Ease tensions? In 1866 Grant wrote that Lee was “setting an example of forced acquiescence so grudging and pernicious in its effects as to be hardly realized.”

Freed his slaves? Lee assumed ownership of 189 slaves in 1857, following the death of his father-in-law, George Washington Parke Custis. Custis’ will stipulated that the enslaved people be freed within five years. Lee tried to extend that deadline but was turned down by the courts.