CSSLibraryGuides: Ulysses S. Grant Information Center: Julia Dent Grant

Articles About Julia From Newspapers of the 19th Century

How Julia and Ulysses Spent Memorial Day
Utica, NY, Sunday Journal, May 30, 1897. Julia, along with other widows of famous generals, tells of honoring the soldiers on Memorial Day. Interesting that she, the other contributors to this article and the newspaper headline do not refer to it as Decoration Day, nor do they indicate that the day is for those who lost their lives in a war. They instead are remembering the past service of the men.
Description and Information on Julia Before Grant's 1st Inauguration
From the Milwaukee Daily Sentinel, March 1, 1869.

Julia and Ulysses

A Great Love Shared
Julia, Ulysses and Their Family During the War
Vostral, Sharra. The Moveable Home Front. Gateway: the Magazine of the Missouri Historical Society. Spring, 2005, vol. 25, no. 4, pp. 23-33. The unconventional and creative ways Julia managed the family, enabling Grant to keep his focus on the War. Available freely on the Internet.

When Grant Went a-Courtin', by Julia's sister Emma Dent Casey
From the Circle Magazine (AKA Circle and Success), January, 1909, p. 11,12, and 63. February, 1909, p. 80, 81, and 108.

Julia Dent Grant, Aspects of Her Life and Genealogy

January 26, 1826-December 14, 1902

When Julia Boggs Dent was about 12 years old she and her friends at the boarding school she attended in St. Louis named the occupations they hoped their individual future husbands would have. Julia, who had been reading a novel titled The Dashing Lieutenant, told her friends emphatically that she wanted to marry a gallant, brave dashing soldier. This little girl with an idealistic vision for her future little knew what awaited her as the wife of America's greatest soldier, Ulysses S. Grant. All of that was yet to come when Ulysses and Julia "shared one of the great, romantic beautiful loves of all American history." Bruce Catton

The first link below will take you to a chronological summary of Julia's life with a list of references. The succeeding links have other information related to Julia.

The Life of Julia Dent Grant
Includes a chronology of her travels in order to be with Ulysses during the Civil War.
Julia's Eye Condition

Julia Grants Eyes: A Love Story
From presidential historian Feather Schwartz Foster's blog. How Julia changed her mind about having her eyes corrected.

Genealogy of the Wives of the American Presidents by Craig Hart.
Full text not here. You will need to request this book at your library.
Book, Charles County Gentry. Genealogy with Material on the Dent Family
Full text not here. You will need to request this book at your library.

Julia's Funeral in Washington, DC, December 20, 1902

Recollections of Julia Dent Grant, by Grenville Dodge
From Personal Recollections of the War of the Rebellion, edited by A. Noel Blakeman. Third Series. Putnam's, 1907. "Recollections of General Grant and His Campaigns in the West," by Grenville M. Dodge. He included comments on the welcome presence of Julia in camp, pp. 370-371.
The Women of the Grant Family
An article with portraits by Olive Lee, New England Magazome. New Series, 20, Number 4, 1903-04, pp. 435-442.

Julia's Funeral
From the New York Herald, Sunday, December 21, 1902. Another very small article accompanying this larger one states that it was a private ceremony at Grant's Tomb and mourners would gain admittance by presenting their invitation.

Julia Grant as Psychic

Julia believed herself to be psychic. She had one very striking vision at the time Grant was in great peril at Belmont, Missouri early in the War.

While resting one day in their little home in Galena she says she "distinctly saw Ulys a few rods from me. I saw only his head and shoulders, about as high as if he were on horseback." She called out to him, "Ulys!"

A few days later she learned from her husband that this was at the same time he was thinking of her very intensely and what would happen to her and their children should he be lost in the War.

Psychic First Lady - Magazine Article

Rare Photo of Julia

This is a highly unusual picture of Julia because she is facing the camera, something she never liked to do because of her eye condition. From Peterson Magazine, N.S. Vol. 7, no. 6, June 1897, p.615 (shortly after the dedication of Grant's Tomb) Available in Hathitrust.

Julia Grant and Varina Davis, Wife of Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy

How Julia and Varina Davis First Met
New York Times, June 25, 1893.

The Humanity of Grant, by Mrs. Jefferson Davis
Article in the Sunday New York World, April 21, 1901, p. 6 (of the Sunday News Magazine Section).
The Humanity of Grant, by Mrs. Jefferson Davis
Transcription of the article from the New York World, Sunday, April 21, 1901.

Links to Material on the Internet About Julia Dent Grant

Biography from the Dictionary of Missouri Biography
Julia Dent Grant at Wikipedia
Julia as First Lady, Her Interest in Politics and Society
Julia, Ulysses and "Their Slaves"
All the evidence points to Julia's father as being the slave-owner.
A Talk with Mrs. U.S. Grant
Julia relates some interesting anecdotes from her life with the General to The Literary Digest, Vol. 12, No. 13, January 25, 1896. She clears up a few misconceptions concerning both her husband and her youngest son. Was Jesse told he could not dine at Queen Victoria's table? Was Grant ignorant of good literature? Get the real story from this article.
Interview with Mary Robinson, Enslaved Woman at White Haven
Following Ulysses S. Grant’s death on July 23, 1885, the St. Louis Republican published an interview the next day with Robinson, who was living in downtown St. Louis and working as a laundress. From the U. S. Grant National Historic Site (White Haven)

Interview with Mary Robinson, Enslaved Woman at White Haven, Another Version
This is similar to the one above (from White Haven, which was originally published in the St. Louis Republican in 1885), with a few variations. Published on September 24, 1887 in the Atchison, Kansas Globe. It is impossible to say just how often this interview was published and what anecdotes were included or left out.
Julia and the Attempt on Grant's Life at the Time of the Lincoln Assassination

Julia in the White House
from Thirty Years in Washington, by Mary Logan (Mrs. John A. Logan). Hartford: Worthington, 1901.

The Married Life of General U. S. Grant
An article in The Home-Maker, October, 1890, by Julia herself, writing as Penelope.
Servants Remember Nellie and Julia
From Woman's Journal (Boston), October 13, 1877.
Description of Julia at the Dedication of Grant's Tomb, April 27, 1897.
A journalist describes her in the New York Journal.

Julia Grant's Bad Hat Story
From presidential historian Feather Schwartz Foster's blog. During the Civil War Julia inadvertently buys a hat with Confederate colors in it
Julia Treats a Shunned Actress Kindly with Heart Warming Results
From presidential historian Feather Schwartz Foster's blog. Julia encounters Marie Dressler at a vacation lodge.

Ulysses S. Grant Information Center: Julia Dent Grant

Julia Dent Grant, the Woman Who Won Grant's Heart