July 24, 2026: The Last Campaign

This is Part 2 of a two-part episode. If you haven't heard Thursday's episode, start there.When Grant and Ward collapsed in May 1884, Ulysses S. Grant was left with roughly $210 in cash and a cancer diagnosis months away. What followed was one of the most remarkable final acts in American history. Grant agreed to write his military memoirs through Mark Twain's publishing company, Charles L. Webster and Company, at a 70 percent royalty rate - far above the 10 percent Century Magazine had offered.Working five to seven hours a day through terminal throat cancer, communicating increasingly by written notes when he could no longer speak, Grant completed a 285,000-word manuscript on July 18, 1885, five days before his death.Twain deployed 10,000 subscription agents across the northern United States, many of them Union veterans in uniform, selling a two-volume set to a nation mourning the general who had saved it. About 350,000 sets were sold. Julia Grant received approximately $450,000 in royalties. The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant have never gone out of print.From bsnsHistory, the daily podcast about the moments when business quietly reshaped the world.Written and hosted by Ron Trucks. Research and editing by Rodney Russ. Sound design by Angela Cahoy. Music by Cody Martin and Soundstripe.For more daily business stories, visit www.bsnsDAILYpodcasts.com