The Old World with Will Tanner

In this episode, Will discussed the family life of Robert E. Lee, and the lives of Lee's children. He argues that Robert E. Lee was a good and caring father, but also an overbearing one, and that his children largely struggled to escape his shadow and live independent, fulfilling lives of the sort that characterized earlier generations of the Lee family and the Virginia gentry of which they were a part. He goes through the lives of each of the Lee children, discussing Custis Lee, Mary Lee, Rooney Lee, Annie Lee, Agnes Lee, Rob Lee, and Mildred Lee, along with commenting on Robert E. Lee's relationship to each and their being raised at Arlington House.

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0:00 Arlington's Lee Family Legacy

6:37 Custis Lee: The Dutiful Heir

10:00 Custis Lee's War Without Glory

16:46 Custis Lee Reclaims Arlington

22:35 Mary Lee, the Family Rebel

27:45 Mary Lee's Life of Travel

31:12 Rooney Lee, the Cavalier

36:32 Rooney's War and Personal Loss

39:54 Annie Lee's Short, Gentle Life

47:03 Agnes Lee's Tragic Romance

53:41 Rob Lee, the Unpretentious Soldier

1:04:00 Mildred Lee, Her Father's "Precious Life"

1:09:13 The Children of Arlington Remembered

Sources Referenced in this Episode:

I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you would like to support the show at no added cost to yourself, you can do so by using the links below to order and read the sources I used to create this episode. Thanks!

Armes, Ethel, Stratford Hall: The Great House of the Lees, https://amzn.to/4wxAAfl

Burt, Nathaniel, First Families: The Making of an American Aristocracy, https://amzn.to/4r0KLYG

Cole, Ryan, Light-Horse Harry Lee: The Rise and Fall of a Revolutionary Hero, https://amzn.to/4wiZOy3

Connelly, Thomas L., The Marble Man: Robert E. Lee and His Image in American Idea, https://amzn.to/4ywRf4j

Crocker, H. W., III, Robert E. Lee on Leadership: Executive Lessons in Management, https://amzn.to/4gvXpds

Dabney, Virginius, Virginia: The New Dominion, https://amzn.to/46gVW69

Dowdey, Clifford, Lee: A Biography, https://amzn.to/46lDf14

Fleming, Thomas, A Disease in the Public Mind: A New Understanding of Why We Fought the Civil War, https://amzn.to/4yzbiix

Flood, Charles Bracelen, Lee: The Last Years, https://amzn.to/4gDcA4I

Freeman, Douglas Southall, R. E. Lee: A Biography, https://amzn.to/4gkaqrx

Hendrick, Burton J., The Lees of Virginia, https://amzn.to/4xshjNe

Lee, Cazenove Gardner, Jr., Lee Chronicle: Studies of the Early Generations of the Lees, https://amzn.to/4q7GiTI

Longacre, Edward G., Fitz Lee: A Military Biography of Major General Fitzhugh Lee, https://amzn.to/4xkLNAu

Nagel, Paul C., The Lees of Virginia: Seven Generations of an American Family, https://amzn.to/4wUxkfi

Nichols, James L., General Fitzhugh Lee: A Biography, https://amzn.to/4qeURoz

Royster, Charles, Light-Horse Harry Lee and the Legacy of the American Revolution, https://amzn.to/3TKWspX

Sanborn, Margaret, Robert E. Lee: A Portrait, https://amzn.to/3SA6EkN

Thomas, Emory M., Robert E. Lee: A Biography, https://amzn.to/46qVL8c

Robert E. Lee Is remembered as the "Marble Man," or the "Marble Model". A man so defined by his devotion to duty, personal virtue, and upright character as to seem chiselled from stone rather than made of flesh and blood. In this episode, Will examines that myth of Robert E Lee, discussing how his upbringing and career turned him into the last great flower of the Virginia gentry, a man who perfectly defined the terms "Christian Soldier" and "Virginia gentleman".

