ktmeng/mec huggingface dataset:
Topic: civil-war

Robert’s educational career was a considerable success, culminating with his graduation second in his class from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1829. After selecting the Corps of Engineers, Lee returned home to be with his mother before her approaching death. Friends and relatives celebrated and mourned her passing at Arlington, the home of George Washington Parke Custis, adopted son of George Washington. There he reconnected with childhood friend Mary Anne Randolph, to whom he was married in 1831, signaling both the legal and practical linking of Lee’s future legacy with that of Washington. It was this legacy that he would build upon in the coming years as he began his militaristic career.
Topic: civil-war

The future general’s early days of service were spent mainly redesigning and refortifying outposts in his home state of Virginia before being shipped to St. Louis to head a project designed to protect the harbor from shifts in the channels of the mighty Mississippi. While perhaps boring and unfulfilling work compared to the duties he would assume as head of the Confederate Army thirty years down the line, Lee found the development and improvement of the mouth of the frontier at the Mississippi in St. Louis to be very intellectually stimulating. While in St. Louis, Lee achieved rank of captain. When the Mexican American War broke out in, Lee served as Major General Winfield Scott’s chief engineer, with the post carrying trust that allowed him to make independent battlefield decisions almost as critical as the commander himself. Crucial in American victories at Cerro Gordo and Churubusco, Lee left the war with the title of colonel and the confidence associated.
Topic: civil-war

With the nation again at peace, Lee resumed his duties in Washington at corps headquarters and was appointed to the coast defense board. He spent the remaining pre-antebellum years again fortifying harbors, this time in and around Baltimore, before being named Superintendent of West Point and holding the esteemed post for three years. Still, with the tactical aptitude he displayed in Mexico, Lee knew it would not be long until he was back on the battlefield. While serving as administrator at West Point, he received an assignment from Secretary of War Jefferson Davis as lieutenant colonel of a new Second Cavalry to patrol the newly acquired and vast lands from the Mexicans. Touring up and down the Mississippi, from St. Louis to Texas and westward, his unit served as much as a group of bounty hunters as anything, chasing and capturing “hostiles”. Although earning the promotion to colonel of the Second Cavalry, Lee obviously never encountered large-scale engagements. Nonetheless, he received a great deal more experience commanding troops in the field that surely come paramount when leading a country’s armed forces.
Topic: civil-war

Perhaps Lee’s most heroic and notable pre-Civil War efforts occurred at the site of one of its biggest instigators. In 1859, Lee received an urgent message to aid Virginia militia and Maryland volunteers at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia, where noted abolitionist John Brown and his followers had taken the fire-engine house of the United States Arsenal and all its arms. Lee, leaning on his aforementioned experience, took command and was able to diffuse the situation and capture Brown. “Lee returned to Texas early the next year, but was never able to escape the shadow that the Harpers Ferry raid had cast over his state”.
Topic: civil-war

Evident by his repeated triumphs in his assignments, Lee was commissioned as full colonel and commander of the First Cavalry in early 1861. In the meantime, the Confederate States of America had formed with its capital in Mobile, Alabama. Conflicted yet feeling an undeniable sense of loyalty to his home, Lee informed his superiors and President Abraham Lincoln of his intentions for the impending war: he could not fight against his Commonwealth. If Virginia seceded, he would follow it to war. Three days following an offer from Lincoln to become commander of the U.S. Army, with the secession of his state, Lee resigned his post. As is frequently noted, “it was a painful decision but one that in its expression of loyalty to home and kindred has commanded sympathy even from those who cannot admire it”. Less often attributed to Lee, however, is his opposition to many of the Confederacy’s founding principles. As himself considered a patriot and his father a hero of the Revolutionary, he resisted secession heavily and even disliked slavery, never owning more than a handful of slaves. Regardless, Virginia and his allegiance forced his hand.
Topic: civil-war

Lee concluded that the Confederacy had been too defensive in its tactics up to that point in the war, and by sheer manpower and abundance of resources the Union would continue to overwhelm his forces. His only chance was to take the offensive, focusing his forces at critical points of his choosing. The risk was apparent, yet Lee knew such a strategy could potentially gift his limited troops the upper hand in battle if he could concentrate the battles to crucial locations. Brilliantly, Lee and his army, reinforced by Major General “Stonewall” Jackson’s Army of the Valley, won a series of battles that came to be known as the Shenandoah Valley Campaign in early summer 1862. Though small in size and relation, those victories brought renewed optimism in the Confederate cause among Lee’s forces and diverted Union forces away from the Confederate capital of Richmond, which was soon itself to come under fire.
Topic: civil-war

