#5 – Ulysses S. Grant – Knight

To paraphrase Terry Pratchett, everything about Ulysses S. Grant could be prefixed with “badly”; as in dressed, shaven, and in need of a drink. And yet, I have to confess to a slight history crush on General Grant here. The guy had a helluva time in life; he graduated 21st in a class of 39, resigned from the army after being found drunk on duty, and went on to a slew of failures in business. However, when the Civil War began, Grant completely failed to give up. Instead, he drummed up a company of volunteers and did his duty as he saw it. By the end of the war, Grant was in command of the Union Army and managed to force the South to surrender. General Grant failed more often than he succeeded, but he managed to push through his many shortcomings and personal flaws, and managed to do the things that were most important to him. And I think that’s downright inspirational. ^^b

In RPGs, the Knight is usually the defensive party member, taking damage for other, less sturdy characters. Although occasionally seen as the holy dude in shiny silver armor, General Grant is a Knight of the old school. No paragon of moral order, this Knight is simply a warrior in service of a lord, bound to do his duty. …Though I suppose in this case Grant’s lord would be Lincoln. As if the world needs more slashfic of those two.

Category: 2011, Fantasy