Bad Ass Presidents: America's Military Leaders from Washington to Roosevelt

By Nicholas L. Vulich

Bad Ass Presidents follows the life of America's warrior Presidents. Forget Bush, forget Obama - They're a bunch of pussies compared to these guys. And, just so you know - we took out all of the boring crap, and left just what you need to know.

George Washington rode fearlessly at the head of his troops. During the French and Indian wars he had two horses shot from under him, and four bullet holes blasted through his coat. None of that discouraged him.

Andrew Jackson has the dubious honor of being the first President to have an assassination attempt made upon his life. What did the old warrior do? He charged the son-of-a-bitch with his cane and went on with his day.

William Henry Harrison defeated the Indian chief Tecumseh at the Battle of the Thames. At the Battle of Tippecanoe he had two horses shot from under him and kept fighting.

Zachary Taylor, hero of the War of 1812 and Mexican War, was propelled into office through his military fame. Because of religious beliefs he refused to be inaugurated on Sunday. As a result this was the only day in history America had neither a President nor Vice-President.

Abraham Lincoln fought in the Black Hawk War; physically tossed an agitator out of the audience at his first political rally; in the Civil War he often visited battlefields, walking here and there, with no regard for the dangers involved.

General Ulysses S. Grant was a hard drinking, rough and tumble fighter who moved from one battle to the next not stopping to rest in between. Of him all Lincoln could say was - "I can't spare him, he fights."

Theodore Roosevelt was a gentleman, a scholar, and one of the hardest fighting Presidents we have ever had. He was a frontiersman with his own ranch in the Dakotas; he raised his own regiment, the Rough Riders, to fight in the Spanish American War. As a politician he was fearless, and fought for a "Square Deal" for everyone.

Each of these Bad Asses show what a President can be if he doesn't spend his entire day flying a desk, or hiding under it.

Read the book! Learn about some real American Heroes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nick Vulich
• Release date: Jan 15, 2015
• ISBN: 9781507072981

Book preview

Bad Ass Presidents

America's Military Leaders from Washington to Roosevelt

Copyright © 2014 by Nicholas L. Vulich 

Table of Contents

George Washington

Early Life - Revolutionary War - Military Tactics - Valley Forge - Baron Von Steuben - French Entry Into Revolution - Battle of Yorktown - End of the Revolution - After the War - Constitutional Convention of 1787 - Washington the President - Establishing the New Government - General Anthony Wayne & Battle of Fallen Timbers - Whiskey Rebellion - Home at Mount Vernon - Death of George Washington

Andrew Jackson

Jackson as a Young Man - Duels of Andrew Jackson - Early Legal Career - Military Service - Creek Indian Wars - Battle of New Orleans - January 8th, 1815 - Seminole Indian Wars - 1824 Presidential Election - Jackass Jackson - 1828 Presidential Election - President Andrew Jackson - The Kitchen Cabinet - South Carolina Nullification - The National Bank - Indian Removal - End of His Presidency - Death of Andrew Jackson

William Henry Harrison

Early Life - St. Clair's Defeat - With Mad Anthony Wayne's Army - Governor of Indiana Territory - Attempt to Kill Harrison - Tecumseh and the Indian Confederacy - Battle of Tippecanoe - Battle of Lake Erie - Battle of Thames / Death of Tecumseh - Presidential Election of 1836 - Presidential Election of 1840 - Fun Facts about President Harrison

Zachary Taylor

Introduction - Florida Indian Wars - Battle of Okeechobee - Mexican War - Siege at Fort Brown - Battle of Palo Alto - Battle of Reseca de la Palma - Battle of Monterrey - Battle of Buena Vista - President Zachary Taylor - Death of Zachary Taylor

Abraham Lincoln

Meet Abraham Lincoln - Lincoln and the Black Hawk War - Congressman Abraham Lincoln - Lincoln and Women - Lincoln Douglas Debates - Baltimore Plot to Assassinate Lincoln - Emancipation Proclamation - Battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg - Lincoln on the Battlefield - Assassination of Lincoln

Ulysses S. Grant

From West Point to the Mexican War - After the Mexican War - Outbreak of the Civil War - Fort Donelson - Battles of Corinth and Pittsburg Landing - Lieutenant General Grant - Battle of the Wilderness - Surrender at Appomattox Court House - President Ulysses S. Grant - After the Presidency - Final Days

Theodore Roosevelt

Early Life - In the Wild Wild West - New York Mayoral Election - Assistant Secretary of the Navy - Raising the Rough Riders - Battle of San Juan - After San Juan - Governor Theodore Roosevelt - President Theodore Roosevelt - The Square Deal - Theodore Roosevelt Sportsman - Assassination Attempt - Death of Theodore Roosevelt

George Washington

Presidential Bad Ass

George Washington is the original bad-ass President.

