There Goes Robert E. Lee

"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere

ignorance and conscientious stupidity."

-Dr. Martin Luther King

Today, another statute honoring an important figure

in the history of the United States of America

is being removed from the city of New Orleans...

Robert E. Lee Statue at Lee Circle in New Orleans

Once again, the members of another southern city council 
have bowed their knees to political correctness in their decision  
   to remove the statue of American patriot 
and Confederate war hero, 
General Robert E. Lee.

The very idea that the presence of the statue somehow
reflects, "the lost cause of the Confederacy"is simply
 ridiculous and only reveals how profoundly
ignorant  the members of the
New Orleans city council are in regards
 to what actually happened during the
War for Southern Independence, or what 
southern historian Lochlainn Seabrook calls,
Abraham Lincoln's "illegal and unnecessary
war" against the South.

"In all my perplexities and distresses,

the Bible has never failed 

to give me light and strength."
-Robert E. Lee

General Robert E. Lee

1807-1870

As a member of the Whig Party, Colonel Robert E. Lee was

personally opposed to all war between men.  He firmly believed

that civilization could not advance until reason and compassion

prevailed in settling disputes.

Nevertheless, Lee was a professional soldier who answered

his nation's call of duty, first during the Mexican War,

and later as a general in the American Civil War.

During the Mexican War, Lee was commended for his

brilliance in reconnaissance missions against the enemy 

troops of Mexican General Santa Anna.

According to the book, "Sounding Forth The Trumpet"

by Reverend Peter Marshall Jr. and David Manuel,

Robert E. Lee was not only cited for his courage

under fire, but his excellent skills in reconnaissance 

which seemed to come to him almost intuitively,

and for which he received high praises from

his commanding officer, General Winfield Scott.

Scott called Lee's clandestine expeditions across the 

rugged, impassable pedregal, a dried lava bed

near the Mexican border, to survey the
strength and positions of Santa Anna's army,

"The greatest feat of physical and moral courage

performed by any individual in my knowledge

in the pending campaign."

Other generals fighting in the Mexican War

also acknowledged Captain Lee's gallantry.

General Scott later awarded Lee with a

double promotion, to Lieutenant Colonel.

Although this was a battlefield promotion,

it spoke of the high regard felt for

Robert E. Lee by his fellow soldiers.

Without his unique insights in

strategy on the battlefield,

 the Mexican War might have

had an entirely different outcome.

The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

The Band

"Robbie and I worked on,
"The Night They Drove Old
Dixie Down" up in Woodstock.
I remember taking him to the
library so he could research
the history and geography of the era,
and make General Robert E. Lee
come out with all due respect."
-Levon Helm