The legacy of Robert E Lee reveals his command, The Army of Northern Virginia, made inspiring military figures, the Battle of Antietam against George McClellan was the bloodiest battle of the war, and his battle against George G Meade was the most famous battle of the war. Robert
Generals Robert E. Lee and George B. McClellan were the major commanders in the spotlight of the combat. These two men were completely different and the battle effected them in a weird way. While McClellan officially won the the battle and Lee lost it, his lack actions before, during and after the battle caused him his job and a Chief Commander, as opposed to Lee who´d always been respected gained even more respect by his campaign in Maryland and battle tactics at Sharpsburg. Despite removing McClellan from his position, President Lincoln achieved something that altered the course of American History once and for all, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation. The bloody battle of Antietam, was one of the most significant and most peculiar battles fought in the history of the USA; not only were the battle plans revealed before the battle even started, but the question is whether the Union took a full advantage of the leaked out document, evidence of which is not really straightforward in the course of the battle itself.
Shaara portrays this in the Killer Angels with a stark contrast in the battle tactics favored by General Lee and General Longstreet. Longstreet is starting to understand that the tide is changing in favor of a newer style of war, with Lee upholding the honorable older code of facing battles head on until a victor emerges. Longstreet makes the argument to Lee that they should retreat South towards the Capitol and entrench themselves to force the Union army to either face them head on, or strike on a separated Union army as they move towards Washington D.C. General Lee would not have this as he adhered to the old style of war to sit out in the open, honorably, and with great maneuvering skill.
Lee would use his exquisite leadership in future battles such as the attempt of the Union to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond; he would turn the tables against the Union general George B. McClellan to take
Have confidence that the routed Union army would need time to reorganize, Lee separated his own army by sending portions of it to capture several objectives. Unbelievably a copy of Order No. 191, which
He was afraid to risk failure so he never would risk doing anything. On the other hand, the Confederates leaders had General Robert E. Lee, who commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. He was considered a big risk taker. McClellan was not too worried about Lee or his army thinking that Lee was weak and too cautious but Lee was anything but that. General Lee gathered as many men as was available and attacked General McClellan on June 26, 1862 repeatedly for seven days.
At the Battle of Bull Run he demonstrated superb leadership resulting in the day with the most casualties of the ‘Stonewall Brigade’ but also resulted in the other men of the Confederacy earning a great respect for Stonewall. Even after Stonewall had been promoted to Major General, he continued to impress with his leadership. Even in the bloodiest single day of the Civil War, the battle of Antietam, Jackson held out his men. Him and his brigade were positioned in the northern end of the battle, and held out against a very intense attack from the Union. In fact, this particular demonstration of leadership “promoted [Jackson] to Lieutenant General in command of Second Corps” (p. 81, Dabney).
When looking back onto the great history of American leaders and generals, many names notably stand out. These American heroes helped to shape the future of our country, from the efforts of General Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Second World War, to General Douglas Macarthur of the Korean War, to even George Washington in the Revolutionary War. Regardless, each of these brave leaders allowed for their respective forces to attain victory, yet in this caveat, the legacy of many brilliant and skillful generals is lost. Victory does not determine skill, and such a notion has never attested to a military leader as much as it applies to General Robert E. Lee, of the Confederate Forces in the American Civil War. Lee’s proficiency in battle tactics and
These battles had taken up to 7 days to be over. This experience had made him a great leader and gave him more knowledge on what to do while on the battlefield. The only person to rank higher than stonewall jackson was General Robert E. Lee. Stonewall jackson had better tactics and was considered a better war hero in the south than General Robert E. Lee was. T.J. “Stonewall” jackson was a great leader and an incredible fighter,
All his training in school, along with his natural intelligence helped him to become very good at what he did. He was a military genius. According to David C. King, the author of “The Civil War And Reconstruction,” Robert E. Lee was, above all, the greatest general of the Civil War. Robert E. Lee was a very confident leader and was not easily intimidated. His opponents were the ones that were intimidated by him.
Robert E. Lee’s (1807-1870) contribution to the United States as a war general and commander received positive connotations for his commitment, attitude and inspiration on the battlefield. However, it is debateable about his contributions because of Robert Lee’s association in the Civil War (1861-1865) to the Confederate Army that fought for the Southern States. Robert Lee lead many successful campaigns and battles including the following; helping defeat Mexican armies that lead to U.S land gains and westward expansion, battles against a more powerful army in the Civil War. Despite these achievements Lee’s loyalty for the Confederate Army that fought to uphold slavery undermines his success and is highly debateable about whether his contribution is justified or not. Robert Lee’s contributions to his nation begin before the Civil War in the Mexican-American War (1846-1848).
General Lee chose to surrender to General Grant. Even though he surrendered, he was still a great general and leader. After all, both General Grant and General Lee were very good examples of what it meant to be superior leaders. They both fought hard, and led very appropriately. Both men symbolized characteristics of what it meant to be a good human leader.
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.
An example from the article by Stan Fanit states, “Lee noticed a hill called Little Round Top that was virtually unoccupied, so he quickly ordered General Ewell to take that hill, if practicable [...] However, Ewell believed that he needed more support from General Longstreet who did not arrive until nightfall. By this time, the Union soldiers had received support and were entrenched on the high ground” (Fan). Another example that supports Lee wasn’t giving his commands cleary and was not very confident is the book Killer Angels. The book Killer Angels states, “To the messenger he said,”I have no force to attack that hill.
The battle of Antietam was near Sharpsburg, Maryland and was on September 17, 1862. This battle was between the Union and Confederates, Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan was for the union and Robert E. Lee was for the Confederates. This battle was the single bloodiest day, there were around 25,00 casualties altogether from both the Union side and the Confederates side. A couple engagements of this battle were Battle of Harpers Ferry, during which a portion of the Confederate Army under General Stonewall Jackson captured the Union garrison at Harpers Ferry; and the Battle of South Mountain, which involved three pitched battles McClellan’s Army of the Potomac had to fight to pass through Blue Ridge Mountains to meet Lee’s forces.
