Over the years I have toured Appomattox several times, wish I could do it one more time. The pencil that Lee and Grant used to end the Uncivil War is on display at the McClean House.

I was born a Yankee but loved the South.

correspondence from a constituent to eisenhower re: gen. lee

August 1, 1960

Mr. Dwight D. Eisenhower

White House

Washington, D. C.

Dear Mr. President:

At the Republican Convention I heard you mention that you have the pictures of four (4) great Americans in your office, and that included in these is a picture of Robert E. Lee.

I do not understand how any American can include Robert E. Lee as a person to be emulated, and why the President of the United States of America should do so is certainly beyond me.

The most outstanding thing that Robert E. Lee did, was to devote his best efforts to the destruction of the United States Government, and I am sure that you do not say that a person who tries to destroy our Government is worthy of being hailed as one of our heroes.

Will you please tell me just why you hold him in such high esteem?

Sincerely yours

Leon W. Scott

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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 that 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

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

Thanks for that. Never read afore.

I fly Olde Dixie, never take it down. Some Yankees ask why but never complain, never.

I fly Olde Dixie, never take it down. Some Yankees ask why but never complain, never.

Good on you and some Yankees. The South was right about State's Rights. Slavery was an issue but not the reason for the Uncivil War.

I've tried unsuccessfully to post a pic of me with my Confederate Olde Dixie Flag Cap ... but haven't figured out how to do it.

But, I do "Tip My Cap" to you sir !

interesting west point information

www.justsecurity.org/4447...-point-army-robert-e-lee/

Who was Lee? Among other things, he was a brilliant engineer, finished second in his West Point class while not earning a single demerit in four years. He served in the US Army for 32 years, including combat in the Mexican American War. In 1861, he resigned his US Army commission and fought for the Confederacy, eventually becoming General in Chief of Confederate Forces. In 1975, Congress passed a resolution reinstating Lee’s full rights as a U.S. citizen. In the resolution, Congress noted that “in order to further the goal of reunion of this country,” Lee had applied to the President in 1865 for amnesty, a pardon and restoration of his rights as a citizen and that General Ulysses S. Grant supported it. In signing that legislation, President Gerald Ford quoted from a letter Lee wrote to a former Confederate soldier concerning his signing the Oath of Allegiance: “‘This war, being at an end, the Southern States having laid down their arms, and the questions at issue between them and the Northern States having been decided, I believe it to be the duty of everyone to unite in the restoration of the country and the reestablishment of peace and harmony.’” That is just part of Lee’s story and what he brought to the U.S. military. It is obviously mixed with his decision to command the Confederate army in the first place in the South’s quest to save slavery.

bunk

www.abbevilleinstitute.or...library/robert-e-lee-and- the-american-union/