Remembering John Grant Griffiths

John Grant Griffiths (1938 – 2026)

It’s been several years since John attended one of our Round Table meetings, but we have fond memories of the times when we were honored to have him among our membership.  This photo shows John with Steve Koppelman and our late treasurer, Jim Davis. 

John was the great-great-grandson of President and General Ulysses S. Grant, the great grandson of former Secretary of War Elihu Root, and the grandson of Major General Ulysses S. Grant III.  While born in Arkansas, he spent most of his life in Virginia.  He was a founding member of the North-South Skirmish Association’s 1^st Maryland Blackhats.  Later in the Civil War Centennial, he was a founding member of the First Maryland Regiment. John served as Curator of Ordnance at the Marine Corps Museum in Quantico from 1987 until his retirement in 1998.  He spent the last 37 years in Fredericksburg where he was active in the Sons of Union Veterans, the Company of Military Historians, the Welsh Society, living history organizations, and our Round Table.

John displayed those traits that would have made his great-great-grandfather proud.  If you were lucky enough to spend a few minutes with him, it formed a memory of a lifetime.