Ulysses S. Grant Facts

Check out some interesting facts you may not have known about Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th president of the United States.

• Grant was born on April 27, 1822 in Point Pleasant, Ohio.

• President Grant’s real name was Hiram Ulysses Grant.

• Grant served two terms in the White House, and his presidency was marked by a return to stability following the war and Reconstruction Era.
  

  Thousands of people worldwide donated at total of $600,000 for the construction of Grant’s tomb in New York City. Known officially as the General Grant National Memorial, it is America’s largest mausoleum and was dedicated on April 27, 1897, the 75th anniversary of Grant’s birth.

• His presidency was noted for numerous scandals and tales of corruption.

• Ulysses S. Grant was considered to be a great military hero of the Civil War as he led the North into victory over the Confederate South.

• In 1870, the 15th Amendment, which gave black men the right to vote, was ratified by Grant.

• Grant was involved in crushing the famous Ku Klux Klan.

• Grant signed legislation establishing the Department of Justice, the Weather Bureau and Yellowstone National Park.

• Everyday he ate one cucumber soaked in vinegar.

• During the Civil War, Grant had seen so much blood that he could not stomach the sight of blood.

• Once when Ulysses Grant was driving his horse too fast, he was stopped and fined $20. He was the president at that time.

• Grant used around seven to ten cigars a day, although many of them he did not smoke, chewing on them instead.

• He finished writing his memoirs a few weeks before succumbing to cancer. The memoirs were sold for $500,000 by the family after he died.

• Ulysses S Grant died on July 23, 1885 in Mount McGregor, New York.