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["Lynda" <lurine AT softcom.net>]

Well, personally, I prefer to see the original and to hear first person
accounts.  Grant was stationed HERE and the first person accounts were of
the continual trouble he was in IN TOWN as well as at the fort.  He was a
drunk, he was a womanizer and he made "unwelcome advances" to several women.
I've read the hand written reports, including the reports in my
great-grandfather's papers.  It was also reported in local papers!

As to the letter, it was on the wall from 1955 through the 70s, early 80s.
The state closed the fort buildings for renovations.  When it reopened the
letter was gone.  Everything else is cateloged, only the letter isn't.
Everything else that isn't still on the walls is in storage and is accounted
for.

BTW, the story about the officer's wife and the toasts makes a nice story.
The fact is that what happened while he was stationed at the fort, not base
btw, was Grant got drunk and Grant make a pass at another officer's wife.
This was seen by and reported by many locals because it occured at a party
put on by the local timber baron.  Grant was invited to no more parties.
Grant was considered persona non grata in town, also, where he had routinely
been drunk.

Furthermore, you could be court martialed for anything you did while in
uniform.  You didn't have to be on duty.  For an officer to be falling down
drunk while in uniform was a no-no.

And, the man was a failure at everything he ever did except for a small time
in the Army when he re-upped after he was forced to resign.  It is nothing
short of a miracle that he didn't become another Custer!

Lynda


----- Original Message -----
From: <DSanner106 AT aol.com>
To: <homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Wednesday, May 18, 2005 7:42 PM
Subject: Re: [Homestead] How the US Empire operates,
>
> Gee, you seem to know a lot for a story that was covered up. Grant was
> caught intoxicated after a party at which the base commanders wife
insisted on a
> string of toasts and Grant had absolutely no tolerance for liquor. The
> commander  made him sign a statement that if found drunk again, he would
resign, and
> several years later, the next time anyone saw him in that state, the
letter
> was  placed before him. Soldiers are not normally court martialed for
being
> intoxicated when off duty, so the only reason would have been for
violating his
> own written promise. When re-admitted to the army, his old commander wrote
> many  letters to Lincoln implying that Grant was drunk during all those
victories
> in  the west (he was 1000 miles away at the time) , but Lincolns own man,
> sent to be  at Grant's side swore that he had been with him every day of
the
> campaigns, and  Grant had no drinks period, and knew his own problem well
and
> avoided alcohol.  The Commander backpedaled and admitted he had no
evidence or
> witnesses to his  string of charges, but all those published accounts over
a long
> period would  never be retracted of course. Although he did have a problem
> early in life with  this, he was not the lush he was portrayed to be. As
far as
> the letter  disappearing from the wall, was it an original?? How long
would
> any letter worth  thousands of dollars hang in a public space before being
> snatched. I would like  to hear more about the womanizing issue though, In
all my
> reading on this era, I  did not come across this. Most of this account
comes
> from the book, Grant and  Lee, by Gene Smith, but I can quote others as
well.
>
> Drew
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