For a period in the second half of the 19th Century, Ulysses Grant was consistently hailed as not only one of the heroes of his generation but also as one of the greatest Americans of all time. His portrait shared banners with the likes of Washington and Lincoln, standing together as the most revered individuals the United States had yet produced. After all, Grant was the general Abraham Lincoln had long been searching for to lead the Union to victory, the one man who fought relentlessly, no matter the odds, to defeat the secessionists and ultimately win the Civil War. After Lincoln’s assassination, it was Grant to whom the country looked for stability in the chaos of the Andrew Johnson administration. And it was Grant that the nation’s electorate sent to the presidency with two landslide victories. Ulysses Grant was the leader the nation craved, on the battlefield and in the White House, earning widespread approbation for the services he provided.
 
Over time, however, Grant’s star faded as historians (many emanating from the South) began to take a more critical view of the activities and behaviors surrounding his life’s story. Rather than a strong, determined leader who outgeneraled the Confederates, Grant was the Northern butcher who simply sent endless supplies of Union soldiers to their deaths in his successful yet horrific approach to ultimately overwhelm his smaller Southern foe. Rather than a steady hand at the till when the country needed him most, Grant was a drunk who allowed his attraction to the bottle to drive reckless behavior and embarrassing results. Rather than an honest President who put the people first, Grant was the head of the most corrupt Cabinet in the history of the Republic. While there are elements of truth in each of these characterizations, they are far too simplistic to characterize the overall impact Ulysses Grant had on the country that called him into the highest levels of service. Ulysses Grant was an American hero, the kind the country needed in some of its most desperate hours. The fact that he wasn’t perfect simply makes him human, and an impressive one at that in the patriotic service to his nation.