Lee's+Union+Army

__**How would the Civil War be different had Robert E. Lee sided with the Union?**__
 * Lee's Union Army? **ZL-SOTH, DH-SOTH

1. The Union Army would have been much more organized and disciplined if Robert E. Lee had not resigned and gone to the Confederacy. He was a very strategic General who was very experienced and could make the most of few resources. The one thing that the Union lacked during the Civil War was the leadership of a good general. If the Union had had a good general the war would have ended quickly and efficiently. (ZL-SOTH)

There were many missed opportunities for the Union to decimate the Confederate Army that were missed by the generals'. Lee would have taken some of these opportunities and cause the war to be won by the Union much more quickly. Lee was a very good general, and he caused the Union many casualties and kept the Confederate cause alive. If he had sided with the Union, he would have had more resources to work with and would have done even better for the North that he had done in the South. (ZL-SOTH)

The Union almost abused their resources and did not use them to their advantage, especially under the command of General McClellen. This was one reason that the Union did not have an effective strategy in the Civil War. You can tell how good a general that Lee was by the way he defeated the Union on numerous occasions with fewer resources. Lee also knew his mens' limits and did not push them too hard. (ZL-SOTH)

I think the war would have been much different because Robert E. Lee was an extremely experienced general. No matter what he side he went to he changed the war drastically. Lee was a key general for the south. Even though the south didn't have the supplies or the population, Robert E. Lee kept the hopes of the Confederacy alive and kept fighting. The one thing that hurt the North the most was it's lack of experienced generals. The Union didn't get a solid general until the late 1864's. That was four years that Lincoln had to deal with generals that were either wimpy or either plain dumb.( DH-SOTH)

**So why did Robert E. Lee side with the Confederacy instead of the Union?**
Why did Robert E. Lee side with the Confederacy? He believed that h[|aving slaves was a great sin] and the south was deeply into slavery. Lee decided to side with the Confederacy because he was faithful to his home state of Virginia and would do whatever he had to so that he could remain is that state.

Robert E. Lee first became noticed for his military genius during the Mexican-American war. Throughout the Mexican-American war, Lee was promoted continually.
 * Robert E. Lee's path to becoming a military general** Robert E. Lee joined the United States Marine Military Academy when he was eighteen. He became the first cadet to achieve the rank of sergeant after his first year in the United States Marine Academy. Robert E. Lee graduated from the Academy in 1829 at the head of his class in artillery and tactics, and part of a prestige group that never received a demerit during his four years in the Marine Academy. He graduated second in his class of forty-six.

__**Primary Sources:**__ [] http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/gtburg2.htm http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/gtburg.htm http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/bullrun.htm http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/appomatx.htm

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