What Happened
In 1852, then-Captain Ulysses S. Grant crossed the Isthmus of Panama leading the 4th Infantry Regiment from New York toward California during the Gold Rush. The journey was brutal: an outbreak of cholera decimated much of his unit. According to accounts, roughly 150 soldiers—about one-seventh of the regiment—and 20 children died in the epidemic. Grant later described the crossing as one of the most difficult experiences of his life, recalling it with more horror than the American Civil War.
Background
The crossing and Grant’s early experience on the isthmus left a lasting association between his name and the Panama area. In the 20th century Fort Grant—named for the future 18th U.S. president—became part of the coastal defenses at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal. Fort Amador (named for Manuel Amador Guerrero) and Fort Grant were built as U.S. Army bases to protect the canal’s southern approaches in Panama Bay.
Fort Grant was not a single island but a group of fortified islets near the coast, some connected to Amador by a causeway. The cluster included Naos, Culebra, Perico and Flamenco, and extended to other nearby islands such as San José, Taboga and a number of smaller islets listed in records of the site.
Legacy and Significance
Grant went on to serve as the 18th President of the United States from 1869 to 1877. His presidency emphasized Reconstruction and protections for civil rights following the abolition of slavery, and he took measures to combat the Ku Klux Klan. The article notes that Grant’s personal experience crossing the isthmus helped shape his interest in an interoceanic route; as president he supported studies for building a canal, though he initially favored a Nicaraguan route over Panama.
The connection between Grant’s early ordeal and the later strategic use of Panama’s islands underscores how personal history and military strategy intersected in theIsthmus. The account is provided by a retired Canal employee and highlights local historical ties: from the human cost of 19th-century travel across the isthmus to the naming of military installations that would later guard one of the world’s most important waterways.