{⋆★⋆} GEN Lee, Robert E.

Robert Edward Lee
​

Robert Edward Lee was a soldier from Virginia who first served in the U.S. Army, until his home state seceded from the Union during the outbreak of the Civil War. Lee resigned from the U.S. Army in 1861 and joined the Confederate Army. He is best known for his command of the Army of Northern Virginia starting in 1862. His early record shows that he was an able tactician and battlefield commander, winning most of his battles, frequently besting Armies with Superior numbers.

At Gettysburg, by far the largest battle of the war, Lee suffered his greatest defeat. It has been suggested that Lee's principle change to offensive tactics resulted in higher casualties than his army could afford. Although the war continued on for nearly two more years, Lee was compelled to surrender to Union forces under the command of U.S. General Grant at Appomattox in April of 1865, and all Confederate forces capitulated following Lee's actions.

Born: January 19, 1807

Birthplace: Stratford Hall, Westmoreland County, Virginia

Father: Major General Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee 1756 – 1818

(Buried: Lee Chapel Museum, Lexington, Virginia)​

Mother: Anne Hill Carter 1773 – 1829

(Buried: Lee Chapel Museum, Lexington, Virginia)​

Wife: Mary Anna Randolph Custis 1808 – 1873

(Buried: Lee Chapel Museum, Lexington, Virginia)​

​

Married: June 30, 1831 in Arlington, Virginia

Children:

Major General George Washington Custis Lee 1832 – 1913​

(Buried: Lee Chapel Museum, Lexington, Virginia)​

​

Mary Custis Lee 1835 – 1918​

(Buried: Lee Chapel Museum, Lexington, Virginia)​

​

Major General William Henry Fitzhugh "Rooney" Lee 1837 – 1891

(Buried: Lee Chapel Museum, Lexington, Virginia)​

​

Anne Carter "Annie" Lee 1839 – 1862​

(Buried: Lee Chapel Museum, Lexington, Virginia)​

​

Eleanor Agnes Lee 1841 – 1873​

(Buried: Lee Chapel Museum, Lexington, Virginia)​

​

Captain Robert Edward "Rob" Lee Jr. 1843 – 1914​

(Buried: Lee Chapel Museum, Lexington, Virginia)​

​

Mildred Childe Lee 1845 – 1905​

(Buried: Lee Chapel Museum, Lexington, Virginia)​

Education:

1829: Graduated from West Point Military Academy – (2nd in class)​

Occupation before War:

1829: Brevet 2nd Lt. United States Army Engineers​

​

1829 – 1836: 2nd Lt. United States Army Engineers

​

1829 – 1834: Assistant Engineer for the Defense of Hampton Roads​

​

1834 – 1837: Assistant to Chief Engineer in Washington, D.C.​

​

1836 – 1838: 1st Lt. United States Army Engineers​

​

1835: Assistant Astronomer for establishing Ohio - Missouri Boundary​

​

1837 – 1841: Superintendent Engineer, St. Louis Harbor Improvement​

​

1838 – 1855: Captain, United States Army, Engineers​

​

1840 – 1841: Engineer for improvement of Lower Mississippi​

​

1841 – 1844: Engineer for Repairs on Narrows at New York Harbor​

​

1844: Assistant to Chief Engineer in Washington, D.C.​

​

1844 – 1846: Engineer for Repairs on Narrows at New York Harbor​

​

1845 – 1848: Member Board of Engineers Atlantic Coast Defenses​

​

1847: Brevetted Major for his role at Battle of Cerro Gordo, Mexico​

​

1847: Brevetted Lt. Colonel for his role at Contreras & Churubusco​

​

1847: Brevetted Colonel for his role at Battle of Chapultepec​

​

1848 – 1852: Engineer for Construction of Fort Carroll in Maryland​

​

1848 – 1852: Member Board of Engineers Atlantic Coast Defenses​

​

1852 – 1855: Superintendent of West Point Military Academy​

​

1855 – 1861: Lt. Colonel United States Army 2nd Cavalry​

​

1856: Frontier Duty at Camp Cooper Texas​

​

1856: Served in expedition against Comanche Indians​

​

1856 – 1857: Frontier Duty at Camp Cooper, Texas​

​

1857: Commanded regiment in San Antonio, Texas​

​

1857 – 1859: Leave of Absence from Army father in law's death​

​

1859: Commander of forces at Harper's Ferry to end John Brown's raid​

​

1860: Commander of United States Army Department of Texas​

​

1861: Colonel of United States Army 1st Cavalry Regiment​

​

1861: Refused Command of Union Army Volunteers​

​

1861: Resigned from United States Army on April 25th​

Civil War Career:

1861: Commander of Virginia State Forces​

​

1861: Commander of Confederate Forces in Western Virginia​

​

1861: Defeated at the Battle of Cheat Mountain​

​

1861: Organizer of Coastal Defenses at Carolina and Georgia Coast​

​

1861 – 1865: General of Confederate States Army​

​

1861 – 1862: Military Advisor to President Jefferson Davis​

​

1862 – 1865: Commander of Army of Northern Virginia​

​

1862: Successful in his Command for Seven Days Campaign​

​

1862: Successful in his Command at Second Battle of Bull Run​

​

1862: Commander of single most bloody day Battle of Antietam, Maryland​

​

1862: Commander of Confederate Army's victory at Fredericksburg​

​

1863: Commander of Confederate Army's Victory at Chancellorsville​

​

1863 – 1870: Suffered from bad health due to heart problem's​

​

1863: Commander of Unsuccessful Attack at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania​

​

1863: Submitted letter of resignation President refused to accept​

​

1864: Confederate Commander Battle of the Wilderness​

​

1864: Confederate Commander Battle of Spotsylvania Court House​

​

1864: Commander of Confederate Army's Victory at Cold Harbor​

​

1864 – 1865: Confederate Commander during Siege of Petersburg, Virginia​

​

1865: General in Chief of Armies of Confederate States​

​

1865: Abandoned Richmond and retreated West​

​

1865: made attempt to escape to the Southwest and Join Johnston​

​

1865: Surrendered to Grant on April 9th at Appomattox, Virginia​

Occupation after War:

