http://www.newswithviews.com/baldwin/baldwin559.htm
PRAISE FOR LEE AND JACKSON
By Chuck Baldwin
January 6, 2010
NewsWithViews.com
January is often referred to as "Generals Month" since no less than four famous
Confederate Generals claimed January as their birth month: James Longstreet
(Jan. 8, 1821), Robert E. Lee (Jan. 19, 1807), Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall"
Jackson (Jan. 21, 1824), and George Pickett (Jan. 28, 1825). Two of these men,
Lee and Jackson, are particularly noteworthy.
Without question, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson were two of the greatest
military leaders of all time. Even more, many military historians regard the
Lee and Jackson tandem as perhaps the greatest battlefield duo in the history
of warfare. If Jackson had survived the battle of Chancellorsville, it is very
possible that the South would have prevailed at Gettysburg and perhaps would
even have won the War Between the States.
In fact, it was Lord Roberts, commander-in-chief of the British armies in the
early twentieth century, who said, "In my opinion, Stonewall Jackson was one of
the greatest natural military geniuses the world ever saw. I will go even
further than that--as a campaigner in the field, he never had a superior. In
some respects, I doubt whether he ever had an equal."
While the strategies and circumstances of the War of Northern Aggression can
(and will) be debated by professionals and laymen alike, one fact is
undeniable: Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. Jackson were two of the finest
Christian gentlemen this country has ever produced. Both their character and
their conduct were beyond reproach.
Unlike his northern counterpart, Ulysses S. Grant, General Lee never sanctioned
or condoned slavery. Upon inheriting slaves from his deceased father-in-law,
Lee freed them. And according to historians, Jackson enjoyed a familial
relationship with those few slaves that were in his home. In addition, unlike
Abraham Lincoln and U.S. Grant, there is no record of either Lee or Jackson
ever speaking disparagingly of the black race.
As those who are familiar with history know, General Grant and his wife held
personal slaves before and during the War Between the States, and, contrary to
popular opinion, even Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation did not free the
slaves of the North. They were not freed until the Thirteenth Amendment was
passed after the conclusion of the war. Grant's excuse for not freeing his
slaves was that "good help is so hard to come by these days."
Furthermore, it is well established that Jackson regularly conducted a Sunday
School class for black children. This was a ministry he took very seriously. As
a result, he was dearly loved and appreciated by the children and their parents.
In addition, both Jackson and Lee emphatically supported the abolition of
slavery. In fact, Lee called slavery "a moral and political evil." He also said
"the best men in the South" opposed it and welcomed its demise. Jackson said he
wished to see "the shackles struck from every slave."
To think that Lee and Jackson (and the vast majority of Confederate soldiers)
would fight and die to preserve an institution they considered evil and
abhorrent--and that they were already working to dismantle--is the height of
absurdity. It is equally repugnant to impugn and denigrate the memory of these
remarkable Christian gentlemen.
In fact, after refusing Abraham Lincoln's offer to command the Union Army in
1861, Robert E. Lee wrote to his sister on April 20 of that year to explain his
decision. In the letter he wrote, "With all my devotion to the Union and the
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 defense of my
native state, with the sincere hope that my poor services may never be needed .
. ."
Lee's decision to resign his commission with the Union Army must have been the
most difficult decision of his life. Remember that Lee's direct ancestors had
fought in America's War For Independence. His father, "Light Horse Harry" Henry
Lee, was a Revolutionary War hero, Governor of Virginia, and member of
Congress. In addition, members of his family were signatories to the
Declaration of Independence.
Remember, too, that not only did Robert E. Lee graduate from West Point "at the
head of his class" (according to Benjamin Hallowell), he is yet today one of
only six cadets to graduate from that prestigious academy without a single
demerit.
However, Lee knew that Lincoln's decision to invade the South in order to
prevent its secession was both immoral and unconstitutional. As a man of honor
and integrity, the only thing Lee could do was that which his father had done:
fight for freedom and independence. And that is exactly what he did.
Instead of allowing a politically correct culture to sully the memory of Robert
E. Lee and Thomas J. Jackson, all Americans should hold them in a place of
highest honor and respect. Anything less is a disservice to history and a
disgrace to the principles of truth and integrity.
Accordingly, it was more than appropriate that the late President Gerald Ford,
on August 5, 1975, signed Senate Joint Resolution 23, "restoring posthumously
the long overdue, full rights of citizenship to General Robert E. Lee."
According to President Ford, "This legislation corrects a 110-year oversight of
American history." He further said, "General Lee's character has been an
example to succeeding generations . . ."
The significance of the lives of Generals Lee and Jackson cannot be overvalued.
While the character and influence of most of us will barely be remembered two
hundred days after our departure, the sterling character of these men has
endured for two hundred years. What a shame that so many of America's youth are
being robbed of knowing and studying the virtue and integrity of the great
General Robert E. Lee and General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson.
Furthermore, it is no hyperbole to say that the confederated, constitutional
republic so ably declared by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of
Independence of 1776 and codified into statute by the U.S. Constitution of 1787
was, for the most part, expunged at the Appomattox Court House in 1865. After
all, it was (and is) the responsibility of the states to be the ultimate
vanguard of liberty. Without a tenacious, unrelenting defense of liberty by the
sovereign states, we are reduced to ever-burgeoning oppression--which is
exactly what we see happening today.
Thankfully, freedom's heartbeat is still felt among at least a few states.
State sovereignty resolutions (proposed in over 30 states), Firearms Freedom
acts (passed in 2 states--Montana and Tennessee--and being proposed in at least
12 other states), official letters (Montana), statements (Texas Governor Rick
Perry), and resolutions (Georgia and Montana) threatening secession have
already taken place.
Yes, freedom-loving Americans in this generation may need to awaken to the
prospect that--in order for freedom to survive--secession may, once again, be
in order. One thing is for sure: any State that will not protect and defend
their citizens' right to keep and bear arms cannot be counted on to do
diddlysquat to maintain essential freedom. It is time for people to start
deciding whether they want to live free or not--and if they do, to seriously
consider relocating to states that yet have a heartbeat for liberty.
I will say it straight out: any State that will not protect your right to keep
and bear arms is a tyrannical State! And if it is obvious that the
freedom-loving citizens of that State are powerless to change it via the ballot
box, they should leave the State to its slaves and seek a land of liberty.
I, for one, am thankful for the example and legacy of men such as Robert E. Lee
and Stonewall Jackson. They were the spiritual soul mates of George Washington
and Thomas Jefferson. They were men that loved freedom; they were men that
loved federalism and constitutional government; and they were men of courage
and understanding. They understood that, sometimes, political separation is the
only way that freedom can survive. Long live the spirit of Washington,
Jefferson, Lee, and Jackson!
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© 2010 Chuck Baldwin - All Rights Reserved
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"Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of
opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of
increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all
its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear." - Harry S.
Truman
"Today, we need a nation of Minutemen, citizens who are not only prepared to
take arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as the basic
purpose of their daily life and who are willing to consciously work and
sacrifice for that freedom." - John F. Kennedy
"Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations,
or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and
evidence." - John Adams
"Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice, moderation in the pursuit of
justice is no virtue." - Barry Goldwater
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