Mapping Georgetown: A Presidential Love Story for the Ages
By • February 22, 2022 0 1402
Lights. Camera. Action!
This Mapping Georgetown Love Story features our 18th President, his sister-in-law, a book, a film, and Oak Hill Cemetery for good measure! Not to mention, history lessons along the way.
Patricia Cameron’s Mapping Georgetown story. Photo courtesy Mapping Georgetown.
Patricia Cameron on Emma Dent Casey (1836-1920):
“Historic Georgetown is the final resting place of Emma Dent Casey, who is interred in the lovely Oak Hill Cemetery. Emma is the little sister of Julia Dent Grant, wife of President and Civil War hero, General Ulysses S. Grant. For the past 18 years, I have studied the deep love of Julia and Ulysses. The writings of Emma Dent Casey gave me insight into the love affair of Mr. and Mrs. Grant which I express in my book, “Unconditional Surrender: The Romance of Julia and Ulysses S. Grant.” It was a thrill to discover Emma’s connection to Georgetown, a place I have always loved.
“Most people think of Ulysses S. Grant as the toughest of generals, Supreme Commander of the Union army in the Civil War. In our film, we reveal the romantic side of Ulysses S. Grant. We filmed all over the country in places where Ulysses actually penned his passionate love letters…. “We finished filming “The Love Letters of Ulysses S. Grant” and are looking forward to premiering in 2022!”
Patricia Cameron. Photo courtesy Patricia Cameron.
A further note on inspirations for the film:
When Patricia Cameron was six years old, she distinctly remembers seeing a line-up of presidents in an encyclopedia for the first time. Her eyes went instantly to President Grant. Right away, she felt like she loved him. This feeling of love and empathy for General Grant continued her whole life. She never wondered about it, because it was just such a deep part of who she was. Twenty years ago, she began to feel instincts of places to travel around the country, which were important to General Grant and his wife, Julia. Patricia realized she didn’t really know much about General Grant, though she had a feeling of love for him, her whole life. She was about to discover a deep joy in learning all about him.
Patricia’s son, Teddy, was seven years old when she started her journey of discovery. He always encouraged her.
In 2015, Patricia decided to put all of her deep research of General Grant into a documentary, called, “The Love Letters of Ulysses S. Grant.” She planned to show young Ulysses writing love letters. Teddy was 20 years old.
One day, Patricia looked over at Teddy and said, “Teddy, do you think you could be the voice of young Grant?”
“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.” Teddy replied.
Then, she looked at Teddy and suddenly realized he looked more like young Grant than anyone she had ever seen.
“Teddy, do you think you could play Grant?” she asked.
“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.”
Since that day, Patricia has had the great joy of sharing with her son, Theodore, the filming of Ulysses S. Grant writing his love letters, all over the country. They have filmed in Grant cottage, in the cottage where President Grant died. They’ve filmed inside the real army barracks where newlyweds Ulysses and Julia lived. Not only did Teddy portray Ulysses S. Grant, but he has written the script, directed, and composed and performed all of the original music. Patricia is so moved to realize that the whole time, the whole experience, was for her son, Teddy, all along.
Poster for the film “Unconditional Surrender: The Romance of Julia and Ulysses S. Grant.” Courtesy Patricia Cameron.
Terry Lacny, actor playing father-of-the-bride, Julia Dent, in the movie:
“I say the wedding was important in this fashion: General Grant could not function without his wife Julia. He was madly in love with her and his love letters attest to that. Had they not married, I doubt Grant could have been the same person we know today; which was the Union General who won the Civil War. Lincoln appointed Grant in the spring of 1864 to head all armies and Grant was successful. Lincoln was not very good at picking generals and had Lincoln picked another bad General instead of Grant (because Grant may not have been the same person without Julia)… Lincoln might have lost the election of 1864 and the North could have sued for peace with the South. Well… I’m really theorizing here … but why not! It’s a possibility.
Also, Fredrick Dent whom I play was against the wedding. He was a slaveholder and wanted his daughter to marry a Southern man. Had the father stopped that wedding … again … I don’t even want to think of what could have happened in 1864 without Grant in command. “
“She (Julia Dent Grant) also had an older brother “Fred Dent’ who was the person primarily responsible for introducing Julia and Ulysses and he is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. “
Movie Trailer Link … Emma Dent Casey 1836-1920. Here is the movie link:
https://vimeo.com/355234825?ref=em-v-share
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A gracious thank you to Patricia Cameron and her company for sharing this exciting project with us at Mapping Georgetown! We look forward to the film and send our best wishes for its distribution.
To learn more about the Mapping Georgetown project see https://georgetowner.com/articles/2021/07/19/marilyn-butlers-vision-for-mapping-georgetown/.
To submit your Georgetown recollections to Mapping Georgetown go to www.mappinggeorgetown.com or visit the Georgetown Public Library to pick up a physical map-story form to fill out.
Marilyn Butler can be reached at marilyn.butler@gmail.com.
