Military officer; born in
St. Louis, Mo., May 30, 1850; eldest son of
Ulysses S. Grant; was with his father at various times during the
Civil War; graduated at the United States Military Academy in 1871; accompanied
General Sherman on his
European trip in 1872; was appointed aide-de-camp on the staff of
General Sheridan with the rank of lieutenant-colonel in 1873; took
part in the campaign on the frontier against the Indians; accompanied his father on his trip around the world; and resigned his commission in the army in 1881.
In 1887 he was defeated as Republican candidate for secretary of state of New York, and in 1889
President Harrison appointed him minister to
Austria-
Hungary, where he remained till 1893.
He was a police commissioner in New York City through the administration of
Mayor Strong.
In 1898, on the call for volunteers for the war with
Spain,
Colonel Grant offered his services to the
President, and went to the front as colonel of the 14th New York regiment.
On May 27 he was appointed a brigadier-general of volunteers; served in the
Porto Rico campaign; and after the war was appointed commander of the military district of
San Juan.
While holding this post he organized an effective police force for the city similar in plan to that of New York City.
Subsequently he was ordered to the
Philippine Islands, where he rendered such valuable service in operations against the insurgents, and also as an administrative officer, that on the reorganization of the regular army in February, 1901,
President McKinley appointed him one of the new brigadiergenerals, he being then the only officer not in the regular army appointed to that rank.