The Justice and the Presidents

Posted on September 2, 2024 by Feather Foster
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. was young enough to be Lincoln’s son – and old enough to be FDR’s father.

OWH, JR

Oliver Wendell Holmes Junior (1841-1935) was Massachusetts born into a solid and prosperous family. His father, OWH Senior was a physician and occasional poet, probably best known for the versifying part. As such, his son was attending Harvard when the Civil War began in 1861. He was twenty – and immediately left school to enlist in the famous 20th Massachusetts. He believed it was his duty as an abolitionist and Unionist.

OWH during the Civil War

Due to his mature age, education and family influence, he was commissioned a second lieutenant, and continued to rise in the military. He was wounded three separate times. The first, at Ball’s Bluff, an early skirmish notable mostly for claiming the life of Col. Edward Baker, a long-time close friend of President Lincoln. He was wounded again at Antietam, and finally Chancellorsville. By then, he had become disenchanted with the war, the incompetence (both sides), and was even considering that the Confederacy should go its own way. Regardless of abolition.

His experiences in the War would color the rest of his life, his thinking, and even some of his important legal opinions.

Nevertheless, now a captain, OWH recovered from his Chancellorsville wounds and returned to active service, assigned in 1864 as an aide to General Horatio Wright, in command of Fort Stevens, one of several fortresses surrounding/guarding Washington DC. 

The Lincoln Encounter

By midsummer 1864, Union General Ulysses S. Grant was doggedly chasing Confederate General Robert E. Lee through Virginia, centering on the major railroad hub of Petersburg. Lee assigned General Jubal Early to provide some diversionary action around the Union capital. Early planned a raid on Washington, and had visions of capturing Lincoln himself.

Lincoln, always eager to support the troops in person if possible, had decided (unbeknownst to Early) to visit Ft. Stevens to demonstrate his faith in its military defenses to panicked Washingtonians. But unbeknownst to both General Wright and Lincoln, Confederate sharpshooters tasked with checking the fort’s defenses were within striking distance. Lincoln jumped up on one of the parapets for a better view. The 6’4” President, adding nearly another foot with his stovepipe hat, presented an unmistakable seven-foot target. 

An easy target

According to lore, it was Captain Holmes standing nearby, who shouted to the POTUS, “Get down you damn fool before you get shot!” Lincoln, unaccustomed to a smart-mouth retort, was said to smile and take the advice.

The smart-mouthed officer was never demoted, transferred or chastised for his “impertinence.” Lincoln likely had to admit the young fellow was right. 

The Making of a Justice

Oliver Wendell Holmes returned to Harvard after the war, received a legal degree, and went on to a stellar career in jurisprudence. He purchased a fine home in Massachusetts, traveled frequently, and was widely regarded for a philosophical and liberal interpretation of law. His thinking, his wit, his command of language guaranteed his presence as one of the country’s premiere legal minds. 

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

He practiced law in Boston for fifteen years, grew a trademark handlebar mustache, and served as an editor of the new American Law Review. He summarized his thinking in a series of lectures, collected and published as The Common Law in 1881, an important compendium of jurisprudence that has never been out of print.

In late 1882 he was appointed as an associate justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, and in 1899, became its Chief Justice.

In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. to the Supreme Court of the United States, a nomination that was quickly confirmed. He went on to serve in that capacity for more than thirty years – a record that still stands to this day. He was ninety.

The FDR Roosevelt Connection

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a distant cousin (and uncle by marriage) to Theodore Roosevelt. He may have had opportunities over the years to become moderately acquainted with the renowned (and witty) Justice, but it was never more than superficial.

When FDR was inaugurated President on March 4, 1933, the country was deep in the throes of a horrible economic depression which was affecting the entire world. Pockets of troublesome international strife were cropping up regularly. While the new President Roosevelt sported a famous name and a popular governorship of New York, he was generally untried and considered a lightweight.

March 4, 1933

He was also crippled by polio, confined to a wheelchair and occasional leg-braces, assiduously kept from the general public.

It had also been a tradition for a century, that a sitting POTUS was happy to receive calls, but did not pay calls (other than perhaps family members).

The Visit

March 8 was Holmes’ 92nd birthday.

Only three days after his inauguration, in the midst of a “bank holiday” to reorganize failing banking policies, Franklin D. Roosevelt paid an unprecedented personal “courtesy” visit to Justice Holmes to wish him a happy birthday.

According to author Jonathan Alter, the two men chatted pleasantly, which included the aged Justice recalling some of his Civil War experiences. He advised the new President that the only thing to do when losing a battle, was to stop retreating, blow the trumpet and give the order to charge.

Never out of print.

Then he thumbs-upped FDR’s iconic litany of new economic programs, by affirming “and that’s exactly what you are doing.”

After they said their goodbyes, Holmes gave his oft-repeated opinion of young Roosevelt: “He has a second class intellect, but a first class temperament.”

It was a pithy assessment. FDR’s intellect was superior to many, but he was hardly “brainy.” But the “first class temperament” was exactly what was needed to see the country through the trials and tribulations that would befall the entire world in the years ahead.

Sources:

Alter, Jonathan – The Defining Moment: FDR’s Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope – Simon & Schuster, 2006

Ward, Geoffrey – A First Class Temperament: The Emergence of Franklin Delano Roosevelt – Harper & Row, 1989

https://jackmillercenter.org/article/the-fort-stevens-incident

https://supreme.justia.com/justices/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/

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James Buchanan: The Successful Failure

Posted on August 26, 2024 by Feather Foster
It would be a rare POTUS who could leave office without truly believing he had done a credible job.

The Stellar Resume

James Buchanan (1791-1867), a Pennsylvanian from mid-state, was the last President born in the 18th century. His family was large, but he was essentially a brother among a slew of sisters. 

Blessed with above average academic gifts, he attended Dickinson College, read law, and traveled the road to success: a solid legal practice, plus a variety of local and state political offices, ranging from district attorney, to local and state offices to congressman – all by the time he was thirty-five.

He had done well for himself financially. Invariably generous with his family, when his sisters were widowed with half-orphans, he undertook to be their guardians, at least monetarily. His niece Harriet Lane was nine when both her parents died, and “Nunc,” as she came to call him, took her as his special ward, educating her, providing her with all the niceties of a proper young-girlhood, and the sincere love and affection of a benevolent uncle.

Harriet Lane, second from left, with the Polks and her “Nunc.”

When Buchanan served in Congress, he made sure that Miss Harriet was placed in a convenient finishing school. He was grooming her to be his “escort” once she reached young womanhood. 

