Lee. . . . I had before me the most manly and entire gentleman I ever
saw."
Lee's fame as a general of the first rank has survived the
over-enthusiastic eulogies of his friends and the first caustic
comments of his foes. His strategy has come to be recognized as of the
highest order. To begin with, he had to build his army "from the
ground up," but ended by having one of the most perfect fighting
machines in the history of warfare. His men obeyed him with a devotion
that was almost idolatrous. He suggested the uniform of quiet gray on
account of its protective coloring and against all the army traditions
of ages, that an army should march into action in gaudy and glittering
attire. It was not until the great World War of a later century, that
wise military leaders followed his example and dressed their troops as
inconspicuously as possible.
It is not the province of this short sketch to trace General Lee's
campaigns step by step to the final meeting with Grant at Appomattox.
Army after army was sent to meet him from the North's far greater
resources, only to be baffled or defeated in the South. And it was not
until he forsook his successful tactics of the defensive, and assumed
the offensive on his invasion of Pennsylvania, that he encountered
serious defeat at Gettysburg.
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