- Joined
- Aug 16, 2015
Lee in a letter to Jackson's widow said Jackson deserved all the credit for the flank attack at Chancellorsville, it was totally his idea.
After the war, Lee refused to discuss or write about his battles, even to correct obvious errors. This letter was the first of only two times he broke his silence. It was meant to comfort her by showing that newspaper criticism of her husband was unjustified.
The second was in response to an article by R. L. Dabney, The Life and Campaigns of Lieut. Gen. Thomas J. Jackson, in Southern Review, claiming that the flank attack was solely Jackson's idea.
Lee disputed the writer's claim that Jackson's movements were, "independent of the general plan of operations and undertaken at his suggestion and on his responsibility." He continued, "I have the greatest reluctance to do anything that might be considered detracting from his [Jackson's] well-deserved fame.... Every movement of an army must be well considered and properly ordered, and everyone who knew General Jackson must know that he was too good a soldier to violate this fundamental principle." Lee took responsibility for the flank attack, saying, "There is no question as to who was responsible for the operation of the Confederates, or to whom any failure would have been charged."
For the full text of the letter see Armistead L. Long, Memoirs of Robert E. Lee (New York: J. M. Stoddart, 1886), pp. 253-254.