JB and Jax: Oil and Water

In the 1820s and 30s, just about all politics was Democratic – although some sub-sects were beginning to form. James Buchanan was a Democrat, and gravitated to rough-and-tumble Jacksonian politics. But JB was a suave, cosmopolitan fellow, conscious of his gentlemanly manner and appearance. Now-President Andrew Jackson also seemed cosmopolitan and mannerly, but he was a populist, born and raised rough-and-tumble, and it never left him. The manners part seemed contrived. He also did not have Buchanan’s advantage of a classical education.

POTUS Jackson

As a lifelong bachelor, and before his niece Harriet Lane had a permanent hold on his arm, Buchanan was a popular dinner guest – especially when there was an imbalance of men and women at the table. Since many high level dinner parties hosted a maiden aunt or widowed sister, a single man was a godsend for a table-escort. But as far as Jax was concerned, “Buck,” as he was sometimes called, was perceived as a “Miss Nancy.” Effeminate in his manners and bearing. His close friendship with bachelor Senator William King raised eyebrows.

Young James Buchanan

Nevertheless, President Jackson appointed him Minister to Russia.

Fifteen Years Later….

In 1844, James K. Polk, Tennessean and disciple of Andrew Jackson, was barely known outside a small Congressional circle for most of the Jackson Era, including a term as Speaker of the House. Then a series of election losses consigned him to retired-ish, and sniffing for opportunities. Political circumstances elected him as the country’s first “dark horse” President. It was a complete surprise that he was nominated, and even a bigger surprise when he won – against Whig powerhouse Henry Clay.

POTUS Polk

Polk appointed James Buchanan as his Secretary of State. This outraged the aged and ailing, but still politically vocal Andrew Jackson, demanding how the new POTUS could have selected “Buck” for the office – with such little experience in diplomacy. The stunned Polk reminded his mentor that he, himself, had appointed him Minister to Russia. Jax was honest in his explanation: the place where Buchanan could do the least damage, and was as far away from me (Jax) as I could put him!

Buchanan served competently enough at State.

A Decade Later…

Diplomatic lessons had been learned well. Harriet Lane was now old enough to be a social asset to “Nunc.” His ingrained manners and ways aligned perfectly with his new assignment from now-President Franklin Pierce: Minister to the Court of St. James. Queen Victoria. Great Britain. The most cosmopolitan place in the world. He was a great hit.

The Queen liked him. So did the Prince Consort. So did his British counterparts. His tenure as ambassador was an unqualified success, both socially and politically. They may have been his happiest years.

The Queen liked him!

He was a Democrat. A Pennsylvanian. Politically a unionist and against slavery. A man of reputation and resume. With few “enemies” so to speak. And many friends, including many southern friends. And being out of the country for four years, he was untainted by the roiling political waters that was turning into a spewing boiling miasma.

In 1856, he was the Democratic candidate for President – and won.

Elements of Failure

He was nearly seventy when he retired.

All the qualities that made James Buchanan successful in Great Britain conspired against him in Washington. His “social” White House was superb. Miss Harriet was a gracious hostess. Even Queen Victoria was pleased to allow her son, the eighteen-year-old Prince of Wales, to pay a visit to Washington, guest of the POTUS, a man old enough to be his grandfather.

Harriet Lane

But social acumen alone does not strong leadership make. The national “problems” – slavery at the top of the list, the spread of slavery as close runner-up, new territories in a position to “choose” for-or-against slavery was insidious, and a total defiance of law and order was becoming the way of the country.

Strong leadership was needed. A compassionate – and dispassionate nature. And the disposition toward flexibility, creative thinking and good humor. Most of Buck’s experience was legislative rather than executive. Most of his closest friendships were with Southerners. Untested in strong leadership, he floundered and wrung his hands through the tug-of-war that was becoming a real war, making the wrong decisions: sending soldiers when he should have sent diplomats; sending diplomats when he should have sent soldiers. And selecting the wrong ones anyway.

He was considered a failure when he left office, although he spent the remaining seven years of his life trying to explain his reasoning.

He undoubtedly meant well, but his reputation has never improved.

Sources:

Baker, Jean – James Buchanan – Times Books – 2004

Klein, Philip S. – President James Buchanan: A Biography – Pennsylvania State University Press, 1990

https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/james-buchanan/

https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Buchanan-president-of-United-States

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Andrew Jackson: The Road to Retirement

Posted on August 12, 2024 by Feather Foster
Andrew Jackson was seventy when he retired after two terms as President.

The Making of an Old Man

In 1837, seventy was a ripe old age, and former President Andrew Jackson (1767-1845) was older than his years. His health had been abysmal for decades.

“Born for the storm,” by his own admission, he had lived a hard, active, and usually bellicose life. His father died in an accident shortly before his son was born on the frontier border between North and South Carolina. At eleven or twelve, he “volunteered” as a messenger during the American Revolution. He was caught, and imprisoned.

He also mouthed off to the British officer who commanded him to clean his boots, earning him a saber-scarred hand, cheek and soul. Between the scarring and the prison, where smallpox and cholera were rampant, Andy Jackson was changed for life. By the time he was fourteen, his two older brothers and his mother had died. He was now alone in the world.

His schooling was sporadic and insufficient. His contempt for both the British and the “upper class” southern aristocracy, never changed, although he eventually opted to read law when he was in his late teens – mainly to gain a place in the “upper crust” he so disdained. He managed to pass the Carolina bar, and immediately moved to Tennessee.

By 21, the tall, skinny Andrew Jackson was well accepted in Nashville. His inclination for rash decisions and speculation, plus horseracing and gambling assured him of a place in a growing community in dire need of legal “expertise” in the paperwork of deeds and buy-and-sell and general lawyer-stuff. The place and the man had conjoined. Jax was the elected the first Congressman from the new state of Tennessee.

His “questioned” marriage to the divorced (also questioned) Rachel Donelson Robards was another life-changing episode with a long, long trail. It was truly a love match, and “Mrs. Robards” was truly unhappy in her first marriage… but duels were fought, wounds were given and received, enemies were lifelong, and those scars (and bullets) took their place in his body and soul.

Andrew and Rachel Jackson

Change of Career

By the time the “War of 1812” spilled into a series of brutal battles between frontier settlers and Indian tribes in what was then the “southwest” (Tennessee, Alabama, Florida….) Andy Jackson was past forty. And he was absolutely beloved in Tennessee.

In those days, state militias were imperative for protection of life and property. They were also voluntary. Becoming a “general” in the militia was a political appointment rather than one that required real military training. What was needed was a fearless nature and the charisma to attract followers. Andrew Jackson met those requirements easily.

The Battle of New Orleans

He had found his true calling as ferocious a fighter of the various Indian tribes who got in his way, winning him more attention in the halls of government (which was not inclined to have high regard for him to begin with), and even more devotion in Tennessee. His technically-too-late clever victory in New Orleans, defeating a large already-hated British Army with only a handful of American casualties, sealed his importance to a young country feeling its oats. And he never practiced law again.

He was now The Hero, but a different kind. He was a man of the people, rather than the moneyed, aristocratic, well-educated, learned leaders of an earlier time. He was a solid adherent of states-rights (as opposed to a national attitude), rough-and-tumble, self-made, fearless, and if nothing else, an unquestioned leader of men.

He had been a Congressman – and resigned. He had been elected U.S. Senator – and resigned. He had also made and lost a few fortunes along the way. But Jax was uncontrollable. He did not take direction well, he did not obey orders, he did not behave the way high officials were expected to behave.

The government did not know what to do with him, and justly regarded him with great suspicion and disdain.

The Hero

Fast Forward to Seventy

The two terms of Andrew Jackson’s presidency are considered seminal in the history of the USA, like him or not. After the strong leadership of George Washington, subsequent presidents were less bold, feeling their way through the role of Chief Executive, usually deferring to the will of Congress, i.e. “we the people.”

This President was “of the people,” and believed he understood them – particularly their growing influence in the country. His administration, fraught with decisive actions, won him uncompromising loyalty from a growing cadre of followers and an equal number of uncompromising enemies. He changed the essence of politics.

In an age when seventy was old, he looked a decade older. Years of the harsh frontier life left him with all sorts of malarial-types of recurrent fevers. His medical care dreadful. Bleeding was still a treatment for everything, and he was known to open his own veins with a penknife. His gaunt frame was made worse by chronic bowel inflammation – as well as badly rotted teeth. And he carried a regularly suppurating bullet in his chest from a long-ago duel.

He believed he would not have long to live.

The rare last photograph of Jax

When Jackson vacated the White House, he made a long progress back to his Nashville Hermitage plantation. He stopped to see old friends and supporters in towns and villages all along the way. Often entire populations turned out with bands and banners to greet him, shake his hand and toast his health. He was gratified by the acclaim.

His plantation (like those of other presidents) had run down from lack of personal attention. His finances (like those of other presidents) were in disarray.

Rachel Jackson’s grave

He hoped he would not have long to live.

He regularly sat for hours at the garden grave of his beloved Rachel.

Still, he lived for eight more years in retirement.  

Sources:

Brands, H.W. – Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times – Doubleday, 2005

Skidmore, Max J. – After the White House: Former Presidents as Private Citizens – Palgrove Macmillan, 2004

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Andrew-Jackson/Jacksonian-Democracy

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/war-1812/battles/new-orleans




































































































































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Abigail Adams and The Misdirected Tea

Posted on August 5, 2024 by Feather Foster

Tea was expensive. Very expensive!!

The Colonists and Tea

By the time of the Boston Tea Party, tea itself was one of the most expensive commodities traded between Great Britain and her American colonies. It was more than just a commodity. It was a luxury item – but one that was essential to a “civilized” lifestyle.

Tea was an imported crop. British merchants, as far back as the fifteenth century, had been trading with countries in the Far East – China, the East Indies, India, etc. The tea leaves they purchased (and learned to brew) in exchange for British manufactured products became a staple of the good life. This, of course, became an essential traded product with the American colonies.

But it was very expensive. Special locked boxes, or tea-caddies were built, to hold the valuable product, keep it at the required temperature, prevent spillage, and most importantly, from being siphoned off by servants – or even household members.

Tea boxes

Thus, the Boston Tea Party

So when a hefty tax was placed on three ships full of the already expensive tea that Britain sent to Massachusetts, the colonists, already resentful of taxes upon taxes, and no say in the matter (i.e. taxation without representation), rebelled.

Following a month of discussions, petitions, waffling and growing anger, an “unidentified” group of Boston citizens, disguised in blankets and face-paint, boarded the ships in the dark of night, and threw the tea overboard.

An irate Great Britain closed the port of Boston until the tea was paid for – some 10,000 British pounds! The other American Colonies then refused to purchase British products. And on and on and on…

John Adams, The Continental Congress and Smallpox

John Adams, a Massachusetts attorney, along with his cousin Samuel Adams, were gaining reputations as political leaders in the Sons of Liberty. They were part of a small contingent that had been elected to the Continental Congress, to meet in Philadelphia with their colonial counterparts to address their mutual political grievances. It was heating up.

Courtesy, Massachusetts Historical Society.

By this time – 1775, it was more than just a redress of grievances. Complete independence from Great Britain was gaining ground. Shots had been fired. Lives had been lost. George Washington, a Virginia planter who had spent seven years in the Virginia Militia some years earlier, was named General of a Continental Army.

When General Washington arrived in Boston to take charge of his nascent army, he faced a far more fearsome enemy than the British. Smallpox. It was a deadly (30% mortality) infectious disease that flared up from time to time, decimating thousands before it abated naturally.

But by the mid-eighteenth century, a potentially successful inoculation had become available. It injected dead smallpox pustules into a healthy patient, causing a “light” case. This was a dangerous procedure, and very difficult for many to understand. But if the patient survived, they would be immune for life from any recurrence.

Abigail Adams, John’s wife, bit the dangerous bullet, and decided to have herself and their four young children inoculated.

Abigail Adams

John Wants to Share The Burden

John Adams had been inoculated for smallpox some ten years earlier, and knew likelihood that success was not guaranteed. He was also serving in Congress during a crucial time in American history. And Philadelphia was some four hundred miles from Boston – a two-week journey. Even letters took weeks before it reached the recipient.

He knew of Abigail’s decision, and agreed wholehearted in favor of the inoculation. But he naturally was worried about the procedure, the incubation period, and the outcome. From his own experience, he knew it took a month or more for the procedure to be administered. Plus the “lighter” case most patients actually suffered!

Since he could not be with his family in this time of peril, he decided to do the next best thing. He would send a gift.

John’s Gift to Mrs. Adams

Adams was not a wealthy man, but this was an extraordinary circumstance. He managed to find a scarce pound of tea – taxed or not. He purchased it immediately – for 14 shilings! A considerable cost! His wife would appreciate a restorative cup of tea after the great ordeal – to include her own inoculation – and nursing their four youngsters through their exhausting sickness. It had taken weeks!

He found a reputable courier named Garry to deliver the package. The man was not known to him personally – but they were acquainted via several mutual friends. He could be trusted. Garry was happy to perform the small service for the illustrious Mr. Adams.

But weeks passed, and Abigail Adams had not acknowledged receiving the package. John Adams was concerned. When he specifically asked his wife about it – she was bewildered. She had not received it.

Tracing the Tea

John Adams immediately sought Garry-the-courier who was supposed to deliver the tea to Mrs. Adams. The man was indignant! He most certainly delivered the tea to Mrs. Adams. But since he was not acquainted with either John or Abigail Adams, he mistakenly delivered it to Mrs. Elizabeth Adams – the wife of Samuel Adams (who, at that time was much better known).

