Two Days Before Appomattox, Gen. Robert E. Lee Shares His Thoughts With an Aide

About midnight on April 7, 1865, John Sergeant Wise, an 18-year-old second lieutenant in the Army of Northern Virginia, found Gen. Robert E. Lee in an open field dictating orders to his military secretary, Charles Marshall. Wise, the son of a Confederate general and former Virginia governor, delivered a message from President Jefferson Davis, who had fled the capital days earlier. Here's what Wise recalled of the meeting with Gen. Lee.
"Life on the Civil War Research Trail" is hosted by Ronald S. Coddington, Editor and Publisher of Military Images magazine. Learn more about our mission to showcase, interpret and preserve Civil War portrait photography at militaryimagesmagazine.com and shopmilitaryimages.com.
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[@davephillips4691]

Thank you for breathing life to these wonderful historical figures.

[@grantsmythe8625]

My grandmother, who was born in central Mississippi in 1908, was widowed on Christmas Day of 1944. The war still had several months to go, and I would be born 8 years after that war. She was rather tall and thin and had had the Spanish flu and amoebic dysentery after the first World War. She never remarried and kept her hair uncut and rolled up in what they called a "bun" at the back of her head. I was a little boy and one day her old maid, schoolteacher sister was visiting and for reasons I never knew my grandmother looked at her wedding ring, which she always wore, and said, "I always thought the setting was as pretty as the stone." The presenter of these old stories places them in such fine and touching settings that they are masterpieces in themselves. Thank you for them.

[@cactusjones2400]

Your remembrance is so simple yet so full of meaning. It could be said to be almost Biblical in its interpretation.

[@grantsmythe8625]

@@cactusjones2400 You are most kind. I've never had anyone say anything like that. I don't know what to say. She was an angel, a genuine angel. We men usually use that term to describe some young woman that has captured our fancy but in her case, until the day of her death, it fits perfectly. She died in 1978. I never saw her angry. Thanks again. She would have been pleased.

[@deancardella7661]

2024. Texas born going 1500 miles to pay respects to General Lee next week. The woke world turned on him but many a good man and woman will not. Honor and dignity were a powerful lesson for all Americans.

[@robbrown4621]

@@deancardella7661 Considering Lee is a somewhat complex endeavor. While on a personal level he seemed to be a man of integrity and valor, he also chose to fight to preserve the institution of American slavery. That can never be forgotten...

[@FumariVI]

@@robbrown4621 What you say here is misleading and not exactly true. I will attempt to say why. You say "he seemed to be a man of integrity and valor". He WAS a man of integrity and honor. His integrity and honor was recognized and respected by people and military leaders on both sides of the conflict. Gen. Lee was a deeply religious man and recognized the evils of slavery. When President Lincoln offered Lee command of the northern troops, Lee agonized over whether to accept the offer or not. Robert E. Lee was a Virginian. His family had been prominent Virginians from the early days of European settlement in the region. Virginia was his homeland, and that meant a lot more to people back then than it does today. He decided to defend his homeland. After Gen. Lee surrendered to Gen. Grant at Appomattox he mounted his horse and travelled down the road to his encampment. Union troops lined both sides of the road in a show of respect for Gen. Lee.

[@dresqueda]

Wonderful material for this episode. General Robert E. Lee must have been a spectacular figure to encounter. His upbringing and social environment certainly prepared him for great things. We are all the beneficiary of Wise's memories.

[@yvonneplant9434]

Explain why people who owned human beings need praise. I genuinely do not understand it.

[@Aeoferwyn]

​@@yvonneplant9434 Julius Caesar deserves no praise? Alexander the Great or Al Walid? What a shallow mindset.

[@thomaslatterell9936]

Thank you for revealing this insightful event regarding Lee's feeliings about secession; he was unlike another valiant general of the south, Longstreet. For these two, war was not about glory but about duty as a citizen.

[@jerrianderson4867]

Duty against his better judgement, as he noted!

[@TomSpeaks-vw1zp]

His greater duty was to his homeland and the south. He was already a part of the Lincoln administration. Big government was intruding on States rights. I wonder where he would stand today?

[@johnschuh8616]

I think of another valiant Virginian, George Thomas. He stayed with the Union for equally noble purposes. the difference may be that he married a woman from New York, He was one of the best the North had, but Grant never liked him as he did a much lesser character, Sheridan. That was because he was never going to blindly obey Grant,

[@troels4554]

Thank you... during your reading it felt like I was actually there with Lee next to the ambulance. Greetings from Denmark and this country's biggest civil war buff.

[@anthonypanneton923]

Greetings from America. I recently watched a TV series from Denmark titled "1864" about Denmark's war with Germany, which took place at the same time as the American Civil War. I thought it was quite good, and educational for me as I know little of Denmark history.

[@mattpiepenburg8769]

Another gem from Ron.

[@regretta1000]

Thank you!

