Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site

The museum’s exhibits adeptly address some of the most common questions raised by traditional historical accounts of Grant with evidence from the historical record. One interactive exhibit takes on the question of whether Grant was a failure during his St. Louis years or at other times in his life by challenging visitors to assess their own valuation of personal integrity, financial reward, leadership skills, and handling of fame. Other exhibits dispel myths from Grant’s generalship and White House years, bringing out his patriotism, work ethic, and integrity in the process.

Park rangers on staff have developed an expertise on Grant’s St. Louis years, including the wedding of Grant to Julia Dent and the experiences of the Dent family and the enslaved people at White Haven. The interpretive staff uncovers information not found in previously published histories. The rangers have been so diligent in their research that they have become a virtually essential resource for Grant biographers and other historians of the period.

The topics emphasized at the site are naturally relevant to understanding both Grant’s personal story and his public career—and, in turn, the issues that absorbed the nation from the years before the Civil War through Reconstruction. The staff employs careful methodology in developing the site’s presentations. They do so without falling prey to tendentious analysis or ideological bias, sticking to available information and retaining historical perspective.

Any site that explores issues of war and slavery naturally presents special considerations for small children, but the site is nonetheless family-friendly. Visitors of all ages can appreciate the exploration, in tours and exhibits that include numerous artifacts, of Grant’s family life. Children may use a Junior Ranger Program activity book during their visit and earn a Junior Ranger badge when they complete activities from the book. School field trips may supplement the house tour with 19th-century games or a living history program. The grounds are attractive and conducive to walks during which visitors encounter several features of 19th-century farm life. Also of particular value to visitors of all ages, the museum highlights the meaning of citizenship as distinctively shaped by Grant’s legacy.

White Haven was an 850-acre plantation in St. Louis County, and it included a home in which Julia Dent had lived with her family since childhood. There, Ulysses S. Grant met and courted her in 1844, at a time when he was stationed at nearby Jefferson Barracks. Following the Mexican War, in which Ulysses fought, the two were married in the Dent city home in St. Louis in 1848. Ulysses spent several years with the peacetime army before resigning in 1854 and joining his family to live and farm at White Haven. The Grant family lived in several locations on the estate until 1859, two years before the start of the Civil War and Ulysses’ return to the army. During the war, he rose to be the supreme commander of the Union armies. After the war, he purchased the White Haven estate from his father-in-law and made improvements to the property. He served as the nation’s 18th President from 1869 to 1877, during which time he made several visits to White Haven.

Over the course of his Civil War battles and campaigns, including at Forts Henry and Donelson, Shiloh, Vicksburg, Chattanooga, the Wilderness Campaign, the Petersburg Campaign, and the Appomattox Campaign, General Grant was the principal author of Union victory. He is often considered one of the first modern generals, and his innovative strategy brought the decisive victory that had eluded half a dozen commanders in the eastern theater of the war before him. His military victories also enabled the emancipation of enslaved people. After the war, General Grant oversaw military Reconstruction and supported civil rights measures. As President, he secured the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment, which prohibits racial discrimination in voting; secured groundbreaking laws for the protection of equal rights; and crushed the 19th-century Ku Klux Klan. He resolved disputes with Spain and Great Britain that threatened war, setting an important precedent for international peace in the process. His economic policy addressed serious fiscal and monetary challenges and laid the groundwork for future prosperity. During his two-and-a-half-year trip around the world, former President Grant established a model of public diplomacy for future presidents. His Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant stands as one of the greatest works of American literature.

White Haven was designated a national historic site in 1989, and the site underwent major renovations during the 1990s and 2000s. Archaeological surveys at the site are ongoing. They have already yielded several thousand artifacts and identified the locations of a number of buildings on the plantation.

Visitors should also consider visiting Grant’s Farm, a family attraction adjacent to the park, which includes land where the Grant family lived and where “Hardscrabble,” a cabin built by Grant, now stands (following a move from its original location).

Owned By: National Park Service

Operated By: National Park Service

Government Funded: Yes