretation of the war. The argument that Lee had always somehow opposed slavery, and freed his wife's slaves, helped maintain his stature as a symbol of Southern honor and national reconciliation.[87] Harpers Ferry and return to Texas, 1859–1861 Both Harpers Ferry and the secession of Texas were monumental events leading up to the Civil War. Robert E. Lee was at both events. Lee initially remained loyal to the Union after Texas seceded.[92] Harpers Ferry John Brown led a band of 21 abolitionists who seized the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in October 1859, hoping to incite a slave rebellion. President James Buchanan gave Lee command of detachments of militia, soldiers, and United States Marines, to suppress the uprising and arrest its leaders.[93] By the time Lee arrived that night, the militia on the site had surrounded Brown and his hostages. At dawn, Brown refused the demand for surrender. Lee attacked, and Brown and his followers were captured after three minutes of fighting. Lee's summary report of the episode shows Lee believed it "was the attempt of a fanatic or madman". Lee said Brown achieved "temporary success" by creating panic and confusion and by "magnifying" the number of participants involved in the raid.[94] Texas In 1860, Lt. Col. Robert E. Lee relieved Major Heintzelman at Fort Brown, and the Mexican authorities offered to restrain "their citizens from making predatory descents upon the territory and people of Texas ... this was the last active operation of the Cortina War". Rip Ford, a Texas Ranger at the time, described Lee as "dignified without hauteur, grand without pride ... he evinced an imperturbable self-possession, and a complete control of his passions ... possessing the capacity to accomplish great ends and the gift of controlling and leading men."[95] When Texas seceded from the Union in February 1861, General David E. Twiggs surrendered all the American forces (about 4,000 men, including Lee, and commander of the Department of Texas) to the Texans. Twiggs immediately resigned from the U.S. Army and was made a Confederate general. Lee went back to Washington and was appointed Colonel of the First Regiment of Cavalry in March 1861. Lee's colonelcy was signed by the new president, Abraham Lincoln. Three weeks after his promotion, Colonel Lee was offered a senior command (with the rank of Major General) in the expanding Army to fight the Southern States that had left the Union. Fort Mason, Texas was Lee's last command with the United States Army.[96] Civil War Resignation from United States Army Unlike many Southerners who expected a glorious war, Lee correctly predicted it as protracted and devastating.[97] He privately opposed the new Confederate States of America in letters in early 1861, denouncing secession as "nothing but revolution" and an unconstitutional betrayal of the efforts of the Founding Fathers. Writing to George Washington Custis in January, Lee stated: The South, in my opinion, has been aggrieved by the acts of the North, as you say. I feel the aggression, and am willing to take every proper step for redress. It is the principle I contend for, not individual or private benefit. As an American citizen, I take great pride in my country, her prosperity and institutions, and would defend any State if her rights were invaded. But I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than a dissolution of the Union. It would be an accumulation of all the evils we complain of, and I am willing to sacrifice everything but honor for its preservation. I hope, therefore, that all constitutional means will be exhausted before there is a resort to force. Secession is nothing but revolution. The framers of our Constitution never exhausted so much labor, wisdom, and forbearance in its formation, and surrounded it with so many guards and securities, if it was intended to be broken by every member of the Confederacy at will. It was intended for "perpetual union," so expressed in the preamble, and for the establishment of a government, not a compact, which can only be dissolved by revolution, or the consent of all the people in convention assembled.[98] Lee in uniform, 1863 Despite opposing secession, Lee said in January that "we can with a clear conscience separate" if all peaceful means failed. He agreed with secessionists in most areas, rejecting the Northern abolitionists' criticisms and their prevention of the expansion of slavery to the new western territories, and fear of the North's larger population. Lee supported the Crittenden Compromise, which would have constitutionally protected slavery.[99] Lee's objection to secession was ultimately outweighed by a sense of personal honor, reservations about the legitimacy of a strife-ridden "Union that can only be maintained by swords and bayonets", and his duty to defend his native Virginia if attacked.[98] He was asked while leaving Texas by a lieutenant if he intended to fight for the Confederacy or the Union, to which Lee replied, "I shall never bear arms against the Union, but it may be necessary for me to carry a musket in the defense of my native state, Virginia, in which case I shall not prove recreant to my duty".[100][99] Although Virginia had the most slaves of any state, it was more similar to Maryland, which stayed in the Union, than to the Deep South; a convention voted against secession in early 1861. Scott, commanding general of the Union Army and Lee's mentor, told Lincoln he wanted him for a top command, telling Secretary of War Simon Cameron that he had "entire confidence" in Lee. Lee accepted a promotion to colonel of the 1st Cavalry Regiment on March 28, again swearing an oath to the United States.[101][99] Meanwhile, Lee ignored an offer of command from the Confederacy. After Lincoln's call for troops to put down the rebellion, a second Virginia convention in Richmond voted to secede[102] on April 17, and a May 23 referendum would likely ratify the decision. That night Lee dined with brother Smith and cousin Phillips, naval officers. Because of Lee's indecision, Phillips went to the War Department the next morning to warn that the Union might lose his cousin if the government did not act quickly.[99] In Washington that day,[97] Lee was offered by presidential advisor Francis P. Blair a role as major general to command the defense of the national capital. He replied: Mr. Blair, I look upon secession as anarchy. If I owned the four millions of slaves in the South I would sacrifice them all to the Union; but how can I draw my sword upon Virginia, my native state?[102] Lee immediately went to Scott, who tried to persuade him that Union forces would be large enough to prevent the South from fighting, so he would not have to oppose his state; Lee disagreed. When Lee asked if he could go home and not fight, the fellow Virginian said that the army did not need equivocal soldiers and that if he wanted to resign, he should do so before receiving official orders. Scott told him that Lee had made "the greatest mistake of your life".[99] Lee agreed that to avoid dishonor he had to resign before receiving unwanted orders. While historians have usually called his decision inevitable ("the answer he was born to make", wrote Douglas Southall Freeman; another called it a "no-brainer") given the ties to family and state, an 1871 letter from his eldest daughter, Mary Custis Lee, to a biographer described Lee as "worn and harassed" yet calm as he deliberated alone in his office. People on the street noticed Lee's grim face as he tried to decide over the next two days, and he later said that he kept the resignation letter for a day before sending it on April 20. Two days later the Richmond convention invited Lee to the city. It elected him as commander of Virginia state forces before his arrival on April 23, and almost immediately gave him George Washington's sword as symbol of his appointment; whether he was told of a decision he did not want without time to decide, or did want the excitement and opportunity of command, is unclear.[11][99][97] A cousin on Scott's staff told the family that Lee's decision so upset Scott that he collapsed on a sofa and mourned as if he had lost a son, and asked to not hear Lee's name. When Lee told family his decision, he said "I suppose you will all think I have done very wrong", as the others were mostly pro-Union; only Mary Custis was a secessionist, and her mother especially wanted to choose the Union, but told her husband that she would support whatever he decided. Many younger men like nephew Fitzhugh wanted to support the Confederacy, but Lee's three sons joined the Confederate military only after their father's decision.[99][97] Most family members, like brother Smith, also reluctantly chose the South, but Smith's wife and Anne, Lee's sister, still supported the Union; Anne's son joined the Union Army, and no one in his family ever spoke to Lee again. Many cousins fought for the Confederacy, but Phillips and John Fitzgerald told Lee in person that they would uphold their oaths; John H. Upshur stayed with the Union military despite much family pressure; Roger Jones stayed in the Union army after Lee refused to advise him on what to do; and two of Philip Fendall's sons fought for the Union. Forty percent of Virginian officers stayed with the North.[99][97] Early role At the outbreak of war, Lee was appointed to command all of Virginia's forces, which then encompassed the Provisional Army of Virginia and the Virginia State Navy. He was appointed a Major General by the Virginia Governor, but upon the formation of the Confederate States Army, he was named one of its first five full generals. Lee did not wear the insignia of a Confederate general, but only the three stars of a Confederate colonel, equivalent to his last U.S. Army rank.[103] He did not intend to wear a general's insignia until the Civil War had been won and he could be promoted, in peacetime, to general in the Confederate Army. Lee's first field assignment was commanding Confederate forces in western Virginia, where he was defeated at the Battle of Cheat Mountain and was widely blamed for Confederate setbacks.[104] He was then sent to organize the coastal defenses along the Carolina and Georgia seaboard, appointed commander, "Department of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida" on November 5, 1861. Between then and the fall of Fort Pulaski, April 11, 1862, he put in place a defense of Savannah that proved successful in blocking Federal advance on Savannah. Confederate fort and naval gunnery dictated nighttime movement and construction by the besiegers. Federal preparations required four months. In those four months, Lee developed a defense in depth. Behind Fort Pulaski on the Savannah River, Fort Jackson was improved, and two additional batteries covered river approaches.[105] In the face of the Union superiority in naval, artillery and infantry deployment, Lee was able to block any Federal advance on Savannah, and at the same time, well-trained Georgia troops were released in time to meet McClellan's Peninsula Campaign. The city of Savannah would not fall until Sherman's approach from the interior at the end of 1864. At first, the press spoke to the disappointment of losing Fort Pulaski. Surprised by the effectiveness of large caliber Parrott Rifles in their first deployment, it was widely speculated that only betrayal could have brought overnight surrender to a Third System Fort. Lee was said to have failed to get effective support in the Savannah River from the three sidewheeler gunboats of the Georgia Navy. Although again blamed by the press for Confederate reverses, he was appointed military adviser to Confederate President Jefferson Davis, the former U.S. Secretary of War. While in Richmond, Lee was ridiculed as the 'King of Spades' for his excessive digging of trenches around the capitol. These trenches would later play a pivotal role in battles near the end of the war.[106] Commander, Army of Northern Virginia (June 1862 – June 1863) In the spring of 1862, in the Peninsula Campaign, the Union Army of the Potomac under General George B. McClellan advanced on Richmond from Fort Monroe to the east. McClellan forced Gen. Joseph E. Johnston and the Army of Virginia to retreat to just north and east of the Confederate capital. Then Johnston was wounded at the Battle of Seven Pines, on June 1, 1862. Lee now got his first opportunity to lead an army in the field – the force he renamed the Army of Northern Virginia, signalling his confidence that the Union army would be driven away from Richmond. Early in the war, Lee had been called "Granny Lee" for his allegedly timid style of command.[107] Confederate newspaper editorials objected to him replacing Johnston, opining that Lee would be passive, waiting for Union attack. And for the first three weeks of June, he did not attack, instead strengthening Richmond's defenses. Lee mounted on Traveller (September 1866) But then he launched a series of bold attacks against McClellan's forces, the Seven Days Battles. Despite superior Union numbers and some clumsy tactical performances by his subordinates, Lee's attacks derailed McClellan's plans and drove back part of his forces. Confederate casualties were heavy, but McClellan was unnerved, retreated 25 miles (40 km) to the lower James River, and abandoned the Peninsula Campaign. This success completely changed Confederate morale and the public's regard for Lee. After the Seven Days Battles, and until the end of the war, his men called him simply "Marse Robert", a term of respect and affection. The setback, and the resulting drop in Union morale, impelled Lincoln to adopt a new policy of relentless, committed warfare.[108][109] After the Seven Days, Lincoln decided he would move to emancipate most Confederate slaves by executive order, as a military act, using his authority as commander-in-chief.[110] But he needed a Union victory first. Meanwhile, Lee defeated another Union army under Gen. John Pope at the Second Battle of Bull Run. In less than 90 days after taking command, Lee had run McClellan off the Peninsula, defeated Pope, and moved the battle lines 82 miles (132 km) north, from just outside Richmond to 20 miles (32 km) south of Washington. Lee now invaded Maryland and Pennsylvania, hoping to collect supplies in Union territory, and possibly win a victory that would sway the upcoming Union elections in favor of ending the war. But McClellan's men found a lost Confederate dispatch, Special Order 191, that revealed Lee's plans and movements. McClellan always exaggerated Lee's numerical strength, but now he knew the Confederate army was divided and could be destroyed in detail. However, McClellan moved slowly, not realizing a spy had informed Lee that McClellan had the plans. Lee quickly concentrated his forces west of Antietam Creek, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, where McClellan attacked on September 17. The Battle of Antietam was the single bloodiest day of the war, with both sides suffering enormous losses. Lee's army barely withstood the Union assaults, then retreated to Virginia the next day. This narrow Confederate defeat gave President Abraham Lincoln the opportunity to issue his Emancipation Proclamation,[111] which put the Confederacy on the diplomatic and moral defensive.[112] Disappointed by McClellan's failure to destroy Lee's army, Lincoln named Ambrose Burnside as commander of the Army of the Potomac. Burnside ordered an attack across the Rappahannock River at Fredericksburg, Virginia. Delays in bridging the river allowed Lee's army ample time to organize strong defenses, and the Union frontal assault on December 13, 1862, was a disaster. There were 12,600 Union casualties to 5,000 Confederate; one of the most one-sided battles in the Civil War.[113] After this victory, Lee reportedly said, "It is well that war is so terrible, else we should grow too fond of it."[113] At Fredericksburg, according to historian Michael Fellman, Lee had completely entered into the "spirit of war, where destructiveness took on its own beauty."[113] After the bitter Union defeat at Fredericksburg, President Lincoln named Joseph Hooker commander of the Army of the Potomac. In May 1863, Hooker maneuvered to attack Lee's army via Chancellorsville, Virginia. But Hooker was defeated by Lee's daring maneuver: dividing his army and sending Stonewall Jackson's corps to attack Hooker's flank. Lee won a decisive victory over a larger force, but with heavy casualties, including Jackson, his finest corps commander, who was accidentally killed by his own troops.[114] Battle of Gettysburg The critical decisions came in May–June 1863, after Lee's smashing victory at the Battle of Chancellorsville. The western front was crumbling, as multiple uncoordinated Confederate armies were unable to handle General Ulysses S. Grant's campaign against Vicksburg. The top military advisers wanted to save Vicksburg, but Lee persuaded Davis to overrule them and authorize yet another invasion of the North. The immediate goal was to acquire urgently needed supplies from the rich farming districts of Pennsylvania; a long-term goal was to stimulate peace activity in the North by demonstrating the power of the South to invade. Lee's decision proved a significant strategic blunder and cost the Confederacy control of its western regions, and nearly cost Lee his own army as Union forces cut him off from the South.[115] Battle of Gettysburg, by Thure de Thulstrup In the summer of 1863, Lee invaded the North again, marching through western Maryland and into south central Pennsylvania. He encountered Union forces under George G. Meade at the three-day Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania in July; the battle would produce the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War. With some of his subordinates being new and inexperienced in their commands, J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry being out of the area, and Lee being slightly ill, he was less than comfortable with how events were unfolding. While the first day of battle was controlled by the Confederates, key terrain that should have been taken by General Ewell was not. The second day ended with the Confederates unable to break the Union position, and the Union being more solidified. Lee's decision on the third day, against the judgment of his best corps commander General Longstreet, to launch a massive frontal assault on the center of the Union line turned out to be disastrous. The assault known as Pickett's Charge was repulsed and resulted in heavy Confederate losses. The general rode out to meet his retreating army and proclaimed, "All this has been my fault."[116] Lee was compelled to retreat. Despite flooded rivers that blocked his retreat, he escaped Meade's ineffective pursuit. Following his defeat at Gettysburg, Lee sent a letter of resignation to President Davis on August 8, 1863, but Davis refused Lee's request. That fall, Lee and Meade met again in two minor campaigns that did little to change the strategic standoff. The Confederate Army never fully recovered from the substantial losses incurred during the three-day battle in southern Pennsylvania. The historian Shelby Foote stated, "Gettysburg was the price the South paid for having Robert E. Lee as commander."[citation needed] Ulysses S. Grant and the Union offensive In 1864 the new Union general-in-chief, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, sought to use his large advantages in manpower and material resources to destroy Lee's army by attrition, pinning Lee against his capital of Richmond. Lee successfully stopped each attack, but Grant with his superior numbers kept pushing each time a bit farther to the southeast. These battles in the Overland Campaign included the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House and Cold Harbor. Grant eventually was able to stealthily move his army across the James River. After stopping a Union attempt to capture Petersburg, Virginia, a vital railroad link supplying Richmond, Lee's men built elaborate trenches and were besieged in Petersburg, a development which presaged the trench warfare of World War I. Lee attempted to break the stalemate by sending Jubal A. Early on a raid through the Shenandoah Valley to Washington, D.C., but Early was defeated early on by the superior forces of Philip Sheridan. The Siege of Petersburg lasted from June 1864 until March 1865, with Lee's outnumbered and poorly supplied army shrinking daily because of desertions by disheartened Confederates. General in Chief Lee with son Custis (left) and aide Walter H. Taylor (right) by Brady, April 16, 1865 On February 6, 1865, Lee was appointed General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate States. As the South ran out of manpower the issue of arming the slaves became paramount. Lee explained, "We should employ them without delay ... [along with] gradual and general emancipation". The first units were in training as the war ended.[117][118] As the Confederate army was devastated by casualties, disease and desertion, the Union attack on Petersburg succeeded on April 2, 1865. Lee abandoned Richmond and retreated west. Lee then made an attempt to escape to the southwest and join up with Joseph E. Johnston's Army of Tennessee in North Carolina. However, his forces were soon surrounded and he surrendered them to Grant on April 9, 1865, at the Battle of Appomattox Court House.[119] Other Confederate armies followed suit and the war ended. The day after his surrender, Lee issued his Farewell Address to his army. Lee resisted calls by some officers to reject surrender and allow small units to melt away into the mountains, setting up a lengthy guerrilla war. He insisted the war was over and energetically campaigned for inter-sectional reconciliation. "So far from engaging in a war to perpetuate slavery, I am rejoiced that slavery is abolished. I believe it will be greatly for the interests of the South."[120] Summaries of Lee's Civil War battles The following are summaries of Civil War campaigns and major battles where Robert E. Lee was the commanding officer:[121] Battle Date Result Opponent Confederate troop strength Union troop strength Confederate casualties Union casualties Notes Cheat Mountain September 11–13, 1861 Defeat Reynolds 5,000 3,000 ~90 88 Lee's first battle of the Civil War. Severely criticized, Lee was nicknamed "Granny Lee". Lee was sent to SC and GA to supervise fortifications.[122] Seven Days June 25 – July 1, 1862 Tactically Inconclusive; Strategic Confederate Victory Oak Grove: Stalemate (Union withdrawal) Beaver Dam Creek: Union victory Gaine's Mill: Confederate victory Savage's Station: Stalemate Glendale: Stalemate (Union withdrawal) Malvern Hill: Union victory McClellan 95,000 91,000 20,614 15,849 Tactically Inconclusive, but Strategic Confederate Victory, as McPherson's retreat to Harrison's Landing ended the Peninsula Campaign.