Georgia - Robert E. Lee Celebration at Capitol

Robert E. Lee

Robert E. Lee’s life was punctuated by a stream of superlatives. In 1829, he was graduated second in his class from West Point and was without a single demerit. In his Senior year he lead the Cadet Corps. In 1831 as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army, he married the daughter of an adopted grandson of President George Washington. Following several years working as an Engineer, at the beginning of the Mexican-American War in 1846, General George Winfield Scott asked that Captain Lee be assigned to his Command.

Though his flawless performance as an engineer had involved a number of years and several noted projects, prior to the Mexican-American war his advancement had been slow.

He was a remarkable warrior. General Scott attributed his own success in the Mexican War to the, "skill, valor and undaunted energy of Robert E. Lee" and called him, "the greatest military genius in America". In an unprecedented outpouring of adulation, every general officer with whom he personally served made special mention of him in their reports: "I want to record my particular admiration for Captain Lee"; "in whose skill and judgment I have the utmost confidence"; "his gallantry and conduct deserve the highest praise"; "intrepid coolness and gallantry". In a speech at the Lee Memorial meeting in 1870 Jefferson Davis said of Lee, "He came from Mexico crowned with honors, covered with brevets, and recognized, young as he was, as one of the ablest of our country’s soldiers". During the War he was brevetted to the rank of Colonel.

Thirty six years had passed since Light Horse Harry Lee’s son had matriculated at West Point. During this long period of time, he patiently 
dispensed distinguished service to the Army of the United States. In 1861, Abraham Lincoln through Secretary Francis Blair and General George Scott offered him the command of the Union Army. He replied that though he detested slavery, was opposed to secession and to deprecating war, he would take no part in the invasion of the Southern States.

Robert E. Lee resigned from the Army of the United States and returned to Virginia where in 1862 he assumed command of the Army of Northern Virginia. Victories over McClellen, Pope, Burnside, and Hooker followed. His tenure with the Confederacy was, however, not without a downside. In 1861 an abortive incursion into West Virginia created a niche in his reputation which postponed his deserved elevation to General and resulted in extensive labor for President Jefferson Davis in the field of engineering and building defenses for the Confederate States. It was not until 1865 on the eve of the Southern surrender that Lee was elevated to Commander-in-Chief.

After the War in 1866 he wrote, "All that the South has ever desired was that the Union as established by our fathers should be preserved, and that the government as originally organized should be administered in purity and truth." Six months later he wrote, "I had no other guide, nor had I any other object than the defense of these principles of American liberty on which the constitutions of the several States were originally founded, and unless they are strictly observed I fear there will be an end of Republican government in this country."

In describing Robert E. Lee and the character of his life, words that are no longer used in relation to our society resonate with grief. Words like faith in God, stately bearing, dignity without stiffness, courtliness with women, Christian humility, self control, self denial, and kindness.

Lee abhorred Total War as it was practiced by the Union Army. It was inconceivable to him that women, children, and the elderly might be involved in the conflict. Rape, pillaging, murder, and the atrocities attendant to an illegitimate victory were not allowed in his Army.

Ann Carter Lee said of her son as he left for West Point, "How will I get on without Robert?

Can you imagine a man of Lee’s courtliness facing the vituperation of the National Organization for Women, the profanity of the ACLU, the homosexual rights movement, rampant pornography, or the charade we call Democracy?

How alien he was to our nihilistic culture. How hard to imagine his character in the youth of today.

The Civil War was indeed a blow to the Republic. Lee’s prophetic statement about the end of Republican government has been substantially fulfilled. Terrorism known as "Total War" became standard, Federal Government reigned supreme and its roots have ever since been moistened with tyranny.

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