Studying and imitating the lives of great people is a useful practice with a long history. It’s especially refreshing these days, with celebrities, influencers, and gurus vying for our attention everywhere we go. Role models occasionally remind us of timeless virtues.
Ulysses S. Grant was a prolific writer of love letters. Shortly after winning the hand of Julia Dent, the sister of his West Point roommate, Grant was drafted into the Mexican-American War. Although the four-year separation was painful for Grant, it was also encouraging. as he wrote One letter said, “By leaving now, I feel like there is someone else besides me to live and try to do good deeds.”
Grant’s dedication to Julia and their four children would continue to motivate him for the rest of his life. During the Civil War, when Grant’s victory resulted in President Lincoln giving him command of all Union armies, Julia was his trusted confidant and often joined her husband at the front. And Julia took such an active role in Grant’s 1868 presidential campaign that he turned to her during her inauguration and said:
After two terms, the Grants retired from public life. After a brief period of happiness, a failed investment led to financial ruin, and Grant was diagnosed with inoperable throat cancer. But his love for his family inspired the final feat. Mr. Grant wanted to provide some kind of nest egg for Julia and her children. “Personal Memoirs on U.S. Subsidy” The book is still widely read today and was a huge success, netting Julia the equivalent of about $12 million today.
Read more about this extraordinary American marriage below. “Dear Julia: Ulysses S. Grant’s Wartime Letters to His Wife”
