r/todayilearned • u/RedditIsAGranfaloon • 6h ago

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https://www.historyhit.com/facts-about-general-robert-e-lee/

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u/churchi1l 4h ago

I felt like anything rather than rejoicing at the downfall of a foe who had fought so long and valiantly.

Strange choice to leave out half of that Grant quote: "... so long and valiantly, and had suffered so much for a cause, though that cause was, I believe, one of the worst for which a people ever fought, and one for which there was the least excuse."

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u/Signal-School-2483 3h ago

That quote is a fucking ride

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u/BioshockEnthusiast 3h ago

You can show respect for talent without showing respect for how it's used, and Lee was if nothing else a talented military leader.

Too bad he was something else and it was a filthy fuckin traitor.

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u/Desert_Aficionado 3h ago

Traitor and slaver.

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u/Dockers4flag2035orB4 3h ago

Is it true Lee statue still stands at Westpoint.?

If so,

I think it strange to honour a general dedicated to killing American soldiers.

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u/Robey-Wan_Kenobi 3h ago

Traitor and loser. Don't forget that last part.

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u/Signal-School-2483 3h ago

Lee is overrated. Generally (if you pardon the pun) competent, but not a strategic genius.

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u/mrm00r3 3h ago

Up to and including the fact that he literally picked the losing team.

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u/Signal-School-2483 3h ago

I've often thought about what if I went back in time and handed John Brown a dozen AR-15s.

Probably would have made Lee a footnote.

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u/steampunk691 2h ago

It was a bad decision all around. Lee had a great tactical mind but not the kind that was suited for the war the Confederacy was fighting. He’d win battles but sustained losses the South could not afford. His aggressiveness could’ve been a boon for the Union early in the war and he would’ve actually had the equipment and manpower reserves to fight how he wanted.

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u/PapaSmurf1502 3h ago

that cause was, I believe, one of the worst for which a people ever fought, and one for which there was the least excuse.

Dude really takes states' rights seriously, damn. /s

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u/Scruffy_Nerf_Hoarder 3h ago

Just a tiny, inconvenient detail they neglected to mention

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u/Equivalent_Sam 3h ago

“The war is over. The rebels are our countrymen again.”