More battles or engagements were fought in Missouri during the Civil War than in any of the states except Virginia and Tennessee. Missouri was the nation's principal battleground in 1861. It is where people of the Midwest go to experience the drama of those times. Now, travelers can follow the trail of Ulysses Grant as he grew to become one of America’s greatest military commanders.

Eastern Missouri offers a trove of attractions for cultural travelers. Click on the red bar at right to view online versions of Missouri's U.S. Grant Trail™ maps. Float your cursor over the gold symbols and click to see the full text of interpretive panels in the trail area. Order a printed map, and travel literature from our U.S. Grant Trail communities, by clicking the blue bar above.

Ulysses Grant began his Civil War career in north Missouri. That area, and the suburbs of St. Louis, is rich in sites that chronicle Grant’s life in Missouri. What is more, the area features sites of many of the northern-most battles of America’s Civil War, easily accessible to the upper Midwest.