Lee's Path to Field Command...

5fish

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I have a few simple thoughts that have puzzle me for a while. We know General Scott offer Robert E. Lee command of the union army and he declined it and followed his home state of Virginia into the Confederacy. Here is a man just offered command of the union army and the confederacy does little or nothing with him. Here's a man who would have been commanding the union army that now will oppose the Confederacy if had not been for the fate of his birth.

Lee's early commands were being in charge of the coast defense in South Carolina, in charge of Richmond's defenses, a small field command at Cheat Mountain. He was going to be the Star General for the union but the Confederacy did not treat as if he was a star...Would you not call it a fall form Grace?

My simple puzzled thoughts are:

Why didn't the Confederacy give Lee a field command right away?

Why did he get buried in those minor commands?

Why did he not get the same respect form the Confederate leadership as he had form General Scott and Lincoln?

Why did it take over a year for him to get a major command and that was only by fate?

Why did the Confederacy pick J. Johnston, PGT Beauregard, A. Johnston and other over Lee for the early field commands?

I am just full of whys...... I hope there are answers out there...
 
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