Ulysses S. Grant fought in a war.
The Battle of Shiloh , also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing , was a major battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War , fought April 6 -- 7 , 1862 , in southwestern Tennessee . Robert Edward Lee ( January 19 , 1807 -- October 12 , 1870 ) was an American general known for commanding the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War from 1862 until his surrender in 1865 . Ulysses S. Grant . Grant graduated in 1843 from the United States Military Academy at West Point , then served in the Mexican -- American War . In 1862 , Grant took control of Kentucky and most of Tennessee , and led Union forces to victory in the Battle of Shiloh , earning a reputation as an aggressive commander .