U.S. Grant visits the Mount Pulaski Courthouse in honor of Lincoln’s birthday

 

[February 11, 2019] 

On Saturday, the Mount Pulaski Courthouse celebrated Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday with a special open house in the afternoon.

Upstairs in the historic courtroom, it was standing room only as guest speaker Larry Werline in the persona of General Ulysses S. Grant spoke to the group about his life and the role he played in the many terrible battles of the Civil War.

Werline hails from the Chatham area and is now retired after working many years for Oracle Corporation. For the last 20 years he has been studying and portraying General Grant. He has done portrayals at the Old State Capital in Springfield as well as the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.

Werline delivered a captivating program that was thoroughly enjoyed by all the guests. After he was finished he was asked to “come out of character” for a personal question about his history background. Was he a historian? Werline said he was not an educated historian and he felt that was to his favor. He explained that in history there are a number of accounts written by expert historians that sometimes contradict one another. A real historian will give a presentation that represents multiple accounts, and sometimes leaves people wondering what is the correct version. Werline said that he has studied many accounts of Grant, and from those he has selected the portions he chooses to believe and has incorporated them into his presentation.

Werline began his presentation with comparisons of himself to Abraham Lincoln in their youth. Both had tender loving mothers, and fathers who were harsh. Both were raised on hard work and Grant recalled many of the events of his own youth working in his father’s business – a tannery in Galena.

Grant explained that becoming a part of the Union Army was unintentional on his part. He had shared with his father as a youngster that when he grew up, there was no way that he would work in the family business. He wanted no part of the tannery. His father in turn then insisted that Grant would attend college and have another career.

Grant’s best friend was a year older than Grant and was admitted into West Point under the recommendation of the local state representative. His tuition as a recommended student/future soldier was free. However, the friend got booted out at West Point. When Grant’s father heard of this, he used his own influence with the representative to get Grant accepted into the college.

At first Grant refused to go swearing he had no intention of becoming a soldier for the sake of an education. However, his father used his special kind of influence to convince Grant that he should attend West Point.

Grant had been born Hiram Ulysses Grant. It was at West Point that he became Ulysses S. Grant. There was a mix up when his name was submitted by the state representative and he was recorded at the school as Ulysses Simon (his mother’s maiden name) Grant. Grant said he was not bothered by the change because at West Point every cadet was given a nickname. He said that with his birth name initials being H.U.G. he was very much dreading the name he might be given. However, when his name was recorded as Ulysses S. Grant, that made the nickname prospects more tolerable.

It was his good friend William Tecumseh Sherman who actually gave him the nickname of “Uncle Sam” Grant. Another name considered at West Point was “United States” Grant. Later in life, during the civil war journalists would coin him as “Unconditional Surrender” Grant.

Grant told many stories as he walked through the history of the civil war and the role he played. Of those some that stood out included his interactions with President Lincoln.

One story in particular Grant prefaced by talking about the former Confederate slaves who joined the Union Army. As the south began to falter, many of the slaves were freed when territories were surrendered over to the north. Many of those slaves then joined the Union Army to help fight for the freedom of their fellow slaves and the eradication of slavery all together.

Grant said that many were skeptical of allowing the former slaves to join the army. It was said that the slaves were lazy and ornery and would not do anything without a slave master forcing them. Grant said nothing could have been further from the truth. He said that 180,000 men were trained and ready for battle, and another 20,000 served as support for the army, working to assure the troops received supplies as needed.

Grant said that to have those men come from the Confederate side to the Union side, in many ways became a turning point for the north. He explained those men while not fighting for the Confederates had been engaged in manufacturing and delivery of supplies and offering other support service to the Confederates. When they gained their freedom they left the south greatly at a disadvantage and gave the north much needed manpower. He explained that it was a double hit against the south.

Moving on, Grant explained that at a point in time when he and his wife were stationed in the deep south, his wife suggested that Grant invite the President to come for a visit and to see the war in action. The President agreed and came for what was scheduled as a two-day visit. He ended up staying along with wife Mary, for two full weeks.
 

