Robert E. Lee

Robert Edward Lee was born to be a military leader. His father was leader of George Washington's light cavalry in the War of Independence, and Robert himself was a prize pupil at West Point military academy. After successes in the Mexican war he became commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and then led it to both success and ultimate failure during the testing campaigns of the Civil War. If Chancellorsville was his finest achievement then Gettysburg was his downfall. His masterful tactical mind and strength of will may have sometimes been hampered by his occasional lack of firmness with middle-ranking officers but he contributed magnificently to the Confederate cause. This study describes the military career of the man who came to epitomise the spirit of the Southern states' rebellion.