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Robert E. Lee
39 quotes
“Madam, don't bring up your sons to detest the United States government. Recollect that we form one country now. Abandon all these local animosities, and make your sons Americans.”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) said by 1870 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Advice to a Confederate widow who expressed animosity towards the northern U.S. after the end of the American Civil War, as quoted in The Life and Campaigns of General Lee (1875) by Edward Lee Childe, p. 331. Also quote…
“We must forgive our enemies. I can truly say that not a day has passed since the war began that I have not prayed for them.”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) said by 1870 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in A Life of General Robert E. Lee (1871), by John Esten Cooke
“I cannot consent to place in the control of others one who cannot control himself.”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) said by 1870 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Comment regarding officers who became inebriated, as quoted in Personal Reminiscences, Anecdotes, and Letters of Gen. Robert E. Lee (1874) by John William Jones, p. 170
“Sir, if you ever presume again to speak disrespectfully of General Grant in my presence, either you or I will sever his connection with this university.”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) said by 1870 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: After one of the faculty at Washington College in Virginia (now Washington & Lee University) had spoken insultingly of Ulysses S. Grant, as quoted in Lee the American (1912) by Gamaliel Bradford, p. 226
“I have fought against the people of the North because I believed they were seeking to wrest from the South its dearest rights. But I have never cherished toward them bitter or vindictive feelings, and have never seen the day when I did not pray for them.”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) said by 1870 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in The American Soul: An Appreciation of the Four Greatest Americans and their Lessons for Present Americans (1920) by Charles Sherwood Farriss, p. 63
“Obedience to lawful authority is the foundation of manly character.”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) said by 1870 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in General Robert E. Lee After Appomattox (1922), by Franklin Lafayette Riley, p. 18
“After it is all over, as stupid a fellow as I am can see that mistakes were made. I notice, however, that my mistakes are never told me until it is too late, and you, and all my officers, know that I am always ready and anxious to have their suggestions.”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) said by 1870 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Remark to General Henry Heth, as quoted in R. E. Lee : A Biography, Vol. 3 (1935) by Douglas Southall Freeman
“Teach him he must deny himself.”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) said by 1870 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Lee to a mother who asked him to bless her son, as quoted in R. E. Lee : A Biography, Vol. 4 (1935) by Douglas Southall Freeman, p. 505
“I should NOT be trading on the blood of my men.”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) said by 1870 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On refusing requests to write his memoirs, as quoted in Gentlemen of Virginia (1961) page 188 by Marshall William Fishwick; also cited as possibly apocryphal in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations (2004) edited by Eliza…
“The education of a man is never completed until he dies.”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) said by 1870 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Peter's Quotations: Ideas for Our Time (1977) by Laurence J. Peter, p. 175
“You must be frank with the world; frankness is the child of honesty and courage. Say just what you mean to do on every occasion, and take it for granted you mean to do right … Never do anything wrong to make a friend or keep one; the man who requires you to do so, is dearly purchased at a sacrifice. Deal kindly, but firmly with all your classmates; you will find it the policy which wears best. Above all do not appear to others what you are not.”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) said by 1870 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Extraordinary Lives: The Art and Craft of American Biography (1986) by Robert A. Caro and William Knowlton Zinsser. Also quoted in Truman by David McCullough (1992), p. 44, New York: Simon & Schuster.-
“I think it is the duty of every citizen, in the present condition of the Country, to do all in his power to aid in the restoration of peace and harmony. It is particularly incumbent upon those charged with the instruction of the young to set them an example.”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) said by 1870 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to trustees, as quoted in "Honoring Lee Anew" (15 July 2014), by David Cox, A Magazine of Student Thought and Opinion
“The duty of its citizens, then, appears to me too plain to admit of doubt. All should unite in honest efforts to obilterate the effects of the war and restore the blessing of peace. They should remain, if possible, in the country; promote harmony and good feeling, qualify themselves to vote and elect to the State and general legislatures wise and patriotic men, who will devote their abilities to the interests of the country and the healing of all dissensions. I have invariably recommended this course since the cessation of hostilities, and have endeavored to practice it myself.”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) said by 1870 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Abolitionist... must see that he has neither the right or power of operating except by moral means and suasion.”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) first seen 1854 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech in the Senate (3 March 1854); Quoted in Douglas Southall Freeman (2008) Lee, p. 93
“Mr. Blair, I look upon secession as anarchy. If I owned the four millions of slaves in the South, I would sacrifice them all to the Union; but how can I draw my sword upon Virginia, my native State?”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) first seen 1866 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Life and Campaigns of General Robert E. Lee (1866) page 30. Responding to Francis Preston Blair after he relayed an offer to make Lee major-general to command the defense of Washington D.C.
