Grant's Final Victory: Ulysses S. Grant's Heroic Last Year

Written by Charles Bracelen Flood

Narrated by Michael Prichard

Shortly after losing all of his wealth in a terrible 1884 swindle, Ulysses S. Grant learned he had terminal throat and mouth cancer. Destitute and dying, Grant began to write his memoirs to save his family from permanent financial ruin.

As Grant continued his work, suffering increasing pain, the American public became aware of this race between Grant's writing and his fatal illness. Twenty years after his respectful and magnanimous demeanor toward Robert E. Lee at Appomattox, people in the North and the South came to know Grant as the brave, honest man he was, now using his famous determination in this final effort. Grant finished Memoirs just four days before he died in July 1885.

Published after his death by his friend Mark Twain, Grant's Memoirs became an instant bestseller, restoring his family's financial health and, more importantly, helping to cure the nation of bitter discord. More than any other American before or since, Grant, in his last year, was able to heal this-the country's greatest wound.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Oct 11, 2011
• ISBN: 9781452673592

Charles Bracelen Flood

Charles Bracelen Flood is the author of Lee: The Last Years; Hitler: The Path to Power; and Rise, and Fight Again: Perilous Times Along the Road to Independence, winner of an American Revolution Round Table Award. He lives with his wife on a farm in Richmond, Kentucky.

Reviews for Grant's Final Victory

[uberbutter · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Grant's Final Victory: Ulysses S. Grant's Heroic Last Year by Charles Bracelen Flood

★ ★ ★ ½

Every (so I can assume) American knows who Ulysses S. Grant is. He would be the instrument to ending the American Civil War and would later go on to become president. But what of the man after such great things occurred? In 1884, Ulysses S. Grant would be swindled out of a great deal of money. And sadly so would many of his family members. After losing pretty much everything he would be slammed with more bad news – he was dying of cancer. In this book, the author takes a look at Grant's last year as he did his best to right the wrongs of the lost money by writing his now famous memoirs.

This is an interesting and fairly in depth look into Grant's final years. It won't delve too deeply into his time in the military or his time as president except to give one a small understanding of the man before 1884. I enjoyed this book but sadly knew how it ended (after all Last Year is in the title) and felt a little welling up of tears at the description of the end of the great man's life. And his struggles to do well for his family, even in the hardest and most painful times of his illness, were quite inspirational – ever 125 years later. My one complaint is there were just too many quotes. I felt like the author was being lazy by putting in whole pages of excerpts of Grant's memoirs. I could just read the memoirs if I wanted that. Paraphrasing usually does the trick just as well. Otherwise, a good, informative book.

[wearylibrarian · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An excellent account of Grant's final years, from the failure of Grant & Ward to his death, three days after the completion of his memoirs. This is certainly an in depth telling that brings us the true Grant, from 3 Sixty-sixth Avenue in New York to his final days at Mt. McGreagor, to his burial in a temporary tomb. I felt as if I were there with Grant, in the same room, watching him write, watching him suffer, watching his family as they began to grieve, even befor his death. A must read for anyone who wants to learn more about this great man.

[jclark88_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

For the common person much more is known about Grant, the great general of the Union during the Civil War, than is known about Grant, the President. I've always been fascinated by Grant's story of failure and redemption and political ascent. It's a genuine American story about how perseverance and dogged determination can change the course of your life. Grant personified success for people of his era and was a genuine hero especially to the veterans of the war (even to some Confederates because of his treatment of the defeated Southern armies).So in many ways, reading about the end of Grant's life is quite a depressing affair. From the early pages of this book we discover that Grant wasn't great with finances and trusted the wrong people which left him and his family completely broke. Grant then becomes sick with throat cancer and faces the very real possibility of leaving his wife with nothing after he is gone. But the Grant who rose from failure and obscurity and the Grant who doggedly defeated the South couldn't let that happen. Instead, Grant finally agrees to pen his memoirs for which people had been clammering. The problem, of course, is that Grant is sick and dying and is running out of time to finish his book. If he doesn't complete it his wife could be left destitute. So Grant did what Grant was prone to do and buckled down to get it done in time.This book tells the story in a very readable and enjoyable fashion. Lots of little known details are included which serves to paint the reader a picture of what life for Grant and his family was really like there in the last days. We learn more about Grant as a person as well. It's easy to put someone like Grant into this larger than life category but we must always remember that he was a real, living, breathing, person who had hopes and fears and loved just like all of us do. I highly recommend picking up Grant's Final Victory and giving it a chance. It's a fairly quick and quite enjoyable read.

