Year in Review 2020: #6

Of the ten most-read posts at Emerging Civil War in 2020, nine were written this year and one wasn’t. That post, written in 2015, comes in at #6 on our list.

Interest in Ulysses S. Grant was especially high this year due to the History Channel’s Grant miniseries. Thanks to the media splash from the series, a lot of people turned to the internet to find out more about the man who won the Civil War. That brought a lot of people to ECW for background.

A common question people asked Google was “Does Ulysses S. Grant have any descendants?” Yes, he does. And to help provide that answer, Google directed them to a post about John Griffiths, a descendent of Grant who lives in the Fredericksburg, Virginia, area. John is a big Civil War buff and a strong supporter of local Civil War groups like the Central Virginia Battlefields Trust (CVBT) and Friends of Wilderness Battlefield.

“I’ve been fortunate to become friends with John in the five years since I first met him because he attends so many events,” says author Chris Mackowski. “He’s a really neat guy.” (As a bonus, read Chris’s profile of John in the Summer 2019 issue of CVBT’s On the Front Line magazine.)

#6: Meeting Grant’s Great-Great-Grandson by Chris Mackowski posted on September 1, 2015

Last month, while giving a talk for the Friends of Wilderness Battlefield on Grant’s Last Battle, I had the chance to meet one of Ulysses S. Grant’s descendants: great-great grandson John Griffiths….