When I wrote my historical novel Brookhaven, I was aware of this story, but I didn’t know it in terms of details. Now I do.
In the spring of 1863, Frederick Dent Grant was 12 going on 13. He’d been born in St. Louis. His mother was Julia Dent Grant, daughter of a slaveowner in St. Louis County. His father was Ulysses S. Grant, general in the Union Army, who was now encamped down the Mississippi River, charged with taking Vicksburg, the last Confederate fortification not in Union hands along the Mississippi. Memphis, New Orleans, and Baton Rouge were all in Union hands; Vicksburg was the last impediment to Union control of the river.
And then Grant did something that would seem almost inexplicable to parents today. In early March of 1863, he sent for his oldest son Fred to join him for the Vicksburg campaign. Fred’s mother also did something inexplicable – she let him go, although she did keep nine-year-old Ulysses Jr. with her and the family.
To continue reading, please see my post today at Dancing Priest.
Some Wednesday Readings
Why We Don’t Trust the “Elites” – Gary Houchens at The Imaginative Conservative.
The American: A Frank Capra Retrospective – Ryan Shenkel at Mere Orthodoxy.
Left-Wing Violence is Being Normalized – Max Horder at The Spectator.
Archaeologist uncovers ‘compelling evidence’ of true location where Jesus turned water into wine – Andrea Margolis at fox News.
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