Winston Churchill reportedly said of the Labour Party leader Clement Attlee, “Mr. Attlee is a very modest man. Indeed he has a lot to be modest about.” Similarly, writing this book has made me extremely aware of my own modest abilities.
Fortunately, I’ve been able to benefit from some truly outstanding historians who have written on the Civil War. I am especially indebted to: David Blight, John Fabian Witt, Elizabeth Varon, Martha Hodes, Jonathan White, Brooks Simpson, William Blair, and Richard Lowe. I’ve been inspired by their high standards of excellence in my own writing.
I’m also very grateful for the exceptional work of the various Lee biographers. In particular, I found the insights of Thomas Connelly, Emory Thomas, Alan Nolan, Elizabeth Brown Pryor, and Douglas Southall Freeman to be invaluable.
Some of my happiest moments have been spent poring over old documents in a wide variety of libraries. I’d like to thank the librarians and archivists from the Library of Congress, Library of Virginia, National Archives, and Washington and Lee University. I’m in awe of their dedication to the historical craft. I’m especially thankful to Matthew Penrod of the National Park Service. His thoughts on Lee were tremendously helpful.
I got the idea for this book while working as an editor for The Motley Fool. I’m forever grateful to my former employer for providing me with a sabbatical that allowed me to devote precious time to this project—one that was completely unrelated to my day-to-day work responsibilities at the time, I should add—while it was still in its nascent stages. Those crucial eight weeks gave me the confidence to eventually devote myself completely to the book.
I also received early encouragement from John Wright of the John W. Wright Literary Agency. His belief in the project strengthened my determination to pursue it further. I’m very thankful for his wise advice along the way.
I’ve been extremely lucky to have several thoughtful readers of the manuscript. My former colleague, Abbie Redmon, provided essential editorial guidance on the early chapters. And my good friend—and English teacher—Andy Leddy provided thoughtful feedback throughout the entire writing process. Finally, Chris Solimine has generously devoted countless hours to helping me improve the narrative. As a successful screenwriter, he’s an accomplished storyteller who offered a fresh perspective on the subject. Over the course of numerous conversations, he patiently tried to explain what worked and what didn’t.
My two children, Maxim and Sophie, provided the necessary moral support for completing the book. They cheerfully listened to my accounts of the latest discoveries and never complained about dad always being upstairs in his office. I look forward to reading their own books someday. I should also acknowledge our dog, Ozzy, who has literally been at my feet during the entire writing process. Like Emily Dickinson’s dog, Ozzy may know, but doesn’t tell.
Finally, I’d like to thank my wife, Justine Kalas Reeves. There is no way this book could have ever been written without her love and encouragement. It mustn’t have been easy when I floated the idea of leaving a well-paying job to write a book about the legal issues facing Robert E. Lee. Yet, Justine believed in the idea all along and has done everything in her power to support me throughout the writing of this book. In the Pixar movie Ratatouille, the food critic said, “The world is often unkind to new talent, new creations. The new needs friends.” Justine has been this project’s best friend.