Robert E Lee

He was upgraded into a colenel and within months was given the rank of brigadier general. General Jackson got the nickname "Stonewall" from the First Battle of Bull Run (1861), where his troops stood against the Union forces "like a stonewall," as told from Brig. General Barnard E. Bee. While Jackson was commanding, the "Stonewall Brigade," during a campaign in the Shenandoah Valley in the Spring of 1862, Jackson made a very controversial and remarkable tactical maneuver against three Union armies. People say Jackson met his "right hand man," General Robert E. Lee, when they teamed up to defeat of General George McClellan in the Seven Days' Battle at Richmond.

In 1852 the United States military academy at West Point became Lees home when he was appointed superintendent. During his three year stint he raised acidemic standards, lengthened the program from four to five years, and improved facilities. In 1859 in Arlington, Texas Lee was given command of Federal forces which were there to make sure Mexicans did not invade Texas. Then Lee was sent to capture the abolitionist, John Brown at Harpers Ferry. Then when war seemed impossible to avoid, President Abraham Lincion summond Lee and asked him to lead the Union army, but Lee declined.

After Gettysburg, Lee retreated back to Virginia for the rest of the war. With the loss of more and more soldiers, Lee had no choice but to start taking a defensive position. In the spring of 1864, General Ulysses Grant got control of the union forces and decided to bring Lee into northern Virginia and crush the confederate forces there. Grant rushed to Petersburg, hoping to seize the railroad the was supplying Lee with supplies. Lee had arrived first and Grant started a siege.

Lee came up with a plan to make up for his numbers by attacking General McClellan’s army. In the next days there were a number of skirmishes between Lee’s advancing forces and against McClellan’s army which became know as the Days Battle. After Lee’s success at the Days Battle, Lee gained control of the Army of North Virginia, the biggest army in Virginia. The battle of Chancellorsville... ... middle of paper ... ...e Confederate forces. A Union attack on Petersburg on April 2, 1865 forced Lee to retreat from Richmond and go west.

In 1859, while at Arlington on leave, he was summoned to command the United States troops sent to deal with the John Brown raid on Harper's Ferry. In March 1861 he was made colonel of the 1st U.S. Cavalry; but his career in the old army ended with the secession of Virginia in the following month. Lee was strongly averse to secession, but felt obliged to conform to the action of his own state. The Federal authorities offered Lee the command of the field army about to invade the South, which he refused. Resigning his commission, he made his way to Richmond and was at once made a major-general in the Virginian forces.

Robert was eleven when his father died in 1818. Robert's father was a good soldier. Henry was a Revolutionary War leader and Govenor of West Virginia. On the first on July 1825, Robert entered into West Point located on the Hudson River. At that time he met his first and true friend, Joseph E. Johnston.

II. The situation up until the battle a. During the first two years, every major battle in the eastern U.S. was won by the south except the Battle of Antietam 1. in which General T. J. “Stonewall” Jackson lost his life b. General Lee began plotting and readying his troops to attack the North’s territory a second time c. Many various small battles were fought, the Confederate army pressing further toward Northern territory 1.

Robert E. Lee was born on January 19, 1807 in Virginia. Gen. Lee was educated at the famous West Point military academy in 1825. He graduated in 1829 second in his class without any demerits on his record. Through the years after graduating from West Point, Robert E. Lee served in many different military positions, he had a great reputation as an officer and his rank grew to a colonel in the U.S. Army. In 1861 he was called to Washington City by Francis Blair who was representing the secretary of war and Abraham Lincoln.

Following American occupation of the Mexican capital, he worked on maps for possible future campaigns. Already a captain in the regular service, he was made brevet colonel for his gallantry in the war. Lee returned to engineer duty at Baltimore's Fort Carroll until 1852, when he reluctantly became superintendent of the Military Academy at West Point. In 1855 he was made lieutenant colonel of the 2nd Cavalry, one of the Army's elite units. The years 1857-1859 were bleak.

The threat of war with Mexico delayed their wedding plans. In 1847, Grant took part in the capture of Mexico City and won a promotion for his skill and bravery. He reached the rank of 1st Lieutenant by the end of the war. Grant returned to St. Louis as soon as he could and on Aug. 22, 1848, he was married to Julia Dent. During their marriage, the Grant’s had four children: Frederick, Ulysses S. Jr., Ellen, and Jesse Root Jr. Civil War Era Grant was almost 39 years old when the Civil War began in 1861.