[123] Lee acquitted himself well, and remained in field command for the duration of the war under the direction of Jefferson Davis. Union troops remained on the Lower Peninsula and at Fortress Monroe, which became a terminus on the Underground Railroad, and the site terming escaped slaves as "contribands", no longer returned to their rebel owners. Second Manassas August 28–30, 1862 Victory Pope 50,000 77,000 7,298 14,462 Union forces continued to occupy parts of northern Virginia but were unable to expand further. South Mountain September 14, 1862 Defeat McClellan 18,000 28,000 2,685 2,325 Confederates lost control of westernmost Virginian congressional districts which would later be the core counties of West Virginia. Antietam September 16–18, 1862 Inconclusive McClellan 52,000 75,000 13,724 12,410 Tactically inconclusive but strategically a Union victory. The Confederates lost an opportunity to gain foreign recognition, Lincoln moved forward on his preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. Fredericksburg December 11, 1862 Victory Burnside 72,000 114,000 5,309 12,653 With Lee's troops and supplies depleted, Confederates remained in place south of the Rappahannock. Union forces did not withdraw from northern Virginia. Chancellorsville May 1, 1863 Victory Hooker 60,298 105,000 12,764 16,792 Union forces withdrew to ring of defenses around Washington, DC. Gettysburg July 1, 1863 Defeat Meade 75,000 83,000 23,231 –28,063 23,049 The Confederate army was physically and spiritually exhausted. Meade was criticized for not immediately pursuing Lee's army. This battle become known as the High Water Mark of the Confederacy.[124] Lee would never personally invade the North again after this battle. Rather he was determined to defend Richmond and eventually Petersburg at all costs. Wilderness May 5, 1864 Inconclusive Grant 61,000 102,000 11,033 17,666 Grant disengaged and continued his offensive, circling east and south advancing on Richmond and Petersburg Spotsylvania May 12, 1864 Inconclusive[125] Grant 52,000 100,000 12,687 18,399 Although beaten and unable to take Lee's defenses, Grant continued the Union offensive, circling east and south advancing on Richmond and Petersburg North Anna May 23–26, 1864 Inconclusive Grant 50,000–53,000 67,000–100,000 1,552 3,986 North Anna had proved to be a relatively minor affair when compared to other Civil War battles. Totopotomoy Creek May 28–30, 1864 Inconclusive Grant N/A N/A 1,593 731 As Grant continued his attempts to maneuver around Lee's right flank and lure him into a general battle in the open. Cold Harbor June 1, 1864 Victory Grant 62,000 108,000 5,287 12,000 Although Grant was able to continue his offensive, Grant referred to the Cold Harbor assault as his "greatest regret" of the war in his memoirs. Fussell's Mill August 14, 1864 Inconclusive Hancock 20,000 28,000 1,700 2,901 Union attempt to break Confederate siege lines at Richmond, the Confederate capital Appomattox Campaign March 29, 1865 Defeat Grant 56,000 114,000 ~25,000 General Lee surrenders ~9,700 General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant.[126] After the surrender Grant gave Lee's army much-needed food rations; they were paroled to return to their homes, never again to take up arms against the Union. Postbellum life Lee in 1869 (photo by Levin C. Handy) External video video icon Booknotes interview with Emory Thomas on Robert E. Lee: A Biography, September 10, 1995, C-SPAN After the war, Lee was not arrested or punished (although he was indicted), [127] but he did lose the right to vote as well as some property. Lee's prewar family home, the Custis-Lee Mansion, was seized by Union forces during the war and turned into Arlington National Cemetery, and his family was not compensated until more than a decade after his death.[128] In 1866 Lee counseled southerners not to resume fighting, of which Grant said Lee was "setting an example of forced acquiescence so grudging and pernicious in its effects as to be hardly realized".[129] Lee joined with Democrats in opposing the Radical Republicans who demanded punitive measures against the South, distrusted its commitment to the abolition of slavery and, indeed, distrusted the region's loyalty to the United States.[130][131] Lee supported a system of free public schools for blacks but forthrightly opposed allowing blacks to vote. "My own opinion is that, at this time, they [black Southerners] cannot vote intelligently, and that giving them the [vote] would lead to a great deal of demagogism, and lead to embarrassments in various ways," Lee stated.[132] Emory Thomas says Lee had become a suffering Christ-like icon for ex-Confederates. President Grant invited him to the White House in 1869, and he went. Nationally he became an icon of reconciliation between the North and South, and the reintegration of former Confederates into the national fabric.[133] General Lee and his Confederate officers in their first meeting since Appomattox, August 1869. Lee hoped to retire to a farm of his own, but he was too much a regional symbol to live in obscurity. From April to June 1865, he and his family resided in Richmond at the Stewart-Lee House.[134] He accepted an offer to serve as the president of Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) in Lexington, Virginia, and served from October 1865 until his death. The Trustees used his famous name in large-scale fund-raising appeals and Lee transformed Washington College into a leading Southern college, expanding its offerings significantly, adding programs in commerce and journalism, and incorporating the Lexington Law School. Lee was well liked by the students, which enabled him to announce an "honor system" like that of West Point, explaining that "we have but one rule here, and it is that every student be a gentleman." To speed up national reconciliation Lee recruited students from the North and made certain they were well treated on campus and in town.[135] Several glowing appraisals of Lee's tenure as college president have survived, depicting the dignity and respect he commanded among all. Previously, most students had been obliged to occupy the campus dormitories, while only the most mature were allowed to live off-campus. Lee quickly reversed this rule, requiring most students to board off-campus, and allowing only the most mature to live in the dorms as a mark of privilege; the results of this policy were considered a success. A typical account by a professor there states that "the students fairly worshipped him, and deeply dreaded his displeasure; yet so kind, affable, and gentle was he toward them that all loved to approach him. ... No student would have dared to violate General Lee's expressed wish or appeal."[136] While at Washington College, Lee told a colleague that the greatest mistake of his life was taking a military education.[137] He also defended his father in a biographical sketch.[138] President Johnson's amnesty pardons Oath of amnesty submitted by Robert E. Lee in 1865 On May 29, 1865, President Andrew Johnson issued a Proclamation of Amnesty and Pardon to persons who had participated in the rebellion against the United States. There were fourteen excepted classes, though, and members of those classes had to make special application to the President. Lee sent an application to Grant and wrote to President Johnson on June 13, 1865: Being excluded from the provisions of amnesty & pardon contained in the proclamation of the 29th Ulto; I hereby apply for the benefits, & full restoration of all rights & privileges extended to those included in its terms. I graduated at the Mil. Academy at West Point in June 1829. Resigned from the U.S. Army April '61. Was a General in the Confederate Army, & included in the surrender of the Army of N. Virginia 9 April '65.[139] On October 2, 1865, the same day that Lee was inaugurated as president of Washington College in Lexington, Virginia, he signed his Amnesty Oath, thereby complying fully with the provision of Johnson's proclamation. Lee was not pardoned, nor was his citizenship restored.[139] Three years later, on December 25, 1868, Johnson proclaimed a second amnesty which removed previous exceptions, such as the one that affected Lee.[140] Postwar politics Lee, who had opposed secession and remained mostly indifferent to politics before the Civil War, supported President Andrew Johnson's plan of Presidential Reconstruction that took effect in 1865–66. However, he opposed the Congressional Republican program that took effect in 1867. In February 1866, he was called to testify before the Joint Congressional Committee on Reconstruction in Washington, where he expressed support for Johnson's plans for quick restoration of the former Confederate states, and argued that restoration should return, as far as possible, to the status quo ante in the Southern states' governments (with the exception of slavery).[141] Robert E. Lee, oil on canvas, Edward Calledon Bruce, 1865. Virginia Historical Society Lee told the committee that "every one with whom I associate expresses kind feelings towards the freedmen. They wish to see them get on in the world, and particularly to take up some occupation for a living, and to turn their hands to some work." Lee also expressed his "willingness that blacks should be educated, and ... that it would be better for the blacks and for the whites." Lee forthrightly opposed allowing blacks to vote: "My own opinion is that, at this time, they [black Southerners] cannot vote intelligently, and that giving them the [vote] would lead to a great deal of demagogism, and lead to embarrassments in various ways."[142][143] In an interview in May 1866, Lee said: "The Radical party are likely to do a great deal of harm, for we wish now for good feeling to grow up between North and South, and the President, Mr. Johnson, has been doing much to strengthen the feeling in favor of the Union among us. The relations between the Negroes and the whites were friendly formerly, and would remain so if legislation be not passed in favor of the blacks, in a way that will only do them harm."[144] In 1868, Lee's ally Alexander H. H. Stuart drafted a public letter of endorsement for the Democratic Party's presidential campaign, in which Horatio Seymour ran against Lee's old foe Republican Grant. Lee signed it along with thirty-one other ex-Confederates. The Democratic campaign, eager to publicize the endorsement, published the statement widely in newspapers.[145] Their letter claimed paternalistic concern for the welfare of freed Southern blacks, stating that "The idea that the Southern people are hostile to the negroes and would oppress them, if it were in their power to do so, is entirely unfounded. They have grown up in our midst, and we have been accustomed from childhood to look upon them with kindness."[146] However, it also called for the restoration of white political rule, arguing that "It is true that the people of the South, in common with a large majority of the people of the North and West, are, for obvious reasons, inflexibly opposed to any system of laws that would place the political power of the country in the hands of the negro race. But this opposition springs from no feeling of enmity, but from a deep-seated conviction that, at present, the negroes have neither the intelligence nor the other qualifications which are necessary to make them safe depositories of political power."[147] In his public statements and private correspondence, Lee argued that a tone of reconciliation and patience would further the interests of white Southerners better than hotheaded antagonism to federal authority or the use of violence. Lee repeatedly expelled white students from Washington College for violent attacks on local black men, and publicly urged obedience to the authorities and respect for law and order.[148] He privately chastised fellow ex-Confederates such as Davis and Jubal Early for their frequent, angry responses to perceived Northern insults, writing in private to them as he had written to a magazine editor in 1865, that "It should be the object of all to avoid controversy, to allay passion, give full scope to reason and to every kindly feeling. By doing this and encouraging our citizens to engage in the duties of life with all their heart and mind, with a determination not to be turned aside by thoughts of the past and fears of the future, our country will not only be restored in material prosperity, but will be advanced in science, in virtue and in religion."[149] Illness and death Lee's death mask "Recumbent Statue" of Robert E. Lee asleep on the battlefield, University Chapel, Lexington, Virginia. On September 28, 1870, Lee suffered a stroke. He died two weeks later, shortly after 9 a.m. on October 12, 1870, in Lexington, Virginia, from the effects of pneumonia. According to one account, his last words on the day of his death, were "Tell Hill he must come up! Strike the tent",[150] but this is debatable because of conflicting accounts and because Lee's stroke had resulted in aphasia, possibly rendering him unable to speak.[151] At first no suitable coffin for the body could be located. The muddy roads were too flooded for anyone to get in or out of the town of Lexington. An undertaker had ordered three from Richmond that had reached Lexington, but due to unprecedented flooding from long-continued heavy rains, the caskets were washed down the Maury River. Two neighborhood boys, C.G. Chittum and Robert E. Hillis, found one of the coffins that had been swept ashore. Undamaged, it was used for the General's body, though it was a bit short for him. As a result, Lee was buried without shoes.[152] He was buried underneath the college chapel now known as University Chapel at Washington and Lee University, where his body remains.[31][153] Legacy Robert Edward Lee in art at the Battle of Chancellorsville in a stained glass window of the Washington National Cathedral Among the supporters of the Confederacy, Lee came to be even more revered after his surrender than he had been during the war, when Stonewall Jackson had been the great Confederate hero. In an address before the Southern Historical Society in Atlanta, Georgia in 1874, Benjamin Harvey Hill described Lee in this way: He was a foe without hate; a friend without treachery; a soldier without cruelty; a victor without oppression, and a victim without murmuring. He was a public officer without vices; a private citizen without wrong; a neighbour without reproach; a Christian without hypocrisy, and a man without guile. He was a Caesar, without his ambition; Frederick, without his tyranny; Napoleon, without his selfishness, and Washington, without his reward.[154] By the end of the 19th century, Lee's popularity had spread to the North.[155] Lee's admirers have pointed to his character and devotion to duty, and his occasional tactical successes in battles against a stronger foe. According to my notion of military history there is as much instruction both in strategy and in tactics to be gleaned from General Lee's operations of 1862 as there is to be found in Napoleon's campaigns of 1796. — Field Marshal Garnet Wolseley[156] Military historians continue to pay attention to his battlefield tactics and maneuvering, though many think he should have designed better strategic plans for the Confederacy. He was not given full direction of the Southern war effort until late in the conflict. Historian Eric Foner writes that at the end of his life, "Lee had become the embodiment of the Southern cause. A generation later, he was a national hero. The 1890s and early 20th century witnessed the consolidation of white supremacy in the post-Reconstruction South and widespread acceptance in the North of Southern racial attitudes."[87] Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson and Stratford Hall, Army Issue of 1936 Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson and Stratford Hall, Army Issue of 1936 Robert E. Lee stamp, Liberty Issue of 1955 Robert E. Lee, Liberty Issue of 1955 Robert E. Lee has been commemorated on U.S. postage stamps at least five times, the first one being a commemorative stamp that also honored Stonewall Jackson, issued in 1936. A second "regular-issue" stamp was issued in 1955. He was commemorated with a 32-cent stamp issued in the American Civil War Issue of June 29, 1995. His horse Traveller is pictured in the background.[157] Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia was commemorated on its 200th anniversary on November 23, 1948, with a 3-cent postage stamp. The central design is a view of the university, flanked by portraits of generals George Washington and Robert E. Lee.[158] Lee was again commemorated on a commemorative stamp in 1970, along with Jefferson Davis and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, depicted on horseback on the 6-cent Stone Mountain Memorial commemorative issue, modeled after the actual Stone Mountain Memorial carving in Georgia. The stamp was issued on September 19, 1970, in conjunction with the dedication of the Stone Mountain Confederate Memorial in Georgia on May 9, 1970. The design of the stamp replicates the memorial, the largest high relief sculpture in the world. It is carved on the side of Stone Mountain 400 feet above the ground.[159] Washington and Lee University Issue of 1948 Washington and Lee University Issue of 1948 R. E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, Stonewall Jackson. Stone Mountain Issue of 1970 Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, Stonewall Jackson. Stone Mountain Issue of 1970 Stone Mountain also led to Lee's appearance on a commemorative coin, the 1925 Stone Mountain Memorial half dollar. During the 1920s and '30s dozens of specially designed half dollars were struck to raise money for various events and causes. This issue had a particularly wide distribution, with 1,314,709 minted. Unlike some of the other issues it remains a very common coin. In 1865, after the war, Lee was paroled and signed an oath of allegiance, asking to have his citizenship of the United States restored. However, his application was not processed by Secretary of State William Seward, a radical Republican and firm opponent of slavery, and as a result Lee did not receive a pardon and his citizenship was not restored.[160][161] On January 30, 1975, Senate Joint Resolution 23, A joint resolution to restore posthumously full rights of citizenship to General R. E. Lee was introduced into the Senate by Senator Harry F. Byrd Jr. (I-VA), the result of a five-year campaign to accomplish this. Proponents portrayed the lack of pardon as a mere clerical error. The resolution, which enacted Public Law 94–67, was passed, and the bill was signed by President Gerald Ford on September 5.[162][163][164] Monuments, memorials and commemorations See also: List of memorials to Robert E. Lee Lee opposed the construction of public memorials to Confederate rebellion on the grounds that they would prevent the healing of wounds inflicted during the war.[165] Nevertheless, after his death, he became an icon used by promoters of "Lost Cause" mythology, who sought to romanticize the Confederate cause and strengthen white supremacy in the South.[165] Later in the 20th century, particularly following the civil rights movement, historians reassessed Lee; his reputation fell based on his failure to support rights for freedmen after the war, and even his strategic choices as a military leader fell under scrutiny.[87][166] Facade view of Arlington House, the Robert E. Lee Memorial — at Arlington National Cemetery, in Virginia, pictured in 2006 Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial, also known as the Custis–Lee Mansion,[167] is a Greek revival mansion in Arlington, Virginia, that was once Lee's home. It overlooks the Potomac River and the National Mall in Washington, D.C. During the Civil War, the grounds of the mansion were selected as the site of Arlington National Cemetery, in part to ensure that Lee would never again be able to return to his home. The United States designated the mansion as a National Memorial to Lee in 1955, a mark of widespread respect for him in both the North and South.[168] Unveiling of the Equestrian Statue of Robert E. Lee, May 29, 1890, Richmond, Virginia In Richmond, Virginia, a large equestrian statue of Lee by French sculptor Jean Antonin Mercié was the centerpiece of Monument Avenue, along with four other statues of Confederates. This monument to Lee was unveiled on May 29, 1890; over 100,000 people attended this dedication. That has been described as "the day white Virginia stopped admiring Gen. Robert E. Lee and started worshiping him".[169] The four other Confederate statutes were removed in 2020, and the equestrian statue of Lee was removed on 8 September 2021 at the direction of the state government.[170] Lee is also shown mounted on Traveller in Gettysburg National Military Park on top of the Virginia Monument; he is facing roughly in the direction of Pickett's Charge. Lee's portrayal on a mural on Richmond's flood wall on the James River, considered offensive by some, was removed in the late 1990s, but currently is back on the flood wall. In Baltimore's Wyman Park, a large double equestrian statue of Lee and Jackson is located directly across from the Baltimore Museum of Art. Designed by Laura Gardin Fraser and dedicated in 1948, Lee is depicted astride his horse Traveller next to Stonewall Jackson who is mounted on "Little Sorrel." Architect John Russell Pope created the base, which was dedicated on the anniversary of the eve of the Battle of Chancellorsville.[171] The Baltimore area of Maryland is also home to a large nature park called Robert E. Lee Memorial Park. Jefferson Davis, Lee, and Stonewall Jackson at Stone Mountain A statue of Robert E. Lee was one of the two statues (the other is George Washington) representing Virginia in Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. It was removed from the Capitol on December 21, 2020 after a state commission voted to replace it with a statue of Civil Rights activist Barbara Rose Johns.[172] Lee is one of the figures depicted in bas-relief carved into Stone Mountain near Atlanta. Accompanying him on horseback in the relief are Stonewall Jackson and Jefferson Davis.[173] The birthday of Robert E. Lee is celebrated or commemorated in several states. In Texas, he is celebrated as part of Confederate Heroes Day on January 19, Lee's birthday.[174] In Alabama and Mississippi, his birthday is celebrated on the same day as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day,[175][176] while in Georgia, this occurred on the day after Thanksgiving before 2016, when the state stopped officially recognizing the holiday.