The President’s Secret Ship
The story of Grover Cleveland’s secret cruise
Many presidents in American history have possessed significant medical histories. To cite a few examples, some experts believe Abraham Lincoln (R-Illinois) had suspected Marfan’s syndrome, Woodrow Wilson (D-New Jersey) suffered a series of strokes, FDR struggled with debilitating polio, and JFK had a slew of gastrointestinal and hormonal ailments, just to name a few.
One of the most interesting medical cases in presidential history, however, comes at the expense of a lesser known president, Stephen Grover Cleveland (D-New York). While many Americans know very little about the New Yorker other than that he uniquely served in two nonconsecutive terms, Cleveland is actually the protagonist of a captivating tale of medical mystery.
Setting the Scene
Grover Cleveland was born on March 18th, 1837 in Caldwell, NJ, though he and his numerous siblings would relocate to New York in 1841 where young Grover would spend most of his childhood.
The son of a Presbyterian minister, Cleveland grew up with a pastoral career on his radar. However, he would instead elect to carve out a different path than his father, becoming a teacher and later studying law before being admitted to the New York bar in 1859.
Cleveland used his social competence to kick off a budding political career as a stalwart of the Democratic Party. Cleveland’s first opportunity in the political arena came in 1870 when he won the election for sheriff of Erie County. From here on Cleveland’s rise in public service only elevated to new heights, and by 1882, he was seated on the mayoral throne of Buffalo.
Success at the local level was not enough for Cleveland, though. He continued to climb ranks and would serve as Governor of New York from 1883 until 1885 when he was elected as the 22nd President of the United States.
Brief Time in Office
Cleveland’s first term was commerce focused, putting his conservative business ideal into practice. Through all of his domestic policy and foreign affairs, a couple memorable feats came out of Cleveland’s first term in office.
The first was the United States’ acceptance of the Statue of Liberty from France. The second was Cleveland’s engagement to 21-year-old Frances Folsom.
In November of 1888, Cleveland lost a chance at a second term to Republican Benjamin Harrison (Indiana). This was a significant setback for Cleveland, but it proved to be simply temporary as in 1893, he retook the White House for a presidential sequel.
As soon as Cleveland took office his situation soured. The country was amidst the Panic of 1893, a product of railroad bankruptcy, a stock market collapse, and farming security. To make matters even more dismal, Cleveland began noticing pain and a growth on the roof of his mouth.
The Secret Surgery
Soon after noticing the mass, Cleveland consulted White House physician Dr. Robert O’Reilly. With Cleveland’s history of cigar smoking and overall declining health, Dr. O’Reilly assessed the situation and concluded that what he was observing was indeed cancerous and needed to come out.
There were a few problems with this course of action, however. With citizens struggling to stay afloat and threats of financial collapse looming, Cleveland worried that the nation would implode if news broke that the president had cancer.
In his mind, there was but one solution — no one could ever know. From here, a plan was hatched. The scheme involved a yacht, a fishing vacation, and a team of surgeons led by Dr. Joseph Bryant.
Cleveland publicly announced a four-day vacation, and he and his team of medical personnel discreetly boarded a friend’s vessel, Oneida. On July 1st, 1893, the surgery commenced. Bryant and his assistants strapped the president to a chair, sedated him, and went to work.
Their goal was to avoid any external incisions or indications that a surgery had taken place, and lucky for Cleveland, this surgical squad was successful. By the time they finished the 90-minute procedure, the team had removed a large portion of Cleveland’s upper jaw and multiple teeth, along with the tumor. The secret surgery had been a medical miracle.
Conclusion
Grover Cleveland’s surgery was impressive, even when evaluated in modern times. Despite the rudimentary equipment and techniques used in the 1890s, the speed and efficiency at which Dr. Bryant’s team was able to work is remarkable nonetheless. Following the excision, Cleveland was able to live for another decade and a half, enjoying time he would not have had if the tumor had remained in place.
An analysis of the tissue sample in 1980 confirmed that the resected mass was indeed cancerous. Specifically, it was a verrucous carcinoma, which is a variation of squamous cell carcinoma mostly commonly associated with the mouths of smokers. Luckily for Cleveland, Dr. O’Reilly’s initial evaluation and Dr. Bryant’s surgical team acted quickly enough to prevent any spreading or exacerbation of his cancer.
The story of Grover Cleveland’s secret surgery aboard a friend’s yacht almost seems too crazy to be real. It’s nearly impossible to imagine a scenario like this playing out in today’s world. It would certainly be much more difficult to keep a secret like this under wraps in 2022. Thankfully, in the 1890s, news spread a little bit slower, and we are left with this incredible chronicle of American history.
Grant Fuerstenau is a Medical Student at the University of Louisville School of Medicine and the editor of The Biographical Historian.
Grover Cleveland — key events. Miller Center. (2020, July 8). Retrieved September 12, 2022, from https://millercenter.org/president/grover-cleveland/key-events
Grover Cleveland — secret surgery. Grover Cleveland — Secret Surgery | University of Arizona Health Sciences Library. (n.d.). Retrieved September 12, 2022, from https://ahsl.arizona.edu/find/collections/presidents-illness/cleveland
President Grover Cleveland had a deadly secret. Columbia Surgery. (n.d.). Retrieved September 12, 2022, from https://columbiasurgery.org/news/2015/12/10/president-grover-cleveland-had-deadly-secret
