Lee and Jackson
Lsn 8
Lee: Boyhood
• Born in 1807
• Son of Revolutionary War
hero Light-Horse Harry
Lee
– Harry ran up huge debts,
went into exile in the West
Indies, and died on a
voyage back home when
Robert was 11
– Robert was very much
influenced by his mother
Ann who taught him a
code of honor, self-control,
and responsibility that his
father did not embody
Lee’s boyhood home in
Alexandria, Virginia
Lee: Boyhood
• Entered West Point in 1824
• Graduated second in the Class of 1829 with no
demerits
• Commissioned in the engineers which was then
the elite branch
• Classmates included Joe Johnston and
Theophilus Holmes
– Others at West Point at the same time included
Jefferson Davis, John Magruder, and Lee’s future
chief of artillery W. N. Pendleton
Lee: Early Army Career
• Served in a variety of
engineering positions
– Fort Pulaski, Georgia
– Fort Monroe, Virginia
• While at Fort Monroe he
married Mary Anna Randolph
Custis, great grand-daughter
of Martha Washington
– Assistant in the chief
engineer’s office in
Washington
– St. Louis Harbor
– Fort Hamilton, New York
Lee in 1838
Lee: Mexican War
• Lee served as an
engineer under
Winfield Scott in
Mexico
• Scott landed at
Vera Cruz and
then began
moving through
the interior of
Mexico to
Mexico City
Lee: Mexican War
• Scott wanted to
avoid costly frontal
assaults by
executing turning
movements
• To do so he would
routinely send
engineers such as
Lee on
reconnaissance
missions to find a
way around the
enemy
Lee: Mexican War
• The Mexican commander Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna
had assembled a 25,000 man army to block Scott’s
advance
– Santa Anna established a defense at Cerro Gordo
– Scott pitched his camp on April 14 and immediately ordered a
careful reconnaissance of the Mexican positions
– He soon realized that a frontal assault would be suicidal, and
directed his engineers under Lee to check out the Mexican left
flank
Lee: Mexican War
• Santa Anna had positioned
three artillery batteries on
prominent cliffs to command
the National Road approach
– His main defensive
position was on the hill of
Cerro Gordo, a couple of
miles behind these
artillery batteries
– Americans approaching
Santa Anna along the
National Road would be
exposed to deadly fires
Lee: Mexican War
• Lee summarized the problem writing that “The right of
the Mexican line rested on the river at a perpendicular
rock, unscalable by man or beast, and their left on
impassable ravines; the main road was defended by field
works containing thirty-five cannon; in their rear was the
mountain of Cerro Gordo, surrounded by intrenchments
in which were cannon and crowned by a tower
overlooking all-- it was around this army that it was
intended to lead our troops”
Lee: Mexican War
• The defense however had one weakness
• To Santa Anna’s left or north flank there
was an extensive tract of wilderness, the
vegetation being so thick that Santa Anna
had no reasonable observation in that
direction
– His flank was thus vulnerable, but he
was willing to accept this risk because
he considered the tangled woods
impassable.
– Santa Anna’s subordinates did not
share this confidence, but, in spite of
their pleas to defend the flank, Santa
Anna sent only an observation post.
Lee: Mexican War
• Slowly Lee worked his way up the ravines north
of the river.
– The terrain was difficult, but Lee thought it would not
be impossible to construct a crude road over it.
• At one point Lee had to hide behind a large
brush-covered log to avoid detection by the
Mexicans
• Mexican soldiers even sat on the log Lee hid
behind, and he had to wait until darkness to
escape
Lee: Mexican War
• Upon returning to American lines, Lee compared
notes with Major Smith who, on his own
reconnaissance, had come to similar
conclusions as Lee.
• Scott directed them to continue their
reconnaissance the next day and detailed to Lee
a work party to cut a trail.
