ulysses-s-grant

[ulysses-s-grant]

Bit of a rant after finishing a course on the Civil War

Having completed my American Civil War course last week (probably the most intense course I’ve taken thus far), I can’t stop thinking about the final lecture. My professor, although we had a rocky start, was fantastic, and the way every assignment over the last 15 weeks finally came together to form the bigger picture in the final lecture was amazing. Simply brilliant. And it worked incredibly well to hammer in the danger of the Lost Cause myth. It makes me sad and angry to know that the Lost Cause has ingrained itself into history and has become history when it’s all a sham– desperate excuses to justify the Confederacy’s plight. And it angers me that people to this day believe in it. It angers me to see the ideology spread across the nation in the decades following the war. It angers me to see that this twisted belief has reared its head time and time again. I do feel bad about how destructive the Union was in the South (e.g. Sherman’s March to the Sea) and all the lives that were lost (bloodiest war in USAmerican history). But this simple mythology that took on a much bigger life of its own– that outlived the Confederacy and the Civil War and its creators– this simple lie that former Confederates told themselves to give meaning to their loss– has left so much more damage in its wake. It’s ridiculous. It’s insidious. And that’s why I’m so angry over it. It’s a dangerous mythos that keeps people angry, whether you’re angry because the South lost the war or because you’re angry that Confederate sympathy still exists.

My professor showed us an image taken at the capital during the January 6th insurrection– because it was an insurrection– that showed a man holding the Confederate battle flag in front of a portrait of Charles Sumner. A treacherous flag waving mockingly before a senator who was beat within an inch of his life on the Senate floor for his scathing call-out of slaveholding senators. That’s insanity to me.

I don’t know where I’m going with this. I’m just horrified and angry and wired right now. I loved this class very much and I appreciate just how passionate my professor was throughout the course. I went in hoping to learn more about Reconstruction (because it was called Civil War and Reconstruction), but we spent so much time focusing on the economics and politics of slavery to better understand why the war happened that we ran out of time. But I’m not upset by that. This focus taught me more about this era in USAmerican history that no other course did.

[ulysses-s-grant]

Happy birthday king you would’ve loved resident evil 4

I’ll pass the message along to my framed portrait of him 😭??

[ulysses-s-grant]

Birth

Ulysses S. Grant was born on 27 April 1822 in Point Pleasant, Ohio originally as Hiram Ulysses Grant. He came into the world as Jesse Root Grant’s and Hannah Simpson’s first of six children.

Although named Hiram in honour of his maternal grandfather, his father was noted to predominantly call him Ulysses. Growing up, young Ulysses was more attached to his mother and was of a similar nature to her, disliking the bold and proud comportment of his father.

[ulysses-s-grant]

Birth

Ulysses S. Grant was born on 27 April 1822 in Point Pleasant, Ohio originally as Hiram Ulysses Grant. He came into the world as Jesse Root Grant’s and Hannah Simpson’s first of six children.

Although named Hiram in honour of his maternal grandfather, his father was noted to predominantly call him Ulysses. Growing up, young Ulysses was more attached to his mother and was of a similar nature to her, disliking the bold and proud comportment of his father.

[ulysses-s-grant]

LETS GOOOOOO

Thank you so much once again. The full image is bringing me to tears. Saving this immediately and never letting it out of my sight.

There���s an image in Ken Burns’s The Civil War that I cannot find and it is driving me up the wall. Only place I can find it by reverse image searching is a website that doesn’t provide citations for their images. I’m in agony.

[ulysses-s-grant]

YOU ARE A LIFE SAVER TvT THANK YOU SO MUCH I HAVE AGONISED OVER THIS IMAGE FOR DAYS

There’s an image in Ken Burns’s The Civil War that I cannot find and it is driving me up the wall. Only place I can find it by reverse image searching is a website that doesn’t provide citations for their images. I’m in agony.

[ulysses-s-grant]

I don’t know the timestamp either but I do have a screenshot of the image. Didn’t think anyone would actually respond to my frustrated post so I didn’t include it (my bad)

There’s an image in Ken Burns’s The Civil War that I cannot find and it is driving me up the wall. Only place I can find it by reverse image searching is a website that doesn’t provide citations for their images. I’m in agony.

