1861 : Lee resigns from U.S. Army - April 20

[william42]

1861 : Lee resigns from U.S. Army


Colonel Robert E. Lee resigns from the United States army two days after he was offered command of the Union army and three days after his native state, Virginia, seceded from the Union.


Lee opposed secession, but he was a loyal son of Virginia. His official resignation was only one sentence, but he wrote a longer explanation to his friend and mentor, General Winfield Scott, later that day. Lee had fought under Scott during the Mexican War, and he revealed to his former commander the depth of his struggle. Lee interviewed with Scott on April 18, and explained that he would have resigned then "but for the struggle it has cost me to separate myself from a service to which I have devoted the best years of my life and all the ability I possess." Lee expressed gratitude for the kindness shown him by all in the army during his 25-year service, but Lee was most grateful to Scott. "To no one, general, have I been as much indebted as to yourself for uniform kindness and consideration..." He concluded with this poignant sentiment: "Save in the defense of my native State, I never desire again to draw my sword."


But draw it he would. Two days later, Lee was appointed commander of Virginia's forces with the rank of major general. He spent the next few months raising troops in Virginia, and in July he was sent to western Virginia to advise Confederate commanders struggling to maintain control over the mountainous region. Lee did little to build his reputation there as the Confederates experienced a series of setbacks, and he returned to Richmond when the Union gained control of the area. The next year, Lee assumed command of the Army of Northern Virginia after General Joseph Johnston was wounded in battle. Lee quickly turned the tables on Union General George B. McClellan, as he would several other commanders of the Army of the Potomac. His brilliance as a battlefield tactician earned him a place among the great military leaders of all time.

http://www.history.com/tdih.do?actio...tegoryId=civil

Terry

[whitworth]

"and in July he was sent to western Virginia to advise Confederate commanders struggling to maintain control over the mountainous region. Lee did little to build his reputation there as the Confederates experienced a series of setbacks, and he returned to Richmond when the Union gained control of the area."

This was one of the great flaws of Virginia's secession. Even R.E. Lee couldn't save the counties of western Virginia, early or in the middle of the Civil War.

One Confederate general wrote it best concerning Union forces sending supplies down the Kanawha River from the Ohio River and points north. The Confederates could never supply an army of any size, too far west in Virginia. It was too difficult to send, even available supplies, west of the Allegheny Mountains. The Union army had better access to the Kanawha River valley with its steamboats.
Western Virginia was a logistics nightmare for the Confederacy, a fact that the Virginia political leadership, seemingly, absolutely ignored, with their secession.

[larry_cockerham]

The mountains were more of a factor in the creation of West Virginia than politics? Logistically, no place for an army. Jackson did quite well early in the war with his knowledge of the terrain up and down the Shenandoah valley and the adjacent ridges. Further west was a no man's land. Nothing there but timber and coal and very little railroad access to transport any of the wealth extracted in the next century. Just as in the case of Tennessee in previous decades, not much access to the capital without undue difficulty. Raleigh and Richmond were not worth the trip.