To What Extent Was Robert E. Lee an Effective General of the Confederate Army? Esta Bichler Period 4 Word Count: 2,191 Section 1: The focus of this investigation will be, “To what extent was Robert E. Lee an effective leader of the Confederate Army?” The investigation will analyze Lee’s strengths and weaknesses that contributed to his effectiveness and the overall loss of the Confederacy in the Civil War. The overall character of Lee throughout his lifetime is too broad, therefore, this investigation will focus solely on the testimony of his military background, and the personality traits that led to Lee’s decisions during the Civil War. As a result, Lee the American by Gamaliel Bradford Jr. and Robert E. Lee: The Soldier by Sir F. Maurice are important sources to this investigation, due to the background they give on Lee’s military training, personality, and victories in the battles leading up to Gettysburg. Source 1: Robert E. Lee The Soldier by Sir F Maurice. This source could be of value to historians due to its focus on Lee as a general and not necessarily about Lee in the civil war. The purpose of this book is not to debate the civil war, but to appreciate Lee’s role as the general. Therefore, the source is biased based on the authors clear appreciation of Lee. The source both gives facts about Lee’s life as well as information about Lee part in the civil war. The value of this source is the historians participation in the military and
Another thing that stood out to me about General Lee was that he was not a big fan of slavery. He had command of Northern Virginia during the Civil War, so it does make sense. Lee through out this book shows his love for Virginia. Let’s face it, he is solely in this war because Virginia made the decision to leave the Union. He is very loyal to his home state, and it shows through out the
In the Civil War, both Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee played major roles in how it turned out. They have many similarities and differences, and the author of the essay that will be analysed, Bruce Catton, brought out and explained those similarities and differences. Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee come from completely different backgrounds, Grant growing up on the Western frontier, while Lee was a tidewater Virginian. Catton’s purpose for contrasting them is to show their obvious differences, but the reason for comparing them afterwards is to show the similarities that aren’t as apparent as their differences, by saying how similar they were on the battlefield, despite their contrasting childhoods and views.
Robert E. Lee was a man of family, culture and tradition. Lee was a man who believed in the old English ways in chivalry. The Southern states fought for the same ideals that Lee stood for. Lee believed that this way of life made men to be of a higher class. He was convinced that these old values can build a better nation. Catton express the Confederacy loyalty to these values by saying: “For four years, the southern states had fought a separate war to up held the ideals for which Lee; as if he himself was the Confederacy… the best thing that the way of life for which the Confederacy stood could have ever had to offer” (410).
In Bruce Catton’s essay entitled “Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrasts”, he writes about the differences and similarities between two famous Civil War generals. A variety of topics are mentioned, such as the background and personality of each. However, Catton has differing purposes of comparing and contrasting. His purpose for contrasting the two generals is to show how they had different backgrounds growing up, and how they had different wishes for the future they wanted to live in. Catton’s purpose for comparing the two is to show how they were similar in their virtues.
From 1861 to 1865, a gruesome war was fought in the United States between the Northern Union states and the Southern Confederate states. The causes of this war are differing opinions on state’s rights and slavery. This war between the Union and the Confederates is known as the Civil War. The death toll of this war is still the highest of any United States war, with a death toll of over 620,000 people. On January 19th, 1807, in Stratford Hall, Virginia, Robert E. Lee was born (https://www.civilwar.org/learn/ biographies/robert-e-lee). He was son to the popular Revolutionary War veteran, Henry Lee. He bravely led the Confederacy, and is the reason that they had so much success in the war. He managed to do so with the odds stacked clearly against him; but how? What was the impact of Robert E. Lee on the Civil War?
Robert Edward Lee was born in Stratford, Virginia on January 19, 1807 to an aristocratic family. His parents both played a major role in Lee’s success. His mother Ann Hill Carter descended from a wealthy family while his father Colonel Henry Lee, served as a cavalry leader during the Revolutionary War. At a young age his father passed away, and his leadership roles were challenged. He was one of the six men in his family and had to help support the household. At eighteen he attended West Point MIlitary Academy, where he excelled in artillery, infantry and cavalry. Shortly after his mother’s passing in 1829, Lee was appointed to second lieutenant in the U.S. Military Corps of Engineers. He began courting Mary Curtis who is a member of the Virginia’s aristocracy. After getting Mr. Curtis’s approval they get married and have seven children together.