1865: Went to Richmond Virginia to join his family​

​

1865: Told Southerners to stop fighting and return home​

​

1865: Lived at Derwent in Powhatan County, Virginia​

​

1865: Considered buying land and becoming a farmer​

​

1865: October 2, Lee Signed & Submitted his Amnesty Oath to the U.S. State Department as required by President Johnson​

​

1865: October 2, Lee Inaugurated as president of Washington College in Lexington, Virginia​

​

1865 – 1870: Term as President of Washington College​

​

Started an honor System at Washington College Similar to West Point's​

​

Supporter of Andrew Johnson's Plan for Reconstruction​

​

1870: Traveled South on Vacation​

​

1870: September 28th Suffered a Stroke in Lexington, Virginia​

Died: October 12, 1870

Time of Death: 9:00 AM

Cause of Death: Pneumonia

Age at time of Death: 63 years old

Burial Place: Lee Chapel Museum, Lexington, Virginia

In 1970: An archivist at the National Archives discovered Lee's Amnesty Oath among State Department records. Rumor has it that Secretary of State William H. Seward had used Lee's application as a souvenir and gifted it to a friend, the State Department had effectively pigeonholed Lee's oath for over 100 years.

In 1975: Lee's full rights of citizenship were posthumously restored by a joint congressional resolution, effective June 13, 1865, and were recognized by President Gerald Ford during an August 5th signing ceremony. Ford remarked that, "General Lee's character has been an example to succeeding generations, making the restoration of his citizenship an event in which every American can take pride." .


Early life

He was born Robert Edward Lee in Stratford Hall, the ancestral home of the Lees in Westmoreland County, Virginia, and the fourth child of Colonel Henry Lee III ("Light Horse" Harry Lee) and Ann Hill Carter. His family had produced many prominent figures in American history (among them was Richard Lee, signer of the Declaration of Independence), and Lee's father had been George Washington's favorite cavalry leader during the American Revolution as well as governor of Virginia; indeed, it was Henry Lee who delivered the famous eulogy at Washington's funeral. Years later Robert would continue relations with the Washington family by marrying a distant cousin, Mary Anne Randolph Custis, the great granddaughter of Martha Washington and heiress to several plantations.

Henry Lee unfortunately was a spendthrift, squandering his wealth in land speculating schemes, eventually losing the Stratford home.

In 1812, he discovered a friend's newspaper in Baltimore had made polical enemies, and when Henry had defended him from rioters he ended up horribly beaten, and took to the Bahamas in hopes the tropical climate might restore his health. He would die on Cumberland Island, Georgia, while on his way home six years later, his attempts at restoring his health fruitless (Smith, pp. 8-9). By this time Robert was 11, and Henry had left Ann seven children to take care of with little more than an aristocratic name and a small endowment from her father. Robert was already close to his mother, and from her he learned strength of character, high moral principles, and the ability to pinch what little money they had. He had to: brothers Henry IV and Carter were attending college and Smith put to sea as a midshipman; sister Anne was continually sick, and mother was increasingly becoming an invalid. This had the effect of causing Robert to grow up fast, while his poverty led him to excel at whatever task came his way (Freeman, pg. 11).

Early military years

Sir,​

​

I hereby accept the appointment to the station of a Cadet in the service of the United States, with which I have been honoured by the President. The above is the declaration of consent which my letter of appointment instructs me should accompany my acceptance.​

I remain with the highest respect, Sir.​

​

Your most obliged & most obedient Servant​

​

R. E. LEE​

Although an outstanding student at Alexandria Academy, where he excelled in mathematics, Robert was unable to afford a university education, so the only option available to him was the slim possibility of an appointment to the United States Military Academy. Through the services of the family's counselor, William H. Fitzhugh of Ravensworth, Robert obtained a letter of recommendation and personally delivered it to Secretary of War John C. Calhoun, who had him appointed to the Academy on March 11, 1824 to begin studies the following year for the graduating class of 1829 (Freeman, pp. 12-13). His conduct at West Point during his four years there was exemplary. At the top or near it in every field of study, he would attain the unheard-of rank of cadet staff sergeant at the end of his first year, and be selected adjutant, the most sought-after rank, during his final year. When he graduated in 1829, he was ranked second (behind Charles Mason), and had no demerits (Freeman, pp. 15-19).

Despite his high bearing, he made friends easily and no one of record took a dislike to him. By this time he had become a handsome young man with manners to match; he was referred to as "the marble model" at the academy. One cadet spoke years later of Lee: "His personal appearance surpassed in manly beauty that of any cadet in the corps. Though firm in his position and perfectly erect, he had none of the stiffness so often assumed by men who affect to be very strict in their ideas of what is military" (Freeman, pg. 17).

He selected the Engineering Corps after graduation, the branch of the Army considered most elite, but his first duty station was far from it. Cockspur Island, Georgia, at the mouth of the Savannah River, where he labored for days in mosquito-infested mud building the drainage dikes and canal that became part of Fort Pulaski (TL 8, pg. 12).

Within his first two years he was back in Alexandria for something far more pleasant: his marriage to Mary Custis in June, 1831. The marriage also gave him title to the Custis Estate at Arlington, a majestic building with a columned entrance reminiscent of classical Greek and Roman architecture.

The marriage was blissful for the first four years, and Mary gave birth to two children: George Washington Custis (nicknamed "Boo") in 1832, and Mary Custis in 1835. It was soon after that the elder Mary developed arthritis, leaving Robert stunned. "I never saw a man so changed and saddened" lamented a relative later. In spite of her affliction, Mary produced five more children: William Henry Fitzhugh ("Roonie") in 1837; Anne ("Annie") in 1839; Agnes in 1841; Robert Edward Jr. ("Rob") in 1843; and Mildred in 1846 (TL 8, pg. 14).

