Ulysses S. Grant was president for two terms, from 1869 to 1877. After leaving office, Grant and his wife, Julia, traveled to Europe where they had scheduled to visit their daughter, Nellie, who had married an English citizen. The Grants were met by such adulation that they decided to extend the trip. They visited all of the major countries in Europe with equal acclaim, traveled to the Middle East when they saw the Pyramids of Egypt and ultimately toured China and Japan. They finished their odyssey by sailing across the Pacific Ocean, landing on the West Coast of the United States. The Grants were honored at a parade which was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on December 16, 1879. The U.S. Mint director gave their employees to permission to attend the parade, and a brass medalet was stuck on mint presses during the event. Over 10,000 of these pieces were made, and they were passed out to people who attended the Grant celebration. Here is an example of the Grant parade medal and the envelope in which it was packaged. This medal is considered to be quite common by political items standards. The envelope is a good deal scarcer, but the demand for it is limited to those who are strongly interested in owning both pieces. Here is the same medal in white metal. This piece is much scarcer. This piece is also known in silver and gold. Those pieces are rare. During the same day, a reception was held for Grant. From what I can gather, this piece may have been given out during that reception. This is the only example of this piece I have seen, which DeWitt assigned the variety number USG 1880-1. Heritage has never sold another one, at least from the searches I have done. It was at this time that Grant decided that he would run for an unprecedented third term as president. Some people opposed the move because it broke the unwritten rule that George Washington had established that a president should only serve two terms. Grant was hesitant after hearing that, but Julia, his wife, pushed him to run and the powerful New York political boss, Roscoe Conkling gave him his full support. Grant’s supporters were known as the Stalwart Republicans. When the Republican Convention opened in Chicago, Grant was the frontrunner, but he did not have a majority of the delegates. His chief rivals were James G. Blain, a former Congressman and Senator from Maine and John Sherman, a Secretary of the Treasury and a former and future Senator from Ohio. Sherman’s brother was the famous Civil War general, William Tecumseh Sherman. Grant’s opposition were known has the “Half Breeds.” Over the first 36 ballots, Grant had a little over 300 delegates, Blaine had about 280 and Sherman had just over 100. Ultimately it was obvious that the impasse could not be broken. The Blaine and Sherman delegates broke and switched their votes to a dark horse candidate, James Garfield, who won the nomination. This stud piece may have been issued while Grant was running for president. and this one with the silver portrait and the black background may have been a memorial piece that was issued after his death. In 1881, Grant or his supporters issued this large bronze medal. It is 72 mm in diameter. Each piece was engraved with the name of one of the Stalwart Republican delegates who supported him. The ring around the Grant portrait shows the number of delegates who voted for him during each of the 36 ballots before Garfield won the nomination. I think that this was an indicator that Grant was ready to try again in 1884. But it was not to be. After failing to win the presidency, Grant became a partner in a Wall Street investment firm. Unfortunately his partner was a crook who traded on the former general's and president's good name. The firm was a Ponzi scheme, and Grant lost everything. At about this time, Grant discovered a rough, sore place in his mouth when he was biting on a peach. It turned out to be terminal cancer. In his late days, Grant fought bravely to finish his memoirs with the support of author, Mark Twain. He finished them two weeks before his death in 1885. The book was a success, and Grant was able to leave his widow with enough money to live out the rest of her life in comfort.
I think I have one of those Philadelphia parade medals but didn't know the history, thanks! Now I'll have to dig it out!
Interesting write up. Despite the scandals during his presidency I always admired Grant for his Civil War accomplishments.
Fascinating man for sure, he went from abject failure, selling firewood to try and feed his family, to President of the US in less than a decade.
Grant’s life was marked by huge successes and huge failures. He never seemed to be able to settle into what you might call “happy mediocrity.” Before the Civil War, he was drummed out the service for excessive drinking. From what I’ve read, it didn’t take much to get him “under the table.” He worked for a while in his father’s leather shop, a job he hated, under the supervision of a younger brother. As you said, he ultimately ended up selling firewood door to door. It took him a long while to prove himself during the Civil War. Part of it was his previous reputation and part was jealousy for his successes from higher ups, like General Hallick. His presidency was marked by a record number of scandals. Later, as I wrote in the OP, he lost all of his fortune. Grant seemed to be naive and was unable or unwilling to see the failings or dishonesty in those who reported to him. During the war, perhaps he avoided that because the men around him were dedicated to the cause.
