Just Days After Announcing He Would Not Seek a 3rd Term, President Ulysses S. Grant Writes the Son of His Confidant and Longtime Aide, John Rawlins, Wishing Him Luck on the West Point Graduation Examination

An uncommon handwritten letter as President, showing Grant supporting Rawlins son after the General’s death

Ulysses S. Grant met John Rawlins in Galena, Ill., where they both lived before the Civil War. Rawlins was a lawyer who did work for the Grant family business and the two men became close. When Grant was appointed brigadier general in August 1861, he immediately added Rawlins onto his staff as adjutant; Rawlins effectively acted as Grant’s chief of staff for the rest of the war. Rawlins rose to the rank of brevet major general by war’s end, and during the conflict was Grant’s chief defender. General James Harrison Wilson said of him, “John A. Rawlins, all things considered, was the most remarkable man I met during the Civil War…” That is a remarkable statement from one who served under McClellan and Grant, and was a cavalry leader in his own right. Some historians believe that without Rawlins, Grant would not have soared to the heights he achieved in the war. He was appointed Secretary of War when Grant was elected President of the United States. He died in September 1869.

After Rawlins death, Grant became guardian of his three children. Rawlins had a son, James Rawlins, who sought to follow his father’s military footsteps, deciding to go West Point, where Grant himself had gone. Of the 39 West Point cadets who graduated in 1843 along with Grant, four died in the Mexican-American War, 15 became Union generals during the Civil War and 3 served as Confederate generals during the war. Ironically, all three Confederate generals from the class of 1843 were from northern states. Young Rawlins entered the Military Academy.

On May 29, 1875, Grant announced he would not run for a 3rd term, a momentous announcement at the time.

Autograph letter signed, Long Branch, NJ, June 5, 1875, to James Rawlins. “Dear Jimmie, Your letter of the 3rd instant was received yesterday. If I can go to West Point at all it will be about the 16th of this month. I do not know when your examination takes place but I think about that time. No doubt you will be able to pass the examination and I trust will do well afterwards.”

Whether or not he passed the examination, Rawlins decided on a different career path. Grant got him a job working for former New York governor Edwin Morgan.