Robert E. Lee
General Robert E. Lee was a trained U.S. soldier. After the Civil War erupted in 1861, he declined Lincoln's request to become a high ranking commander in the Union Army. Instead, he resigned, and joined the Confederate forces as a military adviser to President Jefferson Davis and later given a commission as the General of the Army of Northern Virginia.
Lee was a powerful general, who was known by Northerners and Southerners alike. His influence was powerfully felt at engagements such as the siege of Richmond, where he pressed Union General McClellan with attacks over several days until they finally retreated and pressure was lifted off the city. The confederacy suffered heavy losses duing these siege.
With confidence, Lee moved forward to Maryland, where he engaged McClellan again at Antietam. A standoff in the end, the losses here were heavy, as many as 25,000 people died.
Lee and his forces were finally crushed at Gettysburg, where the battle was so fierce and losses so heavy, that it is considered the turning point of the war.
c. 2001 CL Young
Lee image from www.loc.gov, Portrait of Gen. Robert E. Lee, officer of the Confederate Army], Julian Vannerson, 1863. LC-B8172-0001
