[84] Buchanan endorsed Grant's letter of resignation but did not submit any report that verified the incident.[85][j] Grant did not face court-martial, and the War Department said: "Nothing stands against his good name."[91] Grant said years later, "the vice of intemperance (drunkenness) had not a little to do with my decision to resign."[92] With no means of support, Grant returned to St. Louis and reunited with his family, uncertain about his future.[93]

Civilian struggles, slavery, and politics
"Hardscrabble" Published 1891 The farm home Grant built in Missouri for his family. His wife Julia called the home an "unattractive cabin".
In 1854, at age 32, Grant entered civilian life, without any money-making vocation to support his growing family. It was the beginning of seven years of financial struggles, poverty, and instability.[94] Grant's father offered him a place in the Galena, Illinois, branch of the family's leather business, but demanded Julia and the children stay in Missouri, with the Dents, or with the Grants in Kentucky. Grant and Julia declined the offer. Grant farmed (for the next four years[95]), using Julia's slave Dan, on his brother-in-law's property, Wish-ton-wish, near St. Louis.