LeeWhen analyzing our history, we must study the protagonists as well as the antagonists. As we study the Civil War, the Confederates are often viewed as the antagonists. The only fair way to analyze the Civil War is to analyze it battle by battle, and not by critiquing the Confederates. The Confederate army has suffered much criticism and bias by historians, students, and history books. During the period of the Civil War, there were several renowned Confederate Generals, such as: Edmund Kirby Smith, Robert E. Lee, Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, and Thomas Jonathon “Stonewall” Jackson. Robert E. Lee is well known as being the most important general in the Confederate army. It has been said that Robert E. Lee’s military genius is the only factor that kept the Confederate army alive through the entire four years of the Civil War.Robert Edward Lee was born in Stratford, Virginia, on January nineteenth, 1807.He grew up at the Lee family mansion, which was situated on the Potomac River in Westmoreland County in the northern part of Virginia. Lee was born into a family of soldiers. His father was General Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee, a hero in the Revolutionary War. His family also includes two signers of the Declaration of Independence. As it is clearly evident, Robert E. Lee came from a prestigious family.Robert E. Lee graduated second in his class at the US Military Academy in 1829. He rose quickly in rank and he became captain in 1838. In 1847, his heroics in the Mexican War drew attention to his military leadership. In 1860, he was the leader of the Department of Texas. In 1861, the Union Army offered him a job, but he declined to become the General of the Confederate Army...
