• born at Point Pleasant, Ohio, on 27 April 1822
  • was educated at local schools
  • attended the United States Military Academy, 1839-1843, and was commissioned in infantry
  • served with the 4th Infantry on the frontier and in the occupation of Texas 1843-1846
  • served under Generals Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott in the Mexican war and was brevetted first lieutenant and captain for gallant conduct at Molino del Rey and Chapultepec, 1846-1848
  • married Julia Dent, 1848
  • was promoted to first lieutenant, September 1847, and served as quartermaster, 4th Infantry, at various posts
  • was promoted to captain while on frontier duty in the Northwest, August 1853
  • resigned from the Army, July 1854
  • was generally unsuccessful at farming, real estate, and clerical activities, 1854-1861
  • was appointed colonel of the 21st Illinois Volunteer Infantry, June 1861, then brigadier general of volunteers, August 1861
  • commanded the field forces in the battles of Forts Henry and Donelson and at Shiloh, 1862
  • was promoted to major general of volunteers, February 1862
  • commanded the District of West Tennessee, then the Department of Tennessee, 1862-1863
  • defeated the Confederate forces at Vicksburg, July 1863, to bring the Mississippi River under Union control
  • was appointed major general in the regular Army, July 1863
  • received the thanks of Congress and a gold medal, December 1863
  • commanded the Division of the Mississippi, 1863-1864, and defeated the Confederates at Chattanooga in November 1863
  • was promoted to lieutenant general, March 1864
  • was commanding general of the United States Army, 9 March 1864 - 4 March 1869
  • commanded the Union armies in the final battles in Virginia, 1864-1865
  • received the unconditional surrender of General Lee at Appomattox Court House, April 1865
  • presided over the Army's participation in Reconstruction, railroad construction, and Indian affairs
  • was promoted to the rank of general, July 1866
  • was secretary of war ad interim, 12 August 1867-13 January 1868
  • was the Republican candidate for president, 1868
  • was President of the United States, 4 March 1869-3 March 1877
  • toured Europe with his family, 1877-1879, then engaged in several unsuccessful business ventures
  • was reappointed general and placed on the retired list, March 1885
  • died in Mount McGregor, New York, on 23 July 1885.

Taken from: COMMANDING GENERALS AND CHIEFS OF STAFF, 1775-1982, William Gardner Bell, Center of Military History, United States Army, Washington, D.C., 1983