[177][178] In Virginia, Lee–Jackson Day was celebrated on the Friday preceding Martin Luther King, Jr. Day which is the third Monday in January,[179] until 2020, when the Virginia legislature eliminated the holiday, making Election Day a state holiday instead.[180] One United States college and one junior college are named for Lee: Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia; and Lee College in Baytown, Texas, respectively. University Chapel at Washington and Lee University marks Lee's final resting place. Throughout the South, many primary and secondary schools were also named for him as well as private schools such as Robert E. Lee Academy in Bishopville, South Carolina. Lee is featured on the 1925 Stone Mountain Memorial half dollar. Robert E. Lee, National Statuary Hall, Washington, D.C. Edward Virginius Valentine, sculptor, 1909   Robert E Lee, Virginia Monument, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Frederick William Sievers, sculptor, 1917   Robert E. Lee Monument by Mercié, Monument Avenue, Richmond, Virginia, 1890   Statue of Lee at the Confederate War Memorial, Dallas, 1896   Statue of Lee in Murray, Kentucky   University Chapel on the campus of Washington and Lee University CSS Robert E. Lee In 1862, the newly formed Confederate Navy purchased a 642-ton iron-hulled side-wheel gunboat, built in at Glasgow, Scotland, and gave her the name of CSS Robert E. Lee in honor of this Confederate General. During the next year, she became one of the South's most famous Confederate blockade runners, successfully making more than twenty runs through the Union blockade.[181] The Mississippi River steamboat Robert E. Lee was named for Lee after the Civil War. It was the participant in an 1870 St. Louis – New Orleans race with the Natchez VI, which was featured in a Currier and Ives lithograph. The Robert E. Lee won the race.[182] The steamboat inspired the 1912 song Waiting for the Robert E. Lee by Lewis F. Muir and L. Wolfe Gilbert.[183] In more modern times, the USS Robert E. Lee, a George Washington-class submarine built in 1958, was named for Lee,[184] as was the M3 Lee tank, produced in 1941 and 1942. The Commonwealth of Virginia issues an optional license plate honoring Lee, making reference to him as 'The Virginia Gentleman'.[185] In February 2014, a road at Fort Bliss previously named for Lee was renamed to honor Buffalo Soldiers.[186][187] A recent biographer, Jonathan Horn, outlines the unsuccessful efforts in Washington to memorialize Lee in the naming of the Arlington Memorial Bridge after both Grant and Lee.[188] Unite the Right rally The removal of Lee's statue from a monument in New Orleans In February 2017, the City Council of Charlottesville, Virginia, voted to remove a sculpture of Lee, who has no historical link to the city, as well as one of Stonewall Jackson. This was temporarily stayed by court action, though the city did rename Lee Park: first to Emancipation Park, then later to Market Street Park.[189] The prospect of the statues being removed and the parks being renamed brought many out-of-towners, described as white supremacist and alt-right, to Charlottesville in the Unite the Right rally of August 2017, in which 3 people died. As of July 2021, the statue has been permanently removed. Stained glass of Lee's life in the National Cathedral Several other statues and monuments to Lee were removed in the aftermath of the incident, including: A 60-foot (18 m)-tall monument in the center of Lee Circle (formerly Tivoli Circle) in New Orleans. Installed in 1884, it featured a 16.5-foot (5.0 m) bronze statue of Lee on a marble column. Former Confederate soldier George Washington Cable described it in a tribute: "His arms are folded on that breast that never knew fear, and his calm, dauntless gaze meets the morning sun as it rises."[190] The statue was removed on May 19, 2017, the last of four Confederate monuments in New Orleans to be taken down.[191] A stained-glass window in the Washington National Cathedral, showing Lee on horseback at Chancellorsville, as well as one in honor of Stonewall Jackson.[192] Sponsored by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, they were installed in 1953 and removed in September 2017.[193] The cathedral plans to keep the windows and eventually display them in historical context.[192] A bust of Lee in the Hall of Fame for Great Americans (the first Hall of Fame in the United States, completed 1900), in what is now Bronx Community College.[194][195] A bronze statue of Lee which had been on display at the University of Texas at Austin,[196][197] and another, with his horse Traveller, in Robert E. Lee Park in Dallas.[198] Biographies Douglas Southall Freeman's Pulitzer prize-winning four-volume R. E. Lee: A Biography (1936), which was for a long period considered the definitive work on Lee, downplayed his involvement in slavery and emphasized Lee as a virtuous person. Eric Foner, who describes Freeman's volume as a "hagiography", notes that on the whole, Freeman "displayed little interest in Lee's relationship to slavery. The index to his four volumes contained 22 entries for 'devotion to duty', 19 for 'kindness', 53 for Lee's celebrated horse, Traveller. But 'slavery', 'slave emancipation' and 'slave insurrection' together received five. Freeman observed, without offering details, that slavery in Virginia represented the system 'at its best'. He ignored the postwar testimony of Lee's former slave Wesley Norris about the brutal treatment to which he had been subjected."[87] More recent biographies offer a broader variety of perspectives. Thomas L. Connelly’s The Marble Man: Robert E. Lee and His Image in American Society (1977) was an iconoclastic revision of Lee's mythical status in the South. Robert E. Lee: A Biography (1995) by Emory M. Thomas attempted a "post-revisionist" compromise between the traditional and more recent views.[199] Robert E. Lee: A Life (2021) by Allen C. Guelzo focuses on a study of Lee's character.[200] Dates of rank Rank Date Unit Component Union army 2nd lt rank insignia.jpg Second Lieutenant July 1, 1829[201] Corps of Engineers United States Army Union army 1st lt rank insignia.jpg First Lieutenant September 21, 1836[202] Corps of Engineers United States Army Union army cpt rank insignia.jpg Captain August 7, 1838[202] Corps of Engineers United States Army Union army maj rank insignia.jpg Brevet Major § April 18, 1847[202] Corps of Engineers United States Army Union Army LTC rank insignia.png Brevet Lieutenant Colonel † August 20, 1847[202] Corps of Engineers United States Army Union Army colonel rank insignia.png Brevet Colonel ‡ September 13, 1847[203] Corps of Engineers United States Army Union Army LTC rank insignia.png Lieutenant Colonel March 3, 1855[203] 2nd Cavalry Regiment United States Army Union Army colonel rank insignia.png Colonel March 16, 1861[203] 1st Cavalry Regiment United States Army Union Army major general rank insignia.svg Major General[a] April 22, 1861[204] Provisional Army of Virginia Confederate States of America General-collar.svg Brigadier General May 14, 1861[205] Confederate States Army Confederate States of America Colonel.png[b] General June 14, 1861[206] Confederate States Army § Breveted for conduct in the Battle of Cerro Gordo † Breveted for conduct in Battles of Contreras and Churubusco ‡ Breveted for conduct in Battle of Chapultepec In popular culture Lee is a main character in the Shaara Family novels The Killer Angels (1974, Gettysburg), Gods and Generals (1996), and The Last Full Measure (2000), as well as the film adaptations of Gettysburg (1993) and Gods and Generals (2003). He is played by Martin Sheen in the former and by Lee's descendant Robert Duvall in the latter. Lee is portrayed as a hero in the historical children's novel Lee and Grant at Appomattox (1950) by MacKinlay Kantor. His part in the Civil War is told from the perspective of his horse in Richard Adams's book Traveller (1988). Lee is an obvious subject for American Civil War alternate histories. Ward Moore's Bring the Jubilee (1953), MacKinlay Kantor's If the South Had Won the Civil War (1960), and Harry Turtledove's The Guns of the South (1992), all have Lee ending up as President of a victorious Confederacy and freeing the slaves (or laying the groundwork for the slaves to be freed in a later decade). Although Moore and Kantor's novels relegate him to a set of passing references, Lee is more of a main character in Turtledove's Guns. He is also the prime character of Turtledove's "Lee at the Alamo".[207] Turtledove's "War Between the Provinces" series is an allegory of the Civil War told in the language of fairy tales, with Lee appearing as a knight named "Duke Edward of Arlington". Lee is also a knight in "The Charge of Lee's Brigade" in Alternate Generals volume 1, written by Turtledove's friend S. M. Stirling and featuring Lee, whose Virginia is still a loyal British colony, fighting for the Crown against the Russians in Crimea. In Lee Allred's "East of Appomattox" in Alternate Generals volume 3, Lee is the Confederate Minister to London circa 1868, desperately seeking help for a CSA which has turned out poorly suited to independence. Robert Skimin's Grey Victory features Lee as a supporting character preparing to run for the presidency in 1867. In Connie Willis' 1987 novel Lincoln's Dreams, a research assistant meets a young woman who dreams about the Civil War from Robert E. Lee's point of view. The Dodge Charger featured in the CBS television series The Dukes of Hazzard (1979–1985) was named The General Lee.[208][209] In the 2005 film based on this series, the car is driven past a statue of Lee, while the car's occupants salute him. Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant /ˈhaɪrəm juːˈlɪsiːz/ HY-rəm yoo-LISS-eez; April 27, 1822 – July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As president, Grant was an effective civil rights executive who created the Justice Department and worked with the Radical Republicans to protect African Americans during Reconstruction. As Commanding General, he led the Union Army to victory in the American Civil War in 1865 and thereafter briefly served as Secretary of War. Raised in Ohio, Grant possessed an exceptional ability with horses. Admitted to West Point, Grant graduated 21st in the class of 1843 and served with distinction in the Mexican–American War. In 1848, he married Julia Dent, and together they had four children. Grant resigned from the army in 1854 and returned to his family but lived in poverty. He joined the Union Army after the Civil War broke out in 1861 and rose to prominence after winning several early Union victories on the Western Theater. In 1863 he led the Vicksburg campaign, which gained control of the Mississippi River. President Abraham Lincoln promoted him to lieutenant general after his victory at Chattanooga. For thirteen months, Grant fought Robert E. Lee during the high-casualty Overland Campaign and at Petersburg. After Lee fled Petersburg, Grant defeated him at Appomattox. On April 9, 1865, Lee formally surrendered to Grant. A week later, Lincoln was assassinated and was succeeded by President Andrew Johnson, who promoted Grant to General of the Army in 1866. Later Grant openly broke with Johnson over Reconstruction policies; Grant used the Reconstruction Acts, which had been passed over Johnson's veto, to enforce civil rights for recently freed African Americans. A war hero, drawn in by his sense of duty, Grant was unanimously nominated by the Republican Party and was elected president in 1868. As president, Grant stabilized the post-war national economy, supported Congressional Reconstruction, ratification of the 15th Amendment, and crushed the Ku Klux Klan. Under Grant, the Union was completely restored. He appointed African Americans and Jewish Americans to prominent federal offices. In 1871, Grant created the first Civil Service Commission, advancing civil service more than any prior president. The Liberal Republicans and Democrats united behind Grant's opponent in the presidential election of 1872, but Grant was handily re-elected. Grant's Native American policy was to assimilate Indians into the White culture; the Great Sioux War was fought during his term. Grant's foreign policy was mostly peaceful, without war, the Alabama Claims against Great Britain skillfully resolved, but his prized Caribbean Dominican Republic annexation was rejected by the Senate. The Grant administration is traditionally known for prevalent scandals including the Gold Ring and the Whiskey Ring. However, modern scholarship has better appreciated Grant's appointed reformers and prosecutions. Grant appointed John Brooks Henderson and David Dyer, who prosecuted the Whiskey Ring. Grant appointed Benjamin Bristow and Edwards Pierrepont, who served as Grant's anti-corruption team. Grant appointed Zachariah Chandler, who cleaned up corruption in the Interior. Grant's administration prosecuted Mormon polygamists (1871), pornographers, and abortionists (1873–1877). The Panic of 1873 plunged the nation into a severe economic depression that allowed the Democrats to win the House majority. In the intensely disputed presidential election of 1876, Grant facilitated the approval by Congress of a peaceful compromise. In his retirement, Grant was the first president to circumnavigate the world on his tour, dining with Queen Victoria and meeting many prominent foreign leaders. In 1880, Grant was unsuccessful in obtaining the Republican presidential nomination for a third term. In the final year of his life, facing severe financial reversals and dying of throat cancer, he wrote his memoirs, which proved to be a major critical and financial success. At the time of his death, he was memorialized as a symbol of national unity. Grant was a modern general and "a skillful leader who had a natural grasp of tactics and strategy". Historical assessments of his presidency have ranked him low, 38th in 1994 and 1996, but Grant has moved up in recent years, to 21st in 2018 and 20th in 2021. Although critical of scandals and his role in the passage of the Comstock Act, modern historians have emphasized his two-term presidential accomplishments. These included the prosecution of the Klan, treatment of blacks as both human and American, an innovative Native American policy, and the peaceful settlements of the Alabama Claims and controversial 1876 presidential election. Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Early military career and personal life 2.1 West Point and first assignment 2.2 Marriage and family 2.3 Mexican–American War 2.4 Post-war assignments and resignation 3 Civilian struggles, slavery, and politics 4 Civil War 4.1 Early commands 4.2 Belmont (1861), Forts Henry and Donelson (1862) 4.3 Shiloh (1862) and aftermath 4.4 Vicksburg campaign (1862–1863) 4.5 Chattanooga (1863) and promotion 4.6 Overland Campaign (1864) 4.7 Siege of Petersburg (1864–1865) 4.8 Defeated Lee and victory (1865) 4.9 Lincoln's assassination 5 Commanding General 5.1 Saved Lee's life 5.2 Tour of the South 5.3 Break from Johnson 5.4 Election of 1868 6 Presidency (1869–1877) 6.1 Grant era Reconstruction of South 6.2 Native American policy 6.2.1 Great Sioux War 6.3 Foreign affairs 6.3.1 Treaty of Washington (1871) 6.3.2 Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) 6.3.3 Cuba and Virginius Affair 6.3.4 Free trade with Hawaii 6.4 Gold standard and conspiracy 6.5 Election of 1872 and second term 6.6 Panic of 1873 and loss of House 6.7 Scandals and reforms 6.8 Election of 1876 7 Post-presidency (1877–1885) 7.1 World tour and diplomacy 7.2 Third term attempt 7.3 Business failures 7.4 Memoirs, military pension, and death 8 Historical reputation 9 Memorials and presidential library 10 Dates of rank 11 See also 12 Notes 13 References 14 Bibliography 15 External links Early life and education Further information: Early life and career of Ulysses S. Grant Image of Grant's birthplace, a simple one-story structure, with fence and trees in front, next to the Ohio River with steamboat passing by Grant's birthplace, Point Pleasant, Ohio Hiram Ulysses Grant was born in Point Pleasant, Ohio, on April 27, 1822, to Jesse Root Grant, a tanner and merchant, and Hannah Simpson Grant.[1] His ancestors Matthew and Priscilla Grant arrived aboard the ship Mary and John at Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630.[2] Grant's great-grandfather fought in the French and Indian War, and his grandfather, Noah, served in the American Revolution at Bunker Hill.[3] Afterward, Noah settled in Pennsylvania and married Rachel Kelley, the daughter of an Irish pioneer.[4] Their son Jesse (Ulysses's father) was a Whig Party supporter and a fervent abolitionist.[5] Jesse Grant moved to Point Pleasant in 1820 and found work as a foreman in a tannery.[6] He soon met his future wife, Hannah, and the two were married on June 24, 1821.[7] Hannah descended from Presbyterian immigrants from Ballygawley in County Tyrone, Ireland.[8][9] Ten months after she was married, Hannah gave birth to Ulysses, her and Jesse's first child.[10] The boy's name, Ulysses, was drawn from ballots placed in a hat. To honor his father-in-law, Jesse declared the boy named Hiram Ulysses, though he would always refer to him as Ulysses.[11][b] In 1823, the family moved to Georgetown, Ohio, where five more siblings were born: Simpson, Clara, Orvil, Jennie, and Mary.[13] At the age of five, Ulysses began his formal education, starting at a subscription school and later in two private schools.[14] In the winter of 1836–1837, Grant was a student at Maysville Seminary, and in the autumn of 1838, he attended John Rankin's academy. In his youth, Grant developed an unusual ability to ride and manage horses.[15] Grant disliked the tannery, so his father put his ability with horses to use by giving him work driving wagon loads of supplies and transporting people.[16] Unlike his siblings, Grant was not forced to attend church by his Methodist parents.[17][c] For the rest of his life, he prayed privately and never officially joined any denomination.[19] To others, including his own son, Grant appeared to be an agnostic.[20] He inherited some of Hannah's Methodist piety and quiet nature.[21] Grant was largely apolitical before the war but wrote, "If I had ever had any political sympathies they would have been with the Whigs. I was raised in that school."[22] Early military career and personal life West Point and first assignment Engraving of young Grant in uniform Grant c. 1845-1847 Grant's father wrote to Representative Thomas L. Hamer requesting that he nominate Ulysses to the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, New York. Despite political differences with Jesse Root Grant, Hamer, a Democrat, nominated his 17-year-old son to West Point in spring 1839.[23] Grant was accepted on July 1, although he doubted his academic abilities.[24] Hamer, unfamiliar with Grant, submitted an incorrect name to West Point. On September 14 Grant was enlisted Cadet "U.S. Grant" at the national academy.[25][d] His nickname at West Point became "Sam" among army colleagues since the initials "U.S." also stood for "Uncle Sam".[29][e] Initially, Grant was indifferent to military life, but within a year he reexamined his desire to leave the academy and later wrote that "on the whole I like this place very much".[31] While at the academy, his greatest interest was horses, and he earned a reputation as the "most proficient" horseman.[32] During the graduation ceremony, while riding York, a large and powerful horse that only Grant could manage, he set a high-jump record that stood for 25 years.[33][f] Seeking relief from military routine, he studied under Romantic artist Robert Walter Weir, producing nine surviving artworks.[35] He spent more time reading books from the library than his academic texts, including works by James Fenimore Cooper and others.[36] On Sundays, cadets were required to march to and attend services at the academy's church, a requirement that Grant disliked.[37] Quiet by nature, Grant established a few intimate friends among fellow cadets, including Frederick Tracy Dent and James Longstreet. He was inspired both by the Commandant, Captain Charles F. Smith, and by General Winfield Scott, who visited the academy to review the cadets. Grant later wrote of the military life, "there is much to dislike, but more to like."[38] Grant graduated on June 30, 1843, ranked 21st out of 39 in his class and was promoted the next day to the rank brevet second lieutenant.[39] Small for his age at 17, he had entered the academy weighing only 117 pounds (53 kg) at 5 feet 2 inches (1.57 m) tall; upon graduation four years later he had grown to a height of 5 feet 7 inches (1.70 m).[40] Grant planned to resign his commission after his four-year term of duty. He would later write to a friend that among the happiest days of his life were the day he left the presidency and the day he left the academy.[41] Despite his excellent horsemanship, he was not assigned to the cavalry, but to the 4th Infantry Regiment. Grant's first assignment took him to the Jefferson Barracks near St. Louis, Missouri. Lt. Col. Robert C. Buchanan fined Grant wine bottles for Grant's late returns from White Haven.[42] Commanded by Colonel Stephen W. Kearny, the barracks was the nation's largest military base in the West.[43] Grant was happy with his new commander but looked forward to the end of his military service and a possible teaching career.[44] Marriage and family In Missouri, Grant visited Dent's family and became engaged to his sister, Julia, in 1844.[44] Four years later on August 22, 1848, they were married at Julia's home in St. Louis. Grant's abolitionist father disapproved of the Dents' owning slaves, and neither of Grant's parents attended the wedding.[45] Grant was flanked by three fellow West Point graduates, all dressed in their blue uniforms, including Longstreet, Julia's cousin.[46][g] At the end of the month, Julia was warmly received by Grant's family in Bethel, Ohio.[49] They had four children: Frederick, Ulysses Jr. ("Buck"), Ellen ("Nellie"), and Jesse.[50] After the wedding, Grant obtained a two-month extension to his leave and returned to St. Louis when he decided, with a wife to support, that he would remain in the army.[51] Mexican–American War Main article: Mexican–American War Battle of Monterrey Published 1847 After rising tensions with Mexico following the United States annexation of Texas, war broke out in 1846. During the conflict, Grant distinguished himself as a daring and competent soldier.