Ulysses S. Grant: A Photographic History: World of Ulysses S. Grant
Autor James Bultema Cuvânt înainte de Frank J. Williams Contribuţii de John F. Marszaleken Limba Engleză Paperback – 27 apr 2025
As Grant battled relentlessly down the Tennessee River and across Tennessee, defending Shiloh, he was followed by an enterprising group of studio photographers hoping to profit from the public’s demand for images of the rising general from the West. They never stopped because Grant never stopped. Thus far, 307 distinct photographs have been found of Ulysses S. Grant, revealing him to be the most photographed American of the nineteenth century.
Readers of Ulysses S. Grant: A Photographic History travel alongside Grant through the Civil War and his two terms as president, on his unusual two-year journey around the world, and to his final days on Mount McGregor. The sheer volume of exposure shows the toll of duty, war, and command. From every angle, this collection captures Grant’s regard for soldier and family, his disregard of uniform, and his disheveled appearance that reflected his resilience. The reader will look into the eyes of a man who saw the worst and labored for the best.
This curated volume opens the largest collection of Grant photos to the public for the first time. Excerpts from Grant’s personal writings divulge his candid thoughts about the people he posed with and the situations he faced around the time the photographs were taken. An extraordinary addition to Grant scholarship, Ulysses S. Grant: A Photographic History will be the photographic reference work on Grant for decades to come as the simple man from Ohio continues to astonish the world.
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Specificații
ISBN-13: 9780809338658
ISBN-10: 0809338653
Pagini: 260
Ilustrații: 360
Dimensiuni: 216 x 279 x 17 mm
Greutate: 0.06 kg
Ediția:1st Edition
Editura: Southern Illinois University Press
Colecția Southern Illinois University Press
Seria World of Ulysses S. Grant
ISBN-10: 0809338653
Pagini: 260
Ilustrații: 360
Dimensiuni: 216 x 279 x 17 mm
Greutate: 0.06 kg
Ediția:1st Edition
Editura: Southern Illinois University Press
Colecția Southern Illinois University Press
Seria World of Ulysses S. Grant
Notă biografică
James Bultema is the vice president of the board of directors of the Ulysses S. Grant Association. His collection of images, the Bultema-Williams Collection of Ulysses S. Grant Photographs and Prints, is now housed at the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library at Mississippi State University. He is the author of several books on policing, including The Protectors: A Photographic History of Police Departments in the U.S.
Extras
Preface
As Grant took his last breath at 8:08 a.m. on July 23, 1885, he died knowing that he had provided for the financial security of his family. After being left penniless by a Wall Street swindler, Grant heroically battled against time to write his memoirs, finishing just days before his death from throat cancer. Today Grant’s chronicles are considered some of the finest ever penned by a United States president. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush used them to help them prepare to write their own.
Grant’s death sparked a series of events that cemented his popularity. His remains began a journey southward from the hills of Mount McGregor, New York, first to Albany and then on to New York City. With city hall almost completely covered in black mourning cloth, Grant’s body lay in state in an open casket. Over the next few days, three hundred thousand people shuffled past to glimpse the man they revered: The general most credited with winning the Civil War. A man they followed through his ups and downs during two terms as president. A writer whose memoirs they read. Americans adored him.
Grant’s public funeral was scheduled for August 8. The nation couldn’t wait. Americans wanted to be there for their hero, and they came in droves. The one and half million people who made the pilgrimage blanketed the city and made Grant’s funeral one of the most impressive in the history of New York. At precisely 8:30 a.m., Civil War veterans hoisted Grant’s coffin onto a catafalque that was adorned with black plumes seemingly budding from each corner. Pulling the catafalque were twenty-four black stallions, each with their own black grooms. Twenty generals, all on horseback, led the procession. Nothing was left to chance. Every decorum was followed, including the military honor of a riderless horse with boots facing backward in the stirrups.
