What followed was a wave of demands for independence from thirteen colonies in North America. Although Britain defeated France in the "Seven Years' War" and became the master of the North American colony, it had to face the huge debts brought by the war. In the end, the money was added to the colonies, and various new taxes emerged one after another. Followed by the growing voice against Britain, Virginia, as one of the oldest colonies, walked in front of this trend. Of course, the Li family can't stay out of it. They stand on the side of insisting on independence. Francis Lightfoot Lee, one of the Lee brothers, also participated in the early signing of the Declaration of Independence as one of the representatives of Dzheniya. At the same time, Thomas Lee's eldest daughter Marty Lee's cousin and husband Henry Lee III soon joined the Continental Army led by George Washington and became a dragoon officer. He once conducted a successful raid in paulus Hook, New Jersey, and captured 400 unconscious Royal Infantry alive at the cost of only one soldier being injured. Later, he won the nickname "Light Mahari" and became the best cavalry commander under Washington. Followed him to the north and south until Yorktown, and was regarded as a "national hero" by public opinion after the war. 1790, Matilda Lee died of typhoid fever, and it was also left to Qiu Xiaodong's estate in Stefrad, Dzheniya, which was once a part of Thomas Lee's estate. 1793, Qiu Xiaodong remarried and married Ann Hill Carter. 14 years later, that is, 180765438+ 10/9 years later, Henry Li Lao came and gave birth to a healthy and strong baby boy named robert edward lee. The baby later became a more influential figure in American history than his father, which of course Qiu Xiaodong did not foresee at that time.
Shortly after Li was born, the fate of the Li family began to take a turning point. Henry Jae-Il Lee was cheated out of a large sum of money by his partner in the second investment activity, which immediately led to the rapid decline of his family. Even because Qiu Xiaodong was unable to pay the debts he owed, he was thrown into a Baltimore prison, and the independence hero became a prisoner. Qiu Xiaodong was eventually exiled and died on his way home. This cast a huge shadow on Li Zao, who was still in his childhood, and also made him see the ruthlessness and cruelty of reality. The former hero ended like this, and then Li gradually developed an unknown career. Li's mother also had to shoulder the heavy responsibility of managing this heavily indebted manor. Li has a noble family background since childhood, but he is actually a veritable poor boy. Most of his family's income was used to pay off debts, leaving only food and clothing for his family.
The present situation at home has also caused precocious personality, with books as companions all day, and rarely goes out to play like peers. At the age of 1825 and 18, Li Yishun was successfully admitted to Yale University. However, when Li excitedly received the admission notice from Yale University, he had to face a major problem: his family could not pay his tuition. Although his mother said that even if she borrowed money again, she would pay for his schooling, but Li knew her mother's hard work in recent years. Finally, Li reluctantly applied to West Point Military Academy, which is the only place where he can receive a good higher education without paying tuition. West Point Military Academy quickly approved his application, and then Li left his hometown of Virginia for the first time to go to the military academy in New York State. Li successfully demonstrated his outstanding talents in the military academy. Ranked second in the class of 1825, and was rated as an excellent honorary student, which has been praised by lecturers. Treat your classmates with humility and caution, and never show off your good grades. Be honest with others and don't lose your temper with anyone. Four years later, the school wrote in the graduation evaluation that "outstanding performance in this life is really one of the few top schools in our school in recent years." According to its performance in school, we have not found any bad shortcomings in this life. After graduation, Li was awarded the rank of second lieutenant and was sent to the Corps of Engineers.
During this period, Li met Mary Curtis, the great-granddaughter of the first president of the founding father of the United States, and was also the first heir of the Washington family at this time. Mary fell in love with the poor officer at first sight. On the contrary, Li felt that he was too far away from her to express his position and contact with her. In this way, after more than two years of long-distance love, they finally got married. Later, Li naturally became the first spokesman of the Washington family, and inherited and took charge of the manor in Arlington, Dzheniya, which was separated from the capital, Washington, only by a big river named Potomac. After marriage, Li and Mary have six children, three men and three women.
Li Yu 1836 was promoted to lieutenant and captain two years later. Before the Mexican War, Li was responsible for the construction of many arduous and huge military and civilian facilities and won unanimous praise. After the Mexican War broke out, Li became one of winfield scott's staff officers and participated in the Sal-Gotha decisive battle. In this battle, the US military completely defeated the main force of Mexico. In the subsequent battle of Pego, chapple, Li made outstanding achievements, successfully repelling the dominant Mexican army with two rear raids, and he was also injured in this battle. After the Mexican War, Li was transferred back to China and was awarded the rank of major for his outstanding performance.
