I was listening to a talk show program this morning, and the subject was the demand by individuals in Baltimore, MD that all statues of Confederate generals be torn down as “offensive” to a segment of the population. The riot in Charlottesville, VA which pitted members of the KKK and Neo-Nazi groups against far left groups like “Antifa” and Black Lives Matter over a decision to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee was being discussed, and I was astounded to hear a caller refer to Lee as a “Traitor”.

Whoa there big fellow! Robert E. Lee was many things.   He graduated second in his class at the United States Military Academy and was an exceptional officer and military engineer in the United States Army for 32 years. He served throughout the United States, and distinguished himself during the Mexican–American War. He also served as Superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point. When South Carolina seceded from the Union, Lee spoke against this action, and was actually offered command of the Union Army by Abraham Lincoln. However, when Virginia voted to also leave the Union he reluctantly resigned his commission and offered his services to his home state. At that time in our history, many citizens felt more allegiance to their state than to the Federal government. Many states felt that since they had voted to join the Union, they also had the right to leave it if they felt their best interests led elsewhere. The concept was called “States Rights”.

A bloody civil war ensued, and was won only after hundreds of thousands had died on both sides. One of President Lincoln’s last acts before his assassination was to declare that the people of the south were to be brought back into the country with full rights of citizenship. He wanted no retribution. The war is as much a part of our history as the American Revolution. Slavery is as well. However, there has not been a slave in this country since 1865, and even in the south, most citizens were not slaveholders. Since 1965, blacks and other minorities have been granted rights and preferences exceeding those granted to whites, and we must remember that the descendants of the soldiers of the Confederacy have rights as well. We cannot change or expunge history. We can only learn from it. Americans of African descent must look to themselves for pride and advancement. Not as descendants of slaves, but as free American citizens, who can rise or fall based on their own efforts.

So again, was Robert E. Lee a “traitor”? I think not. He was a product of his time who served his nation and his home state to the best of his abilities, which were considerable indeed. Leave his statues, and those of the other Confederate generals alone. Most, if not all of them were honorable men who served a lost and possibly faulty cause. They were not “traitors”. They were Americans too.