[@tttyuhbbb9823]

Thank you, Ron!... Unusual, as usual! 🌺

[@joeparvana9549]

A touching story, I can easily picture the scene.

[@rustya.3858]

Thanks, enjoyed the episode!

[@edwardbenjaminjr1997]

Wonderful story, Ron. It's amazing how these short vignettes you put together can say so much, and bring life to these events. Thank you.

[@mattpiepenburg8769]

Another gem from Ron!

[@deanjoon1527]

VERY GOOD! Thanks

[@OlJarhead]

Glad to see the increase in viewers and subscribers! Almost 25K!

[@johnclerk1195]

Thank you, that was amazing! I noticed Mr Wise was born in Brazil. I bet there's a story there. Those little stories like that really pique my interest!!

[@alanmoberly64]

This is why I wish we could listen to the conversations of the time and not just read letters and documents. Candid conversation is the real truth teller. Every generation since the war has had its own views on it. The further we get from it the less people seem to understand it was every bit as complex as issues that are happening today. I read comments on civil war related videos and get thoroughly disgusted with the shallowness of thought.

[@richiephillips1541]

Well said. Sadly 'historians' who know better feel they cannot speak out against the modern PC foolishness being promoted today.

[@harlandeke]

FINALLY..a like minded human blessed with the ability to think critically and in CONTEXT. I hate the idiot run world we live in.

[@brianniegemann4788]

Every time l watch one of these videos l learn something new. It's got me reading more books on the subject. I recently completed "The Confederate Republic: A Revolution Against Politics". It describes the complexity of Southern politics before and during the war; there were many more sides than l realized.

[@carlmally6292]

People only make it complicated when they are twisting language and logic into a pretzel to justify and defend clear and unambiguous evils and moral wrongs like slavery,.

[@akaJackLugar]

That was touching and the emotional side of the Civil War, or any war, is always the most interesting.

[@aaronmallard2435]

I am having my US History classes all watch at least one of your videos! Thank you for this precious material.

[@christ.8547]

that was an excellent story.. thank you..✅💯💙.

[@jameskilcoyne1955]

"Do your duty in all matters, you cannot do more, you should never wish to do less." - General Robert E. Lee

[@zipperpillow]

All depends on your idea or definition of "Duty". Your primary duty is to yourself. Self-preservation. Militaries compel you to surrender your own highest duty, and subordinate that to their "interests", which they relabel as "your duty". Don't be fooled by this wordplay.

[@brianniegemann4788]

At the end of this conversation, Lee says"... it will all be ended, just as l expected it from the beginning". Lee's devotion to duty compelled him to fight for what he thought might be a lost cause in the first place. Lee was a smart man, he could see the tremendous advantages the Union had over the CSA from the very beginning.

[@DP12356]

Whatever his personal honor and genius, Lee was a force for evil. He fought on the side of darkness - of people who wished to keep others in permanent bondage. He fought for slavery. Thank goodness it was indeed a lost cause or the world would be a much darker place today.

[@dtsoutdoors]

This quote was required knowledge for the basic cadets at the Air Force Academy many, many years ago.

[@DarrellHamner]

@@DP12356 do you think the north fought to free the slaves? Silly you.

[@dewayneray2072]

Lee’s speech was always of the highest order.

[@robbrown4621]

But, not his personal decision to commit treason against his nation, of which he was a military officer, The United States Of America. He was hardly any better than Aaron Burr.

[@richiephillips1541]

@@robbrown4621 Oh please Rob. Grow up a little. His "oath" ended when he resigned his commission. Shallow thinking on a deeply complex subject never works well.

[@karstenerdinger2167]

@@robbrown4621 Lee did not commit treason, ya d.a.

[@robbrown4621]

@@karstenerdinger2167 He took arms against the United States Of America. Dude, there is nothing more treasonous than what Lee and the Confederacy did. End of discussion.

[@robbrown4621]

@@richiephillips1541 His oath as an officer might have ended at the time of his resignation. But his duty to the nation never ended. He took up arms against the United States of America. Tell me what can be any more treasonous than that action. If it happened today, would you say he was not a traitor to the United States? Of course not, so why do you excuse his actions? It makes no difference when he lived. A traitor is always a traitor. Lee and all Confederates were in the same league as Benedict Arnold.

[@marcusaurelius9631]

Thank you Ron. I so greatly appreciate you and the way that you share history with others. Your readings are heartfelt and show the humanity of these people who were people of their OWN TIME and who lived so long ago. Unfortunately, there are many ignorant people who oversimplify the complexities of history and humanity, and who cannot do anything but criticize people no longer living who are not able to defend themselves, and that seeth hate and condemnation for people they never knew, in a time that they were not born into or ever lived. And they should be ashamed of themselves. How easy it is to criticize others with the benefit of hindsight and judge others from another time through the lens of today. By some estimates, there are some forty million people enslaved worldwide today, ten times the number of enslaved people in the United States at the time of the American Civil War. And, seriously, WE ALL have ancestors who were enslaved at some time in history. All of us. If you weren't born into that time you have no right to judge those people of the past. I certainly hope that history will judge those that do with the same measure of blind disregard. Thank you again, for what you do, Ron. You bring those figures from the past and make them more alive and relatable as human beings that we might share in their humanity. God Bless!