• By the end of that day, Lee and his crew had
prepared a passable new trail up the ravine
Lee: Mexican War
• Not only was Lee responsible
for finding the route and
building the road, Scott also
entrusted him with serving as
guide for Brigadier General
David Twiggs’s division in the
conduct of the attack
• Lee led Twiggs’s men up the
ravines that passed around
Santa Anna’s left, emplaced
an artillery battery, and guided
a brigade around the northern
flank of Cerro Gordo with the
intention of cutting off the
enemy retreat
Lee: Mexican War
• Lee’s work allowed Scott to outflank the Mexican
defenders, bypass the main defensive positions,
and strike the Mexican rear
• Cerro Gordo was the first of many turning
movements Scott executed in his march to Mexico
City
– To make these movements possible Scott relied on the
reconnaissance of Lee and other engineers
• Scott wrote that Lee was “indefatigable during
these operations, in reconnaissance as daring as
laborious, and of the utmost value.”
– Lee was brevetted to major “for gallant and meritorious
conduct in the battle of Cerro Gordo”
Lee: Mexican War
• Scott would later describe Lee as “the very
best soldier I ever saw in the field,” and
suggested that in the event of war, the
government should insure Lee’s life for $5
million a year
• In addition to proving Lee’s skill as a
soldier, Mexico taught him the value of
reconnaissance and the turning movement
Lee: Mexican War
• “The relation of careful reconnaissance to sound
strategy was impressed on Lee by every one of
the battles he saw in Mexico... Lee had shown
special aptitude for this work and he left Mexico
convinced for all time that when battle is
imminent a thorough study of the ground is the
first duty of the commanding officer.
Reconnaissance became second nature to him”
– Douglas Southall Freeman
Lee: After Mexico
• Fort Carroll in Baltimore Harbor
• Superintendent of West Point (18521855)
– Cadets under Lee’s superintendency
who went on to be Civil War generals
included his son G. W. Custis Lee, his
nephew Fitzhugh Lee, Archibald
Gracie, Stephen D. Lee, John Pegram,
W. D. Pender, Jeb Stuart, and
J. B. Villepigue (Confederate) and Phil
Sheridan, Henry L. Abbot, and
O. O. Howard (Federal)
• 2nd U.S. Cavalry (under the command
of Albert Sidney Johnston) on the
Texas frontier
• Was home at Arlington in 1859 when
he was summoned to put down John
Brown’s rebellion at Harper’s Ferry
Lee: Early Civil War
• On the eve of the Civil War Lee was offered
command of the Federal Army but declines
• Appointed commander of Virginia’s forces when
Virginia seceded and then became one of the
first five full generals of the Confederacy
• Initially commanded Confederate forces in
western Virginia and then coastal defenses in
the Carolinas
Lee: Early Civil War
• Became Davis’s official military advisor in March
1862
– Had a close, deferential, and influential relationship
with Davis
• Assumed command of what he names the Army
of Northern Virginia on June 1, 1862 after
Joseph Johnston was wounded at Seven Pines
– Johnston said, “The shot that struck me down was the
best ever fired for the Confederacy, for I possessed in
no degree the confidence of the government, and
now a man who does enjoy it will succeed me and be
able to accomplish what I never could.”
Lee: Jomini
• Strong Napoleonic-Jominian influence
– Checked out Montholon’s Memoirs of Napoleon,
Light’s Histoire de Napoleon, and Segur’s Expeditions
de Russie as a cadet at West Point
– Witnessed Scott in Mexico
– As superintendent participated in Professor D. H.
Mahan’s “Napoleon Club” and checked out 15 books
from the library on warfare, seven of which concerned
Napoleon
– Owned a copy of Jomini’s Precis de L’art de la Guerre
– Offensive-minded and audacious
Lee: Virginia
• Strong Virginia influence
– Son of Ann Hill Carter of the Virginia King-Carter line
and Lighthorse Harry Lee, Revolutionary War hero
and intimate of George Washington
• Lee’s father called Virginia “my native country”
– Robert E. Lee felt secession was “anarchy” and
considered slavery “a moral and political evil” yet
could not fight against Virginia
• “I still think… that my loyalty to Virginia ought to take
precedence over that which is due to the federal
government… If Virginia stands by the old Union, so will I.
But if she secedes…, then I will follow my native state with
my sword, and, if need be, with my life.”
