Robert E. Lee

James I. Robertson, Jr., served as Executive Director the U. S. Civil War Centennial Commission and worked closely with Presidents Kennedy and Johnson in marking the national commemoration of the war. He also was an active member of the Virginia Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission, which led America’s remembrance of the 150th anniversary of the nation-making struggle. During the Sesquicentennial period, he became father of the state’s new official song, “Our Great Virginia.” He is the founding executive director of the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies research and education center. He is considered the preeminent scholar on ConfederateLieutenant GeneralThomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. Robertson was the Chief Historical Consultant in the 2003 Warner Brothers film Gods and Generals, which prominently features Stonewall Jackson.

Recommended: Controversy swirls around monuments commemorating the life of Civil War general Robert E. Lee. A discussion of the appropriateness of such monuments, and the interpretation that might be attached to them, is informed by this reference work. It offers a well-designed, authoritative, and up-to-date resource for those interested in the man and the historic period. Robertson (emer., Virginia Tech) is the author of dozens of books on the war and the Confederacy. He begins with battlefield maps and a chronology of Lee’s life, taking the reader from his birth to the restoration of his citizenship in 1975. A brief biographical essay provides an overview of Lee’s life. The bulk of the volume consists of an A-Z listing of entries designed to provide an overview of the people, places, and events that were significant in Lee’s life. The extensive bibliography that completes the volume includes references to Lee’s writings; biographies of his family, friends, lieutenants, and opponents; and related studies. This volume is quite useful particularly in light of the current debate on Confederate monuments.

• PrefaceMapChronologyIntroductionA to ZBibliographyAbout the Author Index