New York

Grant Cottage – Mount McGregor, New York

Following his presidency, Ulysses S. Grant embarked on a two-year world tour with his wife, Julia. He returned to New York City in September 1879 and entered into a business partnership with his son, Ulysses Jr., and a man named Ferdinand Ward. Grant made an initial investment of $50,000 in a company known as “Grant & Ward” which made investments in everything from railroads and construction to silver mines and government contracts. As the firm became a well-known Wall Street entity, Grant had every reason to believe his family would be financially secure for the rest of their lives. On May 6, 1884, Grant’s son came to him with horrible news: their business partner, Ward, was gone along with their family’s life savings. Left with just $80 to his name, Ulysses S. Grant had been the victim of a large Ponzi-scheme.

Knowing that he needed to provide for his family, Grant decided to write some articles about his time as commander of the Union Army for the Century Magazine. The literary success of those articles led Grant to believe that a larger work, his personal memoirs, could bring the financial security he desired for his family. In June 1884, Grant bit into a peach and had a sharp pain in his throat. He continued to have throat discomfort all throughout the summer as he worked on his memoirs. Grant finally visited a doctor in October 1884 where he was advised that he had incurable throat cancer. Many have speculated the cancer was a result of his years of smoking cigars. In February 1885, Grant was visited by his friend Samuel Clemens (known by his pen name of Mark Twain) who advised Grant that his publishing deal with Century was horrible. He pleaded with Grant to sign with his publishing firm, offering an unprecedented 70% royalty to the Grant family. Knowing that this would secure the financial security he sought for his family, Grant signed with Clemens’ publishing company.

Grant’s health deteriorated all throughout the winter and into the spring as he labored on his memoirs. In the spring of 1885, Grant’s doctors advised him that the cooler air of the Adirondack Mountains might make him more comfortable for the summer. A close friend of the Grant family by the name of Jospeh W. Drexel had a small cottage in the resort area of Mount McGregor which he offered to the family. Grant and his family arrived on Mount McGregor on June 16, 1885 by train from New York City. The general lived under excruciating pain as he labored away on his memoirs. He was accompanied to the mountain cottage by a medical team of doctors and nurses who stayed at the nearby resort. During the day, they would administer a cocaine water solution to his through to help numb the pain and at night they would prescribe morphine to make him comfortable to sleep. The tumor in Grant’s throat was so large that laying down suffocated him, so the General slept upright in two chairs he had brough from New York City. Unable to speak most of the time, Grant communicated by writing notes on a small pad he kept with him.

When the weather was pleasant, Grant would sit on the cottage’s large porch in his favorite wicker chair writing his manuscript. He also enjoyed being taken to the overlook by his nurses in a wheelchair where he could look down into the Hudson River Valley. Grant also received visitors to Mount McGregor which included Civil War veterans and Samuel Clemens who informed him, to his relief, that his memoirs had already pre-sold 100,000 copies. Finally, on July 20, 1885 Grant wrote his final words and his memoirs were complete. After taking in the beautiful scenery of the overlook, Grant’s eyes shut and he lost consciousness. His doctors placed a bed in the corner of the cottage’s parlor where they could provide twenty-four-hour care. At 8:08am on July 23, 1885, Lt. General Ulysses S. Grant died while surrounded by family. His son stopped the clock on the mantle and to this day it is frozen in time.  Following his death, Grant’s body was embalmed and placed in a glass topped coffin. He laid in state in the cottage’s parlor for four days so that veterans, politicians, and everyday Americans could file through and pay their respects. Flower arrangements that flanked Grant’s coffin are still on display in the cottage to this day. The large pillow shaped arrangement was from G.A.R. (Grand Army of the Republic) Lodge #1 and the fence/gate arrangement was from his friend Leland Stanford.

Before the funeral train departed Mount McGregor, a brief service was held on the porch and steps of the cottage. The train took Grant’s remains to Albany where he laid in state for twenty-four hours and then the train departed for New York City. The funeral procession held in New York City on August 8, 1885 stretched for 7 miles and consisted of over 60,000 men. It is estimated that 1.5 million people witnessed the procession. Grant himself had requested that officers from both the Union and Confederacy participate in order to promote a renewed national unity in the country. His pallbearers included Union Generals William T. Sherman and Philip Sheridan as well as Confederate Generals Joseph E. Johnston and Simon Bolivar. Grant’s remains were placed in a temporary tomb while plans and funding were secured for a more fitting tribute to the general who had saved the Union. In April 1897, the General Grant National Memorial, also known as Grant’s Tomb, was opened on Riverside Drive in New York City and is the final resting place of Lt. General Ulysses S. Grant and his wife.

