The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1885-03-11
TURNING 70 LrrERAT uRE.



Gen. Grant and all the members OF his
family have been-as might have been ex.
pected-very reticent as to the priyations
and anxieties they have suffered since the
failure of the firm of Grant & Ward. But
the facts communicated TO old friends in
confidence have been gradually coming To
the public, without any Intentional betrayal
OF trust anywhere. SO much, however, is
known, that 1t occurred to the writer of the
communication herewith published that q
connected and careful account of Gen.
Grants pecuniary straits would be more
satisfactory to the people and would give a
juster view of his situation and of his trials
and conduct than the more or less exag.
gerated stories that are afoat. The com
munication which follows was written b,
one whose relations with the Grants have
been and are such rs to insure the most init.
mate knowledge of the interesting facts
stated. OF course, the writer prepared and
furnished this communication without the
knowledge of any member of the Grant
family and without any solicitation on the
part of any one connected with the Mail
and Erpress. But SO interesting story will
speak for itself. Here it is: ~
Four days after the failure of Grant &
Ward, Mr.. Charles Wood, OF Lansing.
burg, New York, wrote to Gen. Grant,
whom he had never seen, offering to len6
him 8 900 for his note at twelve month";
without interest, with option of renewal al
same rate. He enclosed check for $500,
on account of my share due for services
ending about April, 1865"
" At this time Gen. Grant had absolutely
not money for current expenses. Every
thing he owned in the world had been in
vested or deposited with Grant & Ward.
About $50 in his pocketbook and $3.50 in
cash belonging to Mrs. Grant was what he
bad to live on. The trust fund had beer
invested in Wabash securities and the com
pany at this juncture defaulted payment,
while the guarantors, the E. d. Morgan
estate, could not pay until the company had
defaulted for six months. Gen. Grant
accepted the timely offer of Mr.. Wood very
gratefully. i 49,
About the same time Mr. Romero, the
Mexican Minister, came to Gen. Grant, and
also insisted on aiding him with loan Of
81 900. The General declined ut first to
receive the money, but Mr.. Romero left the
room abruptly, placing the amount on the
table. But for these two acts of friendship,
one from O man whom Gen. Grant had
uayar saap tho nibar fro,,, a <,a,+la,s,o.. L..
no means wealthy, the distress of the Gen.
sra1 would have been actual The checks
which had been paid out few days before
the failure were of course not met, the pay.
ment May on the trust fund was swallowed
up by Ward, and there was absolutely for a
time no other resource.
Mrs. Grant. however, had little house
in Washington which she had bought some
yefSs before for 81, 800, and she was able
to sell this in q few weeks for $4,000. A
check was at once sent to Mr.. Romero for
the debt to him, the outstanding checks on
Grant Ward for personal or family ex.
penses were paid, and q little was left for
living during the summer. The sons had
all been ruined by the failure as absolutely
as Che father, and two Of them with theil
families were obliged for time to live with
him.
:" In this emergency the General was ask
ed to write couple of articles for the Cen.
tu'y Magazine. He was offered 81 900 for
the two, and consented to try his hand al
literature. The articles were written and
the payment made, and about Christmas
the General was able to pay off the pecun
iary indebtedness to his friend Mr.. Wood
with whom he is still personally mac
quainted. The occupation of writing in.
terested him the story Of his old cam.
paigns distracted him from the thoughts Of
his Wall street troubles; he continued ia
write, and finally decided to compile his
military memoirs. The first volume of these
is complete, and the second nearly so. The
work gives details of his early history moi
| previously known, and graphic picture Of
life in Ohio before 1889, when he went ia
West Point. His account OF the Mexican
war is also extremely interesting, as he was
in every battle except Buena Vista under
both Scott and Taylor.-Aa1 and Espress