[arkrayder · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book is not about the Union general’s final wartime campaign but his struggle to complete his memoirs before cancer takes his life.The plague of events that beset Grant after his presidency and retirement to private life may surprise readers. Following his resignation from the army in 1854, Grant was destitute and barely scratching out a living when the war began. The war changed his fortunes and brought the Grant family enormous fame and wealth.Following his two terms as president and a two-year world tour, Grant settled in New York and lent his name, and all his remaining wealth, to an investment firm run by Ferdinand Ward. But Ward, in fact, was running a Ponzi scheme using Grant’s name to attract wealthy and prominent investors. Events caught up with Ward, and the firm of “Grant and Ward” went bust in 1884. General Grant, along with many relatives who also invested with the firm, was left broke.The Grant family again was destitute and dependent on loans and monetary gifts to survive; selling off his wartime mementos and real estate to pay back their benefactors, of which there were many. Americans from both the upper and lower classes contributed money to Grant’s cause.The Century Magazine then approached Grant with an offer to buy any articles he cared to write of his wartime experiences for their Battles & Leaders serial. So impressed were they by Grant’s initial efforts that the article offer became a deal to publish his memoirs—if he chose to write them. By then, Grant had been diagnosed with cancer of the throat and, still recovering from the Grant & Ward debacle, worried how to provide for his wife and extended family after his death. Initially resistant to the idea that anyone would care to read anything he wrote, Grant saw the book offer as a way out of his financial woes, as The Century memoir offer would net him much more money than an article would. He initially accepted the Century offer, but then received a substantially better deal from Mark Twain’s publishing house.Grant’s Final Victory is a moving and intimate account of Grant’s race against time to complete his two-volume memoirs.The author, Charles Flood, is a superb writer. In addition to period newspapers, he researched the accoundts of doctors, friends, acquaintances, and other sources to weave a three-dimensional tapestry of Grant’s final year of life. The reader learns the look and feel of his New York sickrooms, the torture Grant endures as the cancer slowly strangles him, the grief experienced by his friends and family, and finally, the cool breezes of the Mt. Macgregor resort where the ailing general, unable to speak, pens the final chapters of the book. It is a moving story and one that gives an insight into how appreciated and loved he was by 19th-century Americans.

[dgregoryburns · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A solid review of Grant's last year and battle with cancer. What stands out most are the deep values and character traits that were carried by men of the time. Loyalty, friendship, honor, honesty, and provision for family; which all stand in such deep contrast to how men define themselves. Also, Grant's commitment to forgiveness and inclusion of the south even in the choice of pallbearers speaks deeply of his sense of purpose .

[bellafoxx · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

For some reason, despite the fact that the title is not “Memoirs” and the author is not named Ulysses S. Grant, I thought this was Grant’s autobiography and the description was telling us he wrote it in the last year of his life. That is totally not the case and makes me think I am either losing it or reading things too fast.This is the account of Grant’s final year of life, the year he wrote his “Memoirs” and the struggles involved in doing so due to his ill health.The account starts with Grant being swindled. Grant wasn’t the only one who lost money in the theft, he had persuaded other family members to invest with him and everyone lost everything. Grant was an honorable man, his mistake was in trusting the wrong people. Because he was honorable, he had many people willing to help him out. Since he was an honorable man, he was determined to pay these people back and also support his family. He was approached to write 4 articles about the war for a magazine and this led to the idea to write a book of his life.Once again his family and friends rallied around to help, with gathering information and giving him the medical care he needed. There was a huge show of support from the country, people sent him money, they wrote him letters, many of those letters have been saved and are reprinted here, retired soldiers from both sides of the conflict showed their respect in many ways.A very informative account, taken from letters, diaries and other published works. This was very interesting read that I recommend.

