Schmidt: Remembering the struggles of Ulysses Grant

On this anniversary of the birth of Hiram Ulysses Grant, 200 years ago today, he is remembered as the 18th president of the United States, commander of the U.S. Army during the Civil War and national hero. He can also be thought of as an ordinary human being who struggled with many things that we struggle with now, two centuries later.

Grant’s story is one of unrelenting service to his country. The Ohio native studied at West Point and graduated as a skilled horseman. Following his graduation, he was stationed at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis. Not long after arriving at Jefferson Barracks, Grant met Julia Dent, the sister of one of his West Point classmates and the daughter of a plantation owner. Shortly after meeting Dent, Grant went on to fight in the Mexican-American War. After the war, Grant returned to St. Louis and married Dent in 1848. The couple had four children. Grant resigned from the military in 1854 after being assigned to a series of remote army posts, including in Vancouver (he returned to Vancouver Barracks in 1879). The Grant family lived at White Haven, the Dent family’s plantation.

Grant’s military career advanced quickly during the Civil War. After war began in April 1861, he reenlisted and became a colonel in the 21st Illinois Volunteers. President Abraham Lincoln soon made him a brigadier general and by 1864 Grant was given command of all U.S. armies. He commanded the victorious Union army and, on April 9, 1865, Confederate Gen. Robert Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia, effectively ending the Civil War.

Grant served two terms in the presidency from 1869 to 1877, which was in the middle of Reconstruction. He supported pardons for former Confederate leaders while also attempting to protect the civil rights of freed slaves. In 1870, he oversaw the creation of the Justice Department. During his term, the 15th Amendment, which gave Black men the right to vote, was ratified. He signed legislation limiting the activities of groups like the Ku Klux Klan. Later in life, Grant commissioned Mark Twain to assist in writing his memoirs. The royalties of his memoirs totaled about $450,000, which would be more than $10 million today.

The story of one of the most extraordinary military leaders in American history is made even more remarkable when one considers his personal life.

Grant received little warmth or nurturing from his mother. He was constantly reminded by his father that Grant disappointed him. He was a mediocre student. Dent’s father, his eventual father-in-law, also did not approve of Grant; he opposed the marriage and went so far as to scheme ways to keep Dent from marrying him. Neither father thought Grant would ever make something of himself.

Multiple times he failed as a businessman, which required him to take whatever jobs he could, including walking the streets of St. Louis selling firewood. He started out his military career as an ambivalent soldier. Grant struggled with how to reconcile that his wife’s family owned slaves when he considered it morally wrong. He battled with alcoholism through much of his adult life.

Grant remained honest during his presidency, but his administration tarnished him with corruption and scandal. Later in his life, he was diagnosed with cancer. He decided to write his memoirs to be able to provide for his family after he died, since he was swindled out of their savings.

Grant never used any of these personal and human experiences as an excuse. Despite his personal demons and difficult relationships, Grant rose to be a hero of our country. At the end of his life, he wrote, “I am glad to say that while there is much unblushing wickedness in this world … there is a compensating goodness of the soul.” Grant never seemed to let that wickedness stop him accomplishing great things. Endeavors that Americans should be forever grateful for.

I am not sure which I admire more, Grant’s professional life or his personal journey. Perhaps Twain said it best when he wrote, “He was a very great man and superlatively good.”

Lynn Schmidt is a St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist and Editorial Board member. lynnschmidtrn@outlook.com.