The 11 th annual U. S. Grant Symposium was conducted on July 26, 2024 at the Soldiers Memorial Military Museum in St. Louis. The theme for year 2024: the elevation of Ulysses Grant to the rank of General of the Armies of the United States. This occurred because of legislation passed by both houses of Congress and signed by the President, known as the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act. The wisdom of Congress now confirms what most Grant fans knew: Ulysses Grant stands at the very pinnacle of the great military figures this nation has produced. He joined Washington and Pershing in this lofty class.
True to the theme of this year’s Symposium, the U. S. Grant Trail brought former United States Senator Roy Blunt to St. Louis to deliver the keynote address: “Grant on Reconstruction: ‘I will keep my word’.” As Senator, Blunt sponsored in the Senate the provision of law that elevated Ulysses Grant to six-star rank.
Other speakers gracing the 2024 podium were James Bultema, President of the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library, Diane Carlson, PhD, professor emerita from St. Louis University (speaking on Julia Grant) and Mark Sundlov, Director of the Soldiers Memorial Military Museum in St. Louis.
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