[wbarmy]

Gen Lee was an oathbreaker, if nothing else.

He swore an oath to the United States and broke it.

He swore to not serve in the Confederate military and broke his oath.

He swore to only join to defend Virginia and broke it.

He swore to win the war and failed.

There is little if nothing to emulate in Gen Lee.

[jeffersondem]

“There is little if nothing to emulate in Gen Lee.”

I remember when I drank my first beer.

[central_va]

Lee's dedication to his native State of Virginia charted his course for the bitter Civil War years, causing him to reluctantly resign from a distinguished career in the United States Army and to serve as General of the Army of Northern Virginia. He, thus, forfeited his rights to U.S. citizenship.

Once the war was over, he firmly felt the wounds of the North and South must be bound up. He sought to show by example that the citizens of the South must dedicate their efforts to rebuilding that region of the country as a strong and vital part of the American Union.

In 1865, Robert E. Lee wrote to a former Confederate soldier concerning his signing the Oath of Allegiance, and I quote: "This war, being at an end, the Southern States having laid down their arms, and the questions at issue between them and the Northern States having been decided, I believe it to be the duty of everyone to unite in the restoration of the country and the reestablishment of peace and harmony....

As a soldier, General Lee left his mark on military strategy. As a man, he stood as the symbol of valor and of duty. As an educator, he appealed to reason and learning to achieve understanding and to build a stronger nation. The course he chose after the war became a symbol to all those who had marched with him in the bitter years towards Appomattox.

General Lee's character has been an example to succeeding generations, making the restoration of his citizenship an event in which every American can take pride.

--- President Gerald R. Ford

[the OlLine Rebel]

What a simplistic asinine statement.

So, the great George Washington was an oath-breaker, and consequently nothing to emulate?

It’s all relative. If Washington lost, you’d be declaring him a mere traitor and worthless, too.

[DiogenesLamp]

Oh, goody! Now do George Washington!

Putz.

[jmacusa]

We think alike. Lee was a bum. He and Jeff Davis should have realized the war was lost after Gettysburg but they continued the slaughter for another two years. The two of them could have been hung— and they should have been but political expediency and Lincolns generosity precluded it.

[Lurker]

“There is little if nothing to emulate in Gen Lee.”

You wouldn’t have been fit to polish his boots.

L

[wgmalabama]

You are an idiot. I hate FR civil war threads. It is never so simple as the arm chair quarterback online make it out to be. Thank God we never have to make such hard decisions and be judged by history. I can accept the judgement of his adversaries and contemporaries. Most were honorable men. More to be said for the idiots on this forum when this subject comes up.

[mo]

Lincoln did to the South EXACTLY what King George tried to do to the colonies 80 years earlier.

Thats why its still a bit of an issue for a lot of folks.

[Pelham]

Thanks for removing all doubt as to whether or not you are a fool.