Nov 15-Teddy Roosevelt's birthplace and Grant's Tomb

What a day. We rode seven different subway trains today and got caught in a rainstorm. When it rains on the east coast it really RAINS...not just showers like we have, but bone soaking RAIN! It doesn't last long, but its impressive. We started the day by going back in to the WTC area because we wanted to see more of St. Paul's Chapel. After we got home the other day we read more about it and decided that we'd have to visit again. Then got on the subway for a trip almost all the way up Manhatten to West Harlem. The General Grant Memorial--usually called Grant's Tomb is up there. Its really a mausoleum...HUGE (the biggest in north America), and his wife Julia is interned with him. Grant was the Union commander during the Civil War, and is credited with saving the country from dissolution. He obviously won lots of battles during the war, but I didn't know that he is also known for his humane treatment of Lee and other Confederate leaders. He threatened to resign his commission if Lee was tried for treason. He insisted on protecting the full political equality of former slaves. As the 18th president he approved the 15th amendment which states that no citizen can be denied the right to vote based on color. Really ugly monument. TR's birthplace is in downtown Manhattan so we rode back down. It's under re-construction so I didn't take any pictures. They've got a pretty good museum downstairs.