Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Leewas an American general known for commanding the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War from 1862 until his surrender in 1865. The son of Revolutionary War officer Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee III, Lee was a top graduate of the United States Military Academy and an exceptional officer and military engineer in the United States Army for 32 years. During this time, he served throughout the United States, distinguished himself during the Mexican–American War,...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth19 January 1807
CityStratford Hall, VA
CountryUnited States of America
Let danger never turn you aside from the pursuit of honor or the service to your country ... Know that death is inevitable and the fame of virtue is immortal
Remember, we are all one country now. Dismiss from your mind all sectional feeling, and bring them up to be Americans.
Whither shall I flee? To no country on earth that I know of where there is as much liberty as yet remains to me even in Virginia.
They do not know what they say. If it came to a conflict of arms, the war will last at least four years. Northern politicians will 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 that we are all Americans. I foresee that our country will pass through a terrible ordeal, a necessary expiation, perhaps, for our national sins.
I tremble for my country when I hear of confidence expressed in me. I know too well my weakness, that our only hope is in God.
I believe it to be the duty of everyone to unite in the restoration of the country and the reestablishment of peace and harmony.
I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than the dissolution of the Union. It would be an accumulation of all the evils we complain of, and I am willing to sacrifice everything but honor for its preservation.
Our country demands all our strength, all our energies. To resist the powerful combination now forming against us will require every man at his place. If victorious, we will have everything to hope for in the future. If defeated, nothing will be left for us to live for.
We must look to the rising generation for the restoration of the country.
It would appear that General Hooker has placed his hindquarters where his headquarters should be." (So said by Lee when he learned that General Hooker, the new Union Commander, had written, in a letter to his soldiers, that "My headquarters will be 'in the saddle.'
Duty is the sublimest word in the language. You can never do more than your duty. You should never wish to do less.
Duty is the most sublime word in our language. Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more. You should never wish to do less.
Private and public life are subject to the same rules-- truth and manliness are two qualities that will carry you through this world much better then policy or tact or expediency or other words that were devised to conceal a deviation from a straight line.
At present, I am not concerned with results. God's will ought to be our aim, and I am quite contented that His designs should be accomplished and not mine.