Grant captured Jackson, Mississippi, in April 1863, and then Vicksburg, Mississippi, in July 1863. He later won several battles in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in November 1863. This series of victories earned him the trust of President Abraham Lincoln, who named him supreme commander of the Union army.

In April 1865, Grant defeated Confederate forces led by General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Five Forks near Petersburg, Virginia. He took Richmond, Virginia, shortly thereafter, which culminated in Lee surrendering to Grant at Appomattox Court House on April ninth. This surrender effectively ended the Civil War.