Robert E. Lee: Icon of the South -- and American Hero

American Spectator ^ | 1/30/07 | HW Crocker III

[the OlLine Rebel]

A very famous 1 at that. ;-)

[Southern Partisan]

Bama ping

[OldSmaj]

How many of you noticed, or celebrated yourselves, Lee's birthday on 19 January (or Stonewall Jackson's on 21 January)?

Well, since I knew I was going to be busy on the 19th and the 21st, I celebrated both on the 15th of January.

I even took a monday holiday for it.

[rockrr]

I hadn't heard of any agenda against the Stone Mountain Memorial. How organized an effort is there? Any links?

[groanup]

General Robert E. Lee, leader of the Confederate army, won the respect of North and South alike. In fact General Lee was loved and admired the world over. Sir Garnet Joseph Woseley from England, who met Lee on several occasions wrote: "I never felt my own individual insignificance more keenly then I did in his presence. I have met many of the great men of my time, but Lee alone impressed me with the feeling that I was in the presence of a man who was cast in a grander mold, and made of a different and finer metal than all other men.'' General Lee was the very embodiment of all that was good in the Confederate States of America, and to this very day is loved and admired by any one that has a knowledge of history...

[Zeroisanumber]

Well he did get a riverboat named after him.

And a car.

[groanup]

Right now, they are trying to gin up interest in destroying the memorial at Stone Mountain.

L - R: Davis, Lee, Jackson

[13Sisters76]

Truthfully, I don't know- I heard it mentioned at work. I never sought out any of the facts because I have a feeling it isn't going very far. I'll poke around and see what I can find...

[BnBlFlag]

I believe the Government was forcrd to make restitution to the Lee family later after one of his sons filed suit.

[Towsoncrs]

Just a side note... Lee is the only cadet to ever graduate West Point without a single demerit, he was also second in his class.

Members of Kappa Alpha Order - Which was founded at Washington and Lee College still celebrate Lee's Birthday every year and strive to be gentleman just like Lee.

[TheDon]

The War was indeed over the issue of states rights...the right of the states to continue slavery inspite of the federal government. The Civil War resolved the slavery issue that had not been resolved when the US Constitution was written, and had been a problem ever since.

That Lee believed that the Confederacy had only exercised its rights as guaranteed under the Constitution, defended by the founders, and invoked by states and statesmen "for the last seventy years," can be seen in his letter of 15 December 1866 to Lord Acton, in which he says precisely that. He wishes that "the judgment of reason" had not "been displaced by the arbitrament of war," but concludes it has been, and it is time for the South to move on, to accept "without reserve... the extinction of slavery.... [A]n event that has been long sought, though in a different way, and by none... more earnestly desired than by citizens of Virginia," and to "trust that the constitution may undergo no [further] change, but that it may be handed down to our succeeding generations in the form we received it from our forefathers."

As they were seeking English help, it was wise to speak so. The English weren't about to help the secessionist promote slavery.

It is too easy for Lee to side step the slavery issue by saying he was falling in with his family and friends on state's rights to practice slavery.

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

Actually Lee never owned Arlington himself. When George Custis died, he left the plantation to his daughter Mary Custis Lee, and then in turn to her son, George Custis Lee.

[groanup]

You can certainly count expansion of slavery in the west among the issues of secession which were vast and complex. You can also count on one hand the number of Union soldiers who went to war to "end slavery". Wasn't an issue save for a few abolitionists in New England.

[GeorgefromGeorgia]

I am a Southerner and was taught early as a child that Sherman was evil, not quite on Hitler or Stalin's level, but close. In Georgia, his name was generally spoken as a curse.
I love history and because I received a heavy dose of the history of the War Between the States in my youth, I found it more interesting to study European and Ancient History in college and later in life. Still, the history of that awful war still resonates in modern times.
We have gone from treating my Southern ancestors that fought for the CSA as heroes to misguided bigoted slave holders. Yes, my ancestors had slaves. I am told from my Grandparents, parents and Aunt that our ancestors worked in the fields alongside the slaves.

Back to the issue. William T. Sherman changed history, because his tactics included destroying the economic base of the keystone state of the South (Georgia). In fact, his troops destroyed my Mother's family plantation. From an objective view, Sherman anticipated the future of warfare. I agree that we could use some tougher tactics than have been the case. However, in a counterinsurgency operation, destroying the enemy is hard until you figure out just who the enemy really is.
Lee and Sherman, in their own way were both true American heroes.

[dljordan]

"What, exactly, is the bone of contention?"

I don't even want to go into it. Anything connected to the Civil War gets pretty nasty sometimes.

[Pelham]

President Eisenhower had four portraits displayed in his White House office, one being Robert E Lee.

[Shadowstrike]

Actually you should be wishing that Gen. Lee was still around today. A true gentleman to be sure, he was also one of the most brilliant tacticians in the world. Many of his military maneuvers were taught in the most noble institutions in this country. Sherman, for all his own brilliance, was awed by Lee.

And yes, here in 'Bama we had a big celebration for General Lees' birthday - we just did it on Martin Luther King Jr. Day :)

[Moose4]

Is Stone Mountain itself private property? I know that Stone Mountain Park is at least privately run by some outfit called "Silver Dollar," but I don't know if they actually own the land around the base of the rock and/or the rock and the carving itself.

}:-)4

[SWEETSUNNYSOUTH]

There sure wouldn't be anything left worth keeping.

[TheDon]

Quite right. They weren't about to let the Union be destroyed so that Southerners could keep their slaves. :^)