Audacity Personified

The Generalship of Robert E. Lee

Nonfiction, History, Americas, United States, Civil War Period (1850-1877)
Cover of the book Audacity Personified by , LSU Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: ISBN: 9780807162347
Publisher: LSU Press Publication: September 28, 2015
Imprint: LSU Press Language: English
Author:
ISBN: 9780807162347
Publisher: LSU Press
Publication: September 28, 2015
Imprint: LSU Press
Language: English

Despite the literary outpouring on the life of Robert E. Lee, the southern chieftain remains an enigma. The existing scholarship is so voluminous, complex, and contradictory that it is difficult to penetrate the inner Lee and appreciate him as a general. Peter S. Carmichael has assembled a formidable array of Civil War historians who rigorously return to Lee's own words and actions in interpreting the war in Virginia. This is the first collective volume to scrutinize specific aspects of the general's military career.
Carmichael's opening contribution confronts Lee's supposed drive for a victory of annihilation and takes issue with claims that he was too aggressive. William J. Miller's novel analysis of Lee's leadership during the pivotal Seven Days battles reconstructs his strategic thinking and corrects old assumptions. Gordon C. Rhea overturns the common notion that Lee anticipated his adversaries with uncanny precision in the Overland campaign of 1864. Robert E. L. Krick takes aim at the oft-repeated criticism that Lee was not attuned to the demands of modern warfare because he failed to surround himself with enough subordinates to ensure the smooth operation of the army; in fact, Krick argues, Lee continually fine-tuned the performance of his support staff, striving to eliminate deficiencies. Finally, Max R. Williams's examination of the relationship between Lee and North Carolina governor Zebulon B. Vance, and Mark L. Bradley's portrait of Lee's relationships with Jefferson Davis and Joseph E. Johnston, offer contrasting views of the soldier as both politically assertive and reticent, respectively.
Falling easily into neither the pro- nor anti-Lee camp, Audacity Personified challenges long-standing beliefs accepted since Douglas Southhall Freeman's influential biography of Lee was published seventy years ago. These diverse scholarly visions of the great Confederate general move beyond cliché, iluuminating Lee's career with fresh interpretations.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Despite the literary outpouring on the life of Robert E. Lee, the southern chieftain remains an enigma. The existing scholarship is so voluminous, complex, and contradictory that it is difficult to penetrate the inner Lee and appreciate him as a general. Peter S. Carmichael has assembled a formidable array of Civil War historians who rigorously return to Lee's own words and actions in interpreting the war in Virginia. This is the first collective volume to scrutinize specific aspects of the general's military career.
Carmichael's opening contribution confronts Lee's supposed drive for a victory of annihilation and takes issue with claims that he was too aggressive. William J. Miller's novel analysis of Lee's leadership during the pivotal Seven Days battles reconstructs his strategic thinking and corrects old assumptions. Gordon C. Rhea overturns the common notion that Lee anticipated his adversaries with uncanny precision in the Overland campaign of 1864. Robert E. L. Krick takes aim at the oft-repeated criticism that Lee was not attuned to the demands of modern warfare because he failed to surround himself with enough subordinates to ensure the smooth operation of the army; in fact, Krick argues, Lee continually fine-tuned the performance of his support staff, striving to eliminate deficiencies. Finally, Max R. Williams's examination of the relationship between Lee and North Carolina governor Zebulon B. Vance, and Mark L. Bradley's portrait of Lee's relationships with Jefferson Davis and Joseph E. Johnston, offer contrasting views of the soldier as both politically assertive and reticent, respectively.
Falling easily into neither the pro- nor anti-Lee camp, Audacity Personified challenges long-standing beliefs accepted since Douglas Southhall Freeman's influential biography of Lee was published seventy years ago. These diverse scholarly visions of the great Confederate general move beyond cliché, iluuminating Lee's career with fresh interpretations.

More books from LSU Press

Cover of the book Brothers One and All by
Cover of the book Portrait of a Scientific Racist by
Cover of the book Promise by
Cover of the book Guide to Louisiana Confederate Military Units, 1861–1865 by
Cover of the book Undaunted Radical by
Cover of the book Secessionists and Other Scoundrels by
Cover of the book Atchafalaya Houseboat by
Cover of the book Lincoln, The South, and Slavery by
Cover of the book John Brown Gordon by
Cover of the book Impossible Bottle by
Cover of the book Floating City by
Cover of the book Slavery and American Economic Development by
Cover of the book Handbook on Japanese Military Forces by
Cover of the book Loathing Lincoln by
Cover of the book Occupied Women by
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy