When Grant was still an infant, his family moved to Georgetown, Ohio. The family lived in a two-story home built by Grant's father. I have not yet visited the U.S. Grant Boyhood Home.
From 1839 to 1843, Grant attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York. I am unsure where he resided while in attendance.
In 1843, Grant was assigned to the Fourth Infantry in St. Louis at the Jefferson Barracks. The original structures are no longer in existence.
Over the next decade, Grant served in the U.S. Army. From 1846 to 1848, Grant fought in the Mexican War. Returning in 1848, Grant marries and after the honeymoon, is stationed at Fort Wayne, Michigan. The home where the Grants lived was moved to the Michigan State Fair Grounds where it was available for viewing when the fair was open; however the fairgrounds closed in 2009 and the home is boarded up and deteriorating. The rear of the home is visible from the road, but I have not visited this site.
In 1851, Grant was assigned to Sackets Harbor, New York, and in 1852, he was sent to Humboldt Bay, California.
In 1854, Grant resigned his commission in the U.S. Army. Grant moved to the farm of his in-laws, first living in the main house, White Haven, and then building his own cabin, Hardscrabble, on 60 acres of the farm given to him by his father-in-law. I have not yet visited the U.S. Grant National Historic Site.
In 1860, the Grants moved to Galena, Illinois. They resided in a home on 121 South High Street, which is privately owned. It was from here that Grant departed for service in the U.S. Civil War. I have not yet visited this site.
Over the next four years, Grant fought in the U.S. Civil War. On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Grant at the McLean House at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. The photos below, with my father and my then one-year-old nephew Doug, were taken during our visit in 1976:
At the conclusion of the Civil War, the Grants returned to Galena, Illinois, where the citizens presented them with a new home. I have not yet visited this Grant Home.
Grant served as U.S. president from 1869-1877. Following his retirement from the presidency, the Grants departed for a two-year world tour. They returned to the home in Galena in the fall of 1879.
In 1881, the Grants moved to New York City. The home where they lived at 3 E. 66th Street no longer exists.
After going bankrupt and learning that he was dying from cancer, Grant began work on his memoirs to assure the financial stability of his family. He left his NYC home in 1885 and spent the final six weeks of his life writing at a cottage in upstate New York, near Saratoga. He died only three days after completing the manuscript. I visited the Grant Cottage in 2014:
Ulysses Grant died at the cottage near Saratoga, New York, on July 23, 1885. He is interred in New York City in what is the largest tomb in North America. The only presidential site that I've ever visited on my birthday, I visited the General Grant National Memorial on my 32nd birthday on August 7, 2000:
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