Ulysses and Julia Grant’s Missouri Love Story

A Presidential Love Story

When a young officer newly graduated from West Point met the eldest daughter of a gruff Missouri slaveowner, farmer and land speculator, it was love at first sight. Ulysses Grant and Julia Dent courted at her family farm, White Haven, until he was called away to the Mexican-American War. Secretly engaged, Ulysses wrote tender letters to Julia between daring exploits in battle. Upon his return, they were married. Ulysses’s military career stagnated, and after a miserable period of separation while he was stationed on the West Coast, Ulysses resigned to join Julia at White Haven before his second stint during the Civil War. Authors Vicki and Jim Erwin relate the Grants’ early life, their courtship, their life in Missouri and how that life shaped their future.

Vicki Berger Erwin has been in the publishing industry for more than thirty years in various capacities, including sales, book distribution and as the owner of a bookstore in St. Charles, Missouri. She is the author of more than thirty books in varied genres: picture books, middle-grade mysteries and novels, local histories and true crime. James W. Erwin practiced law in St. Louis for thirty-seven years. He is the author of seven books on local history.

This is their fourth book together. They live in Crestwood, Missouri, not far from the Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site, along with their dog Luna, who enjoys walking on the grounds of White Haven.