Grant in characteristic pose, with his staff in 1864. The indifferent attitude of the general-in-chief is most characteristic. Grant had begun the investment of Petersburg when this photograph was taken. Around him are the men who had followed him faithfully through the faith-shaking campaigns of the Wilderness. He never made known his plans for an advance to anyone, but his calm confidence communicated itself to all who listened to him. In the most critical moments he manifested no perceptible anxiety, but gave his orders with coolness and deliberation. General Ulysses S. Grant was born in Ohio, in 1823. He was graduated at West Point in 1843. He served gallantly under General Scott in the Mexican War. Resigning from the army in 1854 he went into business, but was never successful. In 1861 he was appointed brigadier-general of Illinois volunteers, and was placed in command at Cairo. He won several brilliant victories in the West, and in 1864 he succeeded General Halleck as commander-in-chief of the Union armies. His series of battles against Lee and his siege of Petersburg led to the surrender of the army of northern Virginia. He was elected to the Presidency in 1868, and served two terms. He died in 1885.
The General-in-chief of the Armies of the United States--a picture of Grant with his favorite charger "Cincinnati" taken at Cold Harbor on June 4, 1864, in the midst of the "Hammering Policy" that in ten months terminated the war.
