Grant's biographers mention his devotion to his wife. The letters contained in this short volume affirm his affection by his constant expressions of longing and love in her absence. If ever a relationship was put to the test by long periods of separation this was one. Grant and Julia Dent were engaged for four years in the face of his distance through military postings in various places, including serving three years in Mexico during the Mexican War. Moreover, Julia's family was opposed to the union to the degree of boycotting the ceremony. Even after marriage, Grant and Julia were often separated during his postings in Oregon and other places, clearly a strain on both.

Grant's descriptions of action in Mexico and and his campaigns are frank and vivid and add to our understanding of his appraisal of the effects of war. He often named the casualties in his letters. He decried the mistreatment of Mexicans by rogue soldiers and expresses understanding of the hardships inflicted on Southern civilians in the wake of war. His Civil War letters show his confidence (without arrogance or boasting) in his leadership and a quiet sense that his armies would ultimately prevail.

I took particular note of several remarks in his letters to Julia about General Henry Halleck. Some time ago, I wrote a paper on Halleck (a native of our small village in upstate New York). The theme of the paper was to redeem Halleck's reputation from the harsh treatment he has received from most historians. In one section, I analyzed the criticisms of Halleck's interactions with Grant after his victory at Forts Henry and Donelson. I offered alternative mitigating views on Halleck's arrest of Grant after Donelson and whether, or to what extent, Halleck promoted the rumors of Grant's drinking. There are logical explanations that I think offset the criticism of many historians. Perhaps most telling in this regard are Grant's mentions of Halleck in his private letters to his wife. He clearly had great respect for Gen. Halleck. In his letter of February 24, 1862 Grant says that of the right conduct of the encounters at the forts, "Gen. Halleck is clearly the same way of thinking and with his clear head I think {a Congressional committee] will have nothing to enquire about." After the rumors in the press about Grant's drinking, he thinks this is just the product of jealousy of others, not Halleck. "This {the rumor} is very far from applying however, I think to our Chief, Halleck, who I look upon as one of the greatest men of the age." Surely, if Grant thought he was being slandered by his superior, he would have said so in a private letter to his wife.

Grant's final letter from Mt. McGregor in Wilton, NY to his wife when at the last stages of his disease is moving.

With so much in print about Grant, including his marvelous memoirs. can this brief volume of private letters this give us new insight into the man? Decidedly so. ( ( )