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Robert E Lee Civil War Hero

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"I suppose there is nothing for me to do but go and see General Grant," he told an aide. "And I would rather die a thousand deaths." These words were said by the war hero, Robert E. Lee. The Civil War is the central event in America's history and probably will forever be the most memorable part of our country's past. The war would be one of the bloodiest wars in history. It last four dreadful years from 1861-1865. The Civil War determined what kind of nation America would be, and also resolved two questions that could not be resolved in a courtroom or in a house of government. For one, it determined whether the United States was to be a nation with national government or a confederation of sovereign states. It also solved the argument of wether …show more content…

Lee was the superior general even though he was not victorious. I say this for several reasons. He was victorious against the Army of the Potomac and continued to be until Gettysburg in 1863. He was succeeding while fighting against the Union which had many more men, better supplied troops, and more money. One of his most historical victories was his win at Chancellorsville. At Chancellorsville he divided his army three times, keeping his men hungry for a victory even when they were outnumbered three to one; he fought quickly and forcefully. Lee was also faced with a very difficult task of finding and using a strategy to win the war that required him to invade the northern states. This was such a difficult thing to do because of the obvious advantages of the Union. Lee also never stopped moving forward, attacking, using new strategies. He did this because he knew that the North was too strong to sit back. Another way which I decided the better general was by looking at the respective casualty figures in the war. The Union in which Grant lead, had about 154,000 casualties while causing 191,000 casualties against the Confederacy. Looking at the other side, Lee suffered about 209,000 casualties while imposing about 240,000 casualties on his opponents. Lee managed to kill 55,000 more en then Grant did. It was almost risky for Lee to fight offensively with his lack of supplies, men, and …show more content…

In 1859 Lee, accepted a position at a cavalry outpost in Texas. In October of that year, Lee was summoned to put a revolt led by John Brown at Harper's Ferry. Lee's attack took just a single hour to end the uproar. His quick and easy victory at Harper's Ferry brought him much attention from displaying the leadership and the strategic mind he possessed. This made him a good candidate to lead the Union. Lee's character showed when he turned down an offer from Abraham Lincoln to command the Union forces. He said no because he was committed to his home, Virginia. Lee resigned from the military and returned home. Lee also was not a big fan of focusing the war on the slavery issue. When Virginia seceded from the nation, Lee did along with it. Lee took control of the Army of Northern Virginia where he drove back the Union Army in the Seven Days Battle. Later that year, he gave the Confederacy yet another victory at Second Manassas. Lee and his men did face defeat and loses referring back to the battle of Antietam. There they tried to cross the Potomac, barley escaping from one of the bloodiest battles in the war. Nearly 14,000 of his men were captured, wounded or killed. Lee's forces had another crushing defeat at the Battle of Gettysburg. This battle almost completely destroyed his army. Ulysses S. Grant had gained the upper hand when he won over the majority of Richmond. A reluctant Lee surrendered to Grant at in

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