Talk:Robert E. Lee

Unsourced
Wikiquote no longer allows unsourced quotations, and they are in process of being removed from our pages (see Wikiquote:Limits on quotations); but if you can provide a reliable and precise source for any quote on this list please move it to.


 * We made a great mistake in the beginning of our struggle, and I fear, in spite of all we can do, it will prove to be a fatal mistake. We appointed all our worst generals to command our armies, and all our best generals to edit the newspapers.


 * I would rather die a thousand deaths than surrender.


 * I have thought from the time of the cessation of the hostilities, that silence and patience on the part of the South was the true course; and I think so still. Controversy of all kinds will, in my opinion, only serve to continue excitement and passion, and will prevent the public mind from the acknowledgement and acceptance of the truth.


 * To be a good general you must love your soldiers.

Lee on Slavery
The quotation from Lee's 1856 letter on slavery is selective, and so presented is deceptive about Lee's views on slavery. The letter from which it is taken is not a condemnation of slavery; it's a condemnation of abolitionism, and Lee's comment on the "evil" of slavery is followed by claims that it is a necessary evil, that it is worse for the white slavers than for the Black slaves, and that the "painful discipline" of slavery is necessary for Blacks' "instruction as a race". (For more on Lee and slavery, see Robert E. Lee owned slaves.)

Here is the Lee quote put into proper context:


 * In this enlightened age, there are few I believe, but what will acknowledge, that slavery as an institution, is a moral & political evil in any Country. It is useless to expatiate on its disadvantages. I think it however a greater evil to the white man than to the black race, & while my feelings are strongly enlisted in behalf of the latter, my sympathies are more strong for the former. The blacks are immeasurably better off here than in Africa, morally, socially & physically. The painful discipline they are undergoing, is necessary for their instruction as a race, & I hope will prepare & lead them to better things. How long their subjugation may be necessary is known & ordered by a wise God.

I have supplemented the quote so as to add the context of Lee's remarks, and to add the citation of the source.
 * Thanks for the extra context; much appreciated. – Illegitimate Barrister 03:45, 13 July 2015 (UTC)

"Fold it up and put it away" - Not verified.
I changed the source for this quote to an earlier one and added that that source says the quote is not verified. Since this is a sensitive topic, I thought it wise to include a more detailed explanation here. It is instructive to see how supposed facts changed rather dramatically with just a couple of re-posts:

The previous Wikiquote attribution was this:
 * When asked by a woman on what she should do with a Confederate flag after the end of the American Civil War, as quoted in "Will Confederate Heritage Advocates Take Robert E. Lee’s Advice?" (July 2014), by Brooks D. Simpson, Crossroads, WordPress."

When we read the actual Crossroads article, we see it is citing a letter-to-the editor (more likely an op-ed) published a few weeks earlier: "According to David Cox, the author of the letter in question (and former rector of a Lexington church named after Lee), when someone asked Lee what she should do with a Confederate flag, he responded: Fold it up and put it away." https://cwcrossroads.wordpress.com/2014/07/17/will-confederate-heritage-advocates-take-robert-e-lees-advice/

And when we look at Cox's actual article, we see that he is not stating this as fact at all but is citing a personal letter to him -- that's right, the letter-to-the-editor is citing a personal letter -- and Cox states that he has not verified the quote: "Someone wrote me of a woman asking Lee what to do with an old battle flag. Lee supposedly responded, “Fold it up and put it away.” Though I’ve not verified the account, it is consistent with his letters and acts of his last years. He was always looking ahead." https://cwcrossroads.wordpress.com/2014/07/17/will-confederate-heritage-advocates-take-robert-e-lees-advice/

I hope we can learn more about this quote. Perhaps Mr. Cox can tell more about the letter he received, and the letter's author can shed even more light. In the meantime, according to our (currently) earliest source, it's not verified. Frappyjohn 04:44, 5 July 2015‎.
 * Interesting. The quote is consistent with his later views in life, though, as said in the letter, in which he preferred to put the war behind him and move on: "I could not add anything material to the information existing on the subject. I think it wiser, moreover, not to keep open the sores of war, but to follow the example of those nations who endeavored to obliterate the marks of civil strife, and to commit to oblivion the feelings it engendered." and "Don't bring up your sons to detest the United States government. Recollect that we form one country now. Abandon all these local animosities, and make your sons Americans." – Illegitimate Barrister 10:48, 1 August 2015 (UTC).


 * The link on the page (for this quote) has gone dead. I'm not familiar enough with the policies and guidelines on this wiki to change it myself, but some interested editor might want to look at that. Etamni (talk) 17:32, 8 October 2017 (UTC)

Restorations and removal of an unsourced attribution
I restored some portions of some lengthy sourced quotes which had recently been removed, and removed an unsourced addition by the editor who did these removals, rather than post it into a "Disputed" section, as the earliest use of this which I can locate is one without any source citations by a Calvin E. Johnson, Jr. in his Opinion posting "Let's Not Forget This Great American Hero - Robert E. Lee" at Chattanoogan.com (3 January 2007), in which he states:
 * Sir Winston Churchill once remarked, "Lee was the noblest American who had ever lived and one of the greatest commanders known to the annals of war."

This post was later re-posted elsewhere, but the statement only has acquired a very few actual occurrences on the internet, no print publications which I can find, and no sourced citations anywhere. ~ ♞☤☮♌Kalki·†·⚓⊙☳☶⚡ 00:55, 30 November 2016 (UTC) + tweaks

Source verification requested
Padre Steve’s blog contains some quotes that it would be good to include. Meaning no disrespect to Padre Steve, I would be more confident if someone with access to the original sources could verify. &mdash; Smallus Editus (talk) 15:36, 8 September 2021 (UTC)
 * If Virginia stands by the old Union, so will I. But if she secedes (though I do not believe in secession as a constitutional right, nor that there is sufficient cause for revolution), then I will follow my native State with my sword, and, if need be, with my life.
 * Alleged source: (Thomas, Emory. Robert E. Lee. W.W. Norton and Company, New York and London 1995 p. 187). Also quoted without attribution: ("Making Sense of Robert E. Lee." Smithsonian Magazine, July 2003).
 * With all my devotion to the Union and feeling of loyalty and duty of an American citizen, I have not been able to make up my mind to raise my hand against my relatives, my children, my home. I have therefore, resigned my commission in the Army, and save in the defense of my native State…I hope I may never be called upon to draw my sword.
 * Alleged source: (Thomas, Emory. The Confederate Nation, 1861-1865, 1981).