“You see what a poor sinner I am, and how unworthy to possess what was given me; for that reason, it has been taken away.”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) first seen 1861 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to his daughter after losing Arlington (25 December 1861)
“Since my interview with you on the 18th I have felt that I ought not longer retain my commission in the Army … It would have been presented at once, but for the struggle, it has cost me to separate myself from a service to which I have devoted all the best years of my life, and all the ability I possessed … I shall carry with me to the grave the most grateful recollections of your kind consideration and your name and fame will always be dear to me. Save for defense of my native state, I never desire again to draw my sword.”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) first seen 1861 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to General Winfield Scott (20 April 1861) after turning down an offer by Abraham Lincoln of supreme command of the U.S. Army; as quoted in Personal Reminiscences, Anecdotes, and Letters of Gen. Robert E. Lee (187…
“It is well that war is so terrible, otherwise we should grow too fond of it.”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) first seen 1862 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Comment to James Longstreet, on seeing a Union charge repelled in the Battle of Fredericksburg (13 December 1862)
“What a cruel thing is war; to separate and destroy families and friends, and mar the purest joys and happiness God has granted us in this world; to fill our hearts with hatred instead of love for our neighbors, and to devastate the fair face of this beautiful world! I pray that, on this day when only peace and good-will are preached to mankind, better thoughts may fill the hearts of our enemies and turn them to peace. … My heart bleeds at the death of every one of our gallant men.”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) first seen 1862 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to his wife on Christmas Day, two weeks after the Battle of Fredericksburg (25 December 1862).
“Negroes belonging to our citizens are not considered subjects of exchange and were not included in my proposition.”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) said by 1870 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: To Ulysses S. Grant on why black U.S. soldiers were not be repatriated by the Confederacy, as quoted in Liberty, Equality, Power: Enhanced Concise Edition (2009), California: Cengage Learning, p. 433
“I have been up to see the Congress and they do not seem to be able to do anything except to eat peanuts and chew tobacco, while my army is starving.”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) first seen 1865 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Remark to his son, G. W. Custis Lee (March 1865), as quoted in South Atlantic Quarterly [Durham, North Carolina] (July 1927)
“I am glad to see one real American here.”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) first seen 1865 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: To Ely S. Parker at Appomattox Court House (9 April 1865), as quoted in The Life of General Ely S. Parker: Last Grand Sachem of the Iroquois and General Grant's Military Secretary Buffalo, by Arthur C. Parker, New York:…
“The only question on which we did not agree has been settled, and the Lord has decided against me.”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) said by 1870 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: To Marsena Patrick, as quoted in "Honoring Lee Anew" (15 July 2014), by David Cox, A Magazine of Student Thought and Opinion
“I, Robert E. Lee of Lexington, Virginia do solemn, in the presence of Almighty God, that I will henceforth faithfully support, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, the Union of the States thereafter, and that I will, in like manner, abide by and faithful support all laws and proclamations which have been made during the existing rebellion with reference to the emancipation of slaves, so help me God.”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) first seen 1865 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Amnesty oath to the United States (2 October 1865)
