The Kellerman Foundation for Historic Preservation hosted the fourth annual Ulysses S. Grant Symposium on Tuesday, Sept. 19, at Heritage Hall in downtown Cape Girardeau.

The symposium (seminar) on Grant, the 18th president of the United States and commanding general of the United States Army from 1864-1869, had an unexpected turnout at Heritage Hall.

Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr., board member for the Kellerman Foundation, said they only expected 15 to 20 people to attend. By the time of the first presentation, the main floor was filled and so were adjoining rooms in hearing and seeing radius, causing standing room only for the duration of the first part of the symposium.

The first part included three speakers presenting on different aspects of Grant’s life.

Dr. Frank Nickell, professor emeritus at Southeast Missouri State University and newly appointed executive director of the Kellerman Foundation, was the first to present.

Nickell focused on the first days of Grant as a Union commander in 1861 Missouri.

"[Grant] was one of the most controversial and intriguing figures in the Civil War," he said.

A common theme from the first three speakers was their attempt to answer the question, “Who was Grant?”

Nickell said historically Grant is remembered as a hero in his Civil War role, but also as one of the worst presidents due to his administration's corruption and controversies.

However, Grant’s rise to commander of the Union Army was still impressive in its own right.

Grant was ranked 21st in a class of 39, in what was considered one of the weakest classes at West Point.

Nickell showed that Grant was highly unsure of himself, as he was reserved, fearful and uncertain when he began his role in the military.

Grant was first tasked as commander of a volunteer regiment in Quincy, Missouri, in July 1861 to maintain order against Confederate guerrillas.

Soon after in Mexico, Missouri, Grant learned in a newspaper he was one of the many generals named by Lincoln to work in the Union Army. By August, he was commander of the Union Army in Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois.

Grant arrived to Cape Girardeau on Aug. 30, 1861, and took up residence at the former St. Charles Hotel, later setting up an office at the Common Pleas Courthouse.

Nickell said Grant’s time in Cape Girardeau gave him the help to become a major general and evolve into the man who would eventually be tasked with the job to bring a divided country back together out on the battlefield.

For this reason, Nickell said, “Grant would look back positively on his time in Southeast Missouri.”

The second speaker, heritage resources coordinator at the Missouri Humanities Council Gregory Wolk, discussed the mapping and tourism project known as the U.S. Grant Trail.

The trail would connect communities in eastern Missouri and western Kentucky that played roles in the rise of Grant’s fame in the Civil War.

Wolk chronicled many of Grant’s major stops in Missouri and around the Cape Girardeau area.

Wolk said economically speaking, Civil War tourists are the most reliable in terms of time and money spent in a region, and the need for Missouri to bring those tourists is there with its Civil War history.

Wolk primarily focused on the need for preservation and the need to assist those willing to take on that duty.

“We all need to help people who are willing to [preserve/save history],” he said.

Illinois author and teacher Darrell Dexter closed out the first part of the symposium with a presentation on Grant's time in Cairo, Illinois.

Also referred to as “Grant in Egypt,” the event occurred around the same time as Grant’s duties in Cape.

Grant further pushed himself to become a major military commander by bringing order to Cairo.

The Union blockade of the Mississippi River near Cairo and its development into a major Union camp caused the town to become a haven for gambling and prostitution, according to Dexter.

“[In Cairo], greenbacks aplenty, morals were scarce," he said.

Dexter said Grant greatly disapproved of the Union army’s activities in the town, mostly the officers engaging with soldiers at the town’s saloons and gambling halls.

As a result, Grant introduced Order No. 5, which closed the town’s saloons and other “outlets of sin,” retaking control of the town and putting his army on notice.

After Dexter’s speech, a reception was held and attendees were given a chance to explore the Hall’s collection of Grant memorabilia exhibits. They could also meet and greet with the keynote speaker, Dr. Ronald C. White Jr., author of “American Ulysses: A Life of Ulysses S. Grant.”

After the reception, activities were moved to the gazebo on the Common Pleas Courthouse lawn for a performance from folk and country singers Cathy Barton and Dave Para.

Following the performance, Cape Girardeau Mayor Harry Rediger was joined on stage by members of the Kellerman Foundation to proclaim Sept. 19 as Ulysses S. Grant Day in Cape Girardeau.

White would then give a speech about Grant, the man, to close out the day's events.

The exhibit on Grant will be available for viewing at Heritage Hall until Thanksgiving.