A Decorative Soldiers Monument Association Membership Certificate, with Vignettes of Lincoln, Flags, and Soldiers, Signed by U.S. Grant as Association President

Ulysses S. Grant was living in Galena, Illinois when the Civil War broke out. The Civil War won, on August 18, 1865, Galena celebrated Grant’s heroic return. Following a jubilant procession with much flag waving and speeches, a group of Galena citizens presented the General with a handsome furnished house on Bouthillier Street. Today the house is managed by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency as the U.S. Grant Home State Historic Site.

The Soldiers Monument Association was a group of local organizations founded after the American Civil War to fund and erect monuments to fallen soldiers and veterans. In 1865, many such groups formed, and one of these was the Jo Daviess Soldiers Monument Association in Galena, Illinois, established to honor that county's soldiers who served in the Civil War. The Association is known for its handsome membership certificates, which pictured vignettes of Lincoln, Liberty, flags and soldiers, and were signed by Grant, who was the honorary president. In time, a monument to the soldiers of Jo Daviess County was constructed in Grant Park, Galena.

A membership certificate to the Soldiers Monument Association, with compelling vignettes including Lincoln, constituting individuals as members of the Jo Daviess Soldiers Monument Association, Galena, dated August 28, 1865, and signed by Grant as President of the Association. Gen. J.C. Smith has also signed as Secretary.

This is the first Soldiers Monument Association certificate we have ever carried, and it is particularly compelling, with its association of Grant and Lincoln.