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Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant was born on April 27, 1822, in Pt. Pleasant OH, moving the following year to Georgetown. He graduated from West Point in 1843 and served against Mexico under General Zachary Taylor and General Winfield Scott. In 1843, he resigned his commission. With the outbreak of the Civil War, he became a colonel of Illinois volunteers. His brilliant campaigns at Vicksburg and Chattanooga caused Abraham Lincoln to put him in command of all Union armies. He accepted the surrender of Robert E. Lee at Appamatox Courthouse on April 9, 1865. He was elected President as a Republican in 1868 and re-elected in 1872. His second term was marred by scandals. An attempt by the Stalwarts (Old Guard Republicans) to nominate him in 1880 failed. The collapse of Grant & Ward, a Wall Street investment firm of which he was a partner left him penniless. He died at Mt. McGregor NY on July 23, 1885.