robert e. lee Essay

Robert E. Lee was Abraham Lincoln’s First choice to be the general of the Union army during the civil war. Lee responded to Lincoln’s request by saying the he hates slavery and he hates succession but he won’t fight against his home state of Virginia. Lincoln’s goal for the civil war wasn’t originally to free all of the slaves it was instead to try and keep the Union together.

In the spring of 1861 as the nation leaned toward Civil War, both Grant and Lee would be forced to make very difficult decisions. Grant would only have to decide between being a patriot or a traitor. In a letter to Grant’s father he wrote: “There are but two parties now, Traitors & Patriots and I want hereafter to be ranked with the latter. . . (Grant p 957)"18 Lee was torn between a successful career in the United States Army, his devotion to the Union, an appointment as commander of the Union forces and the love he had for his family and homeland. In a letter to his sister, Lee wrote: “ With all my devotion to the Union…I have not been able to make up my mind to raise my hand

Robert E. Lee was an American general known for commanding the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War from 1862 until his surrender in 1865. Robert E. Lee was born on January 19, 1807 at Stratford Hall in Virginia. He then died on October 15, 1870, Lexington,

Lee was thought to be one of the most, if not the most well respected and known generals in the Civil War. He was born on January 19, 1807, in Virginia to Henry “Light-Horse Harry” Lee, who was a well-renown Revolutionary War veteran. Lee graduated West Point second in his class with no bad mark on his record. After West Point, he joined the Engineer Corp, and worked his way up the ranks to Captain. During this time, he married Mary Anna Randolph Custis, who was related to George Washington’s wife. Marrying her not only got the financial side of his life covered, but also gave him a popularity advantage due to him being (faintly) related to the great Revolutionary War and First President of the United States. During the Mexican War, Lee used his trade as an engineer and helped Major General Winfield Scott with planning and beating the Mexican forces. After the Mexican war, Lee went to become the superintendent of the military academy at West Point, and made major changes such as adding an additional year to the previous four. In 1855, Congress approved the creation of four new regiments. Due to Lee’s want for a faster-promoting job, left his engineering life for the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, and for the next six years, he was put in Texas with his regiment. A couple of days after Abraham Lincoln’s election in 1860, the South began to secede, and offered Lee the Brigadier General rank in their army. Lee would have declined it, and stuck with the Union if it

This is the story of Confederate General Robert E. Lee! He was an amazing and remarkable man, general and youngster. Now, read on to learn more about him.

He grew up with a great love of all country life and his state. This stayed with him for the rest of his life. He was a very serious boy and spent many hours in his father's library. He loved to play with some his friends, swim, and he loved to hunt. Lee looked up to his father and always wanted to know what he was doing. George Washington and his father, "Light-Horse Harry Lee," were his heroes. He wanted to be just like his father when he grew up.

When Lee headed North and started invading he had been checked again at Gettysburg. The assault was called Pickett's Charge that had a wide spread which cost the South badly. The musket was replaced by the rifle which made attacks much more hopeless. Lee had failed to notice how well the effect was. Lee fought again to try and regain power back but could not succeed. President Davis wanted Lee to become general in chief in the confederate armies. By that time had come around the Confederates had lost the war. Many people had thought that Lee was to bloody minded for wanting to keep fighting and keep putting his army on the line. Lee did not want to accept that he had lost. People say what the mind knows the heart might not except. He was not alone when he was fighting, his crew was fully ready to fight with him until they ended up having to surrender. After the war was all over he became president of Washington College. “He applied to have his application restored but his application was [lost]” (History www.history.com). Lee had died in 1870 of heart disease. His last words were “strike the

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 born on January 19, 1807 at Stratford in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He was the youngest son of Major-General Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee and his second wife, Ann Hill (Carter) Lee. His siblings from his father’s first wife are Philip Ludwell Lee, Lucy Grymes Lee, Henry Lee, and Nathaniel Greene Lee. His siblings from his father's second wife are Algernon Sidney

McClellan’s men were ordered to cross over south mountain and quickly found that Lee had fortified this area. McClellan pushed through and took this area as a victory. Since Lee knew of McClellan’s fortune in finding the 191 orders he quickly began

General Robert E. Lee is considered by many to be an iconic American figure, a symbol of the South, and one of the greatest Generals in American history. Lee was a highly regarded Colonel

On September 17, 1862 during the Civil War, the Battle of Antietam occurred. Virginian General Robert E. Lee directed the Confederates. He acquired recognition during the Mexican American War. General Winfield Scott referred to Lee as "the very best soldier I 've ever seen in the field." Due to this prestige, even President Abraham Lincoln asked General Lee to join the Union, but Lee rejected the offer because he was a Virginia born man of the South. Lincoln then scouted another Mexican American War hero whom coordinated the

Lee to take control and become General for the battle since General Joseph E. Johnston got injured in a battle before the Seven Day’s battle. Robert E. Lee accepted and right away started commanding his men to build protection around Richmond, Lee knew that he couldn’t protect the Confederate capital for long but he was not going to give up. He wrote a letter to the President expressing his feelings and his concerns on the protection and how it might not last long. Once he saw McClellan’s army he prepared to strike at them; McClellan and his army struck first breaking up his army into divisions and sending them at different

On March 7th ,1862 Glen Joseph Johnston, commander of the Confederates Army of Northern Virginia ordered his troops to march out of Centreville,Virginia and head about forty miles South to Fredericksburg on the Rappahannock River.

Despite the mistakes his father and brother made, Lee managed to grow learning the ways of a true Southern gentleman. The departure of his father and two older half-brothers made Lee the man of the house at an early age. His mother, Ann Carter, raised Lee in modest circumstances and helped him to learn standard of conduct. Lee grew up in modest conditions, and though he received the normal education for someone of his class, he had to earn his own living and didn’t live the easy-going plantation life that most members of his family did. Since his mother did not have sufficient cash to send Lee to go to college, he chose instead to enter West Point military and academy. He entered in 1825 at the age of 18. At West Point Lee excelled tremendously. He finished second in his class and didn’t receive one demerit during his four years there (A feat that has yet to be repeated since then). Lee entered Engineer Corps after graduation where he was employed to build and maintain military installations and assist the Federal Government in the enormous work of providing internal improvements in order to settle border disputes on the frontier lands.