Country Vacations & Resorts

Time in Office: 1869 to 1877
Terms: Two
Birthday: April 27, 1822
Birth Place: Point Pleasant, Ohio
Date of Death: July 23, 1885
Place of Death: Mount McGregor, Saratoga County, New York
Buried: Riverside Park, New York

Notes:
~ Born “Hiram Ulysses Grant”
~ Entered West Point at the age of 17
~ An expert horseman
~ Had to deal with the aftermath of Civil War
~ At 46, the youngest (then) elected President
~ 11 scandals associated with his time in office
~ Signed into law – Yellowstone National Park and
the National Weather Service

From West Point to Appomattox and beyond…America’s 18th President, Ulysses S. Grant.

Ulysses S. Grant – as he was misrepresented on his application to West Point, was a traveling man from early days. Through his military career and beyond his Presidency, Grant is the most-traveled president we’ve covered to date.

Grant’s first move, before the age of two, was with his family who relocated some 17 miles from Point Pleasant to Georgetown, Ohio. His next move of any distance was to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. “Sam” as he was known there, was not a great student, but he excelled at equestrian activities – setting high jump records that lasted for decades.

By the age of 24, Grant found himself near what is today, Brownsville, Texas and in Mexico at battles such as Resaca de la Palma, and the seige of Veracruz. A lieutenant at the time, Grant was assigned to the quartermaster corp – managing food and supplies for the military. But, he spent his time well and while not taking part in active fighting, he observed and learned from some of the best, and worst, military campaigns.

Grant married shortly after the end of the Mexican-American war in 1848 – taking as his bride Julia Boggs Dent of St. Louis, Missouri. Still in the military but between wars, Grant was sent to the Oregon Territory in 1853 – landing first in San Francisco at the height of the Gold Rush. In 1854 he was promoted to Captain and was assigned to Fort Humboldt but something happened during the year and Grant resigned his commission and found himself a civilian again at age 32.

Civilian life did not sit well with Ulysses. Failed business attempts found him all but giving up by 1860 when he moved his family to Galena, Illinois, where he worked in his father’s leather goods store. And then, the Civil War.

Grant helped recuit volunteers and took an active role in their training and organization in Springfield, Illinois. Promoted to Colonel, Grant’s role in life seemed to be the military – the only time he felt truly successful and happy. Grant’s Civil War battles are numerous – taking him from Illinois to Fort Henry (Tennessee) and Fort Donelson (Tennessee and Kentucky), and the Battle of Shiloh (Tennessee and Mississippi).

By 1862 he commanded 25,000 troops and was promoted to Major General. 1863 found him battling further to Vicksburg (Mississippi) and Chattanooga (Tennessee.) Grant was directed by Lincoln to help him find a way to end the war and in 1864 Grant and his army are taking part in the Battle of the Wilderness (Spotsylvania County, Virginia.) Grant then crossed the James River, capturing Petersburg (Virginia) and finally, in early April 1865, Grant captured Richmond. By April 9th, he was accepting Lee’s surrender at Appomatox Court House (Virginia.)

Less than a week later, President Abraham Lincoln is assassinated in a plot that was thought to have included an attempt on the life of Grant but by 1866 Grant is promoted to General of the Army of the United States and is one of the most popular men in the country. First elected President of the United States in 1868 and serving two terms from 1869 to 1877, Grant dealt with reconstruction of the country, continuing concerns over civil rights, the Panic of 1873, and rapidly changing political landscapes both in the US and abroad.

Grant and Family
1870 – Long Branch, New Jersey

Post-Presidency

You’d think that at the age of 55, with nearly 35 years of non-stop military travel AND a US Presidency, Ulysses S. Grant might have been ready to settle down somewhere. Not quite. Grant was still a popular and internationally famous individual and for the first time, he and his wife Julia were able to travel in much grander style than during his military campaigns.

Much had changed since the days of walking or riding horseback as the only transportation options. Horse and buggy travel was still in use but the advancement of the rail system was rapidly changing the way people thought about travel. In 1879 New York, you might be surprised to find the “First elevated railway…”

President and Mrs. Grant traveled to Great Britain to dine with Queen Victoria at Windsor Palace, met with Prince Bismark in Germany, met the Pope at the Vatican, and then traveled to Russia, Egypt, the Holy Land, Siam (now Thailand), Burma, and China. No wonder it took two years!

They would have traveled to Europe by the fairly new ocean liners such as the RMS Oceanic which could carry over 1000 passengers – although only 100 or so in “First Class.”

Travel such as this was costly though and depleted most of Grant’s savings. After purchasing a property in New York for himself and his family, Grant found himself: not up for a proposed re-election bid, swindled in a banking investment deal, and forced to declare bankruptcy. At the same time he learned he had throat cancer.

Grant wrote his memoirs and articles about his war campaigns that brought his family out of bankruptcy. Unfortunately, he died, July 23, 1885 at his home, only 3 days after finishing his memoirs. He did not live long enough to learn of their great literary and financial success.

His body, after lying in state, was placed on a funeral train and traveled south from Albany, New York, and passed through the West Point station of Garrison, across the Hudson River from the Academy on its way to New York City. At West Point, the whole undergraduate battalion saluted its most illustrious General.

Grant’s body lies in New York City’s Riverside Park, beside that of his wife.

Grant’s Tomb, New York
Grant’s Memorial, Washington, DC

Next: America’s 19th President, Rutherford B. Hayes