He Met Ulysses S. Grant A Second Time At Appomattox After The Famous Surrender

Lee and Grant, who had worked together in the Mexican War before opposing one another in the War Between the States, met on a hilltop between their respective forces the day following their well-known encounter at the McLean House.

Later, when Lee faced the possibility of arrest and execution after being charged with treason by a federal grand jury, he appealed to Grant, pointing out that the clause Grant himself had written into the terms of his army's surrender stated that "each officer and man will be allowed to return to his home, not to be disturbed by United States authority so long as they observe their paroles and the laws in force where they may reside." Lee's interpretation was supported by Grant, who pushed Lee to submit an application for a federal pardon, which Grant stated he would support. Lee accomplished this, forwarding the papers to Grant, who approved them and sent them on to President Andrew Johnson.

Although that is a different scenario, the application would be "lost" and Lee's citizenship would not be reinstated until 1975. Lee was unaware that Grant had secretly stated that if Lee were to be imprisoned, he would retire from the army.