[@dennisclapp7527]

Thanks Ron

[@sierrahun1]

thanks

[@kensilverstone1656]

Thanks!

[@hoytoy100]

The end game from Saylors Creek to the Court House is under reported. It really is fascinating and much of the roads and terrain remain. High Bridge, Farmville and the Methodist church are all really uncovered gems and worth a visit.

[@michaelreilly569]

Wow. Thank-you so much for sharing this.

[@ByronWoolley-x7t]

Lee was 5'10" , around 170 lbs. He was gaunt, as were most of his army. His known ramrod posture would have made him seem much taller then his actual height. I believe most people observed him while he was on horseback, so like Generals George Marshall and John Pershing he appeared "godlike" in the eyes of his troops. As an aside, I got into trouble once(more then once) for answering the question " What color was Robert E Lee's white horse?". I answered a dappled grayish color. When the laughter stopped, my fourth grade self stood up and said that Traveler was a grayish horse and showed a picture in class the next day. It just shows that knowledge gets derided at all ages and times. .

[@johnschuh8616]

He had sufffered from a number of severe heart attacks, including one in the spring of 1863, which made it a wonder that he was about to undertake the Campaign into Pennsylvania. Yet he did because he knew that the fate of the Confederacy was on his shoulders.

[@chipthomas4169]

Lee himself said Traveller was of a "Confederate grey" hue.

[@robbrown4621]

@@johnschuh8616 Good thing for our nation because he really lost the big one at Gettysburg.

[@paulbolcik4444]

Lee was not gaunt. He ate too much meat and was full figured. The Mathew Brady photograph taken of Gen. Lee at his Richmond residence only a week or so after his surrender of the ANV, shows a full figured individual. He would die from heart problems, usually derived from not eating enough fiber & vegetable matter. I myself am 6'6, and 172 lbs. about normal weight for that height.

[@robbrown4621]

@@paulbolcik4444 Full figured? Nowadays, we call that "fluffy"!

[@PamelaFowler-cq7ic]

I am a descendant to Lt Col Charles Marshall. I thought he was General Lee’s aide at Appomattox. My mother was a Marshall and they are all buried in the family cemetery in Front Royal, Virginia at Happy Creek. Love the video!

[@billramsey3049]

Thanks! I always enjoy your brief updates.

[@John1911]

I thoroughly enjoy this channel.

[@RGL01]

Touching.

[@bprid135]

fascinating.

[@markmaki4460]

JFC Fuller has the best analyses of RE Lee with regard to his character and generalship. The curious air of predestination about the man that Fuller observes is well attested to in this account.

[@BillPorter-m1o]

Thank you for a great story. I could never understand my utter fascination with the Civil War; a thing starting in my childhood. Then, in my later years, I learned I had direct ancestors on both sides; one in a Confederate artillery unit, one in a Union cavalry regiment...

[@leroyproud294]

In some of the letters written by a seasoned Confederate officer, many in the ANV were walking around without muskets near this time. At the sight of General Lee, they simply told him that they were hungry.

[@debbiegipson4512]

Ah, the impact of small, obscure moments... Was this man's life changed? Yes, to be sure.

[@jjson775]

A great story

[@emmgeevideo]

Am I the only person who brings up LOTCWRT and says, "Hey all" at about the same time as our host?

[@carolcoddington6807]

I do too! I'm Ron's mom and I look forward to seeing his videos each weekday!

[@Chiller11]

Interesting that Robert E Lee says he anticipated defeat from the start. I wonder if the reported interchange was at all coloured by the Lost Cause sentiments of the author?

[@mikethomp1440]

I am of the opinion that the final outcome of the civil war was never in doubt. The Confederacy at best, may have fought this war to a stale mate if things had gone differently. But we all know they lacked the resources to fight this war in the long term. Their Gov. collapsed and economy turned worthless. Their ability to trade was blockaded, their soldiers were in rags and shoeless at the end. I think if Lincoln had better field generals at the beginning and had won a couple of key tactical engagements, this war would have been over a lot sooner.

[@oynque27]

Research this for me, Ron. Where did the armies camp overnight for the duration of the Gettysburg battles?

[@roballen8431]

The southerners camped in and around gettys burg.lee was staying in a widows house,mainly because he had heart issues and slept sitting up.

[@henryschmitt7577]

John is the son of US politician, Governor of Virginia and General in the Army of Northern Virginia Henry A Wise.

[@REBELSCL]

Any relation to Governor Wise of Virginia?

