A bit long in some places, but presents many interesting facts and a good arguement. ( )

In Robert E. Lee and Me: A Southerner’s Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause, Ty Seidule – professor of history, Southerner, and Army veteran – examines how the “lost cause” myth of the Civil War permeated every element of his life from childhood through college, military service, and beyond. He frankly discusses how he ignored the signs for so much of his life, taking the Southern narrative for granted, until much later. According to Seidule, the moment of clarity occurred when he was stationed at West Point. He writes, “I went to the archives, and there I spent the next several years trying to understand when and why West Point honored Lee. And that process changed me. The history changed me. The archives changed me. The facts changed me” (pg. 182). From there, he began looking into the very names we use for the war and how it has been memorialized in the years since, particularly in the twentieth century.

Seidule examines the role of terminology and narrative. He writes, “The names we give the war itself and those who fought it matter. Our shared understanding of the war comes from the language we use… The names we use matter. By saying Union and Confederate, Blue and Gray, North and South, we lose the fundamental difference between the two sides. The United States fought against a rebel force that would not accept the results of a democratic election and chose armed rebellion” (pg. 22). He continues, “When we identify our history, we can change the narrative… History is always changing. We link the past to our conception of the present and we always have” (pg. 56). Seidule’s honesty about his own past helps the reader to understand the difficulty many face in acknowledging facts. He writes, “We find it hard to confront our past because it’s so ugly, but the alternative to ignoring our racist history is creating a racist future” (pg. 73). Examining the impact his own research has had and the narratives he discovered, both those of Southern traitors whose actions were sanitized and the bravery of the people who defended the Constitution and abolished slavery, Seidule argues, “When people tell me that I’m trying to change history, I point to the stories hidden from me in Virginia and Georgia. I don’t want less history; I want more… Few choices are more fraught for people than who decides what stories are told to children – or to college students” (pg. 133). He refutes the accusation of revisionism with examples from Lee’s contemporaries who remained loyal to the United States, arguing that he is “not making a presentist argument in thinking Lee’s decision was wrong. Plenty of other senior southern army officers agreed with the Constitution’s definition of treason, agreed that that Lee dishonored thirty years of service” (pg. 223).

Seidule moves from written history to monuments and shrines. He argues, “The Lee cult started at his death, but it took decades to write and spread the gospel not just in the South but across the country” (pg. 122). Seidule concludes, “…A Confederate monument had the same purpose as lynching: enforce white supremacy. It is no coincidence that most Confederate monuments went up between 1890 and 1920, the same period that lynching peaked in the South. Lynching and Confederate monuments served to tell African Americans that they were second-class citizens” (pg. 89). Furthermore, his research demonstrates “that if you scratch a Confederate monument, you find either white supremacy or a reaction against equal rights. It’s suspicious that Confederate battle streamers joined the army flag during the fight against integration” (pg. 174). To this end, “Confederate memorials are often about current politics” (pg. 205).

Seidule concludes of the Civil War, “The South had lost the war but won the narrative” (pg. 171). He continues, “A monument tells historians more about who emplaced it than it does the figure memorialized. While some memorials went up right after the war, especially in cemeteries, most Confederate monuments were built between 1890 and 1920, and those glorify white supremacy” (pg. 245). Only by acknowledging these facts can we address the ugly stain on our history. Seidule argues, “To create a more just society, we must start by studying our past. If we want to know where to go, we must know where we’ve been” (pg. 247). His work helps point the way for finding our way forward as a nation. He finishes, “…An understanding of history remains the foundation. The only way to prevent a racist future is to first understand our racist past” (pg. 256). ( )

When I first become aware of this on a GR friend's list, I dropped everything to start reading it. A top rate analysis of the underpinnings of racial inequality and disharmony in the U.S. today, it is told from the distinctive, very personal perspective of a white man raised in the South, who gradually comes to realize that the foundation of his identity was a tissue of lies.

The book is part memoir and part history, and all about Robert E. Lee and the legacy on race relations in the South of his choice to commit treason in 1861 by joining the Confederacy . Ty Seidule’s message is that Lee fought against the United States (he chooses not to use the term “the North” to emphasize the element of treason) out of a deep commitment to racial dominance achieved through slavery. And Seidule has plenty of documentation to back up this message. I believe him, but although many others do as well, he continues to receive death threats for sharing his message.

