Robert E. Lee: ‘Confederate Monuments Would Retard’ The Accomplishments Of The South

********** Via Fred Barbash for WaPo President Trump may see the statues commemorating the Confederacy and Robert E. Lee as things of “beauty” that will be “greatly missed.” But Lee himself did not share the sentiment. To him, they would only “keep open the sores of war” and the ill will war engendered, which he thought should be consigned to “oblivion.” He said so on several occasions in the years after he surrendered his army to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1

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3 thoughts on “Robert E. Lee: ‘Confederate Monuments Would Retard’ The Accomplishments Of The South”

You are making a great argument for leaving Lee’s statues up. We need to take lessons from his leadership, not erase it. Anyone who has studied him understands this.

Military tacticians will still study Lee (ended the civil war) regardless of statues – just like they still study Rommel (tried to kill Hitler and end WWII in Europe) – talented men and perhaps good men in their on right – for whatever reasons ending up on the wrong side of history. It isn’t like their skills and accomplishments that can still be of positive uses – are lost with their statues. It does prevent them from being used by negative political agendas in ways they would have apparently resented. Like all statues – it will be the pigeons (or similar mentalities) that miss them the most.