The Ulysses S. Grant Association

Photo of Ulysses S. Grant, Gideon Welles and Andrew Johnson

General Ulysses S. Grant, Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles, and President Andrew Johnson pose together on August 31, 1866, in Auburn, New York, at the home of former Governor Enos Throop. During that summer, Johnson had decided to fulfill two missions at once. Traveling to Chicago to dedicate the tomb of Stephen A. Douglas, Johnson stopped frequently along a circuitous route to advocate his Reconstruction policy to voters readying for the fall congressional elections. The journey became known as the "Swing Around the Circle."

Already slipping in popularity, Johnson brought Grant--the hero of Appomattox--along to attract and please crowds. "I am getting very tired of this expedition and of hearing political speeches," Grant wrote privately from Auburn. After spending more time with Johnson, Grant labeled the trip a "National disgrace." When Grant briefly left the presidential party at Cleveland, Welles charged that he was intoxicated.

This photograph, believed to be previously unpublished, was donated to the Ulysses S. Grant Association by Doris C. Baker, great-great-great-niece of Governor Throop.

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