Mexico

Texas, formerly a republic when it successfully rebelled against the rule of Mexican dictator Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna in 1836, sought to become part of the United States, which was bitterly opposed by Mexico. Congress approved a declaration of war against Mexico on May 13, 1946, and by the following January Captain Lee received orders to join Major General Winfield Scott at Brazos, where he was included with the general staff on planning operations for an invasion of the city of Veracruz. Landings began on March 9, and by March 17 Lee had placed a large number of cannon some 700 yards from the Mexican defenses, his engineering skills successful as the enemy was unaware of his placements. During the next few days as a naval bombardment was taking place, Lee ran his lines closer; he would open fire himself on March 24. Two days later a truce was granted, and Veracruz capitulated (Freeman, pp. 58-59).

Lee then set to work at finding a path to Mexico City over ground which was difficult, but not impossible, for Scott's army to pass over. A series of engagements took place on the route, among them an attack on Cerro Gordo. Scott's plan for action called for an infantry assault simultaneous with an artillery bombardment; Lee was to lead a brigade around the northern flank to cut off the enemy's retreat. Before nightfall took place on April 18, 1847, some 3,000 Mexican soldiers had surrendered, and the remainder were in flight to the rear; the leader of the Mexican force, Santa Anna, had barely managed to escape (Freeman, pp. 61-62). While in Mexico he would form acquaintances with many men who would fight for or against him during the Civil War; among them Jeb Stuart, Braxton Bragg, James Longstreet, Thomas J. Jackson, and a young officer whom he upbraided for wearing "slovenly dress": Ulysses S. Grant.

"I am impelled to make special mention of the services of Captain R.E. Lee," Scott wrote in one of his reports. "This officer, greatly distingushed at the siege of Vera Cruz, was again indefatigable during these operations (Cerro Gordo), in reconnaissance as daring as laborious, and of the utmost value." The recognition also met that Robert was placed ahead of fellow soldiers who served with him in Mexico, among them P.G.T Beauregard, Joseph E. Johnston, and Thomas J. Jackson (Nagel, pg. 249). Scott would rely heavily on Lee in the next few months, as Mexico City was finally taken in September, again with Lee making observations of enemy terrain and using it to his advantage. He would be breveted to major before the war drew to a close, and breveted again to lieutenant colonel at its close; Scott would call him "the very best soldier that I ever saw in the field" (Freeman, pg. 76).

Between the wars

Fort Carroll in Baltimore Harbor was his next duty station for three years, followed by three years back at West Point in 1852, this time as superintendent. During his time there he improved the course curriculum and spent much time with the cadets; he also had the pleasure of watching his son George march with the cadets, beaming with pride as he graduated first in his class in 1854.

In 1855 Lee was sent to Texas, serving Colonel Albert Sidney Johnston of the 2nd Cavalry. There he helped protect settlers from Indian attacks. Lee was not happy to be away from his family for extended periods of time, as Mary's invalidity was increasing. On the death of his mother-in-law in 1859 he was forced to leave Texas and serve as executor of the estate.

In October of 1859, a crisis erupted at the Federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry in northern Virginia when a fanatical abolisionist named John Brown and a small force of 21 men took control of the area and held some sixty hostages; there was the threat that Brown was hoping for a general slave revolt. As the nearest ranking officer Lee was ordered to the area where he commanded U.S. Marines in the storming of the arsenal, wounding Brown and capturing or killing the rest.

"I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than a dissolution of the Union," Lee said in a letter to his son. "I will sacrifice everything but honor for its preservation." Such thoughts went through his mind during the sixteen months following John Brown's raid; by April, 1861 seven states had seceded over the longs years of the slavery and states rights questions. On April 18, 1861, four days after the fall of Fort Sumter, Lieutenant General Winfield Scott offered Lee command of all Union forces assembling for the insurrection. "I could take no part in an invasion of the southern states," was his reply, and Lee resigned his commission, ending more than thirty years of service (Smith, pp. 84-87). A fortnight later, Virginia herself seceded and Lee, feeling a duty to his "native state", offered his services.

The Civil War

Lee was appointed commander in chief of all Confederate forces in Virginia, and among his tasks were to concentrate troops and logistics at places to repel any expected invasion. During this time, Lee was driven out of western Virginia by a Union force under Major General George B. McClellan, thus holding the area for the Union (it would eventually become the state of West Virginia in 1863). He was also among the few on both sides to realize that, instead of a short, decisive and relatively bloodless conflict, this would be a long, bloody affair. Lee served several rather unrewarding positions between July 1861 and June 1862, the last of which was military adviser to President Jefferson Davis; despite this he was able to work out a coherent strategy for the Confederate defense.

During McClellan's Peninsular Campaign in May 1862, troops under Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston were being driven towards Richmond by the heavily equipped and organized Army of the Potomac. To relieve the pressure on Johnston, Lee collaborated with Thomas J. ("Stonewall") Jackson to turn several minor garrisons into a superb force which then struck at targets in the Shenandoah Valley; the surprised Federals were forced into retreating, leaving Washington under threat. This in turn caused Lincoln to withhold from McClellan a large corps by which McClellan had planned to attack Richmond; on May 31, McClellan was attacked by Johnston's forces at Fair Oaks. Although inconclusive, Johnston was wounded and had to withdraw from active duty. Davis then gave command to Lee.

Field command


"It is well war is so frightful, otherwise we should become too fond of it" Lee, at the Battle of Fredericksburg.

Within three weeks Johnston's former command had been transformed into a new Army of Northern Virginia. Lee transferred his headquarters to the field so as to be near his men, but initially he set them to work on the defenses, earning the derisive sobriquets "Granny Lee" and "King of Spades" from the troops who bristled at the thought of digging ditches. When Jackson arrived with his men from the valley, Lee struck at McClellan on the north bank of the Chickhominy River, defeating the right wing and descending on McClellan's supply line from his York River base. This was the start of the Seven Days battles, which in a series of encounters McClellan was forced to withdraw his army to the wharves of Berkley Plantation, getting aid from vessels of the U.S. Navy. The Seven Days was the first Confederate victory since First Bull Run, and Lee became a major hero.

