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nAngreat commander, general, strategist…
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n…whonwon a lot of battles but is linked in our mind with the losing sidenof a war.
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nBornnon this day in 1807, Lee was the son of an officer who fought in thenRevolutionary War. He became a top graduate of the U.S. MilitarynAcademy and served the U.S. Army with distinction for 32 years. Henfought in the Mexican-American War and led the militia and U.S.nMarines who ended the Harper’s Ferry rebellion. n
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nBeforenVirginia seceded from the Union, President Lincoln and the commandingngeneral of the Union Army, Winfield Scott, wanted Lee in a topncommand post for the Union Army. In the meantime, the ConfederatenStates also offered him a command post for the South. Lee said thatnsuch secession was “revolution” and a betrayal of the country’snfounding fathers; he thought that “dissolution of the Union”nwould be a “calamity” and that a Civil War would be long andnbloody. He even said that he would never fight against the Union.
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Butnwhen Virginia seceded, he thought long and hard and finally decidednthat he owed more loyalty to his state than to his country. So he didntake over, after all, the command of the Confederate Army.
Butnwhen Virginia seceded, he thought long and hard and finally decidednthat he owed more loyalty to his state than to his country. So he didntake over, after all, the command of the Confederate Army.n
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nIndidn’t realize that 40% of the officers from Virginia chose the Unionnside, including some of Lee’s cousins. Also surprising to me was thatnLee’s wife favored the Union; his whole family, other than onendaughter, was against secession and was surprised by Lee’s decisionnto fight on behalf of the Confederacy. n
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| Gettysburg was a huge defeat for Lee and the Confederacy. Many see it as the turning point of the American Civil War. |
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nLearnnmore about the U.S. Civil War
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nSomenstudents created this website you can explore. Be sure to click “barngraphs” to compare the resources of the North and South. Can younsee why Robert E. Lee’s victories were called Phyrrhicnvictories—victories that have such a huge cost to the winner thatnthey ultimately lead to defeat? When Lee lost so many soldiers ton“win” a battle, he couldn’t as easily replace the soldiers, likenthe Union army could.
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nAlsonon this date:
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nArtist Paul Cezanne’s birthday
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nAnniversary of Captain Wilkes claiming Antarctica for the U.S.
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