Ulysses S. Grant was born on April 27, 1822 at Point Pleasant, Ohio. Point Pleasant is a community east of Cincinnati on the Ohio River. Grant’s father, Jesse, was a tanner.
During the Civil War, mules would often be used to pull wagons full of supplies, forage, or ammunition. Mules would be worked in teams of six and hitched to a wagon in tandem. The mule driver would ride on the back of the mule nearest to the wagon and on the right side. The mule driver kept his authority over the mules, no small task as mules are often very uncooperative, with a whip called a black snake.