Just another book review...
I just completed "Grant's Final Victory - Ulysses S. Grant's Heroic Last Year" today. It was just 250 pages and was a very easy and enjoyable book to read quickly. I heartily recommend it to anyone wishing to know more about Grant's final year and how and why he ended up writing his memoirs. Although the details contained within this book were generally known to me, more or less, the details here were far greater than I had read in regular full length Grant biographies.
The author does an excellent job, overall, of writing the book and presenting Grant's final year to the reader. I believe there was a parallel missed though by the author between Grant's experiences in the war and how he reacted to his families sudden and unexpected bankruptcy as a result of White Collar criminals (essentially a Ponzi Scheme). Grant and has family had been comfortable and believed their remaining years would be ideal and spent in repose after their decades in the public spotlight. But that was not to be. Much like Grant on April 6, 1862, things came crashing down around him in the blink of an eye. The obvious connection is there to be made. One can almost visualize Grant recovering from the shock and determining that although he may have been licked that he would find a way to recover his family's fortune and provide for them. He would "lick them tomorrow."
Writing his memoirs would become Grant's primary focus during the last year of his life. The proceeds would rebuild his family's fortune and provide for them after he was gone. Almost simultaneously to his economic collapse came the first signs of the cancer which would quickly ravage his body. It became a race against time for Grant to write and complete his memoirs before the cancer ran its course. Assisted, visited, and aided by a host of important 19th Century Americas such as Mark Twain, William Sherman, William Vanderbilt, Simon Buckner, and others, Grant would spend his final year working tirelessly to complete one of the more remarkable memoirs ever published. The outpouring of sympathy for Grant was remarkable to read coming from a time now where people and politicians are less civil than ever. But from north and south the condolences and well-wishes poured into Grant's family and uplifted them during his most trying months towards the end.
Every time I read about Grant I am convinced that he might be the most underappreciated American who ever lived. He led a remarkable life and managed to fight and win the most critical war in American history. He loved his wife and his family deeply and unashamedly. He was the doting grandfather and the old gentleman who saved the Republic by the 1880s. To many former Confederates he was the man who let them up easily and allowed them liberal terms to return to their homes and resume their lives. To former Confederate generals he was the one who refused to allow Lee and others to be prosecuted after the war (Lee would never allow a bad word to be spoken about Grant in his presence). Grant's image as a drunk, a corrupt president, and a poor general, largely come from a generation of Lost Cause writers in the early 20th century. The damage done to his reputation continues to be rectified a hundred years later as historians reexamine and resurrect his memory.
One last note about Grant and his legacy. The book discusses the Grant family's ultimate decision to choose New York City as Grant's final resting place. Grant was offered burial plots in numerous places including West Point, Washington DC, St. Louis, and Galena, Illinois. But the family had lived in NYC and were happy there after General Grant retired. But looking back on it from 2025 it seems a shame that Washington DC or Galena were not chosen. In Washington he would have been given a prime location alongside other monuments to Washington and Jefferson and it is likely his legacy would have benefitted from the prominent placement of his tomb among the other American icons in the capital. Had he been buried in Galena the town would have become a tourist destination for generations of Americans seeking to pay tribute to the famed general who saved America. But by being buried in NYC, a place where the only history that really matters is how many championships the NY Yankees have won, his legacy and visibility to the public have surely suffered. I'd also love to see the $50 dollar bill redesigned someday to give us a image of Grant the soldier rather than as the president. History already suffers from people assuming all great men to be old and stuffy. Showing Grant in his prime, a ruffled military hat on his head and his eyes fixed on the future, would be a welcome change. Just my opinion.
What's next?
Nöthin' But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the '80s Hard Rock Explosion
Yeah, that has nothing to do with the Civil War but I have varied interests, lol. Time to read about some awesome bands from the 80s and relive the time when Def Leppard, Poison, Guns N' Roses, and Bon Jovi dominated MTV
I'll get back to the Civil War after that.