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(For a brief biography of Ulysses S. Grant, please refer to the write-up for the Grant with star gold dollar.)
General Ulysses Grant summed up his strategy toward winning the battles that would end the American Civil War in this statement:
“The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can and as often as you can, and keep moving on.”
Unlike the previous commanders of the eastern theater of the Civil War, Grant did not fight his battles as isolated incidents followed by recuperative periods. Grant hit Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia hard and continued to attack them relentlessly until they surrendered.
The medalet shown in the photo to the right was issued during the 1868 presidential campaign to remind the voters of Grant’s stature as the pre-eminent surviving hero of the Civil War. Before the battle at Spotsylvania Court House, Grant sent the following dispatch to Washington:
“I intend to fight it out on this line, if it takes all summer.”
This sentence set the tone for Grant’s ultimate campaign against the South. He hit the Rebel army hard and never backed down, not even in the face of the terrible losses that his troops sustained.
Although the mintages for the Grant with star and no star gold dollars are the same, the no star piece currently sells for slightly more than the with star variety. The piece pictured in the left photo is an attractive example of strong luster and light coppery toning.