Julia grew up on a plantation with slaves and as a young woman had a slave known as "Jule" or "Black Julia".
 It is not clear if Jule ever legally belonged to Julia.
 Historians still debate whether Julia's father retained legal title to the four slaves his daughter claimed to own.
 Julia's father insisted they leave the slaves with him when the Grants lived in the North, fearing they would escape to freedom.

Jule traveled with Julia Grant throughout the war.
 In January 1862, Abraham Lincoln received an anonymous letter from Cairo, decrying Grant's drinking and his 'secesh' wife with her slave, but Lincoln took no action.
 In her memoirs, Julia recalled "When I visited the General during the war, I nearly always had Jule with me as a nurse.
She came near being captured at Holly Springs."

According to Julia, "Eliza, Dan, Jule, and John belonged to me up to the time of President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation", which exempted Missouri slaves from emancipation.
 Even after that date, Jule continued her service to Julia.
 In January 1864, Jule, Julia, and Julia's young son Jesse left Nashville for St. Louis.
 On the trip, Jule left the group.
 Julia later recalled. "
I suppose she feared to lose her freedom if she returned to Missouri."
 According to Julia, Jule married soon afterwards.

Julia seemed to believe that blacks were not fully equal to whites, but she refused to lend any support to white supremacists, including her brother Louis Dent.
She strongly encouraged blacks on the White House domestic staff to buy land in the District while it was still cheap, in order to ensure their future financial security.
She also decided to greet anyone properly dressed—regardless of race—who attended her afternoon receptions, but never questioned why blacks failed to call on her.
The simple answer was that White House security prevented them from doing so.
Julia grew up on a plantation with slaves and as a young woman had a slave known as "Jule" or "Black Julia".  It is not clear if Jule ever legally belonged to Julia.  Historians still debate whether Julia's father retained legal title to the four slaves his daughter claimed to own.  Julia's father insisted they leave the slaves with him when the Grants lived in the North, fearing they would escape to freedom.
Jule traveled with Julia Grant throughout the war.  In January 1862, Abraham Lincoln received an anonymous letter from Cairo, decrying Grant's drinking and his 'secesh' wife with her slave, but Lincoln took no action.  In her memoirs, Julia recalled "When I visited the General during the war, I nearly always had Jule with me as a nurse. She came near being captured at Holly Springs."
According to Julia, "Eliza, Dan, Jule, and John belonged to me up to the time of President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation", which exempted Missouri slaves from emancipation.  Even after that date, Jule continued her service to Julia.  In January 1864, Jule, Julia, and Julia's young son Jesse left Nashville for St. Louis.  On the trip, Jule left the group.  Julia later recalled. "I suppose she feared to lose her freedom if she returned to Missouri."  According to Julia, Jule married soon afterwards.
Julia seemed to believe that blacks were not fully equal to whites, but she refused to lend any support to white supremacists, including her brother Louis Dent. She strongly encouraged blacks on the White House domestic staff to buy land in the District while it was still cheap, in order to ensure their future financial security. She also decided to greet anyone properly dressed—regardless of race—who attended her afternoon receptions, but never questioned why blacks failed to call on her. The simple answer was that White House security prevented them from doing so.
Julia Grant