Samuel Adams was better known!

Elizabeth Adams, it is said, was delighted by the surprise box of tea! And Abigail Adams was not about to march over there and demand her rightfully sent gift of tea.

However, in one of those coincidental endings, it so happens that Abigail called on the other Mrs. Adams, who was happy to see her, and invited her for a cup of tea – which she claimed her husband sent her.

At least Abigail Adams got to taste the expensive tea that her husband tried to send her. And, having the last word on the subject, advised John to let her know in advance if any packages were to be expected – and thus avoid the “mistake.”

Sources:

Boller, Paul F. Jr. – Presidential Wives: An Anecdotal History – 1988 Oxford University Press

Butterfield, L.H. (ed.) – Book of Abigail and John (Selected Letters) – Cambridge, MA. 1775

https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2020/12/12/abigail-adams-smallpox-coronavirus-vaccine/

https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/samuel-adams-boston-revolutionary.htm

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John Adams and the King

Posted on July 24, 2024 by Feather Foster

John Adams was a loyal subject of the British Monarch for forty years.

The American Colonies and the British Monarchs

From the time the first British explorers came to America, the relationship between the colonists and their King/Queen was strong, loyal, and even affectionate.

Britannia ruled the waves, and most Americans believed they were fortunate to be under the aegis of the finest and best country in the world. While the Spanish possessions in the western hemisphere were focused on gold, the British focused on commerce. The British provided the tools and the finest luxuries of European civilization. Expensive cloth, household goods, the accoutrements of a good life. And books. The colonies provided a wealth of raw materials: lumber, grain, farmed goods… and their great cash crop, tobacco.

From the time he was born until he was twenty-five, John Adams was a subject of George II. Most American colonists were happy with their King. The colonies were prosperous. It was a good relationship.

George II

But George II died in 1760.

His grandson George III was only three years younger than John Adams. Although he was descended from the German Hanover princes like his grandfather and great-grandfather, he was born and raised in England – not Germany. He spoke English fluently – without an accent. He had an excellent modern education.

George III

It boded well.

The First “World” War

England and France had been traditional enemies for centuries, long before muskets and cannons replaced swords and longbows. The wars were basically endless, punctuated by a truce that occasionally lasted for decades.

In the 1750s, the French, with a small population covering a huge area of North America, allied with several native tribes to fight the British settlers. Within a year or so, the hostilities had spread to several other venues throughout Europe, leading many historians to consider it the first “world war.” It lasted for seven years.

When the American segment of that war ended, huge tracts of land were ceded to the British. But it had been costly. They had sent soldiers and sailors. And horses, and arms, and provisions… Very costly.

https://ideas.pixton.com/taxation-without-representation

They expected the American colonists to help pay for it. Various taxes were imposed on the colonials.

Taxation Without Representation

It is universally accepted that nobody likes paying taxes. Not then, not now.

For the better part of fifteen years, Great Britain imposed a plethora of taxes on its colonies – citing their reasons; the colonists protested, citing their opposition. Many of those taxes were rescinded or ameliorated – and reimposed in other ways.

But the nub of the argument centered on the fact that the American Colonies had absolutely no say in the matter. They had no representation in the British Parliament, and all requests to that end were rebuffed.

It rankled and festered. The cordial relationship was fraying.

Meanwhile John Adams

Attorney John Adams (1735-1826) was enjoying a growing legal practice and reputation under Royal government in Massachusetts. His future was promising, but he had become active in political circles and joined the Sons of Liberty – a group of likeminded citizens who protested the British refusal to permit American representation in Parliament. Named to a Committee of Correspondence, he exchanged political information with the other British colonies in North America, and became a strong advocate for American independence from Great Britain.

But when well-worded and respectful entreaties were sent to the Mother Country from its American dominions, they were rebuffed not only by Parliament, but by King George III himself, the road was implacably paved for complete independence.

Fast Forward A Decade

Once a war was fought and won and a treaty had been signed between the USA and GB, it opened the door to a United States Minister to Great Britain. It was a plum assignment, and the dearest secret wish of John Adams’ heart.

He had grown up under the monarchy, he had been loyal and respectful and grateful to be a part of their growing empire… With Adams already in place on the European continent, he was a logical choice of the American Congress.

The Adamses went to London.

John Adams wanted to make a good impression.

The English Waltz

John Adams’ maiden speech to the King was diligently crafted, memorized, and heartfelt. He had labored over every word. “The appointment of a Minister from the United States to your Majesty’s Court, will form an Epocha in the History of England & of America. I think myself more fortunate than all my fellow Citizens in having the distinguished Honor to be the first to stand in your Majesty’s royal Presence in a diplomatic Character . . .”

He was gratified that the King responded in kind. Interestingly enough, John actually liked the King. George III had many personal qualities akin to Mr. Adams. He was methodical in his personal habits and not lazy. He made his own fire and even shaved himself, virtues agreeable to JA’s standards. He considered [the King] “the most accomplished courtier in the Dominions…”

Abigail Adams was unimpressed

But he was dismayed that the ever-courteous British politicians deluded themselves that Americans would quickly tire of their so-called independence, and clamor to reunite with their former Mother Country.

Abigail Adams was unimpressed by their Royal Majesties, however. She did not like Queen Charlotte at all. She considered her stiff, and the King stout, and someone who would look better if he didn’t drink so much. The royal family (and it was a large one) did not measure up to anything even remotely complimentary. And both Adamses were convinced that life was much better and happier in America. 

But despite the courtesy, nodding and smiling, JA soon realized nothing was being accomplished. The British ministry generally ignored him, the consensus being the United States would not survive.

They were wrong.

Sources:

Ellis, Joseph J. – Passionate Sage – W.W. Norton Co., 1993

Gelles, Edith B. – Abigail and John: Portrait of a Marriage – Wm. Morrow, 2009

McCullough, David – John Adams – Simon & Schuster, 2001

https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Adams-president-of-United-States

https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/eyewitness/html.php?section=19

https://www.hrp.org.uk/kew-palace/history-and-stories/george-iii/#gs.cjqmfb

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Sarah Polk’s Fans

Posted on July 16, 2024 by Feather Foster
First Lady Sarah Childress Polk

Miss Sarah Childress

Sarah Childress Polk (1803-1891) was an intelligent, devout Tennessee woman. Her education, considered excellent for the time, was via a Moravian finishing school, but cut short by the untimely death of her father.

At twenty, she married Tennessee lawyer-with-ambition James Knox Polk. Legend says that it was Andrew Jackson himself who suggested that the young politician “look no farther” than Miss Childress when choosing a wife. Legend or fact, it proved to be good advice. The marriage was a happy union.

