Grant filed manumission papers in the Circuit Court of St. Louis on March 29, 1859, freeing William Brown, a 35 year old mulatto. It is unknown whether Brown posted bond or left the state. Julia Dent's slaves were actually the property of her father. There is no record of ownership having been transferred to her. Since Col. Dent was still alive after the war, Grant did not have the legal authority to free them. However, it would appear that at least one, Julia, had been freed and stayed with the Grants as a nurse, opted not to return with them to Missouri in January of 1864 out of fear that should would be re-enslaved (probably due to inability to pay the bond). See Brooks D. Simpson, "Ulysses S. Grant: Triumph Over Adversity, 1822-1865" (Houghton, Mifflin Co. 2000).

Lee actually did own slaves himself, at least until 1846, that he had inherited from his mother. Some were hired out and some were sold. In 1857, he became the executor of George Washington Parke Custis, his father-in-law's, estate, including 150 slaves. The poorly written will required the executor to emancipate the slaves once the sales, collections and distributions to the beneficiaries was accomplished or within 5 years of Custis's death, whichever came first. Since the estates were in bad condition, the slaves were needed to generate the income to fulfill the bequests. Lee was always opposed to slavery in the abstract and was a luke-warm slaver-owner. Ironically, he manumitted 170 Custis slaves on December 29, 1862, almost three months after the date specified in the will, but three days before the Emancipation Proclamation took effect. See Emory Thomas, "Robert E. Lee: A Biography" (W.W. Norton & Co. 1995)