Fact or fiction Essay

Overtime, tales of the wellhead-nigh miniscule historic characters harbour been slowly malformed into tales of gigantic warriors and near perfect individuals. For instance, stories of Jesus Christ from the bible put up always ca phthisisd people to necessitate an image of purity and selflessness, however, saucilyly sight testaments argon beginning to establish a love affair with a women, whom wind children living descendants of Jesus Christ. This is just one of numerous examples that give way been continually misrepresented end-to-end history.Additionally, this raises questions as to whom are the real iconic records that subscribe shaped our memoirs. One of the model Americans is Robert E. downwind, a timeless figure of American history that has widely been altered in versatile publications, however, what ordain remained unchanged is that Robert E. lee(prenominal) is the confessedly symbol of southern Americanism of his time. BACKGROUND parole of Ann Hill Carter, a ladened successor of Scottish Royalty, and Harry lee(prenominal), an beautiful commander in the Revolutionary contend, Robert Edward lee was born in Virginias Westmoreland County on January 19th, 1807.Ann Hill Carter married Harry lee side and produced 5 children during their man and wife enchantment Harry was g everywherenor of Virginia. Throughout the course of their marriage, Harry began drowning the family in debt, thus rendering Robert to take on as head of the sign while his father remained unwilling to stop his overzealous spending habits and inflexible affairs with opposite women. It is undoubted that Robert was the favorite of his mothers children, thus prominent him the authority to make decisions as head of the ho utilizehold and care for his mother.As sometimes happens, the good son strove to be all that his father was not. When Anne was nonsocial he kept her company when she was sick he nursed her in his teens he helped manage the household. His father had been reckless and unfaithful (Epstein 23). After old age of frivolous spending, thus spiraling the family into debt, Harry leeward fled the country and settled in the West Indies where he lived out the rest of his days. Nonetheless, Ann Carter continued to use the remainder of her bequest to support her children.Lacking the money needed to await a university, Robert applied to West point and was granted admittance in 1829. Shortly thereafter, lee(prenominal) as well attended the U. S. Military Academy and have with honors. Due to various malicious gossips that surrounded Roberts family, such as his fathers abandonment and his older brother hydrogens murderous scandal involving Henrys sister-in - constabulary, whom he seduced and produced a child with thus self-aggrandizing him the nickname black horse, it was not easy for Robert to find a companion for himself.Nonetheless, Robert married Mary Anna Randolph Custis in 1831 and together they produced 7 children. From thereon, leeward earned recognition for his role as engineer in the crook of the St. Louis Harbor, as well as his is prevailing passy operations in the Mexican War. As a Virginian aristocrat, Robert lee(prenominal) was already accustomed to the moral philosophy behind thrall, consequently, when his father-in-law, George Washington Custis became ill, downwind took leadership in the distribution of slaves to like plantations.It was Lees understanding that slaves were the foundation of the south, in which many products of patience were necessary for financial survival. This stance was the drive in Robert Lees struggle to maintain the south that he had become habituated to. Although the Lee-Custis families remained relatively courteous and kind to slave families throughout the years, during his leadership in the Civil War, his mien turned from reverential to malicious. Elizabeth Brown Pryor resigns that Lee rented out so many hands that the black community at Arlington was badly fr agmented.The youngest and strongest were chosen to be hired remote because they brought in the enormousest revenue. Worst of all, Lee ruptured the Washington and Custis tradition of respecting slave families. By 1860 he had broken up every family but one on the estate (Nolan 24). In appendage to this testimony, there are scores of other attests to Lees persistent violence towards slaves as well. Although modern Lee patriots have highly scrutinized these testaments, they have been corroborated with consistent authentic eye witness accounts found in various writings.Nevertheless, Lee has been noted for his leadership during the Mexican War in as well as his achievements and calamities during the Civil War. Well educated, yet incapable to produce a strategic victory, Lee is doubtless renowned for his defeat at Gettysburg. The disaster at Gettysburg high set abouts Lees chief shortcoming as a strategist, his lack of the political instinctin the strictest sense, a discernment in wor king with men. Lee was so rigid in his cultism to a hierarchy that he held about of his generals at a distance, ofttimes keeping them in the dark or ignoring their advice.Meanwhile he went vermiculate to Jefferson Davis and the Confederate government for guns, food, and uniformsas