Unknown until the 1970s, Julia Grant wrote her memoirs.
The Iconic General Grant
By the time Julia Dent Grant decided to put pen to paper, she was an old lady – at least by 1890 standards. She was in her 70s. Nevertheless, she was a very famous person: the widow of Union General and later President of the United States, Ulysses S. Grant.
The iconic General Grant
When he was not-quite-so-old, but very seriously ill, Grant began composing The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant. It was not his idea. He was deeply in debt from an unfortunate business effort, and vowed to repay all his creditors – which included hundreds of Civil War veterans who had once entrusted him with their lives, and later, their life-savings.
Many Civil War veterans, both North and South, privates and generals, wrote memoirs of their experiences. They were wildly popular, and dozens of old soldiers made small fortunes. Grant had been approached on several occasions. Publishers believed any memoir by the great General-President would be a best seller. But Grant never fancied himself a writer and usually declined.
Nevertheless, his dire need for money to provide for his beloved wife and family (whose personal fortunes were also wrecked in the business fiasco) changed his mind for him. He was also in a race with the clock. He was dying and he knew it.
His last photo, working on the final edits.
Under the auspices of Mark Twain, a pretty fair writer himself, the General put pen to paper, and proved to be a remarkably good writer, once he got the hang of what was expected. The final galleys were completed only days before he expired.
The book was indeed a best seller. It made a large fortune for the Grant estate, and provided Julia Grant with a comfortable widowhood.
The Iconic Mrs. Grant
Grant and his “plain little wife.”
Little was known about Julia Dent Grant prior to the Civil War, other than she was from St. Louis (a slave state), was plain in looks, and had an eye condition that, at the time, could not be repaired.
But the Civil War changed a lot of that. She was one of the Mrs.-Generals who traveled with her husband pretty much throughout. In reality, she had no permanent home of her own between 1861-65. Their children were either with them (often), or boarded in schools or with family. As Grant became “the” General, the role of Mrs. Grant was elevated, since (among other virtues) it was believed that when she was in camp, Ulysses Grant forswore any intoxicating beverages.
All the soldiers liked and respected her. By nature, she was a nice lady.
Even before the war ended, Mrs. General Grant was courted by the influential Congressional wives who had been disenchanted early on by the imperious First Lady Mary Lincoln. When they offered to help Mrs. Grant over the shoals of political Washington, she was happy to accept the assistance. Since Julia was plain and neither fashionable nor intellectually inclined – and most important, very happily married to a man who adored her – she was no threat.
The First Lady
The eight years the Grants spent in the White House, were arguably Julia’s happiest, despite some nasty scandals that rocked their reputation. She learned how to put on the expected “airs” of position without it tainting the essential nice-lady Julia. Then the “retired” Grants traveled the world for two years, and returned even more popular than ever.
But they were also financially strapped. Out of uniform or office, Grant never seemed to be good at making money. Thus his business venture that had turned very sour.
Julia’s Book
Julia was not quite sixty when she became a widow. Her children were grown, married with lives and children of their own. Her own health was excellent. Grant’s Memoirs, published coincidental to his death, made anywhere between $300-450,000 in advance sales alone, depending on who you asked. She was financially set for life. She also had dozens of friends, and always would.
Middle aged Julia. She took very few photos.
But she was understandably lonely, and began telling some of her stories to her eldest son Fred, who took some notes for her. In time, she began writing them down herself. It started as an outlet for her loneliness, but then she developed some actual ambition. Several Civil War “wives” had written their own books. Elizabeth (Mrs. George Armstrong) Custer, Almira (Mrs. Winfield Scott) Hancock, and Julia’s own late-in-life friend Varina (Mrs. Jefferson) Davis, to name a few.
Even though she was the first First Lady to pen her own memoirs, perhaps her expectations were too high. Several publishers showed respectfully mild interest, but were unprepared to pay the advance she requested, which was very steep. The writing style was predictably flowery Victorian fluff, although some of the stories were delicious. The bottom line, was that they were never published by the time Julia died in 1901. They eventually wound up in a granddaughter (or great-granddaughter’s) trunk.
Much Later
Fast forward seventy-five years when they were re-discovered, and given to the capable Grant historian John Y. Simon to edit and annotate. They were published in 1975 to solid success, and are considered a mainstay for all Grant scholars. According to Simon, there are many minor inconsistencies in time, dates, persons – but Julia was writing from more than 35 years of memory. We can forgive her.
Yes, it is treacly Victorian fluff-writing, unremarkable save for the subject herself in reflected glory. However…. They fling open the doors of Ulysses S. Grant the person and the family man. Not so much the General or the President. There are an easy dozen or more wonderful stories that lay their characters and personalities open for the reader to know and like them as people. Their marriage was one of great romance and deep, lifelong love. They were truly each others’ one-and-onlies, going through thick, and some decidedly thin times.
We are grateful that she penned her memoirs, fluffy or not. Grant would have been lost without his Julia.
Sources:
Flood, Charles Bracelen – Grant’s Final Victory: Ulysses S. Grant’s Heroic Last Year – 2012, DaCapo Press
Grant, Julia Dent – The Personal Memoirs of Julia Dent Grant: (Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant) – 1975, G.P. Putnam’s Sons
http://www.firstladies.org/biographies/firstladies.aspx?biography=19
Presidential History Blog 
This is fascinating. I’m so glad Mrs. Grant found her voice and wrote her memoirs later in life. We tend to not know much about first ladies prior to Eleanor Roosevelt.