He always looks larger in the photographs, some of them... maybe the beard made him look more substantial...
Grant is one of my favorites. He went from being a clerk in his father’s store to being one of the most famous and popular men in the world, in the span of a few years. He was very talented, but with close to zero ambition.
He did very little campaigning for the presidency, yet won easily. He wrote a short autobiography as he was dying of throat cancer, published by Mark Twain. The book was intended to provide income for his wife after he was gone. Grant was also a small man. His wife estimated that he weighed 135 when he was president.
A park guide in Springfield Illinois informed my group that A. Lincoln’s body was exhumed 17 times due to concerns over security and his monument.
There was something said as well about the skull coming apart from the rest of the skeleton, and mention of at least one serious attempt to steal the remains of our 16th president.
Bringing us back to the question many may not dare to pose: How do we really know that is the general himself buried in Grant’s tomb?
He wrote a short autobiography as he was dying of throat cancer, published by Mark Twain.
Grant's Memoirs (Vol. I & Vol. II) besides being a very compelling story are one of the finest examples a American English writing you will find.
He always looks larger in the photographs, some of them... maybe the beard made him look more substantial...
It's not that short. I got a set of books as a gift that included his and Longstreet's memoirs. Both fascinating reads.
Part of it is myth, but I frankly love the image of Grant in a muddy private’s coat, chewing on a well-used cigar stub. Especially as compared to the dandified, gold bedecked “cavaliers” like Pickett and Custer.
... autobiography as he was dying of throat cancer ...
A clipping with a photo of General Grant, titled:
General Grant Worked on His Memoirs Even When Fatal Illness Overtook Him.