WEST POINT, N.Y. – The U.S. Military Academy will unveil a statue of Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th President of the United States, academy graduate of the Class of 1843, and a native of Ohio, during a ceremony beginning at 1 p.m., Thursday, April 25, 2019, in celebration of the sesquicentennial of his inauguration and the culmination of Inspiration Week at West Point.

“Ulysses S. Grant embodied the West Point motto of Duty, Honor, Country,” said Professor and Head of the Department of History Col. Ty Seidule. “As a soldier, he led an army that emancipated four million people, ended slavery, and saved the United States of America. The Grant statue will inspire generations of cadets to become leaders of principle and integrity for the nation.”

This statue is the first since 1983 (Eisenhower) to be positioned in the vicinity of the Plain. Through a generous donation by Hon. Robert A. McDonald (USMA ’75) his wife Diane and family, a finely detailed full-figure 7-1/2 foot bronze statue upon a 4-1/2 foot granite base will portray Grant in his four-star uniform of the Union Army during the Civil War era. Sculptor Paula Slater was commissioned for the piece.

In May 2016, the Committee on Armed Services House of Representatives encouraged the Secretary of the Army to consider placing a statue of Grant at West Point in time for the 150th anniversary of his inauguration in conjunction with other notable graduates as McArthur, Patton and Eisenhower. Grant was the first West Point graduate to hold the office of President of the United States. Only two graduates have held this position -- Grant and Dwight D. Eisenhower.

About West Point

The U.S. Military Academy at West Point is a four-year, co-educational, federal, liberal arts college located 50 miles north of New York City. It was founded in 1802 as America's first college of engineering and continues today as the world’s premier leader-development institution, consistently ranked among top colleges in the country. Its mission remains constant— to educate, train, and inspire the Corps of Cadets so that each graduate is a commissioned leader of character committed to the values of Duty, Honor, Country and prepared for a career of professional excellence and service to the nation as an officer in the U. S. Army. For more information, go to www.westpoint.edu.