The lionization of Lee in the South, beginning immediately after the end of the Civil War and continuing through today, has contributed significantly to the popularity of the Lost Cause, the myth that the Confederate soldiers fought nobly for noble causes: states’ rights, and the defense the "social structure" of their homeland. That myth underlies much of the unresolved racial unrest and inequality in the South and the U.S. military to this day. It was behind the erection of statues and the naming of places in honor of Confederate military heroes, a legacy that is proving difficult to expunge from the South and the U.S. military.

Seidule couches his message in his personal experiences as a child growing up in the South, his education at Washington and Lee University, his 30 years in the military, and his decades teaching history at West Point. He grew up idolizing Lee, who he saw as the paragon of a Southern gentleman. That perspective was reinforced at his university and in the military history course materials he taught while in the Army. Only when Seidule began investigating the reasons for the prevalence of statues and buildings and roads honoring Lee at West Point did the scales fall from his eyes. And as he says, he now has the zeal of a convert, doing whatever he can to share what he has learned.

A lot of this resonated with me personally. No, I didn't grow up in a racist household, adoring a military leader who fought against my country. But when I studied the Civil War as a college history major in the late 1960’s the emphasis was on the philosophical arguments regarding states’ rights and the competing economies of the North and South. Slavery was obviously an issue, but it was not the primary cause of the war.

My impression of Lee was formed by Ken Burns’ PBS series in the 1980’s, and heavily influenced by the commentary of the excessively charming Shelby Foote, an enthusiast for the Lost Cause. Surely this was a noble man who mistakenly placed his allegiance with his state rather than his country! But my curiosity about Lee grew after visiting Civil War battlefields, and the more I read about him, the less I found to like. Seidule's research goes far beyond my limited understanding into appreciating just how strongly Lee was personally tied to the economics of slavery.

When two years ago we moved to Richmond, capital of the Confederacy, we were treated to a tour (by people who were basically liberal-minded), of Monument Avenue, a broad boulevard that at that time boasted statues of 5 Confederate luminaries. This was a highlight of Richmond and the significance of just who was being honored didn't seem to be an issue to our guides. In the aftermath of the George Floyd killing four were removed promptly and the fifth – Lee’s, as pictured on the cover of this book, came down just last month. The legal battle over the Lee statue continues even after its removal.

It would be nice to feel that as our country comes to terms with this ugly history, we are moving steadily toward a brighter future, but as events of January 6, 2021 made clear, the jury is still out. In the meantime, as individuals we can make progress by opening our eyes to the un-romanticized realities of the past. Seidule has provided a great resource in this book. ( )

”When we identify our history, we can change the narrative.” ~ Ty Seidule, Robert E. Lee and Me: A Southerner's Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause

Ty Seidule, an author and former Army Brigadier General, served his country for more than 30 years. From a child of the South to a West Point Professor Emeritus of History, Seidule gives honest and compelling arguments for the real reason for the Civil War, the Lost Cause Myth and the origin of the idolization of General Robert E. Lee. He writes about his youthful admiration of Lee and how he was taught that the Confederates were the underdogs who lost the Civil War, but with honor. As he grew and learned, his realization of his understanding of the truth resulted in a radical change of view. Seidule gives hard facts that have me wanting to question and challenge the facts and myths that I have come to learn.

This was an eye-opening read for me. Honestly, I did not know what all the recent fuss was over the removal of Civil War statues. After all, these figures were a part of our history. Why do some many want to erase history? After reading Robert E. Lee and Me I now get it. It’s not so much as erasing of history as it is to not glorify men and events that shroud around racism. Ty Seidule’s brutally honest interpretations of the facts make one think twice. Don’t get me wrong, I am still ignorant to all the events that led to the exact reasons for the Civil War and The Lost Cause. But after reading this book, I want to search out more books that are similar and get both sides. If you read this book are reading this review, I’m open to suggestions on other books that give insight into other thoughts and interpretations.

”The only way to prevent our racist future is to understand our racist past.” ~ Ty Seidule, Robert E. Lee and Me: A Southerner's Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause ( )

I read an eBook of this book. Seven chapters and an epilogue. I learned a lot about Robert E. Lee and what happened to him after the Civil War. ( )