[alincolnnut · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Historian Charles Bracelen Flood has come full circle. Many years ago he wrote a best-selling volume on Robert E. Lee's life after the Civil War. Now he offers a book focusing on the end of the life of the most famous Union general: "Grant's Final Victory: Ulysses S. Grant's Heroic Last Year."After losing most of his money in a failed investment, which Flood describes as an early pyramid scheme, the retired general and former president is diagnosed with throat cancer. Desperate to provide financially for his family, in an age before presidential pensions (and at a time where he surrendered his military pension to hold the civilian office of President), Grant agrees to publish articles about his remembrances of the Civil War.This writing, which begins with an inauspiciously bland first draft, quickly became a proper memoir. But from that initial criticism, Grant found the approach that would ultimately win popular and literary acclaim for his two-volume autobiography, which he completed only days before his death.If this part of the story is reasonably well known, at least to most history buffs of the era, Flood discovers details and characters surrounding Grant to craft a compelling and poignant portrait of the reluctant author who approached his work more with military discipline than with artistic flair. Here is a gentle spirit who is susceptible to those who ingratiate, seeking their own advancement, but who also attracts the most famous author of the age, Mark Twain, as a friend and promoter. Here is a man hard at work who takes significant time to show his affection to his family and also to the soldiers whom he led as they now meet for various reunions. And as his health declines dramatically in the final weeks, here is a campaign whose successful conclusion is more improbable than any military victory.Flood capably presents the fleshed-out story, with an eye for engaging details, seeking to demonstrate the full personality of a man who was famously stoic in battle and in public. The result is an enjoyable and enlightening page-turner, reminding even the best-read history buffs of the unique personality of the man regarded, by his contemporaries, as one of the great men of his time.

[samsattler · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The much deserved fame and prestige that Ulysses S. Grant gained during America’s Civil War carried him all the way to the White House where he served two terms as President of the United States (1869-1877). Prior to the war, most who knew Grant probably considered him a failure. Within a few years of the end of his presidency, however, the Grants were in good financial shape, confident that they had the means to live comfortably for the rest of their lives.Grant had very little personal understanding of investing, but at his son’s recommendation, he associated himself with two men whose judgment he trusted: Ferdinand Ward and Hamilton Fish. Grant’s contribution to the firm they created, Grant and Ward, was strictly that associated with his personal fame and reputation. He had almost nothing to do with the day-to-day operations of the company. Consequently, he was as surprised as anyone else when, in 1884, he learned that all the money supposedly invested by the firm for others was gone. And, like all the rest, Grant was left penniless. Not only was Grant suddenly broke, he still owed thousands of dollars in personal debt that he was determined to repay. But even worse news was to come, for Grant was soon to learn that he was suffering from incurable throat cancer. Grant’s chief concerns were twofold: how to finance his beloved wife’s remaining years, and how to repay his existing debts. Recognizing that he could earn the kind of money he needed only one way, Grant began a race against the clock to complete his personal memoirs before his illness could claim him. With the help of key players like Mark Twain and William Vanderbilt, Grant would win that race and complete his work only three days before he died on July 23, 1885.Grant’s Final Victory offers a detailed look at what Ulysses S. Grant’s last year of life was like, a year during which he continued to write and edit daily despite his ever worsening physical condition. The book explores Grant’s personal relationships with the rich and famous of his day, as well as with the members of his immediate family. Fortunately, most of those who found themselves in Grant’s inner circle during those final months were there to help him achieve his goal of providing for Julia. Particularly selfless were men like Mark Twain who published the memoirs and made sure that Grant got the largest royalty payday imaginable and William Vanderbilt who continued to support the Grants financially despite all the money they already owed him. Of course, there would also be hangers-on who were there simply to increase their own fame and fortune by association with Grant during his final days.Charles Bracelen Flood truly does “bring to life” General Grant’s last year, a year during which Grant’s personal heroism is as sorely tested as it was even during the Civil War. His “final victory” may have been won just three days before his death when he signed off on his memoirs. Or, it may have been won by the bravery he displayed by dying in such a public manner, all the while maintaining his great personal dignity. Or, perhaps even more importantly, that victory might have been the way the all-inclusive tone of his memoirs helped to heal the remaining animosity between the northern and southern sections of the country. Whichever of these victories one chooses, there is little doubt that U.S. Grant was an American hero.Rated at: 4.0

