Step behind the battle lines with generals on both sides of the Civil War as AMERICAN EXPERIENCE explores the military prowess and political ambition of Union victor Ulysses S. Grant and his Confederate foe, Robert E. Lee.
Ulysses S. Grant - Remembered as a brilliant military strategist - whose ruthlessness earned him the nickname ""Unconditional Surrender"" - General Ulysses S. Grant was the greatest Union hero of the Civil War. But though he won the loyalty of thousands of soldiers, and the undying respect of Abraham Lincoln, Grant could not parlay his reputation as a general into presidential success: his time in the White House was plagued by scandal and economic depression. This film looks at Grant's legacy though the lens of his entire career, from before to the Civil War to his dying days.
Special Features -
Who's in Grant's Tomb
Interview with the Producers
Robert E. Lee - Before his surrender to General Grant at Appomattox, Robert E. Lee was the scourge of the Union and hero of the Confederacy. Now, almost 150 years after his death, Lee is still a source of fascination and, for some, veneration - celebrated by handsome equestrian statues in countless cities and towns across the American South, and by no less than five postage stamps issued by the very government he fought against. What is it about the man that allows him to be remembered as both a central villain and almost-savior during the bloodiest four years in American history? This AMERICAN EXPERIENCE film examines the life and reputation of the general who was elevated to near god-like status by his admirers after his death.
Producer: WGBH
Production Year: 2011
Discs: 2