Returning to Richmond to find his highest-ranking officer wounded and Union General George McClellan’s mighty Army of the Potomac, some strong, rapidly descending, Lee confronted the attack directly. Taking his commander’s place on the front lines, the general continued his aggressive push and repelled northern forces from just outside Richmond during the Seven Days battles with his newly designated Army of Northern Virginia and, again, aid from Jackson’s Valley Army. The late June battles in 1862 not only saved the capital, but seemingly transformed Lee in perception from apparent failure to savior of the Confederacy.
Topic: civil-war

In spite of his decided triumph, Robert E. Lee was nonetheless disheartened by the result of the battles of Seven Days. He had fallen short of his ultimate goal to completely destroy McClellan’s super army, yet still temporarily inactivating the Army of the Potomac was a crucial tactile advantage. Knowing all along he would frequently be outnumbered during the war, he planned to go on the strategic offensive, hoping to make quick work of Union forces in the North and bring the war to an abrupt end.
Topic: civil-war

Recognizing the massive losses to his army mingled with McClellan’s “by-now frequently demonstrated caution”, Lee marched his troops north of Richmond where they met the forces under Major General John Pope at Bull Run. Pope had moved his troops into position to aid in the retreat of the weakened Army of the Potomac, as ordered from Washington. While once again triumphant, the Army of Northern Virginia had lost nearly 45% of its troops (upwards of 30,000 killed, wounded, or missing) over the course of one summer. The victory, however, guaranteed Lee a route to bring the war to the North; he believed winning a battle on Union soil could compel Lincoln to secede Confederate independence.
Topic: civil-war

As Lee began to march his still not full strength force north across the Potomac, McClellan’s army had already received reinforcements from Washington and once again conflicted with the Confederates at Antietam Creek in September 1862. This time on the defensive, outnumbered two to one, the southern general stood his ground through the single bloodiest day of the war, but the next day was forced to fall back across the Potomac.
Topic: civil-war

Finally replenished by President Davis but lacking the services of Stonewall Jackson, who had died after the Battle of Chancellorsville, Lee’s forces marched north to Gettysburg. There they met Major General George Meade’s army and from July 1-3, 1863 waged one of the bloodiest battles fought on American soil. Perhaps hampered by the loss of his right-hand man and certainly unfamiliar with the terrain of the Pennsylvania hills, Confederate troops suffered huge losses while also striking a blow to Union numbers, causing “very sever (sic)” casualties numbering “2,834 killed, 13,709… wounded, and 6,643 missing” by the count of Major General George Meade. Nonetheless, Lee continued his northern assault after Gettysburg, piling up additional Union casualties. The flaw in Lee’s strategy all along, however, came in the fact that the casualties inflicted to his own army during the campaign far exceeded the Union numbers in relation. The North’s seemingly endless supply of fresh soldiers would continuously thwart his noble and dutiful attacks to win a key battle on Union lands.
Topic: civil-war

When Lee returned to Richmond in 1864 as newly appointed general in chief of the entire army of the Confederacy, southern efforts to hold the capital had reached desperation as Lincoln attempted to crush the rebellion and secure reelection. In spring 1865, with the city nearly under siege by Union forces, Lee staged a last-ditch push to open up a route for retreat. Northern troops, now led by Ulysses Grant, easily crumbled the rebels and Lee informed Davis the capital and nearby Petersburg would have to be evacuated.
Topic: civil-war

Able to escape with some of his forces, Lee was forced to move westward in hopes of rendezvousing with reinforcements, but was cut-off by Grant at several crucial choke points. Finally, Lee had no option but to surrender. On April 9, 1865, Robert E. Lee surrendered himself and his Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Courthouse, effectively ending the Civil War. Still, in defeat, his soldiers celebrated their general. One wrote to his brother late in the war, “no matter if our country goes down tomorrow Lee’s name will stand first upon the pinnacle of fame, as the greatest of commanders living or dead.”
Topic: civil-war

As a general, it is clear to see how Lee earned his high distinction. His ability to strategically adapt to any situation on the battlefield was unparalleled in the art of Napoleonic warfare. His respect and reputation only grew in the years following his death, even spreading in the North. His followers saw him as somewhat of a Christ figure, on the account that “his worldly defeat [at Appomattox] came to attest to a nobility of character all the more sublime”. This character and set of personal virtues are perhaps most impressive and notable of Lee’s legacy. His sense of loyalty to his home and commitment to duty were truly admirable. His initiative in all of life’s tasks, especially on the battlefield, should be adopted by all. He was, in every sense of the word, a patriot; a man who put his life on the line for his home state. In many ways—marital ties, tactile decisions, nobility, and honor—he is akin to George Washington. As an American, Robert E. Lee has earned and rightfully deserves his rank among the country’s most prestigious individuals.
Topic: civil-war

In this world where Robert E. Lee is never born, little changes until the onslaught of the Civil War. Lee, by all accounts, generally opposed crucial Confederate foundations such as slavery and secession itself; and therefore would have done little to change the occurrence nor timing of the Civil War. Perhaps the most important instigative event in which Lee directly participated leading up to the war was at Harper’s Ferry. With Lee out of the picture, it is likely Stonewall Jackson who comes to lead the Army of the Confederate States of America
Topic: civil-war

