s
end the war.

Having marched boldly into Pennsylvania, he met the Union army, under
General Meade, at the little town of Gettysburg, not far from the southern
border of the State. There for three days the most terrible battle of the
war, and in its results, one of the greatest battles of all history, took
place. After three days of fighting, in which the loss on both sides was
fearful, Lee was defeated and forced to retreat to Virginia.

The defeat of Lee's army at Gettysburg was a crushing blow to the hopes of
the South. Lee himself felt this to be true. And, grieving over the heavy
loss of his men in the famous Pickett's Charge, he said to one of his
generals: "All this has been my fault. It is I that have lost this fight,
and you must help me out of it the best you can."

But even in the face of this defeat his officers and soldiers still
trusted their commander. They said: "Uncle Robert will get us into
Washington yet."

[Illustration: Union Soldiers.]

But the surrender of another division of the army, fighting far away on
the Mississippi River, added defeat to defeat. For the day following the
battle of Gettysburg, General Grant captured Vicksburg, the greatest
Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River. The South could no longer
hope for victory.

ULYSSES S. GRANT

Before going on with the story of the war, let us pause for a little in
order to catch a glimpse of Ulysses S. Grant, the remarkable man who was
the greatest general that the North produced throughout the war.

He was born in a humble dwelling at Point Pleasant, Ohio, in April, 1822.
The year following his birth the family removed to Georgetown, Ohio, where
they lived many years.

The father of Ulysses was a farmer and manufacturer of leather. The boy
did not like the leather business, but he did like work on the farm. When
only seven years old, he hauled all the wood which was needed in the home
and at the leather factory from the forest, a mile from the village.

[Illustration: Ulysses S. Grant.]

From the age of eleven to seventeen, according to his own story as told in
his "Personal Memoirs," he ploughed the soil, cultivated the growing corn
and potatoes, sawed fire-wood, and did any other work a farmer boy might
be expected to do. He had his good times also, fishing, swimming in the
creek not far from his home, driving about the country, and skating with
other boys.

He liked horses, and early became a skilful rider. A stor