[@edglass9912]

Thanks for the story. I think probably there are still people who would give their life for Lee. Was the young Officer related to Gov. Wise? Thanks again, Ed from Lynchburg

[@amadeusamwater]

John was the son of Gov. Wise.

[@MarkBerlin]

My greatgrandfather CSA-Col/San Francisco District Attorney David Lowe Smoot was with Lee at sailers creek

[@alexanderbreeding1830]

Thank you!! So few even when I was young knew anything about Robert E. Lee, aside from the fact that he was the leader of the Confederate Army and perhaps that he was from Virginia. The way all who fought for the South are vilified in this day and age is a sad testament to what passes as education. It's always bothered me that Lee is so often subjugated to the position of "losing general" when he was in fact Lincoln's first choice to lead the Union Army, was an excellent strategist and never wanted to secede. I sometimes wonder what might have happened had Confederate battle plans not been captured at least twice.

[@bluebird8224]

My father's uncle John Coiner Henkel, a Valley Ranger, "often declared that he was present at Appomattox and saw the last Yankee fall from his horse after being struck by a Southern bullet."

[@SandfordSmythe]

Something to brag about? The Union soldiers lined the road and saluted the Confederate soldiers returning home with a "Present, Arms".

[@edmccranie6043]

My Great great grandfather Ballowe was 2 when the war started in Buckingham Virginia . His older brother was 11 and he enlisted. He served as a courier on horseback. Wounded in the first year of service but returned after recovery to the Confederate Army and served til the end of war in NC.. Virginians did not hesitate to fight when their home and State was invaded.

[@robbrown4621]

Neither did Americans when their state of South Carolina was attacked by people who called themselves, Confederates.

[@edmccranie6043]

@@robbrown4621 .A southern Senator said it best “ We joined the Union of our own free will and reserve the right to leave of our own free will”

[@anthonypanneton923]

@@edmccranie6043 and we all know how well that "reserve the right to leave of our own free will" stuff worked out. its like joining a gang - once you're in, you can't just leave whenever you feel like it. if you didn't want to be in, you shouldn't have joined. the south attacked first. the south started the civil war. and all because they didn't like the outcome of a presidential election. imagine that!

[@avenaoat]

And the West Virginians?

[@avenaoat]

West Virgina, Loudon county and the heroes of America, Red strings had a lot of members in the Tennessee, Kentucky and NC border area counties in Virginia. I am intersted in the prounionism in the Civil War and the most Southern states were many prounionists. It is right the less prounionism was in South Carolina, but Pickens and other 3 NC border counties at the North Carolina border had a few prounionists. Virginia hesitated for a long time untill fort Sumter events. Hancock (WV) county almost voted for Lincoln in 1860, The Republican youngsters did torchlight procession in Wheeling (WV) before 1860 vovember election. West Virginia had low interest in the slavery economics except for the salt works. However the original West Virginia (Kanawha state name) had less territory in 1861, only the Civil War brought a lot of proconfederate sentiment counties to the nowdays West Virginia as Hardy, Jefferson, Greenbrier, Monroe etc the now border counties to Virginia.

[@waynelayton8568]

My great great grandfather wanted to keep fighting

[@jgar72]

For what?

[@robertfreitag7328]

R.E.Lee’s reputation, now that the emotions from this era have cooled, has taken a justifiable downturn. This anecdote reveals a kinder, gentler, more admirable side of Lee’s personality!

[@richiephillips1541]

Emotions have cooed? It seems to me they have not cooled, they have only done a 180 degree turn.

[@michaellutes2163]

​@@richiephillips1541 180° turn? Plz explain.

[@jameswilspn1907]

@@richiephillips1541That’s an odd attitude

[@tcarroll3954]

Lee's reputation has NOT taken a downturn.

[@robertfreitag7328]

@@tcarroll3954 among historians it has. Read book “The myth of the lost cause.”

[@richiephillips1541]

Robert E. Lee was pro-Union, and only resigned his army commission when he realized that federal troops would invade his home state and that he, as an army officer, would have to draw his sword against he fellow Virginians. Most people on both sides of the conflict thought it would be a short war (less than 3 months), but Lee knew better. About such people he wrote the following letter. "They do not know what they say. If comes to a conflict of arms, the war will last at least four years. Northern politicians do not appreciate the determination and pluck of the South, and Southern politicians do not appreciate the numbers, resources and patient perseverance of the North. Both sides forget the we are ALL Americans. I foresee that the country will have to pass through a terrible ordeal. An expiation, perhaps, for our national sins." Robert E. Lee May 5, 1861 My note: Notice he says "OUR national sin" because slavery was a UNTIED STATES sin, not just a Southern United States sin. Slavery was 100% LEGAL in the United States of America before, during and shortly after the war between the states.

[@SandfordSmythe]

Let's not be too sacrosanct about Lee's loyalty to Virginia. That's where his relatives, friends and personal wealth was at

[@donhenze7672]

wow

[@tcarroll3954]

Thank you for another great accounting. Robert E. Lee is one of the finest Americans to have ever lived.

