Robert E. Lee

Robert E. Lee (1807 – 1870)

A little history. Found on Lone Star Parson, who got it from Civil War Profiles.

August 9, 1960 

Dear Dr. Scott: 

Respecting your August 1 inquiry calling attention to my often expressed admiration for General Robert E. Lee, I would say, first, that we need to understand that at the time of the War between the States the issue of secession had remained unresolved for more than 70 years. Men of probity*, character, public standing and unquestioned loyalty, both North and South, had disagreed over this issue as a matter of principle from the day our Constitution was adopted. 

General Robert E. Lee was, in my estimation, one of the supremely gifted men produced by our Nation. He believed unswervingly in the Constitutional validity of his cause which until 1865 was still an arguable question in America; he was a poised and inspiring leader, true to the high trust reposed in him by millions of his fellow citizens; he was thoughtful yet demanding of his officers and men, forbearing with captured enemies but ingenious, unrelenting and personally courageous in battle, and never disheartened by a reverse or obstacle. Through all his many trials, he remained selfless almost to a fault and unfailing in his faith in God. Taken altogether, he was noble as a leader and as a man, and unsullied as I read the pages of our history. 

From deep conviction, I simply say this: a nation of men of Lee’s calibre would be unconquerable in spirit and soul. Indeed, to the degree that present-day American youth will strive to emulate his rare qualities, including his devotion to this land as revealed in his painstaking efforts to help heal the Nation’s wounds once the bitter struggle was over, we, in our own time of danger in a divided world, will be strengthened and our love of freedom sustained. 

Such are the reasons that I proudly display the picture of this great American on my office wall. 

Sincerely,

Dwight D. Eisenhower 

* Probity is the adherence to the highest moral and ethical principles, characterized by absolute honesty, decency, and integrity. While similar to standard definitions of honesty, probity often implies tried, proven, or established incorruptibility and strong moral character.

 

Lincoln as Commander in Chief

Lincoln and McClellan at Antietam 1862 - Alexander Gardner/Library of Congress

Something I stumbled over this morning. It's pretty good.

Lincoln as Commander in Chief by James M. McPherson

A self-taught strategist with no combat experience, Abraham Lincoln saw the path to victory more clearly than his generals

Via A Large Regular, who got it from Newmark's Door

Holt Collier

Statue of an African-American cowboy being is installed in Indian Spring Park in Waco, Tx.
(AP Photo/Waco Tribune Herald, Rod Aydelotte)

[Sculptor] Summers modeled the African-American cowboy after Holt Collier, an actual cowboy and bear hunter most known for accompanying President Theodore Roosevelt on a 1902 bear hunt. - Washington Times

Borepatch put up a post yesterday about Gummi Bears, which leads to Teddy Bears, which leads to Teddy Roosevelt hunting for black bears in Mississippi, which leads to Holt Collier, Teddy's guide for that hunt.

Holt Collier was born a slave in 1846. While he was a boy he took up hunting and killed his first bear at the age of 10. With a gun. A slave with a gun! Who'd a thunk it?

Near the end of the civil war, the Confederacy decided to let negros join the army. A few did join and Holt was one of them. After the war he spent time in Texas and became a Texas Ranger.

Holt Collier Historical Marker

Heritage Post has a page about The Forgotten Legend Of Holt Collier.

Wikipedia has a page, but it's pretty weak. Not enough documentation I suspect.

Sharps Rifles

Sharps 1859 Rifle

My Daily Kona has a post about the fight over Little Round Top during the Battle of Gettysburg during 'the recent unpleasantness' as it was euphemistically called. Therein I found this bit:

Undoubtedly patterned after the British Green Jackets of Napoleonic War fame, the Sharpshooters were the brainchild of Colonel Hiram Berdan, and they had performed superbly throughout the war.

The British Green Jackets? That sounds a whole lot like Richard Sharpe's outfit from Bernard Cornwell's stories about the Napoleonic wars.