He then inflicted several defeats on the Union - some very severe – especially on August 29-30, 1862 at Manassas, Virginia in the Second Battle of Bull Run. Lee then crossed into Maryland, in part to gather Southern sympathizers in that state, and also to carry the fight to enemy territory, with which he planned on drawing the enemy out of Virginia.

Unfortunately his battle plans fell into Union hands, and the Army of the Potomac, again under McClellan, met him at Sharpsburg, Maryland on September 17 in the Battle of Antietam, which became, with well over 19,000 casualties became the single bloodiest day in American history. Lee lost this battle, and was able to retreat back into Virginia, reorganize his army; by December he seized back the initiative with a decisive victory over the Union army (under Ambrose Burnside) at Fredericksburg. The following May, 1863, the Battle of Chancellorsville took place, and although outnumbered by at least two to one, he divided his forces twice and circled the Federals under "Fighting Joe" Joseph Hooker in one of the most audacious maneuvers in military history. He also suffered the irreparable loss of Stonewall Jackson, mortally wounded while reconnoitering the left flank (Smith, pp. 158-162).

Again, Lee tried to draw the enemy out of Virginia; this time he crossed the Potomac and headed north into Pennsylvania, where he hoped to re-supply his men. He was met and stopped during the first week of July, in a massive, three-day engagement at Gettysburg.

Here, the Confederacy would find its "high tide", and Lee, fighting without Stonewall Jackson, would suffer the failure of his top three generals who did not use the discretionary orders to the effectiveness that Jackson had (one of the failures was under Major General James Longstreet's subordinate, Brigadier General George Pickett, whose division was decimated on the final day after briefly planting their flag at what came to be known as the "high water mark"). But characteristically, as Lee gave full credit to Jackson for the victory at Chancellorsville, he took full responsibility for the defeat at Gettysburg (Smith, pp. 164-167).

Final year of the war

"I'm afraid they're going to get me a general I don't understand." Lee, on the many changes of generals at the helm of the Army of the Potomac.

In May 1864, Lee faced a proven fighter in the officer Lee rebuked years before in Grant, just appointed as commanding general of all Union forces, and who went after Lee with enormous superiority in men, cavalry, and logistics. For his part, Grant could neither defeat nor outmaneuver Lee during the next several months; Grant sustained losses of 50,000 men between May and June in the battles of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House (nearby at Yellow Tavern, Lee would suffer the loss of Jeb Stuart, his favorite cavalry commander and most effective scout), the North Anna, and Cold Harbor (Lee, pp 124-125).

But Grant kept after him, the morale in his men high, and his losses replaced by new recruits, while Lee's army was draining in both men and supplies. Lee had lost the initiative, and when Grant made a move toward the vital rail connection at Petersburg, Lee had no other choice but to place his starving men in defensive positions and endure a long siege; due to Lee's mastery of engineering his field fortifications were able to hold the Federals back from June 1864 to April 1865. By then, Lee knew it would be a matter of time before the lines would break.

Lee was forced to abandon Petersburg on April 2, making a long retreat toward the west, where he hoped to meet with a supply train to feed his men. Several days later, his army finally stopped at Appomattox Court House, he had no choice but to surrender[1][2], which took place on April 9; the pain of the surrender considerably lessened by the generous terms offered by Grant, who placed everyone on a parole not to be molested by U.S. authority as long as they obeyed the laws in force, allowed the surrendered officers to retain their swords and side arms, and allowed the men to take with them their horses and mules to get a badly-needed spring crop planted if the country was to rebound from the years of war (Lee, pg. 153). Lee conceded this would have the best possible effect on the men, and would do much to reconciliate the country. With the formalities of surrender over, there was one order he had left to make:

HDQRS. ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA, April 10, 1865.​

​

After four years of arduous service, marked by unsurpassed courage and fortitude, the Army of Northern Virginia has been compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources. I need not tell the brave survivors of so many hard-fought battles, who have remained steadfast to the last, that I have consented to the result from no distrust of them. But, feeling that valor and devotion could accomplish nothing that could compensate for the loss that must have attended the continuance of the contest, I determined to avoid the useless sacrifice of those whose past services have endeared them to their countrymen.By the terms of the agreement officers and men can return to their homes and remain until exchanged. You will take with you the satisfaction that proceeds from the consciousness of duty faithfully performed; and I earnestly pray that a merciful God will extend to you his blessing and protection.With an increasing admiration of your constancy and devotion to your country, and a grateful remembrance of your kind and generous considerations for myself, I bid you all an affectionate farewell.​

​

R. E. LEE, General [3]​

Later years

At the age of 58, Lee was out of work. He was living in a borrowed home in Richmond, taking care of his invalid wife and three daughters. Numerous offers for income did come his way in the ensuing months, each requesting use of his name, with largest sum valued at $50,000. Lee turned each of them down. He also discovered that a grand jury had assembled in Norfolk with the intention of putting him on trial for treason; only the intervention of Grant, who demanded that President Andrew Johnson respect the conditions of Confederate paroles in light of the surrender, was the trial canceled and charges quietly dropped (Freeman, pp. 516-518). Although he applied for amnesty and a full restoration of citizenship, this was not granted; his amnesty document had disappeared (possibly deliberately) within the National Archives, and would not be seen again for a century.

Trusting in God to provide some means of sustenance, he had a visitor to his door in the form of Judge John W. Brockenbrough, who, to Lee's great surprise, had told him that he was unanimously elected to be president of Washington College in Lexington, Virginia.

