• ryathal@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    Lee was technically a USG, and was probably one of the best generals in the war. He pretty much kicked the north’s ass until the lack of industry in the south became an issue.

    • cmbabul@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Yeah, I’m from the south but I love to shit all over the confederacy, and fuck Lee for being a traitor and siding with racists, but he was an extremely competent tactician. He shouldn’t be exalted for it at all but to say otherwise isn’t telling an accurate history of the Civil War.

        • cmbabul@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          I majored in history but I’ll fully admit the civil war is not my area of expertise, so when I say I think I remember that he was torn on which side he wanted to serve please take that with a grain of salt. It doesn’t absolve what his choice ended up being, but I think it’s a bad idea to dismiss him as a historical figure to study and learn about and from(his mistakes especially). And again just to be clear, fuck Robert E Lee, but he was a relevant and complicated historical figure we shouldn’t dismiss him out our hand while not ever glorifying him.

          • vaultdweller013@sh.itjust.works
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            1 year ago

            I aint dissmissing him, im calling him an asshole. Two different things, theres much ya can learn from him and his actions. Foesnt stop it from being a shame he was a traitorous cunt.

            • cmbabul@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              Oh yeah I was mostly commenting for others I didn’t think you were defaming the piece of shit. He sucks and backed the wrong horse, if he wanted a legacy he should’ve put human kind before homeland

    • amanneedsamaid@sopuli.xyz
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      1 year ago

      When him and Grant’s forces actually met on the battlefield he got fucked up. The extent of his skill was overblown by decades of lost causers.

      • TheSanSabaSongbird@lemdro.id
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        1 year ago

        I’m pretty sure this is wrong. I’m no historian, but I have been reading a lot about the US Civil War recently, and based on that my impression is that he’s generally regarded as highly competent and probably would have been given command of the Army of the Potomac over McClellan had he decided to stay with the Union.

        For the first two years of the war Lee and Jackson won every major engagement they had with the Union forces. It wasn’t until Gettysburg that they really got a bloody nose, and that at great cost to the Union and at least partially only because Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain was such a badass.

        Grant was highly competent as well, and relentless, and he had more men and materiel and better resupply. Once Sherman completed his run to Atlanta, it was pretty much over and just a matter of how Lee was going to surrender.

        • amanneedsamaid@sopuli.xyz
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          1 year ago

          I never claimed the war was not already over due to Sherman, however, Lee’s hypothetical leadership of the Army of the Potomac has very little to do with the fact USG tactically defeated him in the Overland Campaign. They most major engagements until Lee met Grant, and the better general won. Based on what I’ve read about Overland, it wouldn’t have mattered if Lee was on equal footing, he was consistently outmatched by Grant.