I mentioned this upon seeing the film last year, but it still is a powerful scene. General Grant and his troops saluting Robert E. lee and Lee returning the salute.
They fought for different sides, but they were gentlemen.
"America isn't ready for a gay, mexican chicken sandwich"
Truly a great movie moment. I liked the way General Lee doffed his hat while backing Traveler turning to ride off. That is horsemanship and General Lee was a rider.
Even the bearing of the Confederate sergeant who brought Traveler up for General Lee to mount was impressive. Attention to small details is what makes for a great movie.
People today do not appreciate how much the generals on both sides respected each other. Most of them knew each other, if not personally, then by reputation. Lee and Grant had met during the Mexican war. Grant remembered. Lee professed not to. Not shown in the movie was what happened when Grant encountered James Longstreet. The two of them knew each other from West Point, and married cousins. Longstreet was one of Grant's groomsmen. Grant also ordered his soldiers to quit firing their canons in celebration, stating, "The rebels are our countrymen now."
shareI always look at that scene , as The union soldiers doffing their Hats, as if saying we are no longer at war, we are all Americans again, so they can now show Lee how much they respected his military genus and tenacity, as well as his honor.
I have always wondered why Spielberg directed the scene that way, with Grant coming off the steps and standing by Lee who is mounted, with the camera behind Grants shoulder looking up at Lee from Grants point of view rather than the audiences. I guess if there was any man in the world who knew how great a genera Lee was , it was Grant, And Grant kind of looks as Lee almost as if he idolizes him, as Lee looks the part. While Grant does not. Grants does not have Lee's manners or innate grace, and he know he never will. Lee looks like he stepped off Olympus, while Grant looks like he just came out of a saloon . It is odd how the two great generals are polar opposites , yet of the two , Grant seems like the true man of democracy
They did represent their different regions. Lee was very old school, his uniform was always perfect, he was mindful of his language and scrupulous about his manners. Grant was from what at the time was called the West. Much newer, much more informal, self-made wealth instead of inherited wealth. Grant was not big on formality or dress. So Lee showed up in a perfectly clean dress uniform, appropriate for a solemn occasion. Grant just wanted to get the war over with. Grant showed up wearing a private's blouse with officer's straps sewn on. Lee would make sure everything went according to the book and custom. Grant just wanted things to work. His dress was not meant to be an insult to Lee. He just really did not think it was important.
Grant certainly respected Lee, but hardly idolized him. In his memoirs, Grant discusses how he met with Lee and the two engaged in pleasant conversation. Grant found this pleasant, but one gets the impression that he felt he was speaking to an equal, not a superior. When Grant first took command, he intended to stay in the West. Then he figured out that the Army of the Potomac had to be convinced that it could win. He famously said, "You act like Lee is going to do a double summersault, get behind our lines, and attack us from both sides. Quit worrying about what Lee is going to do, and worry about what we are going to do." That was why Grant was the general who could defeat Lee. He was not in awe of him.
They did represent their different regions. Lee was very old school, his uniform was always perfect, he was mindful of his language and scrupulous about his manners. Grant was from what at the time was called the West. Much newer, much more informal, self-made wealth instead of inherited wealth. Grant was not big on formality or dress. So Lee showed up in a perfectly clean dress uniform, appropriate for a solemn occasion. Grant just wanted to get the war over with. Grant showed up wearing a private's blouse with officer's straps sewn on. Lee would make sure everything went according to the book and custom. Grant just wanted things to work. His dress was not meant to be an insult to Lee. He just really did not think it was important.
Grant certainly respected Lee, but hardly idolized him. In his memoirs, Grant discusses how he met with Lee and the two engaged in pleasant conversation. Grant found this pleasant, but one gets the impression that he felt he was speaking to an equal, not a superior. When Grant first took command, he intended to stay in the West. Then he figured out that the Army of the Potomac had to be convinced that it could win. He famously said, "You act like Lee is going to do a double summersault, get behind our lines, and attack us from both sides. Quit worrying about what Lee is going to do, and worry about what we are going to do." That was why Grant was the general who could defeat Lee. He was not in awe of him.
Maybe Spielberg knew he would be pilloried and despised by many simply for making a movie portraying Lincoln in the sympathetic way he did. The surrender scene could very well have been a sort of counterweight for southern sympathizers and apologists.
Spielberg certainly didn't do that with any of the southern commissioners in the movie. For all of having lost the war, they didn't seem inclined to accept the fact. At least Lee wasn't shown acting as arrogantly as the commissioners and making the demands a victor would make.