"I consider the proper education of (the South's) youth one of the most important objects now to be obtained, and one from which the greatest benefits may be expected. Nothing will compensate us for the depression of the standard of our moral and intellectual culture, and each state should take the most energetic measures to revive its schools and colleges, and, if possible, to increase the facilities of instruction, and to elevate the standard of living." (Freeman, pg. 527)

Even though the college itself was on hard times (it had less than a semester of financial life left when Lee took over), Lee set at once to revitalizing it. With donors from across the country, he was able to hire staff and faculty, put up additional buildings, and add more books to the library. More important was the curriculum he installed: law, chemistry, and engineering had replaced studies in the classics. As to the rules, he insisted on one, namely "every young man must conduct himself as a gentleman." Everything else was needless, he said (TL 27, pp. 57-59).

Although they were not friends, Lee never forgot Grant's magnanimity at Appomattox, and would not tolerate an unkind word to be said about him. Once, when a college faculty member did just that when Grant was running for president, the retort from an angry Lee was unforgettable: "Sir, if you dare presume to speak anything disrespectful of General Grant in my presence again, either you or I will sever your connections with this university."

But as the years went by his own health deteriorated. His heart condition hindered his work (he suffered several mild heart attacks on the battlefields), and his once-frequent rides on Traveller became less so. On September 28, 1870, Lee had a stroke. He never recovered, and died October 11, his last words the familiar command to begin the movement of his army, "Strike the tent." (TL 27, pg. 60)

Two weeks later, in memory of Lee and his remarkable achievement of restoring new life to Washington College, the trustees changed the name to Washington and Lee University.

Assessment

As a man Lee was many things. He had a bad temper; when enraged officers in his tent would make a hasty retreat. No one regretted it more than himself, and he took great pains to control it. He was a firm believer in God, and he would be on his knees daily. He had called Union soldiers "the enemy", but he continually prayed for them, as well as for his own. He was aristocratic, but he knew humility, and he would sit with the lowliest of privates during church services. He was deeply disappointed that his amnesty did not go through, but he chose to be a good citizen anyway, leading the South by example.

References

1. http://www.civilwarhome.com/grantlee.htm
2. http://www.civilwarhome.com/surrender.htm
3. http://www.civilwarhome.com/leeorder.htm

• Freeman, Douglas Southall. Lee, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, (1935); abridged one-volume edition, edited by Richard Harwell (1961)
• Lee, Robert Edward, Jr. Recollections and Letters of General Robert E. Lee, Konecky & Konecky, New York (1992)
• Nagel, Paul C. The Lees of Virginia, Oxford University Press, New York & London (1990)
• Nolan, Alan T. Lee Considered, University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC (1991)
• Smith, Eugene O. Lee and Grant: a Dual Biography, McGraw-Hill, New York (1991)
• Time-Life Books The Civil War, vol. 8 (Lee Takes Command), Time Inc, New York (1984)
• Time-Life Books The Civil War, vol. 27 (The Nation Reunited), Time Inc, New York (1987)

 

[CowCavalry]

Here is a "principle" that Jefferson Davis held dear;
"My own convictions as to negro slavery are strong. It has its evils and abuses...We recognize the negro as God and God's Book and God's Laws, in nature, tell us to recognize him - our inferior, fitted expressly for servitude...You cannot transform the negro into anything one-tenth as useful or as good as what slavery enables them to be."
~Davis

This viewpoint was not confined to Southerners, I would speculate that it was the majority viewpoint among white Americans in 1860.

 

[Florida Rebel]

All good comments and I commend everyone for truly believing what they said. Thankfully no one was overly nasty. Lol Lee himself didn't own any slaves, the ones he had were the property of his father in law. And they were all freed a year after the war began.

One gentleman quoted Jeff Davis. I know Davis said what he said about the Negro. And I know many other southern leaders had equally strong opinions. But what about Lincoln? Why aren't more people aware of HIS feelings towards the Negro and what he wanted to do once the slaves were to be freed? And it wasn't like most people in the North wanted freed slaves in their towns taking jobs away from their own people. It's true history and it's factual. But it's also quietly ignored by most people. What I'm trying to say, NO ONE had the right answer. Like Thomas Jefferson said himself, he hated slavery but didn't know what to do about it. I'm just sayin'..... That's why I firmly believe the war was more about states rights (than slavery) and a region of the country - the South, simply wanting it's independence from high taxes and a central government that was too strict and strong in Wash. DC.

 

[unionblue]

All good comments and I commend everyone for truly believing what they said. Thankfully no one was overly nasty. Lol Lee himself didn't own any slaves, the ones he had were the property of his father in law. And they were all freed a year after the war began.

You might want to check this out about Lee and slaves before going forward.

One gentleman quoted Jeff Davis. I know Davis said what he said about the Negro. And I know many other southern leaders had equally strong opinions.

So much so they began a revolution to keep them as slaves.

But what about Lincoln? Why aren't more people aware of HIS feelings towards the Negro and what he wanted to do once the slaves were to be freed?

Well, let's look at Lincoln's actions towards slaves during his time as President. We have the Confiscation Acts by Congress, the Emancipation Proclamation, then the 13th Amendment. Are those good indicators of his feelings toward the Negro?

And it wasn't like most people in the North wanted freed slaves in their towns taking jobs away from their own people. It's true history and it's factual.

That is true, as racism was a NATIONAL feeling, not limited to just the South.

But it's also quietly ignored by most people.

Sorry, I don't find that to be true here on this forum. Almost all of the membership here agrees racism was a national agenda, not a sectional one.

What I'm trying to say, NO ONE had the right answer.

You mean the nation in 1865 couldn't stop on a racial dime and turn centuries old feeling around in a second. Welcome to the 21st Century and the United States of America, still in the process of trying to form a "more perfect Union."

Like Thomas Jefferson said himself, he hated slavery but didn't know what to do about it.

Oh, he knew all right, he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

I'm just sayin'..... That's why I firmly believe the war was more about states rights (than slavery) and a region of the country - the South, simply wanting it's independence from high taxes and a central government that was too strict and strong in Wash. DC.

Sorry, but even your own post here alludes to the fact that Jeff Davis and other Southerners were more concerned about slavery than any other excuse.

As for the government being too strong in Washington, D.C., you got to be kidding. A 16,000 man army, two thirds of which was scattered West of the Mississippi, a handful of Federal Marshals, and a part-time Attorney General. The primary reason that Southern secessionists thought they could get away with a rebellion was because the Federal government was so WEAK.