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0:23 Old Virginia's Old-World Ideal

5:07 The Marble Man's Human Complexity

7:14 The Lee Family of Virginia: A Dynasty in Ruin

12:15 How Lee Learned Duty and Self-Control

14:37 The Making of the Marble Model

18:21 Lee's Faith and Christian Code

25:18 Choosing Virginia

28:05 Leading the Army of Northern Virginia

34:46 Lee's Restraint in War and Defeat

40:43 How Lee Rebuilt Virginia After the Confederacy

44:28 Teaching Young Men Duty at Washington College

47:14 A Quiet Act of Christian Fellowship

50:22 The Making of Lee's Myth

56:11 Recovering the Human Lee

59:00 Lee's Enduring Legacy

1:04:03 The Limits of Chivalry

Sources Referenced in this Episode:

I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you would like to support the show at no added cost to yourself, you can do so by using the links below to order and read the sources I used to create this episode. Thanks!

Armes, Ethel, Stratford Hall: The Great House of the Lees, https://amzn.to/4wxAAfl

Burt, Nathaniel, First Families: The Making of an American Aristocracy, https://amzn.to/4r0KLYG

Cole, Ryan, Light-Horse Harry Lee: The Rise and Fall of a Revolutionary Hero, https://amzn.to/4wiZOy3

Connelly, Thomas L., The Marble Man: Robert E. Lee and His Image in American Idea, https://amzn.to/4ywRf4j

Crocker, H. W., III, Robert E. Lee on Leadership: Executive Lessons in Management, https://amzn.to/4gvXpds

Dabney, Virginius, Virginia: The New Dominion, https://amzn.to/46gVW69

Dowdey, Clifford, Lee: A Biography, https://amzn.to/46lDf14

Fleming, Thomas, A Disease in the Public Mind: A New Understanding of Why We Fought the Civil War, https://amzn.to/4yzbiix

Flood, Charles Bracelen, Lee: The Last Years, https://amzn.to/4gDcA4I

Freeman, Douglas Southall, R. E. Lee: A Biography, https://amzn.to/4gkaqrx

Hendrick, Burton J., The Lees of Virginia, https://amzn.to/4xshjNe

Lee, Cazenove Gardner, Jr., Lee Chronicle: Studies of the Early Generations of the Lees, https://amzn.to/4q7GiTI

Longacre, Edward G., Fitz Lee: A Military Biography of Major General Fitzhugh Lee, https://amzn.to/4xkLNAu

Nagel, Paul C., The Lees of Virginia: Seven Generations of an American Family, https://amzn.to/4wUxkfi

Nichols, James L., General Fitzhugh Lee: A Biography, https://amzn.to/4qeURoz

Royster, Charles, Light-Horse Harry Lee and the Legacy of the American Revolution, https://amzn.to/3TKWspX

Sanborn, Margaret, Robert E. Lee: A Portrait, https://amzn.to/3SA6EkN

Thomas, Emory M., Robert E. Lee: A Biography, https://amzn.to/46qVL8c

After the Civil War, Robert E. Lee became president of Washington College, now known as Washington and Lee University, in Lexington, Virginia. Though some expected him to serve mainly as a figurehead, Lee took an active role in running the school and set out to reshape its curriculum. He believed the South's next generation of leaders needed practical training alongside classical education, including civil and mining engineering, agricultural chemistry, modern languages, law, business, and journalism. He also established the honor system, took a close personal interest in students, attracted massive donations, and helped guide the young men in his charge through Reconstruction while using his vacations to help effect reconciliation between North and South. His fading health meant he had but a few years to make a difference, and this he did with exceptional ability, which the country thanked him for in the months before his death, when he took a grand tour through the Southern states. He passed away in September of 1870.

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0:00 Lee's College Revolution

1:57 Rebuilding Southern Education

4:06 A Practical University

9:58 The Honor System

18:24 Faith Without Coercion

22:45 Lee and Reconstruction

33:04 A Bid for Reconciliation

36:23 Integrity in Poverty

38:49 Ailing in Service

41:33 A Farewell Journey

47:25 Lee's Final Days

53:30 A Nation Mourns

55:35 Victory After Appomattox

Sources Referenced in this Episode:

I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you would like to support the show at no added cost to yourself, you can do so by using the links below to order and read the sources I used to create this episode. Thanks!

