October 12, 2020: Confederate Memory: Lee and Longstreet

[On October 12^th, 1870, Robert E. Lee died—but not before the post-war deification of Lee was already well underway. So this week I’ll AmericanStudy that process and other aspects of Confederate memory, leading up to a special post on a great recent book on the subject!]

This is one of those posts where I’ll ask you instead to read a different piece of mine: this particularly personal Saturday Evening Post Considering History column, on my own and our collective narratives of Robert E. Lee and James Longstreet. I think that column illustrates the most damaging effects of the deification of Lee, both for generations of young Southerners and for our national collective memories (of the war, but also and especially of Reconstruction and all that followed).

Next memories tomorrow,

Ben

PS. What do you think? Other aspects of Confederate or Civil War memory you’d highlight?