[52] Before the war President John Tyler had ordered Grant's unit to Louisiana as part of the Army of Observation under Major General Zachary Taylor.[53] In September 1846, Tyler's successor, James K. Polk, unable to provoke Mexico into war at Corpus Christi, Texas, ordered Taylor to march 150 miles south to the Rio Grande. Marching south to Fort Texas, to prevent a Mexican siege, Grant experienced combat for the first time on May 8, 1846, at the Battle of Palo Alto.[54] Grant served as regimental quartermaster, but yearned for a combat role; when finally allowed, he led a charge at the Battle of Resaca de la Palma.[55] He demonstrated his equestrian ability at the Battle of Monterrey by volunteering to carry a dispatch past snipers, where he hung off the side of his horse, keeping the animal between him and the enemy. Before leaving the city he assured some wounded Americans he would send for help.[56] Polk, wary of Taylor's growing popularity, divided his forces, sending some troops (including Grant's unit) to form a new army under Major General Winfield Scott.[57] Traveling by sea, Scott's army landed at Veracruz and advanced toward Mexico City.[58] The army met the Mexican forces at the battles of Molino del Rey and Chapultepec outside Mexico City.[59] For his bravery at Molino del Rey, Grant was brevetted first lieutenant on September 30.[60] At San Cosmé, Grant directed his men to drag a disassembled howitzer into a church steeple, then reassembled it and bombarded nearby Mexican troops.[59] His bravery and initiative earned him his brevet promotion to captain.[61] On September 14, 1847, Scott's army marched into the city; Mexico ceded the vast territory, including California, to the U.S. on February 2, 1848.[62] During the war, Grant established a commendable record, studied the tactics and strategies of Scott and Taylor, and emerged as a seasoned officer, writing in his memoirs that this is how he learned much about military leadership.[63] In retrospect, although he respected Scott, he identified his leadership style with Taylor's. However, Grant also wrote that the Mexican war was morally unjust and that the territorial gains were designed to expand slavery, stating, "I was bitterly opposed to the measure ... and to this day, regard the war which resulted as one of the most unjust ever waged by a stronger against a weaker nation." He opined that the Civil War was divine punishment on the U.S. for its aggression against Mexico.[64] During the war, Grant discovered his "moral courage" and began to consider a career in the army.[65] Historians increasingly have pointed to the importance of Grant's experience as an assistant quartermaster during the war. Although he was initially averse to the position, it prepared Grant in understanding military supply routes, transportation systems, and logistics, particularly with regard to "provisioning a large, mobile army operating in hostile territory," according to biographer Ronald White.[55] Grant came to recognize how wars could be won or lost by crucial factors that lay beyond the tactical battlefield. Serving as assistant quartermaster made Grant a complete soldier, and learning how to supply an entire army gave Grant the training to sustain large armies.[66][h] Post-war assignments and resignation Chinook Indian Plank House Published 1845 Grant believed Pacific Northwest Indians were a peaceful people and not a threat to settlers. Grant's first post-war assignments took him and Julia to Detroit on November 17, 1848, but he was soon transferred to Madison Barracks, a desolate outpost in upstate New York, in bad need of supplies and repair. After four months, Grant was sent back to his quartermaster job in Detroit.[69] When the discovery of gold in California brought droves of prospectors and settlers to the territory, Grant and the 4th infantry were ordered to reinforce the small garrison there. Grant was charged with bringing the soldiers and a few hundred civilians from New York City to Panama, overland to the Pacific and then north to California. Julia, eight months pregnant with Ulysses Jr., did not accompany him. While Grant was in Panama, a cholera epidemic broke out and claimed the lives of many soldiers, civilians, and children. Grant established and organized a field hospital in Panama City, and moved the worst cases to a hospital barge one mile offshore.[70] When orderlies protested having to attend to the sick, Grant did much of the nursing himself, earning high praise from observers.[71] In August, Grant arrived in San Francisco. His next assignment sent him north to Vancouver Barracks in the Oregon Territory.[72] Grant tried several business ventures but failed, and in one instance his business partner absconded with $800 of Grant's investment.[73] Concerning local Indians, Grant assured Julia, by letter, they were harmless, and he developed empathy for their plight.[74] Grant witnessed white agents cheating Indians of their supplies, and the devastation of smallpox and measles, transferred by white settlers.[75] Promoted to captain on August 5, 1853, Grant was assigned to command Company F, 4th Infantry, at the newly constructed Fort Humboldt in California.[76] Grant arrived at Fort Humboldt on January 5, 1854, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Robert C. Buchanan, a martinet officer, with whom Grant had earlier crossed paths at Jefferson Barracks.[77] Separated from his wife and family, Grant began to drink.[78] Colonel Buchanan reprimanded Grant for one drinking episode and told Grant to "resign or reform." Grant told Buchanan he would "resign if I don't reform."[79] On Sunday, Grant was found influenced by alcohol, but not incapacitated, at his company's paytable.[80] Keeping his pledge to Buchanan, Grant resigned, effective July 31, 1854.[81] Buchanan endorsed Grant's letter of resignation but did not submit any report that verified the incident.[82][i] Grant did not face court-martial, and the War Department said: "Nothing stands against his good name."[88] Grant said years later, "the vice of intemperance (drunkenness) had not a little to do with my decision to resign."[89] With no means of support, Grant returned to St. Louis and reunited with his family, uncertain about his future.[90] Civilian struggles, slavery, and politics small log cabin "Hardscrabble" Published 1891 The farm home Grant built in Missouri for his family. In 1854, at age 32, Grant entered civilian life, without any money-making vocation to support his growing family. It was the beginning of seven years of financial struggles, poverty, and instability.[91] Grant's father offered him a place in the Galena, Illinois, branch of the family's leather business, but demanded Julia and the children stay in Missouri, with the Dents, or with the Grants in Kentucky. Grant and Julia declined the offer. Grant farmed (for the next four years[92]), using Julia's slave Dan, on his brother-in-law's property, Wish-ton-wish, near St. Louis.[93] The farm was not successful and to earn an alternate living he sold firewood on St. Louis street corners.[94] In 1856, the Grants moved to land on Julia's father's farm, and built a home called "Hardscrabble" on Grant's Farm. Julia described the rustic house as an "unattractive cabin", but made the dwelling as homelike as possible with the family's keepsakes and other belongings.[95] Grant's family had little money, clothes, and furniture, but always had enough food.[96] During the Panic of 1857, which devastated Grant as it did many farmers, Grant had to pawn his gold watch in order to buy Christmas gifts for his family.[97] In 1858, Grant rented out Hardscrabble and moved his family to Julia's father's 850-acre plantation.[98] That fall, after suffering from malaria, Grant finally gave up farming.[99] The same year, Grant acquired a slave from his father-in-law, a thirty-five-year-old man named William Jones.[100] Although Grant was not an abolitionist, he was not considered a "slavery man", and could not bring himself to force a slave to do work.[101] In March 1859, Grant freed William by a manumission deed, potentially worth at least $1,000, when Grant needed the money.[102][j] Grant moved to St. Louis, taking on a partnership with Julia's cousin Harry Boggs working in the real estate business as a bill collector, again without success and with Julia's prompting ended the partnership.[104] In August, Grant applied for a position as county engineer, believing his education qualified him for the job. He had thirty-five notable recommendations, but the position was given on the basis of political affiliation and Grant was passed over by the Free Soil and Republican county commissioners because he was believed to share his father-in-law's Democratic sentiments.[105] In the 1856 presidential election, Grant cast his first presidential vote for Democrat James Buchanan, later saying he was really voting against Republican John C. Frémont over concern that his anti-slavery position would lead to southern secession and war and because he considered Frémont to be a shameless self-promoter.[106] In April 1860, Grant and his family moved north to Galena, accepting a position in his father's leather goods business run by his younger brothers Simpson and Orvil.[107][k] In a few months, Grant paid off his debts.[109] The family attended the local Methodist church and he soon established himself as a reputable citizen of Galena.[110] For the 1860 election, he could not vote because he was not yet a legal resident of Illinois, but he favored Democrat Stephen A. Douglas over the eventual winner, Abraham Lincoln, and Lincoln over the Southern Democrat, John C. Breckinridge.[111] He was torn between his increasingly anti-slavery views and the fact that his wife remained a staunch Democrat.[112] Civil War Main article: Ulysses S. Grant and the American Civil War Brigadier General Grant photographed at Cairo, Illinois, September 1861 (Published 1911) 21st Illinois regiment monument in the Viniard Field, Chickamauga On April 12, 1861, the American Civil War began when Confederate troops attacked Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina.[113] The news came as a shock in Galena, and Grant shared his neighbors' concern about the war.[114] On April 15, Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers.[115] The next day, Grant attended a mass meeting to assess the crisis and encourage recruitment, and a speech by his father's attorney, John Aaron Rawlins, stirred Grant's patriotism.[116][l] Ready to fight, Grant recalled with satisfaction, "I never went into our leather store again."[117][m] On April 18, Grant chaired a second recruitment meeting, but turned down a captain's position as commander of the newly-formed militia company, hoping his previous experience would aid him to obtain a more senior military rank.[119] Early commands Further information: Kentucky in the American Civil War Grant's early efforts to be recommissioned were rejected by Major General George B. McClellan and Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon. On April 29, supported by Congressman Elihu B. Washburne of Illinois, Grant was appointed military aide to Governor Richard Yates and mustered ten regiments into the Illinois militia. On June 14, again aided by Washburne, Grant was promoted to Colonel and put in charge of the unruly 21st Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment, which he soon restored to good order and discipline.[120] Colonel Grant and his 21st Regiment were transferred to Missouri to dislodge Confederate forces.[121] On August 5, with Washburne's aid, Grant was appointed Brigadier General of volunteers.[122] Major General John C. Frémont, Union commander of the West, passed over senior generals and appointed Grant commander of the District of Southeastern Missouri.[123][n] On September 2, Grant arrived at Cairo, Illinois, assumed command by replacing Colonel Oglesby, and set up his headquarters to plan a campaign down the Mississippi, and up the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers.[125] After the Confederates moved into western Kentucky, taking Columbus,[126] with designs on southern Illinois, Grant, after notifying Frémont, and without waiting further for his reply, strategically advanced on Paducah, Kentucky, taking it without a fight on September 6.[127] Having understood the importance to Lincoln about Kentucky's neutrality, Grant assured its citizens, "I have come among you not as your enemy, but as your friend."[128] On November 1, Frémont ordered Grant to "make demonstrations" against the Confederates on both sides of the Mississippi, but prohibited him from attacking the enemy.[129] Belmont (1861), Forts Henry and Donelson (1862) Main articles: Battle of Belmont, Battle of Fort Henry, and Battle of Fort Donelson Union soldiers charging into battle, some injured or dying Battle of Fort Donelson Published 1887 Map of the battle of Shiloh depicting troop movements Map showing Fort Donelson and surrounding area during capture On November 2, 1861, Lincoln removed Frémont from command, freeing Grant to attack Confederate soldiers encamped in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.[129] On November 5, Grant, along with Brigadier General John A. McClernand, landed 2,500 men at Hunter's Point, and on November 7 engaged the Confederates at the Battle of Belmont.[130] The Union army took the camp, but the reinforced Confederates under Brigadier Generals Frank Cheatham and Gideon J. Pillow forced a chaotic Union retreat. [131] Grant had wanted to destroy Confederate strongholds at both Belmont, Missouri and Columbus, Kentucky, but was not given enough troops and was only able to disrupt their positions. Grant's troops fought their way back to their Union boats and escaped back to Cairo under fire from the fortified stronghold at Columbus. [132] Although Grant and his army retreated, the battle gave his volunteers much-needed confidence and experience.[133] It also showed Lincoln that Grant was a general willing to fight.[134] Columbus blocked Union access to the lower Mississippi. Grant and General James B. McPherson planned to bypass Columbus and with a force of 25,000 troops, move against Fort Henry on the Tennessee River. They would then march ten miles east to Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River, with the aid of gunboats, opening both rivers and allowing the Union access further south. Grant presented his plan to Henry Halleck, his new commander in the newly created Department of Missouri.[135] Halleck was considering the same strategy, but rebuffed Grant, believing he needed twice the number of troops. However, after Halleck telegraphed and consulted McClellan about the plan, he finally agreed on the condition that the attack would be conducted in close cooperation with the navy Flag Officer, Andrew H. Foote. [136] Foote's gunboats bombarded Fort Henry, leading to its surrender on February 6, 1862, before Grant's infantry even arrived.[137] Grant then ordered an immediate assault on Fort Donelson, which dominated the Cumberland River. Fort Donelson, unlike Fort Henry, had a force equal to Grant's army. Unaware of the garrison's strength, Grant, McClernand, and Smith positioned their divisions around the fort. The next day McClernand and Smith independently launched probing attacks on apparent weak spots but were forced to retreat by the Confederates. On February 14, Foote's gunboats began bombarding the fort, only to be repulsed by its heavy guns. Seizing the initiative, the next day, Pillow fiercely attacked and routed one of Grant's divisions, McClernand's. Union reinforcements arrived, giving Grant a total force of over 40,000 men. Grant was with Foote, four miles away when the Confederates attacked. Hearing the battle noise, Grant rode back and rallied his troop commanders, riding over seven miles of freezing roads and trenches, exchanging reports. When Grant blocked the Nashville Road, the Confederates retreated back into Fort Donelson.[138] On February 16, Foote resumed his bombardment, which signaled a general attack. Confederate generals John B. Floyd and Pillow fled, leaving the fort in command of Simon Bolivar Buckner, who submitted to Grant's demand for "unconditional and immediate surrender".[139] Grant had won the first major victory for the Union, capturing Floyd's entire rebel army of more than 12,000. Halleck was angry that Grant had acted without his authorization and complained to McClellan, accusing Grant of "neglect and inefficiency". On March 3, Halleck sent a telegram to Washington complaining that he had no communication with Grant for a week. Three days later, Halleck followed up with a postscript claiming "word has just reached me that ... Grant has resumed his bad habits (of drinking)."[140] Lincoln, regardless, promoted Grant to major general of volunteers and the Northern press treated Grant as a hero. Playing off his initials, they took to calling him "Unconditional Surrender Grant".[141] Shiloh (1862) and aftermath Further information: Battle of Shiloh Thure de Thulstrup;s painting of the Battle of Shiloh, depicting soldiers in battles in the woods Battle of Shiloh Thulstrup 1888 Map of the battle of Shiloh depicting troop movements Battle of Shiloh map With great armies now massing, it was widely thought in the North that another western battle might end the war.[142] Grant, reinstated by Halleck at the urging of Lincoln and Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, left Fort Henry and traveled by boat up the Tennessee River to rejoin his army with orders to advance with the Army of the Tennessee into Tennessee. Grant's main army was located at Pittsburg Landing, while 40,000 Confederate troops converged at Corinth, Mississippi.[143] Brigadier General William Tecumseh Sherman assured Grant that his green troops were ready for an attack. Grant agreed and wired Halleck with their assessment.[144] Grant wanted to attack the Confederates at Corinth, but Halleck ordered him not to attack until Major General Don Carlos Buell arrived with his division of 25,000.[145] Meanwhile, Grant prepared for an attack on the Confederate army of roughly equal strength. Instead of preparing defensive fortifications between the Tennessee River and Owl Creek,[o] and clearing fields of fire, they spent most of their time drilling the largely inexperienced troops while Sherman dismissed reports of nearby Confederates.[146] Union inaction created the opportunity for the Confederates to attack first before Buell arrived.[147] On the morning of April 6, 1862, Grant's troops were taken by surprise when the Confederates, led by Generals Albert Sidney Johnston and P. G. T. Beauregard, struck first "like an Alpine avalanche" near Shiloh church, attacking five divisions of Grant's army and forcing a confused retreat toward the Tennessee River.[148] Johnston was killed and command fell upon Beauregard.[149] One Union line held the Confederate attack off for several hours at a place later called the "Hornet's Nest", giving Grant time to assemble artillery and 20,000 troops near Pittsburg Landing.[150] The Confederates finally broke through the Hornet's Nest to capture a Union division, but "Grant's Last Line" held the landing, while the exhausted Confederates, lacking reinforcements, halted their advance.[151] The day's fighting had been costly, with thousands of casualties. That evening, heavy rain set in. Sherman found Grant standing alone under a tree in the rain. "Well, Grant, we've had the devil's own day of it, haven't we?" Sherman said. "Yes," replied Grant. "Lick 'em tomorrow, though."[152] Bolstered by 18,000 fresh troops from the divisions of Major Generals Buell and Lew Wallace, Grant counterattacked at dawn the next day and regained the field, forcing the disorganized and demoralized rebels to retreat back to Corinth.[153] Halleck ordered Grant not to advance more than one day's march from Pittsburg Landing, stopping the pursuit of the Confederate Army.[154] Although Grant had won the battle the situation was little changed, with the Union in possession of Pittsburg Landing and the Confederates once again holed up in Corinth.[155] Grant, now realizing that the South was determined to fight and that the war would not be won with one battle, would later write, "Then, indeed, I gave up all idea of saving the Union except by complete conquest."[156] Shiloh was the costliest battle in American history to that point and the staggering 23,746 total casualties stunned the nation.[157] Briefly hailed a hero for routing the Confederates, Grant was soon mired in controversy.[158] The Northern press castigated Grant for shockingly high casualties, and accused him of drunkenness during the battle, contrary to the accounts of officers and others with him at the time.[159][p] Discouraged, Grant considered resigning but Sherman convinced him to stay.[160] Lincoln dismissed Grant's critics, saying "I can't spare this man; he fights."[161] However, Grant's victory at Shiloh ended any chance for the Confederates to prevail in the Mississippi valley or regain its strategic advantage in the West.[162] Halleck arrived from St. Louis on April 11, took command, and assembled a combined army of about 120,000 men. On April 29, he relieved Grant of field command and replaced him with Major General George Henry Thomas. Halleck slowly marched his army to take Corinth, entrenching each night.[163] Meanwhile, Beauregard pretended to be reinforcing, sent "deserters" to the Union Army with that story, and moved his army out during the night, to Halleck's surprise when he finally arrived at Corinth on May 30.[164] Halleck divided his combined army and reinstated Grant as field commander of the Army of the Tennessee on July 11.[165] Later that year, on September 19, Grant's army defeated Confederates at the Battle of Iuka, then successfully defended Corinth, inflicting heavy casualties.[166] On October 25, Grant assumed command of the District of the Tennessee.[167] In November, after Lincoln's preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, Grant ordered units under his command to incorporate former slaves into the Union Army, giving them clothes, shelter, and wages for their services.[168] Grant held western Tennessee with almost 40,000 men.[169] Vicksburg campaign (1862–1863) Further information: Vicksburg Campaign and General Order No. 11 (1862) A line of about a dozen Union gunboats on the Mississippi River exchange fire with the town above on a cliff Grant's successful gamble: Porter's gunboats night ran the Confederate gauntlet at Vicksburg on the Mississippi River. Published 1863 The Union capture of Vicksburg, the last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River, was vital, and would split the Confederacy in two.[170] Lincoln, however, appointed McClernand for the job, rather than Grant or Sherman.