Funeral of Ulysses S. Grant

Funeral of Ulysses S. Grant
Name	Funeral of Ulysses S. Grant
Caption	The permanent tomb in New York City.
Date	08 August 1885
Venue	New York City Hall, Riverside Park
Location	New York City
Participants	President Grover Cleveland, General William Tecumseh Sherman, Philip Sheridan, Union Army veterans, foreign dignitaries

Funeral of Ulysses S. Grant. The state funeral for Ulysses S. Grant, the eighteenth President of the United States and commanding general of the Union Army during the American Civil War, was a national event of unprecedented scale and mourning. Following his death after a long battle with throat cancer, his body was transported from Mount McGregor to New York City for extensive public viewing. The culminating procession and temporary interment in Riverside Park involved hundreds of thousands of citizens, military units, and political leaders, reflecting his enduring status as a national hero.

Death and initial arrangements

Ulysses S. Grant died at the Drexel cottage on Mount McGregor on July 23, 1885, with his family and former aide Adam Badeau present. His physician, John Hancock Douglas, confirmed the cause as throat cancer, which Grant had chronicled in his memoirs for Mark Twain's Charles L. Webster and Company. The War Department, under President Grover Cleveland, immediately assumed control of funeral arrangements, declaring a thirty-day national mourning period. Grant's body was embalmed by Henry P. Cattell and placed in a temporary casket before a brief service attended by figures like John A. Logan and Daniel Butterfield. A special funeral train, organized by the New York Central Railroad, then began its solemn journey from Saratoga Springs toward Albany and ultimately Manhattan.

Lying in state and public viewing

The funeral train arrived at New York City Hall on August 4, where Grant's casket was transferred to the Governors Room for preparation. His body was re-dressed in his General of the Army uniform and placed in a magnificent black walnut casket with silver fittings. For the next five days, an estimated 1.5 million mourners filed past the casket, which rested on a catafalque draped in black crepe. The viewing was managed by the Grand Army of the Republic and the New York City Police Department, with an honor guard drawn from the Union Army regiments that had served under Grant at pivotal battles like Shiloh and the Siege of Vicksburg. Dignitaries paying respects included Confederate general Simon Bolivar Buckner and a delegation from the Republic of Mexico.

Funeral procession in New York City

On August 8, the casket was borne from New York City Hall to a lavish hearse drawn by twenty-four black horses for the procession up Broadway. The event was one of the largest public spectacles in 19th-century North America, with over 60,000 marchers and a crowd exceeding one million spectators. The military contingent was led by General William Tecumseh Sherman and included units from the United States Military Academy at West Point and veterans of the Army of the Potomac. President Grover Cleveland, former presidents Rutherford B. Hayes and Chester A. Arthur, and the entire Cabinet followed the hearse. Numerous foreign delegations, including representatives of Queen Victoria and the German Empire, also participated in the march to a temporary vault in Riverside Park.

Interment and temporary tomb

Following the procession, a brief Episcopal service was conducted at Riverside Park by Bishop Henry Codman Potter of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. Grant's casket was then sealed inside a temporary brick and sandstone vault overlooking the Hudson River, as his permanent memorial was not yet built. This interim resting place immediately became a pilgrimage site, with organizations like the Grand Army of the Republic holding annual ceremonies there. The site's caretaker was the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, which maintained a military guard until the construction of the final monument.

Construction of the permanent tomb

A public design competition for a permanent tomb was won by architect John H. Duncan, who modeled the structure after the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. The General Grant National Memorial project was overseen by the Grant Monument Association, chaired by former New York Governor Hamilton Fish. Fundraising, which included donations from over 90,000 individuals worldwide and a significant benefit from P. T. Barnum, was protracted. Construction of the granite and marble neoclassical tomb in Riverside Park began in 1891 and was completed in 1897. On April 27, 1897, the 75th anniversary of Grant's birth, his remains and those of his wife Julia Grant were reinterred in the completed crypt in a ceremony presided over by President William McKinley.

Legacy and historical significance

The funeral and subsequent entombment cemented Ulysses S. Grant's legacy as a unifying national figure in the post-Civil War era. The scale of public participation demonstrated the deep public affection for Grant as the general who preserved the Union and as a president who advocated for civil rights. The General Grant National Memorial, often called Grant's Tomb, became a symbol of national reconciliation and a prototype for future presidential memorials, influencing the designs of the Lincoln Memorial and Jefferson Memorial. Annual commemorations by the United States Army and veterans' groups continue to honor his military and political contributions to the United States.

Category:1885 in the United States Category:State funerals in the United States Category:History of New York City Category:Ulysses S. Grant