By Ronald S. Coddington
Ulysses S. Grant arrived to a hero’s welcome in Philadelphia on Dec. 16, 1879. The retired general who had led the U.S. Army to victory in the Civil War, two-term president, and globetrotting celebrity tourist stepped into an elegant horse-drawn barouche and sat in a plush seat of honor for a grand review through the heart of the Cradle of Liberty.
Beneath a canopy of clear blue skies and bright sunshine, the barouche lurched forward as Grant and Philadelphia Mayor William S. Stokely settled in for the pageantry. Surrounded by cavalrymen resplendent in plumed helmets and sabers, and accompanied by other carriages and marching troops, and joined by myriad civic and business groups, the long column rolled through roped-off streets with the hero one newspaper proclaimed as “The Great Guest.”
Along the streets, cheering citizens crowded on makeshift stands and throngs packed sidewalks against a backdrop of bunting-draped buildings. Boys darted in and out, hawking photographs of Grant, maps of the parade route, and other souvenirs.
At the intersection of Chestnut and Eighth streets, Grant’s barouche passed a jewelry store. Had Grant been able to peer into the display window, he might have glimpsed a solid gold miniature table in the shape of the mahogany original used during the surrender by Gen. Robert E. Lee of the Army of Northern Virginia in the home of the Wilmer McLean family at Appomattox Court House in April 1865.
The miniature, a hand-crafted work of art, gleamed with symbols of the late war. In the middle of the table top, a blue-enameled ring of 38 stars, one for each state, surrounded the word PEACE emblazoned with rays of unity, Along the base of the ring, the latin phrase ESTO PERPETUA—let it continue forever. On one side of the ring, the Stars and Stripes spread in full glory, and on the other, the furled banner of the doomed Confederate nation. Above, a relief of Grant. Below, another relief of the apple tree representing Grant and Lee at Appomattox.
Surrounding the ring of peace, a dove with outstretched wings and a branch of promise in its beak overlooked vignettes celebrating America: palmetto and pine trees, industry and agriculture, commerce, education, religious freedom, and a stack of muskets.
An inscription along the edge reveals the table’s presentation to Grant by “ex-Confederate Frank T. Weldon.” Another inscription along the side edge recognized Grant’s recent and much publicized world travels: “Welcome Home: The whole country feels itself honored by the honors you have received from the great nations of the earth.”
The self-described ex-Confederate, 40-year-old Frank Thomas Weldon, hailed from Mississippi. Frank’s father, Irish-born George Weldon, had arrived in the United States with his family as a teenager in the 1820s. They began their American journey in Philadelphia. George struck out for Mississippi, became a successful architect in Natchez, and married an Illinois native, Frances, in 1835. They started a family of two children, Mary and Frank. Frances died tragically in September 1839, less than a month after bringing Frank into the world. She may have died of complications from childbirth. George and his children left Natchez for Fayette in neighboring Jefferson County. He did not remarry. A staunch Unionist, George opposed secession, refused to support the Confederate government or its military, and deeply regretted the war.
Frank, a law student in Fayette as the storm clouds of war gathered, may have followed his father’s footsteps politically. No evidence exists that he joined the Confederate army. Notably, his name is not on the roll of the Tom Weldon Rebels, a Natchez militia unit raised by his uncle, Thomas Weldon, Jr. The Rebels became Company L of the 44th Mississippi Infantry.
In fact, Frank’s whereabouts in the 1860s are unclear. A lack of records suggests he intentionally kept a low profile. He may have left Mississippi for his ancestral home in Ireland to wait out the war, or relocated to Philadelphia, where his grandfather and other relatives lived.
Frank’s record picks up about 1872 with his marriage to a Philadelphian, Mary Jane Clark. The following year, they started a family that grew to include six children, five of whom survived into adulthood. Frank supported them as an attorney.
What motivated Frank to commission the miniature table is another unknown. National pride, an appreciation for Grant, and gratitude for his Irish immigrant father who found success in America may have prompted him to act. His self-identification as an ex-Confederate underscores his connection to the South and its secession. The golden table, and its iconography and inscriptions, may have been Frank’s way of closing a violent, bloody chapter that reshaped the country—and his life.
