The first chapter of the book highlights the triumphs of Robert E. Lee a Virginian native who started out as part of the Union. Lee refused to lead a Union force to put an end to the rebellion, saying he would “not lift a sword against his fellow southerners” and resigned his position. Over the next few years Lee climbs his way to the top of the confederacy facing many challenges and even a loss or two. The next chapter is on General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard one of the most unique generals of the time. A very persistent man and the first prominent general at the start of the civil
Grant joined the military as a soldier but he very quickly advanced to a four-star general status, a position exclusive to Presidents Grant and Washington until this time. Grant became the first general to defeat Robert E. Lee. Grant had quite a driven personality! He would never consider retreating from a battle. He used his knowledge of maps and topography to defeat some of the best generals
One confederate leader was General George Pickett. He helped the course of the war by leading “15,000 men in a daring charge against the center of the union line” (Stoff 506). This was known as Pickett’s charge but it was an easy win for the union. To get to the union army “Pickett’s men would have to march 1,000 yards across
“Robert E. Lee (1807-70) served as a military officer in the U.S. Army, a West Point commandant and the amazing general of the Confederate Army during the American Civil War 1861-1865. In June 1861, Lee gained command of the Army of Northern Virginia, which he would lead for the rest of the war. Lee and his army achieved great success during the Peninsula Campaign and at Second Bull Run and Fredericksburg, with his greatest victory coming in the bloody Battle of Chancellorsville. In the spring of 1863 Lee invaded the North only to be defeated at the Battle of Gettysburg. With Confederate defeat a near blowout, Lee continued on, battling Union General Ulysses S. Grant in a series of battles in Virginia in 1864-1865 before he finally surrendered
The Confederate general, Robert E. Lee, was very confident because of his army utmost victory. Lee was so fearless he determined to invade the North reiteratively. Robert E. Lee strategy was to drift the fighting away from Virginia and into the Union Territory. He wanted to move the fighting, because the Confederate were under siege in Virginia. Lee hoped to gain recognition from Britain and France for the Confederacy. Joesph Hooker,the Union commander, was exposed to the worst defeat of the Army of Potomac in the Battle of Chancellorsville.
Because he was an inexperienced politician, he didn’t know how to handle the crash. Although he wasn’t directly involved in the scandal, his reputation suffered. Even today, people remember him as a bad politician because of the Gold Market Scandal. Next, Grant’s secretary Orville E. Babcock used Grant’s power to help people evade taxes in the Whiskey Ring Scandal. After the Prohibition, alcohol manufacturers were heavily taxed. Manufacturers cheated the government by reporting fewer sales and keeping the extra tax money. But when Grant found out about the scandal he said, “ Let no guilty man escape!” (Alter 37). After Babcock was charged, Grant was willing to acquit Babcock’s case because they had fought together in the Civil War. By contradicting himself and favoring his friends, he promoted corruption in his cabinet. The people saw him favoring Babcock and they lost their trust in him. An untrustworthy man can never be remembered as a great leader (Alter; Schuman).
Quite a number of the Confederate’s generals were hurt, dead, or dying which made Lee one of the few generals who were capable of leading the army. In a letter to Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederates, Lee requested him to replace him as general. Document C explains that Lee felt like he not only failed the South, but he also failed himself when he lost The Battle of Gettysburg. Document C states, “I therefore, in all sincerity, request Your Excellency to take measures to supply my place. I do this with the more earnestness because no one is more aware than myself of my inability for the duties of my position” (277). To sum up, Document C shows that General Lee abandoned his faith in himself and asked to be replaced; this is significant because Generals Lee’s dampened mood affects his and his soldiers fighting during the war making them unfocused and
In the battle of shiloh Grant was able to fight off the confederate soldiers and hold them off while getting reinforcements and eventually being able to win the battle. On the first day of “Bloody Shiloh,” Grant saved his army, and on the second day he counterattacked and drove the enemy forces from the battlefield and back toward Corinth. General Grant Despite its disastrous start, Shiloh was a major victory for Grant. Grant led his army from the front and would stick to his plan of attack, and was able to adapt to the attacks of the Confederates. Though he lost many men, his concern was to win the battle, and eventually the war. To be a general you must take risks to have great success. The job of an Army General is to command his army to win on the battlefield. General Ulysses S. Grant also developed a reputation during the war for being more concerned with his own plans than with the plans of of the
The Gettysburg Battle was the turning point in the war because each side experienced a serious event in which the Northern morale had boosted and Southerners are starting to back down and throw in the towel.
Often when the Civil War is brought up, it strikes a particular image: Abraham Lincoln, brothers killing brothers, and a Northern victory the South will barely discuss to this day. However, the man who was Abraham Lincoln’s counterpart is often forgotten for the role (or lack of it) he played in the Civil War: Jefferson Davis. The Confederate president was faced with multiple issues that could have overwhelmed even the best of leaders. However, his overall flaws in character and leadership also contributed to the South’s fall. He was hastily thrown in a situation in which he had to put together an entire government and mobilize forces for the impending war with the North. Overall, Jefferson Davis’ shortcomings of character, mismanagement as
Robert E. Lee is considered to be one of the best Generals in America’s history. Lee was a General for the Confederate
The essay was written by Bruce Catton; who compares the lives and characteristics of two Civil War leaders who put an end to the civil war in a meeting. Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee. According to Bruce Catton, they were two powerful men who survived from the civil war in 1856. Lee was from Virginia, he was of an old age of chivalry. He believed there should be an “inequality within Americas social Structure;” he had a sense of entitlement obligation to community, he was an aristocratic south, he believed in what the culture and tradition of his country; The other General, Ulysses S. Grant, aspired for America that were the opposite
Before and after the Civil War, people loved and respected Robert E. Lee. Not because of
then still continued to work hard , and kept on getting promotions . He lead his Army to the victories of the Battle of Wilson’s Creek , the Battle of Cold Harbor , the Seven Days Battles and many more. He strengthened the Confederate Army during the Civil War , and he was great at doing it. I say that , because he had a great number of victories . The majority of this paper is is talking about different ways Robert E. Lee impacted America .
Ulysses S. Grant was a very important figure in American history. Not only was he the nation 's 18th president he was also a war hero. He commanded the union army during the Civil War. From his victory over the Confederacy Grant took on the task of working to implement Congressional Reconstruction and the removal of slavery.