The Kansas City Royals and Chiefs won on Monday night this past week. It was a great feeling to see both teams come out on top. Then, the following night, Liberty won a close game, remaining undefeated at 5-0. Daz, Tim, and I are currently preparing for another Grant episode on Daz’s podcast. We will be discussing the Vicksburg and Chattanooga Campaigns. It is an excellent time to discuss these events because I am currently writing about these campaigns in Tim and I’s book, More Than Grit. Finally, I finished Geoffrey Perret’s book, Ulysses Grant: Soldier and President. It writes like it was from the 1990s. At the time, it was a profoundly different biography than other 20th-century biographies of Grant. It was fair, but some oddities exist in the book, such as the claim that Badeau and Wilson have a “unique” bond. Both of these men had opinions about each other, but their rapport with Grant decayed by his death.
Ulysses Grant’s Monument is reminiscent of the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus and Napoleon’s Les Invalides. All three tombs display the military greatness of Grant, Napoleon, and King Mausolus. They display the men that brought these men success and their legacies enshrined in history. Yet, a distinctive feature of Grant’s tomb is a stark difference from either Napoleon’s or Alexander’s tomb. The remains of Napoleon and Mausolus were entombed in great sarcophaguses and were the central focus of the monument. Both of these men are still considered tyrants of their time and remain controversial today. Napoleon’s occupation of Spain was filled with violence and corruption, while Mausolus is reported to have manipulated his subjects into providing him with their wealth. They also had their followers and worshiped for the following centuries, mainly due to their success in battles and campaigns. Eventually, their charisma and charm wore away. Their remains sat along in these significant structures from which they remain more alone than ever. It is Ulysses’s story that differed from his counterparts.
Ulysses Grant was not a political opportunist or born into some nobility. He was born into a Republican national government that he respected and admired for the rest of his life. He would become a victorious general and relatively successful president, but later in life, he visited Europe. Around this time, the French people celebrated Napoleon, with one veteran of the Napoleonic Wars saying they worshiped Napoleon like Americans worship their God. Grant looked upon Napoleon with disdain. He did not walk away from Les Invalides with any desire to have a resting place similar to the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus. Instead of thinking about what he wanted his resting place to be like, he found it in Spain.
Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain ruled in the 15th and 16th centuries, a period before the unification of Spain. The Muslim caliphate still controlled a small portion of Spain to the south in Granada. The marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella unified the kingdoms of Aragon and Castille. They are best known for funding Christopher Columbus’s voyage to the Americas, but their marriage had more significant implications for Spain. Together, they strengthened the foundations of Spain through the creation of new alliances throughout Europe, but also through the cruel expulsion of Jews.
Nevertheless, their final resting place was at the Royal Chapel of Granada side by side. When Grant came across their graves, he told Julia that he wanted to be with her side by side in death. So it was to be. Grant died of throat cancer on July 23, 1885. Julia lived for another seventeen years before passing away in 1902. She witnessed the dedication ceremony of Grant’s tomb, and her sarcophagus sat next to her husband’s/ Ulysses. Grant was not concerned about his tomb or grave. It is hard to imagine that he wanted a tomb similar to Napoleon’s. He poked fun at pomp and circumstance. During the war, Grant traveled to George Meade’s headquarters and saw his flag with the Roman eagle and wreath. Upon seeing this, Grant asked loudly, “Where’s Caesar?!” Grant's only concern was where Julia would be laid to rest. His family was Ulysses’s first priority. Grant only wanted his family close to him during the war and presidency. He was a man of opportunity but never sought the same fortunes and glory as Masolus or Napoleon. He was the product of a Republican government and modest upbringing.
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