Ulysses S. Grant Association Annual Meeting

Mississippi State University Mitchell Memorial Library has the distinct honor of being the home of the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Collection, the largest collection of it's kind consisting of 15,000 linear feet of correspondence, research notes, artifacts, photographs, scrapbooks, and memorabilia and includes information on Grant’s childhood from his birth in 1822, his later military career, Civil War triumphs, tenure as commanding general after the war, presidency, and his post-White House years until his death in 1885. There are also 4,000 published monographs on various aspects of Grant’s life and times.

The Ulysses S. Grant Association, a distinguished group of scholars, professors, lawyers, and other professionals from across the country, and the world for that matter, and the keepers of the Grant Papers are currently visiting Starkville for their Annual Meeting, which began last night, Sunday, May 2 with a dinner in the John Grisham Room of the Mitchell Memorial Library. Prior to dinner, the group enjoyed tours of the Library and of a new Civil War Artillery Museum in Starkville. Guests listened to National Park Service historian Pam SanFilippo's presentation, "White Knight and Drunken Butcher: Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant in American Memory." Today, the group is traveling to Vicksburg, Mississippi to tour more sites of Civil War historical significance. On Tuesday morning, the meeting of the Board of Directors will take place, followed by open time for the members to tour Starkville and Mississippi State University.

This is a most distinguished group, and we had the pleasure of joining the group for dinner last night. We sat with a barrister lawyer from London, a retired attorney from Seattle, professors, and historians from across the country. The significance of the Mississippi State University Mitchell Memorial Library being the home of the Grant Papers is tremendous, and I believe most of Starkville's residents aren't even aware of this jewel that made it's way down to the Deep South in January 2009. Additionally, many of the members of the Grant Association that we visited with were so pleased with the hospitality they've been shown by Starkvillians and were excited to see more of our community. As of now, the Papers are not open for exibition and are primarily for the purpose of scholarly research, but this collection is bringing positive publicity and honor to Mississippi State and Starkville. To find out more about the Ulysses S. Grant Association or the Grant Papers, click on the image above for a link to the Mitchell Memorial Library website.