Frederick T. Dent

Frederick Tracy Dent

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Quick Facts

Significance:

Brother-in-Law of Ulysses S. Grant

Place of Birth:

Saint Louis, Missouri

Date of Birth:

December 17, 1820

Place of Death:

Denver, Colorado

Date of Death:

December 23, 1892

Place of Burial:

Arlington, Virginia

Cemetery Name:

Arlington National Cemetery

Frederick Tracy Dent was a career officer in the United States Army and brother-in-law to Ulysses S. Grant. He was born on December 17, 1820 in St. Louis, Missouri, and grew up at White Haven, a slave plantation owned by his father.

Growing up in the countryside, Dent was an adventerous youth who spent most of his time exploring the nearby creeks, valleys, and forests around White Haven. He also recalled a chance encounter with John James Audubon, a famous naturalist and painter, who came to visit the Dent family during his youth. At the age of 19, Dent's father secured an appointment for him to attend the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. During his last year at West Point, Fred was assigned to be roommates with fellow cadet Ulysses S. Grant. The two became close friends. Dent graduated 33rd out of 39 cadets in the class of 1843. 

After graduation, Dent was assigned to Fort Towson, Indian Territory (the present-day state of Oklahoma), but Grant was assigned to Jefferson Barracks, a military post in St. Louis that was five miles south of White Haven. Fred invited Ulysses to visit White Haven while stationed at Jefferson Barracks. Grant accepted the invitiation and soon met Julia Dent, one of Fred's sisters. The two fell in love, became engaged, and married in 1848 at the Dent family's city home in St. Louis. Ulysses and Julia's first-born child, Frederick Dent Grant, was named after Frederick Tracy Dent. 

Dent served in the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) and was severely wounded at the Battle of Molino Del Ray, where Grant provided aid and comfort to him after sustaining multiple broken bones in a fall. He also served at various frontier posts in the west for nearly twenty years. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Dent's loyalties remained with the Union. He wrote a letter to Grant at the beginning of the war stating that he would stand by the American flag as long as one was still standing. On March 29, 1864, Dent received an appointment to serve on General Grant's staff as an Aide-de-Camp. He also briefly served as the Military Commander of Richmond, Virginia in 1865, and was present at the Appomattox Court House Surrender proceedings on April 9, 1865. 

Dent continued to serve as an Aide-de-Camp to General Grant after the Civil War. When Grant became President in 1869, Dent served as a "Military Secretary" at the White House for four years. In this role he oversaw incoming mail and managed all White House visitors for President Grant. After leaving this position during Grant's second term in office, Dent went on to serve another ten years in the U.S. Army at various posts around the country, retiring in 1883 at the rank of Colonel after serving forty years in the Army. As he faced impending death from thorat cancer in 1885, General Grant wished to set aside a small gift for his longtime friend and brother-in-law. In a letter to Dent the following year, Frederick Dent Grant included a $500 check and stated that his father had been "very fond of you." 

Frederick Tracy Dent was married to Helen Louise Lynde for forty years and they had three children together. He died at the age of 72 on December 23, 1892. Dent was originally buried at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, but later reinterred at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.