Armes, Ethel, Stratford Hall: The Great House of the Lees, https://amzn.to/4wxAAfl

Burt, Nathaniel, First Families: The Making of an American Aristocracy, https://amzn.to/4r0KLYG

Cole, Ryan, Light-Horse Harry Lee: The Rise and Fall of a Revolutionary Hero, https://amzn.to/4wiZOy3

Connelly, Thomas L., The Marble Man: Robert E. Lee and His Image in American Idea, https://amzn.to/4ywRf4j

Crocker, H. W., III, Robert E. Lee on Leadership: Executive Lessons in Management, https://amzn.to/4gvXpds

Dabney, Virginius, Virginia: The New Dominion, https://amzn.to/46gVW69

Dowdey, Clifford, Lee: A Biography, https://amzn.to/46lDf14

Fleming, Thomas, A Disease in the Public Mind: A New Understanding of Why We Fought the Civil War, https://amzn.to/4yzbiix

Flood, Charles Bracelen, Lee: The Last Years, https://amzn.to/4gDcA4I

Freeman, Douglas Southall, R. E. Lee: A Biography, https://amzn.to/4gkaqrx

Hendrick, Burton J., The Lees of Virginia, https://amzn.to/4xshjNe

Lee, Cazenove Gardner, Jr., Lee Chronicle: Studies of the Early Generations of the Lees, https://amzn.to/4q7GiTI

Longacre, Edward G., Fitz Lee: A Military Biography of Major General Fitzhugh Lee, https://amzn.to/4xkLNAu

Nagel, Paul C., The Lees of Virginia: Seven Generations of an American Family, https://amzn.to/4wUxkfi

Nichols, James L., General Fitzhugh Lee: A Biography, https://amzn.to/4qeURoz

Royster, Charles, Light-Horse Harry Lee and the Legacy of the American Revolution, https://amzn.to/3TKWspX

Sanborn, Margaret, Robert E. Lee: A Portrait, https://amzn.to/3SA6EkN

Thomas, Emory M., Robert E. Lee: A Biography, https://amzn.to/46qVL8c

After his surrender at Appomattox, Robert E. Lee returned to a devastated Richmond and began his final campaign: helping Virginia recover and encouraging reconciliation. The war had left him with little money or property, his home at Arlington confiscated, his citizenship in question, and the threat of a treason trial. He chose to remain in Virginia and urged former Confederates to accept the end of the fighting, return home, and rebuild despite Reconstruction. This episode tracks that, and shows Lee's life in Richmond, his time at Derwent, and how he came to become president of Washington College, now Washington & Lee University.

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0:00 Lee Returns to a Ruined Richmond

2:57 A New Campaign of Reconciliation

8:23 Virginia in Ruins

16:43 Rejecting Guerrilla War and Exile

22:09 Lee's Oath and the Road to Reunion

28:44 Seeking Peace at Derwent

35:05 Washington College Nears Collapse

40:27 The Offer That Changed Lee's Life

45:26 Weighing the Call to Serve

50:19 Lee's Arrival in Lexington

52:53 A Quiet Inauguration

Sources Referenced in this Episode:

I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you would like to support the show at no added cost to yourself, you can do so by using the links below to order and read the sources I used to create this episode. Thanks!

Armes, Ethel, Stratford Hall: The Great House of the Lees, https://amzn.to/4wxAAfl

Burt, Nathaniel, First Families: The Making of an American Aristocracy, https://amzn.to/4r0KLYG

Cole, Ryan, Light-Horse Harry Lee: The Rise and Fall of a Revolutionary Hero, https://amzn.to/4wiZOy3

Connelly, Thomas L., The Marble Man: Robert E. Lee and His Image in American Idea, https://amzn.to/4ywRf4j

Crocker, H. W., III, Robert E. Lee on Leadership: Executive Lessons in Management, https://amzn.to/4gvXpds

Dabney, Virginius, Virginia: The New Dominion, https://amzn.to/46gVW69

Dowdey, Clifford, Lee: A Biography, https://amzn.to/46lDf14

Fleming, Thomas, A Disease in the Public Mind: A New Understanding of Why We Fought the Civil War, https://amzn.to/4yzbiix

