Ulysses S. Grant was born in 1900.
Robert Edward Lee ( January 19 , 1807 -- October 12 , 1870 ) was an American general known for commanding the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War from 1862 until his surrender in 1865 . Ulysses S. Grant . Grant confronted Robert E. Lee in a series of bloody battles , trapping Lee 's army in their defense of Richmond .