General Grant (tree)

[1] The tree also features the third largest footprint of any living giant sequoia, measuring 107.6 ft (32.8 m) in circumference at ground level.

[2] The tree was named in 1867 after Ulysses S. Grant, Union Army general and the 18th President of the United States (1869–1877).

President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed it the "Nation's Christmas Tree" on April 28, 1926.

On March 29, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower declared the tree a "National Shrine", a memorial to those who died in war.

[3] In September 2003, General Grant moved up one place in the giant sequoia size rankings when the Washington tree lost its crown and the hollow upper half of its trunk after a fire caused by a lightning strike.