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. ...
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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 clich , iluuminating Lee's career with fresh interpretations.
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Seller's Description:
Very good in Very good jacket. 174 pages. Preface. Contributors. Index. Contains 3 black and white maps, and 5 black and white illustrations. Lee's Search for the Battle of Annihilation; Lee's Intentions in the Seven Days Battles; Lee, Grant, and "Prescience" in the Overland Campaign; "The Great Tycoon" Forges a Staff System; The General and the Governor: Robert E. Lee and Zebulon B. Vance; "I Rely upon Your Good Judgment and Skill: The Command Partnership of Robert E. Lee and Joseph E. Johnston in 1864. DJ is price clipped. Peter S. Carmichael (born February 13, 1966) is a historian at Gettysburg College who serves as Robert C. Fluhrer Professor of Civil War Studies and Director of the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College. His research and teaching is focused on the American Civil War, the American South, and public history. Carmichael began his academic career in 1997. He was the first Scholar-in-Residence at Gettysburg National Military Park in 1999. He taught at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro and West Virginia University before coming to Gettysburg College. Since taking charge of the Civil War Institute, Carmichael has sought to create more intimate environments during the Institute's annual summer conference, attended by over 200 people each year, to allow scholars to work with the public in smaller settings. Carmichael also serves on the Board of Directors and the Historians' Council of the Gettysburg Foundation, the non-profit partner of Gettysburg National Military Park. He was reappointed as a Distinguished Lecturer for the Organization of American Historians for 2017-2018. 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. The contributors include: William Miller, Gordon Rhea, Robert Krick, Max Williams, and Mark Bradley. 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, illuminating Lee's career with fresh interpretations.
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