if he were scarcely worthywhen he should have demanded the essential materiel, without which his soldiers stood in peril (Epstein 23). After his force command, Lee retreated back to his home in Virginia, where he died in 1870 at the age of 63. LITERATURE REVIEW Rationalizing realism versus simulated characteristics of Robert Lee begins with preceding(prenominal) analysis. Robert E. Lee was born in1807, thus leaving the im chance of retrieving factual breeding from the primary source.Consequently, interpretation of fact from fiction lies within previous texts and comparability of those texts against each other. umteen contemporary authors such as Carl Moneyhon report that In his foreword, the editor of this collection of articles justifies this volume as an effort to break away from the paradigm of scholarship that has produced what he considers to be a stale rehashing of arguments over the merits of the generalship of Robert E. Lee. The core of the interpretive problem, in Peter S.Carmichaels view, is the goal of many recent studies to begin with assumptions based upon generalizations made over seventy years ago in Douglas Southall Freemans works, then to use Freemans own evidence to challenge his conclusions Carmichael suggests that a new scholarship might emerge if scholars return to primary Lee-related manuscript sources. The sixer articles that follow are unified by that effort, beginning with the contemporary Lee rather than the Lee created by Freeman (777). Moneyhons elucidation of other authors works disp redact the bias between authors, most of which erratically render Lee as the patron saint of the south. many another(prenominal) publications regarding Lee have rend ered him as somewhat mythological, while others have sundry(a) him as a failing general, one whom orchestrated many mistakes. correspond to Alan T. Nolan, There is little need to belabor the fact of Lees heroic, almost superhuman, national stature, which has steadily enlarged since the war years. Writing in 1868, Fanny Dowling described Lee as bathed in the white light which falls directly upon him from the smile of an approving and sustaining God (4-5). Many Lee loyalist have portrayed him as a god-like creature, attaining purity and perfection, however, others deemed him anything but.Regarding the termination of slavery, condescension its unethical perspective, as a Virginian aristocrat, Lee was accustomed to slavery for all of his life, however, considering his reverential conduct towards slaves before the war, it is alarming that Lees behavior took such an impulsive change during and after the war. For instance, despite praises of committal and kindness in respect to slaves under Lees orders since his proficiency of George Washington Custiss estate, narratives of harsh lashings and slave separation from their families are mottled through historical accounts of Lees alleged almsgiving and empathy.Epstein states that Because the Custis will entailed that land should be sold to pay debts and legacies, and did not state that such obligations should take precedence over freeing the slaves, Lees conduct is disturbing. Even more chilling is the 1859 testimony of one Wesley Norris, a slave who ran away from Arlington with his sister Mary to Westminster, Maryland. They were caught and imprisoned, and returned in chains. When Lee asked wherefore they had run away, Norris said that they believed they were free.Lee replied that he would teach us a lesson we would never forget. Leading them to the barn, he gave orders to his overseer McQuinn to strip the slaves to the waists, tie them to posts, and assume fifty lashes to the man and twenty to the girl. When M cQuinn refused to take up the lash, Dick Williams, a county constable was called in, who gave us the number of lashes ordered Lee, in the meantime, stood by, and frequently enjoined Williams to lay it on well. When Williams was done, Lee ordered the overseer to wash the bleeding slaves with brine (24).Many Lee scholars do not like to explore the possibility that Lee was cruel towards slaves as this attribute disrupts the harmony of assimilated perfection of Lees character, however, these accounts of vindictiveness reassure Lees less god-like capabilities. Additionally, in with regard to military expertise, Lee scholars are divided as well on this issue concluding that most of Lees military career is focused more or less the failure of Civil War expeditions, while others concur that Lee exerted the symbol of a genuine collaborator liberator.It is uncontroversial that Lee was very well educated and skilled in military delegations, however, most of Lees military career is focused around the failure of thus overshadowing the more positive aspects of his military career. In the battle of Gettysburg, Lee was very careless thus ruining the lives of the men in his regime. Ballard states that Lee could have and should have won (948). Lee carelessly unmake his regime during the Battle of Gettysburg, by not waiting for incoming supplies that were to be given to his regimes depleted arsenal.His soldiers were starved and malnutrition and did not have the proper weaponry for combat, thus presenting an easy victory for the union. (Adams 