[171] Halleck, who retained power over troop displacement, ordered McClernand to Memphis, and placed him and his troops under Grant's authority.[172] On November 13, 1862, Grant captured Holly Springs and advanced to Corinth.[173] Grant's plan was to march south to Jackson, and attack Vicksburg overland, while Sherman would attack Vicksburg from Chickasaw Bayou.[174] However, Confederate cavalry raids on December 11 and 20, 1862, broke Union communications and recaptured Holly Springs, preventing Grant and Sherman from converging on Vicksburg.[175] Grant observed sabotage by civilians who had feigned loyalty and complained: "Guerrillas are hovering around in every direction."[176] On December 29, a Confederate army led by Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton repulsed Sherman's direct approach ascending the bluffs to Vicksburg at Chickasaw Bayou.[177] McClernand reached Sherman's army, assumed command, and independently of Grant led a campaign that captured Confederate Fort Hindman.[178] Contraband fugitive African-American slaves poured into Grant's district, whom he sent north to Cairo, to be integrated into white society as domestic servants in Chicago. However, Lincoln ended this move when Illinois political leaders complained.[179] On his own initiative, Grant set up a pragmatic program and hired a young Presbyterian Chaplain John Eaton to administer slave refuge work camps.[180] Compensated contraband freed slaves would be used to pick cotton that would be shipped north and sent to aid the Union war effort. Lincoln approved and Grant's camp program was successful.[181] Grant also worked freed black labor on the bypass canal and other points on the river, incorporating them into the Union Army and Navy.[182] Lines of soldiers fire at each other, with houses in the background The Battle of Jackson, fought on May 14, 1863, was part of the Vicksburg Campaign. Published 1863 Grant's war responsibilities included combating an illegal Northern cotton trade and civilian obstruction.[183][184] Smuggling of cotton was rampant, while the price of cotton skyrocketed.[185] Grant believed the smuggling funded the Confederacy and provided them with military intelligence, while Union soldiers were dying in the fields.[186] He had received numerous dispatches with complaints about Jewish speculators in his district.[187] He also feared the trading corrupted many of his officers who were also eager to make a profit on a bale of cotton, while the majority of those involved in illegal trading was not Jewish.[188] Outraged that gold paid for southern cotton, Grant required two permits, one from the Treasury and one from the Union Army, to purchase cotton.[185][q] On December 17, 1862, Grant issued a controversial General Order No. 11, expelling "Jews, as a class", from his Union Army military district.[189][184][r] The order was fully enforced at Holly Springs (December 17) and Paducah (December 28). Confederate General Van Dorn's raid on Holly Springs (December 20), prevented many Jewish people from potential expulsion. After complaints, Lincoln rescinded the order on January 3, 1863. Grant finally stopped the order within three weeks on January 17.[191][s] On January 29, 1863, Grant assumed overall command. Eventually, he attempted to advance his army through water-logged terrain to bypass Vicksburg's guns.[197] The plan of attacking Vicksburg from downriver carried great risk because upon crossing the Mississippi River, his army would be beyond the reach of most of its supply lines.[198] On April 16, Grant ordered Admiral David Dixon Porter's gunboats south under fire from the Vicksburg batteries to meet up with troops who had marched south down the west side of the river.[199] Grant ordered diversionary battles, confusing Pemberton and allowing Grant's army to move east across the Mississippi, landing troops at Bruinsburg.[200] Grant's army captured Jackson, the state capital. Advancing west, Grant defeated Pemberton's army at the Battle of Champion Hill on May 16, forcing their retreat into Vicksburg.[201] After Grant's men assaulted the entrenchments twice, suffering severe losses, they settled in for a siege lasting seven weeks. During quiet periods of the campaign, Grant would take to drinking on occasion.[202] The personal rivalry between McClernand and Grant continued until Grant removed him from command when he contravened Grant by publishing an order without permission.[203] Pemberton surrendered Vicksburg to Grant on July 4, 1863.[204] Vicksburg's fall gave Union forces control of the Mississippi River and split the Confederacy. By that time, Grant's political sympathies fully coincided with the Radical Republicans' aggressive prosecution of the war and emancipation of the slaves.[205] The success at Vicksburg was a morale boost for the Union war effort.[203] When Stanton suggested Grant be brought east to run the Army of the Potomac, Grant demurred, writing that he knew the geography and resources of the West better and he did not want to upset the chain of command in the East.[206] Chattanooga (1863) and promotion Further information: Chattanooga Campaign Confederate soldiers face Union troops running toward them Union troops swarm Missionary Ridge and defeat Bragg's army. Published 1886 Lincoln promoted Grant to major general in the regular army (as opposed to the volunteers) and assigned him command of the newly formed Division of the Mississippi on October 16, 1863, comprising the Armies of the Ohio, the Tennessee, and the Cumberland.[207] After the Battle of Chickamauga, the Army of the Cumberland retreated into Chattanooga where they were partially besieged.[208] Grant arrived in Chattanooga on horseback, after a journey by boat from Vicksburg to Cairo, and then by train to Bridgeport, Alabama. Plans to resupply the city and break the partial siege had already been set on foot before his arrival. Forces commanded by Major General Joseph Hooker, which had been sent from the Army of the Potomac, approached from the west and linked up with other units moving east from inside the city, capturing Brown's Ferry and opening a supply line to the railroad at Bridgeport.[209] Grant planned to have Sherman's Army of the Tennessee, assisted by the Army of the Cumberland, assault the northern end of Missionary Ridge, preparatory to rolling down it on the enemy's right flank. On November 23, Major General George Henry Thomas surprised the enemy in open daylight, advancing the Union lines and taking Orchard Knob, between Chattanooga and the ridge. The next day, Sherman failed to achieve his mission of getting atop Missionary Ridge, which was the key to Grant's plan of battle. Hooker's forces took Lookout Mountain using an ingenious maneuver to flank the enemy, in unexpected success.[210] On the 25th, Grant ordered Major General George Henry Thomas to advance to the rifle-pits at the case of Missionary in an effort to help Sherman, after Sherman's army failed to take Missionary Ridge from the northeast.[211] Four divisions of the Army of the Cumberland, with the center two led by Major General Philip Sheridan and Brigadier General Thomas J. Wood, chased the Confederates out of the rifle-pits at the base and, against orders, continued the charge up the 45-degree slope and captured the Confederate entrenchments along the crest, forcing a hurried retreat.[212] The decisive battle gave the Union control of Tennessee and opened Georgia, the Confederate heartland, to Union invasion.[213] Grant was given an enormous thoroughbred horse, Cincinnati, by a thankful admirer in St. Louis.[214] On March 2, 1864, Lincoln promoted Grant to lieutenant general, giving him command of all Union Armies.[215] Grant's new rank had only previously been held by George Washington.[216] Grant arrived in Washington on March 8, and he was formally commissioned by Lincoln the next day at a Cabinet meeting.[217] Grant developed a good working relationship with Lincoln, who allowed Grant to devise his own strategy.[218] Grant established his headquarters with General George Meade's Army of the Potomac in Culpeper, north-west of Richmond, and met weekly with Lincoln and Stanton in Washington.[219][t] After protest from Halleck, Grant scrapped a risky invasion plan of North Carolina, and adopted a plan of five coordinated Union offensives on five fronts, so Confederate armies could not shift troops along interior lines.[221] Grant and Meade would make a direct frontal attack on Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, while Sherman—now chief of the western armies—was to destroy Joseph E. Johnston's Army of Tennessee and take Atlanta.[222] Major General Benjamin Butler would advance on Lee from the southeast, up the James River, while Major General Nathaniel Banks would capture Mobile.[223] Major General Franz Sigel was to capture granaries and rail lines in the fertile Shenandoah Valley.[224] Grant now commanded in total 533,000 battle-ready troops spread out over an eighteen-mile front, while the Confederates had lost many officers in battle and had great difficulty finding replacements.[225] He was popular, and there was talk that a Union victory early in the year could lead to his candidacy for the presidency. Grant was aware of the rumors, but had ruled out a political candidacy; the possibility would soon vanish with delays on the battlefield.[226] Overland Campaign (1864) Main article: Overland Campaign Confederate General John Brown Gordon declared to General Lee after the Wilderness that there was “no doubt that Grant is retreating.” Lee replied, “You are mistaken, quite mistaken. Grant is not retreating. He is not a retreating man."[227] The Overland Campaign was a series of brutal battles fought in Virginia for seven weeks during May and June 1864.[228] Sigel's and Butler's efforts failed, and Grant was left alone to fight Lee.[229] On the morning of Wednesday, May 4, Grant dressed in full uniform, sword at his side, led the army out from his headquarters at Culpeper towards Germanna Ford.[230] They crossed the Rapidan unopposed, while supplies were transported on four pontoon bridges.[231] On May 5, the Union army attacked Lee in the Wilderness, a three-day battle with estimated casualties of 17,666 Union and 11,125 Confederate.[232] Rather than retreat, Grant flanked Lee's army to the southeast and attempted to wedge his forces between Lee and Richmond at Spotsylvania Court House.[233] Lee's army got to Spotsylvania first and a costly battle ensued, lasting thirteen days, with heavy casualties.[234] On May 12, Grant attempted to break through Lee's Muleshoe salient guarded by Confederate artillery, resulting in one of the bloodiest assaults of the Civil War, known as the Bloody Angle.[235] Unable to break Lee's lines, Grant again flanked the rebels to the southeast, meeting at North Anna, where a battle lasted three days.[236] Photograph of Grant in uniform leaning on a post in front of a tent Commanding General Grant at the Battle of Cold Harbor, June 1864 Cold Harbor Main article: Battle of Cold Harbor Grant believed breaking through Lee's lines at its weakest point, Cold Harbor, a vital road hub that linked to Richmond, would mean the destruction of Lee's army, the capture of Richmond, and a quick end to the rebellion.[237] Grant already had two corps in position at Cold Harbor with Hancock's corps on the way.[238] The recent bloody Wilderness campaign had severely diminished Confederate morale and hence Grant was now willing to advance on Lee's army once again.[239] Lee's lines were extended north and east of Richmond and Petersburg for approximately ten miles, but there were several points where there were no fortifications built yet, and Cold Harbor was one of them. On June 1 and 2 both Grant and Lee were still waiting for reinforcements to arrive. Hancock's men had marched all night and arrived too exhausted for an immediate attack that morning. Grant agreed to let the men rest and postponed the attack until 5 p.m., and then again until 4:30 a.m. on June 3. However, Grant and Meade did not give specific orders for the attack, leaving it up to the corps commanders to decide where they would coordinate and attack the Confederate lines, as no senior commander had yet reconnoitered the latest Confederate developments. Grant had not yet learned that overnight Lee had hastily constructed entrenchments to thwart any breach attempt at Cold Harbor.[240] Grant had put off making an attack twice and was anxious to make his move before the rest of Lee's army arrived. On the morning of June 3, the third day of the thirteen-day battle, with a force of more than 100,000 men, against Lee's 59,000, Grant attacked not realizing that Lee's army was now well entrenched, much of it obscured by trees and bushes.[241] Grant's army suffered 12,000–14,000 casualties, while Lee's army suffered 3,000–5,000 casualties,[u] but Lee was less able to replace them.[242] The unprecedented number of casualties was shocking by all accounts and heightened anti-war sentiment in the North. After the battle Grant wanted to appeal to Lee under the white flag for each side to gather up their wounded, most of them Union soldiers, but Lee insisted that a total truce be enacted and while they were deliberating all but a few of the wounded died in the field.[243] Without giving an apology for the disastrous defeat in his official military report, Grant confided in his staff after the battle and years later wrote in his memoirs that he "regretted that the last assault at Cold Harbor was ever made. I might say the same thing of the assault ... at Vicksburg."[244] Siege of Petersburg (1864–1865) Further information: Siege of Petersburg and Battle of the Crater Undetected by Lee, Grant moved his army south of the James River, freed Butler from the Bermuda Hundred, and advanced toward Petersburg, Virginia's central railroad hub.[245] Beauregard defended Petersburg, and Lee's veteran reinforcements arrived on June 18, resulting in a nine-month siege. Northern resentment grew. Sheridan was assigned command of the Union Army of the Shenandoah and Grant directed him to "follow the enemy to their death" in the Shenandoah Valley. When Sheridan suffered attacks by John S. Mosby's irregular Confederate cavalry, Grant recommended rounding up their families for imprisonment at Fort McHenry.[246] After Grant's abortive attempt to capture Petersburg, Lincoln supported Grant in his decision to continue and visited Grant's headquarters at City Point on June 21 to assess the state of the army and meet with Grant and Admiral Porter. By the time Lincoln departed his appreciation for Grant had grown.[247] To strike at Lee in a timely capacity Grant was forced to use what resources were immediately available, and they were diminishing by the day. Grant had to commit badly needed troops to check Confederate General Jubal Early's raids in the Shenandoah Valley and who was getting dangerously close to the Potomac River, and Washington.[248] By late July, at Petersburg, Grant reluctantly approved a plan to blow up part of the enemy trenches from a tunnel filled with many tons of gunpowder. The massive explosion created a crater, 170 feet across and 30 feet deep, killing an entire Confederate regiment in an instant.[249][v] The poorly led Union troops under Major General Burnside and Brigadier General Ledlie, rather than encircling the crater, rushed forward and poured directly into it, which was widely deemed a mistake. Recovering from the surprise, Confederates, led by Major General William Mahone,[250] surrounded the crater and easily picked off Union troops within it. The Union's 3,500 casualties outnumbered the Confederates' by three-to-one. The battle marked the first time that Union black troops, who endured a large proportion of the casualties, engaged in any major battle in the east.[251] Grant admitted that the overall mining tactic had been a "stupendous failure".[252] Painting of four men conferring in a ship's cabin, entitled "The Peacemakers". Grant (center left) next to Lincoln with General Sherman (far left) and Admiral Porter (right) – The Peacemakers by Healy, 1868 Grant would later meet with Lincoln and testify at a court of inquiry[253] against Generals Burnside and Ledlie for their incompetence. In his memoirs he blamed both of them for that disastrous Union defeat.[254][255] Rather than fight Lee in a full-frontal attack as he had done at Cold Harbor, Grant continued to force Lee to extend his defenses south and west of Petersburg, better allowing him to capture essential railroad links.[248] Union forces soon captured Mobile Bay and Atlanta and now controlled the Shenandoah Valley, ensuring Lincoln's reelection in November.[256] Sherman convinced Grant and Lincoln to send his army to march on Savannah.[257] Sherman cut a 60-mile path of destruction unopposed, reached the Atlantic Ocean, and captured Savannah on December 22.[258] On December 16, after much prodding by Grant, the Union Army under Thomas smashed John Bell Hood's Confederate Army at Nashville.[259] These campaigns left Lee's forces at Petersburg as the only significant obstacle remaining to Union victory.[260] By March 1865, Lee was trapped, Grant had severely weakened Lee's strength, having extended his lines to 35 miles.[261] Confederate troops no longer confident of their commander, deserted Lee by the thousands, starving and under the duress of trench warfare. [262] On March 25, in a desperate effort, Lee sacrificed his remaining troops (4,000 CSA casualties) at Fort Stedman, a Union victory, and considered the last Petersburg line battle. Grant, Sherman, Porter, and Lincoln held a conference to discuss the surrender of Lee's Confederate depleted armies and Reconstruction of the South on March 28.[263] Defeated Lee and victory (1865) Main articles: Third Battle of Petersburg, Appomattox Campaign, and Battle of Appomattox Court House Defeated by Grant, Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House On April 2, Grant ordered a general assault on Lee's entrenched depleted forces. Lee abandoned Petersburg and Richmond, while Grant's conquering Union troops easily took Petersburg and captured Richmond the next day.[264] A desperate Lee, and part of his army cut and ran, attempted to link up with the remnants of Joseph E. Johnston's defeated army. Sheridan's cavalry, however, stopped the two armies from converging, cutting them off from their supply trains.[265] Grant was in communication with Lee before he entrusted his aide Orville Babcock to carry his last dispatch to Lee that demanded his surrender with instructions to escort him to a meeting place of Lee's choosing.[266] Grant immediately rode west, bypassing Lee's army, to join Sheridan who had captured Appomattox Station, blocking Lee's escape route. On his way, Grant received a letter sent by Lee informing him Lee would surrender his army.[267] On April 9, Grant and Lee met at Appomattox Court House.[268] Upon receiving Lee's dispatch about the proposed meeting Grant had been jubilant. Although Grant felt depressed at the fall of "a foe who had fought so long and valiantly," he believed the Southern cause was "one of the worst for which a people ever fought."[269] After briefly discussing their days of old in Mexico, Grant wrote out the terms of surrender. Men and officers were to be paroled, but in addition, there was amnesty: "Each officer and man will be allowed to return to his home, not to be disturbed by U.S. authority so long as they observe their paroles and the laws in force where they may reside." Lee immediately accepted Grant's terms and signed the surrender document. The vanquished Lee, afterwards asked Grant that his former Confederate troops keep their horses. Grant generously allowed Lee's request.[270][271] Grant ordered his troops to stop all celebration, saying the "war is over; the rebels are our countrymen again."[272] Johnston's Tennessee army surrendered on April 26, 1865, Richard Taylor's Alabama army on May 4, and Kirby Smith's Texas army on May 26, ending the war.[273] Lincoln's assassination Main article: Assassination of Abraham Lincoln On April 14, 1865, five days after Grant's victory at Appomattox, he attended a cabinet meeting in Washington. Lincoln invited him and his wife to Ford's Theater but they declined, for upon his wife Julia's urging, they had plans to travel to Philadelphia. In a conspiracy that also targeted top cabinet members in one last effort to topple the Union, Lincoln was fatally shot by John Wilkes Booth at the theater and died the next morning.[274] Many, including Grant himself, thought that he had been a target in the plot, and during the subsequent trial, the government tried to prove that Grant had been stalked by Booth's conspirator Michael O'Laughlen.[275] Stanton notified Grant of the President's death and summoned him back to Washington. Vice President Andrew Johnson was sworn in as president on April 15. Attending Lincoln's funeral on April 19, Grant stood alone and wept openly; he later said Lincoln was "the greatest man I have ever known".[276] Grant was determined to work with Johnson, while he privately expressed "every reason to hope" in the new president's ability to run the government "in its old channel".[277] Commanding General Main article: Ulysses S. Grant as commanding general, 1865–1869 Ulysses S. Grant by Balling (1865) At the war's end, Grant remained commander of the army, with duties that included dealing with Maximilian and French troops in Mexico, enforcement of Reconstruction in the former Confederate states, and supervision of Indian wars on the western Plains.[278] After the Grand Review of the Armies, Lee and his generals were indicted for treason in Virginia. Johnson demanded they be put on trial, but Grant insisted that they should not be tried, citing his Appomatox amnesty. Johnson backed down, so charges against Lee were dropped.[279][280] Grant secured a house for his family in Georgetown Heights in 1865 but instructed Elihu Washburne that for political purposes his legal residence remained in Galena, Illinois.[281] That same year, Grant spoke at Cooper Union in New York in support of Johnson's presidency. Further travels that summer took the Grants to Albany, New York, back to Galena, and throughout Illinois and Ohio, with enthusiastic receptions.[282] On July 25, 1866, Congress promoted Grant to the newly created rank of General of the Army of the United States.