When one looks at his victorious campaign to repel the Union Army away from the area surrounding Richmond, it is likely that whomever was chose to lead the Confederate troops would have also been successful inasmuch. Major General George McClellan is often questioned for his lack of offensive mindset during his Richmond campaign, and one is to wonder if simply opposing a perhaps less-skilled and regarded general would have altered the Union commander’s attack plans. According to Gene Thorp of the Washington Post,
Topic: civil-war

[McClellan’s] over-cautious approach, the story goes, kept him bottled up at Yorktown for a month conducting siege warfare on a rebel army one-fifth the size of his. He vastly overestimated the strength of the enemy and made irrational calls for reinforcements. When the rebels finally retreated to Richmond, he did not pursue quickly enough. After Jackson joined Lee in Richmond and drove back the Union soldiers, McClellan withheld reinforcements from Gen. John Pope for petty political reasons, contributing to his army’s defeat.
Topic: civil-war

Further take into account the fact that Lincoln had surprisingly withheld an additional 33,000 troops from his Army, McClellan was vastly unfit for his post and his army unfit for attack. It is therefore safe to assume that Stonewall Jackson, now serving as General of the Confederate Army, is able to fend off the northern intruders from the capital. A major difference in this world occurs when Jackson, less aggressive and offensive than Lee was, does not recognize the opportunity as the Army of the Potomac retreats and instead decides to remain in Richmond, focused on fortifying his defenses and replenishing his troops.
Topic: civil-war

The move is essentially in direct contrast with the actual course of action as implemented by Lee when he crossed the Potomac the first time. In this version, none of Lee’s campaigns in the North ever come to be, most notably the Battle of Gettysburg. Instead, the South continues to fight a defensive war and eventually suffers the same defeats near Richmond, although likely years in advance of when it actually happened. Because Jackson refrains from advancing into Union territory, Lincoln’s undenied goal to end the rebellion forces him to resupply the army of the Potomac, change its leadership, and strike back. This time, the Union Army easily runs over their southern counterparts and takes Richmond, crumbling the Confederacy from within. By midsummer 1862, the war is effectively over, a full three years before the real-life version came to an end.
Topic: civil-war

The alternate history brings into question a seemingly puzzling paradox. Lee was undoubtedly an integral part to the Confederate cause and therefore the course of the war itself, yet, when one removes him from the story, the result changes minimally. One should not let this fact draw from his legacy. What must be realized is that Lee made the tactile decisions and fought the war the way he did out of necessity. He knew the only chance for southern victory was a swift one, and to win such a war would require relentless offensives.
Topic: civil-war

With every small victory it almost seemed as if he was simply staving off the inevitable defeat, so it is almost remarkable how long Lee was able to keep Confederate hopes alive. His offensive strategy employed by Lee was its own eventual downfall, as the Confederacy could never produce enough troops to constantly replenish the forces. It leaves one to wonder if General Lee, perhaps commanding Union troops, would have been able to recognize his full potential on the battlefield and win the critical battles needed to win a war.
Topic: civil-war

After the Mexican War was over Lee became superintendent to West-Point which was the most prestigious rank over the academy. He emphasized teachings of the Bible and the importance of honoring your country. Not long after being called to West-Point, Lee was called while leaving Arlington, Virginia to lead the U.S. Marines to capture John Brown and the raiders of Harpers Ferry. John Brown and his gang had captured the Federal Arsenal hoping to incite the slaves. Lee and his army fought for only 2-minutes before winning the battle.
Topic: civil-war

Once Lee heard that Texas was leaving the Union in 1861, he departed home to Virginia. As soon as Lee got home it is said that instead of hugging his own children he hugged a neighbor boy instead because the war took a lot of time away from seeing his children who were already grown men and women. His sons’ barely thought anything of him as a father but only considered him a loyal person to America. However Lee did prove that it takes a strong, God-fearing, biblical Christian man to lead a country at times of trouble.
Topic: civil-war

Lee purchased his favorite horse in 1862 for 200 dollars while he was in South Carolina. Lee named his new horse Traveller. Traveller had a muscular deep chest and a black mane along with his confederate gray colored hair. Traveller served 20-years with Lee in many battles and many other adventures. Traveller died not long after Lee died in 1871 after he stepped on a nail and developed tetanus. There was no cure for tetanus at that time so Traveller was put down on May8th, 1871 to be taken out of his misery.
Topic: civil-war

During the war Lincoln and Lee talked some about trying to end the war peacefully. The confederate troops after 4-years of fighting finally agreed to surrender. Lee was able to convince his soldiers that life was more important than fighting for money and slaves. Only Lee’s most trusted soldiers and generals obeyed and took his wisdom. He said, “We must forget this war in order to pursue God’s plan for America”. General Lee was considered the greatest leader of the Civil War. Everyone even those on different sides, honored him as a general, as a person, and as a follower of Christ.
Topic: civil-war

When Robert E. Lee finished the fighting in the Civil War he became the President of Washington College in Virginia. Later after Lee’s death, the name was changed to Washington and Lee University to honor him. When Lee visited South Carolina for the last time in his life, he was called affectionately “Uncle Robert” when walking through the state. At retirement Lee did a lot of work around his church. On October 12, 1870 Lee gave his last order while lying in a bed. He stated, “Strike the tent” which meant take it down, and then he breathed his last breath on this side of Heaven.
Topic: civil-war

Robert Edward (E.) Lee, a man born for battle, but not necessarily leadership. In fact, Lee would go on to call his decision to join the army one of the “greatest mistakes of his life.” But yet, he was still thrown into the role of General not for his hunger for power or his charisma, but rather for his voracious love for his country. Reluctant yet willing, fearful yet courageous, he dove headfirst into a battle that seemed would be turned in his favor, until his shortcomings acted as weights and dragged him down, deeper and deeper until it seemed like the entire Confederacy had been cut off from the light.
Topic: civil-war

Therefore, to fully understand Robert Edward Lee, we must understand the environment in which he was raised in. Lee was born to two parents, one a saint, the other tainted with the mark of corruption. His father was a respected general named Henry “Light-Horse Harry” Lee, and had married his mother Ann Carter for the money. He held no affection in his bitter heart except the affection for Ann’s money, and preferred to spend his nights with other women while reaping the benefits of her inheritance.
Topic: civil-war

Though he was at his peak in the American Revolution, leading his cavalry as an American hero, he eventually fizzled out, ended up in debtor’s prison, and fled from his debt by escaping to the West Indies, leaving his family without a backward glance. Lee’s mother, Ann, showed no animosity toward the awful man, and continued to raise her family with love and affection. Lee saw his father for the last time at the age of six. The American hero and loser Light-Horse Harry died on his way back home when his injuries from a beating he took several years prior caught up with him and his bad health brought him down. This happened when Lee was eleven, and Light-Horse Harry never lived to see his family again. Growing up with no father figure did not stop Lee in the slightest. He loved his mother with a fierce passion, and was her favorite child as well as her confidant and nurse.
Topic: civil-war

When the time came to leave the house for college however, there was no money left for Lee, the fifth child, and he chose to attend military school at West Point, which though he would later come to regret, would not be a sentiment many in the South shared with him. This is not just a story about a man’s overwhelming failure, it is a story about a man defying the odds and rising above. Robert E. Lee did not let the struggles his family faced hold him back from becoming one of the best generals in history. He did not back down when his father left him, when his mother depended on him, or even when they did not have a single drop of money left for him, and we can see this fight for survival reflected in his acts during the Civil War.
Topic: civil-war

After graduating from West Point second in his class in 1829, Lee married Mary Anna Randolph Custis in 1831 and remained an engineer in the army, where he would spend thirty years in the United States (U.S.) Army Corps of Engineers. However, by 1836, Lee had become unsatisfied with life, and still searched for something to satiate his hunger. He bore this hunger for many years to come, and when the Mexican War came in 1845, Lee could finally hear the calling in his veins. It is in this war that Lee proves himself to be a competent, courageous, and daring soldier. From riding out alone into the night to inspect Mexican armies, to engineering the removal of obstacles to lead a clear path for the army, to finding a route across a lava bed through which the American forces could attack the Mexican army, Lee proved himself again and again.
Topic: civil-war

Robert E. Lee’s career as a soldier was far from over, as he might have hoped before the start of the Mexican War, when he was depressed and unsatisfied with his path. Instead, his career was set aflame, and he gained the respect of many through his work in this war, most notably General Winfield Scott. After the capture of Mexico City, thanks to Lee, Scott said, “I tell you if I were on my deathbed tomorrow, and the President of the United States would tell me that a great battle was to be fought for the liberty or slavery of the country, and asked my judgement as to the ability of a commander, I would say with my dying breath, ‘Let it be Robert E. Lee!’” Lee carried this fame with him all the way to 1861, where he would fight for Virginia, and in doing so, would also begin his ill-fated fight for slavery.
Topic: civil-war

In 1852, nine years before the beginning of the Civil War and following the Mexican War, Lee was appointed as commander at West Point, where he would serve for a mere two years, and then go off in search of adventure once again in Louisville, Kentucky. There he was severely disappointed to find no action, but by the mid-1850s, trouble had started to brew over the matter of slavery in the newly acquired territory won in the Mexican War. Lee claimed to be against the institution of slavery, and supported the gradual replacement of slaves, rather than immediate emancipation of them like northern abolitionists.
Topic: civil-war

Throughout the tension that surrounded northerners and southerners in these years, Lee bounced around multiple cavalries, until finally, in 1857, he was notified that his son had died, and had left his estates in shambles and a huge debt in his wake, and that his wife was suffering from a severe form of arthritis. He immediately rushed home, and cared for his wife, but after many months of the same boring routine, Lee grew depressed as well as resentful of the life he had to look forward to, a life placed on hold. However, on one fateful October morning in 1859, a man named Jeb Stuart made his way to Robert E. Lee with a message, a message to head straight to a place called Harper’s Ferry, by the Potomac River on the Maryland border, to deal with a slave revolt. Though at the time, Robert E. Lee saw this as an escape from his trite life, this message turned into an event that would change the course of American history.
Topic: civil-war

The slave revolt at Harpers Ferry was started by the infamous John Brown, known for Bleeding Kansas, in which he slaughtered southern slaveholders. Brown’s plan was to capture the arsenal at Harpers Ferry, but when only twenty slaves showed up, his plan fell apart, and was brought to its knees with the arrival of the strategic and demanding Robert E. Lee. Though Brown’s plan was a failure, like many things in history it carried a grave meaning that ran deeper than a simple slave revolt. Brown, in starting the revolt, had sparked a nationwide conflict.
Topic: civil-war

In this revolt at Harpers Ferry, we saw northern abolitionists place Brown as a martyr for the northern cause, and we saw the southerner’s worst fears and insecurities about the antislavery sentiment being confirmed. In putting down the rebellion, Lee was merely delaying fate, and in doing so, we see the irony in this. In fighting at Harpers Ferry, Lee confirmed his own tragic end, and when Abraham Lincoln is finally elected in 1860, it is seen as the final straw for the southern states, and they immediately secede. Thus, the stage is set for the beginnings of the Civil War, and America holds its breath as Robert E. Lee emerges from the haze to claim his title.
Topic: civil-war

On April 12, 1861, the first shots of the American Civil War were fired at the Battle of Fort Sumter, where Robert E. Lee failed to appear. However, six days later on April 18, Lee was given the opportunity of a lifetime. Abraham Lincoln had offered Lee the position of general in chief of the Union armies. However, Lee refused to take up arms against his home, the South, and most importantly, Virginia. Though he opposed slavery, opposed secession, and did not believe that the South stood a fighting chance, Lee put this all aside for his home. We see the struggle between his love for his country versus his love for his state reflected in a letter to his sister on April 20, 1861:
Topic: civil-war

With all my devotion to the Union and the feeling of loyalty and duty of an American citizen, I have not been able to make up by mind to raise my hand against my relatives, my children, my home. I have therefore resigned my commission in the Army, and save in defense of my native State, with the sincere hope that my poor services may never be needed, I hope I may never be called on to draw my sword. I know you will blame me; but you must think as kindly of me as you can, and believe that I have endeavoured to do what I thought right.
Topic: civil-war

After his declination of general of the Union armies, Lee wasted no time at all in resigning from the army as a whole. Then, on April 21, Lee was given the title of major general of Virginia of the Confederate armies, which Lee graciously accepted, love of his state still enclosing his heart, mind, and soul. Lee’s first test as major general presented itself in late July, when Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederate States of America ordered Lee to go the mountains of western Virginia. There he was to bring together three Confederate armies to fight in coordination against the Union. When Lee arrived, he faced an impossible task. Everything had turned to sludge from the rain, and the supplies as well as the soldiers were drenched and defeated.
Topic: civil-war

Moreover, many soldiers refused to give Lee the respect he commanded as major general, and Lee was not able to complete his task of unionization, failing miserably. On September 10-15, the Battle of Cheat Mountain took place, where the Confederacy was crushed by their inability to work together and overthrow the opposition. When people in Virginia heard of what happened, Lee was demonetized to the strongest extent. The son of the legendary Light-Horse Harry, in their eyes, had turned out to be nothing but a failure, and they even started referring to Lee as Granny Lee. Though this first failure might seem like an opportunity to point out his shortcomings, this failure seemed to be the result of nothing but poor luck. Lee had the qualifications of a great soldier, but the Confederacy had not yet gained the respect of Lee it required to pull together and coordinate against the Union.
Topic: civil-war

Jefferson Davis saw this potential in Lee, and instead of punishing him for Cheat Mountain, he kept his trust in Lee and sent him out to Charleston on November 7, 1861, where Lee was again met with the same bout of bad luck. The U.S. Army had already taken over Port Royal Sound in South Carolina, and with this they could travel between South Carolina and Georgia quickly and efficiently. Therefore, Lee had little time to gather forces and was defeated once again, and at this point it is still not Lee’s tragic flaws that brought him down, but rather just poor fortune. In 1862, Davis called Lee back to Richmond, which was in a state of peril. General George B. McClellan was gathering a force of more than 120,000, twice the number of the Confederate troops, to launch an attack on Richmond.
Topic: civil-war

