Robert E. Lee Archives - Tennessee Star

Rep. Beyer, Sen. Kaine Move to Rename Arlington House Lee Memorial; GOP Opponent Lipsman Says Beyer Is Focusing on the Wrong Issues

July 15, 2022July 14, 2022 Eric Burk

Representative Don Beyer (D-VA-08) and Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) have introduced legislation to rename the “Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial” to “the Arlington House National Historic Site.”

“As our country and our Commonwealth grapple with the history of racism and slavery and engage in a long-overdue reexamination of public symbols, we have an opportunity to make it clear that we do not revere Confederate leaders or condone the enslavement of human beings,” Beyer said in a press release.

Commentary: The Great Battle of Gettysburg

July 4, 2022July 3, 2022 Admin

Robert E. Lee’s smashing victory against Major General Joseph Hooker’s Army of the Potomac at Chancellorsville in May 1863 provided the Confederacy with three strategic options: shift resources from Virginia to Mississippi in order to revive Vicksburg, the Rebel redoubt on the Mississippi River; reinforce Braxton Bragg’s Army of Tennessee, enabling him to reprise his 1862 invasion of Kentucky and maneuver the Union Army of the Cumberland under William Rosecrans out of its position in central Tennessee; or invade Pennsylvania.

But after Chancellorsville, it was probably too late to affect the outcome at Vicksburg, because the siege was already under way. (Vicksburg would fall on the Fourth of July.) And it didn’t make sense to detach forces from the Confederacy’s only successful field army, the Army of Northern Virginia, under its only successful general, Lee, and send them to other generals whose competence was questionable. In the end, Lee effectively made the case to Confederate president Jefferson Davis that the best use of limited Confederate resources was to invade Pennsylvania. As he had done in the fall of 1862, Lee intended to effect a strategic turning movement, draw the Yankees out of Virginia, and annihilate a Federal army on Union soil, forcing Lincoln to sue for peace.

Newt Gingrich Commentary: General Lee and the Importance of Preserving American History

September 28, 2021September 27, 2021 Admin

Earlier this month, a 21-foot-tall bronze statue of Robert E. Lee — perhaps the most famous monument to the Confederate general — was removed from Monument Avenue in Richmond, Va. Supporters of the statue’s removal, including Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D), hailed the event as a triumph for racial justice.

The left has decided that Lee, the most recognized and celebrated figure of the Confederacy, is intolerable, a man who should be erased from American history. This maelstrom surrounding Lee has reached a fever pitch in recent years, as the woke movement has grown.

In short, anyone who dares mention Lee at all better demonize him as pure evil or else face the wrath of the progressive mob. This is retroactively imposing cancel culture on the past, while silencing free speech today.
In this context, Allen Guelzo’s newly released biography on the Confederate general, Robert E. Lee: A Life, is especially welcome and important.

Arlington County Prepares to Rename Lee Highway After Virginia’s First Black Congressman John Langston

June 17, 2021June 16, 2021 Eric Burk

The Arlington County Board is expected to vote in July on a motion to rename U.S. Route 29 from Lee Highway to Langston Boulevard. On Saturday, the Board voted to defer the vote to allow more time for community comment and to refine cost estimates, according to a county press release. The release said the supervisors expressed “broad support for the motion.”

Georgia Legislator Pushes Bill to Remove Large Confederate Memorial at Stone Mountain Park

February 8, 2021February 7, 2021 Chris Butler

Georgia State Rep. Billy Mitchell (D-Stone Mountain) is sponsoring legislation that seeks to remove Stone Mountain Park’s 90-foot tall Confederate memorial. This memorial, carved into the mountain, depicts Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson, according to the park’s website. Members of the Stone Mountain Memorial Association manage the park, which is state-owned, according to their website.

Washington and Lee Survey on School Name Change Garners More Than 14,000 Responses

October 27, 2020October 26, 2020 Jacob Taylor

A survey distributed by Washington and Lee University (W&L) last month designed to give the board of trustees’ community feedback and to help decide whether or not to remove Confederate general Robert E. Lee’s name from the school received more than 14,000 responses.

The survey, which opened on September 16th and closed on October 15th, was sent to undergraduate and law students, faculty and staff, alumni and even parents.