1852 to 1855, Li is the president of West Point Military Academy. 1856, Li Jin was promoted to lieutenant colonel and sent to Houston, Texas, to be in charge of the third cavalry brigade stationed there. Soon after, his wife, Mary, was seriously ill with arthritis and was temporarily sent back to Virginia to visit. 1859, Ally Li came to an important event in American history, which was also regarded as the prelude to the Civil War-John Brown Uprising. John Brown, a radical abolitionist, and about 30 followers occupied Harper's Ferry Arsenal and took its managers hostage. They immediately demanded that the government declare slavery illegal throughout the country, otherwise it would be detonated along with hostages and arsenals. At the same time, they also detained another celebrity, Lewis Washington, who is the great-grandson of George Washington, the founding father of the United States of America. Li, who is still on vacation, is responsible for quelling this terrorist act by the emergency sign of the Ministry of War. Later, Stuart, the best cavalry general of the Confederate army, was just a lieutenant at that time and became Li's assistant, responding to the rebellion. At that time, Li rode from his home in Arlington to the scene of the incident because he was pressed for time and didn't even have time to wear uniforms and casual clothes. When Li and Stuart arrived and took over the local militia, Li planned to carry out bayonet assault at night to rescue the hostages. The rescue operation was directly directed by Stuart. At midnight, Stuart made a diversion, suddenly rushed in from the back door of the arsenal, disarmed the other side, and arrested him in lightning speed. The whole operation only lasted 10 minutes, and there were no hostage casualties. A marine in the army died, Brown's two sons were killed, and Brown himself was injured and captured. Later, both Lee and Stuart won military awards.
On the eve of the Civil War, when Lee said goodbye to his wife and returned to Texas, with the independence of North Carolina, Texas also declared a republic. As an officer in the Union Army, Lee was immediately expelled from Texas and had to return to his home in Arlington. At this time, the domestic situation was overwhelming, and the southern States demanded independence and obtained state power, while the northern Federation refused to give in hysterically. Some senators even declared in Congress that this is a good opportunity to completely solve the power struggle between the state government and the central federal government. The abolitionists also asked Lincoln to further carry out his policy and abolish slavery completely; Southern lawmakers criticized this as a violation of Lincoln's pre-election promise, because Lincoln himself said that "if he is elected president, he will not end the reality of slavery in the South." As the saying goes, everything is coming, and Li can't stay away from this place of trouble, although at this time, zheniya did not publicly declare independence.
As far as Li is concerned, he is a thorough humanitarian. Although Li is a soldier who kills people by profession, he feels guilty for his life. So is slavery. Based on his own moral concept, he has always opposed slavery. It is legal to keep slaves in his hometown of Virginia. However, when the later commander-in-chief of the Union Army and the postwar American President General Grant (now printed on the $50 bill) had not liberated all the slaves in his family, General Lee had taken the lead in liberating all the slaves in his family. In my own words, slavery is a "moral and political evil" and a "great evil of white people". Li also has unique views on the relationship between the central and local governments. He once wrote in his diary that "the United States should be a United whole, with no distinction between east, west, north and south."
However, when the northern federal government announced that it would use military force to suppress the southern independent state, Gyunia immediately condemned the federal government, and the state legislature announced that Gyunia had left the Federation and joined the Southern Confederacy. At this time, I received personal letters of appointment from the northern federal government, the War Department and President Lincoln, and prepared to promote him to brigadier general and general of the Union Army. Three days after receiving the letter, Li always disagreed with the idea of splitting the south. He loves the United States founded by his father and his father-in-law. However, based on his moral standpoint, he also disapproves of North Korea's use of force to solve South Korea's separatist demands. In his own opinion, he really can't fight with his hometown and relatives. On April 23, Lee refused the invitation of the federal government and accepted the request of the President of the Confederacy to take charge of the defense of Virginia. On August 3 1, Li was promoted to general and briefly served as commander-in-chief of the VJ for one month. Later, President Davis served as the chief of staff of the Confederate Army. Later, he began to take charge of the construction of sea defense lines in southern Calora and Georgia, with a view to preventing the invasion and landing of the northern army through the naval superiority. 1March 862, Li returned to Richmond, the southern capital. In May, Mike Allen, commander-in-chief of the Union Army, led an army of 6,543,800+people to land on the peninsula near Richmond from Washington along the lower reaches of the Potomac River, and began a surprise attack on Richmond. At this time, the first-line commander, General Winston, had just been injured (Joseph E. Johnston), so you reorganized his regiment into chief of staff and became the head of the army. Li named his Northern Army the Genya Army.
