The Myth of the Lost Cause

The Myth of the Lost Cause PDF

Author: Edward H. Bonekemper

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2015-10-05

Total Pages: 202

ISBN-13: 1621574733

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History isn't always written by the winners... Twenty-first-century controversies over Confederate monuments attest to the enduring significance of our nineteenth-century Civil War. As Lincoln knew, the meaning of America itself depends on how we understand that fratricidal struggle. As soon as the Army of Northern Virginia laid down its arms at Appomattox, a group of Confederate officers took up their pens to refight the war for the history books. They composed a new narrative—the Myth of the Lost Cause—seeking to ennoble the sacrifice and defeat of the South, which popular historians in the twentieth century would perpetuate. Unfortunately, that myth would distort the historical imagination of Americans, north and south, for 150 years. In this balanced and compelling correction of the historical record, Edward Bonekemper helps us understand the Myth of the Lost Cause and its effect on the social and political controversies that are still important to all Americans.

Robert E. Lee

Robert E. Lee PDF

Author: Allen C. Guelzo

Publisher: Vintage

Published: 2022-08-09

Total Pages: 625

ISBN-13: 1101912227

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A WALL STREET JOURNAL BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • From the award-winning historian and best-selling author of Gettysburg comes the definitive biography of Robert E. Lee. An intimate look at the Confederate general in all his complexity—his hypocrisy and courage, his inner turmoil and outward calm, his disloyalty and his honor. "An important contribution to reconciling the myths with the facts." —New York Times Book Review Robert E. Lee is one of the most confounding figures in American history. Lee betrayed his nation in order to defend his home state and uphold the slave system he claimed to oppose. He was a traitor to the country he swore to serve as an Army officer, and yet he was admired even by his enemies for his composure and leadership. He considered slavery immoral, but benefited from inherited slaves and fought to defend the institution. And behind his genteel demeanor and perfectionism lurked the insecurities of a man haunted by the legacy of a father who stained the family name by declaring bankruptcy and who disappeared when Robert was just six years old. In Robert E. Lee, the award-winning historian Allen Guelzo has written the definitive biography of the general, following him from his refined upbringing in Virginia high society, to his long career in the U.S. Army, his agonized decision to side with Virginia when it seceded from the Union, and his leadership during the Civil War. Above all, Guelzo captures Robert E. Lee in all his complexity--his hypocrisy and courage, his outward calm and inner turmoil, his honor and his disloyalty.

Meet Robert E Lee

Meet Robert E Lee PDF

Author: George W.S. Trow

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers

Published: 2011-11-30

Total Pages: 51

ISBN-13: 0307800237

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Meet ROBERT E. LEE is the story of a great American leader forced to make a terrible decision. Robert E. Lee the Virginian, son of a Revolutionary hero, served in the U.S. Army as America moved towards Civil War. Loving his country, he hated to see the Union split, but he could not fight against the South. His agonizing decision, his brilliant military leadership, and the fine example he set when the battle was done, are all recounted in this thoroughly researched and richly illustrated book.

How Robert E. Lee Lost the Civil War

How Robert E. Lee Lost the Civil War PDF

Author: Edward H. Bonekemper

Publisher:

