On October 28, 1879, former president Ulysses S. Grant went underground in Virginia City, Nevada, to explore the famous mines of the Comstock Lode. Having arrived the previous day to an enthusiastic public welcome, Grant and his companions descended the C. & C. shaft and toured the lower workings of the Consolidated Virginia and California mines. The visit brought one of the nation’s most celebrated military figures into the depths of a major Western mining district.
The excursion came during Grant’s travels through the American West following his return from a world tour. He and Julia Grant had landed in San Francisco that September after more than two years abroad. In Nevada, the former president encountered an industrial world of deep shafts, heavy machinery, and oppressive underground heat. A later historical account reports temperatures reaching 130 degrees in places along the mine tour.
A photograph dated October 28 preserves the visiting party in an unusually informal setting. Identified members include Grant, his wife Julia, their son Ulysses Jr., mining magnates John W. Mackay and James G. Fair, and Nevada governor John H. Kinkead. Rather than a portrait of Grant surrounded solely by miners, it records a meeting of political celebrity, family, and Comstock wealth. Its appeal lies in that contrast: a former president far from the ceremonial settings of public office, taking part in a firsthand exploration of the industrial West.
