“He was an alcoholic, but in all probability quit long before the Civil War.”
Must be the alcohol talking!
Read Grant’s memoirs. He was a very good writer, and the story is enjoyable. It only takes a few hours to read.
Grant wrote them as he was dying from throat cancer so his wife would have money. They were published by Mark Twain.
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/4367/4367-h/4367-h.htm