Grant

by Ron Chernow

Grant and his entourage repaired to a fine mansion whose front lawn had grown rank with weeds during the siege. As he mounted the wide front steps, Pemberton stepped onto the verandah and “stood for a single moment glaring upon his conqueror,” Beckwith said.9 The Confederate commander gruffly unbuckled his sword, belt, and revolver and “thrust more than offered” them in surrender to Grant, who reacted with punctilious restraint. “Retain your side arms, General,” he told Pemberton, placing his hand softly upon the sword.10 When Grant offered him a cigar, Pemberton took one with exaggerated reluctance. He refused to offer Grant a seat, and when Grant asked for a glass of water, a rebel officer told him he could get it himself. Behaving with his congenital aplomb, Grant did not stoop to anger, and the contrast between the two generals struck observers. According to Charles A. Dana, Grant “was received by Pemberton with more marked impertinence than at their former interview. Grant bore it like a philosopher, and in reply treated Pemberton with even gentler courtesy and dignity than before.”11 Based on his prewar experience, Grant knew a thing or two about the tender ego of a defeated man.