Ulysses S. Grant and the Trials of Leadership Essay

Ulysses S. Grant and the Trials of Leadership On June 3, 1864, the Union and Confederate armies met on a battlefield in Cold Harbor, Virginia. The Confederates were well entrenched and prepared to mount a defensive stand. The Union soldiers on the other side of the lines were preparing for an attack that would prove to be disastrous. They knew what the outcome would be. In only 20 minutes of fighting, 7,000 Union soldiers were killed or wounded. As the Yankees prepared to go into action, many began sewing tags with their names on them into their clothes so their bodies could be identified after their deaths. One dead Union soldier was found with a small diary in his pocket. The final entry, dated June 3, 1864, read simply, I was†¦show more content†¦He was named Hiram Ulysses, but was called Ulysses by almost his entire family, mainly because his father had favored that name originally. Jesse was an outspoken man who was well respected as a tanner, a profession at which he eventually became very prosperous. He was an ab olitionist and Whig who was nearly alone in a part of Ohio populated by tobacco-growing Southerners. He wrote many vain letters to the editor, most of which were more right than wrong in their statements. Jesse was quirky, overly well-dressed, and very proud of Ulysses. Hannah, on the other hand, kept to herself. She was a strict Methodist whose only un-baptized child was Ulysses. Hannah was not exactly negligent in her motherly duties, but she did show a noticeable degree of indifference to their safety, and their achievements. She never hugged her children, and rarely showed affection. The Grant family soon moved to Georgetown, Ohio, where Ulysses received local schooling before attending boarding schools in Maysville, Kentucky and Ripley, Ohio. He despised working for his father in the tannery, although that would not be a problem for long, because he received an appointment to West Point in 1839 (Carpenter, 3). It was then that he became known as Ulysses S. Grant. Fearing the ridicule of his future classmates, he changed the initials on his luggage from H.U.G. to U.H.G. The man who signedShow MoreRelatedHistory of Civil War882 Words   |  3 Pagesthis industrialized war, the deep hatred manifested by those participating in the war, nearly 750,000 people died. This, at the time was one of the most deadly wars ever, in the history of mankind. Ulysses S. Grant was the primary commander of the Union army. It is estimated that under his leadership 30% of all the Confederate members were killed in war. In addition, Robert E. Lee was the commander of the confederate a rmy. Lee is currently considered one of the best military minds of all time. 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