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 254

ISBN-13: 9781887901154

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This book challenges the general view that Robert E. Lee was a military genius who staved off inevitable Confederate defeat against insurmountable odds. Instead, the author contends that Lee was responsible for the South's loss in a war it could have won.Instead, as this book demonstrates, Lee unnecessarily went for the win, squandered his irreplaceable troops, and weakened his army so badly that military defeat became inevitable. It describes how Lee's army took 80,000 casualties in Lees first fourteen months of command-while imposing 73,000 casualties on his opponents. With the Confederacy outnumbered four to one, Lee's aggressive strategy and tactics proved to be suicidal. Also described arc Lee's failure to take charge of the battlefield (such as on the second day of Gettysburg), his overly complex and ineffective battle plans (such as those at Antietam and during the Seven Days' campaign), and his vague and ambiguous orders (such as those that deprived him of Jeb Stuart's services for most of Gettysburg).Bonekemper looks beyond Lee's battles in the East and describes how Lee's Virginia-first myopia played a major role in crucial Confederate failures in the West. He itemizes Lee's refusals to provide reinforcements for Vicksburg or Tennessee in mid-1863, his causing James Longstreet to arrive at Chickamauga with only a third of his troops, his idea to move Longstreet away from Chattanooga just before Grant's troops broke through the undeemanned Confederates there, and his failure to reinforce Atlanta in the critical months before the 1864 presidential election.Bonekemper argues that Lee's ultimate failure was his prolonging of the hopeless and bloody slaughter even afterUnion victory had been ensured by a series of events: the fall of Atlanta, the re-election of Lincoln, and the fall of Petersburg and Richmond.Finally, the author explores historians' treatment of Lee, including the deification of him by failed Confederate generals attempting to resurrect their own reputations. Readers will not fred themselves feeling neutral about this stinging critique of the hero of The Lost Cause.

The Secret Trial of Robert E. Lee

The Secret Trial of Robert E. Lee PDF

Author: Thomas Fleming

Publisher: New Word City

Published: 2018-01-30

Total Pages: 720

ISBN-13: 1640190635

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1865. The Civil War is over, and the South lies in ruins. But for some people, former slaveholders have not been punished enough. A cabal of powerful men, led by Charles A. Dana, the assistant secretary of war, plot to break the spirit of the South once and for all - by convicting General Robert E. Lee of treason and hanging him like a common criminal. To this end, they have convened a secret military tribunal in Lee's former home in Arlington, Virginia. Jeremiah O'Brien of the New-York Tribune, a long-time protégé of Dana's, is the only reporter allowed to attend the trial. His exclusive reports on this momentous event, and the book he intends to write, will surely make his fortune. Yet as the trial proceeds, pitting the general against his accusers, O'Brien finds himself torn between his loyalty to Dana, his love for a Confederate spy, and his growing respect and compassion for Lee himself. The young reporter is supposed to be only an observer, but, in the end, it is O'Brien who must evaluate the evidence and determine the true meaning of honor. Written by New York Times bestselling author and historian Thomas Fleming, The Secret Trial of Robert E. Lee brings to life a fascinating chapter in American history that might well have happened - and perhaps truly did.

The Robert E. Lee Family Cooking and Housekeeping Book

The Robert E. Lee Family Cooking and Housekeeping Book PDF

Author: Anne Carter Zimmer

Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Press

Published: 2009-09-05

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 0807867659

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Based on Mrs. Lee's personal notebook and presented by her great-granddaughter, this charming book is a treasury of recipes, remedies, and household history. Both the original and modern versions of 70 recipes are included.

A Sin by Any Other Name

A Sin by Any Other Name PDF

Author: Robert W. Lee

Publisher: Convergent Books

Published: 2019-04-02

Total Pages: 192

ISBN-13: 0525576398

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A descendant of Confederate General Robert E. Lee chronicles his story of growing up with the South's most honored name, and the moments that forced him to confront the privilege, racism, and subversion of human dignity that came with it. With a foreword by Rev. Dr. Bernice A. King. The Reverend Robert W. Lee was a little-known pastor at a small church in North Carolina until the Charlottesville protests, when he went public with his denunciation of white supremacy in a captivating speech at the MTV Video Music Awards. Support poured in from around the country, but so did threats of violence from people who opposed the Reverend's message. In this riveting memoir, he narrates what it was like growing up as a Lee in the South, an experience that was colored by the world of the white Christian majority. He describes the widespread nostalgia for the Lost Cause and his gradual awakening to the unspoken assumptions of white supremacy which had, almost without him knowing it, distorted his values and even his Christian faith. In particular, Lee examines how many white Christians continue to be complicit in a culture of racism and injustice, and how after leaving his pulpit, he was welcomed into a growing movement of activists all across the South who are charting a new course for the region. A Sin by Any Other Name is a love letter to the South, from the South, by a Lee—and an unforgettable call for change and renewal.

