Abraham lincoln on robert e lee

Search the Wayback Machine Search icon An illustration of a magnifying glass. Sign up for free Log in. Lincoln or Lee : abraham lincoln on robert e lee and contrast of the two greatest leaders in the War Between the States. The narrow and accidental margins of success. Bookreader Item Preview. It appears your browser does not have it turned on.

Please see your browser settings for this feature. No record exists of what exactly was said between Lincoln and Grant when they met at Fort Monroe. Grant made no mention of the meeting in his memoirs at all. At the least, whatever thought Grant had that his original vision could remain intact about who would hold and who would skin was undoubtedly put to rest.

William B. For his part, Lincoln had been entertaining the possibility of bringing McClellan back in a military capacity. In any case, Lincoln undoubtedly made clear that he did not believe that any of these men possessed the qualities necessary for dealing with Early. To be sure, all three had demonstrated their ability to conduct defensive operations and were thus suited to a holding mission.

But that was not what the president had in mind for the Valley. Lincoln wanted a skinner. Finally, Grant proposed Maj. Philip Sheridan for the job, a man who had repeatedly displayed the will and ability to skin the Confederates. Some in Washington had qualms about whether Sheridan was experienced enough for such an important command, but he had the qualities Lincoln wanted.

Wherever the enemy goes let our troops go also. Until Early had been eliminated as a menace once and for all, Grant knew he could not hope to get Sheridan back to the task of defeating Lee. Thus, in front of Petersburg and Richmond, Grant would spend the late summer and fall of conducting relatively limited—though by no means inconsequential or bloodless—operations around the James.

Historian Ethan S. Beware of rashness, but with energy and sleepless vigilance, go forward and give us victories. Both sides forget that we are all Americans. I foresee that our country will pass through a terrible ordeal, a necessary expiation, perhaps, for our national sins. Join the Discussion. Lee sent an application to Grant and wrote to President Johnson on June 13, I graduated at the Mil.

Academy at West Point in June Resigned from the U. Army April ' Virginia 9 April ' On October 2,the same day that Lee was inaugurated as president of Washington College, he signed his Amnesty Oath, thereby complying fully with the provision of Johnson's proclamation. Lee was not pardoned, nor was his citizenship restored. Three years later, on December 25,Johnson proclaimed a second amnesty which removed previous exceptions, such as the one that affected Lee.

Lee, who had opposed secession and remained mostly indifferent to politics before the Civil War, supported President Andrew Johnson 's plan of Presidential Reconstruction that took effect in — However, he opposed the Congressional Republican program that took effect in In Februaryhe was called to testify before the Joint Congressional Committee on Reconstruction in Washington, where he expressed support for Johnson's plans for quick restoration of the former Confederate states, and argued that restoration should return, as far as possible, to the status quo ante in the Southern states' governments with the exception of slavery.

Lee told the committee that "every one with whom I associate expresses kind feelings towards the freedmen. They wish to see them get on in the world, and particularly to take up some occupation for a living, and to turn their hands to some work. However, when he was asked "General, you are very competent to judge of the capacity of black men for acquiring knowledge: I want your opinion on that capacity, as compared with the capacity of white men?

In an interview in MayLee said: "The Radical party are likely to do a great deal of harm, for we wish now for good feeling to grow up between North and South, and the President, Mr. Johnson, has been doing much to strengthen the feeling in favor of the Union among us. The relations between the Negroes and the whites were friendly formerly, and would remain so if legislation be not passed in favor of the blacks, in a way that will only do them harm.

InLee's ally Alexander H. Stuart drafted a public letter of endorsement for the Democratic Party's presidential campaignin which Horatio Seymour ran against Lee's old foe Republican Grant. Lee signed it along with thirty-one other ex-Confederates. The Democratic campaign, eager to publicize the endorsement, published the statement widely in newspapers.

They have grown up in our midst, and we have been accustomed from childhood to look upon them with kindness. But this opposition springs from no feeling of enmity, but from a deep-seated conviction that, at present, the negroes have neither the intelligence nor the other qualifications which are necessary to make them safe depositories of political power.

In his public statements and private correspondence, Lee argued that a tone of reconciliation and patience would further the interests of white Southerners better than hotheaded antagonism to federal authority or the use of violence. Lee repeatedly expelled white students from Washington College for violent attacks on local black men, and publicly urged obedience to the authorities and respect for law and order.

Abraham lincoln on robert e lee

By doing this and encouraging our citizens to engage in the duties of life with all their heart and mind, with a determination not to be turned aside by thoughts of the past and fears of the future, our country will not only be restored in material prosperity, but will be advanced in science, in virtue and in religion. On September 28,Lee suffered a stroke.

Two weeks later, shortly after 9 a. According to one account, Lee's last words the day of his death were, "Tell Hill he must come up! Strike the tent", [ ] but this is not fully confirmed because there are conflicting accounts and because Lee's stroke had resulted in aphasiapossibly rendering him unable to speak. At first no suitable coffin for the body could be located.

