Ulysses S. Grant is one of the famous military figures in American history... period. Not only was he the 18th President of the United States, but he is credited with picking up a sagging Union Army and leading it to victory over the Confederates and accepting the surrender of Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9th, 1865. Grant died in 1885 from throat cancer. But everyone knows these things... but here are a few things about the great General that you may not know.
Ulysses S. Grant had a middle name... it was Ulysses.
Everyone always called him Ulysses, but that was his middle name. His given name was Hiram Ulysses Grant. He
became Ulysses S. Grant when Ohio Congressman Thomas Hamer nominated him to West Point as Ulysses S. Grant through a clerical error. Grant is said to have made every attempt to fix the typo, but the name persisted and he eventually just accepted it.
Without the military, Grant was lost and poor.
Even though we think of him as a great military leader today, his personal and business affairs were anything but "great". After serving with some distinction in the Mexican-American War, Grant resigned his post in 1854. He spent the next seven years bouncing between being a farmer, real estate agent and collecting rent in buildings. He even had to sell firewood on street corners for a time, just to make some money. When the Civil War began, Grant was working in his family's leather business. After he left the White House, he once again sunk into abject poverty when a business partner stole money from investors and left him bankrupt.
Grant didn't start off a winner -- but won the first big victory.
Grant wasn't just given a field command when he jumped back into the uniform in 1861. But by the beginning of 1862, he lucked into the command of a ragtag bunch of Illinois volunteers, and within weeks was promoted to Brigadier General. And the, in February of 1862, his aggressive battle field style forced the surrender of 15,000 Confederate soldiers at Fort Denelson in Tennessee. This was the first unconditional surrender of an entire Confederate force. This is also the battle in which his reputation for smoking cigars during battle was born.
Everyone has demons... alcohol was Grant's.
It was not uncommon for 19th century American men to drink... to excess. Alcoholism was, and would become an national epidemic into the early 20th century, which led to Prohibition. Ulysses S. Grant was no exception, in fact, he was a full blown alcoholic. It is thought that in 1854 he was forced to resign from the army for being caught drunk while on duty. He swore off alcohol after this incident, but the Civil War brought it all back again. It was no secret that Grant was a binge drinker, however his adjutant, Colonel John Rawlins was not in favor of drinking and often was able to keep Grant straight. That being said, rumors swirled and persisted claiming that Grant would often ride into battle three sheets to the wind. Alcohol would plague Grant until his death.
Grant prevented Robert E. Lee from being charged with treason
Upon accepting the surrender of Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia on April 9th, 1865, Grant offered generous terms. The terms paroled Confederate soldiers and officers, allowing them to return to their homes. He also allowed then to keep their horses and mules for use on their farms. Grant believed that leniency was the key to creating an environment of peace, and the future of the country. He was outraged when a federal grand jury later threw out the terms of the agreement and charged Lee, along with sever other generals, with treason. Grant met with President Johnson and told him in no uncertain terms that he would resign his command rather than execute any order to arrest Lee and his generals. President Johnson forced the grand jury to drop the cases in order to preserve General Grant's support.
Grant took down the KKK.
During reconstruction, the Ku Klux Klan began murdering and terrorizing blacks throughout America. The late-1860's was a time of growth for the KKK. President Grant pushed the Justice Department to bring thousands of indictments against the KKK and its leaders. In 1871, he pushed the so-called "Ku Klux Klan Act", which gave him the power to declare martial law and suspend habeas corpus in areas that he said were in a "state of insurrection". And in late 1871, Grant sent troops into South Carolina and ran out thousands of Klansmen. His aggressive handling of the KKK is credited with pushing the Klan into relative obscurity in subsequent years. They would then resurface after 1910.
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Bruce holds a degree in Computer Science from Temple University, a Graduate Certificate in Biblical History from Liberty University and is working a Master Degree in American History at American Public University. He has worked in educational and technology for over 18 years, specializes in building infrastructures for schools that work to support the mission of technology in education in the classroom. He also has served as a classroom teacher in Computer Science, History and English classes.
Bruce is the author of five books: Sands of Time, Towering Pines Volume One:Room 509, The Star of Christmas, Philadelphia Story: A Lance Carter Detective Novel and The Insider's Story: A Lance Carter Detective Novel -- with a new book, Learn the Basics: Digital Forensics, due soon.
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Is there any food that is considered more American than the Hot Dog? I suppose you could make an argument for the Apple Pie, but from where I sit -- there is no food more synonymous with America itself than the stuffed sausage variant we call: Hot Dog.
But where did it come from? Why is it so popular? And where did it get that funny name?
The Hot Dog Today
The Hot Dog as we know it today is a cooked sausage that we, traditionally, grill, steam or boil. We then take that cylindrical combination of meat (or meat like products depending on who made your dog) and throw it in between a sliced bun. Is it done? Heck no it isn't! The toppings for your hot dog are as individual as American culture itself. While your basic hot dog gets a yellow mustard on top, some folks like to mix it up and use spicy brown, or a honey mustard. And others like to add ketchup, relish, sauerkraut, onions, pickles, mayonnaise, or chili to their dog. And placement is important to Americans, too. Some throw it on top, some love it in between the sides of the bun and the dog, while others enjoy it on the bun first with the hot dog placed loving on top.
Are their variants to the hot dog? Of course there are! Heard of the corn dog? And what about cocktail weenies, baked hot dogs and the recently more popular deep fried hot dog. The deep fried dog can be done solo, or battered with the bun. It is clear that as Americans, out hot dogs are a unique, varied and free as we are!
