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Ulysses S. Grant
Seven of Clubs
18th President of the United States: 1869–1877
Oil on board
©1996 Tina Mion
From the collection of Dan and Courtney Wiercioch, Santa Ana, CA
Grant was a mild-mannered man who was repulsed by hunting, rare steaks, off-color language, and the thought of being seen naked. Almost any time during the day you could find him smoking. He smoked twenty cigars a day, and eventually developed mouth cancer. He won fame on the battlefield; Lincoln put him in charge of all Union armies during the Civil War.
Grant ended his life a poor man in constant pain.
To spare his wife and daughters a life of poverty, he spent his last years
diligently writing his life’s story for them to sell. When he reached
the end of his book, he also reached the end of his life. Grant died only
a few days after finishing.