Looking over the vast landscape of his life, Ulysses S. Grant spent his last month gazing out at the view from a cottage on a mountaintop in Wilton.
Grant Cottage B
efore Grant was elected the 18th president of the United States, he fought in the Mexican-American War, and was a prominent general under the direction of Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War.
Grant led the troops to victory in Vicksburg, Mississippi (on the same day as the Union Victory in Gettysburg) in 1863. That was the day that many point to as turning the tide of the Civil War and the beginning of the end for the Confederacy. Considered an inspired military genius, Grant struggled to lead a country torn apart by slavery and war. In the midst of change, there is tragedy but there is also triumph. The support for civil rights that he demonstrated was a brave example that we can still learn from today.
50 | TOWN OF WILTON 200 th ANNIVERSARY 2018
Telling the Tale
A house built in 1878 by Duncan McGregor and owned at the time by Joseph Drexel proved to be the perfect escape for this grand man who was suffering from throat cancer.
“Grant had his favorite chair on the porch. It has a phenomenal view. From there he could see the entire Hudson Valley and be reminded of American history,” said Tim Welch, President of the Grant Cottage Historic Site. Finishing his memoirs there just days before his death, the book was published by Mark Twain and made what was in today’s currency, the equivalent of millions of dollars in sales. “In many ways he was always hesitant to write his memoirs because he didn’t think he was a literary man,” said Welch.
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