Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons
U.S. Grant Civil War Scenes https://heartfelthistory.com/us-grant/
"The tide of patriotism that surged through the North after the fall of Fort Sumter in April, 1861, lifted many strong but discouraged men out of their plight of hard conditions and floated them on to better fortune. Grant was one of these. At last he found reason to be glad that he had the education and experience of a soldier. On Monday, April 15, 1861, Galena learned that Sumter had fallen. The next day there was a town meeting, where indignation and devotion found utterance. Over that meeting Captain Grant was called to preside, although few knew him. Elihu B. Washburn, the representative of the district in Congress, and John A. Eawlins, a rude, self-educated lawyer, who had been a farmer and a charcoal burner, made passionate, fiery speeches on the duty of every man to stand by the flag. At the close of that meeting Grant told his brothers that he felt that he must join the army, and he did no more work in the shop. How clearly he perceived the meaning of the conflict was shown in a letter to his father-in-law, wherein he wrote: "In all this I can see but the doom of slavery." He was offered the captaincy of the company formed in Galena, and declined it, although he aided in organizing and drilling the men, and accompanied them to the state capital, Springfield. As he was about starting for home, he was asked by Governor Richard Yates to assist in the adjutant-general's office, and soon he was given charge of mustering in ten regiments that had been recruited in excess of the quota of the State, under the President's first call, in preparation for possible additional calls. His knowledge of army forms and methods was of great service to the inexperienced state officers.” From: Ulysses S. Grant by Walter Allen, published in 1901 https://archive.org/details/ulyssessgrant01alle/page/42/mode/2up Source says not in copyright Image of General U.S. Grant via Library of Congress, no known restrictions
Ulysses S. Grant and Family at Long Branch, New Jersey c. 1870 by Pach Brothers via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
"There had to be an end of slavery.” - Ulysses S. Grant Image: General Grant c. 1862 via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Ulysses S. Grant writing his memoirs at his cottage less than a month before his death. Mount McGregor near Saratoga Springs, New York - 1885 via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
On August 22nd, 1848 Ulysses S. Grant married Julia Dent in St. Louis, Missouri. Image: Ulysses S. Grant with his wife Julia and their son Jesse c. 1872 via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
President Grant seated. His wife Julia standing over him with her arm on his shoulder and others at Bishop Haven's on Clinton Avenue at Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. - 1874 Apparently this home where the photo was taken, where Grant stayed, can be rented... http://www.mvcma.org/10-clinton-ave.html Image via Digital Commonwealth Massachusetts Collections Online, no known restrictions
Massaponax Church, Virginia "Council of War": General Ulysses S. Grant examining map held by General George G. Meade - 1864 via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Ulysses S. Grant during the Mexican-American war c. 1847 via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
General Ulysses S. Grant and five other men on Lookout Mountain, Tennessee 1863 Grant is standing on the lower left Photo via Library of Congress, no known restrictions https://www.loc.gov/item/90712601/
“He arrived on the 8th of March, and going to a hotel waited, unrecognized, until the throng of travelers had registered, and then wrote, simply, "U. S. Grant and son, Galena." The next day, at 1 o'clock, he was received by President Lincoln in the cabinet-room of the White House. There were present, by the President's invitation, the members of the cabinet, General Halleck, and a few other distinguished men. After introductions the President addressed him as follows : — "General Grant, — The expression of the nation's approbation of what you have already done, and its reliance on you for what remains to be done in the existing great struggle, are now presented with this commission, constituting you lieutenant-general in the army of the United States. With the high honor, devolves on you an additional responsibility. As the country herein trusts you, so, under God, it will sustain you. I scarcely need to add, that with what I here speak for the nation goes my own hearty personal concurrence." General Grant made the following reply "Mr. President, — I accept the commission with gratitude for the high honor conferred. With the aid of the noble armies that have fought on so many battlefields for our common country, it will be my earnest endeavor not to disappoint your expectations. I feel the full weight of the responsibilities now devolving upon me; and I know that if they are met, it will be due to those armies; and, above all, to the favor of that Providence which leads both nations and men." The next day he was assigned to the command of all the armies, with headquarters in the field. He made a hurried trip to Culpeper Court House for a conference with General Meade, commanding the Army of the Potomac; but would not linger in Washington to be praised and feted.” From: Ulysses S. Grant by Walter Allen, Published in 1901 https://archive.org/details/ulyssessgrant00alle/page/88 Source says not in copyright
18th President of The United States & Commanding General of the United States Army Ulysses S. Grant was born on April 27th, 1822 in Point Pleasant, Ohio. Famous Grant Quote from 1863: “God gave us Lincoln and Liberty, let us fight for both.” Image of Grant from 1863: The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection, The New York Public Library. "Grant" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 27, 2019. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47d9-be41-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99 No known restrictions
General U.S. Grant with his horse via Library of Congress, no known restrictions https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2003653788/
Ulysses S. Grant and Alexander Hays in 1845 when they were...(starting for The Mexican War) via Library of Congress, no known restrictions https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2005685005/
Ulysses S. Grant was born on April 27th, 1822 in Point Pleasant, Ohio. Image by Mathew Brady
Gen. Ulysses S. Grant (seated) and staff of fourteen By Mathew Brady via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Ulysses S. Grant (Major General) - 1863 From Missouri History Museum via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
"It was intensely humiliating to the old soldier to learn that he had been the decoy of a sharper. It was very bitter to reflect that not only was his own fortune swept away, but also the savings of those who had trusted him. "Financially, the Grant family is ruined for the present, and by the most stupendous frauds ever perpetrated," he wrote to his sister, at the same time sending a message to "Aunt Jennie," whose fortune had been lost in the crash, that she should always have a home with him. But for a time absolute privation threatened. When the failure came, Grant and his wife had but a few hundreds in cash, and as a separate income for Mrs. Grant, purchased by some friends, stopped at this time because of a default in bond interest, the harassed family was in great distress. Fortunately, there were still friends. One gentleman sent him a check for one thousand dollars, as an indefinite loan, on account of services rendered "prior to 1865." The Mexican Ambassador insisted upon the acceptance of a like amount. With this generous aid, the crisis was tided over, until some houses in Washington, belonging to Mrs. Grant, could be sold. One thing hung heavily on the General's conscience. William H. Vanderbilt had made a personal loan to him, and Grant insisted that this debt should be discharged. All of his property at St. Louis and Chicago was deeded to Mr. Vanderbilt, and eventually all of his personal property, including the unique collection of gifts, souvenirs, swords, etc., collected during the trip around the world. Mr. Vanderbilt insisted upon returning this collection to Mrs. Grant, but the General refused, and eventually, with the consent of both, it became the property of the nation. While Grant was thus facing ruin, and the anguish which came from bitter criticism, he was also engaged in the opening skirmish of the last battle of his life. On Christmas, 1883, he had fallen on the ice, and there had been a rupture of a muscle in the thigh. He was slow in recovering, and for months he could walk only with the aid of crutches. When the failure came, he was still far from well, although able to travel around the city. When the first storm of criticism had passed, Grant began to consider the necessity of earning a livelihood, so as to at least accumulate a competence for his wife. It is again one of the unique contrasts of life that this man, who had held most exalted positions, and had so recently been received on terms of equality by the sovereigns of Europe and Asia, was now to become a bread-winner. Fortunately, there was available a line of work for which he had a special, although undiscovered, talent, and in which his peculiar knowledge was needed by the world. Many publishers had endeavored to persuade Grant to write out his memories of the war, but the pressure of other things and a failure to recognize his ability for the work had led him to refuse. In the days of his prosperity, he had written but one magazine article, in advocacy of a re-hearing in the case of General Fit John Porter. But when money was needed, the idea of writing assumed a more favorable aspect. Two articles, on Shiloh and Vicksburg, were written for the Century Magazine, and their reception, as evidenced by a substantial check from the publisher, far in excess of the amount of their agreement, was strong evidence that the public would welcome a complete account of Grant's experiences. Finally, Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain), who was then a member of the publishing firm of Charles L. Webster & Company, secured his signature to a contract, and the great work began.” From: Ulysses S. Grant by Franklin Spence Edmonds, published in 1915. https://archive.org/details/ulyssessgrant00edmo/page/329/mode/1up?q=Family Source says not in copyright Image: Ulysses S. Grant and Family via NYPL Digital Collections, no known restrictions
“Lieutenant General Grant and staff” Photographed sometime between 1861-1865 via Library of Congress, no known restrictions https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2013647573/
"Peabody Fund Committee: William Aiken, Governor, S.C.; Admiral David G. Farragut; Hon. Hamilton Fish, N.Y.; Gen. Ulysses S. Grant; Bishop McIlvane; George B. Westmore, R.I.; Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, Mass.” - Early 1860s via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
“Although a soldier by profession, I have never felt any sort of fondness for war, and I have never advocated it, except as a means of peace.” - Ulysses S. Grant Image: Ulysses S. Grant, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing slightly right, in oval within frame created March 27th, 1885 via Library of Congress, no known restrictions http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2013645299/
"There are many men who would have done better than I did under the circumstances in which I found myself. If I had never held command; if I had fallen, there were 10,000 behind who would have followed the contest to the end and never surrendered the Union.” - Ulysses S. Grant From: A personal history of Ulysses S. Grant, illustrated by thirty-two engravings, fac-similes of letters from Grant, Lincoln, Sheridan, Buckner, Lee, etc.. Published in 1885 https://archive.org/details/personalhistoryo00rich2/page/629 Source says not in copyright Image: President Grant by Mathew Brady via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Ulysses S. Grant and members of his staff during the American Civil War c. 1864 via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
"When I was seven or eight years of age, I began hauling all the wood used in the house and shops. I could not load it on the wagons, of course, at that time, but I could drive, and the choppers would load, and some one at the house unload. When about eleven years old, I was strong enough to hold a plough. From that age until seventeen I did all the work done with horses, such as breaking up the land, furrowing, ploughing corn and potatoes, bringing in the crops when harvested, hauling all the wood, besides tending two or three horses, a cow or two, and sawing wood for stoves, etc., while still attending school. For this I was compensated by the fact that there was never any scolding or punishing by my parents; no objection to rational enjoyments, such as fishing, going to the creek a mile away to swim in summer, taking a horse and visiting my ​grandparents in the adjoining county, fifteen miles off, skating on the ice in winter, or taking a horse and sleigh when there was snow on the ground.” - Ulysses S. Grant from his Personal Memoirs Image via NYPL Digital Collections, no known restrictions https://heartfelthistory.com/store/the-complete-personal-memoirs-of-ulysses-s-grant/
"In the fifth descending generation my great grandfather, Noah Grant, and his younger brother, Solomon, held commissions in the English army, in 1756, in the war against the French and Indians. Both were killed that year. My grandfather, also named Noah, was then but nine years old. At the breaking out of the war of the Revolution, after the battles of Concord and Lexington, he went with a Connecticut company to join the Continental army, and was present at the battle of Bunker Hill. He served until the fall of Yorktown, or through the entire Revolutionary war. He must, however, have been on furlough part of the time--as I believe most of the soldiers of that period were--for he married in Connecticut during the war, had two children, and was a widower at the close. Soon after this he emigrated to Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, and settled near the town of Greensburg in that county. He took with him the younger of his two children, Peter Grant. The elder, Solomon, remained with his relatives in Connecticut until old enough to do for himself, when he emigrated to the British West Indies. Not long after his settlement in Pennsylvania, my grandfather, Captain Noah Grant, married a Miss Kelly, and in 1799 he emigrated again, this time to Ohio, and settled where the town of Deerfield now stands. He had now five children, including Peter, a son by his first marriage. My father, Jesse R. Grant, was the second child--oldest son, by the second marriage. Peter Grant went early to Maysville, Kentucky, where he was very prosperous, married, had a family of nine children, and was drowned at the mouth of the Kanawha River, Virginia, in 1825, being at the time one of the wealthy men of the West. My grandmother Grant died in 1805, leaving seven children. This broke up the family. Captain Noah Grant was not thrifty in the way of "laying up stores on earth," and, after the death of his second wife, he went, with the two youngest children, to live with his son Peter, in Maysville. The rest of the family found homes in the neighborhood of Deerfield, my father in the family of judge Tod, the father of the late Governor Tod, of Ohio. His industry and independence of character were such, that I imagine his labor compensated fully for the expense of his maintenance.” From: Chapter 1 of Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant by Ulysses S. Grant. Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