[nbmars · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is not about Grant’s military campaigns; rather, it concerns his struggle to finish his still-celebrated memoirs before cancer killed him, so that his wife and children would have an income after he died. It is also a love story: about how so many people adored Grant for his goodness and unwavering trust in them. This made him, tragically, an easy mark for the many who would exploit that trust, but provided enduring inspiration for those who deserved it. At the end of the book, when the author describes how a bugler playing taps at Grant’s tomb caused General William Tecumseh Sherman to begin sobbing, I was sobbing right there with him.Grant was diagnosed with cancer of the tongue and throat in 1884. (Remarkably, considering the long hold tobacco has had on this country, Grant’s doctors quite quickly and confidently attributed the affliction to Grant’s life-long cigar habit.) At the time, Grant and his family were newly impecunious, following a huge financial swindle by his partners in an investment firm. All of Grant’s family had invested there also. It turned out Grant didn’t even own his house; one of his partner’s had offered to take care of the purchase, but had taken the money instead. Grant was furious; he had trusted these men, just as he had trusted so many in his presidential administration who also had succumbed to venality and graft. Grant, throughout his life, conducted his affairs as he had led the Union Army; he found men he thought worthy, delegated tasks to them, and then counted on them to carry out his directives. But too many men lacked Grant’s moral strength. In the end, Grant had no choice but to take care of his affairs on his own.For the last year of his life, Grant struggled to put together a two-volume memoir that would prevent his family from financial ruin. He was in immense pain and eventually had a tumor the size of “two fists put together” on the side of his throat. He wrote that he was plagued by hemorrhaging, strangulation, and exhaustion. Nevertheless, he carried on valiantly. Three days after he was done, and months after the doctors thought he couldn’t live another day, he finally let go.Grant was originally to publish his memoirs with Robert Underwood Johnson, but Mark Twain offered him better terms, and he went with Twain. Nevertheless, he remained on good terms with Johnson and prepared four articles for him that final year in addition to working on his book. Johnson came to see Grant shortly before his death, and later wrote:"I could hardly keep back the tears as I made my farewell to the great soldier who saved the Union for all its people and to the man of warm and courageous heart who had fought his last long battle for those he so tenderly loved.”Grant had been heralded for personal bravery in the Mexican War, leading attacks at San Cosme and moving soldiers across the cholera-infested Isthmus of Panama. And of course his valor in the Civil War is more widely known. But those who watched him in his final year contend that his bravest act of all was his perseverance and shear determination to stay alive until his memoir was in place for his family’s future. As one clergyman later said, “the sight of Grant at work while in pain was the finest sermon at which he had ever been present.”Discussion: Grant was a remarkable figure whose generosity of spirit was rivaled only by Lincoln’s. Following “his simple, gracious, generous treatment of Robert E. Lee and his men at Appomattox Court House,” for the rest of his life Lee never allowed a negative word to be said about Grant in his presence. One of Lee’s great generals, James Longstreet (who also happened to be Julia Grant’s cousin and had been Grant’s best man at his wedding to Julia), remarked at Grant’s death:"He was the truest as well as the bravest man who ever lived. … Grant was a modest man, a simple man, a man believing in the honesty of his fellows, true to his friends, faithful to traditions, and of great personal honor.”There is a wonderful story in the book about how both former Federals and Confederates in Congress worked to get Grant’s military pension reinstated (he had to forfeit it when he became U.S. President), even physically turning back the clock in the U.S. Capitol before Congress adjourned so that the bill could be passed before Congress got dismissed.Both Union and Confederate former generals served as pallbearers.Evaluation: Although this is a work of nonfiction, under the able hands of the entertaining historian Charles Bracelen Flood, this book is a page-turner that has you not only reaching for the Kleenex box, but aching to get to Grant’s memoir itself, which has been lauded as one of the finest presidential memoirs ever written. (Mark Twain wrote, "General Grant's book is a great, unique, and unapproachable literary masterpiece.") I didn’t really see this book as a hagiography; it's really meant to be an examination of Grant's last year, taken at face value. From historical biographies, we know that Grant was human, and a man of his times. In other words, he had his flaws as do most people. But like Lincoln, he was also a man who could transcend his times and rise above them. I don’t think you can come away from this book with many negative impressions about the last year, at any rate, of one of our greatest public figures.