Presidential X-Files: Julia Grant's Premonition
On the night when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated at Ford's Theatre, the Lincolns had planned to share their theatre box with then-General Ulysses Grant and his wife, the former Julia Dent. Although it may have been seen as disrespectful to beg off a Presidential invitation, the accepted explanation for the Grants doing so was because future first lady Julia Grant had a strong dislike for the current first lady Mary Todd Lincoln. That explanation may have been understandable, given the first lady's mercurial personality. Today some have theorized that she may have had bipolar disorder in an age before proper medication was available for such condition.
The Grants gave the explanation that the General was in need of rest from his long campaign that had resulted in the end of the war, and that the couple were anxious to visit with their children. In his memoirs, Grant wrote of that evening:
"I replied to the President's verbal invitation to the effect, that if we were in the city we would take great pleasure in accompanying them; but that I was very anxious to get away and visit my children, and if I could get through my work during the day I should do so. I did get through the work and started by the evening train on the 14th, sending Mr. Lincoln word, of course, that I would not be at the theatre."
In Julia Grant's memoir, she talks about a premonition that she had that something bad would happen if her husband attended the play that night. According to her account, she states that as soon as the General awoke on the morning of the 14th she "asked him earnestly if we would not leave for Burlington today." She goes on to describe how a messenger arrived with a message from Mrs. Lincoln and how, on reflection, she firmly believed he was one of the conspirators and not from Mrs. Lincoln at all. On having this feeling, she sent a note to her husband asking the General to leave that evening. She also asked three of his staff officers to "urge the General to go home that night."
Julia Grant also mentions in her memoirs how she saw John Wilkes Booth eating at a nearby table with three other men (one of whom she was certain was the messenger she had seen earlier in the morning. She states that she told the wife of John Rawlins with whom she was dining, "I believe that they are part of Mosby's guerillas and they have been listening to every word we have said. Do you know, I believe there will be an outbreak tonight or soon. I just feel it, and am glad I am going away tonight." She also described how Booth rode up next to their carriage, looking at her in a very aggressive and menacing way.
Ulysses and Julia Grant had a very close relationship and throughout their marriage, Mrs. Grant claimed to have premonitions from a voice inside her head which assured her that Ulysses was destined for greatness. She claimed that it was this premonitory voice that not only saved her husband’s life but change the course of history. Earlier during the war, she had made the effort to live in camp with her husband when possible. From the time he took charge of the Union Army, Ulysses Grant had received a number of threats on his life, and Julia Grant believed that he had emerged unharmed because some sort of force for good was protecting him, thanks in large measure to her urging. She believed the ordained path of her husband's fate destined him for greatness and it is said that she reveled in the cheers and applause with which he was met by the masses at public events.
One might think that the prospect of enormous applause and praise from a theater full of admirers would have been just what Mrs. Grant would enjoy. It was expected that if Grant had attended the theatre with Lincoln, he would have received a standing ovation along with Lincoln when they entered the presidential box. Yet Julia Grant claimed that her inner sense that some type of danger was imminent was one she could not ignore and so she took steps to avoid Ford's Theatre that night.
As it turned out, Grant was not that difficult to convince. He was said to be a very loving husband to Julia, and both he and his wife wished for some private time alone with their children, who were then staying with relatives in New Jersey. This gave Julia Grant the cover she needed for refusing the honor of being seated with the President and Mrs. Lincoln on the night of April 14, 1865.
The Grants were well on their way to New Jersey that night as the Lincolns arrive at Ford’s Theater to see the play Our American Cousins. It was later learned that the conspirators who assassinated the President that night believed Grant was to have also been there and that Booth had planned to murder him as well.
Perhaps it was just coincidence that Grant avoided the same fate as Lincoln, though Julia Grant believed that it was some form of divine or supernatural force that alerted her and warned her off of attending Ford's Theatre that night 156 years ago, saving her husband's life, in order that he would later occupy the White House as Chief Executive.
The Grants gave the explanation that the General was in need of rest from his long campaign that had resulted in the end of the war, and that the couple were anxious to visit with their children. In his memoirs, Grant wrote of that evening:
"I replied to the President's verbal invitation to the effect, that if we were in the city we would take great pleasure in accompanying them; but that I was very anxious to get away and visit my children, and if I could get through my work during the day I should do so. I did get through the work and started by the evening train on the 14th, sending Mr. Lincoln word, of course, that I would not be at the theatre."
In Julia Grant's memoir, she talks about a premonition that she had that something bad would happen if her husband attended the play that night. According to her account, she states that as soon as the General awoke on the morning of the 14th she "asked him earnestly if we would not leave for Burlington today." She goes on to describe how a messenger arrived with a message from Mrs. Lincoln and how, on reflection, she firmly believed he was one of the conspirators and not from Mrs. Lincoln at all. On having this feeling, she sent a note to her husband asking the General to leave that evening. She also asked three of his staff officers to "urge the General to go home that night."
Julia Grant also mentions in her memoirs how she saw John Wilkes Booth eating at a nearby table with three other men (one of whom she was certain was the messenger she had seen earlier in the morning. She states that she told the wife of John Rawlins with whom she was dining, "I believe that they are part of Mosby's guerillas and they have been listening to every word we have said. Do you know, I believe there will be an outbreak tonight or soon. I just feel it, and am glad I am going away tonight." She also described how Booth rode up next to their carriage, looking at her in a very aggressive and menacing way.
Ulysses and Julia Grant had a very close relationship and throughout their marriage, Mrs. Grant claimed to have premonitions from a voice inside her head which assured her that Ulysses was destined for greatness. She claimed that it was this premonitory voice that not only saved her husband’s life but change the course of history. Earlier during the war, she had made the effort to live in camp with her husband when possible. From the time he took charge of the Union Army, Ulysses Grant had received a number of threats on his life, and Julia Grant believed that he had emerged unharmed because some sort of force for good was protecting him, thanks in large measure to her urging. She believed the ordained path of her husband's fate destined him for greatness and it is said that she reveled in the cheers and applause with which he was met by the masses at public events.
One might think that the prospect of enormous applause and praise from a theater full of admirers would have been just what Mrs. Grant would enjoy. It was expected that if Grant had attended the theatre with Lincoln, he would have received a standing ovation along with Lincoln when they entered the presidential box. Yet Julia Grant claimed that her inner sense that some type of danger was imminent was one she could not ignore and so she took steps to avoid Ford's Theatre that night.
As it turned out, Grant was not that difficult to convince. He was said to be a very loving husband to Julia, and both he and his wife wished for some private time alone with their children, who were then staying with relatives in New Jersey. This gave Julia Grant the cover she needed for refusing the honor of being seated with the President and Mrs. Lincoln on the night of April 14, 1865.
The Grants were well on their way to New Jersey that night as the Lincolns arrive at Ford’s Theater to see the play Our American Cousins. It was later learned that the conspirators who assassinated the President that night believed Grant was to have also been there and that Booth had planned to murder him as well.
Perhaps it was just coincidence that Grant avoided the same fate as Lincoln, though Julia Grant believed that it was some form of divine or supernatural force that alerted her and warned her off of attending Ford's Theatre that night 156 years ago, saving her husband's life, in order that he would later occupy the White House as Chief Executive.