
The museum article goes on to describe how Lee inherited three or four families of slaves from his mother upon her death in 1829. Both claims serve to distance the Confederacy from its core justification and suggest United States hypocrisy on the matter of race.

Grant did own slaves during the Civil War. Lee did not own slaves is often paired with the claim that Ulysses S. In companion pieces under the headline "Myths & Misunderstandings," The American Civil War Museum took these claims about slave ownership head on. The truth about these opposing military leaders, including who owned slaves and who didn't, has been chronicled by historians and experts. Grant, who served as the commanding general of the United States Army and then became the nation's 18th president, owned at least one slave, whom he freed before the Civil War.

Lee, in fact, owned several hundred enslaved workers. This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing: The claim appeared in a meme, including this Facebook post (archived here) shared on June 10, 2020, with the title "Check your history." It features side-by-side images of both men, beneath different flags (Grant with the American flag Lee with the Confederate flag): General Grant did own at least one slave, which he freed before the war began. Grant, who led the Union Army, was? No, that's not true: General Lee owned dozens of slaves and controlled many more as the trustee of his father-in-law's estate, which he freed during the war. Lee, commander of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, was not a slave owner, while Ulysses S.
