http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant See pictures from the life and presidency of Ulysses S. Grant. en Copyright 2013, History.com Thu, 23 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT History.com 2013-05-23T04:00:00Z en Copyright 2013, History.com http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant/photo1 Ulysses S. Grant, Civil War leader and 18th president of the United States, was born in 1822. http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant/photo1 http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant/photo2 Ulysses S. Grant married Julia Dent. http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant/photo2 http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant/photo3 The son of a tanner, Grant showed little enthusiasm for joining his father's business, so the elder Grant enrolled his son at West Point in 1839. http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant/photo3 http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant/photo4 In the Civil War, Grant re-enlisted in the army and embarked on a stellar military career. http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant/photo4 http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant/photo5 In 1862, he led troops in the captures of Forts Henry and Donelson in Tennessee, and forced the Confederate Army to retreat back into Mississippi after the Battle of Shiloh. http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant/photo5 http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant/photo6 In 1863, after leading a Union Army to victory at Vicksburg, Grant caught President Lincoln's attention. http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant/photo6 http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant/photo7 In March 1864, Lincoln revived the rank of lieutenant general - a rank that had previously been held only by George Washington in 1798--and gave it to Grant. http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant/photo7 http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant/photo8 As supreme commander of Union forces, Grant led a series of epic and bloody battles against the Confederate General Robert E. Lee. http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant/photo8 http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant/photo9 Grant graduated in 1843 and went on to serve in the Mexican-American War, though he opposed it on moral grounds. http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant/photo9 http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant/photo10 On April 9, 1865, Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. The victory solidified Grant's status as national hero. http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant/photo10 http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant/photo11 Grant became a public hero for his efforts in the Civil War. http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant/photo11 http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant/photo12 In 1868, he was elected to the first of two terms as president. Grant's talent as a political leader paled woefully in comparison to his military prowess. http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant/photo12 http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant/photo13 Grant led the passage of the Enforcement Act in 1870, which temporarily curtailed the political influence of the Ku Klux Klan in the post-Civil War South. http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant/photo13 http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant/photo14 Grant helped heal U.S. and British diplomatic relations, despite the fact that Britain had offered to supply the Confederate Army with the tools to break the Union naval blockade during the Civil War. http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant/photo14 http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant/photo15 Grant also continued American efforts to open relations and trade with the Far East. http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant/photo15 http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant/photo16 During his second term, Grant failed to stem the rampant corruption of his administration and failed to combat a severe economic depression in 1873. http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant/photo16 http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant/photo17 Grant retired upon completion of his second term. http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant/photo17 http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant/photo18 Grant spent the last few years of his life writing a detailed account of the Civil War. http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant/photo18 http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant/photo19 Grant died of throat cancer in 1885. http://www.history.com/photos/ulysses-s-grant/photo19