The seven-mile procession started up Broadway with a notable list of dignitaries in attendance. Participating were President Grover Cleveland, Vice President Thomas Hendricks, the entire cabinet, and all the Supreme Court justices. The two surviving ex-presidents, Rutherford B. Hayes and Chester Arthur, attended. Eighteen governors and eight thousand civil and municipal officers came from across the country. The funeral cortege ended at the temporary brick tomb at Riverside Drive and 122nd Street. A dozen years later, over a million admirers, led by President William McKinley, attended the dedication of the General Grant National Memorial—Grant’s Tomb.
With his first Civil War victory at Fort Donelson, Grant found himself in the headlines of the nation’s newspapers next to a photograph of someone else. His popularity continued to rise with his victories, though, and the newspapers printed his photographs. In one early widespread image, Grant held a cigar in his hand. In response, people from around the country inundated him with boxes of cigars. Soon Grant was smoking twenty cigars a day. He became general of all the armies, and the battles kept coming—as did the cigars. Victory after victory marked Grant as one of the most popular personalities in the nation. Photographers would travel long distances to capture Grant’s likeness. It was sound business: millions of citizens wanted a photograph of the man.
Mathew Brady, who would become the Civil War’s most well-known photographer, was the first to focus on the emerging hero. He dispatched one of his twenty field photographers to the western theater in the spring of 1862. The resulting group of images (B-5 series) would be copied, stolen, and pirated by other photographers to satisfy the nation’s craving for a photo of the general. The resulting eight views of a forty-year-old Grant are some of the finest images ever taken of him. In them, Grant looks confident and self-assured. It was a time before the ravages of war began to age the man.
The sheer quantity of photographs of Grant presents a numerical statement as to his popularity. The images in this book reveal a remarkable transformation that spanned Grant’s life from age twenty-one to his death at age sixty-three. Grant sat for sixty-five different photographers on 106 occasions. Periodically he would complain that much of his time was being taken up by photographers and artists, but he was an accommodating man with no record of ever saying no. He treated having his image taken like it was his duty.
Much has been written concerning who was the most photographed American of the nineteenth century. If one Googles the subject, hit after hit identifies Frederick Douglass as the most photographed person from this era. In fact, the first three and half pages of Google results mention no other person but Douglass. It appears there is no disagreement that the famous African American abolitionist, speaker, and statesman holds the title. John Stauffer, Zoe Trodd, and Celeste-Marie Bernier, in their book Picturing Frederick Douglass: An Illustrated Biography of the Nineteenth Century’s Most Photographed American, credit him with 160 photographs.
But what of the others? Abraham Lincoln might have had a chance if he had not been killed by an assassin’s bullet in 1865. The great leader of the nation is credited with 130 distinct images from life. The flamboyant George Custer is next with 155 photos. While putting Douglass ahead of all others, the authors of Picturing Frederick Douglass mention on the first page of their introduction that Grant might be in the running: “Ulysses S. Grant is a contender, but no one has published the corpus of Grant photographs; one eminent scholar has estimated 150 separate photographs of Grant.”
It is time to correct the historical record. In my forty-six years of searching for Ulysses S. Grant photographs, I have been able to identify 309 distinct and separate images. From his earliest daguerreotype in 1843 until his death in 1885, Grant was by far the most photographed American of the nineteenth century. And I will add that this is a conservative number; I am certain that there are many more images yet to be found among private collections and in archives and historical societies across this nation and around the world. But just like for Douglass, Lincoln, Custer, and others, the publishing of this book of photographs will bring additional images to light for others to view and appreciate. Another victory for Grant.
While the images in this book bring attention to Grant as a nineteenth-century personality, examining the photographs does not tell us about Grant the inner man. We can observe how he ages over time and how his appearance subtly changes, but we cannot see what was on Grant’s mind—his thoughts, his dreams, his love for his family.