The small cottage on Mount McGregor became somewhat of a shrine following Grant’s death. Civil War veterans would camp on the property to protect the site from would-be souvenir hunters. The Drexel family that owned the cottage never stayed in it again. Instead, they left the cottage exactly as it was when Grant died including his personal items, clothing, the death bed, and flower arrangements. Caretakers and community members have maintained the “Grant Cottage” as a time capsule into the few weeks that Ulysses S. Grant spent the final weeks of his life. The cottage became a New York State Historical Site in 1957 and a Friends of Grant’s Cottage organization offers daily tours of this historic site. As someone who has studied Ulysses S. Grant and has tremendous respect for him as a great American leader, I found my visit to Grant’s Cottage to be a very moving experience.

Lake George

Lake George is located at the southern end of the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York. The lake was formed nearly 10,000 years ago by retreating glaciers in the last Ice Age. At 32 miles long, up to 2.5 miles wide, and with depths reaching 200 feet, Lake Goerge is feed by underground springs and is amongst the cleanest large lakes in the world. The lake’s water clarity and scenic beauty have awed visitors for centuries. Lake George has become a popular vacation destination with numerous resorts, amusement parks, and tourist attractions in the community of Lake George Village. The 109 miles of shoreline are dotted with magnificent vacation homes of some of New York’s most affluent families.

The waters of Lake George have long been of strategic importance due to their connection with Lake Champlain and the Hudson River to the north. As the French and Indian War broke out in western Pennsylvania in 1754, much of the Lake Champlain Valley was controlled by the French including Lac du Saint Sacrament which was attacked by British forces in September 1755. In what became known as the Battle of Lake George, the British under the command of William Johnson forced the French to withdraw. Johnson renamed the lake in honor of King George II and ordered the construction of Fort William Henry on its southern shore. As the war raged on, French General Montcalm and 8,000 troops besieged Fort William Henry in August 1757. After six days, the British were forced to surrender. As the British withdrew from the fort, they were attacked and massacred by French-allied Native Americans. Following their victory, the French burned Fort William Henry to the ground and then withdrew to the safety of Fort Carillon to the north.

The British launched numerous attacks on the French stronghold of Fort Carillon at the convergence of Lake Champlain and the Hudson River. In 1758, British General Abercrombie led a force of 16,000 men from the south shore of Lake George in a failed assault on Fort Carillon. A second British assault a year later was successful in capturing Fort Carillon, renamed Fort Ticonderoga, and Fort Niagara in western New York. Following these key victories, the British had several successful campaigns against French forces deep into Canada including Quebec and Montreal. Finally, on September 15, 1760 the British flag was raised over Detroit, effectively ending the war in North America.

Fort Ticonderoga

For centuries, the Lake Champlain Valley has been a crossroads for nations and people. At the strategic site of Ticonderoga, the southern waters of Lake Champlain form the Hudson River creating a waterway that runs from the US/Canada border all the way to New York City. The name Ticonderoga is actually a corruption of an Iroquoian word meaning “place between two waters”. From the high bluffs overlooking the chock point of Lake Champlain and the Hudson River, the occupant of Fort Ticonderoga could control access to these strategic waterways.

The French established the first fortification at Ticonderoga in 1755 when they built Fort Carillon. From this location, French forces launched numerous campaigns against the British during the French and Indian War including the 1757 attack on Fort William Henry on the southern shore of Lake George. Facing an overwhelming British advance, the French blew up their powder magazine before abandoning Fort Carillon in 1759. The captured fort was renamed Fort Ticonderoga. As hostilities between the Colonies and British Crown escalated, 20 British soldiers struggled to maintain and defend Fort Ticonderoga.

During the American Revolution, the fort at Ticonderoga was once again prized by both sides for its strategic importance. In May 1775, American troops under the command of Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold captured the small British garrison stationed at Fort Ticonderoga in the first American victory in the Revolution. In December, Henry Knox takes the captured artillery from the fort and transports it to Boston to break the siege that the British placed on the city. Following an unsuccessful invasion into Canada in pursuit of British forces, the Americans dig in at Fort Ticonderoga. All throughout 1776 the outnumbered American Army and Navy hold the defensive line at Fort Ticonderoga. In 1777, British forces under the command of General John Burgoyne forced the Americans to evacuate Fort Ticonderoga, but the British were soon defeated at Saratoga, New York in a major victory for General Washington’s Continental Army. Following a brief British re-occupation in 1781, Fort Ticonderoga remained unoccupied for the remainder of the American Revolution.

The abandoned Fort Ticonderoga was purchased by a wealthy merchant William Ferris Pell in 1820 in what became one of the earliest acts of preservation of its kind in the United States. In 1909, some of the Pell descendants initiated one of America’s earliest restoration efforts and Fort Ticonderoga Museum opened to the public. Today, Fort Ticonderoga is a living history museum with period actors depicting daily life at the fort. The fort’s museum is housed in the old barracks of the fort and displays an extensive collection of American Revolution artifacts.