Grant by Ron Chernow, Amendment
Grant by Ron Chernow
Amendment to Book Report by Bobby Everett Smith
February 20, 2018
In my book report on Grant, I omitted the fact that Grant had a problem with alcohol throughout most of his life. He overcame his alcoholism for the most part, but it was still an important characteristic of him that Grant resisted even into the presidency.
In 1830, the use of alcohol was prevalent throughout the United States with each person drinking an average of seven gallons of pure alcohol per year. (I doubt that this included women but Chernow does not mention women on page 10 of Grant’s biography.) Grant was known for his love of whiskey throughout his career.
After Grant graduated from West Point, he did not seem initially bothered by alcohol but after several years away from his family and future wife, he began to use alcohol more frequently.
Alcohol loosened him up which was good, but he started drinking more heavily causing his speech to slur and for him to look silly and sloppy. His reputation as an alcoholic began to flourish.
In 1853 Grant was promoted to Captain and transferred to Fort Humboldt, California. Officers at Ft. Humboldt played poker and drank whiskey to pass the time. To dull his sadness from being away from home, Grant began to drink more regularly either on base or at a local saloon in the nearby community. Grant resigned from the Army primarily due to his drinking problem.
When the Civil War started in 1861, Grant returned to active duty and progressed up the ranks as described in my Book Report. In January 1863, Grant moved his headquarters to Memphis where he began to prepare for the Battle of Vicksburg. Julia, his wife, was with him then.
Grant was accused by a fellow officer of being a drunkard. Julia rationalized that his migraine headaches were more often the cause of his erratic behavior than the alcohol.
Grant progressed throughout the Civil War with alcohol difficulties. He did best at his job and his life when he abstained from alcohol completely, but he was continually introduced to more alcohol at dinners where wine was served and in meetings with other officers where whiskey was served. He mostly resisted taking even the first glass but at times, he would have a try at alcohol with the belief that he could resist going on a binge. Sometimes that worked; other times it did not.
When Grant was elected president, wine frequently flowed voluminously at State dinners. Grant did not partake nor was any alcohol served during his private dinners. Political enemies still referred to him as a drunkard. During his time in the White House, charges of his being drunk were much less frequent than they were during the Civil War.
Grant was aware of his drinking problem and he solicited the assistance of General John A. Rawlins, as his Chief of Staff to help keep him away from alcohol. General Rawlins stayed with Grant for four years of the war and during his time at the White House until his death.
Grant came to resent his dependency on General Rawlins, especially when people gave credit to Rawlins for things that Grant thought he deserved the credit. Grant only gave minor recognition to Rawlins in his Memoirs.
Grant was a great general and president but like most people, he had his flaws. Alcoholism was his. He was, in my opinion, a true alcoholic, meaning a person who could not even tolerate one glass of alcohol without advancing into an alcoholic binge. Grant handled this problem better than most people, leading the United States to victory in the Civil War and to progress in the reconstruction of the south while he was president of the United States.
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