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Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee was the general of the Confederate Army during the US Civil War.
990 Questions
What is Robert E. Lee last battle?
The long siege of Petersburg - which he had to abandon, and headed West to Appomattox, where he simply ran out of steam, despite some defiant (but useless) acts of heroic aggression, in the best Confederate style, by General John B. Gordon of Georgia.
It was Lee himself - except he wasn't quite himself.
He was not feeling well at the time of this battle, and it seems that his health may have been undermined by the death of his essential team-partner Stonewall Jackson a few weeks earlier.
After Stonewall's death, Lee's chief associate was James Longstreet, who did not believe in this Northern campaign. (He thought they should have headed West, to save the Vicksburg garrison.)
At Gettysburg, Longstreet seems to have been sulking, and moving slower than expected. Other Confederate Generals also seemed to be unmotivated, and even the heroic and historic charge by George Pickett is now seen as a piece of vainglorous gung-ho Confederate showing-off that had no chance of success.
What are the ratings and certificates for Debating Robert Lee - 2004?
Debating Robert Lee - 2004 is rated/received certificates of:
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What did Robert E Lee do when he heard Five Forks had been taken by the Union army?
Lee ordered this army to evacuate the positions they had held east of Richmond and Petersburg for the last nine months when he learned of the disaster at Five Forks. The army was to pull out that night, April 2, 1865, and head west. Lee hoped to be able to get to the vicinity of Greensboro, North Carolina with his army, and unite his command with that of Joseph E. Johnston, and continue the fight. He was cut off and compelled to surrender at Appomattox.
What famous rebellion did Robert E. Lee put down in 1859?
John Brown's raid on the arsenal at Harpers Ferry.
On June 28, 1863, General Lee learned that the Army of the Potomac, under the command of General Meade was heading towards Frederick, Maryland, about 30 miles south of Gettysburg. At this point in time, Lee's Army of Northern Virginia had already crossed the Potomac River and had the intention concentrating at Cashtown, ten miles west of Gettysburg. Based on the typically slow movement of Meade, Lee had a few days to explore his options. Lee's options were the following:
A. Await in a prepared position for a Union attack. Although force ratios would make such a decision favorable, his supply situation reduced its value;
B. Maneuver around the left flank of Meade and place the Army of Northern Virginia between Meade and Washington DC. This would play into Lee's hand almost perfectly and force Meade to attack in order to protect Washington. Lee could then await in a position of his own choosing and place the burden on Meade to assault an entrenched Southern army. There was a problem connected with this choice and Lee understood it better than Meade did. Lee had to abandon the flanking move because he lacked the cavalry requirements to execute such a maneuver. And in addition this would disconnect Lee from the Shenandoah Valley and remove him from his communication lines. This was a risk in that his preconceived plans to return to Virginia after his raid on Harrisburg, depended on a safe route back to Virginia. Whatever damage his raid on Harrisburg did, one way or another, he could not remain long in Pennsylvania;
C. Lee could retreat back to Virginia now, however, the retreat would be under pressure from a strong and undamaged Northern army. This would be risky and make the entire raid a failure before it had even started to bear fruit;
* As an aside, Lee's "invasion" in military terms was a "raid". Unlike the WW 2 invasion of Normandy, where Allied forces intended to not only remain, but march eastward through France to Germany.
D. Lee could have mounted an assault on Meade. This could have every chance of a victory as Lee's forces could attack Meade's strung out marching forces as they were not moving in a concentrated manner. Lee could attack, cause panic on the enemy and destroy, in detail, every Union corps, one at a time. This would be a decisive victory and end the Army of the Potomac, a disaster from which would totally panic Washington. The problem, however, was that in order to do that, he needed a large cavalry force to scout the positions of the strung out pieces of Meade's army. The required cavalry ingredient, however, was not available, therefore Lee's best chance was denied to him.
Why did Robert E. Lee not want to keep on fighting after the US Civil War?
Former commander of the Confederate military and leader of the Confederate army called the Army of Northern Virginia, was Robert E. Lee. He was actually offered the job of heading Union forces by Lincoln but turned it down.
Lee's surrender to General Grant at the Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia for all practical purposes ended the US Civil War. Lee was aware that some Southerners wanted to conduct a guerrilla war against the North but counseled against it. For Lee & the South the war was over in March, 1865. Lee believed that no good could come from continuing the bloodshed.
What difficult decision did Robert E. Lee have to make to take the post of commanding general?
To relieve the manpower shortage by recruiting slaves into the Confederate armies. Jefferson Davis and his cabinet were opposed to this, as it cut across the basic principle of the Confederacy.
Did robert e lee serve in the revolutionary war during west point?
No. Check the dates. The Revolutionary War was long over before Lee was born.
His father, 'Lighthorse' Harry Lee,had served in the Revolutionary War.
What degree did Robert E. Lee earn?
Robert E. Lee graduated second in his class at West Point Military Academy.
Which side did general lee fight for?
The Confederacy (South)
He did not approve of secession, but felt he ought to go with his state (Virginia) when it eventually voted Confederate.
What position was Robert e lee offered during the cilvil war?
Winfield Scott offered Lee command of the Union forces. Lee resigned.
Why did Robert E Lee chose a direct attack at Gettysburg rather than a siege?
He may have feared that the Union could outlast him in a siege. If they received enough reinforcements over time, the Union could have shifted to the offensive and he was already at a tactical disadvantage with fewer men, who were poorly provisioned. Lee was not strong on logistics. Also, his experience in the Mexican War may have taught him the wrong lesson. There he had been able to dislodge a numerically superior force using direct assaults, but there, the enemy was poorly trained and poorly provisioned. His ego also got involved. He may have believed that his army, with him in command, could defeat a numerically and materially superior force, as it had when on the defensive in Virginia.
NEW RESPONDENT
IMPROVEMENT.
To set up a siege of an enemy army operating in its own territory and in an open field it is indispensable:
-1 encircle the enemy army.
-2 Prevent the same from receiving reinforcements or being relieved by a friend force, by gaining the control of the surrounding territory.
Without taking into account other factors such as logistic, consistency in terms of manpower, equipments, guns etc., the Confederate Army would never had been strong enough to accomplish those preliminary tasks.
Therefore Lee's choice to fight a pitched battle aiming to destroy or badly defeat the Union Army was the right one and it had been already taken since when the invasion of Pennsylvania had started.
His failure was mainly due to the fact:
A- that he was forced to accept battle before his army could have been deployed as planned.
B- That he fell prey of the "Fog of War", because J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry Corps was not able to join the battlefield in time, thus depriving his army of the indispensable support of reconaissance and intelligence.
What happened to Robert E Lee and Ulysses S. Grant in April 1865?
Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.
