Ulysses S Grant was the commander of the Union Armies at the end of the Civil War and in 1868 was elected the 18th president of the United States.
His fortunes turned, though, when he became the victim of an financial scheme and Grant and his family became nearly penniless.
His friend, writer and publisher, Mark Twain offered 75 percent of the profits if Grant would write his Civil War memoirs. Recently diagnosed with terminal cancer, Grant readily accepted.
He and his family retired to a cottage of The Balmoral Hotel just north of Saratoga Springs on Mount MacGregor to complete the book. It was a race against time.
He spent 6 weeks there attended to by physicians and family, and writing and revising in pencil. He finished on July 19, 1885, and died four days later.
Thousands came to the cottage to pay final respects to Grant. Over a million people attended his funeral in New York City.
"Personal Memoirs" became a best seller and was a literary and financial success.
And Grant Cottage, its contents and furnishings, was preserved as a memorial. And one more place to experience the real moments real people and real stories of New York's Path through History.
