Was Robert E. Lee a Great General?

Like many others I have always been fascinated with Robert E. Lee and the American Civil War. Robert E. Lee turned down a position with the Union Army to go and serve his native Virginia in the Confederacy. I believe Lee's decision to fight for the South lengthened the war and cost thousands of lives.

Without European intervention the Confederacy was destined to fail in any conflict with the industrially superior North. Robert E. Lee was a good enough general who his men believed in, to prolong the war. It didn't help the Union that their early generals were not up to snuff.

Whether Robert E. Lee would have been a great Union General is not even why he was so valuable. Denying the services of Robert E. Lee to the South would have shortened the war by months if not years. Robert E. Lee had actually commanded the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and had made a name for himself in the Mexican War and in capturing abolitionist John Brown.

Robert E. Lee decided his duty lay with Virginia and not with the United States. Keep in mind that the country was not even 100 years old in 1861 and Southerners often identified more with their state than the Union. Robert E. Lee came from a long line of distinguished Virginians and his wife was a descendant of George Washington.

It must have been a tough decision for Robert E. Lee to abandon an oath made to God that he would serve and defend the United States. By all accounts he was a God fearing man and like many was convinced that God supported his cause. I wonder if he still felt that way when his side lost?

Robert E. Lee's great strength and his great weakness was the attack. Lee could take a outnumbered force and find a way to win. However his desire to always attack did not take into account his foe's superior numbers and industrial advantage. The Civil War was one of attrition and eventually the South ran out of resources. If Lee had been more of a defensive minded general then the Confederates may have bled the Union until public opinion forced an end to the war. Confederate troops fought better on Southern soil than as invaders of the North, plus the supply lines were shorter.

Of course his offenses into the North did take some heat off of the South and Richmond. And if Gettysburg had been won, the war may have ended with it. But I feel that Lee was a tad too aggressive.

Even today in the South Robert E. Lee is revered and held in almost mystical regards. I guess he has earned that status but he was far from a perfect general. If you liked this article please check out the one I wrote about "Stonewall" Jackson by clicking this link.

Sources

Robertelee.org