Gray Fox : Robert E. Lee and the Civil War

Rating:
Summary: An Extraordinary Story
Review: While limited in scope, this is a very good book about an extraordinary figure in American history. Beginning only a few days before Fort Sumter and concluding with Appomattox, Mr. Davis' narrative is not designed as a biography of Robert E. Lee, and only limited dimensions of his character and his life are revealed in it. What the book does achieve is to paint a vivid picture of Lee's role in the Civil War and, through this vehicle, to reveal something essential about this bloodiest of American tragedies, which is a story of many sad paradoxes. A genuinely kindly and self-effacing man, Lee the military commander was nonetheless a wily aggressor who, along with his Union counterparts, invented a new kind of warfare which at the time had no precedent anywhere in the world for the degree of mass slaughter it unleashed. Lee adamantly opposed slavery on moral grounds and was appalled at the decision of the southern states to succeed from the American nation, the service of which he had devoted his professional life to. Despite these misgivings, he took up the Southern cause for the purpose of defending his native Virginia. Having reluctantly committed himself, he took up command of the Confederate army with such determination and skill that, prior to Gettysburg, he was arguably within range of accomplishing the Southern victory that he himself always believed to be unlikely. One of the strengths of this book is that the author seeks neither to romanticize nor debunk Lee. He lets primary sources speak for themselves through much of the narrative, and the portrait of Lee that emerges is one largely consistent with the popular image of the man as one of history's great tragic heroes. This books biggest weakness, at least for me, was it's failure to flesh out the strategic context for Lee's actions during the war. The narrative follows him through the major engagements in which he participated, but gives minimal perspective on military or political events occurring outside of Lee's camp. A comprehensive history of the war is beyond the scope of this short study, but the marvelous story it tells falls somewhat short due to the lack of background information. Still, the book is very well worth reading, and I recommend it.