Lincoln and Ann Rutledge

[Linda Anderson]

(05-31-2014 06:55 PM)L Verge Wrote:  The memoirs of Julia Grant makes one think of "premonition" immediately. I might add that, if Julia was that persuasive to get her husband to turn down a Presidential invitation, then she evidently had a bit of a feminine backbone also! God bless her.

Grant didn't want to go to the theater either so he was glad he had a reason to excuse himself. He had spent the previous evening with Mrs. Lincoln viewing the illuminations. (Mrs. Grant was annoyed because she wanted to see the illuminations with her husband first so he went with her and the Stantons and then accompanied Mrs. Lincoln.) Mrs. Lincoln was upset because the crowds were cheering for Grant rather than her husband.

I found the following anecdote:

"Grant's relationship with President Lincoln was largely unaffected by the difficult relationships engendered by Mrs. Lincoln with Grant's wife. Mary Lincoln was highly jealous of any attentions granted by her husband to another woman. When she visited the Richmond front in April 1865, she erupted several times at Mrs. Grant over what she regarded as improper liberties granted the wives of Union generals. Historian John Y. Simon wrote:
'On April 7, the day Grant first asked Lee to surrender, [Julia Grant and the wife of General John A. Rawlins] received a telegram from Ulysses telling them to return home. Grant expected to be absent ten or twelve days longer, to go to Danville, and to unite with Sherman, who was then in North Carolina, in crushing the remnants of the rebel forces. Julia proudly noted on the telegram that she 'did not obey' but remained at City Point and eventually returned to Washington escorted by victorious generals.'
'While Grant cornered Lee, Julia visited the Lincolns on the River Queen. She understood that Mary Lincoln did not welcome her company. Somewhat miffed that Lincoln had visited Richmond without her, Julia made her own visit to the Confederate capital, weeping when she reflected on the human cost of war. When she returned, she learned that the Lincolns, about to return to Washington, had not invited her to a final reception on board their boat. Julia decided to embark upon a James River cruise with her friends, took along a band, and had it play 'Now You'll Remember Me' as her boat passed the River Queen. Julia had acquired a sense of social standing that eclipsed that of her husband.'"19

19. Carol K. Bleser and Lesley J. Gordon, Intimate Strategies of the Civil War: Military Commanders and Their Wives, p. 135.

http://www.mrlincolnandfriends.org/insid...ubjectID=8