[283] Saved Lee's life On June 7, 1865, Robert E. Lee, and other former Confederate officers were indicted by a grand jury for the high crime of treason against the United States, a capital offense punished by imprisonment and hanging. Johnson wanted to punish Lee, and "make treason odious". When informed, Grant objected and went to the White House telling President Johnson that Lee was protected by Grant's surrender terms Grant had generously given Lee at Appomattox in April. When an angered Grant threatened to resign, President Johnson backed down, and on June 20, Johnson's Attorney General James Speed ordered the United States Attorney General in Norfolk, Virginia to drop treason proceedings against Lee, saving Lee from punishment and prosecution.[284] Tour of the South Further information: Reconstruction Era President Johnson's Reconstruction policy included a speedy return of the former Confederates to Congress, reinstating whites to office in the South, and relegating blacks to second-class citizenship.[285] On November 27, 1865, General Grant left Washington, sent by Johnson on a fact-finding mission to the South, to counter a pending less favorable report by Senator Carl Schurz.[286][w] Grant recommended continuation of the Freedmen's Bureau, which Johnson opposed, but advised against using black troops, which he believed encouraged an alternative to farm labor.[288] Grant did not believe the people of the South were ready for self-rule, and that both whites and blacks in the South required protection by the federal government. Concerned that the war led to diminished respect for civil authorities, Grant continued using the Army to maintain order.[289] Grant's report on the South, which he later recanted, sympathized with Johnson's conservative Reconstruction policies.[290] Although Grant desired former Confederates be returned to Congress, he advocated eventual black citizenship. On December 19, the day after the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment was announced in the Senate, Johnson's response used Grant's report, read aloud to the Senate, to undermine Schurz's final report and Radical opposition to Johnson's policies.[291] Break from Johnson Grant was initially optimistic about Johnson, saying he was satisfied the nation had "nothing to fear" from the Johnson administration.[292] Despite differing styles, Grant got along cordially with Johnson and attended cabinet meetings concerning Reconstruction.[292] By February 1866, the relationship began to break down.[293] Johnson opposed Grant's closure of the Richmond Examiner for disloyal editorials and his enforcement of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, passed over Johnson's veto.[293] Needing Grant's popularity, Johnson took Grant on his "Swing Around the Circle" tour, a failed attempt to gain national support for lenient policies toward the South.[294] Grant privately called Johnson's speeches a "national disgrace" and he left the tour early.[295] On March 2, 1867, overriding Johnson's veto, Congress passed the first of three Reconstruction Acts, using military officers to enforce the policy.[296] Protecting Grant, Congress passed the Command of the Army Act, preventing his removal or relocation, and forcing Johnson to pass orders through Grant.[297] In August 1867, bypassing the Tenure of Office Act, Johnson discharged Secretary of War Stanton without Senate approval and appointed Grant ad interim Secretary of War. Stanton was the only remaining cabinet member friendly to the Radicals. [298] Although Grant initially recommended against dismissing Stanton, Grant accepted the position, not wanting the Army to fall under a conservative appointee who would impede Reconstruction, and managed an uneasy partnership with Johnson.[299] In December 1867, Congress voted to keep Stanton, who was reinstated by a Senate Committee on Friday, January 10, 1868. Grant told Johnson he was going to resign the office to avoid fines and imprisonment. Johnson, who believed the law would be overturned, said he would assume Grant's legal responsibility, and reminded Grant that he had promised him to delay his resignation until a suitable replacement was found.[300] The following Monday, not willing to wait for the law to be overturned, Grant surrendered the office to Stanton, causing confusion with Johnson.[301] With the complete backing of his cabinet, Johnson personally accused Grant of lying and "duplicity" at a stormy cabinet meeting, while a shocked and disappointed Grant felt it was Johnson who was lying.[302] The publication of angry messages between Grant and Johnson led to a complete break between the two.[303] The controversy led to Johnson's impeachment and trial in the Senate.[304] Johnson was saved from removal from office by one vote.[305] Grant's popularity rose among the Radical Republicans and his nomination for the presidency appeared certain.[306] Election of 1868 Main article: 1868 United States presidential election Grant–Colfax Republican Ticket Published 1868 When the Republican Party met at the 1868 Republican National Convention in Chicago, the delegates unanimously nominated Grant for president and Speaker of the House Schuyler Colfax for vice president.[304] Although Grant had preferred to remain in the army, he accepted the Republican nomination, believing that he was the only one who could unify the nation.[307] The Republicans advocated "equal civil and political rights to all" and African American enfranchisement.[308][309] The Democrats, having abandoned Johnson, nominated former governor Horatio Seymour of New York for president and Francis P. Blair of Missouri for vice president.[310] The Democrats opposed suffrage for African Americans and advocated the immediate restoration of former Confederate states to the Union and amnesty from "all past political offenses".[311] Grant played no overt role during the campaign and instead was joined by Sherman and Sheridan in a tour of the West that summer.[312] However, the Republicans adopted his words "Let us have peace" as their campaign slogan.[313] Grant's 1862 General Order No. 11 became an issue during the presidential campaign; he sought to distance himself from the order, saying "I have no prejudice against sect or race, but want each individual to be judged by his own merit."[314] The Democrats and their Klan supporters focused mainly on ending Reconstruction, intimidating blacks and Republicans, and returning control of the South to the white Democrats and the planter class, alienating War Democrats in the North.[315] An example was the murder of Republican Congressman James M. Hinds in Arkansas by a Klansman in October 1868, as Hinds campaigned for Grant. Grant won the popular vote by 300,000 votes out of 5,716,082 votes cast, receiving an Electoral College landslide of 214 votes to Seymour's 80.[316] Seymour received a majority of white voters, but Grant was aided by 500,000 votes cast by blacks,[310] winning him 52.7 percent of the popular vote.[317] He lost Louisiana and Georgia, primarily due to Ku Klux Klan violence against African-American voters.[318] At the age of 46, Grant was the youngest president yet elected, and the first president after the nation had outlawed slavery.[319] Presidency (1869–1877) Main article: Presidency of Ulysses S. Grant Photographic portrait of Grant   President U.S. Grant Photo by Mathew Brady, 1870 On March 4, 1869, Grant was sworn in as the eighteenth President of the United States by Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase. In his inaugural address, Grant urged the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment, while large numbers of African Americans attended his inauguration.[320] He also urged that bonds issued during the Civil War should be paid in gold and called for "proper treatment" of Native Americans and encouraged their "civilization and ultimate citizenship".[321] Grant's cabinet appointments sparked both criticism and approval.[322] He appointed Elihu B. Washburne Secretary of State and John A. Rawlins Secretary of War.[323] Washburne resigned, and Grant appointed him Minister to France. Grant then appointed former New York Senator Hamilton Fish Secretary of State.[323] Rawlins died in office, and Grant appointed William W. Belknap Secretary of War.[324] Grant appointed New York businessman Alexander T. Stewart Secretary of Treasury, but Stewart was found legally ineligible to hold office by a 1789 law.[325][x] Grant then appointed Massachusetts Representative George S. Boutwell Secretary of Treasury.[323] Philadelphia businessman Adolph E. Borie was appointed Secretary of Navy, but found the job stressful and resigned.[326][y] Grant then appointed New Jersey's attorney general, George M. Robeson, Secretary of Navy.[328] Former Ohio Governor Jacob D. Cox (Interior,) former Maryland Senator John Creswell (Postmaster-General,) and Ebenezer Rockwood Hoar (Attorney General) rounded out the cabinet.[329] Photograph of a crowd in front of Capitol building decorated with patriotic bunting Inauguration of President U.S. Grant, Capitol building steps. March 4, 1869 Grant nominated Sherman to succeed him as general-in-chief and gave him control over war bureau chiefs.[330] When Rawlins took over the War Department he complained to Grant that Sherman was given too much authority. Grant reluctantly revoked his own order, upsetting Sherman and damaging their wartime friendship. James Longstreet, a former Confederate general who had endorsed Grant's nomination, was nominated for the position of Surveyor of Customs of the port of New Orleans; this was met with general amazement, and seen as a genuine effort to unite the North and South.[331] In March 1872, Grant signed legislation that established Yellowstone National Park, the first national park.[332] Grant was sympathetic to women's rights; including support of female suffrage, saying he wanted "equal rights to all citizens".[333] To make up for his infamous General Order No. 11, Grant appointed more than fifty Jewish people to federal office, including consuls, district attorneys, and deputy postmasters.[334] He appointed Edward S. Salomon territorial governor of Washington, the first time an American Jewish man occupied a governor's seat. Grant was sympathetic to the plight of persecuted Jewish people. In November 1869, reports surfaced of the Russian Czar Alexander II punishing 2,000 Jewish families for smuggling by expelling them to the interior of the country. In response, Grant publicly supported the Jewish American B'nai B'rith petition against the Czar. In December 1869, Grant appointed a Jewish journalist as Consul to Romania, to protect Jewish people from "severe oppression".[334] In 1875, Grant proposed a constitutional amendment that limited religious indoctrination in public schools.[335] Instruction of "religious, atheistic, or pagan tenets", would be banned, while funding "for the benefit or in aid, directly or indirectly, of any religious sect or denomination", would be prohibited. Schools would be for all children "irrespective of sex, color, birthplace, or religions".[336] Grant's views were incorporated into the Blaine Amendment, but it was defeated by the Senate.[337] In October 1871, under the Morrill Act, Grant prosecuted hundreds of Utah Mormon polygamists, including Mormon leader Brigham Young.[338][339][340]: 301  Starting in March 1873, under the Comstock Act, Grant prosecuted, through the Postal Department, immoral and indecent pornographers, in addition to abortionists. To administer the prosecutions, Grant put in charge moral leader and reformer Anthony Comstock.[341] Grant era Reconstruction of South Main article: Reconstruction era Amos T. Akerman, appointed Attorney General by Grant, who vigorously prosecuted the Ku Klux Klan Grant was considered an effective civil rights president, concerned about the plight of African Americans.[342] On March 18, 1869, Grant signed into law equal rights for blacks, to serve on juries and hold office, in Washington D.C., and in 1870 he signed into law the Naturalization Act that gave foreign blacks citizenship.[342] During his first term, Reconstruction took precedence. Republicans controlled most Southern states, propped up by Republican-controlled Congress, northern money, and southern military occupation.[343][z] Grant advocated the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment that said states could not disenfranchise African Americans.[345] Within a year, the three remaining states—Mississippi, Virginia, and Texas—adopted the new amendment—and were admitted to Congress.[346] Grant put military pressure on Georgia to reinstate its black legislators and adopt the new amendment.[347] Georgia complied, and on February 24, 1871, its Senators were seated in Congress, with all the former Confederate states represented, the Union was completely restored under Grant.[348][aa] Under Grant, for the first time in American history, Black-American males served in the United States Congress, all from the Southern states.[350] In 1870, to enforce Reconstruction, Congress and Grant created the Justice Department that allowed the Attorney General and the new Solicitor General to prosecute the Klan.[351] Congress and Grant passed a series of three Enforcement Acts, designed to protect blacks and Reconstruction governments.[352][ab] Using the powers of the Enforcement Acts, Grant crushed the Ku Klux Klan.[354] By October, Grant suspended habeas corpus in part of South Carolina and sent federal troops to help marshals, who initiated prosecutions.[355] Grant's Attorney General, Amos T. Akerman, who replaced Hoar, was zealous to destroy the Klan.[356] Akerman and South Carolina's U.S. marshal arrested over 470 Klan members, while hundreds of Klansmen, including the wealthy leaders, fled the state.[357][ac] By 1872 the Klan's power had collapsed, and African Americans voted in record numbers in elections in the South.[359][ad] Attorney General George H. Williams, Akerman's replacement, in the Spring of 1873, suspended prosecutions of the Klan in North Carolina and South Carolina, but prior to the election of 1874, he changed course and prosecuted the Klan.[361][ae][af] Image of mobs rioting entitled "The Louisiana Outrage". White Leaguers at Liberty Place attacked the integrated police force and state militia, New Orleans, September 1874. Published October 1874 During Grant's second term, the North retreated from Reconstruction, while southern conservative whites called "Redeemers" formed armed groups, the Red Shirts and the White League, who openly used violence, intimidation, voter fraud, and racist appeals to overturn Republican rule.[365] Northern apathy toward blacks, the depressed economy and Grant's scandals made it politically difficult for the Grant administration to maintain support for Reconstruction. Power shifted when the House was taken over by the Democrats in the election of 1874.[366][ag] Grant ended the Brooks–Baxter War, bringing Reconstruction in Arkansas to a peaceful conclusion. He sent troops to New Orleans in the wake of the Colfax massacre and disputes over the election of Governor William Pitt Kellogg.[368] Grant recalled Sheridan and most of the federal troops from Louisiana.[369] By 1875, Redeemer Democrats had taken control of all but three Southern states. As violence against black Southerners escalated once more, Grant's Attorney General Edwards Pierrepont told Republican Governor Adelbert Ames of Mississippi that the people were "tired of the autumnal outbreaks in the South", and declined to intervene directly, instead of sending an emissary to negotiate a peaceful election.[370] Grant later regretted not issuing a proclamation to help Ames, having been told Republicans in Ohio would bolt the party if Grant intervened in Mississippi.[371] Grant told Congress in January 1875 he could not "see with indifference Union men or Republicans ostracized, persecuted, and murdered."[372] Congress refused to strengthen the laws against violence but instead passed a sweeping law to guarantee blacks access to public facilities.[373] Grant signed it as the Civil Rights Act of 1875, but there was little enforcement and the Supreme Court ruled the law unconstitutional in 1883.[374] In October 1876, Grant dispatched troops to South Carolina to keep Republican Governor Daniel Henry Chamberlain in office.[375] After Grant left office in 1877, the nation returned to compromise. Grant's Republican successor, President Rutherford B. Hayes, was conciliatory toward the South and favored "local control" of civil rights on the condition that Democrats make an honorary pledge to confirm the constitutional amendments that protected blacks.[376] During Republican negotiations with Democrats, that Grant took no direct part in, the Republicans received the White House for Hayes in return for ending enforcement of racial equality for blacks and removing federal troops from the last three states.[377] As promised, Hayes withdrew federal troops from South Carolina and Louisiana, which marked the end of Reconstruction.[378] Native American policy Main article: Native American policy of the Ulysses S. Grant administration Further information: American Indian Wars § West of the Mississippi (1811–1924), and Black Hills Land Claim Formal photographic portrait of a sitting mustached man Ely Samuel Parker Grant appointed Parker the first Native American (Seneca) Commissioner of Indian Affairs. When Grant took office in 1869, the nation's policy towards Native Americans was in chaos, affecting more than 250,000 Native Americans being governed by 370 treaties.[379] He appointed Ely S. Parker, a Seneca and member of his wartime staff, to serve as the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, the first Native American to serve in this position, surprising many around him.[380] Grant's religious faith also influenced his policy towards Native Americans, believing that the "Creator" did not place races of men on earth for the "stronger" to destroy the "weaker".[381] The overall objective of Grant's peace policy was to assimilate Indians into white culture, education, language, religion, clothing, and government.[382] In April 1869, Grant signed legislation establishing an unpaid Board of Indian Commissioners to reduce corruption and oversee implementation of what was called Grant's Indian "Peace" policy.[383][ah] In 1871, Grant ended the sovereign tribal treaty system; by law individual Native Americans were deemed wards of the federal government.[385][ai] Grant's Indian policy was undermined by Parker's resignation in 1871, denominational infighting among Grant's chosen religious agents, and entrenched economic interests.[386] Indian wars declined overall during Grant's first term, while on October 1, 1872, Major General Oliver Otis Howard negotiated peace with the Apache leader Cochise.[387] During his second term, Grant's Indian policy fell apart.[388] On April 11, 1873, Major General Edward Canby was killed in Northern California south of Tule Lake by Modoc leader Kintpuash, in a failed peace conference to end the Modoc War.[389] Grant ordered restraint after Canby's death. The army captured Kintpuash, who was convicted of Canby's murder and hanged on October 3 at Fort Klamath, while the remaining Modoc tribe was relocated to the Indian Territory.[389] In 1874, the army defeated the Comanche at the Battle of Palo Duro Canyon, forcing them to finally settle at the Fort Sill reservation in 1875.[390] Grant pocket-vetoed a bill in 1874 protecting bison, and instead supported Interior Secretary Columbus Delano, who correctly believed the killing of bison would force Plains Native Americans to abandon their nomadic lifestyle.[391][aj] Great Sioux War Further information: Black Hills Gold Rush, Great Sioux War, and Battle of the Little Big Horn Battle of the Little Big Horn Great Sioux War Published 1889 With the lure of gold discovered in the Black Hills and the westward force of Manifest Destiny, white settlers trespassed on Sioux protected lands, used for religious and marital ceremonies. Red Cloud reluctantly entered negotiations on May 26, 1875, but other Sioux chiefs readied for war.[393] Grant told the Sioux leaders to make "arrangements to allow white persons to go into the Black Hills." Antagonistic toward Native American culture, Grant told them their children would attend schools, speak English, and prepare "for the life of white men."[382] On November 3, 1875, Grant held a meeting at the White House and, under advice from Sheridan, agreed not to enforce keeping out miners from the Black Hills, forcing Native Americans onto the Sioux reservation.[394] Sheridan told Grant that the U.S. Army was undermanned and the territory involved was vast, requiring great numbers of soldiers to enforce the treaty.[395] During the Great Sioux War that started after Sitting Bull refused to relocate to agency land, warriors led by Crazy Horse killed George Armstrong Custer and his men at the Battle of the Little Big Horn. The slaughter took place during the Centennial, and the Indian victory was announced to the nation on July 4, while angry white settlers demanded retribution. Grant castigated Custer in the press, saying "I regard Custer's massacre as a sacrifice of troops, brought on by Custer himself, that was wholly unnecessary—wholly unnecessary."[396] Previously, Custer had infuriated Grant when he testified against Grant's brother Orville during a House investigation into trading post graft on March 1, 1876.[397] In September and October 1876, Grant persuaded the tribes to relinquish the Black Hills. Congress ratified the agreement three days before Grant left office in 1877.[398][ak][al] Foreign affairs Formal photographic portrait of bearded man Secretary of State Hamilton Fish and Grant successfully settled the Alabama Claims by treaty and arbitration. Grant had limited foreign policy experience and relied heavily on Secretary of State Hamilton Fish. Grant and Fish had a quiet respectful friendship. There were no foreign-policy disasters and no wars to engage in. Besides Grant himself, the main players in foreign affairs were Secretary Fish and the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Charles Sumner. They had to cooperate to get a treaty ratified. Sumner, who hated Grant, led the opposition to Grant's plan to annex Santo Domingo. Sumner previously had hypocritically fully supported the annexation of Alaska. [402] In 1871, a U.S. expedition to Korea failed to open up trade and ended with an American military victory at the battle of Ganghwa-do.[403] Treaty of Washington (1871) Main article: Treaty of Washington (1871) The most pressing diplomatic problem in 1869 was the settlement of the Alabama claims, depredations caused to the Union by the Confederate warship CSS Alabama, built in a British shipyard in violation of neutrality rules.[404] Secretary Hamilton Fish played the central role in formulating and implementing the Treaty of Washington and the Geneva arbitration (1872).