Upon graduating West Point, Grant requested assignment in the Dragoons, which made sense given his love of horses. However, due to a lack of vacancies he was assigned to the Infantry instead.
Maybe we could just take a look at Grant's record and ability with horses at West Point:
[Ingalls] recalled that Grant "was the most daring horseman in the Academy." and no one disagreed.
"One cadet recalled, "It was as good as any circus to see Grant ride."
"After he broke a particularly rebellious dark bay, his classmates "would stand around admiring his wonderful command of the beast and his graceful evolutions."
"In June 1843 Grant brought the whole audience to its feet during the final exercise at the academy riding hall. After a cadet exhibition of various riding skills, the riding master, a grizzled sargent, raising the jumping bar above his head, announced, "Cadet Grant!" People looked to the end of the hall, where a smallish, sligh cadet was mounted on York, a huge sorrel. His fellow cadets had warned Sam Grant that York would kill him (to which he had replied, "Well, I can't die but once"). Now York galloped toward the bar. Grant felt the sorrel gathering for the jump; then the two made the leap with such grace that it seemed to one observer "as if man and beast had been welded together as they cleared the bar. But it was second nature for the cadet who had just established the academy's high-jump record. It would stand for over twenty-five years ..."
Then there comes his assignment to the Fourth Infantry:
"Given his class rank, Grant had little choice when it came to selecting a branch in the service. He requested to be signed to the Dragoons - a logical choice for a horseman - followed by Infantry.
In midsummer he found out that he would join the Fourth Infantry - apparently the Dragoons had no vacancies."
Triumph Over Adversity - Brooks D. Simpson.
So, it appears Grant may have had a choice if he had placed higher in his class ranking.
From Ulysses memoirs:
"At last all the examinations were passed, and the members of the class were called upon to record their choice of arms for service and regiments. I was anxious to enter the cavalry, or dragoons as they were then called, but there was only one regiment of Dragoons in the army at that time, and attached to that, besides the full complement of officers, there were at least four brevet second lieutenants. I recorded therefore my first choice, dragoons; second, 4th infantry; and got the latter."
The Complete Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant
Where might Grant have served it he had gotten his wish to join the Dragoons? How would his antebellum Army career gone differently?
You pose an interesting question, and I've often wondered the same thing. If Grant had gotten his wish, where would he have ended up? Where were the cavalry at the start of the war? Would he have been a 'daring' cavalryman? Could that have led to his earlier demise?
I imagine Grant would have been a superb cavalryman. I've no doubt he would have been daring, as several incidents with horses shows. I also think he would have excelled in this area, though the risk to his life may have been greater, and I'm sure if you consider his love of horses, he'd have thoroughly enjoyed life as a cavalryman.
Bringing the