In a new biography, Robert E. Lee, Roy Blount, Jr., treats Lee as a man of competing impulses, a “paragon of manliness” and “one of the greatest military commanders in history,” who was nonetheless “not good at telling men what to do.”

Primary documents from Robert E. Lee including letters, thoughts, and more.

Ulysses S. Grant is often referred to as a 'butcher,' but does Robert E. Lee actually deserve that title?

As much as Lee disliked posing, he once again put on a clean uniform and wore well-shined black shoes, but he left aside the sash and the sword and his boots. Lee was acutely aware of his power to set an example for the South and had urged his former troops to swallow their anger and return home to rebuild their lives.

All around Lee, his soldiers were ragged and hungry. Desperate attempts in the last week to feed, clothe and arm them had been thwarted at every turn. Half his troops had been captured, killed or wounded--or had just left. Enemy armies surrounded him now; decision time had come.

Long after his death the life of Lee is still debated however as some view him as a hero, while others as nothing more than America’s most famous traitor.

Despite his initial misgivings about secession, Robert E. Lee would come to be the figure most commonly associated with the Confederacy. Part 1 looks at the general’s family history, childhood and education, service in the United States Army, thoughts about slavery, and decision to join the Southern rebellion.