Cucumbers soused in vinegar, washed down with coffee.
No, this isn’t a “who’s buried in Grant’s tomb” joke, it’s a historical fact which I found in a book by highly reputable historian.
Grant, the Civil War’s greatest general (sorry, Lee fans, but he was), was no gourmet. To wit:
“An invitation to a meal at his headquarters was no treat. The food was simple and Grant often ate more simply than his staff. He liked cucumbers best of all, sometimes breakfasting off a cucumber soused in vinegar, washed down with coffee. He abhorred fowl and game (‘I never could eat anything that goes on two legs’), was revolted by the sight of blood, human or animal, so that his beef had to be roasted black, and often chose to pick at fruit while his entourage tucked in more heartily. Soldiers’ fare was his preference — corn, pork and beans and buckwheat cakes — though, oddly, he was also addicted to oysters.”
John Keegan, The Mask of Command, Penguin edition (1987), p. 204. This book covers the true generalship of Alexander the Great, Wellington, Grant, and Hitler’s false generalship. There’s also a chapter about “Command in the Nuclear World,” which seems timely in light of current events. (Public libraries in the Seattle – King County area don’t have it, but you can get it here.)
It’s been said “you are what you eat” (first, apparently, in 1826 by Anthelme Brillat-Savarin in Physiologie du Gout, ou Meditations de Gastronomie Transcendante, followed by many others), but I propose there’s zero correlation between what Grant ate and what he was. What he was good at was leading an army, strategy and tactics, knowing the terrain, and anticipating his opponent’s moves. So it must have come from cigars, not cucumbers.
Oh, one more thing: He didn’t believe in “leading from in front,” either. About that, Keegan says, “To the questions, In front always? sometimes? or never? Grant would probably have tried to avoid giving an answer but, if pressed, would have uttered a grudging ‘Never if I can help it.'” He didn’t lack physical courage; a Union private said of him, “Ulysses don’t scare worth a damn.” (Ibid., pp. 208, 210)