On this day in history, July 23, 1885, Ulysses S. Grant died at his family cottage in New York.
The 18th president of the United States had a complex and compelling upbringing and time in the White House.
Grant was a West Point graduate — later to become president of the United States, according to information from The White House.
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Born in 1822, Grant grew up in Georgetown, Ohio, in a family of tanners — those who transform animal skin to leather, according to the New York State Museum.
In June 1843, at age 21, Grant graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point as an officer in the U.S. Army.
“Of those who survived the rigorous four years at West Point in the class of 1843, Grant graduated 21st out of 39 cadets,” according to the National Park Service.
Ulysses S. Grant graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1843 and went on to become an Army leader before his election to the presidency. (Stock Montage/Getty Images)
“Long before he was the famous general who won the Civil War, Grant was known in the Army as a brilliant horseman,” the NPS also noted.
“Before his class undertook its graduation ceremonies, Grant was offered the chance to show his riding skills to the Corps of Cadets as well as spectators during the graduation proceedings. One cadet remarked, ‘It was as good as any circus to see Grant ride,’” the same source said.
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After marrying Julia Dent, the sister of a West Point classmate, in 1848, Grant moved between various Army posts across the United States, according to History.com.
Six years later, he resigned from the military and reunited with his wife in Missouri at the plantation where she grew up.
By 1860, the Grants had four children.
President Ulysses S. Grant with his wife Julia Grant and their children, Frederick, Ulysses…