It is at this point in the war the Robert E. Lee realized something that would turn him into the hero of the South. He realized that the whole time, the Confederate army had been waiting in the defense for attacks by the Union, and so he took the offense. During this time, General McClellan had started making advances, and by now was on the peninsula between the York and James rivers. Joseph Eggleston Johnston’s army, who were supposed to be confronting McClellan’s army, had broken off contact, so finally, Lee and Davis rode out to find out what was going on. There they found the Battle of Seven Pines, where there were 5,000 Federal casualties and 6,000 Southern casualties, amongst them Johnston himself. It is then that Lee truly got his chance to rise to fame. Davis, seeing that the army quite obviously needed a new commander, appointed Robert E. Lee, and though it turned out to be a brilliant idea at the time, we now see what a terrible mistake it was. Perhaps, however, no one could have stopped the fall of the Old South and the inevitable rise of the New Nation.
Topic: civil-war

Lee had finally gotten what he had hoped and dreamed for, his own army, which he deemed the Army of Northern Virginia. His first task was to kick McClellan off his home turf, and he did so in the last week of June with the help of Stonewall Jackson in the battles famously named the Seven Days battles. In these battles Robert E. Lee finally proved his worth and kicked the name Granny Lee into the dirt, burying it deep, where no one could ever dig it up after his victories. In seven days, Robert E. Lee polished the tarnish off of his name, and was able to transform himself into the hero of the Confederacy.
Topic: civil-war

Soon after, Lee became determined to reclaim Richmond fully, and launched an attack against the Union Army of Virginia against John Pope. In the second Battle of Manassas, Robert E. Lee would again prove his heroism, but at a great cost. At this battle, he would lose 25% of his army, compared to the previous 19% he had lost in the Seven Days battle. Though at the time, Lee believed that he could survive through the losses if only given more men, this drive without care for the losses ultimately lost Lee the rest of the war. After the second Battle of Manassas, Lee was dead set on claiming the prize jewel of the war, invasion of the North. Lee had his eyes locked on the ultimate challenge, and even with the casualties, even with half his army deserting and the other half starving, Lee pushed on.
Topic: civil-war

Whether you see this as brave or foolish, it aided in the downfall of this tragic hero. However, this much can be said. Lee failed to grasp the full social and cultural meaning of the war, and instead focused on single moves, single battles, that would lead him to the goal. Not once in all of the Civil War did Lee take a step back to look at the bigger picture. As soon as he claimed one victory, he moved farther and farther into the mouth of the beast. Ulysses S. Grant saw the meaning of the war, he grasped what he was fighting for and acted accordingly. Lee however, could not see what he was leading his troops into, and maybe that is what led to a series of failures that eventually led to a stain on Lee’s career that he could not remove, the Battle of Gettysburg.
Topic: civil-war

Before we delve deep into the Battle of Gettysburg, it is important to point out a startling fact. Before this battle, Lee had been victorious at two battles, the Battle of Fredericksburg and the Battle of Chancellorsville. Both these victories took place after the battle known as the “bloodiest single day of the war,” the Battle of Antietam. These served to boost Lee’s morale as well as his conceitedness. Some might say that the victories got the Lee’s head, and off the high of his success, he took to the North like a mad man. Despite being stripped of his right-hand man Stonewall Jackson, despite having little to no other strategy but single-minded stubbornness, Lee was still determined to gain a victory on Northern soil. Though Lee was incredibly smart and decisive, Jackson had provided a new outlook on strategy and was an extremely beneficial asset to Lee’s team, and without him the odds were significantly lowered in his favor. Despite all of this, in a sort of deranged madness, he believed that a southern victory on northern soil was the only way to defeat the opposition, and commenced to his doom.
Topic: civil-war

Gettysburg took place on July 1-3 in 1863, and even though Davis had replenished Lee’s troops for the battle, Lee had suffered major casualties in his troops and it was showing. The Army of Northern Virginia was suffering greatly, but in another show of weakness, Lee believed he could beat the North no matter the number of men he had to back up his movement. On July 1-2, the Confederates won many victories, but it is on the third day of the battle, known as Pickett’s Charge, where everything fell apart. In this battle, one of Lee’s commanders, Richard Ewell, had not received one of Lee’s commands to wait out the opposition, and instead decided to charge into battle, stripping Lee of his chance for an organized attack. With this disadvantage, as well as a bone-tired army, Lee was demolished and crushed into the ground, and he lost 35% of his army, 28,000 men.
Topic: civil-war

Women have always played an essential part in the social, economic, and political role in America. They have always found many ways to stand out in American history, despite the restrictions given to them that put them into limiting and stereotypical roles. However, women have very critical roles that shaped the future and the success of the American territory. This idea was proven immensely, especially during the mid-1800s when the Civil War took place. During the civil war, women in the North played many roles that helped the Union become as successful as it was (highlighted).
Topic: civil-war

