Quotes by Gen. Robert E Lee
January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870
"Duty is the most sublime word in our language. Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more. You should never wish to do less."
"We made a great mistake in the beginning of our struggle, and I fear, in spite of all we can do, it will prove to be a fatal mistake. We appointed all our worst generals to command our armies, and all our best generals to edit the newspapers."--1863
"Our country demands all our strength, all our energies. To resist the powerful combination now forming against us will require every man at his place. If victorious, we will have everything to hope for in the future. If defeated, nothing will be left for us to live for."
"We could have pursued no other course without dishonor. And sad as the results have been, if it had all to be done again, we should be compelled to act in precisely the same manner."--- Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee was born January 19, 1807 in Westmoreland County, VA.
At the beginning of the secession movement Lee did not agree with the political and economic arguments for Southern independence. Though, unfortunate as the choice was, if pressed to choose between fighting for Virginia or for the Union, Lee realized the decision would be simple. Lee's loyalties proved to be on the side of the South.
On April 18, 1861 Lee was offered field command of the United States Army. On the following day, he received word that Virginia had seceded from the Union; he submitted his letter of resignation from the United States Army on April 20. Three days later, Lee accepted the position of commander of Virginia forces. From this point onward, Lee's identity became linked to the Confederate cause. At the age of 55, on May 31, 1862, Robert E. Lee was assigned to command the troops, which he named "The Army of Northern Virginia". During the Civil War he worked closely with Jefferson Davis, J.E.B. Stuart. He is best known for his victories in the Battle of second Manassas (second Bull Run), and the Battle of Chancellorsville. Named General-In-Chief of all Confederate Armies on February 6, 1865, his tenure in this position was cut short by his surrender to General Grant at the Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865, thus ending the Civil War.
After the war, Lee returned to Richmond, he was indicted for treason though never brought to trial. Lee died on October 12, 1870. Robert E. Lee was buried in Lexington and remembered as an educator, a soldier, and a Christian gentleman who lived his life with dignity. Lee has been compared to General George Washington in terms of the respect he earned from his soldiers, his region, and the nation.
Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson
(1824-1863)
Thomas J. Jackson is one of the most revered of all Confederate commanders. A graduate of West Point in 1846, he had served in the Mexican War, earning two brevets, before resigning to accept a professorship at the Virginia Military Institute.
At the beginning of the Civil War he resigned from VMI and was commissioned a colonel in the Virginia forces and dispatched to Harpers Ferry where he was active in organizing the raw recruits until relieved by Joe Johnston. Leaving Harpers Ferry, his brigade moved with Johnston to join Beauregard at Manassas. In the fight at 1st Bull Run they were so distinguished that General Barnard Bee dubbed both the brigade and its commander “Stonewall”. The 1st Brigade was the only Confederate brigade to have its nickname become its official designation. That fall Jackson was given command of the Valley with a promotion to major general.
In the invasion of Maryland, Jackson was detached to capture Harpers Ferry and was afterwards distinguished at Antietam with Robert E.Lee. He was promoted after this and given command of the now official 2nd Corps. It had been known as a wing or command before this. He was disappointed with the victory at Fredericksburg because it could not be followed up. In his greatest day he led his corps around the Union right flank at Chancellorsville and routed the 11th Corps.
Reconnoitering that night, he was returning to his own lines when he was mortally wounded by some of his own men. Following the amputation of his arm, he died eight days later on May 10, 1863, from pneumonia. Stonewall Jackson is buried in Lexington, Virginia.
Robert E. Lee wrote of him with deep feeling "He has lost his left arm, but I have lost my right arm."
Nathan Bedford Forrest
Born July 13, 1821 in Chapel Hill, Tennessee. Nathan Bedford Forrest was a farmer, real estate dealer, and slave trader. He had earned a fortune of app. 1,500,000 before the war started and spent most of this money during the war on such things as clothing his troops.
Nathan Bedford Forrest was a natural tactician who earned the praise of his enemies. Both Grant and Sherman feared this man who entered the Confederate forces a private and left a general. His formula for success was "get there first with the most men." His prowess as a cavalry leader and battlefield general earned him the envy of even his adversaries and the title, "Wizard of the Saddle," early on in the war. This title is the source of many arguments now.
On Dec. 24, 1865, six young Confederate veterans met in the law office of Judge Thomas M. Jones. The meeting resulted in the idea of forming a social club, a 1860s version of the VFW or American Legion. Their number quickly grew, and in meetings that followed, the men selected a name based on the Greek word "kuklos" meaning circle, from which they derived the name Ku Klux. Perhaps bowing to their Scotch-Irish ancestry, and to add alliteration to the name, they included "clan," spelled with a K. And so, quite innocently, a new social club called the Ku Klux Klan was created to provide recreation for Confederate veterans.
When Forrest was elected Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan in 1867 at the Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville, he wasn't even in town. He was elected in absentia. The best research shows that Forrest never "led the Klan," never "rode with" the Klan, nor did he ever own any Klan paraphernalia. The only known order that Forrest issued using his famous name and perceived authority was for the KKK to disband in 1869, which it finally did in 1871. History shows that Nathan Bedford Forrest never was a part of the KKK but his unproven "brief association" with the Klan will forever raise questions about one of America's greatest tactical minds.
When the war ended, Forrest was virtually broke, having spent most of his estimated pre-war fortune of $1.5 million outfitting his troops. He spent his time between business ventures in Memphis and his farm in Mississippi. He died in Memphis, Tennessee on October 29, 1877.
