In this statue Grant is depicted in his uniform while General of the Union Army. Appointed General-in-Chief in March 1864 of the Union Army by President Abraham Lincoln, General Ulysses S. Grant saw the American Civil War through to it's conclusion on April 9, 1865. At Appomattox Court House in southern Virginia, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Grant. Grant wrote out generous terms of surrender that would prevent treason trials for General Lee and many other Confederate leaders.

As U.S. President from 1869 to 1877, Grant presided over the Government much as he had run the Army, even bringing much of his Army staff to The White House.