Robert E. Lee: The Qualities Of Good Leaders

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).

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.

In life we all want to see things as black and white, cut and dry, and easy to understand. This is not the case with Robert E. Lee. He was smart, loyal and above all, complicated. We like to make him out as some old general guy who fought for the South in the Civil War. Eventually lost at Gettysburg and because it was the turning point of the Civil War; he became famous for losing. He is a lot more than just that. He was an actual person who, from his birth up to his death, dealt with real life situations.

Robert E. Lee was a very brilliant and strong military leader. He fought in many wars which he defeated them and he got defeated also. He was smart on how he fought in the wars. He had to earn his way up from the bottom all the way up to general. He had fought in the Civil War and in the Mexican War. He wanted to quit so bad but he never gave up and kept on going.

The foundation of Robert E. Lee’s leadership was built on self-discipline. Robert E. Lee believed that “If one intends to lead by example and inspire respect, one has to fulfill the ideal of someone whose vision and performance are coherent, organized, and effective” (Crocker, 1999, p. 17). Robert E. Lee stated, “I cannot consent to place in the control of others one

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.

The most outstanding example can pick up and talk about at this point is he gave most of his leaders the "end state" and let them roll with it most of the time. It also stems from confidence in your subordinates. Confederate soldiers believed in Lee’s leadership and desired to follow him, even when he admitted to a mistake. indeed, at Gettysburg itself during the previous two days of combat, the attempt to break the Union Centre by a massive infantry assault, well supported by artillery, cannot be dismissed as the result of recklessness or wishful thinking on the part of Lee. Lee’s style of often issue orders that gave subordinates a lot of say in carrying out the orders ended up costing him some battles, most crucially, Gettysburg. In Gettysburg, “The whole affair was disjointed,” Taylor the aide said of Gettysburg. “There was an utter absence of accord in the movements of the several

It was the Revolutionary War. Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee was in charge of the cavalry. He was a strong fighter, a risk-taker, a hero. He was also Robert E. Lee’s father and were very famous in Virginia. Like Henry Lee many fought in the Revolutionary War Two of Robert’s cousins were among the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

his country(http://www.encyclopedia virginia.org/Robert_E._Lee) . His, decisions were spokesman of his army. Robert s’ successful career in the United States Army and his country could be conquered by only one set of adversity, those to his family and his home Virginia. Lee showed by standard how to accept subjugation with class.

History is usually written by the victors of war. The Civil War is no different. We often hear stories about the famous Iron Brigade and its tenacious fighting ability or of the “fighting” 69th Irish Regiment of New York but many historians have overlooked the epic sacrifices Southern soldiers endured. Sure, everyone has heard of Robert E. Lee or “Stonewall” Jackson, but the men under their command are the reasons for their fame. Many times, the men from a certain geographical region are grouped together, whose combined regiments formed brigades. This paper is a tribute to the men of North Carolina who, gave their lives fighting for the Confederate cause; with a focus on the 28th Regiment of North

While reading the essay Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrast, I learned a lot about two men who were very important in American history. For this journal entry, it was hard to decide who I agreed with. Both were fighters who won battles. Both were influential, bold men. Lee was definitely the better representative. In the end, however, Grant should be seen as the better general in the essay. In my opinion no other person, other than Lincoln, did more to win the war than Grant. His key vision helped him to maximize his advantages and Lee’s disadvantages. He kept forcing Lee to fight and to continue fighting without rest. Grant found away to replace his losses, while Lee could not. At the end, this is what proved the difference between the two

There are a number of qualities that quantify good leaderships and good leaders. According to Kouzes and Posner in their book The Leadership Challenge, all successful leaders have (5) practices in common. They “Model the Way”, “Inspire a shared vision”, “Challenge the process”, “enable others to act” and “encourage the heart”(15). Never is there a more important time to have exemplary leadership, than in a time of war. Both the American Civil War and World War II showed what was possible through good leadership. From abolishing slavery and preserving the Union, to fighting tyranny and oppression abroad, both events in American history had a profound impact on all those involved. The impact would most certainly be different if not for the leadership of Colonel Lawrence Chamberlain of the Union Army during the Civil War and General George S. Patton during World War II. Both leaders possessed the 5 practices essential for god leadership, yet both leaders to different approaches to accomplish their goals.

At the end of the Civil War, Confederate President Jefferson Davis and other leaders wanted to continue the fights as a guerrilla war, but most of the Confederate generals opposed them, including Robert E. Lee who considered that course of action to be dishonorable.

General Robert E. Lee’s impact on his leadership style have provide his men hope and loyalty, even on the day he surrendered at the Battle of Appomattox Court House in 1865, which is one also one of the last battles of the American Civil War. His men would be willing to fight, under his command, even to the very end. One of his men stated that they will go in and fight some more, if he order them to do so. General Lee’s leadership impacted even the most exhausted, dirty and hungry men, who were willing to fight and to give their ultimate sacrifice, simply because they believe in him. (Gipson, 2003)

What qualities make a good leader? You can ask a hundred different people, and you will get a hundred different answers. A good leader is someone who accomplishes the mission, has the respect of their subordinates, and makes the difficult decisions when needed. For me, I believe that a great leader needs to have a variety of qualities, but most importantly a sense of fairness, hard work/care, and common consideration for others. Different experiences throughout my life and time at West Point have lead me to believe that these three tenants are what are most needed for a great leader. In terms of a leader’s moral character, common consideration has the greatest influence on the success of a leader, because without common consideration, a