Did you know that Ulysses S. Grant’s young son, Frederick Dent Grant, accompanied his father during portions of the American Civil War?
On May 17, 1863, the day after Grant’s forces won the Battle of Champion Hill, a Confederate bullet taught 12-year-old Fred Grant a painful lesson about getting too close to the action. Confederate forces were fleeing towards Vicksburg, Mississippi. Their commander, General Pemberton, ordered three brigades to remain behind on the east side of Big Black River in order to hold two bridges.
Ronald C. White, Jr. tells the tale in American Ulysses.
Upon arriving at the Big Black, [Major General] Grant saw immediately why Pemberton had chosen this position. Field artillery and rifle pits ran for a mile along a muddy bayou that abutted a large bend in the river. The rear guard, though outnumbered, had clear fields of fire against any approaching troops. Despite their strong position, Pemberton’s rear guard did not last long. By nine A.M., the battle had ended. As Confederates retreated, a sharpshooter took aim at someone he believed to be a young soldier. Fred Grant, riding as usual near the action, felt a sharp pain as he was shot in the leg. He cried out, “I am killed!” Grant’s aide Clark Lagow called to him, “Move your toes.” Fred did and discovered he was still alive. (279)
Source: see bibliography.
Frederick “Fred” Dent Grant (May 30, 1850 – April 11, 1912),
Julia Boggs (née Dent) Grant (January 26, 1826 – December 14, 1902),
Jesse Root Grant II (February 6, 1858 – June 8, 1934),
Ulysses “Buck” Simpson Grant, Jr., (July 22, 1852 – September 25, 1929),
Ellen “Nellie” Wrenshall Grant, (July 4, 1855 – August 30, 1922)
