Who's Buried in Grant's Tomb?

It started about 25-30 years ago when we purchased this book.

This book was our Bible back then as we made the goal to visit every presidential grave site.  This was back in the days before the internet so without this book, it would have been difficult to find the sites.  But over the years we made it to all of them, most recently Teddy Roosevelt the day before, but we had ONE more.  

You guessed it.  It seemed only fitting that the book that started our quest ended up being our last presidential grave site visit. 

So we got in an Uber and our competent driver drove us there and even offered to wait for us.  But being unsure how long our visit would be, we sent him on his way.  We were feeling pretty adventurous by this point in the day.

Grant's Tomb, officially the General Grant National Memorial, is the final resting place of Ulysses S. Grant and his wife, Julia.  It is a classical domed mausoleum in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Upper Manhattan.

Ulysses S. Grant was born in 1822 and led the Union Army to victory during the Civil War and then served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877.  Grant was bankrupt at the end of his life and days after he published his memoirs to raise money, he died of throat cancer at age 63 on July 23, 1885.  

In his will Grant had indicated that he wished to be interred in St. Louis, Missouri, or Galena, Illinois, (we were there in 2022) where his family owned plots in local cemeteries, or in New York City, where he had lived in his final years.  A friend said he had previously expressed a desire to be buried at the Old Soldier's Home in Washington, D.C. or at West Point, but because he wanted his wife interred next to him, and military cemeteries did not permit women to be interred, he decided against that.  The Grant family decided against burying him at Galena because that site was not easily accessible.  

After Grant died, there were many calls for a monument honoring him.  On the day of his death, the mayor of New York City, William Russell Grave, sent a telegram to Julia offering New York City as the burial ground for both Grants.  He gave Julia a list of city parks where her husband could be buried and she agreed to have her husband's remains interred in New York City.

City officials initially planned to bury Grant in Central Park, and the Grant family examined three sites in the park.  However, general public greatly opposed the plans and the Grant family believed the sites in Central Park were too small to fit both Ulysses and Julia.  The family then considered another site in Riverside Park on the Upper West Side. Though the site was undeveloped, many local businessmen and politicians endorsed the park as the Grants' burial site.

The National Park Service took over the operations of Grant's Tomb in 1959 and the structure was officially renamed the General Grant National Memorial.  Thomas Pitkin, the tomb's newly appointed historian, wanted to renovate Grant's Tomb to emphasize its role as a memorial rather than a tomb.  

There was some sort of dance exhibition outside during our visit but there was virtually no one inside.

Main Room

The main room is topped by a circular dome with coffers.  The dome measures 40 feet across and is surrounded by a balcony or gallery.

There is a double staircase that descends to the crypt, which is at ground level.  Ulysses and Julia Grant are placed in identical separate red-granite sarcophagi placed side by side beneath the center of the dome.  

Sarcophagi from main room

Sarcophagi from ground level

The outer wall of the crypt is divided into square piers.  On the wall are five niches with busts depicting Union generals in the Civil War.

James B. McPherson

Edward Ord

Phillip H. Sheridan

William T. Sherman

George H. Thomas

Another interesting item on display.

This is the original regimental battleflag of the 11th Indiana Infantry and dates to 1863 or 1864.  It has thirty-five stars representing the newly formed state of West Virginia.  It was used in the dedication ceremony of Grant's Tomb on April 27, 1897.

So with all that, I'm sure you're wondering the answer to the question "Who's Buried in Grant's Tomb?"  Seems obvious, doesn't it?  Ulysses S. Grant and his wife, Julia.

But the answer is really......NO ONE.  As the sarcophagi are situated above-ground, there is no body "buried" in Grant's tomb.

And that completed our day...and our quest to see every presidential gravesite.  

Galena, Illinois

We moved on to a little town in Wisconsin on the border of Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa because we had a few things nearby to visit.  First stop Galena, Illinois.  Population in 2020 was 3308.

Galena was the site of the first major mineral rush in the United States.  By 1828, the population was estimated at 10,000, rivaling the population of Chicago at the time.  Galena developed as the largest steamboat hub on the Mississippi River north of St. Louis.  And because you know we had a reason to visit, Galena was the home of Ulysses S. Grant and eight other Civil War generals.  Today, the city is a tourist destination known for its history, architecture, and resorts.

