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 Ulysses
S. Grant, his wife, Julia, and their family had always enjoyed their annual
vacations at their summer home on the beach in New Jersey. However the summer
of 1884, as they moved there in June, would be different from all the rest.
Grant was no longer president nor was he any longer a wealthy former
president. This time Grant had not come here to relax but rather to seriously
consider his future. How was he to recover from the financial ruin
brought on by the failure of the firm - Grant and Ward – to which he had
lent his name and much of his fortune? (Although the firm appeared to be
successful for several years, it was in fact a financial sham – a swindle
perpetrated by the firm’s unscrupulous partner, Ferdinand Ward, on bankers,
investors and the Grant family. The firm collapsed in scandal and debt in May
1884 leaving the Grant family in financial ruin.)
Although Grant had never wanted to write
anything - especially not anything about his life and war experiences (Grant
said he did not like to retrace his steps – a superstition since childhood),
preferring to leave that to others but now he felt he had no choice – he
would not accept the many offers of financial help. He would save his family
with his words – his memoirs. Unsure of his writing ability - he had only
written military orders, reports and dispatches as a general, and reviewed
others’ writings as president - he didn’t know how to start and where to
find a publisher. And then as he stood with Julia in their pantry on June 2nd
to have some fruit, he bit into a peach and cried out in pain. He told his
wife that as he swallowed he had an “almost unbearable pain” in his throat
– but then the pain was gone. In mid June, Robert Johnson, associate
editor of Century Magazine visited Grant to see if he could get him to write
some articles for a new series to be written by Civil War participants. Grant
had turned him down earlier that year but now, after he explained his
financial crisis to Johnson, he agreed to write articles on: Shiloh,
Vicksburg, Wilderness and Appomattox. Johnson said after this meeting “Grant
gave me the impression of a wounded lion.”
Later that month the pain in his throat
recurred more and more especially when he ate. Concerned, Julia had him
seen by a doctor in Long Branch. The doctor noted that Grant’s throat was
inflamed and wrote a prescription for him – advising him to see his family
doctor immediately. However his family doctor was in Europe so Grant delayed a
visit – his pain then seemed to again subside. Grant went to work
almost immediately with the help of his son, Fred, as his researcher, and soon
produced the Shiloh article. However his first draft read like a battlefield
report. With the guidance of Johnson, who explained in more detail what he was
looking for – a conversational, insightful, anecdotal style, Grant
rewrote Shiloh and began his work on Vicksburg. Johnson was pleased with the
new work noting that it “portrayed a confidence and had a style now that
brought readers into his narrative – his added anecdotes gave special color
to his work.” Grant who had found writing to be a chore now found it
enjoyable.
As pleased as Johnson and the Century
Publishing Company were with Grant’s articles, they were even more
interested in eventually publishing his memoirs. Grant was seriously
considering Century as his publisher by the 1st of October when he returned to
New York City to continue his article work and to finally see his doctor.
His visit to his doctor quickly led to an
appointment with a throat specialist. This doctor concluded immediately that
the inflammation in Grant’s mouth and throat was, “cancerous, malignant
and likely to kill him – and it was spreading.” The specialist saw
multiple problems: three small growths on the roof of the mouth, a swollen
gland on the right side of the mouth – the main source of the pain - an
ulcerated tonsil, and most serious, a carcinoma at the base of his tongue. The
specialist knew that it would gradually spread into Grant’s throat,
infecting it, enlarging it and making it almost impossible for him to eat and
eventually to even breathe. A later analysis of the specialist’s findings by
another doctor concluded, “The general is doomed.” The doctors also knew
that Grant would go through periods of “excruciating pain, spells of
exhaustion and would die within a year.” (Among other things, Grant was told
to limit his cigar smoking too. A few weeks later he lit a cigar and announced
that it would be his last.)
 Grant
was not surprised by the diagnosis. Once the doctors had confirmed his
suspicions he went immediately to the Century Company to arrange for the
publication of his memoirs. He was bankrupt, in personal debt and mortally ill
– now the Lion would plan his last campaign - the writing of his
memoirs. Before a final deal was made with Century, Mark Twain, a casual
friend of Grant’s, told Grant that the Century offer was fair but that he
could do much better for him financially as his publisher “Strike out that
10% (Century’s royalty offer) and put in 75% of net returns.” Twain told
him. Grant signed with Twain.
While Grant visited his doctor twice a day
(by street car) to have his swollen tongue swabbed with a muriate of cocaine
and other medicines to help relieve his on-going pain he put together his team
of assistants – his son Fred, his friend, Adam Badeau, one of his closest
aides during the war and as president and, later a stenographer. Badeau had
already published a three-volume account of Grant’s war time years. His
valet and close friend, Harrison Tyrell, his African-American servant was also
said to “have done as much as anyone to ease Grant’s suffering and enable
him to write his memoirs.”
Grant, wearing a knit cap, shawl and scarf
around his neck keeping him warm began his work in earnest in November in a
small room on the second floor of his house. He worked at a small desk filled
with notes on the research by his assistants and other notes he made to
himself as reminders. One reference book used was ‘The Memoirs of William T.
Sherman.” At first before becoming too weak he wrote in longhand and made
revisions after editing by Fred and Badeau. He reviewed his work at the end of
each day and planned the next day’s work. Although it was demanding and
physically tiring work for him he took great pride in what he was doing and
sometimes read passages he particularly liked to Julia.