At the same time, Li promoted two generals as deputies, one was "Stone Wall" Jackson and the other was General longstreet, who became the best right-hand man in Li's future. Li then began to take the initiative to attack the invading North Army, which was the so-called "Seven-Day Campaign". Li Yiling's offensive severely hit Mike Allen's weak right wing, making the entire Union Army command system at a loss. Later, it successfully disintegrated the counterattack of the northern army. After that, he paid heavy casualties (about 1 1,000 people) and successfully drove the North Army out of Richmond. Finally, Mike Allen had to rely on the cover of naval guns to retreat hastily. After that, Li continued to advance northward and defeated the northern army again in the second bull-running festival. At this time, at Li's behest, the "Stone Wall" Zen master raided Harpers Town, which not only occupied Harpers Town, but also captured 12000 North Army. At this time, Mike Allen was relieved of his post as commander of the Northern Army Potomac Corps.
On September 1862 and 17, the northern army put all its eggs in one basket and put a lot of troops into the battle of Antietam to stop Li's advance. The northern army entered the battle with absolute strength advantage, and Li resisted the almost crazy attack of the northern army with unusually strong defense. In the afternoon, Li personally went to the front to boost fighting morale. In an anti-assault, Li's right arm was injured by stray bullets. At the critical moment, his reinforcement A.P. Hill felt the battlefield and went into battle. Finally, Li successfully defeated the northern army. But the loss is too great, and there is no possibility of continuing to invade the north. Lee won the tactical victory, but lost the strategic opportunity. Twenty-eight thousand people on both sides fell on the battlefield, making it the bloodiest day in American history. Li's army had to retreat to the south to rest, ending his first northward strategy.
advance
However, in less than two months, that is, 1862 12 13, Li won the battle of Fort fredericks, the most brilliant battle of the Central South Army in the Civil War and the most tragic battle of the Northern Army, and completely defeated the newly appointed commander of the Potomac Army, Ambrose Bernsater. Li ingeniously introduced the North Army into the cross-firing area of his own artillery, relied on solid fortifications to resist the frontal attack of the North Army, and fired nearly 300 guns on both sides. When the Union Army suffered heavy losses here and its troops could not retreat, it had to wade across the river west of Fort Feitl. The chaos at that time and the fire and pursuit of the Confederate army made it a hell for the northern army. Later, joseph hooker succeeded Bernsater, but his fate was not necessarily better than that of his predecessor. Later1May, 863, Li attracted the main force of the North Army by relying on Li's solid defense, and most of them were attacked from the flank of the North Army led by "Stone Wall" Jackson. This led to a massive rout of the North Army's Potomac Army, which caused heavy casualties and quickly retreated northward. However, Li himself lost one of his most outstanding generals, "Stone Wall" Jackson, who was killed by the Confederate army himself in an accident, which became a great loss for Li.
After the battle, Li began his second invasion of the north. At this time, the federal government provided the only way to replace the general, replacing General Hook with General Meade as the commander of the new Potomac Army. 78,000 men from General Lee's North Florida Army crossed Maryland and invaded Pennsylvania. Mead began to avoid confrontation with Lee and tried to cut off his communication line until July 1, 1863. Lee's legion met Meade's 80,000 Potomac legion in the small town of Gettysburg. Si Tuleideng's cavalry moved to the flank of the North Potomac Army without authorization, which made it lose contact with Lee's North Genoa Army. The two armies did not make any report after meeting at Gettysburg. Like a blind man, the whole Confederate army knew nothing about the enemy's strength, battlefield terrain, enemy's firepower deployment and so on during the whole campaign. In the first two days, Li's flank attack was met with unprecedented tenacious defense since the northern army started the war, and Li's plan to break through from the flank was impossible. On the third day of the activity, July 3, the night before Independence Day, Li said with emotion, "God really has a sense of humor." Li stayed up all night. He received a letter from Richmond, which said that Richmond had nothing to help him. He hoped that Li Neng would wipe out the army of the Potomac River before him. The southern government has prepared a letter of peace talks, which will be submitted to Lincoln after Lee wins. Naturally, Li realized that time was getting worse for him, and the situation did not allow him to wait. So on the third day, he immediately decided to launch a general attack.
