Posted on 10/10/2010 2:24:00 PM PDT by BigReb555
The American flag, which Robert E. Lee had defended as a soldier, flew at half mast in Lexington, Virginia.
(Excerpt) Read more at canadafreepress.com ...
Due to the nature of the rebellion, and the definition of honor in a time when it meant something, it was recognized that both sides were honorable men that loved America.
That is why the United States Army uses both North and South leaders when naming their military posts.
"Although naming forts and camps after distinguished military veterans from both the U.S. and Confederate Armies had become a common practice, it was not the official policy until the publication of a War Department memorandum dated 20 November 1939. This memorandum stated that “The War Department has enunciated a policy of naming military reservations in honor of deceased distinguished officers regardless of the arm or service in which they have served.” In the years 1939-1946, almost all military installations designated as forts or camps were named after distinguished military individuals, including veterans of the Confederate Army."
Robert E.Lee = traitor to the USA!
The North had slave states also, slavery ended in the South before it ended in the North.
Many people today forget that States prior to the Civil War were viewed much differently than they are today. There wasn’t nearly as much sense of Nationalism as we have now. We didn’t even have a national currency at the time, like every other country on the planet.
Robert E. Lee was especially reluctant to join the other U.S. officers who resigned to join the confederacy. He was tempted by Lincoln’s offer to command the Union Army. Yet he could not persuade himself to raise his hand against Virginia.
I think Lee would of had no problems lighting a cigar with the Constitution of the Confederacy, but when he saw his state was in the cross hairs of the Army of the Potomac, what else could he do?
quote: “There’s no doubt he did great things, but the biggest mistake of his life was joining the enemy of the United States and leading it in battle against said United States. That alone, in my opinion, ranks him at the level of Benedict Arnold, which keeps me from honoring him.”
And yes, I understand that perspective. However, the war was vastly more complex than one side being totally right and one side being totally wrong, which is why it must be studied and understood.
My post was not about the war. It was simply about Lee, from an opinion of someone who knew him well.
Who was it that lead the US forces at Harpers Ferry?
The Forces that captured John Brown...
Hint, several interesting men where there.
I make a comment about ME not honoring Robert E. Lee, then you go and make it personal by questioning my lack of education? You know absolutely nothing about me, outside of what you may read on FR. I'm pretty sure that my educational background hasn't been mentioned much on here.
As for my name, it was chosen almost 11 years ago when I joined FR. Again, that tells you absolutely nothing about how educated I am.
As for my opinion of Robert E. Lee, and the democrats who ran the south during and after the Civil War, I don't need a elementary/middle school/high school/college professor to tell me how to think, or to tell me what happened. I am smart enough to read on my own, form my own opinions, and to debate them without questioning someone's educational background.
Well said. Thank you for your and your ancestors’ service. Robert E. Lee was one of the greatest American generals that has ever served the US Army, as well as the CSA.
Stories don't end, except in fiction.
I spent my Freshman year as a “Rat” at VMI back in 1970. Lee was greatly honored as a man, but Jackson was at least his peer among the faculty and Cadets.
Both were great men in different ways. Their likes are increasingly rare, like the fading echos of the generation that founded our nation. Who of their stature will emerge to lead us in the upcoming conflagration?
I'm not jumping on people who want to honor him. I understand those who honor him, and I don't hold a grudge against them. I personally just choose not to do so.
Trust me, I'm southern born and raised, and there's something special about the south that the northern states don't have. This just happens to be one of the sore spots for my heritage, in my honest opinion.
vilifying General Lee, in my opinion, is a useless exercise. He, like others on both sides, were fighting for things they believed in. For us to properly understand that over 150 years after the war is, I submit, somewhat difficult. My feeling is that all participants in that exercise were driven by local concerns and beliefs. Judging that should be left to the Almighty.
Good men can fight well for a bad cause. Fiction? The South lost in 1865. That’s fiction? Just what is that makes all these ‘’Confederates in the Attic’’ want to re-live 1861-65?
I’m reminded of a short piece of grainy black & white film, showing old bearded men in their 80s and 90’s, many wearing pieces of their old uniforms and medals, embracing each other and shaking hands with those who they once tried to kill. If they would have known, they would have been embarrassed, no sickened, at the thought that 145 years after the war some of their great great great grand children would still think like you.
Here are some more honors that reinforce the respect that the United States has always shown General Lee. If it still puzzles you, then taking a look at some pre 1980 textbooks and history books should explain it.
“Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial, also known as the Custis-Lee Mansion and located in present-day Arlington National Cemetery, is maintained by the National Park Service as a memorial to Lee.”
“The USS Robert E. Lee, a George Washington class ballistic missile submarine built in 1958, was named for Lee.”
“In 1900, Lee was one of the first 29 individuals selected for the Hall of Fame for Great Americans (the first Hall of Fame in the United States), designed by Stanford White, on the Bronx, New York, campus of New York University, now a part of Bronx Community College.”
“On September 21, 1955, the United States Postal Service released a 30¢ Liberty Issue postage stamp honoring Lee.”
The stake to the heart of states' rights occurred in Philadelphia, in 1787.
WADR: Personally, if I am allowed to have a favorite Confederate, MY favorite Confederate General is Gen. James Longstreet; who TRIED to prevent Marse Robert from launching Pickett’s Charge on July 3, 1863 at Gettysburg.
Longstreet told Lee it COULD NOT SUCCEED. Marse Robert, by this time in the war, thinking he was INVINCIBLE, wouldn’t listen.
“Those whom the gods would destroy they first make drunk with power.” — Historian Arnold Toynbee
That's all it was good for. It had all the same fatal flaws as the US Constitution. Hence, the 'confederacy' was in name only. In reality, it was a consolidated centralized system on all fours with ours. It wasn't a confederacy. Ironic, isn't it?
Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial, also known as the Custis-Lee Mansion and located in present-day Arlington National Cemetery, is maintained by the National Park Service as a memorial to Lee.
The history of that cemetery wasn't exactly started as a memorial to Lee. In fact, it was started to make sure he wouldn't return to live there. I'm glad the house is now kept and funded. It's a part of history, and I'm not of the opinion that we should wipe the slate of all historical references. And I'll go one step more and say that it's a beautiful house.
People should realize that the South was deeply divided. Many, esp. in border states, opposed secession, but they could not abandon their homeland when the imperialist forces of the Federal govt. invaded and waged total war on civilians, just as their ancestors had fought against the British imperialists. This country was not founded as another empire. It was a voluntary confederation of diverse people and their States.
I recommend this book for anyone who wants a look at Lee's character and a balanced feel for the times.
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