The year was 1862, America was in the depths of the Civil War.

Looking back, it's easy to believe that a Union victory was inevitable.

The North had more money, more population, more industry.

But no one thought that at the time.

In the first year of the war, it looked as if the South would win.

A series of high-profile victories in the East convinced many that Confederates were

better fighters, under better leaders.

Where would President Lincoln find a battlefield general who could do for the Union what Robert

Lee was doing for the Confederacy, lead it to victory.

The man he found, the man who saved the Union, was Ulysses S. Grant.

He wasn't Lincoln's first choice, or second, or third.

In fact, when the war started in 1861, Lincoln had no idea who Ulysses S. Grant was.

Hardly surprising, since at the time Grant was selling hats to farmers' wives in a small

town in Illinois.

His rise to glory is one of the most amazing stories in American history.

Born in Ohio on April 27th, 1822, Grant had no ambition to be a soldier.

His father pushed him into it, thinking he wasn't suited for much else.

Grant's West Point career wasn't especially distinguished either, but during the Mexican

American War, 1846 to 1848, Grant proved himself to be an officer of unusual ability.

He was cool under fire, daring, but rarely reckless.

And more important, the men under his command trusted him.

After that war, Grant returned to St. Louis to marry his fiance, Julia Dent, the daughter

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