[@preeyakumari-i2q]

If you overlook the fact that he was a traitor !

[@jamesdellaneve9005]

@@preeyakumari-i2qBoth sides reconciled after the war. It is true that no one from the south could run for President. Once they got their sea legs again, the southern Democrats initiated race laws (Jim Crow), which we had to once again defeat in 1964 and 1965.

[@jerrianderson4867]

He had some good qualities undoubtedly, but over 700,000 were KILLED during the civil war under his leadership. Perhaps the praise for him is overdone!

[@jamesdellaneve9005]

@@jerrianderson4867 No. It wasn’t unwarranted. He didn’t start the war, but served his state. The biggest reason for those casualties was using 18th century strategies with 19th century weapons. It was insane. Eventually, they started shooting from behind trees and dirt berms. Lee directed his troops honorably. No one at the time disputed this.

[@jerrianderson4867]

@@jamesdellaneve9005 He didn't start the war? His decision to put state above country had a lot to do with starting it! And he tolerated the insanity for years while 700,000 plus lives were lost. I don't judge him. But he had a LOT to do with the war and the tragedy!

[@waynesigmon5628]

Robert E Lee never turned his back on Virginia but Virginia has turned it's back on him now by taking down monuments I know carpetbagger took over Virginia Robert E Lee will always be my hero and Stonewall

[@FumariVI]

My sentiments exactly.

[@giocrypt5148]

The number one job of the socialists is to make the people forget their history this makes people easier to control.

[@scottforesman7968]

Secession was not folly. It was the right of any State to do so. It was the logical result of a tariff system that drained millions from the South, to the nearly sole benefit of the North.

[@GH-oi2jf]

From the Articles of Confederation: "Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union between the States of Newhampshire, Massachusetts-bay, Rhodeisland and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia." The United States did not recognize a right of states to secede, and the Union won the war. That settled the matter.

[@francisebbecke2727]

I heard Napoleon said after he got back from Russia, "Next time I'll get it right." Hopefully, Lee didn't say anything like that.

[@leeholder2258]

So Robert E Lee was not a racist? I did not know this. I think it's great.

[@richardwinn7901]

God bless general Lee.

[@edhodapp6465]

It is ironic that so many of the best and loyalist soldiers for the Confederacy opposed secession and slavery. I think that their sense of honor was misplaced, and the Confederacy did not deserve them.

[@StanEby1]

A man, U.N., siss. All the best.😊

[@HandyMan657]

Thank you for sharing that. I found it interesting that he called Davis, Mr. instead of President, appropriate, and Lee's final Union rank was Colonal not General and he should be addressed as such.

[@brianniegemann4788]

I'm far from being a Southern apologist, but Lee resigned his commission in the US Army and was made a general in the Army of Northern Virginia. He was in fact a general. Much like George Washington, who was also a general in a rebel army at one point. Thanks for listening.

[@scottbivins4758]

​@@brianniegemann4788Lee was a general. The Yankees just mad because we hold our loyalty to the Bill of Rights in the Constitution and not federal government.

[@brianniegemann4788]

@@scottbivins4758 thanks for your reply. Yes , as l said Lee was a general. He had to make a tough decision; fight for his country or fight against it. I think he chose poorly, because he was smart enough to know the CSA had little hope of winning a long war. Every American ought to support and defend the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Some people see the federal govt as the best way to enforce the Bill of Rights. I think that only the people themselves can protect their rights against forces within the governments, both state and federal, that are right now trying to limit them. We should be teaching every American child what the Constitution means, what rights it guarantees, and why it must always be defended. (Too many adult Americans don't even know these things.) Above all they should be taught the true history of the United States, including the ugly parts. Some state governments are already trying to censor history so that kids don't learn those things. There have been many times when people's rights have been violated on a large scale. The Jim Crow laws, persecution of "commies" in the McCarthy era who weren't really guilty of anything, police beating confessions out of people, a two-tier court system where the rich get special treatment. All of those things have existed in my lifetime, and some still do. The courts are more corrupt than ever. Unless America's children are taught these things, the next generation will lose their rights altogether. Because they won't even know what rights are, or how to fight for them.

[@markwardrup6747]

God Bless RE Lee.

[@brycesuderow3576]

Robert is definitely right. This is how Southerners prefer prefer to remember Lee. However, I vividly remember him, stating after reconstruction began that he would not have surrendered if he had known what lane store for the south. We’re not talking about mouse, hangings a confederate leaders. We’re not talking about masochist Acacian‘s of rebel soldiers, even the ones who committed atrocities against black people and union prisoners. No, Lee is objecting to the fact that these federal soldiers occupying the south, or protecting the rights of black people. That’s what stuck in his craw

[@Mr4autiger]

remedial AF.

[@RobertH1971]

The quote you are referring to is unverified and rejected by every historian I am aware of. Some Governor quoted Lee as saying this, but it is likely untrue.

