War Essay, Research Paper

Lee and Jackson,

The Great Southern Generals

The War Between the States was both a terrible time for the nation and a very important time in U.S. history. The Civil War had a greater impact on the United States than any other event. It was a time of courage, great leadership, and great men. Some of the greatest men of this time were the leading generals of the Confederate States.

The two most distinguished Southern generals were Robert E. Lee, the commander of the Confederate army, and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, Lee s right hand man. Although they both were great Southern generals, they had many differences. These similarities and differences can be seen in their military strategy and style. They can also be seen in the way that they viewed things and were viewed by others in the army, and their attitudes towards slavery and the war itself.

The book Gods and Generals by Jeff Shaara shows how General Lee and Jackson thought and were thought of differently. An excerpt from the book states how General Lee feels about the Confederate Army. “He heard horses, several, riding hard up to the house, and he knew from the sound it was too fast and too much show: Stuart.

He smiled, heard loud voices, and took a last look out the window. How strange, he thought, I feel more like a father here than anywhere else. They are all my children: Taylor, Stuart, sometimes…even Jackson.

Maybe this whole army…Is that not what a commander must do, earn respect, give them discipline, and…love them? The thought jarred him. He felt suddenly

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guilty, thought, No, it’s all right, I do not love my own family any less” (Shaara). In this excerpt, Lee contemplates how he is like a father to the army, especially the generals. He thinks about what it takes to be a good general and how a generals qualities are similar to the qualities necessary to being a good father. A good general must be a role model, someone whom the soldiers can count on in times of need, and should show discipline just like a father figure would.

In another portion of the book, Jackson s military leadership is shown in comparison to Lee s. “Jackson was very different. Lee had come to understand that if left alone, Jackson held nothing back, would operate with a fury and an anger that was simple and straight forward. He was given credit for military genius.

The newspapers referred to him as the greatest general in either army, though Jackson never seemed to pay attention to that kind of praise.

Around Lee he was like a young child, eyes wide, eager to please the fatherly Lee, and so Lee had learned to treat him that way. But he did not see just a child. He saw a very strong and dangerous animal that would do whatever you asked him to do, with complete dedication and frightening efficiency” (Shaara). This excerpt states what a great general that Jackson was through his simple and aggressive military strategy. Jackson paid close attention to military detail, firm discipline, and his capacity to get the maximum efforts from his men.

The quote shows how well respected and humble Jackson really was. It is also seen how he viewed Lee as a father figure just as Lee viewed him as a dedicated,

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efficient, and dangerous child. However, the soldiers in the army viewed Lee and Jackson very differently.

In the excerpts above from Gods and Generals, Lee was seen more as a father figure to the men, but Jackson could make more of a connection with his soldiers. Lee was admired by the soldiers and given great respect by them. However, he was never seen as one of them. Jackson was actually on the battlefield with his men, and he instilled hope and security in his men. One way he did this was by bottling up his emotions and not expressing his true fears or feelings. This gave his men confidence. “At the First Battle of Bull Run, Jackson s brigade faced overwhelming odds, but formed a strong line and held its ground” (Selby). From that moment on, Jackson was known as “Stonewall.” “His soldiers loved him with a peculiar intensity and they trusted his ability” (World Book Encyclopedia). His men would meet death for his sake and bless him when in death.

The Confederate men were proud to fight with “Stonewall” Jackson. He and his Virginia regiment stood strong against the Union attack, giving other Confederate units a time to rally. He was never scared of any enemy. This gave security and hope to his men. When asked if an attack of about 70,000 Yankee soldiers scared him, he replied, ” We will see if now I will scare them ” (Selby).

Lee, being the commanding officer of the Confederate army, never actually went into battle himself. He planned for the battle and gave orders, but he never appeared in a combat situation. Jackson, on the other hand, fearlessly lead his troops into battle and was involved in the actual fighting.

