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Essays on Robert E. Lee
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Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee was the best General for the South, and out witted every Union General that was put against him. To Southerners, General Robert E. Lee is like a god figure to them. He inspired southerners even when the North dominated on the battle field, and is still praised by some radical believers in the confederate states. To the North, Robert E. Lee was a traitor to the United States and even lost his citizenship. Although he lost the war, Robert E. Lee is still a major face in history.
Robert E. Lee was born in Stratford, Virginia. Robert was the fourth child of Major General Henry Lee III, Governor of Virginia, and of his mother, Anne Hill Carter who was an ancestor of Thomas Moore and King Robert II of Scotland through the Earls of Crawford.(Brasington Jr.,Larry) Robert was mainly brought up by his mother who taught him about authority, tolerance, and order. Robert was exposed to Christianity at an early age and learned to accept it devotedly. In 1825, Robert was accepted to West Point. There he learned about warfare and how it was fought. In 1829, Robert graduated 2nd of 46 in his class, but even more extraordinary is that he never got a demerit while attending West Point. Afterward, Lee was appointed to Superintendent at West Point from 1852 to 1855. After he served his appointment, Lee left West Point to become a Lieutenant Colonel in the 2nd Calvary of the Lone Star State (Texas).
(Robert E. Lee. The National Archives) John Brown was an abolitionist who wanted to kill as many slave holders as possible and create an anti-slavery army. On October 16, 1859, John Brown seized the federal armament of 100,000 muskets and rifles from Harper’s Ferry, modern day West Virginia. Within 36 hours, Robert E. Lee was at Harper’s Ferry where he attacked and captured John Brown and the other rebels. This was a major victory for Robert E. Lee and would open up many opportunities for him.
After Harper’s Ferry, Robert was assigned to General Winfield Scott as a staff officer. In 1845, the United States of America and Mexico went to war. Lee’s duties as staff officer were to map the landscape ahead and separate the line of advancement for the United States troops.
President Abraham Lincoln demanded a decisive victory. He was tired of his military leadership’s inability to decisively engage and defeat Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Allowing the war to drag on was to the Confederacies advantage. Lincoln was so frustrated that he relieved General George B. McClellan for failing to defeat Lee at Antietam, and replaced him with General Ambrose Burnside, who proved to be very conservative in battle against General Lee. Knowing that General Lee was a student of Napoleonic warfare, Burnside feared that Lee always had a large Corps in reserve waiting to flank should he be decisively engaged from the front.
Robert E. Lee was the best General for the South, and out smarted every Union General that was put against him. To The South, Lee is like a godly figure to them. He inspired The South even when the North controlled the battlefield, and is still thought highly of by some people in the confederate states. To the North, Lee was a traitor and even lost his citizenship. Although he lost, Lee is still a giant face in history.
...ew the war he was fighting was not an epic Napoleonic battle but a war of attrition. He proceeded with his plan to slowly shrink Confederate territory and destroy Lee's army to the point that the South could no longer mount a viable defense. Eventually Grant succeeded and Lee's men were all that remained of the Confederate army. Grant surrounded them in trenches at Richmond until Lee was forced to surrender.
At the beginning of the Civil War, leaders in the North and South were tasked with selecting the best men possible to lead their troops. Both sides needed to find men of outstanding character in order to succeed in their war efforts. Robert E. Lee showed himself as exactly such a man. President Abraham Lincoln agreed and sought out Lee, an accomplished U.S. military veteran with 32 years of service, to lead the Union troops. Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy, knew Lee lived in Virginia, a state that had succeeded from the Union. Davis wanted Lee to command the Confederate Army. Ultimately, Robert E. Lee, a man of great character who valued relationships as the crucial element in leadership, honored those around him and displayed
In 2003, Roy Blount Jr. published the book Robert E. Lee through the Penguin Group Inc. This book is different then other books published about Lee due to the fact that this book looks behind the man in uniform, and shows how Lee became the legend that we know today. Blount brings an element of humor that some would not expect to find when writing about Lee. Through this type of writing, Lee transforms into the everyday person who we all can relate to.