66). Moreover, despite how impertinent accounts represent Lee, most scholars such as Gallagher agree that In a conflict often characterized, whether accurately or not, as the first abundant modern war, the Confederate commander frequently appears as a soldier of considerable martial gifts who harkened back to an earlier time.Lee is cast as a man who thought of the struggle in terms of protect his own state rather advancing the cause of the entire Confederacy, hammer a personal bond with his soldiers reminiscent of feudal relationships, focused on winning set-piece battles without taking in the broader political and social landscape of a modern war, and failed to understand the implications of new weaponry such as the rifle-musket (295). most(prenominal) importantly is to include the feelings of others that admired Lee from enemy lines as those of the North.Although commonly, enemies do not sing the praises of each other, this is not the case in those towards Lee. In fact, many northerners admired lee for a number of reasons as is told as such He possessed every virtue of other great commanders without their vices. He was a foe without hate a friend without deception a soldier without cruelty a victor without oppression and a victim without murmuring. He was a public officer without vices a hole-and-corner(a) citizen without wrong a neighbor without reproach a Christian without prevarication and a man with out guile.He was a Caesar without his ambition Frederick without his tyranny snooze without his selfishness and Washington without his reward. He was obedient to authority as a servant, and kinglike in authority as a dead on target king. He was benignant as a woman in life modest and unalloyed as a virgin in thought watchful as a Roman vestal in duty submissive to law as Socrates and grand in battle as Achilles (Warrior and Gentlemans Gentleman 39). Although this excerpt seems a little over dramatized, it does reflect Lees impinge on realistic people versus overly high-sounding scholarly accounts, thus rendering Lee as a true individual of his time.CONCLUSION In conclusion, Robert Edward Lee, born in 1807 to Ann Hill Carter, wealthy Scottish heiress, and Harry Lee, the former Virginia Governor. Whilst his family endured many problematic episodes, including financial hardships despite their mothers dwindled fortune due to his fathers erratic spending habits, and his brothers He nrys alleged murder of his illegitimate child, Lee prevailed in most of his endeavors, including his role in the Mexican War. However, undisputable evidence exhibits the differentiating portrayals of General Robert Edward Lee.Many scholars initiate depictions of a true southern liberator to maintain the south as it was during the early 1800s, whilst others disagree as to the true characteristics of Lee as such(prenominal) less than pure and holy. Nonetheless, both portions of testaments enable the true disposition of Robert Lee as he was. For instance, as a Victorian aristocrat, Lee understood the ethics of labor that slavery entailed, however, Lees attitude changed throughout the course of the war.Instead of maintaining the healthy relationships between slaves and Lee, he separated the families and also assisted in harsh beating of slaves, thus severing the at a time tight-knit relationship between the two. Also, in terms of Lees military endeavors, Lee was skilled, however, most ly unprepared for his battles in the Civil War. For example, in the Battle of Gettysburg, Lee was strategically unprepared for the battle, consequently costing the confederate army its most important mission.However, this did not deterred Lee from admitting his faults for his role in losing the battle, which shoes humility for his wins and losses. Finally after many interpretations of literary works, the true formation of Robert E. Lee is quite clear. A Victorian aristocrat he was, accustomed to the south as it was and its dependence on slavery, he maintained humility, strength, and most of all, leadership. Lee was not pure, nor holy, however, he was a man of God, family, and entreat for the southern beliefs, and he preserved those relationships simultaneously.WORKS CITED Adams, Michael C. C. Review Essay Robert E. Lee and Perspective over Time. Civil War History. 49 (2003) 64-70. Ballard, Michael B. Robert E. Lee moving-picture show for a Nation. Journal of Southern History. 7 6 (2006) 947-949. Epstein, Daniel M. Who Cares about Robert E. Lee. New criterion Sept. 2007 22+. Gallagher, Gary W. An Old-Fashioned Soldier in a Modern War Robert E. Lee as Confederate General. Civil War History. 45(1999) 295. Lee, Robert E. Recollections and garner of General Robert E. Lee .Westminster, 1904. Moneyhon, Carl H. Audacity Personified The Generalship of Robert E. Lee The Historian. 67 (2005) 777-780. Nolan, Alan T. Lee Considered General Robert E. Lee and Civil War History. North Carolina North Carolina Press, 1991. Robert E. Lee. UXL Newsmakers. (2005) mystify Articles. 28 Feb. 2008 . Warrior and Gentlemans Gentleman Despite Being a Battle-Hardened General, Robert E. Lee Never Lost His Most Admirable Trait His homage to God, Friends, Duty, and Honor. The New American. 23 July 2007 33- 39.