Four Years with General Lee - Softcover

Taylor, Walter H.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1496186664 ISBN 13: 9781496186669

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2014

Synopsis

With the exception of George Washington, perhaps the most famous general in American history is Robert E. Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870), despite the fact he led the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia against the Union in the Civil War. As the son of U.S. Revolutionary War hero Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee III, and a relative of Martha Custis Washington, Lee was imbued with a strong sense of honor and duty from the beginning. And as a top graduate of West Point, Lee had distinguished himself so well before the Civil War that President Lincoln asked him to command the entire Union Army. Lee famously declined, serving his home state of Virginia instead after it seceded.

Lee is remembered today for constantly defeating the Union’s Army of the Potomac in the Eastern theater from 1862-1865, considerably frustrating Lincoln and his generals. His leadership of his army led to him being deified after the war by some of his former subordinates, especially Virginians, and he came to personify the Lost Cause’s ideal Southern soldier. His reputation was secured in the decades after the war as a general who brilliantly led his men to amazing victories against all odds.

Despite his successes and his legacy, Lee wasn’t perfect. And of all the battles Lee fought in, he was most criticized for Gettysburg, particularly his order of Pickett’s Charge on the third and final day of the war. Despite the fact his principle subordinate and corps leader, General James Longstreet, advised against the charge, Lee went ahead with it, ending the army’s defeat at Gettysburg with a violent climax that left half of the men who charged killed or wounded.

Four Years with General Lee, being a summary of the more important events touching the career of General Robert E. Lee, in the war between the States: together with an authoritative statement of the strength of the army which he commanded in the field , is a great look into Lee during the Civil War, written by his staff-officer Walter Taylor.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Walter Taylor was from ""first to last the closest"" of all staff officers to General Robert E. Lee, and his intimate relationship with his commander gives Taylor's writings signal importance in any study of Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia. More than anyone in the Confederate Armies, Taylor knew the effective strength of Lee's forces in all engagements. He wrote dispatches for Lee and often carried messages in person to corps and division commanders. He greeted all persons who came to see Lee, and usually decided whether they would be announced to the General. When the Confederate army was disbanded, all staff officers bade farewell to Lee except Taylor, who rode back with him to Richmond, and Taylor devoted a considerable portion of his postwar years to settling controversies relative to the Army of Northern Virginia. Rarely are his conclusions disputed, because he possessed a memory known to be coherent and accurate. He became in effect ""an unofficial court of last resort"" in the arguments that abounded in the half-century after Appomattox. A recognized classic, Four Years with General Lee first appeared in 1877 and was a collector's item by the turn of the century. For many years a standard authority on confederate history, it is the source for dozens of incidents that have now become a part of every biography of Lee. This annotated edition, first published in 1962, was prepared by noted Civil War historian James I. Robertson, Jr., who has provided a new introduction for this paperback reissue.

About the Author:

JAMES I. ROBERTSON, JR., is Alumni Distinguished Professor of History at Virginia Tech. His books include General A. P. Hill: The Story of a Confederate Warrior, Soldiers Blue and Gray, and The Civil War Virginia: Battleground for a Nation.

About this edition

• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1496186664
• ISBN 13: 9781496186669
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 110