Germanna Ford, Rapidan River, Virginia. Ruins of bridge at Germannia Ford, where the troops under General Grant crossed, May 4, 1864

Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant (April 27, 1822 – July 23, 1885) was the 18th President of the United States (1869–77). During American Civil War, as Commanding General of the United States Army (1864–69), Grant under President Abraham Lincoln, he led the Union Army to victory over the Confederacy. Twice elected president, Grant led the Republicans in their effort to remove the remains of Confederate nationalism and slavery, protect African-American citizenship. His presidency has often come under criticism for protecting corrupt associates and in his second term leading the nation into a severe economic depression. "I know no method to secure the repeal of bad or obnoxious laws so effective as their stringent execution."