[@rdbchase]

"uh-man-yoo-EN-sis" (not "amanuisance" [sic])

[@ugadawgs1990]

Our current “higher” culture where we tear down monuments to great men, however flawed they may be, is reflective of just how foolish we have become. Nothing good can come from our path in this direction.

[@TheRealCreel]

Great story! Lee vs. Grant will go on forever but to me Grant's Vicksburg campaign makes him the better General. To cut his communications and invade Mississippi, finish off Vicksburg makes him one of the top generals in history.

[@anthonyhart9400]

Lee did with pennies what Grant did with Gold. Lee is the greatest general produced by the U.S.

[@donaldvanostrand4206]

@@anthonyhart9400 Lee was an excellent tactical commander, but utterly failed as a strategic commander. Grant was the opposite, and the results show it.

[@roballen8431]

Just be glad pemberton was inept.and that they couldn t get reenforcements from the trans mississippi.otherwise the effort in tennessee would have postponed

[@TheRealCreel]

About Lee, he made bad mistakes at Gettysburg and also splitting his forces at Antietam. Lee never seemed to grasp that he must wage total war against both military and civilians. Grant never diubted this.

[@DanielRush-e8h]

Lt. John Sergeant Wise was not only the son of former Congressman, Governor of Virginia, and Confederate General Henry A. Wise, but he was also the nephew of Union General and Commander of the Army of the Potomac George Gordon Meade. John Wise's mother, Sarah Sergeant, and General Meade's wife, Margaretta Sergeant, were sisters. Meade's father-in-law, Hon. John Sergeant, and Wise were long-time friends and allies in the old Democratic Party. It is not well-known, but General Meade had numerous close family members living in the South who were Confederates, and his letters indicate that he was very concerned about their safety. Many of the Confederate soldiers in Meade's extended family were killed in action while their families became refugees. In a letter to his wife dated April 10, 1865, General Meade describes meeting their brother-in-law, "Mr. Wise," among the exhausted Confederate troops at Appomattox. In a great display of compassion, Meade personally made arrangements for General Wise's immediate needs and travel home. Lt. John S. Wise then went to stay with his Uncle George and Aunt Margaretta in Maryland after the surrender. Eventually, General Meade saw to it that John received part of his mother's share of the Sergeant estate.

[@FredDrury-r4t]

A very somber time. I'm not a general grant fan. But perhaps he said it best. "I felt like anything but rejoicing at the downfall of such a courageous foe. "

[@ryansutter4291]

Amanuensis. Words. Words. Words.

[@KNS1996DFS]

Save in defense of my native state, I desire never again to draw my sword.

[@joehayward2631]

It's amazing how many CSA President down the politicians then the General who did not want to fight.

[@johnmcguigan7218]

Wise's mother was the sister-in-law of George Meade, and his older brother attended Indiana University. (Wise was a VMI cadet at the start of the war, and fought at the battle of New Market.) His father was governor of Virginia at the start of the war, but resigned to become a Confederate brigadier general. After the war, young Wise spent Christmas at the House of his aunt and her husband George Meade, in Philadelphia. Because of his young age (he had resigned from VMI to become the youngest lieutenant in Lee's army.), Wise had to sit at the children's table.

[@RileyRampant]

The economy of the South depended upon slave labor. That was the reality, however morally reprehensible it may or may not have appeared to its beneficiaries. Everyone was born into their roles - but Lee had the choice to lead the Union - and yet took the lesser, morally questionable path he certainly would have perceived. Is it revisionism to condemn him for making that choice, even with this revelation that he knew it from the beginning to be futile in effect ? I think to discern his, and his peers' reasoning, we have to imagine they could well imagine how destabilizing & economically ruinous abolition would be to their interests. His 'duty' was self-interest and tribalism, admixed with a real fear of chaos.

[@northover]

why not just pay them instead od enslaving them?

[@RileyRampant]

@@northover h'm, assuming you are serious - a. waaay cheaper, b. the work was intolerable, c. they couldn't quit, d. the kids came for free, e. 'god's will' i.e. tradition, f. social isolation g. think up a few for yourself, for once.

[@SandfordSmythe]

​@@northoverThey would have absolute control over them.

[@CommonCentsOutdoorsman]

Lee was a great tactical general but his pride was responsible for so many thousands of unnecessary deaths and terrible destruction. It was evident the south could not win by early 1864. The north was continuing to build in size and power, the south could not. He could have saved so many lives instead of continuing with such a poor cause. What in the world was he thinking?

[@lewismessinger2532]

Lincolns call up of state militia galvanized the remaining southern states, VA and Lee to secede. At that point Lee felt compelled to defend vs anticipated invasion. While today a state or states attacking another is unthinkable that was the reality in Lee's own day. Why did he do it? Duty and loyalty to his home/people. U.S. traitor and Virginia Patriot.

