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Manuscripts

Ulysses S. Grant correspondence

Description

This collection contains correspondence sent by Ulysses S. Grant, primarily from City Point, Virginia, to Abraham Lincoln, Edwin M. Stanton, Henry W. Halleck, George Gordon Meade, Benjamin F. Butler, Philip Henry Sheridan, William T. Sherman, and others during Civil War operations from May 1864 to April 1865. The correspondence is in the form of signed letters, most in Grant's hand and on army letterhead; the letters were then resent as telegrams, many after being ciphered.

Correspondence primarily pertains to Union Army campaigns in Virginia from August 1864 to February 1865. Items sent to Philip Henry Sheridan also discuss campaigns in the Shenandoah Valley and the Confederate battalion of John S. Mosby; items sent to William T. Sherman discuss the capture of Atlanta and Sherman's campaign through Georgia and into South Carolina; several other items mention campaigns in the deep south and western edges of the war.

The letters detail Union troop movements, orders and plans; intelligence on Confederate Army and government officials' movements and plans, including reports from deserters and Confederate newspapers; Union supplies, stores, and artillery; the capture of prisoners-of-war and enemy artillery; POW exchanges; soldier enlistments; the state of roads and railroads, especially in Virginia; Union general and officer appointments and dismissals; the recruitment of Black soldiers; and Grant's movements and whereabouts.

Correspondence are autograph letters signed and sent by Grant from City Point, Virginia, unless otherwise noted. Most messages are marked "cipher" (see individual Scope & Contents notes for exceptions). The times noted in the date were in Grant's hand in some cases; in others, they appeared to have been added later and may have indicated the time the telegram was sent. Many of the items addressed to Major General Philip Sheridan in Virginia were actually locations in the newly created state of West Virginia.

Type
Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Date
1864-1865
Call number
mssGrant
Creator
Grant, Ulysses S (1822-1885)(Opens in new tab)
Provenance
Purchased from William Bixby, 1918. William K. Bixby purchased various parts of the collection from 1904 to 1914 from S.H. Beckwith, Grant's secret cipher operator, and from the sons of Colonel George K. Leet, who was a member of Grant's staff.
Restrictions
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.
Rights
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining permission rests with the researcher.
Associated people
Butler, Benjamin F. (1818-1893,)
Halleck, H. W. (1815-1872,)
Lincoln, Abraham, (1809-1865,)
Meade, George Gordon, (1815-1872,)
Sheridan, Philip Henry, (1831-1888,)
Sherman, William T. (1820-1891,)
Stanton, Edwin M. (1814-1869,)
Find out more
View in the Library catalog(Opens in new tab)
View in the Online Archive of California(Opens in new tab)

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    Sending reports of positions and movements of military personnel during the Appomattox Campaign, including Brigadier General Ranald S. Mackenzie and Major General Philip Henry Sheridan; sending instructions for Brigadier General Nelson A. Miles. In pencil.

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    Ulysses S. Grant account book :

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    Accounts kept by Ulysses S. Grant while a cadet at West Point in a printed, leather-bound cadet account ledger. Columns are for Store Keeper, Taylor, Shoe Maker, Barber, Post Master, Damages U.S., Subscriptions, Cash, and Total Amount. Most ledger entries fill the Store Keeper column and list Grant's purchases and expenses for clothing, various supplies, books, and a subscription to the Philadelphia Saturday Courier. There are remarks by Grant's instructors, for example the entry dated July 1842 "The Balance due by Cadet Grant is too great to admit of any increase." Also included is a loose note titled "Memoranda for Mr. Childe" and signed Edward C. Boynton (3 pages) and two loose notes in pencil regarding "furlough clothing" issued "to Cadet Grant when he visited his home in 1841" and his "indebtedness" being "two great to allow him anything but the strictly necessary articles for daily use." End pages contain several signatures.

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    Regarding Frederick Grant's studies and exams. In pencil.

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    Ulysses S. Grant Special Orders No. 180, Headquarters Department of the Tennessee, near Vicksburg :

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