The muddy roads were too flooded for anyone to get in or out of the town of Lexington. An undertaker had ordered three from Richmond that had reached Lexington, but due to unprecedented flooding from long-continued heavy rains, the caskets were washed down the Maury River. Two neighborhood boys, C. Chittum and Robert E. Hillis, found one of the coffins that had been swept ashore.

Undamaged, it was used for the body, though it was a bit short for him. As a result, Lee was buried without shoes. Attendees of the procession included officers and soldiers of the Confederate Army, cadets, faculty and visitors of VMI, students and faculty of Lee University, and Virginia state dignitaries. The Episcopal Church funeral service was led by Rev.

William Pendleton. Lee was buried underneath the college chapel where his body remains. Among the supporters of the Confederacy, Lee came to be even more revered after his surrender than he had been during the war, when Stonewall Jackson had been the great Confederate hero. He was a foe without hate; a friend without treachery; a soldier without cruelty; a victor without oppression, and a victim without murmuring.

He was a public officer without vices; a private citizen without wrong; a neighbour without reproach; a Christian without hypocrisy, and a man without guile. He was a Caesarwithout his ambition; Frederickwithout his tyranny; Napoleonwithout his selfishness, and Washingtonwithout his reward. By the end of the 19th century, Lee's popularity had spread to the North.

According to my notion of military history there is as much instruction both in strategy and in tactics to be gleaned from General Lee's operations of as there is to be found in Napoleon's campaigns of Military historians continue to pay attention to his battlefield tactics and maneuvering, though many think he should have designed better strategic plans for the Confederacy.

He was not given full direction of the Southern war effort until late in the conflict. Historian Eric Foner writes that at the end of his life. Lee had become the embodiment of the Southern cause. A generation later, he was a national hero. The s and early 20th century witnessed the consolidation of white supremacy in the post-Reconstruction South and widespread acceptance in the North of Southern racial attitudes.

Lee has been commemorated on U. A second "regular-issue" stamp was issued in His horse Traveller is pictured in the background. Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia was commemorated on its th anniversary on November 23,with a three-cent postage stamp. The central design is a view of the university, flanked by portraits of generals George Washington and Robert E.

The stamp was issued on September 19,in conjunction with the dedication of the Stone Mountain Confederate Memorial in Georgia on May 9, The design of the stamp replicates the memorial, the largest high relief sculpture in the world. It is carved on the side of Stone Mountain feet above the ground. Stone Mountain also led to Lee's appearance on a commemorative cointhe Stone Mountain Memorial half dollar.

During the s and '30s dozens of specially designed half dollars were struck to raise money for various events and causes. This issue had a particularly wide distribution, with 1, minted. Unlike some of the other issues it remains a very common coin. Inafter the war, Lee was paroled and signed an oath of allegianceasking to have his citizenship of the United States restored.

However, his application was not processed by Secretary of State William Sewardand as a result Lee did not receive a pardon and his citizenship was not restored. Lee" was introduced into the Senate by Senator Harry F. Byrd Jr. I-VAthe result of a five-year campaign to accomplish this. Proponents portrayed the lack of pardon as a mere clerical error.

The resolution, which enacted Public Law 94—67, was passed, and the bill was signed by President Gerald Ford on August 5. Patton said he had prayed to a abraham lincoln on robert e lee of General Lee, as well as one of Stonewall Jacksonas a young child, believing them to be portraits of God and Jesus, and associating their features with his perceptions of the two men.

Lee opposed the construction of public memorials to Confederate rebellion on the grounds that they would prevent the healing of wounds inflicted during the war. Arlington House, The Robert E. During the Civil War, the grounds of the mansion were selected as the site of Arlington National Cemeteryin part to ensure that Lee would never again be able to abraham lincoln on robert e lee to his home.

The United States designated the mansion as a National Memorial to Lee ina mark of widespread respect for him in both the North and South. This monument to Lee was unveiled on May 29, ; overpeople attended this dedication. That has been described as "the day white Virginia stopped admiring Gen. Lee and started worshiping him". Lee's portrayal on a mural on Richmond's flood wall on the James Riverconsidered offensive by some, was removed in the late s, but currently is back on the flood wall.

Architect John Russell Pope created the base, which was dedicated on the anniversary of the eve of the Battle of Chancellorsville. Lee Memorial Park. A statue of Robert E. Capitol in Washington, D. It was removed from the Capitol on December 21,after a state commission voted to replace it with a statue of Civil Rights activist Barbara Rose Johns.

Accompanying him on horseback in the relief are Stonewall Jackson and Jefferson Davis. The birthday of Robert E. Lee is celebrated or commemorated in several states. Day, [ ] [ ] while in Georgia, this occurred on the day after Thanksgiving beforewhen the state stopped officially recognizing the holiday. Day which is the third Monday in January, [ ] untilwhen the Virginia legislature eliminated the holiday, making Election Day a state holiday instead.