[@roballen8431]

That was not up to lee to surrender in 1864.lee staved off defeat as long as he could and to that end he was a great general.u.s grant threw his soldiers away like used napkins and nobody says anything about.he and sherman sheridan starved thousands of women and kds to death knowingly.so pat yourself on the back for that if like.

[@danield831]

Yes, Lee did his duty and served faithfully…. but who and what did he serve? Certainly not his own country. His interest lied primarily with Virginia. But what he really served was an immoral cause to uphold the institution of slavery. Nothing noble about that.

[@exposethenwo6491]

Slavery still exists to this day. So the war didn't accomplish anything towards that end.

[@michaelratliff9449]

I wonder, have YOU ever spent a day SERVING as a SOLDIER for the the United States of America?..Humm? 🤔..I seriously doubt it..but very quick to judge those who have....Coward..😊

[@danield831]

@@michaelratliff9449 I think someone needs some anger management there...lol...Honestly man you no nothing about me. You know what they say about assumptions... So please don't make a fool of yourself.

[@USAPatriot1776]

There is nothing noble about you or your ignorant comment. Kirk Murrell Arkansas

[@FumariVI]

danield831: Your comment here is narrow minded and false.

[@jamesmooney8933]

Lee's decision to fight the North for Virginia cost thousands of lives.

[@SouthernStorm_61]

Lincoln's decision to invade the South cost hundreds of thousands of lives on both sides.

[@jerrianderson4867]

Hundreds of thousands.

[@brianniegemann4788]

There were other VA generals who decided to fight for the Union instead. Their decisions also cost lives. I would suggest that ultimate responsibility lies with those who instigated secession in the first place, and their supporters.

[@jamesmooney8933]

@brianniegemann4788 Being a good General, Lee extended the war, and encouraged other to believe that the South could win

[@jamesmooney8933]

@brianniegemann4788 yes it is a sad situation.

[@dharryg]

To those skeptics who think Robert E. Lee has been greatly over-rated compared to Ulysses S. Grant, Lee will always be remembered as the bonehead who ordered Picket’s Charge

[@kennethnoble8175]

He wasnt a drunk though he graduated ahead of Grant and was offered his job! 3rdly he wasnt a trador

[@fredhall5038]

Picket lost at least 12-14000 wounded or dead at Gettysburg. Grant loss 12000 plus attacking on the Orange Road (?). Burnside lost 12000 plus at Fredericksburg. Gettysburg generals on both sides shared 51000 dead and wounded. Numbers don’t always tell the story when it comes to generals and leadership. We armchair generals need to be more careful in our judgements. Travel the war sights, don’t just read books or listen to the internet. Put yourself in the times and shoes of those Civil War Generals.

[@supererdoc]

Unlike Lee, Grant made even more boneheaded decisions, leading to his nickname in the Northern press, the Butcher. Consider the pointless slaughter of Grant's charges at Cold Harbor in mid-1864. By this time of the war, Grant should have known better than to send those young boys to be butchered in repeated frontal assaults against fortified positions, losing some 7,000 men over 20 min and nearly 13,000 men over 12 days. But Grant's losses could be made good by the endless stream of blue cannon fodder. In contrast, Lee ran out of men in what became a war of attrition, and the few men left in the end were vastly outnumbered, starving, and out of ammunition. When you win, you become a genius despite evidence to the contrary. Try this mental exercise. Give Lee the same resources of men and materials that Grant and the earlier Union generals had and consider that final outcome.

[@JohnBernard-xw8zo]

You are the bonehead sir

[@kennethnoble8175]

@@JohnBernard-xw8zo u must be a Yankees doddle dandy the war wast about the slaves it was about the money read what Lincoln said about the Black's the Unoins great steel and iron what won the war it wasn't about your drunkard president

[@hauntedmoodylady]

I spent 21+ years as an Army Officer, I'm not saying that to brag, or complain, simply to say I' familiar with the subject matter. Every time I hear Gen. R. E. Lee's name mentioned, I think of the battle of Gettysburg, every time I think of the battle of Gettysburg, I always think of that caliche," amatures talk tactics, and professionals talk logistics." I believe the South had both the best Generals, and Soldiers, however, throughout the war the South lacked logistics, at Gettysburg, the South lacked both logistics, and tactics..

[@fredhall5038]

I trust you have walked Gettysburg as well as studied it. I believe you are right. But have you also considered a three day march in 95 degree heat, an army spread out all the way to Carlisle, an attack on Day 1 orchestrated not by Lee but his over-enthused men? And as I am unfamiliar with logistics have you considered that Lee’s cannon and ammo were a bit too far away when most needed, even as Pickett was? There are so many factors that determine the outcome of a battle. My own eyes got opened when I travelled the Gettysburg battlefield and of course I couldn’t manufacture the totality of the battles and physical and emotional toll on the men of both sides. One thing I believe many miss, the main battle line in front of the Round Tops and stretching northward was six miles long and favored the defenders ability to move troops to better positions on the second and third days. As they say of close battles, ‘it was a near run thing.’ Thank-you for your insights and your service to a great nation.