Robert E Lee is very quick and smart. He knows how to improve the quality of troops and to nullify the Union’s advantage. Lee is willing to make bold and risky moves, and does not let his defeats hinder his performance. General Lee has great relations with his soldiers, and uses his engineering experience to his advantage.
Nathanael Greene, although not afforded many victories in battles, was a masterful strategist, soldier and statesman. He was able to successfully employ militia, regular, light and mounted units during his command in the South. He built upon the reputation that he made for himself at the beginning of the war in Boston. It is because of this reputation and his ability to produce results that made him the second most important general in the continental army, next only to George Washington.
In his extraordinary book, Lee the Last Years, Charles Flood gives a rare blend of history and emotion. After Lee’s surrender at Appomattox courthouse, he only lived a total of five years before his death. Some people might think that he was just a general, but the best years of his life were after the war because he changed the minds of the south and he changed education. Even though Robert E. Lee is best remembered for his military campaigns, this is a part of history not told in many history books because he did more than any other American to heal the wounds of the south and he served as a president for Washington College, which was later renamed after his death to be Washington and Lee University.
scheme ending in frustration. After Lee had surrendered to the Army of the Potomac, in the second week
Great military leaders should have a connection with the public and their soldiers. General Lee emerged overnight as the Confederate hero after the Seven Days’ Battles. His soldiers developed an almost divine belief in him because this battle was the first major victory since the First Battle of Bull Run and halted a succession of military attacks. The confederate soldiers also revered him due to his personal attributes, his dedication to protect his homeland, and because he held out so long against the Union with 11 times the industrial strength and three times the population of the South. Being a public hero also helped Jefferson Davis greatly as Davis was too overbearing, not in touch with the public, and not an exemplary leader like Abraham Lincoln. Doing so, Lee is connecting the people to their president, boosting morale, and hence productivity. The public, however, does not view General Ulysses S. Grant in such a positive light. The Union residents see Grant as a man who is overcome by his addiction of drinking and smoking, earning the disdain of General McClellan who was “annoyed and offended” by Grant...
...s against the Unions 130,000. The plan wasn’t for complete annihilation but to route the enemy, routing an enemy means to deter them to the point of they retreat. While Lee held the front lines LTG Jackson came around the flanks for the enemy with 28,000 troops inflicting immense amounts of casualties upon the Union soldiers, consequently victory had its cost.
Throughout history, there have been people whose names and faces have become synonymous with the time periods in which they lived. For example, Julius Caesar is synonymous with the late Roman Republic and George Washington is synonymous with the American Revolution. Just like these two men, the name Robert E. Lee has become synonymous with the American Civil War. Not only did Lee rise to become the most important and recognizable person in the Southern Confederacy, but his honor and virtuous acts during and after the war made him a hero to modern-day Americans. Even though he fought for what many consider the morally erroneous side of the war, the virtues of his character have made him a figure in American history that should be honored and remembered.
...ee arguably became one the most beloved generals in American history. His troops developed an immense sense of respect for him. Lee was able to win large-scale battles with only sliver of the men that the Union army contained. He served in a Civil War, which caused over six hundred thousand deaths, and where thousands of fellow countrymen fought to their death either attempting to preserve the Union or break away from it. He served as a great motivator for the Army of Northern Virginia. Lee eventually fell to overwhelming numbers, lack of resources, but never lost pride in his men. Although Lee fought for the defeated Confederacy, he was admirable during the period of reconstruction. He became the epitome of the quote his father extolled,” First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.
sending half of his soldiers south to capture Harpers Ferry under the command of General
Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee are best known for their careers in leading the Confederate Army. Few people know anything about them beyond battles fought and wars lost. History is written by the victors, and the victors have essentially extinguished all perceived importance of these two fallen leaders. However, both were not only soldiers fighting for a lost cause, but also educators. Both taught many of those who would fight alongside and against them in the war that ripped the United States of America in half. While the two had similar backgrounds and military careers, their careers in education were vastly different.