Howe, June 27, 1885Ulysses S. Grant's last photo, taken only four days before his deathGrant's funeral train at West Point, bound for New York City
Throughout his career, Grant repeatedly told highly detailed stories of his military experiences, often making slight mistakes in terms of dates and locations. As a poor hardscrabble farmer in St. Louis just before the war, he kept his neighbors spellbound until midnight "listening intently to his vivid narrations of Army experiences."[603] In calm moments during the Civil War, he often spoke of his recent experiences, typically "in terse and often eloquent language."[604] Grant's interpretations changed—in his letters written during the Mexican War period, there is no criticism of the war. By contrast his Memoirs are highly critical of the political aspects, condemning the war as unwarranted aggression by the United States. Grant told and retold his war stories so many times that writing his Memoirs was more a matter of repetition and polish rather than trying to recall his memories for the first time.