Who was Robert E. Lee? Was he a hero or was he a traitor? For some, Robert E. Lee is an almost god like figure for others, he is a paradox. When Abraham Lincoln was elected President, South Carolina seceded and was quickly followed by six more southern states: Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. General Winfield Scott asked Colonel Robert E. Lee to take command of the United States Army to put down the rebellion. Lee, however, offered his services to the newly elected President of the Confederate States of America, Jefferson Davis. Mr. Davis accepted them and Lee was made a general in CSA service. By joining the Confederacy Lee was going against the Union. However, after the war Lee was very involved in uniting the Union again. It was said in The Hero of The South by Merrill Root that "the man who fought against the Union showed us what unity means".
English: Confederate General Robert E. Lee poses i...
Jefferson Davis, Präsident der CSA Deutsch: 1861:...
Portrait of Gen. Robert E. Lee, officer of the Con...(http://www.thenewamerican.com/tna/1997/vol3no22/vol13no22_lee.htm) Nevertheless he was still tried for treason. However, his case was dropped when he submitted to civil authorities by signing an oath of loyalty to the Union. Lee is obviously a very controversial historical figure, but when it comes down to it he is a true American hero. In fact, that is how he more or less was viewed after the war by the entire country.
Within just a few years of the war's end, Robert E. Lee had become a mythic figure for many Southerners. In 1868, Fanny Downing referred to Lee as "bathed in the white light which falls directly upon him from the smile of an approving and sustaining God." (http://www.wfu.edu/~matthetl/south/relee.html) This saintly imagery was elaborated and reinforced by many others. John W. Daniels who served on General Jubal A. Early's staff wrote: "The divinity in...
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this one is not as easy to find, but it does include plaigerism. A smart teacher might find it. a dumb teacher might not. ure call
"Steven Vincent Benet referred to Robert E. Lee as a "riddle unread." Certainly, that was the case in the South during the post Civil War period. Within just a few years of the war's end, Robert E. Lee the man had become a mythic figure for many Southerners, and some were even so bold as to suggest a measure of divinity. As early as 1868, Fanny Downing referred to Lee as "bathed in the white light which falls directly upon him from the smile of an approving and sustaining God." (Downing, Fanny, "Perfect Through Suffering." The Land We Love 4 (January 1868): 193-205.) This saintly imagery was elaborated and reinforced by others. John W. Daniels who served on General Jubal A. Early's staff wrote: "The Divinity in his bosom shone translucent through the man, and his spirit rose up to the Godlike." (Jones, Rev. J. William, D.D. Army of Northern Virginia Memorial Volume. Richmond: J.W. Randolph and English, 1880, p. 122.)"
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