In the early morning of the 3 rd, Li ordered the troops to launch an auspicious attack on the right wing of the Union Army to attract the attention of the Union Army. In fact, Li believes that the defense focus of the northern army is still on its two sides, and its weakness is in the center. So on the third day, he planned to attack the central position with great fanfare and completely destroy the main force of the North Army, thus ending the war. The right-wing attack is just a cover-up. But Meade didn't buy his account at that time, but sent the left-wing troops back to the central rest. I don't know if it was Meade's inaction or intentional arrangement. But in any case, the central front of the Union Army has been strengthened. After a quiet morning, at 13, the Yugoslav army began to fire 170 shells at the central position of the northern army. About 20 minutes later, General Hancock's 180 shells stationed in the center of the Northern Army also began to counterattack, and the two sides launched a large-scale artillery battle that had never been seen in the Western Hemisphere. Nearly two hours later, the Yugoslav artillery estimated that there were quality problems such as overheating of the barrel and insufficient ammunition, and had to cease fire. At three o'clock in the afternoon, the confederate army took the Pijett division of The Lancet Army as the main force, and at the same time transferred two relatively complete divisions from the other two Karonara armies to form the central attack force with 15000 people under the command of General The Lancet. Pidget was authorized to direct the attack at the forefront, which was called "Pidget Charge" in history.
As soon as the Confederate soldiers walked out of the Woods, they were hit by heavy artillery fire from the North Army. They had to walk a mile to attack the Confederate positions. The northern army smashed all the guns from all directions to the three divisions of the southern army marching in this large open area. The loss of the Confederate army can be imagined. The soldiers fell in the fire like mowing grass. First the long-range howitzer, then the high-speed cannon, and finally when approaching, you have to climb over a long fence. Later, it was ruthlessly hit by the bullets that the northern infantry had been waiting for a long time. Pidget's charge lasted only a short hour, but about 12000 people on both sides fell in a pool of blood. The Puget Division of the South Army was almost completely annihilated. Except himself and his staff, almost all officers above the field level were killed. Three brigadier generals, 18 colonels, 3 1 lieutenant colonel and 46 majors were killed. After that, the confederate army was actually waiting for the counterattack of the northern army, but Meade did not launch it. At 7 o'clock in the evening, the northern army did nothing, and General Li decided to retreat and return to Gennier. This became the first and only failure that Li Yisheng encountered. After the battle, Li kept crying and sobbed and said to the soldiers, "This is wrong! is all my fault！ My friend! It was my fault! ! "General Lee once said to General The Lancet," You and I are not afraid of our own death, yours or mine. However, the most painful and difficult thing for a commander is to drive the soldiers to death. They didn't die for us. No, sir, absolutely not. I will deeply regret it and regret it for a lifetime. "
The defeat was painful, but it did not shake Li's lofty prestige in the hearts of Yugoslav soldiers. Richmond also rejected his disciplinary request. After the war, Li's legion was only 60,000 people, and he had to face an army of 6,543,800+2,000 people led by the new commander-in-chief of the allied forces, Grant. Grant's goal was Richmond, the Confederate capital. Lee had to fight Grant with an extremely weak force. At the same time, due to his long fighting career, Li's health deteriorated sharply, and a serious heart disease plagued him. . In the Battle of Wilderness, the Battle of Spotsylvania, the Battle of North Anna, and the Battle of Cold Harbor, Li defeated Grant without food and clothing, and simply kept the powerful northern army out of Richmond. Li Ranlante lost nearly 60,000 people in this series of battles. During these days, Li refused to give him all materials except for his work needs. He always said, "The injured need them more than I do."
At the same time, after Li learned that Sherman had invaded Georgia and razed it to the ground by sweeping policy, Sherman's troops began to March northeast and attack Li's rear. At this time, Li has begun to realize that the end of the south is not far away. Only then did Confederate President Davis appoint Lee as commander-in-chief of all Confederate armed forces, but it was too late. In addition, the Confederate Congress passed a bill to give slaves the freedom to join the army and began to recruit blacks.
1In March 865, General Lee voluntarily gave up Richmond and began to move northward to Carrera, and let General Winston deal with Sherman's army. However, on the way, Grant's army actually caught up with Lee's North Georgia and almost surrounded it. At this time, Lee Myung-bak's south has lost its momentum. He asked Grant, who was still fighting with him, to negotiate surrender. It has also been suggested that all Yugoslav troops should be called upon to split up and fight guerrilla warfare in the mountains, just as their ancestors did to the British in the War of Independence. However, Li rebuffed it. He responded that "the war was occupied by American soldiers. If you say so, it is tantamount to putting the responsibility of the war on innocent people, although it will only bring endless fighting and bloody slaughter. Although I am not an excellent soldier, my morality does not allow me to do so. If my death can bring peace to the people and this land, let them hang me as a war criminal. "
Finally, Lee and Grant met at the Abo Mattox Court in Atok to discuss surrender. After receiving the assurance that Grant would never imprison or persecute Confederate soldiers, Lee agreed to sign a surrender agreement. Finally, Li added that Confederate soldiers could take away the horses in the army. When Grant asked why, Lee only said, "Spring ploughing is coming soon. They are all sons of farmers. They need these Malay jobs. "Finally, the two sides signed the agreement in an atmosphere of mutual respect. The formal surrender of Li's 28,000 soldiers, who were hungry and cold, also marked the end of this brutal battle that lasted for nearly five years.
