THE LIFE GENL. U. S. GRANT, THE GENERAL IN CHIEF THE UNITED STATES ARMY, - INTRODUCTION - War has been characteristic of the whole world in all ages, and each contest has produeed its hero and its general. But few great generals have, however, been manifested by those wars. Ancient times certainly brought i forth Xerxes, Cyrus, Casar, and Alexander the middle l 1 ages Richard Cceur de Leon, and Edward the black prince, and in modern times Napoleon, Washington and Frederick. 1 But although these names are attached to great leaders P 9 I yet history remrds no instance of either of them manag- ing such vast armies, over such an extent of ground as has I i Ulysses S. Grant, the Commanding General of the United t, States Army. This little volume is therefore set apart to 1 illustrate the life an4 services of that General. . NEW Y ORK- 1864- THE LIFE ULYSSES SIMPSON GRANT. CHAPTER I. GRANT AS A BOY. Birth and parentage-His adventures us a scltoolloy-Huw he managed a team-His horse trade- Never. say cant -The defender of Washington, c. Ulysses Sirnpson Grant, the commanding general of all the armies of the United States, and principal officer dur ing the great battles of the South-West, during 1862 and 1863, and during the Virginia Campaign of 1864, was born at Mount Pleasant, Clermont County, Ohia, on the 27th day of April, 1822. He is the son of a farmer who bad settled in the West during that early period, and who bad struggled along-as a11 new settlers have to do-to keep llimself afloat. His motl er was formerly Harriet Simpson-hence 11is second name. The difficulties of reaching markets to dispose of produce made the life of a farmer at that payticular time anything but a money-making onebut still these tillers of the soil were enabled - to Iive well cvcrl if they had but fcw luxuries. The sons of Western farmers, therefore, had to work hard on the farms in tlle various labors attendant upon the cutting down of the forest aud breaking up of the virgill soil and in this work the brothers of young Grant mere consequently engaged. 18 THE LIFE OF The ancestors of U. S. Grant were Scotch and mere among the early settlers of America. Two brothers-the father and uncle of the subject of this biography-at first settled near each other but the uncle removed into Canada, while the father remained in the United States. A friendly feeling, however, still existed between them a1 - though they differed upon tha subject of loyalty to Great Britain. This became manifest during after life in the training of the children. n n incident is reported of young Grant while yct a child. His father held him in his arms at his cottage door on the anniversary of Indcpendance day in 1823. The child was just able to talk, and was pleased with the excitement around. A boy came along with a loaded pistol in his hand, and asked the father to let him discharge the weapon, to see how the child mould stand the report. The pistol was duly fired, and instead of alarming the little fcllow, he clapped his hands and appeared to enjoy it. He even seetned anxious, by his simple words, that the boy should fire again, and fire again he did. A by-standcr remarked that the infant would one daybecome a great soldier and the inadvertent observation has certainly been proved a true prophecy...