Where Did the Hot Dog Come From?
The hot dog is a variant of the sausages that came over to America from Germany. The roots of the dog can be traced back to the German Frankfurter sausage, which itself has three different variants: the Wurstel, Wurschten and Rindswurst. These are all packaged in a similar manner but with a differing set of ingredients. These small sausages were used to celebrate everything in Germany as early as the 13th century and gained popularity because of their rich flavors, and ease of portability.
After these wonders of portable-meat-happiness came over to America, it didn't take long before someone thought they'd be great to start selling to the masses. In the 1870's, German immigrant Charles Feltman is credited as one of (if not the) first to being selling link style sausages rolls to patrons in Coney Island. Others soon followed suit, including Bavarian immigrant Antoine Feuchtwanger, who allegedly pioneered the practice in the mid-west, garnerng popularity selling them in hot dog stands in St. Louis. The legend goes that Feuchtwanger used to sell them without a bun initially, and instead would give his customers gloves so they would not burn their hands. It was only when he began to lose money when customers did not return the gloves that his wife suggested he use a roll instead. And then during the World's Fair in 1893 held in Chicago, Feuchtwanger was there to serve these hot sausage treats, complete with buns, to the world's travelers who then took the idea how with them to countries all over the globe.
But it was German immigrant Chris von der Ahe who is credited with bringing America's two early loves together. von der Ahe was the owner of the St. Louis Browns and an Amusement park, and he saw the protential of this portable meat in both settings. Taking off this idea, Harry Stevens took the idea to a whole new level when he began bringing the sausage into the stands at the ball games, walking through the crowds yelling, "Red Hots! Get your Red Hots right here!" and the combination of sitting, watching a ball game and consuming a hot sausage finally came together as one. It is thought that at this time, when asked what these tasty treats were called by a New York Post
reporter, Stewart told him "red hot daschund sandwiches" -- unfortunately, the reporter seemed unable to spell daschund, published a cartoon showing the food in the Post, he called them "hot dogs". And from there, the name and popularity took off.
They were being sold on street corners, restaurants and cafe's all over the country by this time -- and remain that way today. But there was a concern about the "quality" of the hot dog during this early time period, which existed before FDA regulation. That was when a Polish-American worked of Feltman's went into business to compete with Feltman. His idea was to was that all his employees would wear white surgical aprons to give the impression that his hot dogs were clean and pure. His name was Nathan Handwerker, and his hot dogs were called Nathan's Famous. He also undercut the pricing of his former employer by charging only five cents per dog, while a Feltman dog was ten. The combination of the high quality meat, lower price and perception of cleanliness quickly catapulted Nathan's Famous to a high level of popularity.
What *is* a Hot Dog?
The basic hot dog is pretty standard. A meat, or combination of meats, is encased in a clear casing and pre-cooked before being heated and eaten. A commonly accepted naming convention is that "wieners" tend to be pork based and have a more even flavoring, while "franks" tend to be beef based and have a more robust seasoning to them. Both are still encased in a natural casing. The pork varieties tend to be made from meat trimmings and are mixed with flavorings and seasoning to give them a solid flavor, while beef varieties tend to be more pure beef -- but can
also be mixed with meat trimmings and heavy seasonings for flavor. And these days, there are also chicken, turkey and vegetarian options out there in the popular link form.
As with most sausages, hot dogs must be encased to be cooked. These natural casings are usually made our of a sheep's small intestines that give the firm sausage its "snap", and on-rush of seasoned flavoring when you take that first bite. This does cause an issue with "Kosher" hot dogs, and since these types of casings can be very expensive, Kosher hot dogs tend to be made via what is called a "skinless" cookie process. This process features a cellulose based encasement instead of the intestine, and is removed before being packages.
Whether you like your hot dog with yellow mustard, or love it lathered with chili, cheese, onions and relish -- it is clear that all of America loves this tasty, meaty treat as much as we love freedom itself! So on this Independence Day weekend, enjoy a hot dog -- the way you love it most. Me? I love it every way possible -- I'm likely to be seen with up to 3 hot dogs at a time... one with sauerkraut and spicy mustard; another with spicy mustard, ketchup and relish and still another with onions, chili and mustard!
Happy Independence Day America! And remember, freedom and liberty isn't just about eating hot dogs. It is about having your voice heard, living your life in the most productive way possible and working together in your community to ensure everyone has the same opportunities that you strive for every day. I rarely get overly political in this space, but I encourage you to check out the links below and consider supporting the causes that exist to help enable freedom, and liberty for everyone.
Our America Initiative for open Presidential Debates
Open Ballot Access Now for fair ballot access for all political candidates
Every Voice Center for publicly funding elections, taking corporate money out of national election.
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Bruce holds a degree in Computer Science from Temple University, a Graduate Certificate in Biblical History from Liberty University and is working a Master Degree in American History at American Public University. He has worked in educational and technology for over 18 years, specializes in building infrastructures for schools that work to support the mission of technology in education in the classroom. He also has served as a classroom teacher in Computer Science, History and English classes.
Bruce is the author of five books: Sands of Time, Towering Pines Volume One:Room 509, The Star of Christmas, Philadelphia Story: A Lance Carter Detective Novel and The Insider's Story: A Lance Carter Detective Novel -- with a new book, Learn the Basics: Digital Forensics, due soon.
Follow Bruce's Novel releases by subscribing to his FREE newsletter!
Be sure to check out Bruce's Allentown Education Examiner Page, his Twitter and his Facebook!
