One of my favorites! It's so hard to find any coins minted in 1922; I remember trying once to put a set together for my grandmother's birthday and coming up pretty disappointed!
Ulysses S. Grant’s name was a mistake. He was born Hiram Ulysses Grant, but a letter of recommendation to Westpoint called him Ulysses S. Grant. That became his official name there and carried over into the army and politics. He came to the public’s and Lincoln’s attention when he was commander of the Union troops besieging Ft. Donelson in Tennessee in 1861. The Confederate commander, Simon Buckner, asked for surrender terms. Grant replied, “No terms except unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted.” Buckner, a former friend of Grant’s, unhappily complied. Poor Buckner … his own commander, General Floyd, had skedaddled earlier, leaving Buckner to handle the defeat and become a Union POW. The Union press printed Grant’s reply, which made him a hero. The Northern public started saying his name was Unconditional Surrender Grant. He was a great general. He had an ability to see when he would win if he just kept at it regardless of casualties. This ability would allow him to take Vicksburg, cutting the Confederacy in half at the Mississippi River. Then Chattanooga, which would pave the way for Sherman’s assault on Atlanta. And later, and more painfully, force Lee’s surrender in Virginia. Cal
