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Civil War America
Lee and His Army in Confederate History
Was Robert E. Lee a gifted soldier whose only weaknesses lay in the depth of his loyalty to his troops, affection for his lieutenants, and dedication to the cause of the Confederacy? Or was he an ineffective leader and poor tactician whose reputation was drastically inflated by early biographers and Lost Cause apologists? These divergent characterizations represent the poles between which scholarly and popular opinion on Lee has swung over time. Now, in eight essays, Gary Gallagher offers his own refined thinking on Lee, exploring the relationship between Lee's operations and Confederate morale, the quality of his generalship, and the question of how best to handle his legacy in light of the many distortions that grew out of Lost Cause historiography.
Using a host of contemporary sources, Gallagher demonstrates the remarkable faith that soldiers and citizens maintained in Lee's leadership even after his army's fortunes had begun to erode. Gallagher also engages aspects of the Lee myth with an eye toward how admirers have insisted that their hero's faults as a general represented exaggerations of his personal virtues. Finally, Gallagher considers whether it is useful--or desirable--to separate legitimate Lost Cause arguments from the transparently false ones relating to slavery and secession.
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Was Robert E. Lee a gifted soldier whose only weaknesses lay in the depth of his loyalty to his troops, affection for his lieutenants, and dedication to the cause of the Confederacy? Or was he an ineffective leader and poor tactician whose reputation was drastically inflated by early biographers and Lost Cause apologists? These divergent characterizations represent the poles between which scholarly and popular opinion on Lee has swung over time. In eight essays, Gary Gallagher offers his own refined thinking on Lee, exploring the relationship between Lee's operations and Confederate morale, the quality of his generalship, and the question of how best to assess his legacy in light of the many distortions that grew out of Lost Cause historiography.
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Using a host of contemporary sources, Gallagher demonstrates the remarkable faith that soldiers and citizens maintained in Lee's leadership even after his army's fortunes had begun to erode. Gallagher also engages aspects of the Lee myth with an eye toward how admirers have insisted that their hero's faults as a general represented exaggerations of his personal virtues. Finally, Gallagher considers whether it is useful--or desirable--to separate legitimate Lost Cause arguments from the transparently false ones relating to slavery and secession.
<!--copy for pb
Was Robert E. Lee a gifted soldier whose only weaknesses lay in the depth of his loyalty to his troops, affection for his lieutenants, and dedication to the cause of the Confederacy? Or was he an ineffective leader and poor tactician whose reputation was drastically inflated by early biographers and Lost Cause apologists? These divergent characterizations represent the poles between which scholarly and popular opinion on Lee has swung over time. In eight essays, Gary Gallagher offers his own refined thinking on Lee, exploring the relationship between Lee's operations and Confederate morale, the quality of his generalship, and the question of how best to assess his legacy in light of the many distortions that grew out of Lost Cause historiography.
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320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
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About the author
Gary W. Gallagher
105 books97 followersGary W. Gallagher, the John L. Nau III Professor of History at the University of Virginia, is the author or editor of many books in the field of Civil War history, including The Confederate War; Causes Won, Lost, and Forgotten: How Hollywood and Popular Art Shape What We Know about the Civil War; and The Union War.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 24, 2022
Gary Gallagher’s Lee and His Army in Confederate History attempts to rebut Lee’s critics. Lee was an icon before the Lost Cause movement, Lee was a hands on general, Lee wasn’t a Virginia first parochialist but a big picture visionary. Twaddle ! Lee violated his oath, he championed the most sordid of causes: the perpetuation of slavery, he helped cause 650,000 deaths and in stubbornly clutching to his retrograde views of racial inequality after the war he paved the way for Jim Crow. Quite the noble figure. Gallagher’s evident penchant to protect Lee from a long overdue revision simply enables the distortion of history and those deniers of the central issue of the civil war: the enslavement of African Americans.
