Ulysses S. Grant

General and Union army leader Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th American president. He closely worked with President Abraham Lincoln to thwart the Confederates while serving as a military officer during the “American Civil War.”

His lack of interest in business prevented him from following in his father’s footsteps and taking over the family tanning business, so he was enrolled at the West Point campus of the United States Military Academy. He left the army and participated in the “Mexican-American War” after receiving his degree. Grant eventually got into politics and held the office of president for two terms in a row.