[Tallguy]

I think that people need to realize that the brilliance of Lee as a general was brought forth precisely because the strategic situation for him was so desperate. He HAD to accept a higher level of risk in his dispositions.

Grant had a similar capacity when you look at his western campaigns. He also knew when to gamble. But the consensus view of Grant as a brute-force general was formed during the Wilderness Campaign & the Seige of Petersburg. It’s a view of Grant that still is with us today.

[Charles Martel]

I think that people need to realize that the brilliance of Lee as a general was brought forth precisely because the strategic situation for him was so desperate. He HAD to accept a higher level of risk in his dispositions.

Lee's capabilities were certainly known prior to his dealing with that desperate strategic situation; Lincoln did offer command of the Union army to him in 1861.