Units_Lee

Robert E. Lee was on active military duty for the United States Army when Ft. Sumnter was fired on in 1861. His objections to both secession and slavery had his loyalties to the south in question. When his home state of Virginia withdrew from the Union , Lee knew that he could not fight against it stating “ I cannot raise my hand against my birthplace, my home and my children”. Lee resigned his commission with the U.S. Army and joined the confederate cause.

The confederate president , Jefferson Davis, offered Lee an advisory position in the War Department. On May 31,1862 during the battle of Seven Pines , General Joe Johnston was wounded and Lee was named as the new commander of the confederate forces in Virginia.

Lee was now left in a position that no General would want. His army was backed up against the capital of Richmond , facing an army that was at least twice his size. Instead of digging in and fighting a defensive battle, Lee went on the attack. From June 26 to July 2 Lee relentlessly attacked the surprised Union army, thereby removing the federal threat from in front of Richmond.

Seeking to capitalize on his victories , Lee decided to invade the north. To do this he had to act quickly before General McClellan’s army could unite with General Pope’s army. In a decisive victory Lee’s army defeated General Pope at the 2nd Battle of Bull Run. With one army out of the way Lee began his northern invasion.

Besides the capture of the union held arsenal at Harpers Ferry, nothing else went right during the invasion. Lee’s army suffered its first major defeat at the Battle of Antietam . This loss resulted with the armies retreat back into Virginia.

For the remaining months of 1862 and into the beginning of 1863 , Lee’s abilities as General would take him through several battles with the union. After Lee’s win at the Battle of Chancellorsville, he decided to try another invasion into the north.

Lee thought his army invincible when he met the union army at Gettysburg. This mind set led to a horrible defeat for his army. Lee once again retreated back into Virginia. Never again would he try a northern invasion.

In 1864, Lee now faced a new general in command of the union army. That general was Ulysses Grant. Until now, Lee’s army was used to fighting an army that once defeated would retreat and nurse its wounds. With Grant in command that would all change.

Grant sent his army against Lee repeatedly. From the Battle of the Wilderness to the Battle of Cold Harbor Lee continued to defeat the union army. Even with all his victories , Lee knew that he was now fighting a winless war. The superior numbers and supplies of the northern army were beginning to show on the outnumbered confederate forces.

Lee put on a stubborn defense of Richmond and Petersburg before finally being forced to retreat to the west. After many hard fought years Lee knew that it was time to stop the fighting and start the healing. On April 9, 1865 Lee met with Grant at Appomattox Court House and surrendered his army.