At a point in time during that visit, Grant ordered that there be a soldier review for the President. He chose the company that would be reviewed and that company prepared for the presidential inspection. He said for the review, the soldiers were to be clean, have clean uniforms, cleaned rifles and would polish their brass buttons and shoes. On the day the president was to inspect the troops a battle ensued with the south and the company in review was involved. No longer being clean and healthy it was not a good company to review.

Someone suggested that one of the black companies that had not been involved in that battle should be reviewed instead. Grant said while they were not inspection ready they were in better shape than the other troop, so it was decided that the President would meet this troop of freed slaves.

Grant said at the time of inspection the soldiers lined up and stood at attention awaiting the arrival of the President. But, when they saw him coming from off in a distance, they began to shout and cheer and applaud, something that was not acceptable during a review. However, the men were so overwhelmed that no one could call them back to attention.

Grant said as Lincoln rode up to the troop, the soldiers called out to him, thanked him, and reached out to touch him. Lincoln spoke to each one, touching their hands as he passed by. Grant said it was a very moving moment, as the black soldiers showed their affection for the man who had signed the Emancipation Proclamation and set the wheels in motion for their freedom.

There were many other stories told including how ships were wrapped in bales of cotton so as to float down the river past Vicksburg without being shot down. The cotton bales, confiscated from the south, were tied to the ships to provide a buffer that would prevent cannon balls from sinking the ships. The idea worked and with the soldiers on the ship floating past the Confederate fort, the north was able to attack from behind and win Vicksburg.

During the war, there were those in the north who greatly disliked Grant, and those who held him in high regard. Those who disliked him in Washington, on numerous occasions begged the President to fire Grant, but that never happened.  However, after one particularly bloody battle, when the president was urged to fire the General, he did de-mote him. Of course, Grant would later earn his rank back and go on to become only the second Three-star General (Washington was the first) in history at that time.

In respect to those who held him in high regard. Grant told another story. He said that in the north there were many who knew him, but had never seen him. Often times, journalists would use pictures of other generals and put Grants name in the caption. To that end, one such picture showed a general holding a cigar and pointing outward as though giving the command to “Charge.” Grant said after that picture was published, grateful northerners began sending him boxes of cigars, lots of boxes of cigars. So, originally being a “pipe man” who could not afford the expensive cigars, he switched his habit.

Ironically, it was that habit that eventually took his life. Grant often times chewed on the cigars rather than smoking him, and when he died he had throat cancer.

Grant also spoke about the death of the President. He felt compelled to recount that he and his wife were invited to the theater with the Lincoln’s on the night the President was killed. He said the Presidents body guards were neglectful, leaving their President unprotected. Grant said that the men who traveled with him would never have been so negligent, and he himself would never have been so relaxed as to not know what was going on. He felt that had he gone to the theater that night with his President the assassination would have been a failed attempt.

When Grant’s presentation was completed, the floor was opened to questions from the audience. Grant fielded several questions then, and also stayed in the upstairs courtroom for quite some time afterward to speak to guests who wanted to talk one-on-one.

The site director at the Mount Pulaski Courthouse Barbara Stroud-Borth had welcomed all guests at the beginning of the program. During that time she noted that with such a large crowd on hand it would be difficult to give appropriate tours of the building. She encouraged all guests to come back sometime on a regular day when courthouse volunteers could give them an adequate tour of the building.

The downstairs area of the courthouse offered fun and games for children and sweet treats for everyone including cookies, apple pie with rum sauce, coffee and punch.

Stroud-Borth said she was very excited for the turnout on Saturday. There were children on hand, but she said she would love to see more children become engaged with the courthouse and the activities and crafts provided. Those crafts and activities were focused around things that would have been common place in the 1860’s such as quill pens, telegraphs, and simple games children played.

Upstairs, in addition to the Grant presentation Alexis Asher was set up in one of the small rooms with a quilting frame and quilt. She offered demonstrations of quilting and talked about the task that was often performed in the 1800’s. The quilts were made into warm blankets that were used in the home.

The Saturday event at the Mount Pulaski Courthouse was very nice, and well worth attending. Many enjoyed cookies decorated in patriotic and Abraham Lincoln themes. A nice cup of hot coffee or a fresh glass of punch was enjoyed by many before heading back outside into the chill of the day.

[Nila Smith]