Sorry, but belief vs. historical facts does not make a convincing case.

Unionblue

 

[jackt62]

But what about Lincoln? Why aren't more people aware of HIS feelings towards the Negro and what he wanted to do once the slaves were to be freed?

It is certainly true that Lincoln started out holding the same views on African American inferiority as did most Americans, north or south, held during that time. And it is also true that Lincoln, while abhorring slavery, believed that freed Blacks should be resettled in Africa or other areas outside the United States. But Lincoln came to reject those views as the CW progressed and the enlistment of tens of thousands of African Americans in the federal ranks showed them to be Americans with the same rights as Lincoln himself. Lincoln famously wrote these word in 1863:

"And then there will be some black men w can remember that, with silent tongue, and clenched teeth, and steady eye, and well poised bayonet, they have helped mankind on to this consummation; while, I fear, there will be some white ones, unable to forget that, with indignant heart and deceitful speech, they have strove to hinder it."

 

[John Hartwell]

Very few people believed in "racial equality" as we understand it today. At question was slavery, and the right of all men to unhindered opportunity to achieve all that their strength, intellect, skill, and diligence could achieve. Few expected that non-whites of any race would achieve much. But justice demanded equal opportunity to try.

 

[byron ed]

This viewpoint was not confined to Southerners, I would speculate that it was the majority viewpoint among white Americans in 1860.

Yet only the secession South acted to keep and expand slavery; that literally being a founding tenant of the Confederacy.

There's no excusing the slave South based on parity of opinion (Mommy, Jimmy said it too!).

 

[CowCavalry]

There's no excusing the slave South based on parity of opinion (Mommy, Jimmy said it too!).

I don't feel the need to make excuses for the South, just stating what I believe to be true.

 

[jackt62]

Here is Lee's advice to his son Custis, written in an 1852 letter:

"Live in the world you inhabit. Look upon things as they are. Take them as you find them. Make the best of them. Do not imagine things are to happen as you wish. Wish them to happen right. Then strive hard to make them so. Sad thoughts I know will sometimes come over us. They are necessary and good for us. They cause us to reflect. They are the shadows to our picture."

 

[hrobalabama]

Harry Truman had great taste and obviously knew his history! But he wasn't alone in his admiration of Lee and many other American heroes. How about Winston Churchill? He thought the world of Lee too! How could he not? All thru most of the 20th century, most Americans had nothing but positive viewpoints on Lee and Andrew Jackson - just like Truman, Eisenhower and Churchill. And why? Because they really knew what they were talking about and they had read, studied and understood history. But NOT today. Look at our schools now vs then! Today, NEW revisionist historians and many current members of our society are too quick to judge history by the way they feel now or what they have been told by other people on the street. Had they lived in that era, what would THEY have done or thought? Maybe the leaders and people of that era weren't as dumb as some people think?

Very aptly stated!

 

[Tom Hughes]

Very aptly stated!

Very true. It's easy to judge historical figures through the eyes of the 21st century.

 

[hrobalabama]

It's not revisionist to look at actual documents and read them. For instance this letter from Lee to his son.

"But I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than a dissolution of the Union. It would be an accumulation of all the evils we complain of, and I am willing to sacrifice every- thing but honor for its preservation. I hope, therefore, that all constitutional means will be exhausted before there is a resort to force. Secession is nothing but revolution. The framers of our Constitution never exhausted so much labor, wisdom, and forbearance in its formation, and surrounded it with so many guards and securities, if it was intended to be broken by every member of the Confederacy at will. It was intended for "per- petual union," so expressed in the preamble, and for the estab- lishment of a government, not a compact, which can only be dissolved by revolution, or the consent of all the people in convention assembled. It is idle to talk of secession. Anarchy would have been established, and not a government, by Wash- ington, Hamilton, Jefferson, Madison, and the other patriots of the Revolution."
Robert E. Lee January 1861

This shows that Lee knew it was revolution so he knew he was a traitor. Instead of venerating a man who betrayed his oath to his country, and betrayed it to fight for a rebellion that enshrined slavery as permanent in its constitution, we should venerate those who stayed loyal to the United States. Such as Rear Admiral Samuel Phillips Lee, cousin to Robert E Lee. Who when asked about his loyalty to the US said this;
"When I find the word Virginia in my commission I will join the Confederacy."

As a retired US Army Soldier it really sickens me to see this hero worship of a man who tried to destroy my country and killed 350,000 of my fellow soldiers

One of the greatest errors of folks who look back at history does so using contemporary thinking and mores of society today. This war was not fought in 2020 or 1968 - this was 1861. The nation was in division between North and South.
This animosity had been brewing for years. This was brother fighting against brother and father against son. Read the old novel, THE SHEPARD OF KINGDOM COME. To call Robert E. Lee a traitor is the height of historical ignorance. He held the same philosophy as our first president George Washington. Men's thinking about issues of that day is far removed from the revisionist thinking of today.

 

[hrobalabama]

This viewpoint was not confined to Southerners, I would speculate that it was the majority viewpoint among white Americans in 1860.

Almost the same thought as Abraham Lincoln.

 

[BuckeyeWarrior]

This viewpoint was not confined to Southerners, I would speculate that it was the majority viewpoint among white Americans in 1860.

False equivalence fallacy. Even if many northeners felt the same way

One of the greatest errors of folks who look back at history does so using contemporary thinking and mores of society today. This war was not fought in 2020 or 1968 - this was 1861. The nation was in division between North and South.
This animosity had been brewing for years. This was brother fighting against brother and father against son. Read the old novel, THE SHEPARD OF KINGDOM COME. To call Robert E. Lee a traitor is the height of historical ignorance. He held the same philosophy as our first president George Washington. Men's thinking about issues of that day is far removed from the revisionist thinking of today.

Not ignorance, fact. George Washington was a traitor, to England. I'm also pretty sure there are no holidays or monuments to him or any of the other founding fathers in England.

