April 20, 1861: A fateful decision that has the largest impact on the Civil War.

[Condem]

Robert E. Lee, who had been offered command of the entire Union force, resigns from the US Army, three days after Virginia secedes from the Union. The following day, Lee accepts an offer from the Governor of Virginia to take command of the state militia.

What historians figured to be an easy decision for Lee was anything but....http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/19/the-general-in-his-study/?ref=opinion

[white_wolf]

1. To be fair, I've always heard that Lee actually opposed

everything the Confederacy fought for, but didn't want to attack his own state.

[Condem]

3. The big question is, white wolf, what would of happened if he did take the Union job?

No easy answer. A lot to ponder.

[white_wolf]

4. Honestly I'm not sure. Likely the War would have ended much sooner.

He was one of the reasons the South held out as long as they did. I don't know if him and Jackson were friends before the Civil War, but if they were and he convinced Stonewall to stay with the Union, the war would have been over much quicker I think.

[Condem]

6. It took him a while to take command of the Rebel forces.

Only a fateful bullet in late May at Seven Pines (Fair Oaks) expediated the process.

[fishwax]

8. he actually kept slaves himself

The idea that he opposed everything the confederacy fought for is part of the "lost cause" myth. It's certainly true that he was conflicted, though, and his decision to fight for the confederacy did have more to do with his home state's secession than what the confederacy stood for.

Many people claim that Lee was opposed to slavery, based primarily on a letter he wrote to his wife in which he said the institution of slavery was a moral and political evil. However, his reason for that was not for what it did to the enslaved (which he called necessary for their own instruction as a race), but rather what it did to slaveholders. And however evil he considered slavery to be, he considered northern abolition movements a greater evil. And, the year after he wrote the letter calling it evil, he became a slaveholder himself, having gained control (as executor of his father-in-law's estate) of his deceased father-in-law's slaves. The will required that the slaves be freed no more than five years after the father-in-law's death, and they were released almost exactly (iirc) five years later.

on edit: added a missing "of" and tweaked punctuation

[Bake]

2. "Lee was a traitorous piece of shit" posts in 3...2...1...

I see him as an honorable man placed in an impossible dilemma. Between the proverbial rock and hard place.

Bake

[mckara]

5. Southern Sympathizing Historians Overrated Lee's Abilities

Post-war propaganda earned Lee's reputation in American folklore, not his actions on the field of battle. He followed Jominian theories of warfare, which culminated at Gettysburg, where his army failed to defeat the Army of the Potomac. If he was a great general, he would have been a disciple of Clausewitzian theories.

[Condem]

7. Yup, mckara.

Hindsight's a great tool.

[mckara]

9. Although Clausewitz and Jomini Were Contemporaries

Nobody appreciated Clausewitz until the 20th century. The book you should read about Napoleónic theory and Lee: Weigle, R.F., The American Way of War, A History of United States Military Strategy and Policy, Chapters 6-7

[Condem]

10. I believe you.

Put it into the context of the actual times. Lee was a great general. Nothing else needs to be said.