He accompanied General Philip Sheridan on a number of expeditions to the American West in the post-war years, and published a book about the trips in 1876.

It would be bad to be defeated in two decisive battles fought the same day, but it would not be bad to win them.”When, in the summer of 1864, Grant informed the cautious Halleck, back in Washington, of his refusal to disengage Lee and withdraw troops to quell draft resistance in the North, Lincoln responded in language that encapsulated Grant’s tenacious approach: “I have seen your despatch expressing your unwillingness to break your hold where you are. General Strong and my 2x great-grandfather were among the first to enter Vicksburg after it was captured by the Union. As the latter enlarged from preservation of the Union to the freeing of enslaved persons in the For Grant, who as a young man had fought in the Mexican War, a conflict in which he did not believe, the Civil War was a war of principle. In one of history’s unexpected developments, the military profession Grant “had always disliked,” in the words of his biographer Bruce Catton, ultimately “turned out to be the calling made for him.” How did an ambivalent soldier who had been away from the army for several years—and who had drifted during that interval from one civilian occupation to another in search of elusive success—end up leading a vast force to victory and saving the Union?Grant’s predecessors in command of the Union Army were far more accomplished in military art and science.

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He posthumously received a commission as major general, dated from the day of the battle.

Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on February 10, 1863, he was then assigned as Assistant Inspector General on the staff of Army of the Tennessee commander Major General James B. McPherson. In the spring of 1863, he served in the Department of the South, under Maj. Gen. Quincy A. Gillmore. He always favored activity and forward movement to standing still. Born in New York State, he was a lawyer in Racine, Wisconsin when the Civil War began in April 1861.

His confidence and determination made others believe in themselves as well: “when you have completed your best preparations, you go into battle without hesitation...no doubts, no reserve,” Sherman wrote to Grant. He served in this duty for the next year before being assigned as Inspector General on the staff of Brigadier General Thomas J. McKean, who commanded the XI Division of the Army of the Tennessee. He don’t care a damn for what the enemy does out of his sight, but it scares me like hell!”Grant’s refusal to be paralyzed by imagining what the enemy was doing owed to an epiphany early in the war when he was leading a regiment for the first time, in pursuit of Confederate Colonel Thomas Harris in Missouri. When General McPherson was killed in action on July, 22, 1864 during the Battle of Atlanta, William E. Strong was one of the officers who helped remove the General’s body from where he fell to an ambulance wagon. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni.

Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. He was successful in defeating General Lee but was criticized for not pursuing the Confederate Army when in his grasp.