Hiriam Ulysses Grant was born in a one-story timber frame home on April 27, 1822, to Jesse and Hannah Simpson Grant after the family had settled in Point Pleasant the previous year, where Jesse took charge of a nearby tannery. In 1823 the family moved to Georgetown, Ohio, where Hiriam lived until his appointment to West Point at age 17. Though reluctant to attend the academy, he became known as Ulysses Simpson Grant because of an error on the application, graduated in 1843, and was stationed at Jefferson Barracks near St. Louis, where he courted his future wife, Julia Dent, with whom he had four children, Frederick, Ellen, Ulysses Jr., and Jesse. He served as quartermaster in the Mexican War from 1846 to 1848, resigned from the Army in 1854, and was living in Galena, Illinois, working in the family's leather store when the Civil War began in 1861, after which he volunteered for military service. Known as "Unconditional Surrender," Grant was appointed general-in-chief of Union forces by President Abraham Lincoln in 1864. His name recognition and lack of political ties made him the ideal candidate for the Republican nomination for the U.S. presidency, and he was elected to two terms in 1868 and 1872. Despite Grant's character, his choice of cabinet appointments led to corruption in his administration. On July 23, 1885, at Mount McGregor, New York, Grant died just days after completing his acclaimed memoirs.