Bill...........I recall that General Winfield Scott, at the start of the war, offered the job of Major General of the Union Army to R.E. Lee, but Lee turned it down. General Scott told him words to the effect that it was the biggest mistake of his life. I'll research it some more, but I don't think R.E. Lee would ever have fought for the Union against the south.

 

Vito,

I agree with your points except that one. Some of the descriptions sound as if the men blossomed in the war and really have found a home in the armies. Shaara never actually says that but, for example, the description of Picket among others leads me to believe it. Perhaps I'm reading a bit too much into it, but I sense that most of the men are very comfortable at war.

 

I'm going to bed now. Let's keep the discussion on the foreword for one more day to give others a chance to join in. I know many others were reading the book. I would like them to get involved.

 

Agreed.

 

Rob...........good point.

 

I am enjoying the book but wil not be able to participate in the discussion. The times of your discussions are when Matt is on the computer and usually past my bedtime!

Have fun and I will be lurking but don't get so ahead of the reading that you ruin it for the rest of us!

 

^^ LB, you have summed up what still exists to a certain extent in the south and one of the things that southerners (speaking as a southerner) do not understand about the northern culture. Southerners today still feel very strongly about their state of origin and bear a strong pride in the place from which they came. Unfortunately, that home pride is often perceived by northerners as being strange. The southern culture is markedly different from that of just about any other place and changes slowly. As far as the author's description of Gen. Lee, most soldiers that I know who have studied him believe he was just as the author depicted him and they admire his carriage of himself. He was a good man, but he was faced with dwindling to no resources and his heart ached for those under his command.

 

I hope to get more of the Southern pespective from you during our readings Val. I think it will be very helpful for the group.

 

I'm intrigued and impressed by all your comments. It brings another perspective to the book for me.

I'll be checking in to see how you all interpreted what I'm reading. Interesting......

Going to lunch soon, will do more reading then.

 

Vito, Gen'l Lee was a died in the wool lover of the south and believed in its right to become a sovreign nation unto itself. He was fighting for freedom and not for slavery. His beliefs with regard to those who were enslaved was not particularly a racial slur, but bear in mind that most of the slaves at that time were brought to port after having been captured from their tribe. They did not know our language, they had beliefs of their own and had had no exposure to the type of civilization that had evolved here. Their religious beliefs and social structure was totally out of kilter with those here in America, and Lee, along with many of that day thought these people were not of the same ability as whites. Remember the Native Americans were considered savages as well despite the fact that today we know they had a distinct culture that was simply different from ours. Unfortunately we all tend to think of those who are different as "inferior."