Mrs. Sarah Polk

Partly because of her innate intelligence, and perhaps mostly because the Polk marriage was childless, Sarah became an especially close companion to her politician husband.  Few letters exist between them, since they were seldom apart for very long leaving little need to correspond.

President James K. Polk and First Lady Sarah Polk

With no family responsibilities at home, little inclination toward traditional domesticity, and her health unimpaired by childbirth, Sarah was free to accompany her Congressman husband to Washington. He was happy for her company. The Congressional social set – men and women – liked her.

Sarah the Fashionista

Sarah was a good looking woman. She was not tall. (Polk himself was perhaps 5’7”.) But she was well-figured and had intelligent eyes. Her dark hair was arranged in fashionable corkscrew curls, sometimes adorned with feather plumes or other stylish accents. She favored jewel-toned deep colors, like royal blue or rich maroon or emerald green, which accented her dark complexion.

The low-cut Empire gowns popularized in America by Dolley Madison had long been passe by the mid-1840s when Sarah was First Lady. Necklines were generally higher; sleeves were long. While Sarah was considered impeccably attired, her taste was modest, even in a modest age. The few portraits and photographs of Mrs. Polk depict a well-dressed woman, but far from flashy. She had nothing of the overt glamorous style of Julia Tyler, her young predecessor, seventeen years her junior. Sarah was dramatic, understated – and looked smashing!

The Fans

Perhaps the most important accessory for a nineteenth century woman was her fan. A head covering of some kind was an age-old tradition and mandatory. Jewelry was a luxury. A lady’s fan however, was a necessity, particularly among women of a certain age when great changes occur. Fans had been around for centuries, and the basic style never varied. 

One of Mrs. Polk’s many fans

In their teens, young ladies had actual lessons in learning the “unspoken language” of fans for flirtatious coquetry. How it was opened, how it was closed, how it fluttered, could signal “I am interested/I am not interested.’ Sometimes it was for modesty or a fashion statement. But essentially a fan was used for its stated purpose: to create a breeze.

Clothing was designed to cover the body, especially women’s clothing, with its hoops and petticoats and yards and yards of material. It was hot, pure and simple.There was no air conditioning, nor any table-mounted electric fans. 

The White Lace fan (Smithsonian)

Most ladies’ fan frames were made from ivory or bone, and sometimes wood.  Then the ribs were covered with various fabrics or specialty papers, decorated in any number of ways.  Most women had several fans in their wardrobe, and being a high ranking congressional wife (Polk was Speaker of the House of Representatives for a time), Sarah no doubt had many.  She had them for daytime wear, for casual veranda-sitting, and for evening or formal occasions.  All were designed to coordinate with her gowns.

One of her documented (and existing) fans is made of a delicate white lace, which naturally went with everything.

Perhaps her most renowned fan is the one she was given by her husband at the time of his inauguration as president in 1845.  It was a magnificent object of hand-crafted paper with a portrait of her husband in the center and all Polk’s predecessors surrounding it. It was one-of-a-kind, and remains today as one of the treasures at a Polk family home in Columbia, Tennessee.  (Polk Place, their primary home in Nashville, was destroyed by fire long ago.) 

Sarah Polk’s unique Inaugural Fan, 1845

Ah, But The Metaphorical Fans

James Knox Polk retired from his single term in 1849, and died only three months later, many claim “from overwork.” Sarah was only forty-four, and had long been accustomed to playing an active albeit behind-the-scenes role in her husband’s career. Now she became a “professional widow” for more than four decades. Her “fans” now took on a metaphorical purpose: they allowed her to hide in public sight, which she believed was her womanly duty. It is said she seldom left her house in Nashville except to attend church.

The Widow Sarah Polk

By mid-nineteenth century, Victoriana culture was entrenched, and the prompt remarriage tradition of an earlier era was replaced by long, if not eternal, mourning. Like Mary Lincoln, Lucretia Garfield and Ida McKinley, widowed First Ladies who followed her, Sarah wore nothing but black thereafter.

The VERY elderly Sarah Polk

She busied herself with some good works, hosting occasional parties for orphaned children, and enjoyed the weekly visits from her minister. But mostly she sorted and resorted, and organized and re-organized her husband’s papers. Her reputation and pious reserve kept Polk Place off-limits for both Union and Confederate soldiers, who otherwise used most of Tennessee as a Civil War battlefield. Visiting dignitaries to Nashville always made a point of paying their respects to the former First Lady. She herself made no political statements, and only released her slaves when it became law. 

Whatever talents or intelligence Sarah had, whatever opinions or political philosophies she espoused or decried, and whatever opportunities she may have let slip away, were forever hidden by her metaphorical fan. It kept her away from the public’s prying eye. 

Perhaps it also hid her self-inflicted boredom.

Sources:

Boller, Paul – Presidential Wives – 1988 Oxford University Press

Foster, Feather Schwartz – Mary Lincoln’s Flannel Pajamas and Other Stories from the First Ladies’ Closet – Koehler Publishing, 2016

Nelson, Anson and Fanny – Memorials of Sarah Childress Polk – ADF Randolph Company (reprint of 1892 publication)

Sarah Polk
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Abraham Lincoln: A Big Apple Farewell

Posted on July 8, 2024 by Feather Foster

The entire country was stunned by Lincoln’s Assassination in 1865.

New York’s Electoral Votes

By 1860, New York had been the most populous state for more than a half-century. It accounted for a whopping 35 electoral votes, and gave them all to Republican Abraham Lincoln. It tipped the election balance in that convoluted four-way race. Had the votes gone otherwise, it would have been an even bigger mess than it was. 

Despite the electoral votes, the popular votes were much closer, mainly due to the huge population of New York City and its immediate environs (the five-boroughs were not incorporated until the 1890s). The Empire State had a population of a little under 1.09 million; the City and its surroundings accounted for more than 800,000! 

The NYC-area not only voted against Lincoln, but did so again in 1864.

New York City was the financial hub of the entire country. The banks, the financiers, the industrial magnates, railroads and shipping and the places of big-business – all were centered (or had major facilities) in New York City. When the Civil War was ramping up, and southern secession was becoming far more than foolhardy blather, NYC was far more interested in what it would (or wouldn’t) do for business. 

Very few New Yorkers were actual secessionists, although many were “sympathetic.” Very few were radical abolitionists. While respectable New Yorkers never condoned brutality or mistreatment, many believed that southern slaves were by and large in better circumstances than the influx of recent immigrants living in squalor and populating the factories of the north.

Lincoln’s catafalque

But when secession did happen, and Lincoln’s election did happen, and the Civil War did start in earnest, there was a serious movement in NYC to secede from New York State and become its own neutral entity. This way, they could trade with both the North and the South, and the European nations that did business with them – and they would make a fortune!

