When Robert E. Lee died in 1870, the former Confederate commander instantly rose to the status of an American deity, and in the 155 years since his death he has remained one of history’s most celebrated soldiers.

Despite such laudations, however, many of Lee’s contemporaries felt his renowned status was undeserved—most notably, the formerly enslaved social activist, newsman, and army recruiter Frederick Douglass. Starting at the end of the Civil War, and continuing mere days after Lee’s demise, Douglass penned a series of articles that reflected negatively on the fallen Rebel general’s legacy and attempted to reconsider his proper place in studies of the past. Join Codie Eash, SRMEC Director of Education and Interpretation, as he explores Douglass’s criticisms of Lee’s morality and prowess, which provide valuable insight to an alternative view of an icon, and serve as a reminder that modern debates over collective memory of the Civil War and its principal players are embedded in unfinished conversations among the wartime generation itself.

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Lydia Ziegler Clare Education Center

Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center