Lee: Virginia
• Virginia influence on Lee led him to support the
departmental system because it gave him the
opportunity to concentrate his efforts on Virginia,
freed him from unwanted and complicated
operations in other parts of the Confederacy,
and put a premium on the strategic defensive
• The departmental system allowed Lee to
prevent a concentration in the West at the
expense of Virginia
Lee: Virginia
• Lee has been accused of surrounding himself
with Virginians and sending low performers West
– By the beginning of May 1864, Lee had 15 corps and
division commanders of which nine were Virginians
– When Lee reorganized the army after Stonewall
Jackson’s death, James Longstreet complained “the
fact that the new Lieutenant Generals were Virginians
made the trouble more grievous… General D. H.
Hill’s… record was as good as that of Stonewall
Jackson, but not being a Virginian, he was not so well
advertised”
Lee: Virginia
• Lee did not consider the western theater as
important as Virginia
– “Virginia is to be the theater of action”
– “the great effort in this campaign will be made in
Virginia”
• Lee decided to invade Gettysburg rather than
reinforce Vicksburg because invading
Gettysburg would relieve pressure on Virginia
– Sending men west would force “a question between
Virginia and Mississippi”
Lee: Virginia
• “A Virginian first, far more so than an American,
Lee strode into the war never forgetting that he
was a Virginian, and though he led the
Confederate cause it was for Virginia he fought
and for Virginia that spiritually he died.”
• Lee’s “thoughts were always concentrated on
Virginia; consequently he never fully realized the
importance of Tennessee, or the strategic power
which resided in the size of the Confederacy.”
– J. F. C. Fuller
Lee: Limitations
• Refused to make the connection between war
and statecraft
• Did not use his close relationship with Davis to
influence the political aspects of war
• More comfortable with the discretionary orders
that worked well at the operational level than the
more detailed orders necessary at the tactical
level
– Example of his inexact orders to Ewell at Gettysburg
Jackson: Boyhood
• Born in Clarksburg, Virginia (now West
Virginia) in 1824
• Had a hard childhood
– First his father, then his mother died
– Went to live with his uncle
• Had a difficult time academically at first,
but worked his way up to graduate 17th in
the West Point Class of 1846
Jackson: Mexican War
• Served as an
artillerymen in Mexico
• Learned the offensive
power of the artillery at
Chapultepec
– Technological advances
in the rifled musket
would make this difficult
to repeat in the Civil
War
• Began to become
seriously religious
Jackson: VMI
• Resigned from the Army and
took a position teaching
natural philosophy and
artillery at the Virginia
Military Institute
• His stern demeanor and
eccentric behavior made
him not very popular with
the cadets
– Nicknames included “Square
Box” (because of his large
shoe size), “Old Jack,” “Tom
Fool,” and “Old Hickory”
Jackson’s Statue at VMI
Jackson: Religion
• While at VMI, Jackson joined the Lexington
Presbyterian Church in 1851
• Jackson embraced Christianity fully and it
defined every aspect of his life
– Served as a church deacon
– Taught a Sunday School for blacks
– During the Civil War several revivals would break out
in his camps and he did much to encourage these
– Was very conflicted about having to fight at
Kernstown on the Sabbath but decided the risks of
postponing the battle justified his actions although he
wrote, “I hope and pray to our Heavenly Father that I
may never again be circumstanced as on that day”
Jackson: Early Civil War
• When Virginia seceded,
Jackson’s first duty was to take
the VMI cadets to Richmond
where they would serve as
drillmasters for the influx of new
recruits
• His first command for Virginia
was as a colonel at Harpers
Ferry which was an important
arsenal
– However that position lasted only
four weeks
– After Virginia became part of the
Confederacy General Joseph
Johnston assumed command
– He continued on as Johnston’s
subordinate
Jackson: Early Civil War
• Harpers Ferry was
considered
indefensible and
Johnston’s command
moved to Winchester
• Johnston was to
defend the
Shenandoah Valley
and support
Beauregard at
Manassas Junction if
necessary
• This is where Jackson
was on the eve of
First Manassas
Jackson: Becomes “Stonewall”
• Jackson had moved his
brigade to Henry Hill where he
met his fellow brigade
commander Bernard Bee
• Bee excitedly told Jackson the
Federals were driving the
Confederates back
• Jackson calmly began to
establish a position on the
southeast slope of the
ridgeline about 400 yards from
the Henry House
After giving Jackson his
famous nickname Bee was
killed at First Manassas
Jackson: Becomes “Stonewall”
• Bee at some point reportedly
said, “There stands Jackson
like a Stonewall. Rally around
the Virginians!”