August 9, 2018
Several essays evaluating Lee's generalship. Gallagher's conclusions are that, while Lee did make mistakes, he was an excellent general who well-deserved the respect and honor of his army and the Southern peoples. Gallagher does excellent work to separate Lee's military efforts from efforts to promote the "Lost Cause," or efforts to separate the Civil War from its basis as a fight for\against slavery. His research is extensive, as he cites many of the major promoters as well as critics of Lee's military record, all the while coming to his own conclusions. One of the best assessments I've yet to read about Robert E. Lee.
May 8, 2023
The first part was a rather tedious and academic citing of innumerable contemporary quotes regarding perception of Lee’s battles. I thought Gallagher could have made the point more succinctly. Parts two and three are well written and insightful. Gallagher’s even-handed coverage is affirmed by the ignorant review of this book I saw that condemned him as - get this: a “Lost Cause historian”!
November 25, 2014
"Lee & His Army in Confederate History" is another example of why Gary W. Gallagher is the preeminent scholar of this topic. Like many of Gallagher's books, this work is a gathering of several articles about Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia - many of which have been previously published. However, some of the material is original to this book, and previously published material has been updated for this work.
Gallagher convincingly argues that the General and his army were at the center of the Confederacy's hopes for success in the conflict. Among other points, the author demonstrates that the Battle of Fredericksburg, while a victory for the Confederacy, was not as dramatic a victory as many believe, since Lee was not able to capture any significant portion of the Union Army of the Potomac. The truth of this claim, recognized by many contemporaries, lies in the fact that the same army again attacked the Army of Northern Virginia less than five months later. Gallagher also demonstrates that Gettysburg, while a significant victory in Union eyes, did not dispirit the Confederacy in the way often portrayed. It was a set-back, certainly, but not decisive in any significant way. Other essays focus on the Army of Northern Virginia in the Maryland Campaign of 1862, the army in the early Spring of 1864, whether Lee was an "old fashioned soldier in a modern war," how he managed his commanders, and Lee and his army in lost cause mythology. While the author is quick to point out that Lost Cause mythologists consciously attempted to manipulate and control the history and collective memory of the conflict, and he certainly faults them for trying to cover up the central role slavery played in causing the war, he also asserts that much of what they argued in terms of the vital role of superior Union numbers, technology, and material is rooted in truth.
While nobody ever has the last word on such significant historical topics, it is difficult to argue with Gallahger's assessments and the conclusions arrived at in this book. I recommend this book highly for readers who already have a working knowledge of General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia in the Civil War. On this topic, no historian can match Gary W. Gallagher!
Gallagher convincingly argues that the General and his army were at the center of the Confederacy's hopes for success in the conflict. Among other points, the author demonstrates that the Battle of Fredericksburg, while a victory for the Confederacy, was not as dramatic a victory as many believe, since Lee was not able to capture any significant portion of the Union Army of the Potomac. The truth of this claim, recognized by many contemporaries, lies in the fact that the same army again attacked the Army of Northern Virginia less than five months later. Gallagher also demonstrates that Gettysburg, while a significant victory in Union eyes, did not dispirit the Confederacy in the way often portrayed. It was a set-back, certainly, but not decisive in any significant way. Other essays focus on the Army of Northern Virginia in the Maryland Campaign of 1862, the army in the early Spring of 1864, whether Lee was an "old fashioned soldier in a modern war," how he managed his commanders, and Lee and his army in lost cause mythology. While the author is quick to point out that Lost Cause mythologists consciously attempted to manipulate and control the history and collective memory of the conflict, and he certainly faults them for trying to cover up the central role slavery played in causing the war, he also asserts that much of what they argued in terms of the vital role of superior Union numbers, technology, and material is rooted in truth.
While nobody ever has the last word on such significant historical topics, it is difficult to argue with Gallahger's assessments and the conclusions arrived at in this book. I recommend this book highly for readers who already have a working knowledge of General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia in the Civil War. On this topic, no historian can match Gary W. Gallagher!
November 2, 2020
Although Gallagher is a good editor, his own writing is unremarkable.
October 29, 2009
Gallagher is the man when it comes to the Army of Northern Virginia.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews