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What was Robert E. Lee known for?
Robert E. Lee was a Confederate general who led the South's attempt at secession during the Civil War. He challenged Union forces during the war's bloodiest battles, including Antietam and Gettysburg, before surrendering to Union General Ulysses S.
Why did Robert E. Lee fight the south?
Although he felt slavery in the abstract was a bad thing, he blamed the national conflict on abolitionists, and accepted the pro-slavery policies of the Confederacy. He chose to fight to defend his homeland. He resigned from the army he had served for 36 years, and accepted the command of Virginia's forces.
Was Robert E. Lee a good leader?
Lee was a great leader and tactical leader who deserves to be remembered for his moral strengths. He is still the only person to graduate from West Point Military Academy with not a single demerit. His military tactics were studied and used during World War II even.
What strategy did Robert E. Lee use?
Meade faced Lee's army in Virginia. Lee's strategy was to use terrain and fortified positions to his advantage, thus decreasing the importance of the Union's superiority in numbers. He hoped to make the cost of trying to force the South back into the Union so high that the Northern public would not stand for it.
What mistake did Lee make at Gettysburg?
The trouble was, Lee failed to recognise that by the second day he was the one who was actually outnumbered and in continuing to try and dominate the enemy the way he had on the first day, his forces were getting strung out.
How did Robert E. Lee feel about the Civil War?
Lee opposed secession during the winter of 1860-1861, and in the letter to his sister Anne already quoted described his “devotion to the Union” and “feeling of loyalty and duty of an American citizen.” His letter to Winfield Scott on April 20 further testified to how wrenching it had been “to separate myself from a ...
What was Robert E. Lee's weakness?
That no doubt suited the Confederate fighting man, who didn't take kindly to being told what to do—but Lee's only weakness as a commander, his otherwise reverent nephew Fitzhugh Lee would write, was his “reluctance to oppose the wishes of others, or to order them to do anything that would be disagreeable and to which ...
Was Lee a military genius?
Despite lack of manpower and material, Lee's military genius was the principal factor in keeping the Confederacy alive. He was a legend in his own lifetime.
Was Robert E. Lee related to George Washington?
While Lee was stationed at Fort Monroe, he married Mary Anna Randolph Custis (1808–1873), great-granddaughter of Martha Washington by her first husband Daniel Parke Custis, and step-great-granddaughter of George Washington, the first president of the United States.
Was Robert E. Lee aggressive?
With fellow Virginian Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee is one of the most studied figures of the Civil War. Virginia still memorializes the pair with a state holiday. Lee was a gracious man, thoughtful, polite, and highly intelligent. Militarily he was aggressive, some believe too aggressive.
What political party was Robert E. Lee?
He supported President Johnson's plan of Reconstruction, but joined with Democrats in opposing the Radical Republicans who demanded punitive measures against the South. He distrusted its commitment to the abolition of slavery and, indeed, distrusted the region's loyalty to the United States.
What did General Lee say after the war?
"I must abide her fortune, and share her fate." The solitude did not last long.