Lee and Grant at Appomattox

Lee and Grant at Appomattox depicts the surrender of the Confederate States of America to Union soldiers. In specific, it portrays the surrender of General Robert E. Lee to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, helping to bring about the end of the American Civil War. Kantor mainly discusses the feelings of each army, both victorious and shellacked, and pays special attention to the history and interaction between Grant and Lee. The story also addresses the lasting bitterness between the North and South for years following the Civil War.

• General Ulysses S. Grant – Grant is displayed disingenuously, as a "'silent, shabby, stubborn' man who liked animals more than people".[1] Grant was further portrayed as a man who needlessly squandered the lives of hundreds of men in bloody battle. Ultimately, though, Grant is portrayed as a fair man, who lets the Confederates keep the items pertinent to their livelihood.[2]
• General Robert E. Lee – General Lee is portrayed as stately, and, as essayist Gallager said, knightly and religiously.[1] In fact, Kantor speaks very highly of Lee in a number of passages, for example: "You could imagine him [Lee] in the wars of long ago, in polished armor. You could imagine him in the wars of Biblical times, proud of his chariot, fascinating the Philistines".[3]

Historian William Marvel has cited the book as piquing his interest in studying the subject of Appomattox as a child.[4] Some have accused the book of displaying a bias towards General Lee and presenting an inaccurate portrayal of General Grant.

The Appomattox Court House was the site of the actual surrender of General Lee to General Grant in 1865. The story makes reference to many actual battles of the Civil War.

• Gallagher, Gary (2004). Lee and His Generals in War and Memory (Illustrated ed.). Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Louisiana State University Press. ISBN 0-8071-2958-5. Retrieved 30 July 2009.
• Kantor, MacKinlay (1950). Lee and Grant at Appomattox. Landmark Books. New York City: Random House.
• "Lee and Grant at Appomattox (Masterplots II: Juvenile and Young Adult Biography Series)". eNotes. 2008. Retrieved 30 May 2008.
• Marvel, William (2000). A Place Called Appomattox. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 9780807825686.