[ulysses-s-grant]

These are fantastic!! Thank you SO much for all of these– I’ll have to bookmark each of them for future projects. Unfortunately though, the image I’ve been searching for aren’t any of these. Thank you once again!

There’s an image in Ken Burns’s The Civil War that I cannot find and it is driving me up the wall. Only place I can find it by reverse image searching is a website that doesn’t provide citations for their images. I’m in agony.

[ulysses-s-grant]

There’s an image in Ken Burns’s The Civil War that I cannot find and it is driving me up the wall. Only place I can find it by reverse image searching is a website that doesn’t provide citations for their images. I’m in agony.

[ulysses-s-grant]

This is so embarrassing for me, but here it is. The playlist I talked about in a previous post. It's so silly and not meant to be taken seriously. The description also says I'm open to suggestions (as long as they're done respectfully). A lot of this was done with Grant's love for his wife in mind. Anyway.

[ulysses-s-grant]

I made a playlist with songs that remind me of Grant and I did my best to order them in a way that reflects his life. Might share it…

[ulysses-s-grant]

Birth

Ulysses S. Grant was born on 27 April 1822 in Point Pleasant, Ohio originally as Hiram Ulysses Grant. He came into the world as Jesse Root Grant’s and Hannah Simpson’s first of six children.

Although named Hiram in honour of his maternal grandfather, his father was noted to predominantly call him Ulysses. Growing up, young Ulysses was more attached to his mother and was of a similar nature to her, disliking the bold and proud comportment of his father.

[ulysses-s-grant]

Grant appreciation post ✨✨

[ulysses-s-grant]

Grant & Horses: The Circus Incident

To say Grant loved horses would be an understatement. When I say he was a horsegirl, I mean it. This man had a way with horses that his contemporaries would see as unparalleled. Growing up, he would spend much of his time around his father's and neighbours' horses.

But today I want to talk about a certain incident that remains to be one of my favourites. When Grant was about eleven years old, a circus came to town, boasting that no one would be able to remain seated on their trick pony. According to Grant's father, Jesse Root Grant, this pony had been "trained to go round the ring like lightning" to force any riders off of it.¹ Grant volunteered to ride the pony, and to the astonishment and delight of the crowd, he was able to remain seated despite the best efforts of the horse and ringmaster. A monkey had even been brought out to sit on Grant's shoulders to deter him, and yet the boy could not be shaken.

¹ Grant, Jesse R. Letter to Robert Bonner. The Early Life of Gen. Grant 8. New York City, New York: The New York Ledger, 1868. https://www.usgrantlibrary.org/usga/newsletter/volume-8-pre-1973/issue-1-oct-1970.

[ulysses-s-grant]

He was a horsegirl.

[ulysses-s-grant]

His Name(s)

His name at birth was not Ulysses S. Grant but instead Hiram Ulysses Grant. The name change was mistakenly made when Grant was enrolled into West Point (a military academy) under "U.S. Grant." The S doesn't stand for anything.

Funnily enough, he was given the nicknames Uncle Sam Grant by his classmates while at West Point and Unconditional Surrender Grant during the Civil War, both of which were plays on his initials, USG.

[ulysses-s-grant]

Introductory Post

Hello! This blog was created by and is run by a history nerd with a huge appreciation for Grant. I respect and adore him while recognising that he was a flawed man with many faults. It is his humanity that captivates me. He's a complex historical figure who I wish more people knew about and cared deeply for, so I will do my best to spread information on him. I think he deserved better and did the best he could with the cards he'd been dealt.

I will fact check anything and everything I post about him, but if misinformation slips through, do not hesitate to reach out to me so I can fix my error! I love history and know how important it is to only share factually correct information. That being said, I am only human so your patience and kindness are appreciated in the case that I do accidentally share false info.

Thank you very much, and I hope through my ramblings and posts, more people can come to love Ulysses S. Grant like I do.

Edit: I’m also neurodivergent and hyperfixated on him, so there are gonna be posts that aren’t professional and are just me being crazy about him. I love this man so much.

-Moose 🫎