“The questions which for years were in dispute between the State and General Government, and which unhappily were not decided by the dictates of reason, but referred to the decision of war, having been decided against us, it is the part of wisdom to acquiesce in the result, and of candor to recognize the fact.”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) first seen 1865 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to former Virginia governor John Letcher (28 August 1865), as quoted in Personal Reminiscences, Anecdotes, and Letters of Gen. Robert E. Lee (1875) by John William Jones, p. 203
“True patriotism sometimes requires of men to act exactly contrary, at one period, to that which it does at another, and the motive which impels them — the desire to do right — is precisely the same.”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) first seen 1865 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to General P.G.T. Beauregard (3 October 1865)
“I think it would be better for Virginia if she could get rid of them. That is no new opinion with me. I have always thought so, and have always been in favor of emancipation - gradual emancipation.”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) first seen 1866 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Testimony to the Joint Congressional Committee on Reconstruction (17 February 1866) responding to a question on relocating freed slaves to other states as quoted in Report of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction at the…
“I am of the opinion that all who can should vote for the most intelligent, honest, and conscientious men eligible to office, irrespective of former party opinions, who will endeavour to make the new constitutions and the laws passed under them as beneficial as possible to the true interests, prosperity, and liberty of all classes and conditions of the people.”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) first seen 1867 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to General James Longstreet (29 October 1867), as quoted in Recollections and Letters of General Robert E. Lee (1924), p. 269.
“My engagements will not permit me to be present, and I believe if there I could not add anything material to the information existing on the subject. I think it wiser, moreover, not to keep open the sores of war, but to follow the example of those nations who endeavored to obliterate the marks of civil strife, and to commit to oblivion the feelings it engendered.”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) first seen 1869 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter regarding war monuments (1869), as quoted in Personal reminiscences, anecdotes, and letters of gen. Robert E. Lee (1874), by John William Jones, p. 234. Also quoted in "Renounce the battle flag: Don't whitewash h…
“My experience through life has convinced me that, while moderation and temperance in all things are commendable and beneficial, abstinence from spirituous liquors is the best safeguard of morals and health.”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) first seen 1869 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to a "Friends of Temperance" society (9 December 1869); as quoted in Personal Reminiscences, Anecdotes, and Letters of Gen. Robert E. Lee (1875) by John William Jones, p. 170
“Honesty in its widest sense is always admirable. The trite saying that 'honesty is the best policy' has met with the just criticism that honesty is not policy. The seems to be true. The real honest man is honest from conviction of what is right, not from policy.”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) said by 1870 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Memoirs of Robert E. Lee" by A. L. Long (1886)
“Those who oppose our purposes are not always to be regarded as our enemies. We usually think and act from our immediate surroundings. The better rule is to judge our adversaries from their standpoint, not from ours.”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) said by 1870 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Memoirs of Robert E. Lee" by A. L. Long (1886)
“So far from engaging in a war to perpetuate slavery, I have rejoiced that slavery is abolished. I believe it will be great for the interests of the south. So fully am I satisfied with this, as regards Virginia especially, that I would cheerfully have lost all I have lost by the war, and have suffered all I have suffered, to have this object attained.”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) first seen 1870 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Statement to John Leyburn (1 May 1870), as quoted in R. E. Lee: A Biography (1934) by Douglas Southall Freeman.
