Existing comment:
A Daughter's Dilemma:
For four years, Ulysses courted Julia by letter due to his service in the war with Mexico. Upon his return to St. Louis, the couple married on August 22, 1848. For both, the union was a dream come true. Julia, however, soon realized that her marriage to a soldier had unexpected emotional consequences.
As the time approached to leave her childhood home for Ft. Detroit, Julia found it difficult to part with her father and all that was familiar to her. Seeing his daughter's dilemma, Colonel Dent made his outlandish proposition. Knowing that she could not and would not be separated from her husband, Julia left with Ulysses in November.
"About the middle of October... my struggle with parting with my father began... This parting, I felt, was to sever my bonds with home... I could not, could not think of it without bursting into a flood of tears... This disturbed my husband greatly... My father said: 'Grant, I can arrange it all for you. You join your regiment and leave Julia with us. You can get a leave of absence, once or twice a year, and run on here and spend a week or two with us...' Ulys's arm was around me, and he... whispered: '... Would you like to remain with your father and let me go alone?' "
-- Julia Grant |