It was all about money. And a huge number of said bankers, financiers, etc. managed to make a huge amount of money, anyway. 

Lincoln’s assassination in April, 1865 drastically changed their collective attitude. They were as horrified by the event as everyone else, and were quick to realize that whatever faults they found in Lincoln-the-President, were more than offset by the virtues of Lincoln-the-Man.

General Townsend and the Procession

Abraham Lincoln had very little blood kin. His closest relative was his 21-year-old son Robert. Thus Secretary of War Edwin Stanton took charge, and assigned the complete mechanics of Lincoln’s Funeral (with few exceptions) to the Military. Brevet Brigadier General Edward. D. Townsend was placed in charge of orchestrating the final circuitous journey of the fallen President from Washington back home to Springfield, IL. The train-processional would follow the route Lincoln had taken when he first was elected in 1860. 

Edwin Stanton
Edward D. Townsend

Every step was immaculately planned, coordinated and followed to the minute. The train itself, which made several “exchanges” with competitive/ancillary railroad lines across state borders. The speed of the train, where it stopped, and for how long. Where it “slowed” to accommodate local citizens lining the tracks and tossing flowers. 

While the military honor guards included a permanent escort for the full ride, thousands of soldiers from local units were interchanged along the way. Most were engaged in crowd control for the hundreds of thousands of citizens who wanted to lay a wreath or bear witness and say a prayer at his coffin. 

Staff officers under General Townsend vetted and choreographed placing the plethora of dignitaries wishing to pay formal or private respects. State governors and past governors, mayors, council members, prominent citizens, Union veterans of all ranks, clergymen, local undertakers, civic groups, ladies’ clubs, choirs… and occasionally old personal friends of Lincoln. The numbers were overwhelming. Old records show that each mourner was allowed one second to pass by the coffin. Some even less. And thousands upon thousands did just that. Some were even turned away for lack of time. 

And then there were the crowds of just-plain-citizens come to pay their tearful respects. 

The Core of the Big Apple 

From New Jersey, where Lincoln’s bier and catafalque were rowed with muffled oars on a barge across the Hudson River, nearly a hundred thousand silent New Yorkers stood waiting at the pier where the trappings of grief were hitched for the slow march to City Hall. Nearly everyone was in mourning garb, or wore a respectful black sleeve or hat band, available for purchase from vendors on nearly every street. Along the route, choirs sang requiems and bands played funeral dirges. And rows upon rows of veterans marched in respectful silence behind the hearse.

The Funeral Procession

Along the way, the procession stopped briefly for various smaller ceremonies for “invited” mourners.

Photographs of the President in his coffin was expressly forbidden, requested by a deeply grieving Mrs. Lincoln, and honored by Secretary Stanton. Nevertheless, dozens of photographs from a respectful long distance were taken of the procession for the newspapers, and for posterity.

Nearly a century later, one of those photographs of New York City’s funeral procession down 23rd Street, was studied minutely and enlarged by historian Stefan Lorant. In an upstairs window of a townhouse, two little boys were watching the event: Six-year-old Theodore Roosevelt and his five-year-old-brother Elliott bore witness, and TR never forgot.

The young witnesses

A Final Salute

When the coffin finally came to the station to be carried aboard the special train to Albany, there was a carriage waiting a couple of blocks away. General Townsend was nearby, and recognized the carriage. He walked over, and greeted his old, retired commander.

Winfield Scott, General of the Army since the War of 1812, now past eighty, would die the following year. The younger Townsend offered to have Scott’s driver bring the carriage closer to the station, but the ailing Scott insisted on walking the distance to pay personal respect to his commander-in-chief.

Sources:  

Searcher, Victor – The Farewell to Lincoln – Abington Press, 1965

https://lostmuseum.cuny.edu/archive/a-city-divided-new-york-and-the-civil

https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2015/marchapril/feature/lincolns-assassination-stuns-the-nation

https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/scott-winfield-1786-1866/

Posted in Abraham Lincoln, American Civil War, Nifty History People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Most Interesting American: A Book Review

Posted on July 1, 2024 by Feather Foster

When Theodore Roosevelt was about five, frail and suffering from severe asthma, his wealthy and devoted parents provided the best medical treatment money could buy. In the early 1860s, one of his medically approved treatments was smoking big black cigars (for a five year old with asthma!) and copious amounts of black coffee. As an adult, Theodore never smoked anything, but he did become a mega coffee drinker. One of his sons noted that when TR was President, he drank a gallon of coffee every day – supplemented by four heaping spoons of sugar in every cup!

Between the caffeine and the sugar, TR was perpetually wired! More than just about anything, Theodore Roosevelt was energy personified. He required little sleep, read a book-a-day, traversed the country more than any other President up to that time, exhausted two-at-a-time stenographers with his correspondence, found time to take his wife rowing, his kids camping – and never missed a deadline.

Author, historian and political cartoonist Rick Marschall, is more than just an admirer of Theodore Roosevelt. He is an extremely knowledgeable maven on his favorite subject! His latest effort, The Most Interesting American is a biography of TR’s reputation, reputation being how other people perceived him. A very interesting way of looking at a very interesting American. 

During his relatively short on-paper lifetime (he died at only sixty), he likely died of extreme old age, having packed at least three or more full concurrent lifetimes into those years. And since such a multi-faceted individual presents different faces on his prism, Marschall divides the essence of Roosevelt into enough stand-alone chapters to be books in of themselves, and pepper every presidential TR library: the president, the politician; the sportsman; the conservationist; the family man, etc., etc.

Each section contains prescient annotated commentary from Marschall, followed by comments and excerpts from people who knew him personally. The quotes come from casual to close to lifetime friendships with hundreds (and maybe thousands) of people, many of whom achieved high prominence themselves. Prominent people usually get to know other prominent people.  

And very high on the list of TR’s many admirable qualities, is the one well known in his own time, but usually overlooked a hundred years after his death: his intelligence. He surely must rank very highly among presidents of exceptional intellect. His gift of remembering names and faces, and even small minutiae of their lives or past conversation, is an asset to every politician. His photographic memory of the details (to include multi-lines of poetry) from his book-a-day reading habit was extraordinary. But perhaps the biggest part of his true intellect-cum-intelligence was the scope, variety and broadness of his interests and abilities. He could navigate between mediating labor disputes and foreign wars, and became a master of the end-run – the alternative that usually makes winners of both sides. 

His personal companions were from every sort throughout his life. From outdoorsmen to Ivy League scholars, to poets, policemen and social reformers, to aristocrats and Kings. And children of all ages.

He could discuss a Supreme Court decision, the second act of Macbeth, the history of Lithuania, and the best way to skin a moose – and he could do it all knowledgeably … before dessert. 