Grant planned to work first on his background
then his major campaigns and finally indexes and battle maps. His battle
against time became even more apparent as the cancer continued to weaken him
– milk twice a day was much of his nourishment. He could no longer hide his
pain – just swallowing caused a burning discomfort – he told a friend that
drinking water was “like swallowing molten lead.” Sprays to ease his pain
helped but only for a short time and his food beside milk was soup and
oatmeal. His throat was also closing and he often had difficulty breathing but
on he worked through the winter - only conceding to give up the streetcar
trips for visits by his doctor. He would write for hours without a break,
going days without water rather than to feel the pain drinking it would cause.
 He
began to have trouble sleeping in December. This weakened him even more. By
the end of the month he was weary, depressed and unable to work. Julia wrote
to Sherman for advice. He told her that this was just Grant’s style – he
would always go silent in a time of crisis – especially when things were
very bad. “Don’t worry,” he said, he will soon emerge from his funk.”
In January, his doctors told Julia that Grant was going through the end of
life process of accepting his own mortality and, knowing Grant, he would
revive and fight to continue living as long as possible.
At this time the world did not know of Grant’s
illness but word of it was gradually getting out. Sherman who had
visited Grant and realized what the bankruptcy had done to his family put
together with some financers a nest egg of $150,000 but Grant politely
declined the money. Sherman however would not give up and immediately went to
work to have Grant reinstated in the regular army on its retirement list as a
Lt. General so he and then Julia would receive pensions. (Grant had resigned
from the army and had not retired). While the Senate passed a bill to do this,
the House would not.
Grant’s mood and strength improved by the
end of January and he began to work again. While the first reports of Grant’s
illness had him “doing well” the fatality of his condition became known in
late February and by March 1st The New York Times printed a bold headline
declaring that “Grant is Dying.” Reporters from papers across the
country were soon set up near Grant’s house for what was called a “death
watch.” The police were eventually needed to control all the people that
gathered on his street. His doctors then began to issue bulletins on his
health. Sherman persisted in his campaign for Grant’s reinstatement and
after much work, the House passed a bill reinstating him at the very last hour
of its congressional life at noon on March 4th. The bill was then rushed to
the Senate where the Senate’s clock was literally turned back nine minutes
to allow the Senate to remain in session and to vote to pass it. The out-going
president, Chester Arthur, signed it immediately delaying the inauguration of
his successor by 20 minutes. The official commission papers were presented to
new president Grover Cleveland for his official signature by Robert Lincoln,
outgoing secretary of war. (Grant would receive a pension of $13,500/year and
upon his death Julia would receive $5000/year.)
The eventual widow’s pension for Julia did
much to relieve Grant’s mind and now he focused on his writing, interrupted
occasionally by many old friends stopping by to briefly pay their respects.
Twain visited often serving as friend and sounding board. The first volume of
the memoirs was completed in
March and Twain hurried it to his printer. He
compared Grant’s work to Caesar’s “Commentaries,” saying that “high
merit distinguished both books- clarity of statement, directness, simplicity,
manifest truthfulness, fairness and justice towards friend and foe alike,
scholarly candor… ”
Grant continued his work but a choking and
coughing fit that almost killed him (during which he accepted Baptism) slowed
him down. Defying the odds he recovered some strength and returned to his
writing – pausing on April 9th to take a few puffs on a cigar with doctors’
permission to celebrate the anniversary of Lee’s surrender. He celebrated
his 63rd birthday in April 27th with a refreshing carriage ride in Central
Park. Grant’s articles had also started to appear in Century Magazine and
were well received – its subscriptions increased 40% over six months in part
due to Grant and its series on the Civil war. (After Badeau left Grant around
this time when Badeau’s various demands were not met, an item appeared in a
paper falsely claiming that Badeau wrote the memoirs – Twain wanted to sue
but Grant just denied the claim – “The composition is entirely my own.”)
By May, as he devoted more and more time to
his writing, Grant’s neck became even more swollen and he could hardly talk
or even swallow. The cancer had spread into the back of his throat and into
his jaw – “literally eating him alive.” The pain kept him awake and he
worked through many nights – “I could do better,” he said, “if I could
only get the rest I crave.” He finished his “rough draft” of Volume Two
on June 8th – almost a year from the time he first considered writing his
memoirs. Twain wanted to take the work to the printers immediately but Grant
refused, saying he had to go over everything to be sure it was right and to
add a few more of his “plums and spices.”
Grant’s doctors recommended the cooler air
of the Adirondacks to the family for the summer so they moved to a cottage on
the Balmoral Hotel 12 miles from Saratoga. Crowds gathered in New York to say
good-bye to the family. Grant tried to enjoy as much as possible his time at
the cottage – seeing a few nearby sights and continuing his work on
polishing his memoirs while his health declined even more. He finally put his
pencil down for the last time on the afternoon of July 19th saying to his
stenographer in a soft raspy voice – “the book is finished.” So was his
life - he died three days later at 8:08 the morning of July 23rd. Starvation
was the official cause of death.
“The Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant”
volume I was published on December 10, 1885, becoming a best seller - as was
Volume II. A few months later Julia received her first royalty check - for
$200,000. The family would eventual receive between $500,000 and $1,000,0000.
The great Grant, “The Wounded Lion” had won his last campaign!
 Note: Many of the facts for this article were
taken from the excellent book, Grant and Twain: The Story of an American Friendship , by Mark Perry published
by Random House in 2004.
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