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To: lentulusgracchus
But he never waged war on his own, in order to receive high rank from a constitutional adventurer the way Admiral Farragut did, or some other prominent Union generals we could talk about.

Demuring is one thing. Accusing is another and in your above reply you accused Farragut and others of remaining with the Union solely for promotion, when, in fact, all these men could have received equivilent or higher positions down south, serving a man with less respect for constitutional law than you accuse Lincoln of having. They followed a higher loyalty, one which I have no doubt George Washington would have approved of. But instead of respecting their decision you find some ulterior motive for it. And then you have the gall to take offense when someone does that you your marble saint.

649 posted on 05/29/2002 9:30:36 AM PDT by Non-Sequitur
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To: Non-Sequitur
in your above reply you accused Farragut and others of remaining with the Union solely for promotion, when, in fact, all these men could have received equivilent or higher positions down south,

If you'd read the rest of my reply before teeing me up, you'd see that I also contemplated the possibility that they remained in the Union service, because their own construction of the secession issue, viz. their personal political opinions, led them away from that duty to their neighbors that Lee exalted over his own political opinion. Lee was mistaken in his opinion of the States' rights to secede, but he wasn't so bullheaded as to allow his opinion, no matter how firmly held, to lead him to a clash of arms with his Virginia countrymen.

And, for the record, I don't have a marble saint. I've just expended quite a few electrons back up the thread (maybe you skipped those posts) agreeing with WP that Lee had serious weaknesses as a commander and as chief military advisor to Jefferson Davis and the Confederate government.

698 posted on 05/30/2002 5:37:33 AM PDT by lentulusgracchus
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