Debunking the myth of Lee?

Above: Robert E. Lee's death mask.

Nice to see someone had the balls to write this.

You would think that after 150 years (this month), all's been said that there is to say about the Civil War. No. Richard Cohen is a columnist for The Washington Post and pens a scathing opinion piece on General Robert E. Lee - "The Old Man", "Bobby Lee", "The Grey Old Fox" or "Marse Robert" - the beloved general of the Confederacy.

No disrespect to the South or people in the South; however, it has been my opinion - for years - that way too many people fawn over Lee. It has nothing to with the fact that the South lost the Civil War. It has more to do with Lee's incessant belief that "God's will" was the determining factor that guided his (Lee's) entire life, including his tactics as a general.

For example, when informed by his most trusted and knowledgeable generals that he should "re-deploy" (not retreat) at Gettysburg, Lee balked. We're here and we ain't leavin' (paraphrase). Whether it was a win or loss on the battlefield, it was always attributed to "God's will".

No. It ain't "God's will" when you have the power to decide whether to send 15,000 men running across a mile of open ground with Union crosshairs aimed at the whites of your men's eyes. I'm not talking about "honor" and "duty" and the manner in which battles were fought then. Both the Union and Confederacy should've learned from the Revolutionary War about fighting "indian style" - that's how we beat the British. I'm talking "tactics" and common sense - things Lee and and every military leader - on both sides - learned at West Point.

Lee is overrated. Period. It's God's will, don't ya know.