10 fascinating facts about Ulysses Grant

http://news.yahoo.com/10-fascinating-fac...20428.html

I enjoyed some of the quizzes listed under the section on Grant also.

Fascinating fact # 11: Grant was once sued by Zachariah Chandler. When Grant became president, Chandler served in his Administration. Apparently all had been forgiven.

Thanks for this topic Gene.

Fascinating fact #12: Grant was a talented artist. See more at
http://www.granthomepage.com/grantartist.htm

   

Many thanks for posting the link, Anita! Very interesting site - it provided me with fascinating fact #13: Grant had a conversation with German chancellor Otto von Bismarck on slavery:
http://www.granthomepage.com/grantslavery.htm

The most fascinating for me was to read the entire conversation, which took place in Berlin on June 30, 1878. I found it here:
http://books.google.de/books?id=w1ijHal5...=html_text
   

This may surprise some of you, but I am a fan of Grant. I especially appreciated the section on Grant's Genius on the granthomepage. Some very appropriate and timely thoughts there for our own generation.

(04-26-2014 05:49 PM)L Verge Wrote:  This may surprise some of you, but I am a fan of Grant.

I was surprised to learn that Grant and Mosby were friends, that Mosby was Grant's campaign manager in Virginia, and later in return appointed US consul to Hong Kong.

I, too am a fan of General Grant - never knew that he was an artist -- and apparently very good one, too!! Thanks for this wonderful link. It appears that he was more or less a student of the Hudson River School artistic style. Very talented indeed.

I am somewhat familiar with General Grant's family on a personal level. I dated one of his great-great grandsons awhile back in my youth.....

As for the "S" in his name, I sometimes read it stood for "Simpson" (his mother's maiden name).

For what it is worth, the old story is that Grant was named Hiram Ulysses Grant at birth. When the was accepted to West Point he saw his trunk with his initials on it: "HUG." Grant was aware of the cadets' penchant to give each other nicknames and was not about to be called HUG. So he told the congressman that his name was Ulysses Hiram Grant. The form for admission appointment called for a middle name. The congressman could not remember what it was and assumed it was his mother's maiden name, "Simpson." When Grant arrived to sign up he was denied admission because no Ulysses Hiram Grant existed, but a Ulysses Simpson did. Grant, ever practical, signed in as "US Grant" and so be became. His nickname was "Sam" because the US initials reminded the cadets of "Uncle Sam."

Wasn't it Grant that was training troops in Springfield, Illinois early in the war?

Bill, I checked his memoirs, and he talks about his time in Springfield here and here.

There is information on markers here.

Thank you Roger. I love the fact that Grant spent time there. It just makes Springfield even more special than it already is. I wonder what is at the site where Grant trained the troops in Springfield now.

We will need to add this spot to our Springfield schedule. It's not that far from the hotel we stayed at.

(04-26-2014 06:19 PM)BettyO Wrote:  I am somewhat familiar with General Grant's family on a personal level. I dated one of his great-great grandsons awhile back in my youth.....

That's pretty cool, as we used to say back then!