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Another way the two great generals differed in their strategy was in their aggressiveness. Lee was much more defensive than Jackson was. He liked to let Union troops come to him. He was against an attack on Washington, and he did not like to make drastic decisions. “In a series of engagements known as the Battles of the Seven Days, Lee forced McClellan to retreat. This campaign taught Lee the need for simpler methods of organization” (World Book Encyclopedia). This was probably because the Confederate army was usually badly outnumbered and ill-equipped compared to the Union. Jackson was more aggressive than Lee. He liked to keep the strength and position of his army secret and then attack the enemy with ferocity. In his Shenendoah Valley Campaign of 1862, his troops began calling themselves the “foot cavalry” because of the long, fast marches they carried out at Jackson s orders. Jackson never backed down or ordered a retreat. That is how he earned his nickname “Stonewall.”

Two more issues that Lee and Jackson faced were slavery and their attitudes towards the war. Both officers thought that the war was wrong and neither one of them wanted it. Lee was a spiritual and kindhearted gentleman, and he was bitterly opposed to the violent path that the southern states wanted to follow prior to the war. Up to the outbreak of the war, Lee felt that the conflict should be avoided. As Lee said, ” Surely you gentlemen are overstating the situation. I cannot believe that one state would withdraw from the Union just because a Republican is elected President.

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No gentlemen, I believe you are wrong, I believe that reasonable men will find a reasonable path and that all this talk of succession is just talk ” (Shaara). Lee said this prior to the war to two other generals who were predicting civil war.

When war was sure to come, it was not easy for Lee to decide which side to support and fight for. He had been a member of the US Army for 28 years, but he could not fight against his homeland Virginia. Because of this, Lee decided to fight for the Confederacy. ” I would never allow myself to bring violence upon my home of Virginia, ” (Shaara) he says prior to the war. He called his decision to fight for the South the most difficult decision of his life.

Lee was also against slavery. He did not think that it was right, but he could not just free his slaves. To a former slave, Nate Cole, who wanted to buy his brother from Lee he says, ” Nate, the people who are still here are not for sale. I am pleased, greatly pleased, to allow any of them to leave, who want to. The problem has always been that most of them have nowhere to go…They don t have much hope of finding any work…I cannot just…send them away. ” Lee freed Nate s brother and then Nate asked when the rest of the slaves would be freed. In response to that, Lee said, ” When God wants the Negroes to be free, then He will free them…There will come a time ” (Shaara).

Jackson also had some similar views on the war and slavery. He did not think that war was the right way to go. He could not believe that the people were so

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eager to kill each other. Jackson was a deeply religious man, and he looked for truth in God, as Lee did. Neither Lee or Jackson believed in what they were fighting for, but

neither one of them could bring themselves to fight against their home state. It was out of loyalty to their homes that they fought for the Confederacy.

Lee loved Jackson very much and saw him for what he was, the greatest asset and weapon the Confederacy had. When Jackson died after being shot by his own men at the Battle of Chancerlorsville in 1863, Lee said that he had lost his “right hand.” “The south had won many victories in Virginia against the North until the death of Jackson.” (Selby)

Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson faced many struggles as generals through the decisions that they had to make and the issues that they had to face. Lee and Jackson were both great men and great generals. They had many similarities and differences in issues like military strategy and style, how they viewed and were viewed by their men, and their thoughts on the war and slavery. Lee and Jackson should definitely be considered two of this nations greatest generals.

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Works Cited

Selby, John. Stonewall Jackson as Military Commander. B.T. Batsford Ltd D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc., 1968.

Shaara, Jeff. Gods And Generals. New York Ballantine Books, 1996.

Jackson, “Stonewall,” Thomas Jonathan. World Book Encyclopedia. Field Enterprises Educational Corporation Chicago, 1967.

Lee, Robert Edward. World Book Encyclopedia. Field Enterprises Educational Corporation Chicago, 1967.

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