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Many people know that Ulysses S. Grant was the general of the Union army during the Civil War, but did you know who he was before the war?
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George McClellan
George McClellan was the general of the Union Army during the Civil War. He is known for his successful military campaigns in the Western Theater.
Born in Philadelphia
George Brinton McClellan was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 3, 1826, the son of Dr. George McClellan, a prominent surgeon, and Elizabeth Steinmetz McClellan. He was educated at the University of Pennsylvania and at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he graduated second in his class in 1846.
West Point graduate
George McClellan was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 3, 1826. He graduated from West Point in 1846 and served in the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). McClellan served as the head of several railroads before becoming the general of the Union Army at the start of the Civil War (1861-1865). He was eventually replaced by Ulysses S. Grant after a series of defeats by Confederate forces. McClellan died on October 29, 1885, in Orange, New Jersey.
Mexican-American War veteran
George McClellan was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 3, 1826. He came from a long line of soldiers—his great-grandfather and grandfather both served in the American Revolution, and his father was a surgeon in the War of 1812. McClellan attended Philadelphia’s prestigious Germantown Academy before entering the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he graduated second in his class in 1846.
McClellan served in the Mexican-American War (1846-48) as a cavalry officer under future Confederate general Jubal Early. He saw action at the Battles of Cerro Gordo (1847) and Chapultepec (1847), where he was wounded. After the war, McClellan remained in the army and was posted to several posts in the American West. In 1855, he took leave from the army to study engineering in Europe.
When McClellan returned to the United States in 1857, he resigned his commission and began working for the Illinois Central Railroad. He quickly rose through the ranks of the company and became its vice president by 1861.
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was an American general and the 18th president of the United States, who served as the commander of the Union Army during the American Civil War. Grant graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1843 and served in the Mexican-American War.
Born in Ohio
Ulysses S. Grant was born in Ohio in 1822. He graduated from West Point in 1843 and fought in the Mexican-American War. In 1848, he married Julia Dent, and they had four children. During the Civil War, Grant commanded the Union army, and in 1865 he accepted the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. As president from 1869 to 1877, Grant worked to improve civil rights for African Americans and Native Americans. He also oversaw the construction of the transcontinental railroad.
West Point graduate
Ulysses S. Grant was born in Point Pleasant, Ohio, on April 27, 1822. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1843, and he served with distinction in the Mexican War (1846-1848). After the war, Grant married Julia Dent, a Missouri girl he had met while stationed at Jefferson Barracks near St. Louis.
Mexican-American War veteran
Ulysses S. Grant was born Hiram Ulysses Grant on April 27, 1822, in Point Pleasant, Ohio. He entered the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1839, graduated in 1843 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 4th U.S. Infantry Regiment. He fought in the Mexican-American War (1846-48), serving with distinction under General Zachary Taylor at the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma. Following the war, he was stationed at various army posts in the American West.
William T. Sherman
General William Tecumseh Sherman was one of the most important generals during the Civil War. He was responsible for leading the Union Army to victory in many important battles. He is also famous for his “March to the Sea” which was a military campaign that destroyed much of the Confederate infrastructure.
Born in Ohio
William T. Sherman was born in Ohio in 1820, the fifth of eleven children. His father was a judge who died when Sherman was nine, leaving the family in financial difficulty. Raised in poverty, Sherman had to quit school at the age of sixteen and find work to help support his family. He began his career as a shop clerk but eventually found his way into the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, from which he graduated in 1840.
West Point graduate
Sherman was born in 1820 into a prosperous family in Ohio. He was one of eleven children, and his father died when he was nine. His mother remarried, and Sherman later had two half-sisters. He graduated from West Point in 1840, fifth in his class of forty-two cadets.
Mexican-American War veteran
William T. Sherman served in the Mexican-American War as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Dragoons. He saw action in the Battles of Resaca de la Palma and Palo Alto. He was brevetted to captain for his “gallant and meritorious conduct” at the Battle of Cerro Gordo.
