Kenneth J. Serfass, Gunnery Sgt USMC, retired (as Ulysses S. Grant)
Gunnery Sgt Kenneth J. Serfass is a native of Bethlehem, PA born on June 18th, 1966. A US Marine since 1984, his last unit was the First Marine Division Band during Operation Iraqi Freedom, retiring in July of 2004 to become a music teacher.
Ken is a former civil war “reenactor” but now a first-person impressionist with fifty years studying his childhood hero, US Grant. As a full-time professional living historian portraying Grant, he presents between 11 and up to 23 appearances each month between February and November. Ken began appearing as General Grant in 2009 while living in San Diego CA, and since returning to the east coast, he is engaged on horseback tours, rail road excursions, presenting school programs, living history and roundtable events, speaking at public libraries on a regular basis, and annually in Southern California at Huntington Beach’s Civil War Days over Labor Day weekend.
In 2023 the state of California recognized his contributions “to continued education of the public as to our national history” with coincidental certificates from the state assembly and senate in recognition of his efforts, presenting these to him at the Huntington Beach event.
Firmly established on both coasts, there is no other “Grant impressionist” with his reach, visiting fourteen states every year. He jokes that the history talks and as conductor and leader of his Civil War era Marine Band, requires all his work to be dependent on time travel.
He has appeared at Pamplin Park near Petersburg VA, and several national park sites. In 2015 he was invited to join The Federal Generals Corps, to be their “Ulysses S. Grant” until the group disbanded in 2020.
In October of 2020, he roamed Tennessee and Mississippi around Grant’s major battle sites, crafting a YouTube video series, “How the War Was Won In the West”, with 9 episodes reviewing the campaigns leading Gen.Grant to become Lincoln’s top general in the Civil War. A similar YouTube series is in the works for Grant’s time in Virginia later in the war.
He has spoken on Grant’s Vicksburg Campaign to the Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guide Association to develop broader civil war study among their guides and is the first Grant impressionist to present his own topics at the General Grant National Memorial, in New York City, giving public interactive addresses, as General or as President, and developing Junior Ranger programs for NPS, bringing America’s youth closer to history.
His repertoire includes programs on Grant’s battle campaigns, his interactions with Lincoln, Sherman, and Lee, and most importantly, the Grant family, and the two terms as the 18th US President. This led to being cast as President Grant for a documentary featured on Fox Nation, debuting October 10, 2021.
It is with a profound honor that he tells the story of one of America’s greatest military leaders and Ken takes it very seriously to reaffirm Grant’s place of honor among the most respected people of our nation’s history.
Entertaining and educational, the variety of his performing venues includes museums and business groups seeking leadership training and inspiration, and across the board they can all provide referrals for how people can talk TO history and share in our rich national heritage with US Grant. Ken will say for all the years as a Marine, and this history work, there is nothing he is prouder of than being the father of his daughter Erin, who works in movie and TV production in Los Angeles. He believes this work inspires her to make her own path and be happy in what she does.
His passion for the subject is evident in his presentation, and it is hard not to be affected by his enthusiasm and believe that you’ve met US Grant in living history.