Feeling Hopeless at Fort Humboldt

"You do not know how forsaken I feel here!"

On February 2, 1854, Captain Ulysses S. Grant wrote this deep expression of his sorrow to his wife, Julia. Captain Grant was stationed at Fort Humboldt on Humboldt Bay, California. The love of his life, his wife Julia, was at home in Saint Louis with their two little boys, Freddy and Ulysses Jr.

This February 2, 2024, is 170 years to the day that Captain Grant wrote his anguished cry to his wife. Feb. 2nd is the perfect day to reflect on his feelings of abandonment by her in this desolate place.

Ulysses wrote six love letters to Julia from Fort Humboldt. He only received one letter from her and it was three months old.

On the left, Captain Grant's residence at Fort Humboldt, 1854.

Courtesy of the Humboldt County Historical Society.

Humboldt County Historical Society, Eureka California.

Our docu-drama, "The Love Letters of Ulysses S. Grant" explores Ulysses' longing for his wife. Producer Patricia Cameron did extensive in-person research at the Humboldt County Historical Society, to understand Ulysses' loneliness.

Patricia spent a deeply meaningful afternoon at the Historical Society, going through their files. One revealing first person account of Captain Grant at that time touched her heart: An employee of a rustic bar in Eureka, California, recalled of the lonely Ulysses, "He would sit for hours, staring into space, like a dummy. All we knew about him was that he was Captain Grant."

Without their helpful staff, Patricia would not have this rare insight into Ulysses' suffering.

The goal of their society is to preserve historical information and provide meaningful education to the public. Their archive includes rare newspaper articles with first person accounts, incredible photographs, and a wide range of documents. In addition, they publish a wonderful quarterly magazine called the Humboldt Historian.

We highly recommend a visit to the Humboldt County Historical Society, for anyone who loves Ulysses S. Grant, and seeks to understand him.

link: https://www.humboldthistory.org/