As for the uninformed that talk of Robert E. Lee being a traitor, please read his statement about his allegiance to Virginia. To paraphrase, “I can not raise arms against MY COUNTRY." Lee believed his country to be Virginia. Much like an Italian to day thinks of himself as an Italian not a European Unionist.
I don’t think so...
From the Articles of Confederation (Agreed to by Congress November 15, 1777):
Article I. The Stile of this Confederacy shall be “The United States of America.”
Preamble of the US Constitution:
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Lee doesn’t need to be excused or defended. His greatness continues to be an aspiration and an inspiration to those who read about him.
The others - because of their failure to grasp the greatness of Lee, will never understand what it really is to be an American.
I really do not want to get into it too much, but he raised his hand on the parade ground at West Point and swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. He did not swear an oath to Virginia. He did not swear an oath to support and defend the constitution of the US after defending Virginia.
I understand why he did what he did. I understand that he did what he thought was right. He paid for his “sin.”
But the oath he swore before God was the same one I took. It is the same type of oath you swear before God when you get married.
Do I think he was a traitor?