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Primary sourcePhotographspring 1865

Ulysses S Grant by Gutekunst, spring 1865

Frederick Gutekunst · spring 1865

A studio photograph of Grant taken in spring 1865, showing him wearing a mourning band after Lincoln's assassination.

This photograph depicts Grant himself at the moment of Union victory, wearing a mourning band for the assassinated Lincoln.

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Sepia studio portrait of a bearded man in a dark military-style uniform with shoulder straps, standing with one hand in a trouser pocket and the other hand at his waist. Printed text at the bottom reads F. GUTEKUNST, PHOTOG'R.
Frederick Gutekunst, portrait of Ulysses S. Grant, spring 1865.

About this source

What it is

This is a studio photograph of Ulysses S. Grant taken by photographer Frederick Gutekunst in spring 1865, when Grant was general-in-chief of the Union Army.

Why it matters

The photograph was taken soon after Confederate General Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox, ending the main fighting of the Civil War. Grant wears a black mourning band on his arm, a sign of grief for President Abraham Lincoln, who was assassinated days after the surrender. The image captures a moment when triumph and tragedy came together for the nation and for Grant personally.

Look closer

  • What does the mourning band tell you about the timing of this photograph?
  • How does Grant's pose and expression compare with how you might expect a victorious general to look?
  • Why might a photographer want to capture Grant at exactly this moment?

This photograph is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Ulysses S Grant on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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