History
Ulysses S. Grant; The American Civil War Hero That is More Relevant Today Than Ever Before
The many faces of a great American Hero and humanity
I must admit that the only thing I knew about Ulysses S. Grant, in the beginning, was that he was a former US President, Nicolas Cage mentioned him a whole bunch of times on National Treasure, and there are warships named after him. Rewind a few weeks ago when the History Channel aired a 3-night miniseries entitled “Grant” I thought to myself “Why not, this is a good chance to learn about something new”. I watched simply because he was one of the great men that is frequently mentioned but we don’t know why he is great. George Washington, General McArthur, these are the truly great US Generals that are household names and everyone knows why they were great. Today, I know more about Grant than I could have ever imagined and because of that, I have definitely become a fan girl and a little obsessed with him. History buffs idolize him for the brilliant war strategies that he made and the way he commanded the Union Army and led them to victory, but for me, an Asian woman halfway across the world, I simply adore him for the man he was and the fact that his trials, tribulations, and triumphs are something that we can all relate to no matter where we live in the world, what century we are in and what race we are.
Grant reminded me that as long as you persevere, do your best, your destiny will find you regardless of your past failures. And let’s be honest, in today’s Tweet filled, Insta loving, Snap chasing, Tik-Tok making world, hope is something that a Gen Y such as myself find to be few and far in between.
Ulysses S. Grant wasn’t born into greatness, he came from humble beginnings and had an unpleasant childhood which served as bitter memories for him. He attended West Point Academy and did not shine at that time, unlike Robert E. Lee who would later become the famous Confederate General. Lee not only had the good looks of Apolo but was also one of the few cadets in West Point’s history to never have had any demerits and was expected to achieve greatness from an early age.
Grant was far from being successful in his adult life prior to the Civil War, he was once at such a low point of his life that he even had to sell his watch to buy his wife and children Christmas presents. His first low point came when he was asked to leave the Union Army right after the war with Mexico. Basically, he was fired. And this leads to a string of misfortunes that sounded as if it came out of the pages of “A Series of Unfortunate Events — Civil War Edition”. After being let go from the Army, he had to find ways to provide for his family, having no skills other than being a soldier. He decided to sell firewood to solve the problem of poverty and was nearly faced with bankruptcy. He tried his hand in many ventures, all of which failed. This is where my interest in Grant went beyond curiosity and became an “I know how you feel” moment. Even in the year 2020 many of us have experienced or are currently facing what Grant faced at that time; the trials of poverty, retrenchment, and the constant need to reinvent ourselves to survive. It seemed the cards were simply not in Grant’s favor and he would continue downhill. But then, the unthinkable happened, Civil War.
Grant was given the opportunity to be in command of the Army once more. To do what he did best, lead men into battle and win. One of the qualities I admire most about him is his relentless belief in himself, especially after the Battle of Shiloh which resulted in a big defeat for the Union Army with tremendous casualties. Even though all of those around him told Grant something was impossible and cannot be done, he would always find a way to do it and simply thrive at whatever he was doing. An example of this can be clearly seen during his campaign towards Vicksburg, when he had to move the gun boats down the Mississippi river in the dead of night to ensure that the Confederate army would not see the boats as they passed. This was unheard of before since it would have meant destruction having gunboats passed in the river below while the enemy was up on a hill with canons ready to fire down below. But Grant did it despite everyone’s objections and it was a genius move that is still marveled upon until this day. This is just one of the many actions Grant took out of faith in himself when others doubted him. He had naysayers around him but always shook them off, a clear reminder for us that we too have naysayers in our lives which we must also shake off.
Although Grant was a brilliant strategist and a relentless General, at the end of the day, he was first and foremost a family man. And like any family man, his family was his strength and his greatest weakness. All the riches and fame which he had accumulated throughout his life, disappeared overnight when his son lost all of their fortunes to a man who was the Bernie Madoff of their time. What did Grant do? He did what he did best, he improvised and re-strategized. He saw that there was a demand from the public to know more about his life, his triumphs, his childhood, and how he became THE Ulysses S. Grant, this leads him to write a memoir which he continued to write up until three days before his last breath. This memoir would be the lifeline of the Grant family, although not restoring their fortune to what it originally was, it restored some of it to save them all from bankruptcy and poverty. This is again another feat of resilience that I have come to admire so much in Grant. No matter what or who pushed him to the wall, he refused to lay down. Even when he was deathly ill, he continued to write his memoirs for the sake of his children, his wife, and his grandchildren. He was a man so determined that even death had to take a seat and wait for him in silence. This determination is rare to find in today’s world and can only be forged through the flames of defeat, desperation, loneliness, and hopelessness.
Let us not forget, Robert E. Lee, the man who much greatness was expected from, in the end had a fall from grace that can only be described as a meteoric descent. He not only lost the Civil War for the Confederate Army, but he also changed the course of American History through which his defeat freed the many slaves who were held captive and whose descendants would achieve greatness beyond imagination. Grant became proof that in the end, the heart matters, the soul counts, and the better man will always win. No matter how dark the day is, justice will prevail, and truth will triumph.
Throughout his life, Ulysses S. Grant shows us that the best man isn’t always the one with the head start, the one with the best support system nor the one with the most money. The best man is simply the man who refuses to give up, the one who fights for those who can’t fight for themselves and who after getting punched, kicked and knocked down on his knees will always get back up again leaning on whatever bone is not broken in his body, with blood dripping from his wounds and say “let’s do it again”
Ulysses S. Grant is more relevant today than ever before, during these dark times around the world, wars looming in every corner, pandemics altering our realities, with oppression, and segregation slowly seeping its head once again, Grant is a constant reminder for us to do better, achieve greater and to always, always, stand up for what is right.
