Was there an assassin on Grant's train?

[Susan Higginbotham]

Well, there is a series of rather engaging letters from John to his cousin Bell, one of which (dated August 1, 1864) contains this affectionate comment about his mother, "Ma and Anna send their love to you. I wish you knew Ma, I know you would like her. Neither of us is like her. My brother resembles her very much. He is the best looking of the family. That is saying a good deal for myself."

Since John chose to stay out of the public eye after his abortive lecture tour (save for one or two interviews), and those closest to him didn't choose to publicly reminisce about him after his death, most of his adult life is a blank to us. That should be remembered when searching for positive examples of his humanity.