Ulysses S. Grant moved to Galena with his family in 1860 so that he could work in the family leather business.  After serving in the U.S. Army for 15 years and resigning his commission, Grant failed at several business enterprises.  In desperation, he agreed to take a job offer from his father who owned a leather goods business in Galena managed by his brother.

While not the house (now museum) that Ulysses S. Grant lived in, it gives you an idea of the architecture from 1868.   

We walked in the door and the guide quickly ushered us into a room as they were just starting the movie "hosted" by Ulysses and Julia Grant holograms which was very informative.  Because it was dark when we took our seats we hadn't had an opportunity to look around the room so we lagged behind in order to spend some time.

The Grant Family, 1867

Julia Grant

Replica of the dress Julia Grant was wearing in the portrait above

Grant's arrival at Chattanooga is pictured below.  Following Grant's victories at Vicksburg and Chattanooga, he was suddenly revered in the North as a second George Washington.  This portrait shows Grant in a pose similar to Washington in a John Trumbull painting of 1780.

President Lincoln, who had not yet met Grant, made a point of viewing this painting while it was displayed at the U.S. Capitol.

General Grant on the Battlefield

John Antrobus, Oil on Canvas

1863-4

After talking with the guide for a bit, we climbed the stairs to visit the History & Military Museum.

An interesting fact about Galena is that it was the home of nine Generals in the Civil War.

Ulysses S. Grant

John Rawlins, Augustus Chetlain

Jasper Maltby, Ely Parker, John Duer

William Rowley, John C. Smith, John E. Smith

Many wonder how a small town like Galena could have been home to nine Civil War Generals, not the least of whom was Ulysses S. Grant.  Some contributing factors:  In 1861 Galena was one of Illinois' largest and most influential cities with a population of nearly 12,00 and Galena had been the largest river boat port north of St. Louis for 20 years and a gateway for settlers moving north and west.

In addition to nine Generals, Galena was also the home to Congressman Elihu Washburne, the senior Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives and one of its most influential members.  He was instrumental in furthering the military, and later political, career of U.S. Grant.

Many influential individuals in American history visited Galena over the years.

Theodore Roosevelt, Frederick Douglas, Samuel Clemens AKA Mark Twain, Ralph Waldo Emerson

Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Stephen Douglas, Abraham Lincoln

Herman Melville, Robert E. Lee, Susan B. Anthony

Jasper Maltby, one of the Generals above, was also a gun maker - a few of his guns below.

This was an interesting display.

The left boot

While reproductions are interesting, I just love seeing original artifacts.

A great photo of General Grant on the battlefield.

Look at this original signature of Ulysses S. Grant

A lot of lead mining in Galena and there was a display in the museum of an actual vertical mine as the home was built on top of the mine in 1858.

That's a long way down there

By far the most significant artifact in the museum was this portrait, Peace in Union, by Thomas Nast from April 9, 1895.  This painting is the original 9'x12' and we were surprised that it is not in a secure, climate controlled environment.

Nearly every American school child has seen the painting of Robert E. Lee's surrender to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox.  The image has graced the pages of American history textbooks for generations.  Many might think that the original canvas is at the Smithsonian but we learned that the Smithsonian doesn't even own the painting but rather the museum here in Galena.

Upon his commissioning, Nast began two years of intense research on the surrender and the people who were present.  He read up on Grant's generals to portray them as accurately as possible in his painting.  Some show relief in their tired faces for the end of the long and bloody war.  Others show reverence for Grant and his leadership that brought the conflict to a close.  Still others show contempt for Lee and his confederacy of rebels and traitors.

Representatives from the Smithsonian have tried at least three times to convince the Galena Historical Society to sell the oil painting to them.  Every visit to the small town has been unsuccessful though.  No amount of money will allow the people of Galena to part with the painting.  Although Grant and his family lived in Galena for only a year before the start of the Civil War, he would consider it home for the remainder of his life and the town of Galena is extremely proud of that fact.

This key shows who is who in the painting.

And with that we walked through the historic town and saw this interesting building.

There were some fascinating events in this hotel.

We took a look inside - beautiful!

Tomorrow we go to a bucket list item for Ron - stay tuned!