After the war, Lee was exiled to Lexington to awaken the graves of Confederate soldiers. His original home in Arlington was burned down and confiscated by the North Army, and Arlington National Cemetery was built here. At that time, an insurance company found Li and asked him to be the general manager. Li replied, "I know nothing about insurance." "The newcomer replied," What we need is your reputation and reputation. "Hou Li smiled." If my name is so important, I will cherish it even more. After rejecting many high-paying positions, Li chose to be the president of Washington University in Dzheniya.
"We had blood feud because of ignorance and misunderstanding, and I was one of the executioners. Nowadays, only education can give me a chance to atone. "
Following this creed, Li officially became the principal. During his tenure, he founded the first journalism department and business department in American history at Washington University, which improved the financial situation of the school, and a number of tall teaching buildings sprang up on campus. This university was once one of the largest colleges in America. In the philosophy of education, the necessity of lifelong learning is put forward. According to his own words, "a person's education is not complete until death." (A person's education will last until he dies) Recently, I opened the Dictionary of English World Celebrities compiled by Fudan University (ISBN 7- 12-00688-2/G-93), and Li was among them, but in his title introduction, he was so "American educator" (American educator1870
Li is undoubtedly the most outstanding commander in the civil war and the most respected and loved general. Serving in various arms and services before the war enabled him to fully understand and coordinate the relations and arrangements between the arms and services in future command. His strategy is "attack", even in adversity, he dares to attack, and at the same time he is good at grasping the weaknesses and loopholes in the deployment of the other side and choosing to attack by surprise. He is also very sensitive to the observation of the situation and will never let go of each other's clues easily. Li is good at distracting the other side, and suddenly a wonderful action hits the other side. Of course, Li also has some shortcomings and deficiencies. Perhaps the most fatal thing is his introverted personality. Li is very bad at explaining his plans and ideas to his subordinates, which often leads to misunderstandings of his subordinates, especially after the death of Stonewall Jackson. The battle of Gettysburg is the best example. In his only failure, almost none of his subordinates could understand and carry out his orders well. In the whole war, every battle of Li was faced with troops far exceeding his northern army. Although he suffered heavy losses in Antietam and suffered a fiasco in Gettysburg, Li's troops never collapsed, and he always held his ground until the last moment. The North Virginia Army under his command is also the best army in American history.
Compared with Li's command ability, perhaps his noble character makes people miss him so much. Today, he is still the most revered soldier in the south and even the whole United States. Every year, his birthday is designated as the legal anniversary of the southern States. Primary schools, middle schools and even universities named after him are all over the country. Every year on the anniversary of his death, thousands of flowers will be piled on his grave. In the author's opinion, Americans have always regarded Lee as the symbol of America and the embodiment of ideals. Until Li's death, then President andrew johnson refused to grant him American citizenship again. 105 years later, the US Senate unanimously passed a special bill on July 22nd to restore robert edward lee's title and rights as an American citizen. On August 5th, President Ford signed the bill. At that time, Ford said, "Lee is a true American hero and deeply respected by both the North and the South."
Famous members of his family include:
Thomas Lee: Governor of Virginia Colony
Richard Henry Lee: Member of the United States Senate, Member of the United States House of Representatives, President of the Continental Congress, and signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence.
Francis Lightfoot Lee: A signatory to the American Declaration of Independence and the Confederate Regulations.
Thomas Ludwell Lee: Reviser of Virginia Bill of Rights.
Qiu Xiaodong: Governor of Virginia, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Major General of the U.S. Army.
Robert edward lee: Commander-in-Chief of American Allied Forces and President of Washington and Lee University.
George washington custis lee: robert edward lee's eldest son, President of Washington and Lee University.
William henry fitzhugh lee: Spike Lee, the second son of robert edward lee, a member of the US House of Representatives, is an American film producer, director, screenwriter and actor.