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The S did not really stand for anything - it was a mistake. President Grant was born Hiram Ulysses Grant. Congressman Thomas Hamer mistakenly nominated him to the U. S. Military Academy as "Ulysses S. Grant of Ohio" , possibly recalling that his mother's maiden name was Simpson. Therefore Grant was enrolled at West Point under that name. He made attempts to get the error corrected, but after no success ,he became resigned to it and accepted the name change. Ulysses S. Grant was therefore the name that was recorded in the army records once he graduated and became an officer. His nickname became "Sam" among army colleagues at the academy, since they figured the initials "U.S." must stand for "Uncle Sam".

In a letter to his wife dated March 31, 1853 he clearly states that the S does not mean anything.

(The story that he changed his name because he did not like the initials HUG cannot be verified and seems to be false. )

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12y ago

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