[@Kymmee2100]

Thank you for your service. 🇺🇸

[@dharryg]

I have heard a similar version. “Tactics win battles. Logistics win wars.”

[@perrypiehl3209]

I disagree, Sir. About the South had the best generals. Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, Thomas and some others I believe were Superior. Lee is way overrated.

[@scottbivins4758]

​@@perrypiehl3209Okay and that is your right to disagree with him. Me on the other hand I disagree with you. Lee was a damn good General he was a great General he was a good man and he thought about all his troops. The reasoning for surrendering at Appomattox. And that's not me disrespecting any of the Union generals but to me Lee will always be better cant forget the great Stonewall Jackson either.

[@miriamcohen7657]

Lee was not tall

[@wsherwin1392]

Amealia courthouse!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@richardcutt727]

Lee was that very rare man who stood against evil because it was evil, knowing in his heart that he would lose his life, property and future. A bit like school teachers today who refuse to call a male student female or abortion clinic prayer 🙏 groups.

[@johnwoodallmd]

Ah men you en sus is the pronounciation.

[@SeattlePioneer]

I WANTED to view this video.... But after the stupid grimace at the beginning followed by insipid image making of the scene, I said NO THANKS.

[@richardcutt727]

Lee refused to take up arms against his State, friends and family. The issue of slavery would eventually have been resolved without war. But patience was never a virtue of the office of POTUS. Certainly not of Abraham Lincoln who fired a general a week. Lincoln chose a path which killed 1 million loyal Americans in pursuit of 'unity'. The US Civil war was THE unique tragedy in US history. From 1861 the USA became the world's most imperial and aggressive nation. But it started at home first. The first nation to deploy atom bombs upon a civilian population - very 1861.

[@DouglasLyons-yg3lv]

Lee continues to be far overrated. I hate what if scenarios but I can only imagine what Grant would have done at Antietam. The fact is, Grant bottled up Lee after a month and a half of hard campaigning. Lee himself said it was just a matter of time once Grant forced him into seige warfare.

[@kevinlewallen4778]

What's the point of broadcasting this example of Lee worship? Hasn't the Lost Cause been spreading this point of view since the war already? What are you trying to accomplish?

[@nathancraig4480]

It's an historical account and gives us insight into the thoughts of a major historical figure we otherwise wouldn't have.

[@terryp3034]

Symptomatic, sadly, of the hate of our times.

[@redcat9436]

The left hate history.

[@Mr4autiger]

you are a corky'brained remedial of the highest order.

[@Mr4autiger]

@@terryp3034 you are also a corky'brained remedial, of the highest order.

[@persimmontea6383]

I never bought the idea that Lee fought for his state. He fought for Lee. He knew all along the war was lost??? Well, he knew all along that slavery was wrong but he practiced it anyway ... for his home state? No, for himself. He took the easy way out. Instead of facing up to his own contradictions, he earned the right to (once) ride past the Arlington cemetery on a train and see the sea of graves instead of his home. Lee was human for sure. But, he was also an avid warrior as his words at Fredricksburg make clear.

[@frednorton1704]

I have always despised Lee. 500,000 men and boys died needlessly because of him. He could have stopped that war before it started, He knew it was hopeless.

[@jerrianderson4867]

Yes!

[@brianniegemann4788]

Ultimate responsibility lies with those who instigated secession, and used propaganda in the southern newspapers to foment it. I don't think he could have stopped it. Many prominent Southerners warned the public against the war, but it still happened. At best, without Lee's generalship it might have been shorter. But he felt compelled by duty and honor to defend his home. Lee didn't think he had a choice. I'm not defending him, just saying that's the way people thought back then.

[@Mr4autiger]

nothing could have stopped the original baboon and his machinations.

[@FumariVI]

If you bother to do some research you would find that few historians share your opinion.

[@coachtd]

Please get to the point. Stop rambling

[@foldohack5687]

The war was over after Gettysburg and Vicksburg..Lee not surrendering then shows what a terrible general he was

[@stevefranckhauser7989]

Lee was the true butcher.

[@SouthernStorm_61]

No less than Grant!

[@nathancraig4480]

Lee didn't have the human resources to be a butcher. Grant, on the other hand, could fail frontal assaults with catastrophic effects, say "oops," then refill his ranks and do it again. That's being overly simplistic of Grant as he was much more than that, but it explains the butcher reference.

[@joehayward2631]

It's amazing how many CSA President down the politicians then the General who did not want to fight.

[@edwil111]

it's like "hey I'm just here with the band"!

[@jerrianderson4867]

@@edwil111 To quote Lee (from this video): "It ended just as I expected it would end from the first."

[@markalexander832]

No, they did not want to fight, but they were attacked and invaded.