The Rebels Are Our Countrymen Again
Lee and Grant at Appomattox is one of many volumes from the Landmark Book series. This volume is a narrative of the written correspondence and spoken conversation between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee in the final days of the Civil War. Recognizing that further fighting was pointless, Lee officially surrendered to Grant on Palm Sunday, April 9th, 1865, thus concluding four years of unprecedented bloodshed. The book provides brief historical and personal profiles of Lee and Grant: Lee was formal and dignified; Grant was quiet and reserved. We also learn about Wilmer McLean and the strange but true story of how the Civil War opened in his front yard (First Bull Run, July, 1861) and concluded in his front parlor; McLean moved away from his house near Bull Run to avoid further damage to his property only to have several pieces of furniture removed from his house by souvenir-gathering Union officers upon the conclusion of hostilities! Though written at an elementary school level, this book is a well done portrayal of how two gentlemen ended the Civil War and started the process of mending the Union.