Ulysses S. Grant Association

October 26, 2011

Dear Members and Friends of the Ulysses S. Grant Association,

I invite you to attend our annual meeting, which will celebrate the 50th anniversary of our organization and the publication of volume 32 of the Papers of Ulysses S. Grant, the final in the chronological series. It is scheduled from May 18-20, 2012, on the campus of Mississippi State University. We have planned an exciting program, which will begin on Friday, May 18 between two and five PM with registration and a tour of the Mitchell Memorial Library located on the MSU campus. At 6:30 PM, the president of MSU, Dr. Mark Keenum, will host a reception at his home. Dinner will follow in the Grisham Room of the library. Our main speaker that evening is noted Lincoln biographer, Ron White, whose current project is a major biography on Grant. On Saturday we will tour the Civil War Artillery Museum in Starkville, one of the finest such institutions in the region, and host a panel discussion about Grierson’s Raid through Starkville. This was part of Grant’s Vicksburg Campaign in 1863. We will also hold a session on Civil War Music at the The Playhouse Theatre in downtown Starkville. That afternoon and evening, we bus to nearby Columbus, Mississippi and enjoy a double-decker bus tour of historic ante-bellum and Victorian Columbus ending with a cocktail hour and dinner in a beautiful ante-bellum home. After dinner, Grant biographer Jean Edward Smith will give a talk on Grant’s influence on Eisenhower. We will also have a panel on the history of the USGA and its future, and another on the collection of historical objects.

Starkville and Mississippi State University have Delta Airlines air service from Atlanta (but no longer Memphis) into the Golden Triangle Regional Airport (GTR). Other air travel options included airports in Jackson, Mississippi (2 hours away by car); Memphis (three hours away by car); Birmingham, Alabama (three hours away by car) and Tupelo, Mississippi (one hour away by car). All these airports are busy, so I urge you to make your flight plans early. There will be a shuttle to and from GTR.

The headquarters hotel this year will be the Comfort Suites in Starkville. We have reserved a limited block of rooms at $99 per night plus tax, and this includes a complimentary hot breakfast. Make your reservations EARLY and be sure to mention the Grant Association to receive the special rate. The direct local telephone contact for the Starkville Comfort Suites is 662-324-9595.

Please feel free to contact me, at johnmarsz@yahoo.com or 662-325-4552, if we can provide any further information.

Do plan to join us as we celebrate our 50th anniversary.

Cordially,

John F. Marszalek