The roles for the ladies serving for the Union changed throughout the course of the war. At first, they were forced to stick to their domestic Women were given the opportunity to seek more industrial work as Union men were participating in the war. According to Olivia Brown, who wrote Women Soldiers of the Civil War, ‘as men entered the Union army, women’s proportion of the manufacturing workforce went from one-fourth to one-third.’ Women who were a part of the Union did not experience as much violence fighting in the Civil war compared to the Women in the Confederate states.
Topic: civil-war

African American women had an important role when it came to the success of the Union as well. Enslaved women would often escape their southern plantations and try to find safety in the north. However, there were still many enslaved black women in the south who worked in the hospitals there. An exception to this was a freed slave named, Susie King Taylor. She worked as a slave growing up, and later became one of the first African American nurses and worked in the state of Georgia for the Union. She was a brave African American woman because she taught slaves how to read and write at a school she ran herself. She became well known for her work as Reminiscences of My Life in Camp, which was a book written about her experience in serving in the civil war with the Union. Susie King Taylor was one example of how the Union side affected an African American Woman.
Topic: civil-war

During the Civil War, many strong and healthy women fought on the Union’s side. They were important because they served other by trying to fight for the Union and abolish slavery, serving the wounded, also trying to reach a common goal of making a brighter future for all minorities in America. One of these women includes Harriet Beecher Stowe. Harriet was one of the most well-known abolitionists in the North. She was known for the novel that she wrote in 1852 called Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which was one of the best selling books in the 19th century. It had such a significant impact on others because it gave people who sided with the Union a reason to want to win the war and abolish slavery. The book talked about how people’s love through Christianity is too strong to be dehumanizing enslaved African Americans in this way. Another important woman during this time was Clara Barton. Clara founded the American Red Cross and helped all types of soldiers. Like previously mentioned in this paper, women did not have professional training for these specific jobs because it was only during the Civil War that they started to take over jobs the men used to have. Furthermore, there was not a whole lot of formal education for professions such as nursing. With this being said, Clara Barton created a change by sharing her knowledge about health and nursing to other women. One other example of a woman from the Northern states that shaped the country is Louisa May Alcott, who wrote the book Little Women, which is still a best-selling book today. Along with that, she was also a nurse during the Civil War and applied her experience to her writings. These three women were just a few examples of women that helped shape our country for the better by thinking selflessly and justly.
Topic: civil-war

The Civil War was a horrible time where men and women, slaves (free and enslaved), natives, and newcomers all had to pick one side or the other (Union or Confederacy). This lead to many regional rivalries, and a strong liking for people who did not agree with their point of view. However, women who stood with the Union tried to use their gifts and knowledge towards something that would benefit the country collectively. These women helped win the war for North not just by preserving the Union, but also creating a positive national social impact.
Topic: civil-war

Propaganda has been coursing through the United States of America since the country’s beginning. Propaganda is biased or deceptive information meant to endorse a certain view and can take many forms (Bergstrom). In the first years of the British colonization, propaganda could be seen in the form of John Cotton’s sermon “The Divine Right to Occupy the Land,” which assured the colonists that they were sent there from God and had the right to take over the land. In later years, propaganda could be seen taking the famous form of Benjamin Franklin’s political cartoon “Join or Die.
Topic: civil-war

During the American Civil War, propaganda could be seen nationally and internationally in recruitment posters, the media, and Civil War envelopes. Propaganda during the Civil War influenced and swayed the American public, greatly affecting the outcome of the Civil War. Propaganda is biased or misleading information circulating via some form of mass media with the intent of promoting a political agenda or viewpoint (Bergstrom). Propaganda can take many forms, from art and literature, to music and movies. It is everywhere, influencing and promoting, undetectably manipulating people through the use of images, slogans, and “a selective control over the censorship of the facts”(Bergstrom).
Topic: civil-war

Propaganda has been used as a strategy for shaping national and international opinion, by means such as exploiting enemy weaknesses, in almost every war. Propaganda could be effective in enhancing the chances of a side winning a war (Vidal) because it works by showing the people what they want to see. Numerous experiments, such as ones by Anthony Bastardi, Eric Uhlmann, and Lee Ross in June of 2011, suggest that “people may ultimately come to believe that the weight of evidence supports the position that they already wanted to believe was true.”(Markman) People will always want to read that the side they support is righteous and just, thus supporting the belief that the more the propaganda appeals to the people, the more they will support the cause being ushered towards them. The soldiers are the most integral part of any war.
Topic: civil-war

