Robert E. Lee: An Exemplary American

The assaults on Robert E. Lee and anyone who fought for Southern Independence never abate. Lee symbolizes most things his critics hate – he was a devout Christian, he believed in the sovereignty of the States within a voluntary federal republic, his primary allegiance was to Virginia (his “country”), and he felt “Union” at the point of a bayonet undermined the entire American experiment in self-government. One might ask: Why did the colonies seek independence if the goal was replication of the mercantilist British Empire they left? Lee’s beliefs are typically criticized by the usual suspects: neocons/Trotskyites, “globalists,” “socialists,” and others who despise the traditional Christian South. These individuals dominate “higher education,” corporate media, and what some generously call “entertainment.”

There are many areas concerning Lee that rile those who harbor strong hatred for the South. For example, many criticize Lee because he was the steward over the Custis slaves. They conveniently ignore that Lee opposed slavery, treated those under his control in the manner prescribed in the Holy Bible, and freed the slaves under his stewardship on December 29, 1862. Lee stated: “If I owned four millions of slaves, I would cheerfully sacrifice them for the preservation of the Union, but to lift my hand against my own State and people is impossible.” (Abbeville)

Lee has also been criticized for believing Blacks were better off in America than Africa (most were slaves in both). He was a man of his times but, unlike many of his contemporaries (like Lincoln), Lee was not known to advocate deportation of Blacks or to refer to them in derogatory terms (like Lincoln, William T. Sherman, John Sherman, Ben Wade, etc.)

Lee opposed secession, even referencing it as “revolution” but, once Virginia voted to secede (after Lincoln called for the invasion of sovereign States), he felt duty-bound to follow. He saw the horrors of fighting against one’s own family. Furthermore, invasion of a State was deemed to be a treasonous act of which Lee, or anyone who understands a voluntary federal republic, would take no part in.

At the behest of Winfield Scott, Lincoln offered Lee command of Union forces. He respectfully declined, a major reason being his unwillingness to fight against his own people. Lee loved the original Union and dutifully served in the U.S. Army for decades; however, he did not view the federal government as a de facto God (as did Sherman and others).

Lee fought for independence. Ironically, this angers many Americans – especially those who believe Hamilton’s invention that the sovereign States are not really sovereign.

In the West Point Class of 1829, Lee finished second and received no demerits. Lee was adamant about duty, contra our present world of “What is in it for me?” Lee won the admiration of Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and others. He has been praised worldwide by statesmen, religious leaders, scholars, etc. The present military “woke leadership,” which distances itself from Lee, is like a parody from the old National Lampoon magazine or Saturday Night Live. What a sad world we live in when great Christian men like Lee are demonized. The Book of Isaiah states: “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” These are the times in which we live.

On February 18, 1874, four years after Lee’s death, Georgia Senator Benjamin Harvey Hill addressed the Southern Historical Society: “When the future historian shall come to survey the character of Lee, he will find it rising like a huge mountain above the undulating plain of humanity, and he must lift his eyes high toward heaven to catch its summit. He was a foe without hate, a friend without treachery, a soldier without cruelty, a victor without oppression, and a victim without murmuring. He was a public officer without vices, a private citizen without wrong, a neighbor without reproach, a Christian without hypocrisy, and a man without guile. He was a Caesar without his ambition, a Frederick without his tyranny, a Napoleon without his selfishness, and a Washington without his reward. He was obedient to authority as a servant, and loyal in authority as a true king. He was gentle as a woman in life; modest and pure as a virgin in thought; watchful as a Roman vital in duty; submissive to law as Socrates, and grand in battle as Achilles!" (Martin)

Lee stated: “My chief concern is to try to be an humble, earnest Christian.” “Woke” statists e.g., Seidule, Warren, Milley, Austin, will likely never understand honor and integrity as they are antithetical to their world. Thus, they will never understand great men like Robert E. Lee.

Sources: “The Christian Character of Robert E. Lee,” by Pastor David Martin, Solid Rock Baptist Church, 2006, at: http://www.solidrockbaptist.net/the-christian-character-of-general-robert-e-lee.html; “Why Lee Still Matters,” Abbeville Blog at: https://www.abbevilleinstitute.org/why-lee-still-matters/ ; “Secession is Nothing but Revolution,” from A Letter of R. E. Lee to His Son “Rooney”, William M. E. Rachal

Note: From the January 1961 issue of The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography (volume 69), pp. 2–6, at: https://leefamilyarchive.org/reference/essays/rachal/index.html ; Robert E. Lee Quotes at: http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/Notable%20Lee%20Quotes.htm; and “Tom DiLorenzo’s Guide to American History,” by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr., at: https://www.lewrockwell.com/2023/12/lew-rockwell/tom-dilorenzos-guide-to-american-history/