Includes index. "The text includes an edited collection of nineteenth-century documents published in The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant"-- t.p. verso.

Ulysses S. Grant before the Civil War: "I have been quite unfortunate lately" -- The national conflict begins: "We are now in the midst of trying times" -- Grant's biggest mistake: "They are a curse to the army" -- Grant captures Vicksburg: "White flags will be displayed along your lines" -- Victories make Grant commanding general: "An army never was whipped as badly as Bragg was" -- The institution of never-ending war: "It is proposed to have co-operative action of all the armies" -- Lincoln is reelected: "Congratulate the president" -- Grant receives Lee's surrender: "The hopelessness of further resistance" -- Postwar commanding general: "I dread going back to washington" -- The military hero is nominated for president: "Let us have peace" -- Grant becomes president: "The choice has fallen upon me" -- Grant's first term: "An occupation uncongenial to me" -- The Panic of 1873 and other second-term problems: "Matters are worse in New York than yesterday" -- The Grants tour the world: "I have now been absent from home nearly two years" -- A charlatan bankrupts the ex-president: "Financially, the Grant family is ruined" -- Grant's death from cancer: "I am unable to converse even in a whisper".