General Ulysses S. Grant and Staff of Twelve - early 1860s via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Unconditional Surrender Grant Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
"I propose to fight it out on this line, if it takes all summer.” - Ulysses S. Grant Image: The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Print Collection, The New York Public Library. "U.S. Grant - Portraits" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 12, 2020. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47df-cff5-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99 No known restrictions
"I travelled through the Northwest considerably during the winter of 1860–1. We had customers in all the little towns in south-west Wisconsin, south-east Minnesota and north-east Iowa. These generally knew I had been a captain in the regular army and had served through the Mexican war. Consequently wherever I stopped at night, some of the people would come to the public-house where I was, and sit till a late hour discussing the probabilities of the future. My own views at that time were like those officially expressed by Mr. Seward at a later day, that “the war would be over in ninety days.” I continued to entertain these views until after the battle of Shiloh.” - Ulysses S. Grant from his Personal Memoirs  Image via NYPL Digital Collections, no known restrictions
PROPOSED EXCHANGE OF PRISONERS.... In the following October, the following correspondence passed between General Grant and Major-General Polk, formerly a much respected Bishop of the Episcopal Church, but subsequently one of the most bitter and unscrupulous officers of the rebel service: "Head-quarters, First Division, Western Department.” "To the Commanding Officer at Cairo and Bird’s Point: "I have in my camp a number of prisoners of the Federal army, and am informed there are prisoners belonging to the Missouri State troops in yours. I propose an exchange of these prisoners, and for that purpose send Captain Polk, of the Artillery, and Lieutenant Smith, of the Infantry, both of the Confederate States Army, with a flag of truce, to deliver to you this communication, and to know your pleasure in regard to my proposition. "The principles recognized in the exchange of prisoners effected on the third of September, between Brigadier-General Pillow, of the Confederate Army, and Colonel Wallace, of the United States Army, are those I propose as the basis of that now contemplated. "Respectfully, your obedient servant, "L. Polk, 'Major-General Commanding’ To this communication General Grant forwarded the following reply : "Head-quarters, Department "Southeast Missouri, Cairo, Oct. 14th, 1861. "General: — Yours of this date is just received. In regard to an exchange of prisoners, as proposed, I can of my own accordance make none. I recognize no 'Southern Confederacy' myself, but will communicate with higher authorities for their views. Should I not be sustained, I will find means of communicating with you. "Respectfully, your obedient servant, "U. S. Grant, Brigadier- General Commanding. "To Major-General Polk, Columbus, Ky." From: Illustrated life, campaigns and public services of Lieut. General Grant ... With a full history of his life, campaigns, and battles, and his orders, reports, and correspondence with the War department and the President in relation to them, published in 1865 https://archive.org/details/illustratedlifec02gran/page/38/mode/2up Source says not in copyright Image via Library of Congress, c. 1864 no known restrictions
On April 27th, 1822 Ulysses S. Grant was born in Point Pleasant, Ohio. Image: Ulysses S. Grant birthplace via NYPL Digital Collections, no known restrictions https://heartfelthistory.com/us-grant/
Grant at The Battle of the Wilderness in Virginia in May of 1864. There were nearly 30,000 Union and Confederate casualties over the 3 day battle. Image via NYPL Digital Collections, no known restrictions https://heartfelthistory.com/us-grant/
Nellie Grant Sartoris (the daughter of Ulysses S. Grant) and baby (possibly Julia Grant Cantacuzene, daughter of Frederick and Ida Grant.) c. 1876 The following year on May 17th, 1877 Ulysses S. Grant, just a few months after serving as President, and his wife departed Philadelphia on a round-the-world trip. The voyage included a visit with their daughter Nellie Sartoris who was living in England with her husband and children at the time. Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Grant In Peace via Digital Commonwealth Massachusetts, no known restrictions
“Gen. U.S. Grant writing his memoirs, Mount McGregor, June 27th, 1885” via Library of Congress, no known restrictions https://heartfelthistory.com/product/the-complete-personal-memoirs-of-ulysses-s-grant/
Interior of the Ulysses S. Grant farm house "Hardscrabble." - 1912 via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
When Ulysses S. Grant entered West Point as a teen; he weighed less than 120 pounds and was just a few inches taller than 5 feet. Image: General U.S. Grant via Wikimedia Commons, public domain