The primary method of recruiting soldiers for any war is to hang recruitment posters to entice healthy and patriotic men to enlist in the Army. Many recruitment posters were filled with pictures and slogans of patriotism. One such Union poster had the phrases “Rally ‘round the Flag, Boys!”, ”Come one! Come all!” and “United we stand! Divided we fall!”(Resnick). This recruitment poster also consists of a wide array of American symbols, such as the American flag, the bald eagle, and olive branches. A few years into the Civil War, the Union was in need of more soldiers. After President Abraham Lincoln passed the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared that “all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free”(Lincoln), black men were allowed to enlist in the military. With 3.5 million freed slaves in varying states, the Union decided to enlist colored men to join the army. A recruitment poster, provided by Omeka RSS, shows this with the phrase “COLOR’D MEN WANTED” at the top.
Topic: civil-war

Through these posters, the North capitalized on patriotism and a sense of togetherness, manipulating America’s patriotism to bring them together to fight for their cause. According to American Battlefield Trust, the Union assembled a force of roughly 2,100,000 soldiers and around 40 war ready ships in their navy. It is argued whether or not this overwhelming majority of soldiers, more than twice the number of Confederate soldiers, gave the Union a great advantage on the battlefield (Motte). Confederate recruitment posters during the Civil War would typically consist of vaguely threatening slogans. An example of these more aggressive posters, provided by Wikimedia Commons, is one that states at the top “TO ARMS! TO ARMS!” with the phrases “$50 BOUNTY!,” and “Do not wait to be Drafted, but Volunteer!!” underneath. This recruitment poster consists of bribery, through the promise of bounties, and the common theme of a draft. Another example of a Confederate recruitment poster, also provided by Wikimedia Commons, is one that has printed in large bold letters the phrase “THE DRAFT” at the center. At the top, there is the phrase “Enlist! ENLIST!” as well as “$400 BOUNTY, $16 per month, And Clothed And Fed” underneath. Much like the previous recruitment poster, this one consists of a bounty and the guarantee of clothes and food, most likely used in hopes of convincing lower class men to enlist. Both recruitment posters incorporate a strong word, such as enlist, followed by an exclamation point, showing strong emotion and inflicting a message of importance into the viewer’s mind. With recruitment posters and other techniques, according to American Battlefield Trust, the Confederacy enlisted an army of roughly 1,000,000 soldiers, and around 20 ships in their navy (Still), although it is difficult to know exact numbers because of the destruction of records.
Topic: civil-war

Propaganda in the media was an extremely common tactic used during the Civil War. Propaganda could be seen in newspapers, magazines, and cartoons. Although newspapers contained the latest news from the battlefield which informed the public about the war, they also contained political cartoons that were used to sway the reader’s opinions. Illustrations about the war fascinated the American people who embraced this new way to take in information. (Johnson) An example of Union art is one titled Selling a Mother From Her Child. (Johnson) The picture presents what the Union says is a common scenario: a mother being sold as a slave, having to leave her baby behind. A mother and her child is a universal symbol for family and safety, and the Union was playing with this symbol in hopes that people would pity the mother being sold into slavery, thus supporting the Union’s cause. One famous example of Confederate propaganda is The Amalgamation Waltz (Johnson). This cartoon exploits white men’s fear of black men and depicts women dancing with black men, the white men left alone in the background. The message they were trying to convey with The Amalgamation Waltz is that this ‘takeover’ by black men would be prevalent in a nation that freed its slaves. These, along with hundreds of other cartoons, were featured in print media by both the Union and Confederacy to keep the message they were fighting for alive in the minds of the readers. Letters became one of the main means of communication during the Civil War (Everyday Life During the Civil War, ). Although the delivery of mail was extremely difficult because of the relocation of troops, soldiers and their families desperately sent mail back and forth for any chance to be in touch with each other. Civil War envelopes are envelopes that had political symbols, people, and messages depicted on them. The publications of Civil War envelopes started around the 1850s during which the north and south started to divide.
Topic: civil-war

Civil War envelopes allowed printers a unique way of expressing their opinions on the war, with political symbols, personages and anti or pro-war messages printed directly on the envelope. The Union had a harsh way of getting their message across, and this can be seen on one envelope illustrating a slave tied to a pole and being whipped. Underneath the slave, it states, “The persuasive Eloquence of the Sunny South” (Johnson). With this, the Union was trying to get people to sympathize with the plight of the slave. The phrase “Sunny South” was used ironically as it contrasted with the dismal looking slave and the cruel, inhuman actions of the slaveholder. In Confederate states, paper became scarce, leading people to reuse their envelopes or even their wallpaper to write letters to their loved ones. An example of a Confederate envelope is one with the phrase “Southern Rights” above a badge containing multiple American images such as arrows and a badge (Johnson). This envelope also had the phrase “Death before dishonor” printed on a waving banner. This type of harsh and to-the-point slogan was commonly used by the Confederacy. Civil War envelopes influenced the outcome of the Civil War by letting people publicly show their political opinions. Propaganda was issued internationally from the Union and Confederacy in hopes of gaining foreign support.