Newspapers brought the story of Appomattox into people’s homes, using descriptive language that set the scene and gave special attention to the attire of both men. “Gen. [Robert E.] Lee was sitting by the table, dressed in a suit of gray—coat, pants, and vest all of gray,” wearing “an elegant sword,” while Ulysses S. Grant had “left his sword behind,” appearing “in the same suit he had worn in the field through the eventful days—a plain blue frock, with double row of buttons, and shoulder straps bearing the three silver stars—the insignia of his rank as Lieut. General.” The vivid description of these men at this momentous event confirmed the popular opinion of them: Lee was a southern gentleman, and Grant was a no-nonsense soldier.
It should come as no surprise. . . that the uniforms. . . were important details in the recounting of the surrender of Lee’s army. Although no photographer documented the exact moment of this historic event, engravings and portraits of the scene in Wilmer McLean’s parlor remain popular to the present, as has the appearance of these two generals. The contrast between the uniforms worn by Lee and Grant has become shorthand for each man’s character, a thumbnail sketch of two sides of the conflict. We know the story of what they wore that day better than we know the story of what they said.
The Fabric of Civil War Society, by Shae Smith Cox
