Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee “One of the greatest soldiers, if not the greatest, who ever spoke the English language” was born into a distinguished aristocracy on January 19, 1807 in Stratford Hall, Virginia. Though he was arguably the most cerebral military mind in our nation’s history, the military field was not Robert E. Lee’s career of choice. Despite that fact, Lee is now highly regarded as a skilled tactician and arguably the second-most influential man in the Civil War. With the Civil War approaching, on April 18, 1861, Secretary of State Francis Blair offered Lee control of all United States troops. Though any other man would have accepted immediately, Lee was in a tougher situation: he had to choose between the country he had served for thirty-two years or his home and family in the South. After pondering his decision, Lee decided to resign from the United States Army, stating that he could not raise his hand against those he loved. Lee assumed command of the Army of Northern Virginia on June 1, 1862. This was the main army of the Confederacy. It was not until three years later that he officially assumed command of all Confederate troops. However, this was a mere formality as he had been the main leader throughout the course of the war. In his first major battle of the Civil War, Lee’s army demolished the troops of John Pope at the Second Battle of Bull Run (Manassas). However, at Antietam, Lee lost one-third of his troops to George McClellan, who wielded a paper that contained Lee’s battle plans. Lee then proceeded to avenge his loss by winning at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. The victory at Chancellorsville was a bittersweet one; Stonewall Jackson, Lee’s right-hand man, was killed. These victories emboldened Lee and gave him the idea to begin an offensive. In July of 1863, Lee again lost a third of his troops at