The Life Of Robert E. Lee

I am doing my book report on Robert E. Lee, For my sources i used the book “Robert E. Lee and the rise of the South” by the author Cathy East Dubowski. This is my book review on Robert’s life and the things he did in it.

Robert’s mothers name was Matilda Lee and his fathers name was Henry Lee he was born on January 19 at the Stratford Hall in Northern Virginia. Roberts parents had four children in five years of marriage, but only one girl and boy survived their names were Lucy Grymes Lee and Henry Lee IV. Robert’s mother died Matilda died in 1790, when she died she left the house for her kids to have.

Now on to the parts in Roberts life that make people know who he is this is his life as a soldier. When the United States started moving Westward not all were happy. Conflicts with Mexico started to happen over the boundaries with Texas and Mexico. When the United States annexed Texas in 1845 the conflict ended up turning into war. Many of the big guys at the time were saying what they believed about the Manifest Destiny but because Robert was a career soldier he didn’t really have much to say about the politics. Robert just waited to see if they would be fighting while he waited for compands General Zachary Taylor led American troops into a battle with Mexico at the Palo Alto and at Resaca de la Palma. During that summer General S.W. Monterrey was marching toward Santa Fe and at the same time Taylor was going after Monterrey with the hopes of finding Mexican general and dictator Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna.

But on August 19, 1846 Robert will get the orders that he needed to report to Washington so that he could go down to texas to fight in the war When Robert made it to San Antonio the first things he had to do as his duties were to be a engineer he had to build roads and bridges for the army to travel. On christmas morning they heard that the Mexicans were going to be attacking U.S. Camps but they never arrived to the camp so Robert volunteered to go out and look for the men who never showed up to attack them. When Robert did not meet up with them he rode into enemy territory in the darkness but he did not find them but then he looked in the distance and saw what he thought to be campfires. But when he got closer he noticed that they were just sheep with some mexican drivers he then asked the men if the army had crossed yet and they said no. Then he headed back to camp so he could tell the rest of the men the news.

Then it was time to battle Lee’s first chore that he had was to protect the cannons which was ran by a group of sailors they would fire on cities. It is said that Lee pushed this group of men hard, the men were used to fighting in the open seas so they did not like the change of scenery so they would complain. The captain of the ship said that him and his boys did not sign up for them just to dig dirt. But then the fighting began on March 24, 1847 Lee’s brother was also there and they both were facing there first battle together. On March 26, the Mexicans called a truce they then did formally surrender at the battle of Veracruz.

The next battle that would happen would be the battle on April 18, but it was a brief one the U.S. Army stormed the pass in the mountain were the Mexican Army was then the Mexicans soon followed by laying down their arms. General Scott gave Lee praise for his dispatches following the Battle. Lee would help in this war to get the states we know today as Texas, California, Nevada, and Utah, as well as parts of Arizona.

Now I am going to be talking about the war that made Robert as famous as he is which is the Civil War. On February 10,1860 Lee was sent to assign command of the department of Texas because of the upcoming Civil War. 10, 1860As people started to break away from the Union Lee knew where he had to go because he wasn’t against Slavery. Then on April 12, the confederates fired on Fort Sumter which was in South Carolina then by April 14 the fort was surrendered to the confederate army. Lincoln wanted this to be stopped so he called for 75,000 troops to stop the confederates. Lincoln had asked Lee if he would take control of his huge army so that they didn’t have to go to war but Lee did not believe in what Lincoln said so he did not. Soon after that Lee’s Home state Virginia has seceded from the United States, He then went to Richmond to the Governor John Letcher and he offered him to be the command of the naval forces in the military of Virginia Lee will accept this job.

The battle Lee is most famous for is the Battle of Gettysburg, were he was the general of it. Lee believed that he should attack the North in there own territory so that they couldn’t get Mississippi. If Lee could do this they could possibly have Lincoln Give the South its independence. Lee just wanted to go to Pennsylvania to settle somewhere then fight but when him and is tired man stopped in Gettysburg to try to get some shoes he saw some Union Soldiers. The two armies had meant each other unprepared and neither side had planned for this fight to happen or to turn into a bloody battle. The fighting began on the morning of July 1, and it was in the north and west of the town. Bullets were hissing and humming everywhere but then the Confederate reinforcements appeared and they outnumbered the Union Army. The Union army was then sent running through the streets, The south took position on Cemetery Hill. When Lee arrived he told Ewell to attack the union which was running or fleeting away from them. Ewell did not move and he didn’t do it, which cost Lee a win he could have got easily. Then on the morning of July 2, Lee moves his men forward with a attack plan he told Ewell to attack the north end of the union line and for Longstreet to attack the south end of it. Longstreet did not listen to Lee so Lee’s battle plan never went into action.Lees method of fighting worked really well with a guy like Jackson but it just didn’t work with guys like Ewells and Longstreet. As Lee’s plan didn’t go as planned because of Longstreet, but Lee’s all out assault led to a large number of union loses. By the third day of Gettysburg Lee’s two officers were not listening to Him anymore and were doing there own things. On the third day is when the confederates lost the battle. This is one of the reasons that the Confederates lost the war because of Gettysburg. Most historian believe this as the high tide of the confederacy or the beginning of the end for the southern cause. This is my Book review for the Book “Robert E.Lee and the rise of the south”