Yesterday when I was doing some checking on the validity of something I saw on Facebook, I ran across some interesting facts about both Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant. Both men had a lot of similarities — and — differences. For years, Lee got more respect than Grant — both as a military leader and as a personality. But recently, historians have demoted Lee and promoted Grant on both counts.
Comparing the two is an interesting endeavor, if you’re so inclined. It’s far too large a subject for the length of these blogs — but I ran across something that I found particularly interesting…..
Robert E. Lee was older than Grant by sixteen years, but both Lee and Grant died at the age of 63. Lee died on the campus of Washington College in Lexington, Virginia, where he served aa president. He died from pneumonia two weeks after suffering a stroke.
Grant died at a vacation cottage in Mr. McGregor, Ny, just outside Saratoga, after a months-long battle with throat cancer — probably connected to his habit of smoking cigars.
Seems like both Lee and Grant were good guys — it’s unfortunate that the Civil War hurled the two against each other in battle. They were both skilled commanders in military science, and also political science.
Some of their quotes indicate they were basically peace loving and opposed to war…..
“Never do a wrong thing to make a friend or to keep one” ~ Robert E. Lee
“I have never advocated war except as a means of peace” ~ Ulysses S. Grant
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