Flood, Charles Bracelen, Lee: The Last Years, https://amzn.to/4gDcA4I

Freeman, Douglas Southall, R. E. Lee: A Biography, https://amzn.to/4gkaqrx

Hendrick, Burton J., The Lees of Virginia, https://amzn.to/4xshjNe

Lee, Cazenove Gardner, Jr., Lee Chronicle: Studies of the Early Generations of the Lees, https://amzn.to/4q7GiTI

Longacre, Edward G., Fitz Lee: A Military Biography of Major General Fitzhugh Lee, https://amzn.to/4xkLNAu

Nagel, Paul C., The Lees of Virginia: Seven Generations of an American Family, https://amzn.to/4wUxkfi

Nichols, James L., General Fitzhugh Lee: A Biography, https://amzn.to/4qeURoz

Royster, Charles, Light-Horse Harry Lee and the Legacy of the American Revolution, https://amzn.to/3TKWspX

Sanborn, Margaret, Robert E. Lee: A Portrait, https://amzn.to/3SA6EkN

Thomas, Emory M., Robert E. Lee: A Biography, https://amzn.to/46qVL8c

This is the tale of how the Confederacy was defeated in the spring of 1865, tracking General Ulysses S. Grant's final victoyr at Petersburg after General John B. Gordon failed assault on Fort Stedman and the disaster at Five Forks. What followed was the chaotic evacuation of Richmond, the retreat of the Army of Northern Virginia, a Confederate supply disaster that halted the army, and the eventual necessity of surrender at Appomattox.

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CHAPTERS:

0:00 Confederacy Nears Collapse

3:28 Lee Appointed Commander

4:38 Fort Stedman Gamble

5:59 Petersburg Breaks Open

8:55 Richmond Evacuated

9:47 Amelia Courthouse Disaster

11:45 Sailor's Creek Massacre

13:32 Appomattox Encircled

15:32 Lee Chooses Surrender

18:00 Appomattox Surrender Talks

21:35 Grant's Generous Terms

25:12 Lee's Farewell Order

26:31 Final Surrender Ceremony

28:03 Lee Returns Home

Sources Referenced in this Episode:

I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you would like to support the show at no added cost to yourself, you can do so by using the links below to order and read the sources I used to create this episode. Thanks!

Armes, Ethel, Stratford Hall: The Great House of the Lees, https://amzn.to/4wxAAfl

Burt, Nathaniel, First Families: The Making of an American Aristocracy, https://amzn.to/4r0KLYG

Cole, Ryan, Light-Horse Harry Lee: The Rise and Fall of a Revolutionary Hero, https://amzn.to/4wiZOy3

Connelly, Thomas L., The Marble Man: Robert E. Lee and His Image in American Idea, https://amzn.to/4ywRf4j

Crocker, H. W., III, Robert E. Lee on Leadership: Executive Lessons in Management, https://amzn.to/4gvXpds

Dabney, Virginius, Virginia: The New Dominion, https://amzn.to/46gVW69

Dowdey, Clifford, Lee: A Biography, https://amzn.to/46lDf14

Fleming, Thomas, A Disease in the Public Mind: A New Understanding of Why We Fought the Civil War, https://amzn.to/4yzbiix

Flood, Charles Bracelen, Lee: The Last Years, https://amzn.to/4gDcA4I

Freeman, Douglas Southall, R. E. Lee: A Biography, https://amzn.to/4gkaqrx

Hendrick, Burton J., The Lees of Virginia, https://amzn.to/4xshjNe

Lee, Cazenove Gardner, Jr., Lee Chronicle: Studies of the Early Generations of the Lees, https://amzn.to/4q7GiTI

Longacre, Edward G., Fitz Lee: A Military Biography of Major General Fitzhugh Lee, https://amzn.to/4xkLNAu

Nagel, Paul C., The Lees of Virginia: Seven Generations of an American Family, https://amzn.to/4wUxkfi

Nichols, James L., General Fitzhugh Lee: A Biography, https://amzn.to/4qeURoz

Royster, Charles, Light-Horse Harry Lee and the Legacy of the American Revolution, https://amzn.to/3TKWspX

Sanborn, Margaret, Robert E. Lee: A Portrait, https://amzn.to/3SA6EkN

Thomas, Emory M., Robert E. Lee: A Biography, https://amzn.to/46qVL8c

In the autumn of 1863, after Gettysburg, the war in northern Virginia became a series of maneuvers between a depleted Union army and Robert E. Lee's weakened Army of Northern Virginia. Lee also had to detach James Longstreet to help Braxton Bragg in the West, leaving the Army of Northern Virginia badly outnumbered. Further, what opportunities there were were marred by bad luck at the battle of Mine Run and AP Hill's poor judgment at Bristow Station.