Throughout the South, many primary and secondary schools were also named for him as well as private schools such as Robert E. Lee Academy in Bishopville, South Carolina. Lee is featured on the Stone Mountain Memorial half dollar. Lee in honor of this Confederate General. During the next year, she became one of the South's most famous Confederate blockade runnerssuccessfully making more than twenty runs through the Union blockade.

The Mississippi River steamboat Robert E. Lee was named for Lee after the Civil War. It was the participant in an St. The Robert E. Lee won the race. Lee by Lewis F. Muir and L. Wolfe Gilbert. Leea George Washington -class submarine built inwas named for Lee, [ ] as was the M3 Lee tank, produced in and The Commonwealth of Virginia issues an optional license plate honoring Lee, making reference to him as 'The Virginia Gentleman'.

A recent biographer, Jonathan Horn, outlines the unsuccessful efforts in Washington to memorialize Lee in the naming of the Arlington Memorial Bridge after both Grant and Lee. In Februarythe City Council of CharlottesvilleVirginiavoted to remove a sculpture of Leewho has no historical link to the city, as well as one of Stonewall Jackson.

This was temporarily stayed by court action, though the city did rename Lee Park: first to Emancipation Park, then later to Market Street Park. As of Julythe statue has been permanently removed. The statue was melted in October Several other statues and monuments to Lee were removed in the aftermath of the incident, including:. Douglas Southall Freeman 's Pulitzer prize-winning four-volume R.

Lee: A Biographywhich was for a long period considered the definitive work on Lee, downplayed his involvement in slavery and emphasized Lee as a virtuous person. Eric Foner, who describes Freeman's volume as a " hagiography ", notes that on the whole, Freeman "displayed little interest in Lee's relationship to slavery. The index to his four volumes contained 22 entries for 'devotion to duty', 19 for 'kindness', 53 for Lee's celebrated horse, Traveller.

But 'slavery', 'slave emancipation' and 'slave insurrection' together received five. Freeman observed, without offering details, that slavery in Virginia represented the system 'at its best'. He ignored the postwar testimony of Lee's former slave Wesley Norris about the brutal treatment to which he had been subjected. More recent biographies offer a broader variety of perspectives.

Thomas L. Lee: A Biography by Emory M. Thomas attempted a "post-revisionist" compromise between the traditional and more recent views. Lee: A Life by Allen C. Guelzo focuses on a study of Lee's character. His part in the Civil War is told from the perspective of his horse in Richard Adams 's book Traveller Lee is an obvious subject for American Civil War alternate histories.

Although Moore and Kantor's novels relegate him to a set of passing references, Lee is more of a main character in Turtledove's Guns. He is also the prime character of Turtledove's "Lee at the Alamo". Stirling and featuring Lee, whose Virginia is still a loyal British colony, fighting for the Crown against the Russians in Crimea. Robert Skimin 's Grey Victory features Lee as a supporting character preparing to run for the presidency in Lee's point of view.

Contents move to sidebar hide. Grant and the Union offensive. Article Talk. Read View source View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikiquote Wikisource Wikidata item. Confederate States general — For other uses, see General Lee disambiguation and Robert E. Lee disambiguation. United States Confederate States.

Colonel U. General C. Military Academy Army of Northern Virginia. See battles. Mary Anna Randolph Custis. George Mary William Robert Jr. Anne Eleanor Mildred. Fort MonroeHampton, Lee's early duty station. Fort Des MoinesMontrose, Lee's hand-drawn sketch. Mexican—American War. Early s: West Point and Texas. Late s: Arlington plantation and the Custis slaves.

Christ Church in Alexandria, Virginiawhere the Lees worshiped. Lee's views on race and slavery. Harpers Ferry and return to Texas, — Resignation from United States Army. Army of Northern Virginia commander June — June Further information: Army of Northern Virginia. Main article: Battle of Gettysburg. Summaries of Lee's Civil War battles.

President Johnson's amnesty pardons. Illness, death and funeral. On March 23,the U. Post Office issued a series of stampsone of which features Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. Lee, Liberty Issue of Lee, Jefferson Davis, Stonewall Jackson. Stone Mountain Issue of Monuments, memorials and commemorations. See also: List of memorials to Robert E.

Edward Virginius Valentinesculptor, Statue of Lee in Murray, Kentucky. University Chapel on the campus of Washington and Lee University. Unite the Right rally and removal of monuments. New York: Time Books. ISBN Grant and Lee. Washington, D. Lee ca. Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved February 18, Civil War Journal, The Leaders. Rutledge Hill Press.

United States Army Corps of Engineers. Archived from the original on July 23, Retrieved October 16, Retrieved July 13, Washington and Lee University. Archived from the original on June 13, Retrieved June 13, John Marshall; life, character and judicial services as portrayed in the centenary and memorial addresses and proceedings throughout the United States on Marshall day,and in the classic orations of Binney, Story, Phelps, Waite and Rawle.

Nielsen, Kim E. Helen Keller: selected writings. Archived from the original on March 27, Retrieved June 14, Archived from the original on January 14, Retrieved June 12,