Reference Entry
DEATH OF ULYSSES S. GRANT
Decades after Appomattox, the nation marked the passing of the general who had borne so much of the Union’s burden in the Civil War. Ulysses S. Grant died at a mountaintop cottage in New York after a long illness, having raced the clock to complete his memoirs and provide for his family. The former lieutenant general and eighteenth president had guided the Union armies through the brutal Overland Campaign, siege of Petersburg, and final pursuit of Robert E. Lee.
Dated Historical Context
A RECORDED MOMENT IN HISTORY
Death of Ulysses S. Grant
Decades after Appomattox, the nation marked the passing of the general who had borne so much of the Union’s burden in the Civil War. Ulysses S. Grant died at a mountaintop cottage in New York after a long illness, having raced the clock to complete his memoirs and provide for his family. The former lieutenant general and eighteenth president had guided the Union armies through the brutal Overland Campaign, siege of Petersburg, and final pursuit of Robert E. Lee. His presidency wrestled with Reconstruction, corruption scandals, and the unfinished work of securing rights for formerly enslaved people, leaving a legacy that historians continue to debate. When news of his death spread, veterans’ groups, civic organizations, and ordinary citizens across the country held memorial services and draped towns in mourning. Grant’s funeral procession in New York City and his grand tomb on the Hudson became enduring reminders of how the United States remembers its military leaders long after the guns fall silent.
Read the complete weekly DispatchTrackpads Source Register