Baker Rifle

So be careful, Sharp's rifles could mean Richard Sharpe's squad of sharpshooters fighting Napoleon using Baker flintlock rifles, or it could mean rifles designed by Christian Sharps 40 years later. Note that in both cases we are talking about rifles as opposed to smooth bore muskets. The Baker was a flintlock, the Sharps used percussion caps.

Big Fish

Bayou St. John submarine

Joseph Moore has posted a fish story for your entertainment. Go read it, it's short, it's great. It'll make you happy.

War Fighting

If you wonder why the Confederacy put 75% of their manpower and their best generals to protect Richmond, VA, it was because the Tredegar Works in Richmond were the only place in the entire American South that was capable of building a steam locomotive. And then that idiot Jefferson Davis, who had no understanding of the importance of logistics despite his West Point training, wasted their capabilities casting cannon instead when there were dozens of places elsewhere in the South capable of casting cannon. The South didn't fall due to lack of cannon or gunpowder, the South fell because once their railroads collapsed, they were no longer capable of feeding or transporting their armies. Tactics win battles. Logistics wins wars. 
Still trying to decide whether Jefferson Davis's stupidity was a good thing or a bad thing for the USA... - BadTux commenting on one of Comrade Misfits posts.

Quote of the Day

From The Battle of the Crater: A Novel of the Civil War by Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen, page 48.

I picked this book up from the bargain bin, I certainly wouldn't have paid full price for it. Newt Gingrich is one of my least favorite people. He ranks right down there with those blowhards on the radio. However, just because a man is your enemy does not mean he is an idiot. It is a reverse of the situation where famous entertainers lend their voices to foolish causes. I read something about Newt once that said he knew something about the Civil War, and so I picked up this book. It is not the greatest story, but it's not too bad, and it's about a subject of which I know little. And then we come to the above paragraph, and I'm thinking I haven't heard that idea before, so I mentioned it to my friend Jack who knows quite a bit more about history than I do, and he tells me that he had had the same idea, but had never seen anything written about it. I should go look up Charlemagne. I have heard of him, but that's about it.

Grierson's Raid by Brown

We stopped by Post-Hip after lunch today and Scott tells us about Grierson's Raid by somebody Brown. He thinks it's a great book. So who's Grierson, and what's this raid?  Grierson was an American Civil War general, and his raid was an expedition through Mississippi during Grant's Vicksburg Campaign.

Some say that the battles of Vicksburg and Gettysburg (which happened at the same time) sealed the fate of the Confederacy. With their victory at Vicksburg the Union gained complete control of the Mississippi River and so the Confederacy was effectively split in two: East and West. Gettysburg put an end to Lee's invasion of the North.The prudent thing for the Confederacy to have done after these two major defeats would have been to sue for peace. But they didn't. The war dragged on for another two years.

The same thing happened in WWII with Germany and Japan, and they didn't give up just because the tide turned against them. They fought on to the bitter end. Of course, you never know what's going to happen in war. Some bit of luck might fall your way and change the whole course of events. Not likely, but it could happen. And movies are full of stories about the underdog who manages to defeat the big, bad, over-equipped, over-gunned and over-armored villains. It must be an emotional thing. Once you have your mind set on war, that's it, you're set, set until can't walk, stand or crawl any farther. Only then will the leaders who have set us on this course admit defeat. That's why they got picked.

I am beginning to think that war is inescapable. All this talk about peace is just a waste of breath. If people are not waging war, i.e. they are at "peace", they will still find someone else to fight about something else. Just look at politics, and you don't have to just be talking about national politics. Look at any level: state, county, city, district, ward, school board, whatever. There is always somebody making a fuss about something. Christ must have been nuts to think we could be nice to each other.

P.S. Civil War Factoid: Every state of the Confederacy, except South Carolina, contributed at least one regiment of troops to the North. Another guy named Brown has something to say about it.