[405] Senator Charles Sumner, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee led the demand for reparations, with talk of British Columbia as payment.[406] Fish and Treasurer George Boutwell convinced Grant that peaceful relations with Britain were essential, and the two nations agreed to negotiate along those lines.[407] To avoid jeopardizing negotiations, Grant refrained from recognizing Cuban rebels who were fighting for independence from Spain, which would have been inconsistent with American objections to the British granting belligerent status to Confederates.[408][am] A commission in Washington produced a treaty whereby an international tribunal would settle the damage amounts; the British admitted regret, but not fault.[409][an] The Senate, including Grant critics Sumner and Carl Schurz, approved the Treaty of Washington, which settled disputes over fishing rights and maritime boundaries, by a 50–12 vote, signed on May 8, 1871.[411] The Alabama claims settlement would be Grant's most successful foreign policy achievement that secured peace with Great Britain and the United States.[412] The settlement ($15,500,000) of the Alabama Claims resolved troubled Anglo-American issues, ended the bullied demand to take over Canada, and turned Britain into America's strongest ally.[413] Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) Main article: Annexation of Santo Domingo Wharf of Santo Domingo City Dominican Republic In 1869, Grant initiated his plan, later to become an obsession, to annex the Dominican Republic, then called Santo Domingo.[414] Grant believed acquisition of the Caribbean island and Samaná Bay would increase the United States' natural resources, and strengthen U.S. naval protection to enforce the Monroe Doctrine, safeguard against British obstruction of U.S. shipping and protect a future oceanic canal, stop slavery in Cuba and Brazil, while blacks in the United States would have a safe haven from "the crime of Klu Kluxism".[415] Joseph W. Fabens, an American speculator who represented Buenaventura Báez, the president of the Dominican Republic, met with Secretary Fish and proposed annexation,[416] whose island inhabitants sought American protection.[417] Fish wanted nothing to do with the island, but he dutifully brought up Faben's proposal to Grant at a cabinet meeting.[418] On July 17, Grant sent his military White House aide Orville E. Babcock to evaluate the islands' resources, local conditions, and Báez's terms for annexation, but was given no diplomatic authority.[419] When Babcock returned to Washington with two unauthorized annexation treaties, Grant, however, approved and pressured his cabinet to accept them.[420][ao] Grant ordered Fish to draw up formal treaties, sent to Báez by Babcock's return to the island nation. The Dominican Republic would be annexed for $1.5 million and Samaná Bay would be lease-purchased for $2 million. General D.B. Sackett and General Rufus Ingalls accompanied Babcock.[422] On November 29, President Báez signed the treaties. On December 21, the treaties were placed before Grant and his cabinet.[423] Dominican Republic Grant's grand plan to annex Santo Domingo, a black and mixed-race nation, into the United States, however, would be hostilely obstructed by Senator Charles Sumner.[424] On December 31, Grant met with Sumner, unannounced, at Sumner's Washington D.C. home to gain his support for annexation. Grant left confident Sumner approved, but what Sumner actually said was controversially disputed, by various witnesses. Without appealing to the American public, to his detriment, Grant submitted the treaties on January 10, 1870, to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, chaired by the stubborn and imperious Sumner, for ratification, but Sumner purposefully shelved the bills.[425] Prompted by Grant to stop stalling the treaties, Sumner's committee took action but rejected the bills by a 5-to-2 vote. Sumner opposed annexation and reportedly said the Dominicans were "a turbulent, treacherous race" in a closed session of the Senate.[426] Sumner sent the treaties for a full Senate vote, while Grant personally lobbied other senators. Despite Grant's efforts, the Senate defeated the treaties, on Thursday, June 30, by a 28–28 vote when a 2/3 majority was required.[427] Grant was outraged, and on Friday, July 1, 1870, he sacked his appointed Minister to Great Britain, John Lothrop Motley, Sumner's close friend and ally. [428] In January 1871, Grant signed a joint resolution to send a commission to investigate annexation.[429] For this undertaking, he chose three neutral parties, with Fredrick Douglass to be secretary of the commission, that gave Grant the moral high ground from Sumner.[430] Although the commission approved its findings, the Senate remained opposed, forcing Grant to abandon further efforts.[431] Seeking retribution, in March 1871, Grant maneuvered to have Sumner deposed of Sumner's powerful Senate chairmanship, replaced by Grant ally Simon Cameron.[432] The stinging controversy over Santo Domingo overshadowed Grant's foreign diplomacy.[412] Critics complained of Grant's reliance on military personnel to implement his policies.[422] Cuba and Virginius Affair American Captain Frye and his crew were executed by Spanish authority. Main article: Virginius Affair American policy was to remain neutral during the Ten Years' War (1868–78), a series of long bloody revolts that were taking place in Cuba against Spanish rule. The U.S. refused to recognize the belligerence of the rebels, and in effect endorsed Spanish colonial rule there, while calling for the abolition of slavery in Cuba.[433] This policy was shaken in October 1873, when a Spanish cruiser captured a merchant ship, Virginius, flying the U.S. flag, carrying supplies and men to aid the insurrection. Treated as pirates, without trial, Spanish authorities executed a total of 53 prisoners, including eight American citizens. American Captain Joseph Frye was executed and his crew was executed and decapitated, while their lifeless bodies were mutilated, trampled by horses. Many enraged Americans protested and called for war with Spain. Grant ordered U.S. Navy Squadron warships to converge on Cuba, off of Key West, supported by the USS Kansas. On November 27, Fish reached a diplomatic resolution in which Spain's president, Emilio Castelar y Ripoll, expressed his regret, surrendered the Virginius and the surviving captives. A year later, Spain paid a cash indemnity of $80,000 to the families of the executed Americans.[434][435] Free trade with Hawaii reception line King Kalākaua of Hawaii meets President Grant at the White House on his state visit, 1874. Published January 2, 1875 In the face of strong opposition from Democrats, Grant and Fish secured a free trade treaty in 1875 with the Kingdom of Hawaii, incorporating the Pacific islands' sugar industry into the United States' economic sphere.[436] The Southern Democrats, wanting to protect American rice and sugar producers, tried to squash a bill to implement the Hawaiian treaty. The Democrats, in opposition, because the treaty was believed to be an island annexation attempt, referred to the Hawaiians as an "inferior" non-white race. Despite opposition, the implementation bill passed Congress.[436] Gold standard and conspiracy Further information: Black Friday (1869) Soon after taking office, Grant took conservative steps to return the nation's currency to a more secure footing.[408] During the Civil War, Congress had authorized the Treasury to issue banknotes that, unlike the rest of the currency, were not backed by gold or silver. The "greenback" notes, as they were known, were necessary to pay the unprecedented war debts, but they also caused inflation and forced gold-backed money out of circulation; Grant was determined to return the national economy to pre-war monetary standards.[437] On March 18, 1869, he signed the Public Credit Act of 1869 that guaranteed bondholders would be repaid in "coin or its equivalent", while greenbacks would gradually be redeemed by the Treasury and replaced by notes backed by specie. The act committed the government to the full return of the gold standard within ten years.[438] This followed a policy of "hard currency, economy and gradual reduction of the national debt." Grant's own ideas about the economy were simple, and he relied on the advice of wealthy and financially successful businessmen that he courted.[408] Secretary of Treasury George S. Boutwell aided Grant to defeat the Gold Ring. During Grant's first year in office American greed was insatiable. In April 1869, two railroad tycoons Jay Gould and Jim Fisk conspired an outrageous secret plot to corner the gold market in New York, the nation's financial capital.[439] They both controlled the Erie Railroad, and a high price of gold would allow foreign agriculture buyers to purchase exported crops, shipped east over the Erie's routes.[440] Boutwell's bi-weekly policy of selling gold from the Treasury, however, kept gold artificially low.[441] Unable to corrupt Boutwell, the two schemers built a relationship with Grant's brother-in-law, Abel Corbin, and gained access to Grant.[442] Gould bribed Assistant Treasurer Daniel Butterfield $10,000 to gain insider information into the Treasury.[443][ap][aq] Gould and Fisk personally lobbied Grant onboard their private yacht from New York to Boston, in mid-June 1869 to influence Grant's gold policy.[445][ar] In July, Grant reduced the sale of Treasury gold to $2,000,000 per month and subsequent months.[446] Fisk played a role in August in New York, having a letter from Gould, he told Grant his gold policy would destroy the nation.[447] By September, Grant, who was naive in matters of finance, was convinced that a low gold price would help farmers, and the sale of gold for September was not increased.[448] On September 23, when the gold price reached 143+1⁄8, Boutwell rushed to the White House and talked with Grant.[449] The following day, September 24, known as Black Friday, Grant ordered Boutwell to sell, whereupon Boutwell wired Butterfield in New York, to sell $4,000,000 in gold.[450] The bull market at Gould's Gold Room collapsed, the price of gold plummeted from 160 to 133+1⁄3, a bear market panic ensued, Gould and Fisk fled for their own safety, while severe economic damages lasted months.[451] By January 1870, the economy resumed its post-war recovery.[452][as] Election of 1872 and second term Main article: 1872 United States presidential election A Thomas Nast cartoon depicting Grant steering a ship and being challenged by opponents during the presidential election of 1872. Cartoon by Thomas Nast on Grant's opponents in the reelection campaign Grant's first administration was mixed with both success and failure.[454] In 1871, to placate reformers, he created the America's first Civil Service Commission, chaired by reformer George William Curtis.[455] The Liberal Republicans, composed of reformers, men who supported low tariffs, and those who opposed Grant's prosecution of the Klan, broke from Grant and the Republican Party.[456] The Liberals, who personally disliked Grant, detested his alliance with Senator Simon Cameron and Senator Roscoe Conkling, considered to be spoilsmen politicians.[457] In 1872, the Liberals nominated Horace Greeley, a leading Republican New York Tribune editor and a fierce enemy of Grant, for president, and Missouri governor B. Gratz Brown, for vice president.[458] The Liberals denounced Grantism, corruption, nepotism, and inefficiency, demanded the withdrawal of federal troops from the South, literacy tests for blacks to vote, and amnesty for Confederates.[459] The Democrats adopted the Greeley-Brown ticket and the Liberals party platform.[460][at] Greeley, whose Tribune gave him wider name recognition and a louder campaign voice, pushed the themes that the Grant administration was failed and corrupt.[462] The Republicans nominated Grant for reelection, with Senator Henry Wilson of Massachusetts replacing Colfax as the vice presidential nominee.[463][au] The Republicans shrewdly borrowed from the Liberals party platform including "extended amnesty, lowered tariffs, and embraced civil service reform."[465] Grant lowered customs duties, gave amnesty to former Confederates, and implemented a civil service merit system, neutralizing the opposition.[466] To placate the burgeoning suffragist movement, the Republicans' platform mentioned women's rights would be treated with "respectful consideration."[467] Concerning Southern policy, Greeley advocated local government control be given to whites, while Grant advocated federal protection of blacks.[468] Grant was supported by Frederick Douglass, prominent abolitionists, and Indian reformers.[469] Grant won reelection easily thanks to federal prosecution of the Klan, a strong economy, debt reduction, lowered tariffs, and tax reductions.[470] He received 3.6 million (55.6%) votes to Greeley's 2.8 million votes and an Electoral College landslide of 286 to 66.[471][av] A majority of African Americans in the South voted for Grant, while Democratic opposition remained mostly peaceful.[474] Grant lost in six former slave states that wanted to see an end to Reconstruction.[475] He proclaimed the victory as a personal vindication of his presidency, but inwardly he felt betrayed by the Liberals.[476] Grant was sworn in for his second term by Salmon P. Chase on March 4, 1873. In his second inaugural address, he reiterated the problems still facing the nation and focused on what he considered the chief issues of the day: freedom and fairness for all Americans while emphasizing the benefits of citizenship for freed slaves. Grant concluded his address with the words, "My efforts in the future will be directed towards the restoration of good feelings between the different sections of our common community".[477][aw] In 1873, Wilson suffered a stroke; never fully recovering, he died in office on November 22, 1875.[479][ax] With Wilson's loss, Grant relied on Fish's guidance more than ever.[481] Panic of 1873 and loss of House Grant continued to work for a strong dollar, signing into law the Coinage Act of 1873, which effectively ended the legal basis for bimetallism (the use of both silver and gold as money), establishing the gold standard in practice.[482][ay] The Coinage Act discontinued the standard silver dollar and established the gold dollar as the sole monetary standard; because the gold supply did not increase as quickly as the population, the result was deflation. Silverites, who wanted more money in circulation to raise the prices that farmers received, denounced the move as the "Crime of 1873", claiming the deflation made debts more burdensome for farmers.[484] A cartoon depicting Grant after vetoing the Inflation bill. Grant is congratulated for vetoing the "inflation bill" in 1874. Economic turmoil renewed during Grant's second term. In September 1873, Jay Cooke & Company, a New York brokerage house, collapsed after it failed to sell all of the bonds issued by Cooke's Northern Pacific Railway. The collapse rippled through Wall Street, and other banks and brokerages that owned railroad stocks and bonds were also ruined.[485] On September 20, the New York Stock Exchange suspended trading for ten days.[486] Grant, who knew little about finance, traveled to New York to consult leading businessmen and bankers for advice on how to resolve the crisis, which became known as the Panic of 1873.[487] Grant believed that, as with the collapse of the Gold Ring in 1869, the panic was merely an economic fluctuation that affected bankers and brokers.[488] He instructed the Treasury to buy $10 million in government bonds, injecting cash into the system. The purchases curbed the panic on Wall Street, but an industrial depression, later called the Long Depression, nonetheless swept the nation.[487] Many of the nation's railroads—89 out of 364—went bankrupt.[489] Congress hoped inflation would stimulate the economy and passed The Ferry Bill, which became known as the "Inflation Bill" in 1874.[490] Many farmers and workingmen favored the bill, which would have added $64 million in greenbacks to circulation, but some Eastern bankers opposed it because it would have weakened the dollar.[491] Belknap, Williams, and Delano[az] told Grant a veto would hurt Republicans in the November elections. Grant believed the bill would destroy the credit of the nation, and he vetoed it despite their objections. Grant's veto placed him in the conservative faction of the Republican Party and was the beginning of the party's commitment to a gold-backed dollar.[493] Grant later pressured Congress for a bill to further strengthen the dollar by gradually reducing the number of greenbacks in circulation. When the Democrats gained a majority in the House after the 1874 elections, the lame-duck Republican Congress did so before the Democrats took office.[494] On January 14, 1875, Grant signed the Specie Payment Resumption Act, which required gradual reduction of the number of greenbacks allowed to circulate and declared that they would be redeemed for gold beginning on January 1, 1879.[495][ba] Scandals and reforms Further information: Ulysses S. Grant presidential administration scandals, Ulysses S. Grant presidential administration reforms, and Gilded Age The post-Civil War economy brought on massive industrial wealth and government expansion. Speculation, lifestyle extravagance, and corruption in federal offices were rampant.[497] All of Grant's executive departments were investigated by Congress.[498] Grant by nature was honest, trusting, gullible, and extremely loyal to his chosen friends. His responses to malfeasance were mixed, at times appointing cabinet reformers, but also at times defending culprits.[499] Cartoonist Thomas Nast praises Grant for rejecting demands by Pennsylvania politicians to suspend civil service rules. Grant in his first term appointed Secretary of Interior Jacob D. Cox, who implemented civil service reform: he fired unqualified clerks, and took other measures.[500] On October 3, 1870, Cox resigned office under a dispute with Grant over handling of a mining claim.[501][bb] Authorized by Congress on March 3, 1871, Grant created and appointed the first Civil Service Commission.[503] Grant's Commission created rules for competitive exams, the end of mandatory political assessments, classifying positions into grades, and appointees were chosen from the top three performing federal applicants.[504] The rules took effect on January 1, 1872, but Department heads, and others were exempted.[505][bc][bd] Grant, more than any previous president, elevated the federal civil service, but his critics refused to acknowledge this.[505] In November 1871, Grant's appointed New York Collector, and Conkling ally, Thomas Murphy, resigned. Grant replaced Murphy with another Conkling ally, Chester A. Arthur, who implemented Boutwell's reforms.[508] A Senate committee investigated the New York Customs House from January 3, 1872, to June 4, 1872. This led to Grant firing warehouse owner George K. Leet, for charging exorbitant freight fees and splitting the profits.[509] Grant ordered prosecutions in New York by Attorney General George H. Williams and Secretary of Treasury Boutwell of persons accepting and paying for bribes.[510] Although exonerated, Grant was derided for his association with Conkling's New York patronage machine.[511] On March 3, 1873, Grant signed into law an appropriation act that increased pay for federal employees, Congress, the Judiciary, and the President.[512] Grant's annual salary doubled from $25,000 to $50,000. Publicly derided, the law was partially repealled, but Grant kept his much needed pay raise.[513] Grant's personal reputation remained intact.[514] In 1872, Grant signed into law an act that ended private moiety (tax collection) contracts, but an attached rider allowed three more contracts.[515] Boutwell's assistant secretary William A. Richardson, hired John B. Sanborn to go after "individuals and cooperations" who allegedly evaded taxes. Retained by Richardson (as Secretary), Sanborn aggressively collected $427,000 in supposed delinquent taxes, keeping half for himself, splitting $160,000 of his money with others.[516] During an 1874 Congressional investigation, Richardson denied involvement, but Sanborn said he met with Richardson six times over the contracts.[517] Congress severely condemned Richardson's permissive manner. Grant appointed Richardson judge of the Court of Claims, and replaced him with reformer Benjamin Bristow.[518] In June, Grant and Congress abolished the moiety system.[519] Bristow effectively cleaned house, tightened up the Treasury's investigation force, implemented civil service, and fired hundreds of corrupt appointees.[520] Bristow discovered Treasury receipts were low, and launched an investigation that uncovered the notorious Whiskey Ring, that involved collusion between distillers and Treasury officials to evade paying the Treasury millions in tax revenues.[521] Much of this money was being pocketed while some of it went into Republican coffers.[522] In mid-April, Bristow informed Grant of the ring. On May 10, Bristow struck hard and broke the ring.[523] Federal marshals raided 32 installations nationwide and arrested 350 men; 176 indictments were obtained, leading to 110 convictions and $3,150,000 in fines returned to the Treasury.[524] "Uncle Sam" cartoon tapping a Louisville whiskey barrel, captioned "probe away" Harper's Weekly cartoon on Bristow's Whiskey Ring investigation Grant appointed David Dyer, under Bristow's recommendation, federal attorney to prosecute the Ring in St. Louis, who indicted Grant's old friend General John McDonald, supervisor of Internal Revenue.[525] Grant endorsed Bristow's investigation writing on a letter "Let no guilty man escape..."[526] Bristow's investigation discovered Babcock received kickback payments, and that Babcock had secretly forewarned McDonald, the ring's mastermind boss, of the coming investigation.[527] On November 22, the jury convicted McDonald.[528] On December 9, Babcock was indicted, however, Grant refused to believe in Babcock's guilt, was ready to testify in Babcock's favor, but Fish warned that doing so would put Grant in the embarrassing position of testifying against a case prosecuted by his own administration.[529] Instead, Grant remained in Washington and on February 12, 1876, gave a deposition in Babcock's defense, expressing that his confidence in his secretary was "unshaken".[530] Grant's testimony silenced all but his strongest critics.[531] The St. Louis jury acquitted Babcock, but there was enough evidence revealed that Grant reluctantly dismissed him from the White House, although Babcock kept his position of Superintendent of Public Buildings in Washington.