The gold miniature table may have been Frank’s way of closing a violent, bloody chapter that reshaped the country—and his life.
Word of the miniature and its purpose made its way to Mississippi, where editorial writers took Frank to task. The Natchez Democrat observed, “Frank T. Weldon, who is not altogether unknown in this city, being a native Natchez boy, covered himself all over with glory the other day in Philadelphia, and made it very evident that he is a hero-worshipper of the first water.” A writer in The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson accused Frank of toadyism. “If Mr. Weldon is really as ‘Ex-Confederate,’ it would have been a good idea to have added the figure of a golden toad imbedded in the center of his table, while the inscription might have run somewhat as follows:
A diet of dirt
Can do no hurt
To the reconstructed craw;
And the scalawag lizard,
Is good for the gizzard,
Whether taken roast of raw;
But of all the rare and delicate dishes,
That are made of beasts, or of birds, or fishes,
The daintiest thing of the modern mode
Is the savory smell of a Well-Done Toad.”
Meanwhile in Philadelphia, the unprecedented reception for Grant proved an auspicious moment for Frank to unveil the miniature table.
According to estimates, 40,000-60,000 participated in the 12-mile-long parade, including upwards of 15,000 from the military and the remainder from governmental agencies, manufacturers, shipbuilders, telegraph and express companies, various trade groups, political clubs, fraternal organizations, and many others. One of the businesses in the procession, the Consumers’ Ice Company, featured a highly decorated wagon drawn by a dozen white horses. Inside the wagon, six massive ice blocks were carved into the forms of an eagle, swan, cannon, and other shapes.
Grant and his entourage stepped out of the barouche and on to a carpeted viewing stand erected across from the Union League House on Broad Street. Grant greeted guests, and all watched the parade unfold. He saluted military formations, waved his right hand, and raised his top hat to express his gratitude and appreciation, while waves of applause erupted from those around him.
The martial bearing of the military received special notice. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported, “From the public buildings looking up Broad street, as their ‘long line came gleaming on,’ touched by the splendor by the full glory of the noonday sun, the sight was one to stir the tamest spirit and to abide in memory for a lifetime.”
At some point, Grant received the miniature table. On Christmas Day, he thanked Frank for the present. “I acknowledge the receipt of the beautiful table,—facsimile of the center table on which Gen. Lee & myself signed the terms of the former’s surrender at Appomattox Court-House, Va—made of gold, and the still more highlighted expression with which it is accompanied, printed on satin. Both will have a sacred place among the souvenirs which I hope to preserve through life, and then to transmit to my children as heirlooms to be preserved by them as equally sacred.”
The media picked up on Frank’s Christmas gift and a number of newspapers across the country published the account.
Frank quickly faded out of the limelight. He died of liver cancer at age 70 on Feb, 12, 1910, on what would have been the 101st birthday of the man with whom Grant worked alongside to save the Union: Abraham Lincoln. Frank’s wife and children survived him.
Two years after Grant’s death, his widow, Julia Dent Grant, with the assistance of William Vanderbilt, donated the miniature and other memorabilia to the Smithsonian Institution. The table is pictured in the 1894 book, The American Civil War Book and Grant Album.
Special thanks to Ryan P. Semmes, Ph. D., Professor/Director of Research at The Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library at Mississippi State University.
References: The Philadelphia Inquirer, Dec. 16 and 17, 1879; 1860, 1880, 1900 U.S. Census; U.S., Confederate Amnesty Papers, 1865-1867, National Archives; The Magnolia Gazette, Magnolia, Miss., Jan. 9, 1880; The Clarion Ledger, Jackson, Miss., April 14, 1880; Harper’s Weekly, Jan. 3, 1880; Simon, ed., The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant, Volume 29; Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution for the Year Ending June 30, 1887; The American Civil War Book and Grant Album
Ronald S. Coddington is Editor and Publisher of MI.
SPREAD THE WORD: We encourage you to share this story on social media and elsewhere to educate and raise awareness. If you wish to use any image on this page for another purpose, please request permission.
LEARN MORE about Military Images, America’s only magazine dedicated to showcasing, interpreting and preserving Civil War portrait photography.
VISIT OUR STORE to subscribe, renew a subscription, and more.