General Grant Tree

The General Grant Tree is the largest giant sequoia in the General Grant Grove section of Kings Canyon National Park in California and the second-largest giant sequoia tree in the world. The tree was named in 1867 after Ulysses S. Grant, Union Army general and the 18th President of the United States. President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed it the "Nation's Christmas Tree" on April 28, 1926. Due in large part to its huge base, the General Grant tree was thought to be the largest tree in the world prior to 1931, when the first precise measurements indicated that The General Sherman was slightly larger. In 1956 President Eisenhower declared the General Grant Tree to be a National Shrine. It was dedicated "in memory of the men and women of the Armed Forces who have served and fought and died s to keep this Nation free..." It is the only example of a living shrine in the United States. During the dedication ceremony, Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz mentioned its "equal stature with that other great shrine in Arlington Cemetery -- the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier." A 1/3-mile (05. km) paved loop trail leads to the tree, and includes other named trees and features, including the Gamlin Cabin, the Fallen Monarch, and the Centennial Stump.