Contact: Carl Smith
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擜 special collection of correspondence, papers and memorabilia providing insight into the complicated relationship between former President Ulysses S. Grant and former Secretary of War John Rawlins now resides at 樱花导航 樱花导航鈥檚 U.S. Grant Presidential Library.
Described as 鈥淕rant鈥檚 conscience鈥 in the absence of his wife Julia鈥攁ccording to USGPL and Ulysses S. Grant Association Executive Director Anne Marshall鈥擱awlins served as a chief advisor to the Union Army general during the Civil War and remained a close confidant in the 18th president鈥檚 cabinet until the secretary鈥檚 sudden death in 1869鈥攏ot even one year into the Grant administration.
Rawlins, a teetotaler who abstained from alcohol throughout his life, is known for shielding Grant from controversy surrounding his drinking. While many anecdotes about Grant鈥檚 alcoholism were embellished by factions bent on changing narratives surrounding the Civil War and its actors, including Lost Cause promoters, Grant鈥檚 drinking was problematic enough to inspire Rawlins to write to Grant multiple times and urge him to avoid the bottle.
One such document鈥攁 copy of an unsent letter penned on June 6, 1863, by Rawlins in Vicksburg鈥攊s part of MSU鈥檚 new collection. In it, USGPL Director of Research Ryan Semmes said, Rawlins lays out a blunt message: While the fate of the Union hung in the balance, Grant would sometimes lose focus of what was important by carousing with the wrong crowd.
鈥淚t was heavy stuff, like, 鈥楾he great solicitude I feel for the safety of this army leads me to mention what I had hoped never to do again: the subject of your drinking,鈥 and, 鈥楬ad you not pledged me the sincerity of your honor early last March that you would drink no more during the war鈥攁nd kept that pledge during your recent military campaign鈥攜ou would not today have stood first in the world鈥檚 history as a successful military leader,鈥欌 Semmes said while quoting the letter. 鈥淗e鈥檚 putting a lot of pressure on Grant to keep him sober. He makes the point that when Grant鈥檚 wife isn鈥檛 around, he gets in with the wrong crowd. It鈥檚 a big point in their friendship.鈥
The document in MSU鈥檚 collection has markings on the back indicating Rawlins spoke to Grant directly about his drinking in that specific situation instead of sending him the letter. The copy was eventually sent to Rawlins鈥 second wife Emma, while the original was lost.
Following the war and Grant鈥檚 rise to the presidency, Rawlins served as the 29th secretary of war for only six months. He died of tuberculosis in August 1869.
The complex relationship between the two men continued after Rawlins鈥 death. For example, Grant was charged with assisting the Rawlins鈥 estate and ensuring his children received an education after their father鈥檚 death. However, even though the men were intertwined for years in almost every aspect of life, many of the former president鈥檚 own memoirs and autobiographical accounts do not fully account for Rawlins鈥 impact, agreed Marshall and Semmes.
鈥淔ollowing the Civil War, Grant had accumulated many political enemies, many of whom were looking to change the narrative by attributing Grant鈥檚 military success to Rawlins, saying he was the man behind the genius. It鈥檚 not so much that Grant doesn鈥檛 like Rawlins; it鈥檚 that Grant doesn鈥檛 want to diminish his own standing,鈥 Marshall said. 鈥淩awlins was such a critical source of support for Grant鈥攕omeone who was trying to steer him to do the right thing. Grant had this meteoric rise, and Rawlins was there for it all. He鈥檚 next to him at all these historically significant moments, and he knew who Grant the person was before them. He鈥檚 this interesting figure because he touches on all these parts of Grant鈥攖he drinking, the military acumen. Grant, at the end, was worried about his own posterity. He was human, too.鈥
The Rawlins collection, acquired from a private antiques dealer in Galena, Illinois, thanks, in part, to a donation from College of Business alumnus Turner Wingo of Collierville, Tennessee, includes letters, invitations, proclamations and other documents associated with Rawlins鈥 brief time in Grant鈥檚 cabinet, and many pieces of personal correspondence between him and his two wives.
The collection was opened to MSU students and researchers in the fall and will be fully accessible online to the public.
The U.S. Grant Association and Presidential Library are both housed within MSU鈥檚 Mitchell Memorial Library and curate the 18th president鈥檚 papers, while preserving a vast array of artifacts and memorabilia. For more information, visit聽.
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