And, according to Marschall, TR was very straightforward in evaluating his own abilities, and believed himself to have average skills. OK, perhaps a bit better than average, but surely not exceptional. As a writer, he had a nifty way with the vernacular that poured out of him like Niagara. But many writers were better. As a natural-scientist, he could likely have his own television series today, but career opportunities in the late nineteenth century were limited. And TR’s oversized personality might succumb to the boredom of day-after-day scientific research. As an outdoorsman, he was a mediocre rider and marksman. Even as a politician, in rarefied company, he knew that with politics, the events are usually in control – not the “man in the arena.” Theodore Roosevelt also self-evaluated one of his most important qualities: the one that resonated with the electorate: “sincerity.” And he was a sincere man. His belief that his abilities were average was not false modesty; TR was neither modest, nor false. He was very intelligent and insightful. 

If he had any quality that might be less desirable, it could be his “preachy” side. Marschall, the compiler of the excerpts and quotes, spends a hefty amount of space on TR’s morals, faith, religion and example-setting. Not that it is untrue or insincere. But morals, faith and religion are like garlic in the salad dressing: a little is fine…too much, not so fine. People tend to weary of crusaders, and after a while, said crusaders seem to be tilting at windmills. 

But overall, Rick Marschall has produced a masterpiece of observations by TR’s own contemporaries. Some, like his family members, were private and circumspect in their comments. Some, like John Hay, bridged the decades between knowing Lincoln and knowing TR, and loved them both. Some like Bill Sewell, his earliest guide to the great outdoors. Some like John Muir and John Burroughs, were the naturalists who considered TR their pal. Some were like Archie Butt, his Military Aide whose glances into the personal TR were private letters, never meant to be seen by the general public. There were a slew of newspaper reporters who followed his career for years. And even President Woodrow Wilson, his antagonist and rival, commented about Theodore Roosevelt’s lovable side! And dozens and dozens of people whose names are lost to history, but have left their marks anyway. 

The Most Interesting American is a joy for the Theodore fan, and a treasure for the Theodore scholar! Ask yourself: Who do I want to sit next to at a dinner party??!! The Most Interesting American!!! Available online!

The Most Interesting American

Rick Marschall

Post Hill Press, 2023


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1637586327

Posted in A POTUS-FLOTUS Blog, Nifty History People, Recommended Reading, Theodore Roosevelt | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

John Quincy and Louisa Adams: The Rouge Story

Posted on June 24, 2024 by Feather Foster

John Quincy Adams was twenty-nine when he married. His bride was twenty-three.

Bride and Groom

By the time John Quincy Adams was eighteen and ready to enter Harvard, he was already the most cosmopolitan young man in the country. As a boy, he had accompanied his father on diplomatic missions, representing the USA in Paris and later London. JQ was exceptionally bright, exposed to the finest education possible in Europe, fluent in several languages, and by fourteen, was engaged as secretary (and translator) to a diplomatic mission in St. Petersburg, Russia.

John Quincy Adams

He returned to the US at eighteen, sailed through Harvard, read law, passed the Massachusetts bar… then realized that the mundane practice of law bored him to death. Politics and international diplomacy were high on his list of alternative career choices. 

JQA (as he called himself) published prescient essays in the newspapers regarding the new US government, which brought the attention of President Washington. He developed a high opinion of the young man, (to the delight of Vice President John Adams) and started him on his diplomatic career. 

As minister to the Netherlands, his assignments frequently took him to London and the home of the prominent and well-to-do American merchant Joshua Johnson, who had settled in Britain years before the Revolution, married, and raised a family. His daughter Louisa Catherine was twenty, pretty, French convent educated, well-mannered, and adept at all the social graces of a well-to-do Englishwoman. JQ was moderately interested; his passions were for intellectual pursuits rather than people. But he also knew that he was ready for marriage and family, a necessary step in his professional advancement. Louisa likely realized that being courted by the son of the American Vice President was a coup! And her father was delighted!

Louisa Catherine Adams

Their courtship last about two years – mostly by correspondence. Louisa Johnson had ample time to assess the cool disposition of her fiancé, as well as his controlling nature. Nevertheless, the courtship persisted, and in 1797 they married.

The Bad News

Shortly before their wedding, the bride and groom were apprised of the financial embarrassment of Joshua Johnson, who had overstretched his shipping enterprises. Bankruptcy was looming. Whatever JQ might have expected as a dowry would not be forthcoming. 

John Quincy Adams was not born to wealth, nor did he aspire to anything more than comfortable middle class. The Johnson financial distress affected Louisa perhaps more subliminally than she realized at first. It bothered her throughout her life. She felt personally embarrassed, even perhaps devalued, and ashamed of her family. In her diaries, she wondered if her husband’s coolness was predicated on his disappointment in her dowry. (It probably was not; JQ was just cool by nature.)

The only thing Joshua Johnson could give the newlyweds was an opulent honeymoon trip on his last remaining ship. They set sail for Portugal, which was JQ’s new diplomatic post. But the good news, was that his new post was reassigned to Prussia – larger, and far more important.

Prussia

Their new assignment was exciting for both the young Adamses. He already knew passable German, and would quickly improve to fluency, both written and spoken. Louisa, already fluent in both English and French, also learned sufficient German for the expected pleasantries. Their social life glittered. Frederick William III, the young King of Prussia took a liking to his new American diplomat, and Queen Louise considered his bride delightful. 

King Frederick William III

JQ, without intending to hurt his new wife, was an inconsiderate husband. He focused most of his “socio-diplomatic” attentions on his fellow diplomats and their man-stuff: brandy and pipes, card games, and political discussions. JQA thrived in that environment – and usually forgot that his young wife was left to fend for herself in a sea of opulently-dressed strangers. JQ had brought his brother Thomas along as his secretary, charged with escort duty and dancing partner for his sister-in-law. Fortunately they got on well. But Louisa was neglected, and JQ was oblivious. 

Queen Louise of Prussia

Rouge: Part I

Rouge is a cosmetic, used since ancient time to add an attractive “blush” to the feminine cheek. It was also expensive, and as such, an affectation of the upper class. It was common in Europe, particularly in court circles.

In 18th century America, rouge had not yet hopped the pond. Some young women pinched their cheeks for added color, but that was about it. 

The Queen of Prussia was a socially sophisticated woman, born into royalty and exposed to all the nuances of feminine graces. She was close in age to Louisa Adams and found her companionable. 

The Queen had married at sixteen, and already had two babies. She noticed that Mrs. Adams seemed particularly pale and quickly surmised the reason. It was she who suggested a bit of rouge to brighten her complexion. She even gave her a little tub of rouge as a personal gift. 

Rouge: Part II

The Queen had been correct in her suspicions. Louisa was indeed pregnant – the first of fifteen pregnancies, although only four were completed to term, and only three lived to maturity. 

