General Robert E. Lee was a complicated man and military figure. From his birth as the son of a celebrated and tragic Revolutionary War hero, to his career after the Civil War when he led by example to heal the terrible wounds of the conflict, there is much to learn from this celebrated general. In just three years of service, he directed the Confederacy’s most renowned fighting force, the famed Army of Northern Virginia, through a series of battles, including Second Manassas, Antietam, and Gettysburg, which have since come to define combat in the Civil War.
Here, for the first time, Noah Andre Trudeau follows the general's Civil War path with a special emphasis on Lee's changing set of personal values as the conflict wended through four bloody years and explores his famous skills as a crafty and daring tactician. An insightful new account, Robert E. Lee delivers a fresh perspective that leads to a greater understanding of one of the most studied and yet enigmatic military figures in American history.