Grant’s memoirs are among the most famous examples of nonfiction prose produced by any American, but he wrote more than just his memoirs. Thanks to the dedication of the late editor John Y. Simon and others, we can read Grant’s thoughts and feelings about his everyday experiences, many of which shaped American history, in the more than fifty thousand documents contained in the thirty-two volumes of The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant. Grant began writing letters during his time at West Point and continued until he died in 1885. He wrote about almost every aspect of his life. He was frank and to the point. Every word seemed to count, and he did not waste any in developing or expressing a thought. This book combines excerpts from Grant’s letters with his photographs from the same time period to provide the reader with a glimpse into his character—his being. I believe it is important to see Grant as more than an image printed on paper. I have sought to reveal him here as a living, breathing person, coping with all the ups and downs that life threw at him. To get close to Grant, to understand his decisions and direction in life, one needs to listen to him talk, to examine the thoughts he wrote down and sent to his best friends, family, and especially his wife, Julia. Then he morphs from a stiff figure in front of a camera, showing little emotion, into a warm human being expressing his innermost feelings. This is the true image of Ulysses S. Grant.
[end of excerpt]
As Grant took his last breath at 8:08 a.m. on July 23, 1885, he died knowing that he had provided for the financial security of his family. After being left penniless by a Wall Street swindler, Grant heroically battled against time to write his memoirs, finishing just days before his death from throat cancer. Today Grant’s chronicles are considered some of the finest ever penned by a United States president. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush used them to help them prepare to write their own.
Grant’s death sparked a series of events that cemented his popularity. His remains began a journey southward from the hills of Mount McGregor, New York, first to Albany and then on to New York City. With city hall almost completely covered in black mourning cloth, Grant’s body lay in state in an open casket. Over the next few days, three hundred thousand people shuffled past to glimpse the man they revered: The general most credited with winning the Civil War. A man they followed through his ups and downs during two terms as president. A writer whose memoirs they read. Americans adored him.
Grant’s public funeral was scheduled for August 8. The nation couldn’t wait. Americans wanted to be there for their hero, and they came in droves. The one and half million people who made the pilgrimage blanketed the city and made Grant’s funeral one of the most impressive in the history of New York. At precisely 8:30 a.m., Civil War veterans hoisted Grant’s coffin onto a catafalque that was adorned with black plumes seemingly budding from each corner. Pulling the catafalque were twenty-four black stallions, each with their own black grooms. Twenty generals, all on horseback, led the procession. Nothing was left to chance. Every decorum was followed, including the military honor of a riderless horse with boots facing backward in the stirrups.
The seven-mile procession started up Broadway with a notable list of dignitaries in attendance. Participating were President Grover Cleveland, Vice President Thomas Hendricks, the entire cabinet, and all the Supreme Court justices. The two surviving ex-presidents, Rutherford B. Hayes and Chester Arthur, attended. Eighteen governors and eight thousand civil and municipal officers came from across the country. The funeral cortege ended at the temporary brick tomb at Riverside Drive and 122nd Street. A dozen years later, over a million admirers, led by President William McKinley, attended the dedication of the General Grant National Memorial—Grant’s Tomb.
With his first Civil War victory at Fort Donelson, Grant found himself in the headlines of the nation’s newspapers next to a photograph of someone else. His popularity continued to rise with his victories, though, and the newspapers printed his photographs. In one early widespread image, Grant held a cigar in his hand. In response, people from around the country inundated him with boxes of cigars. Soon Grant was smoking twenty cigars a day. He became general of all the armies, and the battles kept coming—as did the cigars. Victory after victory marked Grant as one of the most popular personalities in the nation. Photographers would travel long distances to capture Grant’s likeness. It was sound business: millions of citizens wanted a photograph of the man.
Mathew Brady, who would become the Civil War’s most well-known photographer, was the first to focus on the emerging hero. He dispatched one of his twenty field photographers to the western theater in the spring of 1862. The resulting group of images (B-5 series) would be copied, stolen, and pirated by other photographers to satisfy the nation’s craving for a photo of the general. The resulting eight views of a forty-year-old Grant are some of the finest images ever taken of him. In them, Grant looks confident and self-assured. It was a time before the ravages of war began to age the man.
The sheer quantity of photographs of Grant presents a numerical statement as to his popularity. The images in this book reveal a remarkable transformation that spanned Grant’s life from age twenty-one to his death at age sixty-three. Grant sat for sixty-five different photographers on 106 occasions. Periodically he would complain that much of his time was being taken up by photographers and artists, but he was an accommodating man with no record of ever saying no. He treated having his image taken like it was his duty.
