Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; [b] April 27, 1822 – July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. Earlier, he was the Commanding General of the Union Army, leading it to victory in the American Civil War in 1865. In 1868, running against Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant was elected eighteenth President of the United States. Unfortunately, though apparently innocent of graft himself, Grant’s administration was riddled with corruption, and scandal. After Lincoln’s assassination on April 15, 1865, Grant worked with incoming President Andrew Johnson to bring the South back into the Union, a period known as Reconstruction. During the years immediately following the war, General Ulysses S. Grant criticized President Andrew Johnson’s Reconstruction plan and aligned himself with Radical Republicans. In the 1868 election, Grant, a military hero and symbol of the Union victory, won in a landslide. Timeline of Ulysses Grant, from his birth on April 27, 1822, to his death on December 14, 1902. Ulysses Grant (1822-1885) commanded the victorious Union army during the American Civil War (1861-1865) and served as the 18th U.S. president from 1869 to 1877. An Ohio native, Grant graduated. Late in the administration of Andrew Johnson, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant quarreled with the President and aligned himself with the Radical Republicans. He was, as the symbol of Union victory during the Civil War, their logical candidate for President in 1868. Widely regarded by the public as the savior of the Union, Ulysses S. Grant was elected president of the United States in 1868. Although his administration was marked by corruption, he easily won a second term in 1872. With the outbreak of the Civil War in April 1861, Grant offered his services to the U.S. military and quickly rose to fame following his victories at Forts Henry and Donelson, where he earned the nickname Unconditional Surrender Grant. Ulysses S. Grant was an American general, Union army commander during the late years of the American Civil War, and 18th president of the United States. It was under his command that the Civil War was brought to an end with a Union victory.