Robert E. Lee and Me: A Southerner's Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause

by Ty Seidule

In June 1865, Grant issued General Orders No. 108. In class, I have my cadets stand as I recite it aloud, telling them to answer with “Huzzah!” Soldiers of the Armies of the United States! By your patriotic devotion to your country in the hour of danger and alarm—your magnificent fighting, bravery and endurance—you have maintained the supremacy of the Union and the Constitution, overthrown all armed opposition to the enforcement of the law, and of the Proclamations forever Abolishing Slavery, the cause and pretext for the Rebellion, and opened the way to the Rightful Authorities to restore Order and inaugurate Peace on a permanent and enduring basis on every foot of American soil. Your marches, Sieges, and Battles, in distance, duration, resolution and brilliancy of result, dim the luster of the world’s past military achievements, and will be the patriot’s precedent in the defense of liberty and Right in all time to come. In obedience to your country’s call, you left your homes and families and volunteered in its defense. Victory has crowned your valor.