As far as having the same philosophy as George Washington, I doubt that. Washington, and the rest of the founding fathers labored for years to get England to recognize their rights as Englishman. The stamp act was introduced in 1765 and the founders didn't proclaim their independence until 1776. Having a party you disagree with win the Presidency in an election in a constitutional republic that is held every four years? The founders would have laughed at the southern rebels.

Here is Washington in his own words about the country he helped create;

"Profoundly penetrated with this idea, I shall carry it with me to my grave, as a strong incitement to unceasing wishes, that Heaven may continue to you the choicest tokens of its beneficence—that your union and brotherly affection may be perpetual—that the free constitution which is the work of your hands, may be sacredly maintained— that its administration in every department may be stamped with wisdom and virtue—that, in fine, the happiness of the people of these States, under the auspices of liberty, may be made complete, by so careful a preservation and so prudent a use of this blessing, as will acquire to them the glory of recommending it to the applause, the affection, and the adoption, of every nation which is yet a stranger to it."

As I posted previously Lee admitted that secession was nothing more than revolution. Revolutionary's are always traitors to the government they are fighting against. We, as moral creatures, have to determine whether what they rebelled for was a good or bad cause. The southern rebels were fighting for one of the worst causes any group of people have ever fought for, slavery.

 

[Rebforever]

False equivalence fallacy. Even if many northeners felt the same way

Not ignorance, fact. George Washington was a traitor, to England. I'm also pretty sure there are no holidays or monuments to him or any of the other founding fathers in England.

As far as having the same philosophy as George Washington, I doubt that. Washington, and the rest of the founding fathers labored for years to get England to recognize their rights as Englishman. The stamp act was introduced in 1765 and the founders didn't proclaim their independence until 1776. Having a party you disagree with win the Presidency in an election in a constitutional republic that is held every four years? The founders would have laughed at the southern rebels.

Here is Washington in his own words about the country he helped create;

"Profoundly penetrated with this idea, I shall carry it with me to my grave, as a strong incitement to unceasing wishes, that Heaven may continue to you the choicest tokens of its beneficence—that your union and brotherly affection may be perpetual—that the free constitution which is the work of your hands, may be sacredly maintained— that its administration in every department may be stamped with wisdom and virtue—that, in fine, the happiness of the people of these States, under the auspices of liberty, may be made complete, by so careful a preservation and so prudent a use of this blessing, as will acquire to them the glory of recommending it to the applause, the affection, and the adoption, of every nation which is yet a stranger to it."

As I posted previously Lee admitted that secession was nothing more than revolution. Revolutionary's are always traitors to the government they are fighting against. We, as moral creatures, have to determine whether what they rebelled for was a good or bad cause. The southern rebels were fighting for one of the worst causes any group of people have ever fought for, slavery.

Nope. For Independence. Lincoln wasn't interested in slavery. He was worried about his "impost" according to his 1st inaugural.

 

[byron ed]

...Lincoln wasn't interested in slavery...

A misread of the man. Lincoln was personally interested in the slave issue his entire adult life, but would not impose his personal belief in his role as President, and would not banish slavery where it existed. What is it that Confederate apologists find so hard to accept in that?

Lincoln was wholly consistent in that message to the very point that it was clear to everyone that slavery would not survive the war regardless of who won. Then to shorten that war, as a war measure, to repair the Union, Lincoln declared Emancipation for all slaves in rebel-held territory (with some exceptions). Even then Lincoln took pains to preserve slavery in non-rebelling states that had it. What is it that Confederate apologists find so hard to accept in that?

In any event, as a war measure, that first Emancipation was very effective. It pulled a rug out from under the Confederacy. None of this is hard to understand.

 

[BuckeyeWarrior]

Nope. For Independence. Lincoln wasn't interested in slavery. He was worried about his "impost" according to his 1st inaugural.

That's just a plain out lie. Here is what he actually said;

"I therefore consider that in view of the Constitution and the laws the Union is unbroken, and to the extent of my ability, I shall take care, as the Constitution itself expressly enjoins upon me, that the laws of the Union be faithfully executed in all the States. Doing this I deem to be only a simple duty on my part, and I shall perform it so far as practicable unless my rightful masters, the American people, shall withhold the requisite means or in some authoritative manner direct the contrary. I trust this will not be regarded as a menace, but only as the declared purpose of the Union that it will constitutionally defend and maintain itself."

He believed he was bound by the constitution to maintain and enforce the laws of the United States. The constitution that clearly states it is "the supreme law of the land." In this he was following precedent laid done by previous Presidents like Buchanan and Jackson.

Jackson had this to say to the people of South Carolina in1832;

This, then, is the position in which we stand. A small majority of the citizens of one state in the Union have elected delegates to a state convention; that convention has ordained that all the revenue laws of the United States must be repealed, or that they are no longer a member of the Union. The governor of that state has recommended to the legislature the raising of an army to carry the secession into effect, and that he may be empowered to give clearances to vessels in the name of the state. No act of violent opposition to the laws has yet been committed, but such a state of things is hourly apprehended. And it is the intent of this instrument to proclaim, not only that the duty imposed on me by the Constitution "to take care that the laws be faithfully executed" shall be performed to the extent of the powers already vested in me by law, or of such others as the wisdom of Congress shall devise and intrust to me for that purpose, but to warn the citizens of South Carolina who have been deluded into an opposition to the laws of the danger they will incur by obedience to the illegal and disorganizing ordinance of the convention; to exhort those who have refused to support it to persevere in their determination to uphold the Constitution and laws of their country; and to point out to all the perilous situation into which the good people of that state have been led, and that the course they are urged to pursue is one of ruin and disgrace to the very state whose rights they affect to support. . . .

