Ulysses S. Grant came to Galena in April of 1860 aboard the steamboat Itasca.  With him were his wife, Julia, and four children, as well as all their household furnishings.  There was no fanfare when he arrived, although he quickly became a local celebrity from his stories of the Mexican War.

Ulysses was in Galena to work in his father's leather store.  His older brother Orville was slowly dying of consumption (tuberculosis), and Ulysses hoped to quietly take over management of the store when Orville could no longer perform his duties.  Ulysses had vowed never to enter his father's business, but economic hardships made it difficult to resist.

The Grant family rented a house on High Street overlooking downtown and the Galena riverfront.  He would split his time between working as clerk in the store and traveling around the area buying hides and selling leather goods.

When the Civil War began and Lincoln called for troops, a meeting was held in Galena to decide how to respond.  It was decided to assemble a volunteer regiment, and Ulysses S. Grant was chosen to train the militia.