{"id":18021,"date":"2024-07-02T20:30:54","date_gmt":"2024-07-03T00:30:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/?p=18021"},"modified":"2024-09-03T17:56:46","modified_gmt":"2024-09-03T21:56:46","slug":"18-grant-ulysses-s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/?p=18021","title":{"rendered":"#18. Grant, Ulysses S"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a> Linda Lou Burton posting from Little Rock, Arkansas <\/em>\u2013 Ulysses S Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822 \u2013 July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, from 1869 to 1877. I won\u2019t pull a Groucho Marx on you by asking \u201cWho is buried in Grant\u2019s Tomb?\u201d but I wonder if you know WHY the tomb of Ulysses and Julia Grant is in New York City \u2013 Riverside Drive and W 122nd<\/sup> in Manhattan, to be exact. After all, he was born in Ohio and she was born in Missouri. Part of the answer is simply that\u2019s where they were living when Ulysses died in 1885 and she wanted to easily be able to visit his grave. His only request was that his wife could be buried by his side, which left out military cemeteries (they didn\u2019t accept women). But the clincher was this \u2013 within hours of Ulysses\u2019 death, the Mayor offered<\/em> New York as a burial place. Not long after the funeral, fundraising for a splendid monument began; the \u201cmilitary\u201d design, based on Napoleon\u2019s tomb, was completed in 1897, and Julia was buried beside her husband upon her death in 1902. The monument has been under the management of the National Park Service since 1958.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>You might want to visit the site, because everything about the lives of Ulysses and Julia Grant is somewhat \u2013 unusual. Like the fact that Ulysses was a little guy, not the gigantor war hero I\u2019d always envisioned. He was 5\u20192\u201d when he arrived at West Point, although he did keep growing; the record books say he achieved 5\u20198\u201d and about 150 pounds by the time he was president. And do you know why images of Julia are generally a profile view? She was cross-eyed. She was afraid of surgery in her younger days; when she became First Lady, she decided she should look better, but Ulysses objected: “Did I not see you and fall in love with you with these same eyes? I like them just as they are.\u201d Sweet, and an example of the attraction between the two that had her following him around the country when he was fighting in wars! He wanted her near, and she wanted to be near. Ulysses S Grant is more remembered for his military accomplishments than his presidency, but he NEVER wanted a military career. Would I invite this man to my party? Yes, and Julia too. Their lives had more ups and downs than a Coney Island roller coaster, but they hung together to the end.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re In The Army Now<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Ulysses liked horses. Father Jesse Grant was foreman of a tannery, which Ulysses didn\u2019t like, so Jesse gave him the job of driving wagonloads of supplies during the years before he left for West Point in 1843, age 17. Ulysses was well-schooled by the time he got to West Point, and he did moderately well there, but enjoyed reading James Fenimore Cooper more than military texts. And, he studied art. He preferred watercolor; nine of his paintings exist today, in museums or private collections. Still, his greatest proficiency was with horses. So wouldn’t you know \u2013 when he graduated he didn\u2019t receive a cavalry assignment; he was sent to Fort Barracks near St Louis, the largest military base in the west. The year was 1843, Ulysses was 21 years old. Four years of duty to fulfill my obligation, then resign and become a teacher<\/em> \u2013 that was his plan.<\/p>\n

Ulysses met Julia Dent ((1826-1902) while he was in Missouri; her brother Frederick was friends with Ulysses at West Point; he introduced them. Then Ulysses was sent off to fight in a \"\"<\/a>war; something he definitely did NOT want to do. He was 24 when he found himself serving under Generals Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott in the Mexican War. Here\u2019s the timeline of what happened next:<\/p>\n