Disunion by armed force is treason. Are you really ready to incur its guilt? If you are, on the heads of the instigators of the act be the dreadful consequences; on their heads be the dishonor, but on yours may fall the punishment. On your unhappy state will inevitably fall all the evils of the conflict you force upon the government of your country. It cannot accede to the mad project of disunion, of which you would be the first victims. Its first magistrate cannot, if he would, avoid the performance of his duty. . . "

Both Presidents before stating that their Constitutional duty was to enforce the laws of the land stated that the Union was perpetual. We're did they get the idea that the Union was perpetual?

From the father of the constitution, James Madison. During the New York ratification convention there were proposals to conditionally ratify the constitution. Alexander Hamilton wrote James Madison about this. James Madison responded and Hamilton read this letter to the New York ratification convention. In part it stated "The constitution must be adopted in toto and forever."

The southern rebels were educated men and had to be aware of this facts. They chose to ignore them.

But I understand why lost causers cannot acknowledge these facts. To do so proves the southern rebels were traitors and not worthy of respect or veneration. The tide is turning though. Virginia just voted to get rid of Lee-Jackson day, hopefully I live long enough to see all state confederate holidays repealed and all monuments to the rebels, that are not in battlefields, torn down.

 

[Tom Hughes]

False equivalence fallacy. Even if many northeners felt the same way

Not ignorance, fact. George Washington was a traitor, to England. I'm also pretty sure there are no holidays or monuments to him or any of the other founding fathers in England.

As far as having the same philosophy as George Washington, I doubt that. Washington, and the rest of the founding fathers labored for years to get England to recognize their rights as Englishman. The stamp act was introduced in 1765 and the founders didn't proclaim their independence until 1776. Having a party you disagree with win the Presidency in an election in a constitutional republic that is held every four years? The founders would have laughed at the southern rebels.

Here is Washington in his own words about the country he helped create;

"Profoundly penetrated with this idea, I shall carry it with me to my grave, as a strong incitement to unceasing wishes, that Heaven may continue to you the choicest tokens of its beneficence—that your union and brotherly affection may be perpetual—that the free constitution which is the work of your hands, may be sacredly maintained— that its administration in every department may be stamped with wisdom and virtue—that, in fine, the happiness of the people of these States, under the auspices of liberty, may be made complete, by so careful a preservation and so prudent a use of this blessing, as will acquire to them the glory of recommending it to the applause, the affection, and the adoption, of every nation which is yet a stranger to it."

As I posted previously Lee admitted that secession was nothing more than revolution. Revolutionary's are always traitors to the government they are fighting against. We, as moral creatures, have to determine whether what they rebelled for was a good or bad cause. The southern rebels were fighting for one of the worst causes any group of people have ever fought for, slavery.

Revolutions are won
Rebellions are crushed
I guess you could say that the South started out with the cry of a Revolution, much like their forefathers had fought with England but it ended as a crushed Rebellion.

 

[jackt62]

as a war measure, that first Emancipation was very effective

And the EP was not solely promulgated in a vacuum. In the year leading up to it, the Congress had passed the 1st and 2nd Confiscation Acts, and abolished slavery in the District of Columbia, all actions that hastened the eventual abolition of slavery in the United States.

 

[Virginia Dave]

Yesterday, Jan. 19 was Lee's birthday. But we don't celebrate his birthday anymore. My great wish for him, in my opinion; one of the five greatest Americans, is for people TODAY to realize and know just how great a human being and leader he was. Alas, it won't happen because the tide has turned and too many people today believe and make up whatever stories and reasons they want to. So Lee and all the southern Confederates fought a war to keep black people in chains? That was it; really? And all the Yankee soldiers marched south because they hated slavery and to a man they fought and risked their lives to free the southern slaves? Sad. With few exceptions, people TODAY don't know history and place a terrible and negative blame on people back then who only followed their states in a quest for freedom and independence. Is there there any difference between the 13 colonies of 1776 who wanted their freedom from England versus the 11 Confederate states who also wanted to be free? But history is not kind to "losers." If not for Lee and the huge influence he had on all southern and even the northern people, the War for Southern Indpendence would not have ended in 1865. Instead we would have seen hatred between the two regions continue and grow and "rampant guerillla warfare" go on and on. But that wasn't what Lee wanted for his country. And it certainly wasn't what Lee had in mind when he took over the presidency of Washington Colllege. But people today are like sheep and all they do is read the negative anti southern, anti Lee comments like they are gospel. I never thought the people of the great state of VA and the other southern states would turn their back on their own but they have.

Well said my friend.

 

[BuckeyeWarrior]

Revolutions are won
Rebellions are crushed
I guess you could say that the South started out with the cry of a Revolution, much like their forefathers had fought with England but it ended as a crushed Rebellion.

Your make a very good point. Revolution's are won. The common recognition on how this evolves is usually you have an insurrection that becomes a rebellion and if successful it is then a revolution. Of course looking at world history most revolutions wind up giving the people a government worse than the one they rebelled against. (Bolshevik revolution, Iranian revolution, etc.).

You're not correct that the south started out with a cry of revolution. They cried Secession, a made up get out of the Union whenever I like for any reason I like, idea.

If they, and current neo-confederates, would admit that what the southern rebels did was rebellion we wouldn't be having these conversations. Because by definition people participating in rebellions are traitors to the government they are rebelling against.

The southern rebel leaders were disingenuous at best, and liars at worst, when comparing themselves to the founding fathers. The founders never claimed they had a legal right to seperate from England and knew if they lost they would have been hanged as traitors. (Which is one area I vehemently disagree with Lincoln on. His let them up easy policy causes a lot of trouble and eventually allowed people who were traitors to sit back as congressman in the very government they had attempted to destroys. If I had been President all high ranking leaders, both military and civilian, would have been tried by military tribunal and hanged by the neck until dead.) They knew they were invoking the natural right of revolution, which is appealing to force of arms.

But the natural right of revolution doesn't mean the government your rebelling from has to just let you go. Governments, like people, also have the natural right of self-defense.

Again, the southern rebel leaders could not dare admit they had appealed to the natural right of revolution because it would be admitting they were traitors. So they lied and tried to claim they were seceding and also lied and claimed it was the same thing our founding fathers did.