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Explanation: Ulysses S. Grant was a general during the US Civil War, and later became president. Early in his career, Grant was most notable for being an excellent rider who loved horses dearly (and for his personal bravery). He was only a middling student at West Point, and his career in the Army before the Civil War is likewise unexceptional.
Despite coming from an abolitionist family (and being against slavery personally enough to free a slave whom he was given as a gift, even though Grant was in immense poverty at the time and in dire need of money), he did not begin the Civil War with strong anti-slavery opinions; by the end of the war, he was one of the champions of the liberty and equality of freed slaves, and in his presidency, he would see the first US anti-segregation legislation passed (sadly struck down by the US Supreme Court).
I’d bet he saw a lot of dead horses during the war. Poor dude
After the war, he was said to be extremely squeamish about blood, to the point of being unable to eat rare steaks; but even as a young, outdoorsy man in rural America, familiar with guns, he refused to hunt game. During the Battle of the Wilderness, after commanding Union forces with an unshakeable attitude that bolstered the troops’ spirits, he was said to return to his tent in private to sob over the horrific losses.
He was a deeply sensitive man with an immense reserve of resolve. There was no better man to lead the Union, but he didn’t deserve to be saddled with such a burden.
If I was picking generals these are the qualities I’d be looking for. I’m guessing his faults lie in his treatment of the First People?
One might say “Yes, but speaking purely relative to his time, he was better there too.”
Grant actually attempted a ‘Peace Policy’ with Native Americans that considerably reduced the number of wars between the US and Native polities. It was far from perfect, but it was a significant improvement over previous policy. Unfortunately, the policy was not robust enough to outlast the twin pressures of the greed of white settlers, and its own inherent paternalism (as Grant’s Peace Policy was still highly assimilationist).
Grant’s biggest flaw was his poor personal judgement and loyalty, leading to nepotism - the man died nearly penniless despite having few vices other than being a prolific chain-smoker of cigars, but many of his old ‘friends’ from when he was a poor low-ranking officer exploited him and robbed the government under his watch, precisely because he trusted them and was reluctant to believe reports of wrongdoing (or intentional wrongdoing) in their behavior.
Damn. Thanks for the education, Jesus. You make history fun
