By Daniel J. Ursu, Roundtable Historian
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
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Editor’s note: This article was the history brief for the March 2025 meeting of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable.
Ulysses S. Grant was the best-known Civil War-era resident of Galena, Illinois. In a recent history brief I highlighted another prominent Galena, Illinois, resident: Congressman Elihu Washburne. However, there was at least one other important Galena resident who played a major role in the Civil War, that being the mostly unsung hero, John Rawlins. Rawlins was a longtime confidant of Grant, became a Grant staff officer for most of the war, and rose to be the trusted and dependable Chief of Staff to Grant. Rawlins was the defender of Grant’s realm, his alter ego and insistent supporter of Grant’s sobriety and apologist for his insobriety, the latter portion being a somewhat complex and disputed role.
Continue reading “John Rawlins, U.S. Grant’s Chief of Staff”