The appointment of Ulysses S. Grant changed the war substantially, as Grant decided to grind Lee's army down in a war of attrition. What followed was the campaign in the Wilderness, featuring battles at Spotsylvania and North Anna, including Bloody Angle, with Grant sustaining enormous casualties. The campaign culminated at Cold Harbor, where Grant was defeated. What followed was the Siege of Petersburg, which ground on into 1865 after Union failure in the Battle of the Crater.

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CHAPTERS:

0:00 Post-Gettysburg Attrition

1:33 Longstreet's Detachment

2:19 Bristow Station Blunder

5:14 Mine Run Fortifications

9:49 Grant Takes Command

13:21 The Wilderness Opens

16:16 Longstreet Wounded

17:45 Grant Refuses Retreat

18:40 The Mule Shoe Trap

21:09 Bloody Angle Breakthrough

25:11 North Anna Trap

27:28 Cold Harbor Slaughter

30:45 Grant Marches South

33:17 Petersburg Siege Begins

34:56 The Crater Explosion

Sources Referenced in this Episode:

I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you would like to support the show at no added cost to yourself, you can do so by using the links below to order and read the sources I used to create this episode. Thanks!

Armes, Ethel, Stratford Hall: The Great House of the Lees, https://amzn.to/4wxAAfl

Burt, Nathaniel, First Families: The Making of an American Aristocracy, https://amzn.to/4r0KLYG

Cole, Ryan, Light-Horse Harry Lee: The Rise and Fall of a Revolutionary Hero, https://amzn.to/4wiZOy3

Connelly, Thomas L., The Marble Man: Robert E. Lee and His Image in American Idea, https://amzn.to/4ywRf4j

Crocker, H. W., III, Robert E. Lee on Leadership: Executive Lessons in Management, https://amzn.to/4gvXpds

Dabney, Virginius, Virginia: The New Dominion, https://amzn.to/46gVW69

Dowdey, Clifford, Lee: A Biography, https://amzn.to/46lDf14

Fleming, Thomas, A Disease in the Public Mind: A New Understanding of Why We Fought the Civil War, https://amzn.to/4yzbiix

Flood, Charles Bracelen, Lee: The Last Years, https://amzn.to/4gDcA4I

Freeman, Douglas Southall, R. E. Lee: A Biography, https://amzn.to/4gkaqrx

Hendrick, Burton J., The Lees of Virginia, https://amzn.to/4xshjNe

Lee, Cazenove Gardner, Jr., Lee Chronicle: Studies of the Early Generations of the Lees, https://amzn.to/4q7GiTI

Longacre, Edward G., Fitz Lee: A Military Biography of Major General Fitzhugh Lee, https://amzn.to/4xkLNAu

Nagel, Paul C., The Lees of Virginia: Seven Generations of an American Family, https://amzn.to/4wUxkfi

Nichols, James L., General Fitzhugh Lee: A Biography, https://amzn.to/4qeURoz

Royster, Charles, Light-Horse Harry Lee and the Legacy of the American Revolution, https://amzn.to/3TKWspX

Sanborn, Margaret, Robert E. Lee: A Portrait, https://amzn.to/3SA6EkN

Thomas, Emory M., Robert E. Lee: A Biography, https://amzn.to/46qVL8c

After the Maryland campaign and bloody draw at Antietam, the Army of Northern Virginia rested and refitted in the Shenandoah Valley before returning to the Rappahannock. During this pause, Robert E. Lee refitted, disciplined, and reorganized his army to reflect his faith in Jackson while the Union Army moved to strike at Fredericksburg, eventually doing so at the cost of an astounding 13,000 casualties.