Lee Considered

Lee Considered PDF

Author: Alan T. Nolan

Publisher: UNC Press Books

Published: 2000-11-09

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 0807898430

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Of all the heroes produced by the Civil War, Robert E. Lee is the most revered and perhaps the most misunderstood. Lee is widely portrayed as an ardent antisecessionist who left the United States Army only because he would not draw his sword against his native Virginia, a Southern aristocrat who opposed slavery, and a brilliant military leader whose exploits sustained the Confederate cause. Alan Nolan explodes these and other assumptions about Lee and the war through a rigorous reexamination of familiar and long-available historical sources, including Lee's personal and official correspondence and the large body of writings about Lee. Looking at this evidence in a critical way, Nolan concludes that there is little truth to the dogmas traditionally set forth about Lee and the war.

West Point History of the American Revolution

West Point History of the American Revolution PDF

Author: The United States Military Academy

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2017-11-21

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 1476782768

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This is the definitive concise military history of the Revolutionary War and the fourth volume in the West Point History of Warfare series is packed with essential images, exclusive tactical maps, and expert analysis commissioned by The United States Military Academy at West Point to teach the art of war to West Point cadets. The United States Military Academy at West Point is the gold standard for military history and the operational art of war, and has created military history texts for its cadets since 1836. Now, for the first time in more than forty years, the Academy has authorized a new series on the subject that will bear the name West Point. The first three volumes of the West Point History of Warfare released to the public have received rave reviews (and an Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Award) for their “superbly written” texts and their extraordinary maps, images, and data visualizations. The West Point History of the American Revolution is the last volume in this series of definitive concise military histories. Before it was a military academy, West Point was the most important fortress of the American Revolutionary War. Cadets at the Academy learn about the War of Independence in their “History of the Military Art” course, and now this text is available to the public so everyone can understand the birth of the United States Army, the military leadership of Generals George Washington and Nathanael Greene, and the failed British strategies that shaped the conflict. Award-winning military historians Samuel J. Watson, Edward Lengel, and Stephen Conway explain the military and political background to the war and its immediate causes, conduct, and consequences. Concise narrative and lucid analysis are complemented by an impressive array of artworks, contemporary cartoons, excerpts from participants’ letters and memoirs, and dozens of full-color maps prepared under the direction of West Point military historians. Authoritative, illuminating, and beautiful, The West Point History of the American Revolution belongs in the library of every serious student of the American Revolution.

Clouds of Glory

Clouds of Glory PDF

Author: Michael Korda

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2014-05-13

Total Pages: 998

ISBN-13: 0062116312

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New York Times Bestseller "Lively, approachable, and captivating. Like Lee himself, everything about Clouds of Glory is on a grand scale." —Boston Globe Michael Korda, the acclaimed biographer of Ulysses S. Grant and the bestsellers Ike and Hero, offers a brilliant, balanced, single-volume biography of Robert E. Lee, the first major study in a generation Korda paints a vivid and admiring portrait of Lee as a general and a devoted family man who, though he disliked slavery and was not in favor of secession, turned down command of the Union army in 1861 because he could not "draw his sword" against his own children, his neighbors, and his beloved Virginia. He was surely America's preeminent military leader, as calm, dignified, and commanding a presence in defeat as he was in victory. Lee's reputation has only grown in the 150 years since the Civil War, and Korda covers in groundbreaking detail all of Lee's battles and traces the making of a great man's undeniable reputation on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line, positioning him finally as the symbolic martyr-hero of the Southern Cause. Clouds of Glory features dozens of stunning illustrations, some never before seen, including eight pages of color images, sixteen pages of black-and-white images, and nearly fifty battle maps.