Lee and Grant at Appomattox

Updated on Jan 28, 2024

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Illustrator Donald McKay Series Landmark Book Series Pages 175 Author MacKinlay Kantor Publisher Random House		Language English Publication date 1950 Originally published 1950 Page count 175 Country United States of America

Subject The surrender of General Lee to General Grant near the end of the American Civil War Genres Historical drama, Children's literature Similar MacKinlay Kantor books, American Civil War books, Historical drama books

Lee and Grant at Appomattox is an historical fiction children’s novel by MacKinlay Kantor. It was originally published in 1950 by Random House, and later published in paperback by Sterling Point Books.

Plot

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.

Characters

General Ulysses S. Grant – Grant is displayed disingenuously, as a “’silent, shabby, stubborn’ man who liked animals more than people”. 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.

General Robert E. Lee – General Lee is portrayed as stately, and, as essayist Gallager said, knightly and religiously. 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”.

Literary significance and reception

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

References

Lee and Grant at Appomattox Wikipedia

(Text) CC BY-SA

Contents

Plot

Characters

Literary significance and reception

References