THE SURRENDER LUNCH

I admit to having contracted the genealogy bug. As a matter of fact, I am badly infected. But if there’s a cure somewhere out there, I don’t want to get well.

A few years ago, I discovered I am related to one of the Mayflower passengers, Richard Warren. And at about the same time, I discovered a list of his descendants; more famous than he could have ever hoped to be.

Ernest Hemingway, Franklin Roosevelt, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Richard Gere, Ulysses S. Grant.

Speaking of the latter of the five, even if you are a passing student of history, I expect you are aware that he was the final commanding General of the Union Army during the American Civil War. (Yeah. He was).

Among all my famous cousins ole Ulysses is my favorite, at least my most thought about; (in spite of the fact that I am a Southerner by birth). But it’s not for no reason this is the case.

You see, my friend (Dennis S.) is descended from (drum roll) the final commanding General of the Confederate Army Robert E. Lee. I mean “go figure.” Almost like our personal little “Ripley’s Believe It or Not” scenario. (Don’t ya think)?

Funny, how history falls together, and how a single decision might have irrevocably changed the accounts in our textbooks. I previously wrote a reflection on the German dictator Adolph Hitler. He had applied for acceptance at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. In spite of the obvious quality of his paintings, he was rejected. Had one man decided in his favor, we might remember Hitler as a world-renowned artist, rather than, well, the way we remember him. What might have been.

The same historical irony accompanied General Robert E. Lee. He had been offered command of the Union Army by President Abraham Lincoln. He considered it, but opted for command of the Confederate Army instead. Who can say whether this great grandson-in-law of President Washington might have, in short order, led the stronger Union Army to victory?

After the war, General Grant went on to be elected President of the United States. After the war, General Lee went on to be appointed President of Washington-Lee College. While, to my knowledge, no photo exists of the April 1865 surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, there is a single picture of Grant and Lee commensurating together; just four years after the conclusion of the war.

Dennis and I jokingly refer to one another as “Gen. Grant” and “Gen. Lee.” We break bread on a monthly basis, and I have referred to this recurring opportunity for camaraderie as our “Surrender Lunch.” However, unlike the original Civil War surrender ceremony, nobody wins.

Well, come to think of it, I guess we both win.

by William McDonald, PhD. Copyright pending