Charlottesville City Council Moves Forward with Relocating ‘Disrespectful’ Lewis & Clark and Sacagawea Statue

October 3, 2020October 2, 2020 Corinne Murdock

The Charlottesville City Council convened on Wednesday to continue discussing plans for relocating the Lewis & Clark and Sacagawea statue.
Activists take issue with Sacagawea’s posture: she crouches behind Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, a positioning some say is demeaning for depicting the appearance of subservience.

Amid Polarized Opinions, Congressman Beyer Calls For Renaming of the Robert E. Lee Memorial

September 19, 2020September 18, 2020 Eric Burk

Congressman Don Beyer (D-Arlington) is calling for the mansion in the middle of Arlington Cemetery to be renamed. Currently called “The Arlington House, Robert E. Lee Memorial,” Beyer wants it to just be “The Arlington House.”

Confederate Monuments Coming Down Across State, Triggering Legal Battles

August 27, 2020August 26, 2020 Eric Burk

Monuments dominate Virginia’s headlines this week.

On Wednesday, Portsmouth City began removing its controversial Confederate monument. Last week, an anonymous plaintiff petitioned the Virginia Supreme Court to order confederate statues removed by the city of Richmond to go back up. The Richmond Circuit Court has scheduled a trial for October 19 to begin determining whether Richmond’s Robert E. Lee statue can be removed.

No Immediate Ruling on Motion to Dismiss Lee Statue Lawsuit

August 19, 2020August 18, 2020 The Associated Press

A judge heard arguments Tuesday but did not immediately rule on whether to dismiss a lawsuit challenging Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s plans to remove an enormous statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee along Richmond’s famed Monument Avenue.

An injunction issued in the lawsuit currently prevents Northam’s administration from moving forward with plans announced after the death of George Floyd to take down the bronze equestrian statue of Lee. The figure erected in 1890 is now one of the country’s most prominent tributes to the Confederacy.

Commentary: Renaming Fort Bragg is a Ridiculous Idea that Deserves Ridicule

June 16, 2020June 15, 2020 Admin

Alfred Lord Tennyson was right: We are not now that strength which in old days moved earth and heaven. Sadly, we do not have the consolation of being able to claim that we are “one equal temper of heroic hearts,” either.

The Marine Corps, long the most countercultural branch of the U.S. military, just banned even the informal use of the battle flag it used to wink at. Widespread emotional and sometimes felonious response to recent actions of a rogue police officer makes it perilous to tag preface that observation with an introductory clause like “For good or for ill,” so revisionist history proceeds not just unchecked, but actually endorsed (there’s no other way to explain awarding a Pulitzer Prize to the 1619 Project).

Judge Issues Order Halting Lee Statue Removal for 10 Days

June 10, 2020June 9, 2020 The Associated Press

A judge in Richmond has issued an injunction preventing Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s administration from removing an iconic statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee for 10 days.

The temporary injunction order issued Monday says the state is a party to a deed recorded in March 1890 in which it accepted the statue, pedestal and ground they sit on and agreed to “faithfully guard” and “affectionately protect” them.

NBC Issues Correction Over Trump’s Robert E Lee Comments

October 15, 2018October 15, 2018 Admin

by Jason Hopkins NBC News has issued a correction over its reporting on President Donald Trump’s Civil War comments, acknowledging that the president did not actually describe Confederate General Robert E. Lee as “incredible.” CORRECTION: An earlier tweet misidentified the general President Trump described as "incredible" at a rally…

Liberals Lose Their Minds After John Kelly Calls Gen. Robert E. Lee ‘Honorable’

November 1, 2017November 1, 2017 Tennessee Star Staff

After White House Chief of Staff John Kelly told Fox News host Laura Ingraham that Confederate General Robert E. Lee was “an honorable man” and suggested that the Civil War could have been avoided if an “ability to compromise” was demonstrated, Twitter went berserk and dubbed Kelly a “racist.” During…

Oklahoma City Votes Unanimously To Rename Three Schools Named After Confederates At Cost of $40,000

October 25, 2017October 24, 2017 Admin

An Oklahoma school board voted unanimously Monday to rename three Confederate schools, an action which will cost the district $40,000. The Oklahoma City, Okla. school board voted 7-0 to rename schools named after Gens. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and Isaac Stand Watie, reported Fox25 News. “As the district…