◉ PSYCHOHISTORY

Ulysses S. Grant

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Ulysses S. Grant, the general who led the Union, the United States side, to victory in the Civil War, was supposed to sit in the President's box at Ford's Theatre the night Lincoln was shot, and his last-minute absence later led some writers to ask whether he had been kept away on purpose.
Who they are

Ulysses S. Grant, born in Point Pleasant, Ohio, in 1822, commanded all the armies of the Union, the United States side in the Civil War against the Southern states that had broken away (the Confederacy). On 9 April 1865, at Appomattox, Virginia, he accepted the surrender of Robert E. Lee and his Confederate Army of Northern Virginia [1].

What they do

On 14 April 1865 President Abraham Lincoln and his wife invited Grant and his wife, Julia, to the theater that night, and the newspapers announced they would come. Grant instead took the evening train toward New Jersey to see his children, and sent Lincoln word that he would not be at the theater.

How it works

Grant's own memoirs say he had told Lincoln they would come only if they were still in the city, because he was anxious to visit his children. The historian George Bryan, writing in 1940, tells it differently: Mary Lincoln had insulted Julia Grant in front of officers in late March, Julia decided not to go, and a note from her made Grant cancel in person after two o'clock. Edwin Stanton, the Secretary of War (the cabinet member in charge of the Army), wrote in the early hours of 15 April that the Grants had left for Burlington at 6 p.m. Grant learned of the shooting at the Philadelphia ferry. Julia reported that a man who matched the description of John Wilkes Booth, the actor who shot Lincoln, rode by and looked into their carriage.

Why it matters

The empty seats went to Major Henry Rathbone, an Army officer, and his fiancée Clara Harris. In 1937 Otto Eisenschiml, a chemist who suggested that Northern leaders were behind the killing, asked why Grant did not go. Bryan reports a claim, made by the writer David Bates, that Stanton personally asked Grant not to attend, perhaps hoping Lincoln would then stay home too. It rests on that one writer, and no record confirming it has been found. Julia Grant later wrote her own memoir, which also tells of that day; whether it supports Bates is not known.

The engine's record — word for word
[Report #200] WHO. 'Hiram Ulysses Grant was born on 27 April 1822 in Point Pleasant, Ohio.' (history.army.mil) 9 April 1865: 'General Robert E. Lee surrenders the Army of Northern Virginia to Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at the Appomattox Court House in Appomattox, Virginia.' (history.army.mil) THE INVITATION. Grant, Personal Memoirs: 'Mrs. Grant was with me in Washington at the time, and we were invited by President and Mrs. Lincoln to accompany them to the theatre on the evening of that day.' (gutenberg.org) 'I replied to the President's verbal invitation to the effect, that if we were in the city we would take great pleasure in accompanying them; but that I was very anxious to get away and visit my children, and if I could get through my work during the day I should do so.' (gutenberg.org) 'I did get through and started by the evening train on the 14th, sending Mr. Lincoln word, of course, that I would not be at the theatre.' (gutenberg.org) Edwin Stanton to General Dix, 15 April: 'General Grant and wife were advertised to be at the theatre this evening, but started to Burlington at 6 P. M.' (upload.wikimedia.org) Army staff-ride guide: 'Although the newspapers had announced that the Grants would be in attendance at Ford's Theatre, the couple canceled at the last minute and instead visited their children in New Jersey.' (history.army.mil) THE BRYAN ACCOUNT (1940). 'At that point a note from Mrs. Grant was brought in and, after reading it, Grant said he must de-cide not to remain in Washington Friday night and would start with Mrs. Grant for Philadelphia.' (archive.org) 'It was after two o'clock when he shook hands with Lincoln and bade him good-by.' (archive.org) 'On March 26th and 27th, during visits to the Army of the Potomac and the Army of the James, Mrs. Lincoln (according to Badeau, Grant's secretary) caused highly unpleasant scenes; on the second day, in the presence of officers, she insulted both her hostess Mrs. Grant and Mrs. Grant's friend Mrs. Ord' (archive.org). 'It seems that Mrs. Grant then and there determined not to at-tend the play.' (archive.org) 'David Bates asserts that Stanton had personally requested Grant not to attend—thinking, perhaps, that Lincoln might thus be dis-suaded from going.' (archive.org) Bryan, reading it: 'This, so far as we may know it now, is the real story of why Grant was not in the box that night.' (archive.org) THE NEWS. Grant: 'When I reached the ferry, on the east side of the City of Philadelphia, I found people awaiting my arrival there; and also dispatches informing me of the assassination of the President and Mr. Seward' (gutenberg.org). 'I felt that reconstruction had been set back, no telling how far.' (gutenberg.org) WAS HE A TARGET. 'Julia Grant reported that a suspicious person meeting Booth's description had been riding by and looking into the carriage.' (history.army.mil) 'During the trial of the conspirators, the prosecution sought unsuccessfully to prove that Michael O'Laughlen had stalked General Grant with the intent to kill him.' (history.army.mil) 'it seems Booth made no plans to kill Grant or have him killed on 14 April 1865.' (history.army.mil) WHO TOOK THE SEATS. 'his fiancée, Clara H. Harris, who had been invited to join the Lincolns after the Grants had canceled' (history.army.mil). Bryan: 'At the very last, Miss Clara Harris and her fiance, Maj. Henry R. Rathbone, were invited, and they accepted.' (archive.org) LATER QUESTIONS. Among the 1937 questions of Otto Eisenschiml, per William Eidson (1988): 'Why did Grant not go to Ford's Theater with Lincoln?' (filsonhistorical.org) HELD. Why he left: his children (Grant, own account) or the refusal of Mrs. Grant to sit with Mary Lincoln (Bryan): both held. Whether he accepted: conditional (Grant) or accepted (Bryan, 'the General had at some time accepted for Mrs. Grant and himself "a verbal invitation"' (archive.org)): both held. How word reached Lincoln: a message (Grant) or in person after two in the afternoon (Bryan): both held. Whether Stanton asked Grant to stay away: asserted by David Bates, per Bryan; held. Not opened (Oct 2026): the memoir of Julia Dent Grant; would settle: its account of 14 April. THE OCTOBER 2026 RESEARCH REPORT SAID Grant "dispatched a formal note of regret to the White House late Friday afternoon"; no source found says so, and its own source (Bryan) has Grant telling Lincoln in person after two in the afternoon.
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