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Ulysses S. Grant Bicentennial

Celebrating 200 years since the birth of Ulysses S. Grant. Bicentennial events, book reviews, myth busting & more.

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GRANT BICENTENNIAL 1822-2022

200 Years of Ulysses S. Grant


Celebrating the general who saved America in the Civil War and the president who labored mightily during Reconstruction against great odds for a lasting peace and civil rights for Black Americans.


WHY GRANT MATTERS TODAY

Coming Up in 2022

victory in battle. leniency to a fallen foe. fairness for black americans.


“The war is over. The rebels are our countrymen again,” said General Ulysses S. Grant after offering Robert E. Lee generous terms of surrender at Appomattox in April 1865. Grant expected defeated Confederates to accept the verdict of the war that slavery was dead. But when unrepentant rebels fought back against Black freedom, Grant stood up to preserve the fruits of his victory: one united country with fairness for all regardless of race.

Just as General Grant defeated rebel armies during the Civil War, so President Grant crushed the KKK during Reconstruction.

grant, slavery & civil rights

The Surrender of Lee

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In Grant’s own words, dramatized by interpreter Erik Curren.
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Hot Topics

Grant vs. Lee

Grant's army marches into Vicksburg

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Grant, Slavery & Civil Rights

The Most Racist Presidential Election Ever

Grant as Family Man

Drunk or Migraine?


What Contemporaries Said about Grant

I can’t spare this man — he fights.

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

16th President of the United States

A man too broad for prejudice, too humane to despise the humblest, too great to be small at any point. In him the Negro found a protector, the Indian a friend, a vanquished foe a brother, an imperiled nation a savior.

Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass

Abolitionist

I doubt his superior can be found in all history.

Robert E. Lee

Robert E. Lee

Commander, Army of Northern Virginia

Notwithstanding the fact that he talks so well, it is plain he has more brains than tongue. He is one of the most remarkable men I have ever met. He does not seem to be aware of his powers.

Alexander Stephens

Alexander Stephens

Confederate Vice President

read more contemporaries

Reviews of the Best Books on Grant & His Times


A revival of interest in Ulysses S. Grant and the era of Reconstruction has produced many excellent new titles to augment the classics on Grant and his time that remain worth reading.


‘Crucible of Command’ by William C. Davis

Read More ‘Crucible of Command’ by William C. Davis

Hold on with A Bulldog Grip

‘Hold on with A Bulldog Grip’ by John F. Marszalek

Read More ‘Hold on with A Bulldog Grip’ by John F. Marszalek

‘Causes Won, Lost & Forgotten’ by Gary Gallagher

Read More ‘Causes Won, Lost & Forgotten’ by Gary Gallagher

When Grant Expelled the Jews

‘When General Grant Expelled the Jews’ by Jonathan Sarna

Read More ‘When General Grant Expelled the Jews’ by Jonathan Sarna

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Quotes by Grant


In every battle there comes a time when both sides consider themselves beaten, then he who continues the attack wins.

Ulysses S. Grant

Let us not be concerned with what General Lee is going to do to us. Let us be concerned with what we are going to do to General Lee.

Ulysses S. Grant

I felt like anything rather than rejoicing at the downfall of a foe who had fought so long and valiantly, and had suffered so much for a cause, though that cause was, I believe, one of the worst for which a people ever fought, and one for which there was the least excuse.

Ulysses S. Grant

Whatever may have been my political opinions before, I have but one sentiment now: that is, we have a government, and laws, and a flag, and they must all be sustained. There are but two parties now: traitors and patriots. And I want hereafter to be ranked with the latter.

Ulysses S. Grant

Read More grant quotes

Grant Places


Historic sites in Grant’s life, Civil War battlefields and of course, Grant’s Tomb.

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Grant News

Grant Library to Expand at MSU — But a Grant Museum Should be in Cincinnati

MSU has done a good job serving scholars. But Grant deserves a museum centrally located to engage with a new generation of multicultural Americans and international visitors. Cincinnati is the place.

Read More Grant Library to Expand at MSU — But a Grant Museum Should be in Cincinnati

Grant Presidential Library Gets New Leader

Anne Marshall succeeds leading Grant scholar John F. Marszalek as executive director of both the Grant Library and the U.S. Grant Association.

Read More Grant Presidential Library Gets New Leader

Grant Bicentennial Events Announced by Grant Birthplace

In southern Ohio, events to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Ulysses S. Grant start in February and continue through the end of April, 2022.

Read More Grant Bicentennial Events Announced by Grant Birthplace

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Ulysses S. Grant Bicentennial

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