Posted on 10/16/2018 7:26:21 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Donald Trump spoke at a rally in Lebanon, Ohio, Friday and decided to give a little Civil War history lesson to illustrate a point about native Ohioan Ulysses S. Grant.
It's not surprising that Twitter exploded in rage:
Robert E. Lee was not a great general, President Trump.
He waged a war to hold onto the legal institution of white supremacy. https://t.co/TZvUood3kg
— Southern Poverty Law Center (@splcenter) October 13, 2018
And now that Lost Cause "history" is being perpetuated by President of the United States. Robert E. Lee was not an incredible general. And monuments to his name are not "beautiful."
— Southern Poverty Law Center (@splcenter) October 13, 2018
Robert E Lee was part of a faction that was willing to rip this nation apart to protect its own interests at the expense of other people & the Constitution. https://t.co/1OV96ytz79
— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) October 13, 2018
Robert E. Lee was a traitor and a loser. Just like Donald J. Trump.
— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) October 13, 2018
Seven thousand Ohioan soldiers--fighting for the Union--were killed during the Civil War. Trump praises Robert E. Lee, who led the troops that killed them. And Trump's Ohio supporters cheer. Now that's deplorable.
— David Corn (@DavidCornDC) October 13, 2018 You know what? All of this is true -- to one degree or another.
But Trump never said that Robert E. Lee was a great person. He said he was a great general. And therein lies the story. Left-wing hysterics are entitled to their opinion about Lee, Grant, Lincoln, and Trump. But Robert E. Lee's generalship, while much criticized, is considered by many historians to be without peer in U.S. military history -- and not just revisionist historians of the "Glorious Lost Cause."
Several of his victories are studied to this day at military academies around the world. He did more with less than any other general except perhaps George Washington. And perhaps the surest sign that Lee was a great general was the way the men under his command felt about him.
Say what you will about him, but just because he was a slave owner doesn't make him a poor general.
Trump, however, bollixed up the story on Lee and Grant, demonstrating a Bluto-like knowledge of history.
"So Robert E. Lee was a great general. And Abraham Lincoln developed a phobia. He couldn’t beat Robert E. Lee," Trump said before launching into a monologue about Lee, Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant. "He was going crazy. I don’t know if you know this story. But Robert E. Lee was winning battle after battle after battle. And Abraham Lincoln came home, he said, 'I can’t beat Robert E. Lee,' " Trump said.
"And he had all of his generals, they looked great, they were the top of their class at West Point. They were the greatest people. There’s only one problem — they didn’t know how the hell to win. They didn’t know how to fight. They didn’t know how," he continued.
Trump went on to say, multiple times, that Grant had a drinking problem, saying that the former president "knocked the hell out of everyone" as a Union general.
"Man was he a good general. And he’s finally being recognized as a great general," Trump added.
To quote Boon, "Forget it. He's rolling."
Many of the Southern and Northen Generals fought together in Mexico. They had attended West Point together and even shared family ties. At Gettysburg one Southern officer sent his wedding ring and a note to his brother in law.a union officer, to his wife. Grant understood what had to be done and did it. One of his more brilliant moves was ignoring Augusta Ga. Augusta had to be defended by the confederacy because of the Augusta powder works. The confederate troops were nailed to the ground and posed no threat. Destroying lines of communication and transportation between Augusta and the rest of the south was as effective as destroying the powder works and the southerners defending it. Northern and Southern officers joined ranks again to fight Spain after the civil war. So many liberals are so ignorant of history.
Right.
The Vicksburg campaign was the most brilliant of the war. Further, Grant had a strategy that he stuck with the entire war. It was essentially Winfield Scott's anaconda strategy. Once Grant was Commander in Chief he had the power to fully implement it and at that point it was just a matter of time. I can't see that Lee ever had an overall strategy, he just went defending battle after battle and got creamed the two times he took the offense. In the field Grant never made the same mistake twice and learned the lessons of every battle he fought. You can't say the same about Lee.
The greatest general is the one that takes the surrender of the other.
The South, the Germans, the Carthaginians all had better kill ratios and significant tactical victories. They all LOST.
The more you read and learn about the War, the more you see that “you had to dance with who you brung.” Lee and Grant had very different resources, geographic positions and political issues.
Criticisms of Lee at Gettysburg often overlook the fact that armies wasted away regardless of battle losses. The hard fact there was that Lee would never have that army to use again anyway. Even a month later, it would be much weaker, even without battle losses.
Grant had other issues that he dealt with.
With the advantage of hindsight, any number of men might have been able to replicate Grant’s success. However, even with hindsight, few could do what Lee did. And since this thread started being about PRESIDENT TRUMP, I would say NONE OF US could replicate his success!
Slavery was evil and do agree for that reason the south losing the war of northern aggression was desirable, but foolish it was and is not. Another is coming one day, unless a peaceful divorce can occur. I will not live in subjugation like the sheeple of cali, illinois, ny, massachusetts, or most blue states. We truly are two nations one urban and one rural with diametrically opposed world views, just like then.
Complete nonsense.
Washington faced the same problems and won. Lee lost due to his hidebound fixation on offensive warfare and his strategic myopia
Stonewall Jackson, Longstreet or Joe Johnson could of done what Lee did against the sub par Generals the Union put up against Lee
NO other Union General could do what Grant did. That why Grant Vicksburg campaign is still studied at West Point now.
Liberals always miss the point their stupidity glows brighter by the day
Most idiot Americans know nothing about Lee or Grant pre or post Civil War. There is vast collection of knowledge written about them and other generals. The American Civil War was very complex and very relevant to today. It is maddening that sound bites, moronic Twitter blather and media sewage replace truth.
Longstreet understood that.
Lee was also a great man. I don’t care who anyone is. One just has to look how he lived.
Military historians have long identified Lee as a great general. Trump was only quoting history.
Saying Rommel was a great general, or Zhukov was a great general, doesn’t make one a Nazi or a Communist.
Liberals see the fantasy world they made—not the real world.
1. The Civil War was about more than just slavery.
2. General Lee was a great general.
3. Hitler was a great speaker (how else did he talk the Germans into his mad plans).
4. General Rommel was a Great General as well.
5. General Patton was also a great general.
6. FDR was a great speaker but a poor economist.
7. Obama was and is a great speaker.
So true. Histories most significant turning points are defined by successful (or failed) military leaders. Failure to study and understand how they won (or lost) nations only should be discouraged lest we repeat tragic historical mistakes.
...maybe behind a teleprompter. On the stump he is really an embarrassment, in his use/misuse of language, his monotonic delivery, and his stuttering.
Northern sgression. What a joke. Thanks for the laugh.
So the greatest general this country every produced got whipped by a drunk? How embarrassing.
Yes, he did. They all understood that. Some were more realistic than others.
Modern research have discovered that the casualty count at Cold Harbor may have been badly overstated. Gordon Rhea has written a five volume history of Grant's Overland Campaign and his research leads him to reach a casualty count of between one-quarter and one-third of the popularly quoted 12,000 killed, wounded, and missing.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.