Who's buried in Grant's Tomb?

On this day (April 9th) in 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses Grant at Appomatox Court House, formally ending the Civil War. Grant's stature as a general propelled him to the Presidency in 1868, and he was re-elected in 1872. The consensus of historians is that Grant was a better General than he was a President, though I don't think that this is either a fair nor a clear consensus. As a General he won a number of victories, but usually at a high casualty price, prompting some to call him "Grant the Butcher." As a president, some historians rate him as one of the lesser lights because his second term was filled with scandals. Grant was regarded by honest, but was criticized for selecting subordinates who were not.

I tend to regard Grant as honest, mainly because, near the end of his life, he was swindled and left with large debts as a result of it. Rather than leaving his creditors high and dry, Grant sold off personal war momentos and wrote his autobiography in order to raise money to pay all of his debts. He finished the autobiography even as he was battling the throat cancer that ultimately claimed his life. (Grant loved to smoke cigars, this was in the days before they came with the Surgeon-General's warnings. He is frequently described in history books as reeking of the smell of cigars.) Grant's autobiography remains a classic to this day. I've read it and would recommend it to any US history buff. Grant's pal and contemporary writer Samuel Clemens (a.k.a. Mark Twain) also loved it.

Last summer when I was in New York, I paid a visit to Grant's tomb, located on the upper west side of Manhattan. I snapped a few pics, which I've put behind the cut.



Who's buried in Grant's tomb? Technically, no one is buried there. But Grant and his wife Juilia are entombed there, above ground.

1-4. It's a marvelous marble building. The inscription on the front reads "let us have peace", a mantra of Grant's during his presidency. Inside, Ulysses and the Mrs. rest in peace.









5. Surrounding the tomb in the rotunda are bronze busts of all of Grant's generals. This one is of General James McPherson, who was killed during General Sherman's Atlanta campaign. My significant other's hometown of McPherson, Kansas is named after him.



Grant was criticized as a general for his high casualty rate, for his drinking and for anti-semitism. Grant's supporters would argue that the losses in battle resulted from President Lincoln's call for an aggressive general, after having endured reluctant commanders like George McLellan. Lincoln was quoted after the massive losses at Shiloh as saying, "I can't spare this man. He fights."

Most of Grant's heavy drinking appears to have taken place before he became a general. While he made anti-semitic statements and writings, his civil rights record is otherwise amazingly good for his times. He showed concern over the plight of African-Americans and Native Americans, going so far as to outlaw the Ku Klux Klan and to pass the first Civil Rights Act of 1875. He also lobbied, though not always successfully, to preserve Native American lands from encroachment by the westward advance of pioneers.

Visitors to Grant's tomb can see his credo boldly engraved above its entrance. Grant as a general had seen the horrors of war. As president, his mantra was "let us have peace."