“My experience of men has neither disposed me to think worse of them or indisposed me to serve them; nor in spite of failures, which I lament, of errors which I now see and acknowledge; or of the present aspect of affairs; do I despair of the future. The truth is this: The march of Providence is so slow, and our desires so impatient; the work of progress is so immense and our means of aiding it so feeble; the life of humanity is so long, that of the individual so brief, that we often see only the ebb of the advancing wave and are thus discouraged. It is history that teaches us to hope.”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) first seen 1870 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Lieutenant Colonel Charles Marshall (September 1870)
“The forbearing use of power does not only form a touchstone, but the manner in which an individual enjoys certain advantages over others is a test of a true gentleman. The power which the strong have over the weak, the employer over the employed, the educated over the unlettered, the experienced over the confiding, even the clever over the silly — the forbearing or inoffensive use of all this power or authority, or a total abstinence from it when the case admits it, will show the gentleman in a plain light. The gentleman does not needlessly and unnecessarily remind an offender of a wrong he may have committed against him. He cannot only forgive, he can forget; and he strives for that nobleness of self and mildness of character which imparts sufficient strength to let the past be but the past. A true man of honor feels humbled himself when he cannot help humbling others.”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) said by 1870 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Definition of a Gentleman", a memorandum found in his papers after his death, as quoted in Lee the American (1912) by Gamaliel Bradford, p. 233
“In this enlightened age, there are few I believe, but what will acknowledge, that slavery as an institution, is a moral & political evil in any Country. It is useless to expatiate on its disadvantages. I think it however a greater evil to the white man than to the black race, & while my feelings are strongly enlisted in behalf of the latter, my sympathies are more strong for the former. The blacks are immeasurably better off here than in Africa, morally, socially & physically. The painful discipline they are undergoing, is necessary for their instruction as a race, & I hope will prepare & lead them to better things. How long their subjugation may be necessary is known & ordered by a wise Merciful Providence.”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) first seen 1856 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to his wife, Mary Anne Lee (27 December 1856)
“I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than a dissolution of the Union. It would be an accumulation of all the evils we complain of, and I am willing to sacrifice everything but honor for its preservation. I hope, therefore, that all constitutional means will be exhausted before there is a resort to force. Secession is nothing but revolution. The framers of our Constitution never exhausted so much labor, wisdom, and forbearance in its formation, and surrounded it with so many guards and securities, if it was intended to be broken by every member of the Confederacy at will. It is intended for 'perpetual Union,' so expressed in the preamble, and for the establishment of a government, not a compact, which can only be dissolved by revolution, or the consent of all the people in convention assembled. It is idle to talk of secession: anarchy would have been established, and not a government, by Washington, Hamilton, Jefferson, Madison, and all the other patriots of the Revolution. … Still, a Union that can only be maintained by swords and bayonets, and in which strife and civil war are to take the place of brotherly love and kindness, has no charm for me. I shall mourn for my country and for the welfare and progress of mankind. If the Union is dissolved and the Government disrupted, I shall return to my native State and share the miseries of my people, and, save in defense will draw my sword on none.”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) first seen 1861 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to his son, G. W. Custis Lee (23 January 1861).
“We must consider its effect on the country as a whole. Already it is demoralized by the four years of war. If I took your advice, the men would be without rations and under no control of officers. They would be compelled to rob and steal in order to live. They would become mere bands of marauders, and the enemy's cavalry would pursue them and overrun many wide sections they may never have occasion to visit. We would bring on a state of affairs it would take the country years to recover from...And as for myself, you young fellows might go bushwhacking, but the only dignified course for me would be to go to General Grant and surrender myself and take the consequences of my acts.”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) first seen 1865 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In response to Brigadier General Edward Porter Alexander (April 1865) after the Battle of Appomattox Court House. Alexander had suggested for Confederate soldiers to disperse, report under orders to their respective gov…
“The interests of the State are therefore the same as those of the United States. Its prosperity will rise or fall with the welfare of the country. The duty of its citizens, then, appears to me too plain to admit of doubt. All should unite in honest efforts to obliterate the effects of war, and to restore the blessings of peace. They should remain, if possible, in the country; promote harmony and good feeling; qualify themselves to vote; and elect to the State and general Legislatures wise and patriotic men, who will devote their abilities to the interests of the country, and the healing of all dissensions. I have invariably recommended this course since the cessation of hostilities, and have endeavored to practice it myself.”
Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) first seen 1865 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to former Virginia governor John Letcher (28 August 1865), as quoted in Personal Reminiscences, Anecdotes, and Letters of Gen. Robert E. Lee (1875) by John William Jones, p. 203