Much has been written concerning who was the most photographed American of the nineteenth century. If one Googles the subject, hit after hit identifies Frederick Douglass as the most photographed person from this era. In fact, the first three and half pages of Google results mention no other person but Douglass. It appears there is no disagreement that the famous African American abolitionist, speaker, and statesman holds the title. John Stauffer, Zoe Trodd, and Celeste-Marie Bernier, in their book Picturing Frederick Douglass: An Illustrated Biography of the Nineteenth Century’s Most Photographed American, credit him with 160 photographs.
But what of the others? Abraham Lincoln might have had a chance if he had not been killed by an assassin’s bullet in 1865. The great leader of the nation is credited with 130 distinct images from life. The flamboyant George Custer is next with 155 photos. While putting Douglass ahead of all others, the authors of Picturing Frederick Douglass mention on the first page of their introduction that Grant might be in the running: “Ulysses S. Grant is a contender, but no one has published the corpus of Grant photographs; one eminent scholar has estimated 150 separate photographs of Grant.”
It is time to correct the historical record. In my forty-six years of searching for Ulysses S. Grant photographs, I have been able to identify 309 distinct and separate images. From his earliest daguerreotype in 1843 until his death in 1885, Grant was by far the most photographed American of the nineteenth century. And I will add that this is a conservative number; I am certain that there are many more images yet to be found among private collections and in archives and historical societies across this nation and around the world. But just like for Douglass, Lincoln, Custer, and others, the publishing of this book of photographs will bring additional images to light for others to view and appreciate. Another victory for Grant.
While the images in this book bring attention to Grant as a nineteenth-century personality, examining the photographs does not tell us about Grant the inner man. We can observe how he ages over time and how his appearance subtly changes, but we cannot see what was on Grant’s mind—his thoughts, his dreams, his love for his family.
Grant’s memoirs are among the most famous examples of nonfiction prose produced by any American, but he wrote more than just his memoirs. Thanks to the dedication of the late editor John Y. Simon and others, we can read Grant’s thoughts and feelings about his everyday experiences, many of which shaped American history, in the more than fifty thousand documents contained in the thirty-two volumes of The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant. Grant began writing letters during his time at West Point and continued until he died in 1885. He wrote about almost every aspect of his life. He was frank and to the point. Every word seemed to count, and he did not waste any in developing or expressing a thought. This book combines excerpts from Grant’s letters with his photographs from the same time period to provide the reader with a glimpse into his character—his being. I believe it is important to see Grant as more than an image printed on paper. I have sought to reveal him here as a living, breathing person, coping with all the ups and downs that life threw at him. To get close to Grant, to understand his decisions and direction in life, one needs to listen to him talk, to examine the thoughts he wrote down and sent to his best friends, family, and especially his wife, Julia. Then he morphs from a stiff figure in front of a camera, showing little emotion, into a warm human being expressing his innermost feelings. This is the true image of Ulysses S. Grant.
[end of excerpt]
Cuprins
Contents
Foreword by Frank J. Williams
Preface
A Reader’s Guide
A Short Biography of Ulysses S. Grant
1. West Point to Major General, 1843–1864
2. Lieutenant General, 1864–1866
3. General of the Army, 1866–1869
4. President of the United States, 1869–1877
5. Trip around the World, 1877–1879
6. The Final Years, 1879–1885
7. The Grant Family
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Foreword by Frank J. Williams
Preface
A Reader’s Guide
A Short Biography of Ulysses S. Grant
1. West Point to Major General, 1843–1864
2. Lieutenant General, 1864–1866
3. General of the Army, 1866–1869
4. President of the United States, 1869–1877
5. Trip around the World, 1877–1879
6. The Final Years, 1879–1885
7. The Grant Family
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Descriere
This curated volume opens the largest collection of Grant photos to the public for the first time. Excerpts from Grant’s personal writings divulge his candid thoughts about the people he posed with and the situations he faced around the time the photographs were taken.