Rolling the Dice: Robert E. Lee at Petersburg
•October 18, 2018 • Be the First to Comment
Ever the gambler, Robert E. Lee put all his remaining chips into the hands of his youngest corps commander at Petersburg. More »
A former superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, Robert E. Lee is perhaps the most famous general officer of the Civil War. A Virginian, Lee was offered command of all Union forces at the outbreak of the war but refused and resigned his commission in the U.S. Army, unable to raise his hand against his native state, which had seceded. As the commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, Lee became a legend, taking great risks and winning several major battles due to his audacity and the battlefield competence of lieutenants such as Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson and James Longstreet. However, modern historians have criticized his performance at the Battle of Gettysburg. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia, on April 9, 1865. After the Civil War, Lee became president of Washington College in Lexington, Virginia. He died in 1870 at the age of 63, and the college was renamed Washington & Lee in his honor.
•October 18, 2018 • Be the First to Comment
Ever the gambler, Robert E. Lee put all his remaining chips into the hands of his youngest corps commander at Petersburg. More »
•October 17, 2018 • 1 Comment
Jefferson Davis’s experiences in the Mexican-American War earned him national attention that helped him rise to his position as the Confederacy’s president. More »
•October 13, 2018 • Be the First to Comment
The Confederate provost guard functioned as a combination rear guard and prison keeper during the American Civil War. More »
•October 9, 2018 • Be the First to Comment
When the Federal cause was in mortal danger at the Battle of Gettysburg, Winfield Hancock did what had to be done …and more. More »
•October 8, 2018 • Be the First to Comment
At the First Battle of Bull Run during July 1861, the Federals had a good plan that very nearly worked… More »
•October 7, 2018 • Be the First to Comment
Civil War mortars were the feared precision artillery weapon of the Victorian Age. More »
•October 7, 2018 • 1 Comment
Few Union men saw more of the Civil War or its principal commanders than Medal of Honor awardee Horace Porter. More »
•October 5, 2018 • 1 Comment
With a plethora of colorful nicknames, alcohol was widely abused in both Union and Confederate armies during the Civil War. More »
•October 4, 2018 • 1 Comment
John O. Casler remembers well his role at Spotsylvania Court House with the Stonewall Brigade. More »
•October 3, 2018 • Read Comments (2)
Confederate General, Stonewall Jackson, suffered bitter defeat at the hands of the ‘Iron Brigade’ at the Second Battle of Manassas. More »