During the winter at Moss Neck and nearby camps, Lee and Jackson spent time in close consultation, discussing the next campaigns, refining their strategy as their bond grew all the closer. Then, when Joseph Hooker struck at Chancellorsville, the time to test their developed beliefs came and Lee, despite being outnumbered, split his force again and sent Jackson on a flank march through the Wilderness.

Jackson's march led to the surprise attack on the Union XI Corps on May 2. The Federal flank collapsed in confusion, and the Confederates drove them back in a major tactical victory. That night, while reconnoitering in the dark, Jackson was mistakenly fired upon by Confederate soldiers and severely wounded.

Jackson's arm was amputated, but he later developed pneumonia and died on May 10, 1863. Lee mourned his death deeply and reorganized the army without him. The episode ends by marking Jackson's death at Chancellorsville as a turning point, and by looking ahead to Gettysburg and the later campaigns.

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CHAPTERS:

0:00 Lee Rebuilds His Army, and Burnside Takes Command

7:14 Fredericksburg Under Fire

16:38 The Last Great Winter: Recuperation at Moss Neck

19:50 Hooker Rises to Challenge Lee

24:26 The Last Meeting of Lee and Jackson: Preparing the Thunderclap

28:29 Jackson Flanks the Union

32:18 Lee Loses Jackson

Sources Referenced in this Episode:

I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you would like to support the show at no added cost to yourself, you can do so by using the links below to order and read the sources I used to create this episode. Thanks!

Armes, Ethel, Stratford Hall: The Great House of the Lees, https://amzn.to/4wxAAfl

Burt, Nathaniel, First Families: The Making of an American Aristocracy, https://amzn.to/4r0KLYG

Cole, Ryan, Light-Horse Harry Lee: The Rise and Fall of a Revolutionary Hero, https://amzn.to/4wiZOy3

Connelly, Thomas L., The Marble Man: Robert E. Lee and His Image in American Idea, https://amzn.to/4ywRf4j

Crocker, H. W., III, Robert E. Lee on Leadership: Executive Lessons in Management, https://amzn.to/4gvXpds

Dabney, Virginius, Virginia: The New Dominion, https://amzn.to/46gVW69

Dowdey, Clifford, Lee: A Biography, https://amzn.to/46lDf14

Fleming, Thomas, A Disease in the Public Mind: A New Understanding of Why We Fought the Civil War, https://amzn.to/4yzbiix

Flood, Charles Bracelen, Lee: The Last Years, https://amzn.to/4gDcA4I

Freeman, Douglas Southall, R. E. Lee: A Biography, https://amzn.to/4gkaqrx

Hendrick, Burton J., The Lees of Virginia, https://amzn.to/4xshjNe

Lee, Cazenove Gardner, Jr., Lee Chronicle: Studies of the Early Generations of the Lees, https://amzn.to/4q7GiTI

Longacre, Edward G., Fitz Lee: A Military Biography of Major General Fitzhugh Lee, https://amzn.to/4xkLNAu

Nagel, Paul C., The Lees of Virginia: Seven Generations of an American Family, https://amzn.to/4wUxkfi

Nichols, James L., General Fitzhugh Lee: A Biography, https://amzn.to/4qeURoz

Royster, Charles, Light-Horse Harry Lee and the Legacy of the American Revolution, https://amzn.to/3TKWspX

Sanborn, Margaret, Robert E. Lee: A Portrait, https://amzn.to/3SA6EkN

Thomas, Emory M., Robert E. Lee: A Biography, https://amzn.to/46qVL8c

This episode traces the incredible, glorious partnership between Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson during the American Civil War. It begins with their contrasting backgrounds and temperaments, explaining why they together formed an especially effective command team for the Army of Northern Virginia.

The story then moves to the Shenandoah Valley campaign of 1862, noting how Jackson's rapid movements and attacks fulfilled Lee's wishes perfectly, and built Lee's confidence in Jackson to the point that the two men could work closely together.

