U. S. Grant

      More Letters From Paradise
            U.S. Grant
My given name is Grant, it was my father's middle name, and he was born in Grant's Pass Oregon. The pass in Oregon was named for the famous Civil War general and president of the United States. That is what I want to write about.

I have just finished reading the newly-published biography of U.S. Grant, written by Ron Chernow. I believe  it is one of the best biographies I have ever read. Historians have not been kind with the story of his life. They dwell on the facts of his failed leather business and above all, the fact that he drank, They fail to tell how difficult it was for him to fight off his urge to drink. He often refused to have alcohol served at the White House . He struggled, and most of the time he won the battle.

Grant graduated from West Point, and fought in the Mexican War. He loved Mexico and its people, but disliked having to fight in what he felt was an unjust war.

While still in uniform, he met and fell in love with Julia Dent, of Missouri whose father kept thirty slaves, four of whom belonged to her. She had one cross-eye, but it did not matter to Grant. He father refused permission for a marriage, and the couple remained engaged for four long years.

Grant later resigned his commission, and went to work in his father's leather business. He was a failure in business. One of Grant's failures throughout his life, was that he was always too honest and trusting, and people often took advantage of it.

His early years of struggling came to an abrupt end, with the coming Civil War. Grant and his wife Julia were living in Iiiinois. He reenlisted, and raised a regiment of men.

Space here does not permit, nor do I have the desire to relate all of his victories in the western area of the war, including Vicksburg, Mississippi. The eastern theater of the war was not going well after the Battle of Gettysburg. President Lincoln was having a difficult time finding generals who could win. Grant was summoned and became supreme commander of the Union Army. He sent General Sherman on a  path of destruction south, through Georgia to the sea. Likewise, he sent General Sheridan to lay waste the Shenandoah Valley, depriving the rebels of food and rail transport. General Robert E. Lee was forced to surrender. Grant made use of the telegraph to know what was happening in all the theaters of the war. The four year long Civil was was over, at a cost of 750 thousand dead, and thousands more wounded and maimed.

Grant's popularity was such that he was elected president. He championed civil rights for blacks, with the 14th and 15th  amendments to the Constitution. Southerners were upset with the idea that blacks were now citizens with the right to vote. Black citizens were murdered,lynched, and burned alive. Black schools and churches were also burned. The KKK and the Knights of the White Camilia and other groups terrorized blacks throughout the entire south. Grant sent Union troops to restore order.

The period of Grant's administration  is called the "Gilded Age,"due to the great riches achieved by men, who were often no better than thieves. The discovery of gold,the westward settlement, and the building of railroads all helped to make this possible. Grant lost most all of his money by trusting a business partner.

The was a moment to  draft Grant for a third term, but he declined. His health was failing. His throat was so sore that it hurt him to even swallow water. He had a large growth on the side of his neck. He knew that he was dying, but he wanted to see his memoirs printed and sold, to provide money for his wife. Mark Twain, a friend of Grant published the memoirs. Some few historians claim that some of the writing was written   by Mark Twain, but Twain denied that charges and paid tribute Grant's writing style.

Unable to eat, Grant weighed only ninety pounds when he died. There is the old joke asking who is buried in Grant's tomb. Located in New York city, it is the largest tomb in America.

This is such a great biography, if you are not afraid of a big book. Well worth your time. I was left with the feeling that in spite of the loss of life and property, things in the south remained largely unchanged. The only difference was the end of slavery.

    Aloha
    Grant