Reading about Robert E. Lee
The history, and memory, of Robert E. Lee is a peculiar thread of the United States story. His father fights with George Washington in the Revolutionary War. Lee continues his father’s military background by attending West Point, working his way up the Army ladder. He marries into the Washington family. However, in 1861, when 11 states broke away from the United States, Lee tied his fate to treason.
Despite killing thousands of US Army soldiers, at the end of the Civil War Lee is transformed into a hero (not by Frederick Douglass and W.E.B. Du Bois but their opinions only gained mainstream traction in the past 50 years). There are the public memorials and multiple US Postal Offices stamps with his image. Finally all kind of politicians have extolled Lee as someone worthy of admiration.
Can anyone think of any other country bowing down to the memory of someone committed to destroying it? While Lee’s reputation is being rightfully questioned, there are still those pining for the days when CSA’s best soldier was seen as an idol.
Why the word salad? Just started Allen Guelzo’s 2021 “Robert E. Lee: A Life.” Here he is in a New Yorker interview, talking about the book. He also talks about his issues with Critical Race Theory (he gets points for confessing the term, most of the time, is meaningless).
While I’m yammering about Lee, let’s end with this story. This past April at Arlington House, Robert E. Lee’s Memorial, there was a reunion between Lee’s descendants and the descendants of the enslaved families who toiled on the plantation.
NPR spoke to Susan Glisson, a Mississippi historian, helping the families connect and talk.
“The past doesn't need to be an anchor. It should be a buoy,” Glisson said.
I like that line. History is important for multiple reasons. However, if it turns into a burden it’s no longer worthy of study.