• The Confederates were able to
defeat the piecemeal Federal
attacks while their own
reinforcements were steadily
arriving
• The Federal army began to
disintegrate and First
Manassas became an
important Confederate victory
Jackson Monument at Manassas
Jackson: Relationships with
Subordinates
• Jackson was a stern disciplinarian and
extremely secretive
• This combination often did not sit well with
his subordinate generals
– James Robertson calls Jackson’s relationship
with A. P. Hill “one of the Civil War’s most
heated and damaging feuds”
Jackson: Relationships with
Seniors
• Lee and Jackson proved to be
one of the most effective
command combinations in
American history
– Jackson said Lee’s “perceptions are
as quick and unerring as his
judgment is infallible”
– When Jackson had his arm
amputated, Lee said, “He has lost
his left arm; but I have lost my right
arm” and when Jackson died, Lee
said, “I do not know how to replace
him.”
• With Jackson, Lee could give the
broad, discretionary orders he
preferred
Lee, Jackson, and
Davis by Mort Kunstler
Jackson: Relationships with
Seniors
• “In the ten months that Lee and Jackson
were together, delegation of authority had
been so lenient– orders permitting a wide
latitude in execution so regular– as to
create one of history’s greatest military
partnerships.”
– James Robertson
Jackson: Limitations
• Jackson is often criticized for being unable to
operate well in conditions in which he had to
conform his actions to those of others
– White Oak Swamp in particular and the Seven Days
in general are the most cited examples
• This and his frequent quarrels with subordinates
make it an interesting debate whether or not
Jackson could have commanded a large
independent army
Jackson: Tactics
• Was offensively oriented
– Served as Lee’s hammer
while Longstreet was the
anvil
• Master of interior lines and
forced marching
– In the Shenandoah Valley
Campaign fought six
battles between March 23
and June 9 and his “foot
cavalry” covered 676 miles
in 48 marching days; an
average of 14 miles a day
Jackson: Tactics
• In combination with Lee, showed
mastery of the envelopment and
turning movement
• Lee told Jackson it was “to save
you the abundance of hard fighting
that I ventured to suggest for your
consideration not to attack the
enemy’s strong points, but to turn
his position… I would rather you
have easy fighting and heavy
victories.”
– Brilliantly executed at Second
Manassas and Chancellorsville
Jackson: Impact of Death on Lee
• Lots changed in the Army of Northern
Virginia after Jackson died
• Leadership styles
– Delegative
– Directive
– Participatory
• Without Jackson Lee had no one he could
effectively delegate to
– He tried to do it all himself and it did not work
Jackson: Impact of Death on Lee
• Without Jackson, Lee
never again attempted
the spectacular dividing
of his army in the face of
numerical superiority or
the sweeping flanking
movements he had
done before
– Much of this was due to
declining numbers after
Gettysburg, but
Jackson’s loss had a lot
to do with it as well
Jackson: Impact of Death on Lee
• “Jackson
represented Lee’s
mobility, the prime
ingredient the
Southern army had
to have for survival.
Without it, the Civil
War in the East
became a slugging
match that the
Confederacy could
not hope to win.”
– James Robertson
Jackson: Impact of Death on Lee
• Lee felt, “If I [would have] had
Stonewall Jackson at
Gettysburg, I would have won
that fight.”
• When A. P. Hill launched a
series of piecemeal attacks at
Hanover Junction, Lee
complained, “Why did you not
do as Jackson would have done,
thrown your whole force upon
those people and driven them
back?"
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and Shiloh