An open letter to Gen. Robert E. Lee:
Sir, I am addressing you across that final divide that separates the quick from the dead because I wish to apologize for the arrogance of the former. I have always respected your military intelligence and personal integrity, and I must admit I feel scandalized that there any among us who happen to be living at this brief moment who would disparage and judge the dead by revising history to suit their own bias.
Years ago, when I interviewed for the military here in Canada, I made sure to include you in my litany of military role models.
That stopped my interviewer cold and the officer demanded that I explain my sympathies for a man who, in his opinion, defended so unworthy a cause. My response now is the same it was then - that whatever qualms you certainly had about the Union breaking to pieces, you knew that your home was Virginia and it had voted to leave. You could not do violence to your home.
There might be no simpler loyalty than this. A man may feel compromised by his government, his religion, perhaps even the spirit of the age. But his home, which is by definition where one's family and legacy perseveres, is the most fundamental ground upon which he can and must take a stand. This was the case for even Lincoln's extended family through his wife Mary Todd, many of whom fought and died for the South, as you well know.
They could not turn their hands against their homes either.
Ostentatious and arrogant as I am, general, I will not attempt to reteach your history or to say here what has been better said a thousand times elsewhere. But what does bear repeating is that you did not seek the command of the Confederate Army after refusing supreme command of the Union Army, and when the war was lost you surrendered wholly, discouraging any guerilla activity.
These are signs of a deep and honorable character - qualities that are often lacking in leaders today.
I've purposely left the question of slavery alone thus far.
Some have said that if the South wanted to have honour in their cause, they should have freed their slaves first and then fired on Fort Sumpter. I do not know what your own personal opinions are on it, sir, only hints and whispers. For my part, I find it quite ironic that instead of helping the descendants of slaves today, there are people tearing down the statues of long dead, allegedly oppressive, ancestors. It won't change what is or was.
And perhaps sir, that is your greatest as well as subtlest legacy: you did your duty and acquitted yourself with honour, all without fanfare.
While your main opponent went on to become president, and one of the worst of all time, you did not fall for the trap of using your past service for enriching your present circumstances. I'm not sure how you ended up the head of a liberal arts college, but it is a fitting final position for a man as wise and well measured as yourself.
Wherever you are in the afterlife, I wish you God's peace and blessing. Be thankful you did not live to see what many are now doing. Far from listening to the better angels of their nature, those embroiled in the current fratricidal frenzy south of the Mason-Dixon line are being propelled by greed for power and merciless violence towards their fellow citizens. Whatever the complexities of your war between the states, they were settled by people of courage and valour.
We are less than they.
