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As a Northerner (by accident of birth, I'm convinced), I recall reading about General Lee at a very young age and being impressed even then with the integrity and sense of honor he exuded. While I think time has tarnished that glow slightly, he still stands head and shoulders above the other combatants as a paragon of what war can represent amid its horrors: an honorable test of one side's values against another's.

Perhaps it is the "forlorn hope" theme of the Southern cause, or the vestiges of nobility that guided so many of his actions, but whatever the source, there is something almost classically tragic about his story, and he remains an inspiration to any who would forgo their partisan alignment and focus on traits that transcend mere allegiance.