The engraved silver plaque on the right side of the buttstock of this special ordered Remington Rolling Block Sporting Rifle is inscribed "Col: Fred: Grant,/with kind regards/OF R.B. Marcy./October 20, 1874." The inscription indicates this rifle was a gift for Frederick Dent Grant (1850-1912) on his wedding day. Grant was the son of Union general and then sitting President of the United States Ulysses S. Grant. Frederick Grant was with his father off and on throughout the Civil War and was wounded in the leg by a Confederate sniper at the Siege of Fredericksburg. After the war, he attended West Point from 1866 to 1871 and was then assigned to the 4th U.S. Cavalry Regiment but instead took leave first to work for the Union Pacific Railroad and then served as to General William Tecumseh Sherman's aide-de-camp in Europe. In 1873, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and served on General Philip Sheridan's staff and was part of the Custer's Yellowstone and Black Hills Expeditions. He was married to Ida Marie Honore, the daughter of a wealthy Chicago businessman, on October 20, 1874, the date in the inscription. The presenter of this rifle is almost certainly Randolph Barnes Marcy (1812-1887), a West Point graduate, veteran of the Mexican-American War, multiple Indian wars, and the Civil War; and father-in-law of General George B. McClellan. He was one of the inspector generals of the U.S. Army at the time of presentation. This rifle was an appropriate gift since Grant returned to the West after a brief honeymoon, and Custer is known to have used Remington rifles for hunting in the West. Grant's new bride moved in with President Ulysses S. Grant's family at the White House. In 1875, both Grant and Marcy were part of expeditions to Yellowstone, and Grant was one of the author's of his expedition's report which includes details about the game they encountered, and an account of Marcy's expedition also indicates hunting was a major part of their adventures. The birth of Grant's first daughter, Julia, on June 6, 1876, may have saved his life since he was on leave when Custer and his men were killed at the Battle of Little Bighorn later that month. Grant left the Army in 1881 and then served as U.S. Minister to Austria-Hungary and a police commissioner in New York City. He rejoined the military during the Spanish-American War and served as commander of the district of San Juan and then went to the Philippines and served as Governor of Pampanga. He was a major general and the commander of the Eastern Division when he died in 1912 from throat cancer, the same disease that killed his father. Included copies of documents indicate the rifle remained with direct descendants of the Grant family until it was sold in January 2020. It has a combination globe and blade front sight, notch and folding peep rear sight, a cleaning rod beneath the barrel, smooth forend with scroll engraved cap, "REMINGTONS ILION N.Y. U.S.A./PAT MAY 3D NOV 16TH 1864 APRIL 17TH 1866" stamped on the upper tang, and smooth buttstock with the inscription plaque on the left and no cheekpiece. There are no visible serial numbers or caliber markings.

Very fine with 60% plus original blue finish, 75% plus original case colors, attractive aged patina and crisp engraving on the plaque, mostly smooth brown or gray patina on the fading areas, some slight oxidation, and generally mild wear from use and age. The wood is also very fine and has scattered scrapes and dings that you might expect from a gun use during expeditions in the West. Mechanically excellent.