For most of his life he was out there in the trenches every day slugging it out with his troops.

French and Indian Wars

Washington fought with General Braddock in the French and Indian Wars. Despite getting his ass kicked all the way back to Virginia, he came out punching as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army ten years later.

What many people don’t know is George Washington fought the opening skirmish of the French and Indian Wars. While advancing through the wilderness with his troops on May 28, 1754, Washington ambushed a small force of Frenchmen, killing ten of them, one of whom was a Royal messenger sent to deliver a message to the English.

After the attack Washington retreated to Fort Necessity. Ironically the fort came under attack by the French on July 3rd, and Washington was forced to surrender the fort on July 4th.

In July of 1755 General Braddock requested George Washington to serve as his aide in an attack on Fort Duquesne. One of the first things Washington did was explain to Braddock about the French and Indian methods of warfare. His advice fell on deaf ears, and Washington grew frustrated. Braddock was determined to conduct his campaign in proper European style.

Braddock took to the field English style, advancing towards the enemy head on and got his ass kicked big time. A large force of Indians attacked his army killing the majority of his men, Braddock included.

George Washington wrote his mother describing Braddock’s defeat in 1755, The Virginia troops showed a good deal of bravery, and were nearly all killed...I luckily escaped without a wound, though I had four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me.

On his return to Virginia Governor Dinwiddie appointed Washington commander of all the Virginia military forces. He was tasked primarily with defending the Virginia border from Indian attacks.

Over the next ten months Washington fought nearly twenty battles with the Indians, resulting in the loss of one third of his men (just over 300 killed).

Later the British gave Washington command of a regiment in an effort to retake Fort Duquesne. As fate would have it, he crossed swords with another British regiment (both sides thinking the other side was a French force). In the resulting melee fourteen soldiers were killed and twenty-six wounded.

At the end of the war, Washington applied for and was refused a command in the British regular army. He resigned his commission, and returned home to Mount Vernon.

Revolutionary War

Upon returning to Mount Vernon, Washington entered the political arena.

He became a member of the Virginia House of Burgess, and was a delegate from 1759 to 1774. While a member he opposed several British laws including the Stamp Act. In 1774 he represented Virginia at the first Continental Congress.

The Continental Congress at this time was divided into three factions. Sam Adams and Benjamin Franklin favored independence and fighting the British; Robert Morris and Benjamin Harrison agreed the British needed a good thrashing, but wanted to remain under the Crown; and John Dickinson led a group that wanted to work out an agreement with the British that didn’t involve fighting.

Washington favored complete separation from Britain. He wanted the Americans to cut the apron strings, and strike out on their own.

Early in 1775 Congress chose Washington to command the Continental Army. He accepted, with the stipulation he would not accept a salary for his duties.

Washington’s first success occurred in Boston where he drove the British out of the city. He did this with a rag-tag fleet of six ships. They intercepted supplies meant for the British troops there. He placed cannons on the heights above the city, and raked the British encampment at will. After eight months the British accepted the futility of their position and sailed away leaving the city to Washington’s troops.

This early victory urged the Americans on, and helped encourage them to sign the Declaration of Independence in July of 1776.

Shortly after the Americans signed the Declaration of Independence, the British kicked the action into high gear launching an attack on New York. That August the British landed 30,000 troops on Staten Island. They followed this up by landing more troops at Manhattan.

In both cases the Continental troops immediately surrendered or ran away.

Washington was enraged by his soldier’s cowardice.

Inspiration

All of this made Washington rethink his strategy for engaging the British. Normal battle formation at that time had the opposing armies facing each other and trading shots. Washington knew he couldn’t win using traditional tactics. He determined that using frontier and native American methods of warfare would give him an advantage over the British.

His first engagement was a surprise attack launched on Christmas Day, 1776 at Trenton, New Jersey. Several days later he followed up this success by attacking the British garrison at Princeton. They weren’t big victories, but they were important in as much as they pumped up American spirits.

Washington was on fire.

Each attack bolstered his confidence, and enhanced his reputation in the colonies.

The rest of 1777, however, was a downhill slide for Washington, other than minor victories at Brandywine and Germantown. The year ended on a depressing note for the Americans with the British entrenching themselves in Philadelphia.

Valley Forge

On December 19, 1777, Washington led his