Robert E Lee Analysis

Confederate General Robert E. Lee is possibly the most controversial and yet widely respected out of all the Civil War commanders. Historians have held different views about the beloved General for over a hundred years, such as Robert W. Winston in his book Robert E. Lee; A Biography (1934), Michael Fellman in The Making of Robert E. Lee (2000), and Margaret Sanborn’s Robert E. Lee: A Portrait (1966). Winston’s theme in his book created a different outlook on General Lee than the latter two historians; he vigorously wrote mainly about the perfection of Lee whereas Fellman and Sanborn saw him more as a human being with flaws and mistakes. Though Winston placed Lee at the highest respect as the great general, Sanborn regarded the man as someone who allowed the Civil War to happen, and Fellman stated that it was the aftermath of the war that caused Lee to gain such celebrity status. They agreed on the outcomes of the commander’s accomplishments and defeats. The authors knew of Lee’s …show more content…
She went as far as to say that Lee “had looked on while others less deserving received promotion and glory, while he remained relatively unnoticed.” Thus Lee is given off an air, according to Sanborn, that he wanted again to experience war like he once did in the Mexican War. He did not, Sanborn wrote, become the great leader that many people believed him to be. Sanborn states that because of this mistake, the civil war trotted on. Fellman, however, agreed that Lee was a great commander and one of the best Generals the world has ever seen. But, according to Fellman, after the war Lee “became increasingly antiwar.” Fellman agreed with Winston in saying that Lee wanted to be remembered as Christian, but only as the servant of Christ. In truth, it was the people of the former Confederacy who wanted Lee to be ‘exalted.’ Fellman stated that after the General had