"We made a great mistake in the beginning of our struggle, and I fear, in spite of all we can do, it will prove to be a fatal mistake. We appointed all our worst generals to command our armies, and all our best generals to edit the newspapers."--1863
"Our country demands all our strength, all our energies. To resist the powerful combination now forming against us will require every man at his place. If victorious, we will have everything to hope for in the future. If defeated, nothing will be left for us to live for."
"We could have pursued no other course without dishonor. And sad as the results have been, if it had all to be done again, we should be compelled to act in precisely the same manner."--- Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee was born January 19, 1807 in Westmoreland County, VA.
At the beginning of the secession movement Lee did not agree with the political and economic arguments for Southern independence. Though, unfortunate as the choice was, if pressed to choose between fighting for Virginia or for the Union, Lee realized the decision would be simple. Lee's loyalties proved to be on the side of the South.
On April 18, 1861 Lee was offered field command of the United States Army. On the following day, he received word that Virginia had seceded from the Union; he submitted his letter of resignation from the United States Army on April 20. Three days later, Lee accepted the position of commander of Virginia forces. From this point onward, Lee's identity became linked to the Confederate cause. At the age of 55, on May 31, 1862, Robert E. Lee was assigned to command the troops, which he named "The Army of Northern Virginia". During the Civil War he worked closely with Jefferson Davis, J.E.B. Stuart. He is best known for his victories in the Battle of second Manassas (second Bull Run), and the Battle of Chancellorsville. Named General-In-Chief of all Confederate Armies on February 6, 1865, his tenure in this position was cut short by his surrender to General Grant at the Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865, thus ending the Civil War.
After the war, Lee returned to Richmond, he was indicted for treason though never brought to trial. Lee died on October 12, 1870. Robert E. Lee was buried in Lexington and remembered as an educator, a soldier, and a Christian gentleman who lived his life with dignity. Lee has been compared to General George Washington in terms of the respect he earned from his soldiers, his region, and the nation.
(1824-1863)
Thomas J. Jackson is one of the most revered of all Confederate commanders. A graduate of West Point in 1846, he had served in the Mexican War, earning two brevets, before resigning to accept a professorship at the Virginia Military Institute.
At the beginning of the Civil War he resigned from VMI and was commissioned a colonel in the Virginia forces and dispatched to Harpers Ferry where he was active in organizing the raw recruits until relieved by Joe Johnston. Leaving Harpers Ferry, his brigade moved with Johnston to join Beauregard at Manassas. In the fight at 1st Bull Run they were so distinguished that General Barnard Bee dubbed both the brigade and its commander “Stonewall”. The 1st Brigade was the only Confederate brigade to have its nickname become its official designation. That fall Jackson was given command of the Valley with a promotion to major general.
In the invasion of Maryland, Jackson was detached to capture Harpers Ferry and was afterwards distinguished at Antietam with Robert E.Lee. He was promoted after this and given command of the now official 2nd Corps. It had been known as a wing or command before this. He was disappointed with the victory at Fredericksburg because it could not be followed up. In his greatest day he led his corps around the Union right flank at Chancellorsville and routed the 11th Corps.
Reconnoitering that night, he was returning to his own lines when he was mortally wounded by some of his own men. Following the amputation of his arm, he died eight days later on May 10, 1863, from pneumonia. Stonewall Jackson is buried in Lexington, Virginia.
Robert E. Lee wrote of him with deep feeling "He has lost his left arm, but I have lost my right arm."
Born July 13, 1821 in Chapel Hill, Tennessee. Nathan Bedford Forrest was a farmer, real estate dealer, and slave trader. He had earned a fortune of app. 1,500,000 before the war started and spent most of this money during the war on such things as clothing his troops.
Nathan Bedford Forrest was a natural tactician who earned the praise of his enemies. Both Grant and Sherman feared this man who entered the Confederate forces a private and left a general. His formula for success was "get there first with the most men." His prowess as a cavalry leader and battlefield general earned him the envy of even his adversaries and the title, "Wizard of the Saddle," early on in the war. This title is the source of many arguments now.
On Dec. 24, 1865, six young Confederate veterans met in the law office of Judge Thomas M. Jones. The meeting resulted in the idea of forming a social club, a 1860s version of the VFW or American Legion. Their number quickly grew, and in meetings that followed, the men selected a name based on the Greek word "kuklos" meaning circle, from which they derived the name Ku Klux. Perhaps bowing to their Scotch-Irish ancestry, and to add alliteration to the name, they included "clan," spelled with a K. And so, quite innocently, a new social club called the Ku Klux Klan was created to provide recreation for Confederate veterans.
When Forrest was elected Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan in 1867 at the Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville, he wasn't even in town. He was elected in absentia. The best research shows that Forrest never "led the Klan," never "rode with" the Klan, nor did he ever own any Klan paraphernalia. The only known order that Forrest issued using his famous name and perceived authority was for the KKK to disband in 1869, which it finally did in 1871. History shows that Nathan Bedford Forrest never was a part of the KKK but his unproven "brief association" with the Klan will forever raise questions about one of America's greatest tactical minds.
When the war ended, Forrest was virtually broke, having spent most of his estimated pre-war fortune of $1.5 million outfitting his troops. He spent his time between business ventures in Memphis and his farm in Mississippi. He died in Memphis, Tennessee on October 29, 1877.
0 Comments; Add yours here:
Post a Comment