GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE
General Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) is a legendary figure as a dedicated servant and devoted Christian. His life greatly affected both the North and the South. After his death a Northern newspaper wrote of him: “We have long since ceased to look upon him as the Confederate leader, but have claimed him as one of ourselves; have cherished and felt proud of his military genius; have recounted and recorded his triumphs as our own; have extolled his virtue as reflecting upon us—for Robert Edward Lee was an American, and the great nation which gave him birth would be today unworthy of such a son if she regarded him lightly.” Lee encouraged spiritual strength in his men and made a habit of daily prayer. His call to prayer was a reminder to his men of their obligation to the Lord for success and victory. If Lee was not embarrassed to pray, no man should be.
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Soldiers! We have sinned against Almighty God. We have forgotten his signal mercies, and have cultivated a revengeful, haughty, and boastful spirit. We have not remembered that the defenders of a just cause should be pure in His eyes; that “our times are in His Hands,” and we have relied too much on our own arms for the achievement of our independence. God is our only refuge and our strength. Let us humble ourselves before Him. Let us confess our many sins, and beseech Him to give us a higher courage, a purer patriotism, and more determined will; that He will convert the hearts of our enemies; that He will hasten the time when war, with its sorrows and sufferings, shall cease, and that He will give us a name and a place among the nations of the earth.