Talented, may have meant well, was a man of decency and character — but he picked the wrong cause.
I never understood how so many Southerners made that decision. Lee did not favor secession, and hoped that Virginia would not secede; but when they did, he decided he could not make war on Virginians. Why were so many Southerners loyal to their state over the Union, while the Northerners considered themselves Americans first?
The right to independence and the defense of one's people is not the wrong cause. The wrong cause is sending armies to attack people because you want to control them and their land.