Gen. Ulysses S. Grant: The Man from Galena, Ill.

In this installment of ‘When Character Counted,’ we meet a general of the Union Army whose attributes helped turn the tide of the Civil War.

Gen. Ulysses S. Grant during the surrender at Appomatox Court House. Gen. Robert E. Lee shakes Grant's hand. Public Domain

At dawn on April 6, 1862, Confederate forces commanded by Albert Sydney Johnston sprang from the woods near Tennessee’s Pittsburg Landing and smashed into the Union army of Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885). With surprise as their ally, and despite fierce resistance, the Confederates pushed back Grant’s men toward the Tennessee River. By day’s end, victory at Shiloh seemed to belong to the attackers.

One of Grant’s generals who would soon become his friend and admirer, William Tecumseh Sherman, was downhearted over the losses of the day. Gen. Carlos Buell counseled immediate retreat. But Grant rejected both the defeatist mood and any idea of withdrawal. That night, when Sherman encountered his commander in the rain, he said, “Well, Grant, we’ve had the devil’s own day, haven’t we?” to which a calm and collected Grant replied, “Yes. Lick ‘em tomorrow though.”