An Ode to Robert E. Lee

The Civil War, perhaps the most enduring conflict in the American psyche, also brought into sharp focus the extraordinary genius and character of Gen. R. E. Lee. As both a military commander and a role model, Lee left an indelible legacy—so profound that his influence on the U.S. armed forces continues to resonate more than 150 years after his death. This enduring impact is unsurprising when one considers that, even before the war began, Lee was widely recognized as one of the most capable military minds in the young nation.

The Civil War was not only the most consequential event in American history, but its outcome also helped forge a more unified national identity—what might be called a shared Americanism. At the same time, the Northern victory corrected a foundational wrong: the abolition of the morally repugnant institution of slavery. Though the war was not solely about slavery, it ended slavery. In the wake of defeat, the South ravaged, and finding himself in personal poverty, Lee found abiding satisfaction in that outcome. Just five months before his death in Lexington, Virginia, in May 1870, Lee voiced this truth:

"So far from engaging in a war to perpetuate slavery, I am rejoiced that slavery is abolished. I believe it will be greatly for the interest of the South. So fully am I satisfied of this … that I would cheerfully have lost all I have lost by the war and suffered all I have suffered, to have this object attained."

Indeed, out of the ashes of an internal firestorm that claimed the lives of well over 750,000 people, the country moved significantly closer to realizing Thomas Jefferson’s aspirational ideal of the God-given rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” for all Americans.

Lee's deep and abiding belief in the word of God, with the influence of Christian ethics on his thinking and action and with Americans fighting Americans, Lee understood that the long-term effects of engaging in retribution or reprisal would not be profitable for the nation or the South. He was undoubtedly correct. When the end came for Lee and the Confederacy at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865, his decision to surrender the Army of Northern Virginia rather than to disband it was perhaps one of Lee’s greatest moments. Lee could have ordered his decimated soldiers to scatter into the hills and fight a guerrilla war that would have lasted for decades. Instead, he saw no sense in waging a war of terror and ordered his men to lay down their arms, return home, and become once again model citizens. And so, when word of Lee’s unequivocal surrender was learned, the rest of the Confederacy quickly followed suit and reflexively laid down their arms as well—Lee was their moral and military leader, not Jefferson Davis. When he quit, the Confederacy ceased to be.

In many respects, Robert E. Lee personifies the spirit of Americanism and manhood, contributing more than any other single officer in setting the very bedrock for some of the most outstanding and valuable attributes of U.S. military power. That bedrock remains so strong that when asked to identify the most notable characteristics of the United States military, one should expect the worldwide response to literally echo Lee’s signatures of superior tactical leadership and the highest level of civilized warfare. His adherence to duty and to God are virtues that all Americans need to ever keep and pass to our progeny.

About the author: Lt. Col. (U.S. Army, Ret.) Jeffrey F. Addicott is a Distinguished Professor of Law and Director of the Warrior Defense Project at St. Mary’s University School of Law. He earned his B.A. with honors from the University of Maryland, his J.D. from the University of Alabama School of Law, and an LL.M. from The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School. He also holds both an LL.M. (1992) and an S.J.D. (1994) from the University of Virginia School of Law.

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