Grant’s Birthday at Delmonico’s

Saturday, April 23 at 2:00 PM at the Gideon Putnam room at the Spa Park Administration building

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“I was one of those who in my teens entered the Confederate army. My hair was as black then as my coat is now, and my coat then was as gray as my hair is now.” So began a speech by Henry Kyd Douglas, a Confederate veteran who had ridden with Stonewall Jackson. He gave his speech in New York City. The date was April 27, 1888, the birthday of Douglas’ wartime foe Ulysses S. Grant. Three years after General Grant’s death, Colonel Douglas and other ex-rebels had come to the famed Delmonico’s Restaurant to meet men who had fought for the Union. The meeting was chaired by William Tecumseh Sherman. The purpose of the gathering was to lobby the Federal government to declare General Grant’s birthday a national holiday. Former enemies spoke from the heart that evening and, fortunately for us, their remarks were transcribed.

This program offers excerpts from several of the remarkable speeches presented that evening, made not to only promote the national holiday idea, but to foster the national reconciliation and healing that had been so dear to the General’s heart. The script was developed through the research of Grant Cottage tour guide Steve Trimm and will be presented by the Friends’ Operations Manager Ben Kemp. The program will be held in the Gideon Putnam room at the Spa Park Administration building (in Saratoga Springs) and is open to the public.