Soldier Of Destiny

Slavery, Secession, And the Redemption of Ulysses S. Grant

By Matthew J. Margis Reviewed by John Reeves

Article published on: August 1, 2024 in the Army History Fall 2024 issue

Read Time: < 4 mins

Pegasus Books, 2023 Pp. iv, 289. $29.95

Ulysses S. Grant has experienced a resurgence in the popular American imagination over the past decade. Initially considered a larger-than-life hero in the years following the Civil War, Grant’s reputation ebbed and f lowed over the following century. Lost Cause supporters often portrayed Grant as little more than a drunkard who only achieved victory by brute force and sheer numbers. However, the diligent work of historians has corrected this inaccurate and unfair portrayal in recent years. Works such as Ronald C. White’s 2016 biography American Ulysses, Ron Chernow’s 2017 Grant, and a 2020 History Channel miniseries have reshaped Grant in the popular imagination. Tis renewed affinity for the once-marginalized Grant culminated in a clause within the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act that promoted Ulysses S. Grant posthumously to General of the Armies, a rank held only by George Washington and John. J. Pershing. John Reeves’s Soldier of Destiny: Slavery, Secession, and the Redemption of Ulysses S. Grant fts this environment. Reeves set out to examine Ulysses S. Grant as a human being rather than as a mythical figure. What emerges is a character study that sheds new light on a figure who has been the focus of countless studies and historical debates.

Unlike most other works that cover Grant’s life, Reeves dedicates little time to the general’s military exploits, political pursuits, or childhood. All of this has been covered elsewhere. Instead, Reeves focuses on the ten years between 1854, when then-Captain Grant resigned his commission from the United States Army, and 1864, when Grant became the first person since George Washington to earn the permanent rank of lieutenant general in the Army. During this period, Grant’s life took many different turns. He lef the Army, returned to his family living in Missouri, became a slave owner, struggled financially, faced internal demons, moved to Illinois to work in a leather goods store, reentered the Army, rose through the ranks, continued to struggle with alcoholism, possibly shifted his views on slavery, overcame numerous obstacles, and achieved the highest military honor one could. This amounted to a theoretical fall from grace capped by both personal and professional redemption.

Although this book is not without its flaws, its focus on this period in Grant’s life offers a unique, though often blurry, glimpse into his personal relationships, views on slavery, and struggles with alcohol. Reeves pays particular attention to Grant’s relationships with his wife, Julia Dent; his father, Jesse Root Grant; his father-in-law, Frederick Dent; the Dent slaves; his children; and various other friends and acquaintances. Reeves notes that Grant came from a northern antislavery family. Yet he married into a slave-owning family and owned slaves himself. Grant lived and worked on his father-in-law’s plantation and personally benefited from slavery. His wife, whom he adored, continued owning slaves and even traveled with her enslaved nurse until late 1863. Although Grant offered freedom to one of his slaves (perhaps the only one he owned personally) in 1859, Reeves shows this was probably a move drawn less from moral convictions than from a pragmatic decision as he prepared to move to Galena, Illinois.

Throughout this book, Reeves digs into the often contradictory and complex nature of Grant the person. As noted above, he benefited from slavery. Eventually, he served as one of the key figures in emancipation as his armies broke the yoke of bondage in its wake. Reeves demonstrates that Grant was undoubtedly not an abolitionist like his father—at least not early in the war—and Grant even held some extremely prejudiced views, as evidenced by his antisemitic General Orders 11. Grant, however, evolved throughout his life and remained fiercely pro-Union and anti secession. Tis unyielding attitude drove him back into the Army in 1861. It served as the foundation of his wartime attitudes toward political issues, which were weighty and impactful. Grant was more than happy to see slavery end in exchange for preserving the country. Grant’s philosophical redemption, then, was borne out of the violence of the Civil War.

In addition to Grant’s relationships and views on slavery, Reeves dedicates significant time to discussing Grant’s complicated struggles with alcohol. As with other aspects of Grant’s life, his supposed alcohol abuse has been the subject of much scrutiny over the past century. Although Reeves does not go so far as to call Grant an alcoholic, he does discuss this issue with poise. He represents Grant as a man who struggled with sobriety and often had moments of weakness when faced with loneliness or prolonged stress. Grant found support from Julia and a trusted advisor, John A. Rawlins. They helped keep Grant on the straight and narrow. Others, though, could tempt Grant with drink, and many of his enemies were quick to spread rumors and gossip. Reeves does a masterful job of discounting unreliable stories while acknowledging the potential truth in others. As with the other aspects of Grant’s life, his alcohol use was complicated and nuanced. Reeves’s treatment of this subject is fair.

Although this book is wonderfully written and offers an in-depth look at Grant as a person, it is not without its shortcomings. One is the author’s lack of voice and interpretation. This reviewer waited for Reeves to provide context for Grant’s internal contradictions. Reeves acknowledges that finding the real Grant is almost impossible, but Grant’s theoretical redemption is somewhat ambiguous. Reeves hints at Grant’s eventual move toward abolition. Those familiar with Grant will know how he treated freed persons as commanding general and president. Those with less familiarity, though, may tend to read this book and conclude that Grant was a typical slaveholder with an occasional drinking problem who hated secession. Tis is certainly not Reeves’s intention, but a more extensive concluding chapter could have provided additional context for a character as complicated as Grant. Nonetheless, this book has the potential to change readers’ understanding of Grant, offering a deeper look than most biographies offer into a f lawed human who achieved greatness. Readers will have difficulty putting this book down. It is a fne addition to any Grant scholar’s collection.