Ulysses S. Grant was an American military officer, politician, and the 18th president of the United States, who served from 1869 to 1877. As commanding general, Grant led the Union Army to victory in the American Civil War in 1865 and briefly served as U.S. secretary of war. An effective civil rights executive, Grant signed a bill to create the Justice Department and worked with Radical Republicans to protect African Americans during Reconstruction.
Galena is the largest city in and the county seat of Jo Daviess County, Illinois, United States. It had a population of 3,308 at the 2020 census. A 581-acre (235 ha) section of the city is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Galena Historic District. The city is named for the mineral galena, which was in the ore that formed the basis for the region's early lead mining economy.
Elihu Benjamin Washburne was an American politician and diplomat. A member of the Washburn family, which played a prominent role in the early formation of the United States Republican Party, he served as a congressman from Illinois before and during the American Civil War. He was a political ally of President Abraham Lincoln and General Ulysses S. Grant. During Grant's administration, Washburne was the 25th United States Secretary of State briefly in 1869, and was the United States Minister to France from 1869 to 1877.
John Aaron Rawlins was a general officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War and a cabinet officer in the Grant administration. A longtime confidant of Ulysses S. Grant, Rawlins served on Grant's staff throughout the war, rising to the rank of brevet major general, and was Grant's chief defender against allegations of insobriety. He was appointed Secretary of War when Grant was elected President of the United States.
Frederick Dent Grant was a soldier and United States minister to Austria-Hungary. Grant was the first son of General and President of the United States Ulysses S. Grant and Julia Grant. He was named after his uncle, Frederick Dent.
West Point Cemetery is a historic cemetery on the grounds of the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. It overlooks the Hudson River, and served as a burial ground for Continental Army soldiers during the American Revolutionary War, and for early West Point residents prior to its designation as a military cemetery in 1817.
The Ulysses S. Grant Home in Galena, Illinois is the former home of Ulysses S. Grant, the Civil War general and later the 18th president of the United States. The home was designed by William Dennison and constructed in 1859 - 1860. The home was given to Grant by residents of Galena in 1865 as thanks for his war service, and has been maintained as a memorial to Grant since 1904.
The 45th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, the "Washburn Lead Mine Regiment", was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. In response to President Lincoln's call for 75,000 volunteers, it was organized at Galena, Illinois. It participated in many of the leading campaigns in the Western Theater.
Joseph Russell Jones was a successful American merchant and politician, a close friend of Ulysses S. Grant and an acquaintance of Abraham Lincoln.
The Elihu Benjamin Washburne House, also known as the Washburne-Sheehan House, is a 1+1⁄2-story Greek Revival house located at 908 Third Street in Galena, Illinois. Constructed in 1844–45, the building was built for and owned by Elihu Benjamin Washburne, a prominent Galena lawyer who served in Congress during the American Civil War, and as Secretary of State and Minister to France under President Ulysses S. Grant, another famous Galenian. The Washburne House was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
Jasper Adalmorn Maltby was a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He participated in two important campaigns in the Western Theater, including the Vicksburg Campaign in 1863. A talented gunsmith, Maltby was the inventor of one of the first telescopic sights.
Augustus Louis Chetlain was a United States Army soldier who was the first man in Illinois to volunteer at the outbreak of the American Civil War. He served as a Union Army general.
John Eugene Smith (1816-1897) was a Swiss immigrant to the United States, who served as a Union general during the American Civil War.
Ulysses S. Grant was the first born son of Jesse Root Grant and Hannah Simpson Grant. This article lends itself to the story of this future general's ancestry, birth, and early career in and out of the United States army from 1822 to 1861. Grant was born in Point Pleasant, Ohio and he was educated in both private and public schools or academies and was later known to be an avid reader. Grant was raised as a Methodist, but uncommon for his time, he was not baptized or forced to attend church by his parents. Growing up in a middle-class family and supported by his father's tanneries, he sought a different career in the military. He was appointed to West Point by Ohio Congressman Thomas L. Hamer. It was Hamer who gave Grant the name Ulysses S. Grant when Grant entered West Point as a plebe in 1839. After four years at West Point, he was stationed in Missouri, where he met his future wife, Julia Dent. In 1846, Grant served in the Mexican–American War, where he was brevetted for bravery. There he fought in Mexico and learned under two commanders, Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott. Upon his return to the United States, he married Julia and started a family.
John Corson Smith was an American military officer and politician from Pennsylvania. Coming to Galena, Illinois in 1854, Smith first practiced carpentry before receiving a commission at a customhouse. Smith fought in the American Civil War with the 96th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment and was brevetted a brigadier general for his actions at the Battle of Chickamauga. Returning to Galena, Smith work in Internal Revenue until moving to Chicago, Illinois in 1874. There, he was named Chief Grain Inspector, then was elected Illinois Treasurer. He was elected Lieutenant Governor of Illinois in 1884. Smith was also a prominent Freemason, leading the Illinois chapter and serving as Grand Scribe for twenty-five years.
Jesse Root Grant was an American farmer, tanner and successful leather merchant who owned tanneries and leather goods shops in several different states throughout his adult life. He is best known as the father of Ulysses S. Grant and the one who introduced Ulysses to military life at West Point. Jesse was born in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, and was one of seven children. He was a self-made man who rose from poverty to become a wealthy merchant.
William Ruben Rowley, was a lieutenant colonel and Military Secretary on the staff of General Ulysses S. Grant during the American Civil War later being brevetted a brigadier general. After moving from New York to Galena, Illinois, he taught in the local school, while also becoming involved in local politics. While living in Galena, Rowley was a neighbor and good friends with Ulysses Grant and John Rawlins before and at the time the Civil War broke out. Under General Grant he fought in the Battle of Shiloh and during the siege at Vicksburg. He was one of nine Civil War generals that came from Galena. After serving in the Union Army he returned to Galena and service in political life. Rowley was among several officers who wrote letters for and rigorously defended Grant against accusations from rivals and reporters that Grant was drinking at the Battle of Shiloh, a battle that he brought to victory. On other occasions during his military and political career Rowley stood by Grant during times of controversy.