The entire truly tragic sense of the Lost Cause was that the South’s men knew their cause was lost, they knew there was really no way they could possibly win, and yet they fought on with tremendous bravery and dedication. The Civil War was such a poignant and even heart-wrenching time (Bowman, 2006, p.756). Despite the long-held notion that the South had all of the better generals, it really had only one good Army commander and that was General Lee. The rest were second-raters, at best (Donald, 1996, pp. 9-21). The North, on the other hand, had the good fortune of bringing along and nurturing people like Ulysses Grant, William Sherman, Philip Sheridan, George Thomas, and others.
When we compare the military leaders of both North and South during the Civil War, it is not hard to see what the differences are. One of the first things that stand out is the numerous number of Northern generals that led the “Army of the Potomac.” Whereas the Confederate generals, at least in the “Army of Northern Virginia” were much more stable in their position. Personalities, ambitions and emotions also played a big part in effective they were in the field, as well as their interactions with other officers.
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
Robert E. Lee had many successes in leading the United States Army. What made Lee so remarkable was he carried a lot about what the United States government was doing and believed in a good relationship with the personal that are working for the government. We know that Lee held high standards. He was big on honor, and held people to high standards. He graduated West Point as a military commander. Lee was considered one of the bluest of Virginia blue bloods. Lee was a full blown southerner who would give anything he could to get a southern victory. Lee would be the general of the Confederate Army during the Civil War. Lee first will take over and will be in charge from 1861-1865. What Lee’s first task will be to take his army at Second Bull Run and lead them to a Confederate victory.
In Alan T. Nolan’s work, Lee Considered: General Robert E. Lee and Civil War History, Nolan reexamines historical sources, including Lee’s official and personal correspondence and many other writings on Lee. Nolan states, without going too far into his own background, that he is “suspicious of saints,” and this suspicion is what led Nolan’s desire to review long held beliefs about Lee. Nolan examines Lee’s views on slavery and points out that Lee believed that slavery benefited the “African,” associating the black race with degradation and believed that the races were best separated. Nolan argues that as a general, Lee, though brutally effective on the battlefield, lacked an understanding of national strategy. Nolan would have readers believe
After many jobs, he worked his way up to General of the Confederate Northern Virginia’s army. In a matter of months, Lee was able to turn the tide of the war in the Confederacy's favor. His army had a complete confidence in Robert E. Lee, but continually suffers from his tendency to push his army farther than they can possibly go.
General Robert E Lee is a Confederate officer during this civil war. He has helped us Greatly during this time and hope he can lead us to victory. He is stationed in northern Virginia. He is making this army very successful and strong so they can compete with the Union soldiers. He wants to lead his soldiers into Northern soil because he realizes that his the way they will be able to win to be on Northern soil and get a victory. Robert E Lee is a very intelligent man and does believe that man will learn every day as in one of his quotes said “The Education of a man is never completed until he dies”
“Robert E. Lee, a brilliant military strategist, served as general-in-chief of the Confederate armies during the Civil War” (Johnson 273). Lee lived from 1807 to 1870. He was a very intelligent person and was very good at leading people in times of war. Robert E. Lee left a big impact on American history.
During the times of Civil War, there were many Commanding Generals that came along. But two stand out amongst all, Ulysses S. Grant of United States of America and Robert E. Lee of Confederate States of America. Both men had formally fought, not along side of each other, in the Mexican-American War. At one point Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant worked together in the Mexican-American War. They both gained a war time experience, Grant as a quartermaster and Lee as an engineer who positioned troops and artillery during their participation in the Scott’s march from the coastal town of Vera Cruz to Mexico City. Both men were vastly different with different styles and background who not only won the affection of their men but respect of