[532][be] The Interior Department under Secretary Columbus Delano, whom Grant appointed to replace Cox, was rife with fraud and corruption, with the exception of Delano's effective oversight of Yellowstone, and Delano was forced to resign. Surveyor General Silas Reed had set up corrupt contracts that benefited Delano's son, John Delano.[534] Grant's Secretary Interior Zachariah Chandler, who succeeded Delano in 1875, implemented reforms, fired corrupt agents and ended profiteering.[535] When Grant was informed by Postmaster Marshall Jewell of a potential Congressional investigation into an extortion scandal involving Attorney General George H. Williams' wife, Grant fired Williams and appointed reformer Edwards Pierrepont in his place. Grant's new cabinet appointments temporarily appeased reformers.[536] After the Democrats took control of the House in 1875, more corruption in federal departments was exposed.[537] Among the most damaging scandal involved Secretary of War William W. Belknap, who took quarterly kickbacks from the Fort Sill tradership, which led to his resignation in February 1876.[538] Belknap was impeached by the House but was acquitted by the Senate.[539] Grant's own brother Orvil set up "silent partnerships" and received kickbacks from four trading posts.[540] Congress discovered that Secretary of Navy Robeson had been bribed by a naval contractor, but no articles of impeachment were drawn up.[541] In his December 5, 1876, Eighth Annual Message, Grant apologized to the nation and admitted mistakes were made: "Failures have been errors of judgement, not of intent."[542] Election of 1876 Main article: 1876 United States presidential election The abandonment of Reconstruction by the nation played a central role during the Election of 1876.[543] Mounting investigations into corruption by the House, controlled by the Democrats, politically discredited Grant's presidency.[544] Grant, by a public letter in 1875, chose not to run for a third term, while the Republicans chose Governor Rutherford B. Hayes of Ohio, a reformer, at their convention.[545] The Democrats nominated Governor Samuel J. Tilden of New York. Voting irregularities in three Southern states caused the election that year to remain undecided for several months.[546] Grant told Congress to settle the matter through legislation and assured both sides that he would not use the army to force a result, except to curb violence. On January 29, 1877, he signed legislation forming an Electoral Commission to decide the matter.[547] Hayes was ruled President by the commission; to forestall Democratic protests, Republicans agreed to the Compromise of 1877, in which the last troops were withdrawn from Southern capitals. With Reconstruction dead, an 80-year era of Jim Crow segregation was launched.[548] Grant's "calm visage" throughout the election crisis appeased the nation.[549] To the chagrin of Grant, President Hayes appointed Reconstruction critics, including Liberal Republican icon Carl Schurz to Secretary of Interior.[550] Post-presidency (1877–1885) Main article: Post-presidency of Ulysses S. Grant After leaving the White House, Grant said he "was never so happy in my life". The Grants left Washington for New York, to attend the birth of their daughter Nellie's child, staying at Hamilton Fish's residence. Calling themselves "waifs", the Grants toured Cincinnati, St. Louis, Chicago, and Galena, without a clear idea of where they would live afterward.[551] World tour and diplomacy Main article: World tour of Ulysses S. Grant Grant and Bismarck in 1878 For some years Grant had entertained the idea of taking a long-deserved vacation after his presidency and, after liquidating one of his investments to finance the venture, the Grants set out on a world tour that lasted approximately two and a half years.[552] Grant's voyage abroad was funded by a Nevada-based mining company investment he made that earned him $25,000.[553] (~ $600,000 in 2019 dollars)[554] Preparing for the tour, they arrived in Philadelphia on May 10, 1877, and were honored with celebrations during the week before their departure. On May 16, Grant and Julia left for England aboard the SS Indiana.[555] During the tour the Grants made stops in Europe, Africa, India, and points in the Middle East and Far East, meeting with notable dignitaries such as Queen Victoria, Pope Leo XIII, Otto von Bismarck, Li Hongzhang, Emperor Meiji and others. Grant was the first U.S. president to visit Jerusalem and the Holy Land.[556] As a courtesy to Grant by the Hayes administration, his touring party received federal transportation on three U.S. Navy ships: a five-month tour of the Mediterranean on the USS Vandalia, travel from Hong Kong to China on the USS Ashuelot, and transportation from China to Japan on the USS Richmond.[557] During the tour, the Hayes administration encouraged Grant to assume a public unofficial diplomatic role to represent the United States and strengthen American interests abroad, while resolving issues for some countries in the process.[558] Homesick, the Grants left Japan sailing on the SS City of Tokio escorted by a Japanese man-of-war, crossed the Pacific and landed in San Francisco on September 20, 1879, greeted by cheering crowds.[559] Before returning home to Philadelphia, Grant stopped at Chicago for a reunion with General Sherman and the Army of the Tennessee.[560] Grant's tour demonstrated to Europe and Asia that the United States was an emerging world power.[561] Third term attempt Main article: 1880 Republican National Convention Grant, shown in a cartoon as an acrobat hanging from rings, holding up multiple politician/acrobats Cartoonist Joseph Keppler lampooned Grant and his associates. Grant's prosecutions of the Whiskey Ring and the Klan were ignored. Puck, 1880 Stalwarts, led by Grant's old political ally, Roscoe Conkling, saw Grant's renewed popularity as an opportunity to regain power, and sought to nominate him for the presidency in 1880. Opponents called it a violation of the unofficial two-term rule in use since George Washington. Grant said nothing publicly but wanted the job and encouraged his men.[562] Washburne urged him to run; Grant demurred, saying he would be happy for the Republicans to win with another candidate, though he preferred James G. Blaine to John Sherman. Even so, Conkling and John A. Logan began to organize delegates in Grant's favor. When the convention convened in Chicago in June, there were more delegates pledged to Grant than to any other candidate, but he was still short of a majority vote to get the nomination.[563] At the convention, Conkling nominated Grant with an eloquent speech, the most famous line being: "When asked which state he hails from, our sole reply shall be, he hails from Appomattox and its famous apple tree."[563] With 370 votes needed for the nomination, the first ballot had Grant at 304, Blaine at 284, Sherman at 93, and the rest to minor candidates.[564] Subsequent ballots followed, with roughly the same result; neither Grant nor Blaine could win. After thirty-six ballots, Blaine's delegates deserted him and combined with those of other candidates to nominate a compromise candidate: Representative and former Union general James A. Garfield of Ohio.[565] A procedural motion made the vote unanimous for Garfield, who accepted the nomination.[566] Grant gave speeches for Garfield but declined to criticize the Democratic nominee, Winfield Scott Hancock, a general who had served under him in the Army of the Potomac.[567] Garfield won the election. Grant gave Garfield his public support and pushed him to include Stalwarts in his administration.[568] On July 2, 1881, Garfield was shot by an assassin and died on September 19. On learning of Garfield's death from a reporter, Grant wept bitterly.[569] Business failures In the 19th century, there were no federal presidential pensions, and the Grants' personal income was limited to $6,000 a year.[570] Grant's world tour had been costly, and he had depleted most of his savings, while he needed to earn money and find a new home.[571] Wealthy friends bought him a house on Manhattan's Upper East Side, and to make an income, Grant, Jay Gould, and former Mexican Finance Secretary Matías Romero chartered the Mexican Southern Railroad, with plans to build a railroad from Oaxaca to Mexico City. Grant urged Chester A. Arthur, who had succeeded Garfield as president in 1881, to negotiate a free trade treaty with Mexico. Arthur and the Mexican government agreed, but the United States Senate rejected the treaty in 1883. The railroad was similarly unsuccessful, falling into bankruptcy the following year.[572] At the same time, Grant's son Buck had opened a Wall Street brokerage house with Ferdinand Ward—although a conniving man who swindled numerous wealthy men, Ward was at the time regarded as a rising star on Wall Street. The firm, Grant & Ward, was initially successful.[573] In 1883, Grant joined the firm and invested $100,000 of his own money.[574] Grant, however, warned Ward that if his firm engaged in government business he would dissolve their partnership.[575] To encourage investment, Ward paid investors abnormally high interest, by pledging the company's securities on multiple loans in a process called rehypothecation.[576] Ward, in collusion with banker James D. Fish and kept secret from bank examiners, retrieved the firm's securities from the company's bank vault.[577] When the trades went bad, multiple loans came due, all backed up by the same collateral. Historians agree that Grant was likely unaware of Ward's intentions, but it is unclear how much Buck Grant knew. In May 1884, enough investments went bad to convince Ward that the firm would soon be bankrupt. Ward, who assumed Grant was "a child in business matters,"[578] told him of the impending failure, but assured Grant that this was a temporary shortfall.[579] Grant approached businessman William Henry Vanderbilt, who gave him a personal loan of $150,000.[580] Grant invested the money in the firm, but it was not enough to save it from failure. Essentially penniless, but compelled by a sense of personal honor, he repaid what he could with his Civil War mementos and the sale or transfer of all other assets.[581] Vanderbilt took title to Grant's home, although he allowed the Grants to continue to reside there, and pledged to donate the souvenirs to the federal government and insisted the debt had been paid in full.[582] Grant was distraught over Ward's deception and asked privately how he could ever "trust any human being again."[583] In March 1885, as his health was failing, he testified against both Ward and Fish.[584] Ward was convicted of fraud in October 1885, months after Grant's death, and served six and a half years in prison.[585] After the collapse of Grant & Ward, there was an outpouring of sympathy for Grant.[586] Memoirs, military pension, and death Grant sitting in a porch chair wrapped in blankets Grant worked on his memoirs in June 1885, less than a month before his death. Howe, June 27, 1885 Drawing of a steam engine and train approaching station with an honor guard at attention Grant's funeral train at West Point, bound for New York City Throughout his career, Grant repeatedly told highly detailed stories of his military experiences, often making slight mistakes in terms of dates and locations. As a poor hardscrabble farmer in St. Louis just before the war, he kept his neighbors spellbound till midnight "listening intently to his vivid narrations of Army experiences."[587] In calm moments during the Civil War, he often spoke of his recent experiences, typically "in terse and often eloquent language."[588] Grant's interpretations changed—in his letters written during the Mexican War period, there is no criticism of the war. By contrast his Memoirs are highly critical of the political aspects, condemning the war as unwarranted aggression by the United States. Grant told and retold his war stories so many times that writing his Memoirs was more a matter of repetition and polish rather than trying to recall his memories for the first time.[589][bf] In the summer of 1884, Grant complained of a sore throat but put off seeing a doctor until late October, when he learned it was cancer, possibly caused by his frequent cigar smoking.[591][bg] Grant chose not to reveal the seriousness of his condition to his wife, who soon found out from Grant's doctor.[593] Before being diagnosed, Grant attended a Methodist service for Civil War veterans in Ocean Grove, New Jersey, on August 4, 1884, receiving a standing ovation from more than ten thousand veterans and others; it would be his last public appearance.[594] In March of the following year, The New York Times announced that Grant was dying of cancer, and a nationwide public concern for the former president began.[595] Knowing of Grant and Julia's financial difficulties, Congress sought to honor him and restored him to the rank of General of the Army with full retirement pay—Grant's assumption of the presidency in 1869 had required that he resign his commission and forfeit his (and his widow's) pension.[596] Grant was nearly broke and worried constantly about leaving his wife a suitable amount of money to live on. The Century Magazine offered Grant a book contract with a 10 percent royalty, but Grant's friend Mark Twain, understanding how bad Grant's financial condition was, made him an offer for his memoirs which paid an unheard-of 70 percent royalty.[597] To provide for his family, Grant worked intensely on his memoirs at his home in New York City. His former staff member Adam Badeau assisted him with much of the research, while his son Frederick located documents and did much of the fact-checking.[598] Because of the summer heat and humidity, his doctors recommended that he move upstate to a cottage at the top of Mount McGregor, offered by a family friend.[599] Grant finished his memoir and died only a few days later.[600] Grant's memoirs treat his early life and time in the Mexican–American War briefly and are inclusive of his life up to the end of the Civil War.[601] The Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant was a critical and commercial success. Julia Grant received about $450,000 in royalties (equivalent to $13,000,000 in 2020).[602] The memoir has been highly regarded by the public, military historians, and literary critics.[603] Grant portrayed himself in the persona of the honorable Western hero, whose strength lies in his honesty and straightforwardness. He candidly depicted his battles against both the Confederates and internal army foes.[604][bh] After a year-long struggle with throat cancer, surrounded by his family, Grant died at 8:08 a.m. in the Mount McGregor cottage on July 23, 1885, at the age of 63.[606] Sheridan, then Commanding General of the Army, ordered a day-long tribute to Grant on all military posts, and President Grover Cleveland ordered a thirty-day nationwide period of mourning. After private services, the honor guard placed Grant's body on a special funeral train, which traveled to West Point and New York City. A quarter of a million people viewed it in the two days before the funeral. Tens of thousands of men, many of them veterans from the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), marched with Grant's casket drawn by two dozen black stallions[607] to Riverside Park in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Upper Manhattan. His pallbearers included Union generals Sherman and Sheridan, Confederate generals Simon Bolivar Buckner and Joseph E. Johnston, Admiral David Dixon Porter, and Senator John A. Logan, the head of the GAR.[608] Following the casket in the seven-mile-long (11 km) procession were President Cleveland, the two living former presidents Hayes and Arthur, all of the President's Cabinet, as well as the justices of the Supreme Court.[609] Attendance at the New York funeral topped 1.5 million.[608] Ceremonies were held in other major cities around the country, while Grant was eulogized in the press and likened to George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.[610] Grant's body was laid to rest in Riverside Park, first in a temporary tomb, and then—twelve years later, on April 17, 1897—in the General Grant National Memorial, also known as "Grant's Tomb", the largest mausoleum in North America.[608] Historical reputation Further information: Historical reputation of Ulysses S. Grant and Historical rankings of presidents of the United States    Commanding General Grant Constant Mayer's portrait of 1866 Grant was hailed across the North as the winning general in the American Civil War and overall his military reputation has held up fairly well. Achieving great national fame for his victories at Vicksburg and the surrender at Appomattox, he was widely credited as the General who "saved the Union". Grant was the most successful General, Union or Confederate, to dominate the Civil War.[611] Criticized by the South for using excessive force, his overall military reputation stands intact.[612] Grant's drinking was often exaggerated by the press and falsely stereotyped by many of his rivals and critics.[613] During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Grant's reputation was damaged by the Lost Cause movement and the Dunning School.[614][bi] Lee was propped up as a god by the Cult of Lee[616] or Lost Cause religion.[611] In the 1950s, some historians made a reassessment of Grant's military career, shifting the analysis of Grant as the victor by brute force to that of successful, skillful, modern strategist and commander.[617] Historian William S. McFeely's biography, Grant (1981), won the Pulitzer Prize, and brought renewed scholarly interest in Grant. McFeely believed Grant was an "ordinary American" trying to "make his mark" during the 19th Century. [618] In the 21st century, Grant's reputation improved markedly among historians after the publication of Grant (2001), by historian Jean Edward Smith.[619][620] Opinions of Grant's presidency demonstrate a better appreciation of Grant's personal integrity, Reconstruction efforts, and peace policy towards Indians, even when they fell short.[621][622][623] H.W. Brands' The Man Who Saved the Union (2012), Ronald C. White's American Ulysses (2016) and Ron Chernow's Grant (2017) continued the elevation of Grant's historical reputation.[624] White said Grant, "demonstrated a distinctive sense of humility, moral courage, and determination," and as president he "stood up for African Americans, especially fighting against voter suppression perpetrated by the Ku Klux Klan."[625] White believed Grant was "an exceptional person and leader."[626] Charles W. Calhoun's The Presidency of Ulysses S. Grant (2017) noted Grant's successes in office, but asked whether Grant's revived reputation was found in the "popular consciousness."[627] Historians still debate how effective Grant was at halting corruption.[628] The scandals during the Grant administration were often used to stigmatize his political reputation.[629] Militarily evaluated, Grant was a modern general and "a skillful leader who had a natural grasp of tactics and strategy."[630] Grant's successful Civil War military strategies have been recognized and adapted into successful business practices.[631] According to historian David Heffernan, Grant's presidency has been "unfairly denigrated" for generations, disregarding his prosecution of the Klan, and peaceful resolution of the controversial Election of 1876.[632] Historian Robert Farley is concerned that the Cult of Lee and the Dunning School were resentful of Grant for his strong enforcement of Reconstruction, prosecution of the Klan, and the defeat of Lee at Appomatox, resulted in Grant's shoddy treatment by historians. Farley said the Cult of Lee had "little room for Grant, in no small part because Grant was the only president to vigorously pursue Reconstruction and the first to treat blacks as both human and American."[633] Memorials and presidential library See also: Ulysses S. Grant cultural depictions Neoclassical structure with dome Grant National Memorial, known as "Grant's Tomb", largest mausoleum in North America Several memorials honor Grant. In addition to his mausoleum—Grant's Tomb in New York City—there is the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial at the foot of Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.[634] Created by sculptor Henry Merwin Shrady and architect Edward Pearce Casey, and dedicated in 1922, it overlooks the Capitol Reflecting Pool.[635] In 2015, restoration work began, which is expected to be completed before the bicentennial of Grant's birth in 2022.[636] The Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site near St. Louis, and several other sites in Ohio and Illinois memorialize Grant's life.[637] The U.S. Grant Cottage State Historic Site, located at the top of Mount McGregor in Wilton, New York, preserves the house in which he completed his memoirs and died.[638][639] There are smaller memorials in Chicago's Lincoln Park and Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. Named in his honor are Grant Park, as well as several counties in western and midwestern states. On June 3, 1891, a bronze statue of Grant by Danish sculptor Johannes Gelert was dedicated at Grant Park in Galena, Illinois.[640][641] From 1890 to 1940, part of what is now Kings Canyon National Park was called General Grant National Park, named for the General Grant sequoia.[642] In May 2012, the Ulysses S. Grant Foundation, on the institute's fiftieth anniversary, selected Mississippi State University as the permanent location for Ulysses S. Grant's presidential library.[643][644] Historian John Y. Simon edited Grant's letters into a 32-volume scholarly edition published by Southern Illinois University Press.[645] Grant's image has appeared on the front of the United States fifty-dollar bill since 1913. In 1921, the Ulysses S. Grant Centenary Association was founded with the goal of coordinating special observances and erecting monuments in recognition of Grant's historical role. The venture was financed by the minting of 10,000 gold dollars (depicted below) and 250,000 half dollars. The coins were minted and issued in 1922, commemorating the 100th anniversary of Grant's birth.[646][647] Grant has also appeared on several U.S. postage stamps, the first one issued in 1890, five years after his death.[648] On June 19, 2020, Juneteenth protesters[649] toppled a bronze bust, U. S. Grant (1896), at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.[650][651][bj] Grant had briefly owned one slave, whom he set free. Grant's statue bust will unlikely return to Golden Gate Park.[649]

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