The episode next covers Second Manassas, showing how faith in Jackson allowed Lee to divide his army in an attempt to crush Pope. He sent Jackson on a long flank march behind John Pope's forces, leading to the capture and destruction of Union supplies at Manassas Junction. Jackson then held a strong defensive position while Lee and Longstreet struck Pope's exposed flank, forcing a Union retreat and giving the Confederates a major victory.

After that, the focus shifts to Lee's decision to invade Maryland, and how a lost order led to tragedy at Antietam, setting up the next year's great victory at Chancellorsville, and the World WarI-like butchery at Fredericksburg

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CHAPTERS:

0:00 Lee and Jackson United: The Great Partnership Begins

5:57 Seven Days Setback

9:21 Lee Regroups and Attacks Northward as Pope Threatens Virginia

15:42 Lee's Great Gamble, Jackson's Flank March

24:28 Lee, Jackson, and Longstreet at Second Manassas

33:41 Why Lee Invaded Maryland, and Why It Went Wrong

45:48 Antietam: America's Bloody Day

Sources Referenced in this Episode:

I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you would like to support the show at no added cost to yourself, you can do so by using the links below to order and read the sources I used to create this episode. Thanks!

Armes, Ethel, Stratford Hall: The Great House of the Lees, https://amzn.to/4wxAAfl

Burt, Nathaniel, First Families: The Making of an American Aristocracy, https://amzn.to/4r0KLYG

Cole, Ryan, Light-Horse Harry Lee: The Rise and Fall of a Revolutionary Hero, https://amzn.to/4wiZOy3

Connelly, Thomas L., The Marble Man: Robert E. Lee and His Image in American Idea, https://amzn.to/4ywRf4j

Crocker, H. W., III, Robert E. Lee on Leadership: Executive Lessons in Management, https://amzn.to/4gvXpds

Dabney, Virginius, Virginia: The New Dominion, https://amzn.to/46gVW69

Dowdey, Clifford, Lee: A Biography, https://amzn.to/46lDf14

Fleming, Thomas, A Disease in the Public Mind: A New Understanding of Why We Fought the Civil War, https://amzn.to/4yzbiix

Flood, Charles Bracelen, Lee: The Last Years, https://amzn.to/4gDcA4I

Freeman, Douglas Southall, R. E. Lee: A Biography, https://amzn.to/4gkaqrx

Hendrick, Burton J., The Lees of Virginia, https://amzn.to/4xshjNe

Lee, Cazenove Gardner, Jr., Lee Chronicle: Studies of the Early Generations of the Lees, https://amzn.to/4q7GiTI

Longacre, Edward G., Fitz Lee: A Military Biography of Major General Fitzhugh Lee, https://amzn.to/4xkLNAu

Nagel, Paul C., The Lees of Virginia: Seven Generations of an American Family, https://amzn.to/4wUxkfi

Nichols, James L., General Fitzhugh Lee: A Biography, https://amzn.to/4qeURoz

Royster, Charles, Light-Horse Harry Lee and the Legacy of the American Revolution, https://amzn.to/3TKWspX

Sanborn, Margaret, Robert E. Lee: A Portrait, https://amzn.to/3SA6EkN

Thomas, Emory M., Robert E. Lee: A Biography, https://amzn.to/46qVL8c

In the late 19th century, the British landed elite still seemed secure. A small group of aristocratic and gentry families owned the supermajority of the land, much of the best urban property, and many mineral rights, while also holding political office and shaping society through cultural dominance, business investments, and social prestige. Their wealth supported a life of leisure used to fulfill the duty to govern, not for private indulgence in indolence.

That system began to break down with the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846 and the agricultural depression of the 1870s as cheap grain from the United States, carried by rail and steamship, drove down British agricultural prices and rents. At the same time, the Third Reform Act expanded the electorate and weakened the old rural political structure.

As incomes fell, many landowners were burdened by debt, mortgages, and family settlements. Some sold land, houses, art, and other assets; others tried to shift into business, finance, or colonial ventures. The People's Budget and the Parliament Act then increased taxes and reduced the power of the House of Lords, making the old order even less secure.

World War I accelerated the decline. Many aristocrats served and died in unusually high numbers, and wartime requisitioning damaged or destroyed country houses. After the war, the class remained visible in local life, but it lost national political influence and much of its confidence.

