Glens Falls Chronicle Serving the Glens Falls/Lake George region; Warren, Washington and northern Saratoga counties since 1980
By Hannah Hughes, Chronicle 2023 Summer Intern
Editor’s note: Our illustrious 2023 summer intern Hannah Hughes, who just graduated from Emerson College, wrote this article for us two years ago. It was not published until now.
Not many people can say they interviewed someone who has been dead for 138 years, but I got the chance to do just that at Grant’s Cottage.
Steve Trimm has been portraying Ulysses S. Grant for around 16 years and has been volunteering at the cottage for around 17. I got to sit down with him on the cottage’s porch and have a conversation with Mr. Trimm, in character as the former President and General.
He told first about his early life, growing up in Ohio. After he refused to join his father’s tanning business, his father forcibly sent Mr. Grant to West Point.
“I wasn’t a very good student because I didn’t really want to be there,” General Grant said.
“I graduated in about the middle of my class, and I honestly didn’t think I was cut out to be a fighting soldier.
“The only class I was really good at at West Point was mathematics. So my only military dream was that maybe, I’d be invited to stay at West Point as a mathematics instructor.”
Shortly afterwards, The Mexican-American War broke out, and he found out his true talent.
“I was able to diagnose what was going on on the battlefield, I had this ability that was a surprise to me, totally,” the general said.
“I hated fighting, and it’s a very strange job to be good at something you hate.”
General Grant led the Union Army in the Civil War, in battles at Shiloh, Vicksburg, and others.
The general says the way he negotiated the surrender at Appomattox was his greatest achievement.
“If you look at civil wars in world history, it’s always the same, the winners execute the losers, there’s fake trials, and a lot of hangings, and imprisonments for decades. I wasn’t going to do that in our Civil War,” General Grant told me.
“Within hours of Lee surrendering his army, in those first hours, were the first moments of healing, because of the way I treated the captured Confederates.”
The general worked closely with President Abraham Lincoln.
“He and I surprised each other by being in agreement on almost everything…We were an excellent team.”
Mr. Grant went on to become the 18th President of the United States. He worked worked hard to promote civil rights and squash terrorism in the South.
The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center says Grant “signed into law The Civil Rights Act of 1875, guaranteeing Blacks full and equal enjoyment of the accommodations, advantages, facilities and privileges of public venues including inns, hotels, theaters and public transportation.”
Grant had personal experience with slavery. His father-in-law gave him a slave, William Jones, before the Civil War. Mr. Grant set him free in 1859.
The National Institutes of Health said Grant was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1884. When he came to Grant’s Cottage atop Mount McGregor south of Saratoga, he knew he was dying, Mr. Trimm said.
Despite the circumstances, Mr. Grant found comfort in being with family.
“This has been a very sad time here, but to have the family all together, including my grandchildren, has meant the world to me,” the general said.
He also found peace at The Overlook, a panoramic viewpoint a few hundred yards through the woods from the cottage. He said on a clear day, you can see the Green Mountains of Vermont.
“I was often taken down there, in my wheelchair, with my granddaughter, Julia, at my side,” the general told me.
“And those moments with her, at The Overlook, I treasure.”
I finished out the conversation by asking General Grant one last question: “What do you want your legacy to be?”
“I want us to remember, whatever section of the country we live in, we all share a common history. Our roots, all of our roots, are the same. We may have political differences, there may be moments of great antagonism, but remember what I did after the Civil War,” he said. “Don’t let our differences confuse you, we are all brothers and sisters.”
The Grant Cottage State Historic Site provides some additional detail.
“It was in Joseph W. Drexel’s Adirondack cottage that General Ulysses S. Grant died of throat cancer on July 23, 1885. President Grant arrived at the cottage on June 16, 1885, with a large entourage of family, friends, servants, and physicians in order to complete his memoirs. He died just four days after his final proofreading. [Note: Mark Twain published the memoir, which is still regarded as one of the best Presidential memoirs.]
“Today, the cottage and its furnishings remain essentially the same as during the Grant family’s stay for six weeks in 1885. Guests to the cottage may visit the spacious porch, tour the cottage’s four rooms, and view floral arrangements that remain from Grant’s August 4th funeral.
“There is also a short path to the Eastern Outlook, which commands a spectacular view of the Hudson Valley, from the Adirondacks in the north, the Green Mountains of Vermont to the east, and the Catskills to the south.
“Grant Cottage State Historic site was established in 1957 and is owned by the State of New York. It is operated by The Friends of the Ulysses S. Grant Cottage.
“In 2021, Grant Cottage State Historic Site was designated as a National Historic Landmark.”
The 2025 season began May 3.
The site is open Wednesday through Sunday. It typically is also open on Memorial Day Monday.
Hours are 9:30 AM – 4:00 PM.
Admission: Adults: $12
Seniors (62 & up): $9
Ages 17 & under: $5. Under 6: FREE
Veterans, Active Military: FREE w/ I.D.
Grant Cottage talk
Ulysses S. Grant Cottage presents “I Gave Him My Thanks. It Was All I Had To Give,” a Memorial Day Living History talk, on Sunday, May 25 at 1 p.m., in Wilton. It’s free.
Grant Cottage tour guide Steve Trimm will portray Rice C. Bull, a wounded Union soldier who was saved on the battlefield by Union and Confederate soldiers. Trimm will sign copies of his books Saving Grant Cottage and General Grant’s Supporting Players after the presentation.
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