The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1885-04-07
WHY GENERAL GRANT BECAME A
HISTORIAN.

bers of his family have been, as
might have been expected, very
reticent as to the privatons and
anxieties they have suffered since
the failure of the firm of Grant q
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 it occurred to the
writer of the communication here
with published that a connected and
careful account of General Grants
pecuniary straits would be more
satisfactory to the people and would
give a justcr view of his situation
and of his trials and conduct than
the more or less exaggerated stories
that are afloat. The communication
which follows was written by one
whose relations with the Grants have
been and are such rs to insure the
most intimate knowledge of the in
teresting facts stated. OF course
the writer prepared and furnished
this communication without the
knowledge of any member of the
Grant family and without any solicit
alton on the part of any one con.
nccted with the MoI md Erpress.
But so interesting story will speak
for itself. Here it is:
-Four days after the failure of
Grant & Ward, Charles Wood of
Lansingburg, N. Y, wrote to Gen
eral Grant, whom he had never seen,
offering to lend him $1,000 for his
note at twelve months without in
terest, with option of renewal at
same rate. He inclosed check for
$500, on account of my share due
for services ending about April,
1861
cat this time General Grant had
absolutely not money for current
expenses. Everything he owed in
the world had been invested or de-
posted with Grant & Ward. About
$50 in his pocket book and $50 in
cash belonging to Mrs. Grant was
what he had to live on. The trust
fund had been invested in Wabash
securities and the company at this
,iuncture defaulted payment, while
the guarantors, the f. d. Morgan
estate, could not pay until the COM
pany had defaultcd for six months.
General Grant accepted the timely
offer of Mr. Wood very gratefully.
s. About the same time Mr..
Romero, the Mexican Minister, came
to General Grant, and also insisted
on aiding him with loan of $1,000.
The General declined at first to re-
ceive the money, but Mr.. Romero
left the room abruptly, placing the
amount on the table. But for these
two acts of fricndship-onc from a
man whom General Grant had never
seen, the other from IL gentleman by
no means wcalthy-the distress of
the General would have been actual.
The checks which had been paid out
few days before the failure were,
of course, not met; the payment OF
May lst on the trust fund was
swallowed up by Ward, and there
was absolutely for Il time no other
resource.
Mrs. Grant, however, had a
little house in Washington which she
had bought some years before for
$500, and she was able to sell this
in few weeks for $4,000. A check
was at once sent to Mr.. Romero for
the debt to him, the outstanding
checks on Grant 4 Ward for per-
sonal or family expenses were paid,
and a little was left for living during
the summer. The sons had all been
ruined by the failure as absolutely
as the father, and two of them, with
their families, were obliged for time
to live with him.
80 In this emergency the General
was asked to write Il couple OF
articles for the Century magazine.
He was offered $1,000 for the two
and consented to try his hand at
literature. The articles were written
and the payment made, and about
Christmas the General was able to
pay off the pccuniary Indebtedness
to his friend, Mr.. Wood, with whom
he is still personally unacquainted.
The occupation of writing interested
him; the story of his old campaigns
distracted him from the thoughts OF
his Wall-street troubles. lie con-
tinued to 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 not
previously known, and graphic
picture of life in Ohio before 1889
when he went TO West Point. His
account of the Mexican war is also
ptoractino ba pno ;r