After describing the decline of the class, I articulate what lessons we should draw from its demise.

Check out our sponsor, the Classical Society, here, and tell them that Will sent you: https://theclassicalsociety.com/

Sources Referenced in this Episode:

I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you would like to support the show at no added cost to yourself, you can do so by using the links below to order and read the sources I used to create this episode. Thanks!

The Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy, https://link.amazon/B08at3udq

Aspects of Aristocracy, https://link.amazon/B0hs1ny41

The Gentry, https://link.amazon/B004Qxd5v

Aristocrats, https://link.amazon/B0bhdsxet

The Iron Duke, https://link.amazon/B0bWhIY77

American Colossus, https://link.amazon/B01aFOKhP

English Landed Society in the Nineteenth Century, https://link.amazon/B0c6eSxVo

European Landed Elites in the 19th Century, https://link.amazon/B0eQ9UGUY

The Conservative Mind, https://link.amazon/B0bDdEBuS

The Serpent and the Stag, https://link.amazon/B03VrFQ8J

This episode examines the rise, dominance, and disappearance of the WASPs, the old American families from the Northeast who dominated business, society, and politics for much of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It distinguishes them from the Southern gentry, and defines them as an upper class formed by intermarriage, inherited wealth, and shared institutions rather than just a group of rich individuals.

It then describes how the WASPs were economically and culturally powerful at their height. They funded railroads, industry, banking, museums, libraries, and opera houses, while shaping high society through prep schools, Ivy League colleges, clubs, debutante events, and church life. Their influence also extended into politics, largely through the Republican Party and through journals, donations, and private networks rather than direct office-holding.

I argue that the class declined because of three main factors: an addiction to leisure, inflation, and taxation. Many families came to prefer yachting, travel, parties, and passive investing over active oversight of businesses and fortunes. It also explains that their preference for bonds left them vulnerable when inflation rose after the gold standard weakened, reducing both the real value of their income and the value of their capital. Further, income taxes and death taxes made it difficult to preserve wealth, and many families tried risky investing or leverage instead of adapting. A few families, such as the Mellons and the Golets, survived by holding better assets, using trusts, and remaining attentive to their wealth, but most of the New York 400 that was so dominant in the Gilded Age had faded near-entirely away within a century.

This episode ends by drawing lessons from this history: the importance of duty, long-term thinking, solid assets, keeping fortunes consolidated, and staying involved in family and business affairs. The episode says the WASPs disappeared as a class because they stopped doing the work required to remain an upper class.

Read my article on this here: https://www.theamericantribune.news/p/how-the-old-american-wasp-aristocracy

Check out our sponsor, the Classical Society, here, and tell them that Will sent you: https://theclassicalsociety.com/

Sources Referenced in this Episode:

I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you would like to support the show at no added cost to yourself, you can do so by using the links below to order and read the sources I used to create this episode. Thanks!

First Families: The Making of an American Aristocracy, https://link.amazon/B0bZphqPQ

The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance, https://link.amazon/B0e5P2nOQ

Leaving a Legacy: Inheritance, Charity, & Thousand-Year Families, https://link.amazon/B0b0BGNIR

Philadelphia Gentlemen: The Making of a National Upper Class, https://link.amazon/B08kDcLPA

The Landed Gentry: Passions and Personalities Inside America's Propertied Class, https://link.amazon/B0hQrndQ6

Mellon: An American Life, https://link.amazon/B0eSSuT2R

An American Aristocracy: The Livingstons, https://link.amazon/B04RHm2G7

Dynasties: Fortunes and Misfortunes of the World's Great Family Businesses, https://link.amazon/B02JEw2t3

The Education of Henry Adams, https://link.amazon/B03AmIXkQ

The Managerial Revolution, https://link.amazon/B0iR5SahH

The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World Before the War, https://link.amazon/B01ZmV6Hk

1913: In Search of the World Before the Great War, https://link.amazon/B0eVAW0k8

American Colossus: The Triumph of Capitalism, 1865-1900, https://link.amazon/B01dz8Ad1

Class: A Guide Through the American Status System, https://link.amazon/B07zwq4Q9