 The Honor of a Military General

Ulysses S. Grant began to write his memoirs when he was diagnosed with terminal throat cancer in the fall of Grant was known to complete up to 50 pages per day. Grant finished his memoirs on July 18, 1885 & died 5 days later. The book was originally published by Mark Twain in two separate volumes.

Ulysses S. Grant was presented with this sword by citizens of Kentucky in 1864 to congratulate Grant for his promotion to General in Chief of all Union forces. The sword is silver & gold and contains a monogram with 28 diamonds. The blade is 33 inches long and houses a engraved battle scene. In 2007, the sword was auctioned off for $1,673,000 in Dallas. Other pieces that were auctioned off included two civil war period flags that were carried in battle. One historian described the sword as a “hallmark of American silversmith craftsmanship.”

Ulysses S. Grant and Abraham Lincoln, the 16 th President of the US, were often in correspondence with each other. Lincoln had a son named Robert that he was never particularly close with. However, Robert was restless and wanted to join the Union Army and fight. As a father, he did want his son to join the army, and neither did his wife. Mary was terrified that she would have to attend another funeral of her children. Lincolns solution to this was that he wrote to General Grant “not president, but only a friend.” He asked Grant to take his son into the army under Grant’s command.