Sunday, May 11, 2014

March 4, 1869-Washington, D.C.

 Today is one of the greatest days I have experienced in my lifetime. From graduating to fighting for the Union I have never accomplished something so great. Today is the day I was inaugurated. After winning the majority vote and 218-80 electoral votes against my opponent, Horatio Seymour, I gave my inaugural address. "The responsibilities of the position I feel, but accept them without fear. The office has come to me unsought; I commence it's duties untrammeled. I bring to it a conscious desire and determination to fill it to the best of my ability to the satisfaction of the people." This opening ensured that I am on the people's side. The first matter I shall attend to is the economy of this country. It is the backbone of  the United States. In no time at all things will be mended like never before. Reconstruction will not fail. I promise to work for and with this nation. Onward on it's journey to success and glory. 

Thursday, May 1, 2014

April 16, 1865-Galena, Illinois

 Tragic news has reached us in Galena. Our nation has lost a great leader, and I have lost a great friend. Abraham Lincoln was an amazing man who accomplished much in his sadly shortened life. He was shot by John Wilkes Boothe himself. I was supposed to be there with him. The only reason I survived and am here today is  because Julia refused to go. She and the First Lady did not get along well. I had to lie to the President himself and tell him we were visiting our children, well it wasn't completely a lie. I was going to be part of the assination. Maybe if I was there I could have stopped the murder. Just maybe..... I will give as speech mourning the death of Lincoln. Then Andrew Jackson will be announced as the new President of the United States. The Civil War is won the the bright side. Many lives have have been ended, but for a greater good. There will be a lot of rebuilding of communities and lives in the south. After fighting and spending so much money on this long war we will have to spend more on reconstruction. 

Thursday, April 24, 2014

July 4, 1863-Vicksburg

 I told my men, "I propose to fight it out on this line, even if it takes all summer!" And we did fight. We fought until we lost many of our men. We pulled back for a short while and slowly pushed through. The soldiers fighting besides me, those are the soldiers that I trust with my life, the soldiers I trust with my country. It began when we came in from the east and pushed the Confederate troops to defend the town. We attacked in assaults on May 18. After seeing that little progress was being made, I decided that it would be better to siege Vicksburg. We had artillery firing at the town on three sides and gun-ships firing from the Mississippi. With Hell raining down on them I would expect they would give up pretty easily. It took 6 long weeks. I missed my family, I missed home, I missed having a drink with my friends. But this is what you can expect from war. War is a bad thing, but it's what I'm good at. My country is counting on me. My people are the only things driving me forward. They are my fuel to success. It would be an honor to be one of the few that bring this country together, one free nation.

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

December 24, 1860-Galena, Illinois

After many years of financial disappointment in Missouri, I turned to my father for help. I took a clerkship in a leather goods store owned by my father and operated by my brothers Orvil and Simpson in Galena, Illinois. After the election the Republicans of Galena, supporters of Abraham Lincoln, held a celebration in the Grant store. I helped them serve oysters and liquor. I have not lived in Illinois long enough to be eligible to vote, but I have not decided about the merits of Lincoln and his opponent, Stephen Douglas. Lincoln is against the spread of slavery, supports homesteads, and increasing tariffs. I agree with slavery staying in the South. I also agree with homesteads because I recently moved from the West. I usually would not be against tariffs but this year it would be more expensive to purchase leather for the shop. Douglas also is against the spread of slavery, though he is against homesteads and tariffs while Lincoln is for. They are both balanced candidates. It is now Christmas Eve, a few minutes after dusk. I usually have almost nothing for gifts, so Julia has to make them for our children. Julia asks me not to get her anything because we can’t afford it, but this year will be different. I have saved up to buy my wife a necklace, made from the purest of gold. It cost a fortune so I hope she likes it. I will just have to wait and see.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

1857-St. Louis, Missouri

 It is now late autumn. Julia is pregnant with our newest baby boy. She looks like it will only be a few more months until he will be born. We haven't decided on a name yet, but I'm am thinking to name him after my father. About a month ago an abolitionist by the name of John Brown raided a federal reserve in Virginia. His plan was to hand out arms to slaves and start a revolt all over the country. Brown claimed he was one of the few seeing the truth clearly. He said that slavery can not be ended by legal means. I have to agree with him. The court believes that slaves are much too important to be freed. I have never advocated war except as a mean of peace. If there was to be a war it would be about more than slavery, it would be about a way of life. Abolitionist are so daft they don't even dare to think the economy will collapse if slavery is abolished. The economy is not in an amazing state today as a matter of fact. I have been struggling to find a steady job. Julia's father offered me a job on his ranch, but that would mean that I would have to move away from her and our children. I politely rejected his kind offer. Julia and I made a promise we would always stay together. I'm considering saving up for a slave so he can help us tend the land we own. We have a farm that isn't much, but it is enough to get us by. I built our cabin myself. I called it "Hardscrabble" because of hard times. When our farm wasn't enough I farmed on my brother-in-law's ranch in St. Louis with many slaves. There was a plague and we were unable to harvest the crops. I just hope they punish John Brown for what he did. He got his own two sons involved and they were both killed. What a shameful man. I heard that he was almost stabbed to death as well. Someone needs to stand up and resolve this huge political mess.

Thursday, March 20, 2014

1850-St. Louis, Missouri




Today Frederick Dent Grant was born. He is as strong as an ox. The Mrs. and I are very lucky for such a healthy baby. He is our first child, hopefully the first of many. There are complicated times here in the West. We are a slave state here in Missouri. We used to be a balanced country. The North and the South. Eleven free states and eleven slave states. When California came into the country as a free state forces became unbalanced and we had the lower hand against the North. Last month there was a new compromise formed that stated the Utah and New Mexico territories have popular sovereignty towards slavery. For sure the territories will vote pro slavery. They have rich soil in the West. There will be no possible way to farm all of that land without a few slaves to plant and tend the land. I myself have visited the western territories during the war with Mexico. The scenery is beautiful and reminds me of how great our nation is. We are a strong country that no one will dare to challenge. Slavery is required for our nation to thrive. The daft folk in the North don’t understand how life works here in the South. We need a strong president who will look into the issue that is the North.

Monday, March 17, 2014

1839-West Point, Ohio



It is my third day here at the United States Military Academy. I do not necessarily like it here but it is better than Point Pleasant. In fact, I think anywhere is better than Point Pleasant. The Academy is very strict. This morning I received a good paddlin’ for slouching during the morning prayers. There are few people here that I enjoy being around. My bunk mate until graduation is Sampson. He’s nice I guess. We’ll eventually get along. I thought I would be missing home, but to my surprise I’m as happy as a white tailed rabbit finding a nice patch of cabbage. Before breakfast at around 5:30 in the morning everyone runs a route of 9 miles. This route leads straight through the town. It is still dark and many people are still sleeping so we are punished for being too loud. Right after a breakfast of eggs and ham (which I don’t expect to change over the years) we head out for marching drills. Those who find it difficult to follow are punished. There seems to be a lot of punishin’ done here at the Academy. Sampson is a Southerner so our views are the same. Don't be fooled that I live in the North and agree with everything they do.