The next time the Adamses were invited to the palace, Louisa had applied some of the rouge. When her husband saw his wife wearing cosmetics, he was livid, and insisted that she remove it immediately! She refused, saying that it was a gift from the Queen, and she felt obliged to use it. 

JQA thought otherwise, and personally scrubbed her face with soap and water. According to one source, she then refused to go to the palace with him. The source continues saying that Louisa considered it a “victory” by not attending. Another source says that Louisa reapplied the dab of rouge, and went alone to the palace. 

Maybe.

But JQA “erasing” the rouge part is true. 

Sources:

Nagel, Paul C. – Descent From Glory: Four Generations of the John Adams Family – Oxfvord University Press – 1983

Shepherd, Jack – Cannibals of the Heart – 1980, McGraw Hill

Unger, Harlow Giles – John Quincy Adams – DeCapo Press, 2012

https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Quincy-Adams

http://www.firstladies.org/biographies/firstladies.aspx?biography=6

Posted in A POTUS-FLOTUS Blog, George Washington, John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Nifty History People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

General Grant’s Last Escort

Posted on June 8, 2024 by Feather Foster

Serving as a pallbearer is the most unselfish “good deed” someone can do for another. The deceased can never return the favor. 

The Great General

Ulysses S. Grant was not born to anything even remotely connected with fame or renown or even great ability. He came from a strictly middle-class family, with middle-class values and abilities. 

That he was sent to West Point for his education was a great milestone in his life. He was initially resistant, but then again, he was seventeen, and his father was an overbearing man. He did well enough to graduate in the middle of his class, distinguished only for his superb horsemanship. 

Nevertheless, the associations and friendships made at the Academy would figure prominently throughout his life.

The Great General Dies…

Civil War General Grant’s successes in the field, i.e. the Victor of Vicksburg and the Hero of Appomattox, catapulted him to national prominence, and into the White House itself. For two terms. And then a round-the-world tour of the great cities and capitals!

The iconic General

When he returned, he settled in New York City, feted and partied, and eventually assuming a partnership in a financial brokerage, despite his sincere confession that he “didn’t know anything about finance.” His “I-know-everything” partner was also a scoundrel, who concocted a borrow-from-Peter-to-pay-Paul scheme that left the brokerage in financial chaos, scandal, and riddled with debt that a humiliated Grant committed himself to repay. 

About the same time, the General, now 62, was diagnosed with throat cancer.

…And It Wasn’t Peachy

Grant insisted (and it was often repeated by his family members) that he got cancer from eating a peach. But what did he know? It is more likely that he first recognized the discomfort in his throat while eating a peach, which can be acidic. 

The sick General

But it is even far likelier that he developed the cancer from thirty cigars a day for thirty years…

Bottom line, the General suffered for about a year, in pain and decline, while he churned out his remarkable War Memorials, written with one purpose in mind: to pay his debts and provide for his family. Redeeming his reputation was also a side benefit. 

The Cost of Dying

Grant’s only absolute demand regarding his funeral, was to have his beloved wife Julia lie beside him when her time came. The rest (with perhaps a few of his caveats) was arranged by his sons – and by the U.S. Military. 

Even today, people of no prominence at all are overwhelmed by the cost of even a modest funeral. Grant’s Funeral was an event worthy of a monarch. The procession itself was seven miles long! And New York City, which was chosen in no small part by Julia Grant (who loved the Big Apple), had deep municipal pockets to do itself proud. President Grover Cleveland and former-President Chester A. Arthur (both New Yorkers, by the way) were the honorary chairmen, and former POTUS Rutherford B. Hayes (a 4x-wounded Union General) led the procession of tens of thousands of war veterans.

Rutherford B. Hayes
Chester Alan Arthur

Hundreds of thousands of people, from the highest of the high to the lowest of the low, lined the streets. Many to march, and many more to pay respects.

It was the Army (with the input of Frederick D. Grant, a former West Point trained Colonel himself) who selected the handful of pallbearer escorts for the procession.

President Grover Cleveland

The Pallbearers

Leading the regular pallbearers was Admiral David Porter, who had not only known Grant during the War, but had successfully partnered with him on numerous occasions where the Army and Navy worked in happy unison. Hamilton Fish, a New York Congressman and two-term Secretary of State under POTUS Grant was a personal friend. His wife and Julia Grant were very close. George S. Boutwell had been secretary of the Treasury during the Grant Administration. John A. Logan, was one of the best “political” generals during the Civil War, and at the time of Grant’s death was the Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, the foremost Union Veterans’ association. George S. Childs was a Philadelphia newspaper publisher and neighbor to the Grant’s summer cottage in Long Branch, NJ. George Jones and Oliver Hoyt had raised huge sums to provide for the “retirement” for the never-wealthy Grants. 

Then there were the Honorary Pallbearers…

Friends and former foes, and West Pointers all, were assigned special roles in Grant’s Funeral Procession.

Sherman

 William T. Sherman. The best known Union General next to Grant, was a fellow Ohioan, two years older and ahead of USG at West Point. Their Academy acquaintance was pleasant but generally superficial, given their ages/classes. Subsequent meetings were also pleasant but superficial. Their friendship began during the War, grew at Shiloh, and was cemented during the long Vicksburg campaign. They thought alike. Sherman later became General of the Army.

Sheridan

Philip A. Sheridan. Nine years USG’s junior, the best known Cavalry General in the Union Army barely made the WP physical list, at only 5’4”. Nevertheless he packed a cannonade of energetic leadership into his small frame, and at the time of Grant’s death, was General of the Army (after Sherman retired.)

Joseph E. Johnston. Nearly fifteen years USG’s senior, he had attended West Point at the same time as Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis. As a Confederate General, he suffered both from serous wounds (during the Peninsula Campaign), and a long-running feud with Jefferson Davis. Nevertheless he was able and capable, and at the time of USG’s death, was the best known living ex-Confederate officer.

Johnston

Simon Bolivar Buckner. This CSA General had been a close friend of Grant’s since their Academy days. He was a pal when Grant needed one, later surrendered to Grant at Ft. Donelson, and came to visit him as he lay dying twenty-one years later. It was personal. 

Buckner

Sources:

Flood, Charles Bracelen – Grant’s Final Victory:  Ulysses S. Grant’s Heroic Last Year – 2012, DaCapo Press

Goldhurst, Richard – Many Are the Hearts – 1975, Reader’s Digest Press

https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/funeral-of-ulysses-s-grant.htm

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/war-and-peace-of-mind-for-ulysses-s-grant-1882227/

Click to access Ulysses-Grant-Article.pdf

Posted in A POTUS-FLOTUS Blog, American Civil War, Chester Arthur, Grover Cleveland, Nifty History People, Rutherford Hayes, Ulysses S. Grant | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment