IA 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. J. RES. 58 

To provide for the appointment of Ulysses S. Grant to the grade of General 

of the Armies of the United States. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 

Mrs. WAGNER (for herself, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. STEFANIK, Mrs. BUSTOS, and 

Mr. GUEST) submitted the following joint resolution; which was referred 

to the Committee on Armed Services 

JOINT RESOLUTION 

To provide for the appointment of Ulysses S. Grant to the 

grade of General of the Armies of the United States. 

1 Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives

2 of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This joint resolution may be cited as the ‘‘Ulysses 

5 S. Grant Bicentennial Recognition Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) On March 3, 1799, Congress created the 

9 grade of ‘‘General of the Armies of the United 

10 States’’ as the commander of the Army of the 


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1 United States (5th Congress, Session III, Chap. 48, 

2 Section 9). 

3 (2) On March 16, 1802, Congress effectively 

4 dissolved the grade of General of the Armies of the 

5 United States when it passed the Military Peace Es6 tablishment Act without reference to the grade (7th 

7 Congress, Session I, Chap. 9, Sec. 3). 

8 (3) On July 1, 1843, Ulysses S. Grant grad9 uated from the United States Military Academy at 

10 West Point, and, on July 31, 1854, Grant resigned 

11 from the Army at the grade of Captain. 

12 (4) Following President Abraham Lincoln’s 

13 April 15, 1861, proclamation calling for 75,000 vol14 unteers to suppress Confederate forces, Ulysses S. 

15 Grant rejoined the Army and helped recruit and 

16 train volunteer soldiers for the Union. 

17 (5) Over the course of the American Civil War, 

18 Ulysses S. Grant commanded a cumulative total of 

19 over 620,000 Union soldiers and achieved major vic20 tories including Fort Henry (February 1862), Fort 

21 Donelson (February 1862), Shiloh (April 1862), the 

22 Vicksburg Campaign (November 1862—July 1863), 

23 Chattanooga (November 1863), the Wilderness Cam24 paign (May 1864—June 1864), the Petersburg 


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1 Campaign (June 1864—April 1865), and the Appo2 mattox Campaign (April 1865). 

3 (6) On February 29, 1864, Congress reestab4 lished the grade of ‘‘Lieutenant-General of the 

5 United States Army’’ and authorized the President 

6 to appoint, by and with the advice and consent of 

7 the Senate, an officer who was ‘‘most distinguished 

8 for courage, skill, and ability’’ (38th Congress, Ses9 sion I, Chap. 14, Sec. 1); that same day, President 

10 Abraham Lincoln nominated Ulysses S. Grant to be 

11 Lieutenant-General. 

12 (7) On March 10, 1864, President Abraham 

13 Lincoln formally appointed Ulysses S. Grant to the 

14 grade of Lieutenant-General of the Army, a position 

15 previously held by only George Washington and Win16 field Scott, although Scott’s promotion was a brevet 

17 appointment. 

18 (8) On July 25, 1866, Congress established the 

19 grade of ‘‘General of the Army of the United 

20 States’’ (39th Congress, Session I, Chap. 232), and 

21 Ulysses S. Grant was appointed, by and with the ad22 vice and consent of the Senate, to General of the 

23 Army of the United States for his role in com24 manding the Union armies during the Civil War. 


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1 (9) On March 4, 1869, Ulysses S. Grant was 

2 sworn in as the 18th President of the United States. 

3 (10) Throughout his two terms as President, 

4 Ulysses S. Grant secured the ratification of the 15th 

5 amendment to the Constitution, the creation of the 

6 Department of Justice, and the passage and imple7 mentation of the Civil Rights Act of 1875. 

8 (11) On October 11, 1976, Congress enacted 

9 Public Law 94–479, which re-established the grade 

10 of ‘‘General of the Armies of the United States’’ to 

11 posthumously request the appointment of George 

12 Washington to General of the Armies of the United 

13 States and made clear that this grade has ‘‘prece14 dence over all other grades of the Army, past or 

15 present’’. 

16 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this joint resolution 

17 is to— 

18 (1) honor Ulysses S. Grant for his efforts and 

19 leadership in defending the union of the United 

20 States of America; 

21 (2) recognize that the military victories 

22 achieved under the command of Ulysses S. Grant 

23 were integral to the preservation of the United 

24 States of America; and 


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1 (3) affirm that Ulysses S. Grant is among the 

2 most influential military commanders in the history 

3 of the United States of America. 

4 SEC. 3. APPOINTMENT. 

5 The President is authorized and requested to appoint 

6 Ulysses S. Grant posthumously to the grade of General 

7 of the Armies of the United States, such appointment to 

8 take effect on April 27, 2022. 

Æ 


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