The name the “Victor of Vicksburg” echoed through the corridors of power. Although most politicians, including Lincoln, had never met Grant in person, in the highbrow social circles and sycophantic cocktail conversations of Washington, he was rapidly becoming something of a celebrity. Grant’s unrivaled battlefield prowess, his lack of political ambition and bureaucratic scheming, and his personal opinions on emancipation and the military employment of African Americans quickly endeared him to the president.
