An Early Riddle

[womzilla]

What do you call someone who betrays his oath to his government, carries out plans to destroy federal property, kills hundreds of thousands of American soldiers, and enslaves Americans to promote his own wealth?



Robert E. Lee.

("Early" for celebration of Abraham Lincoln's birthday. Right on time for Black History Month. Inspired by hearing Hoyt Axton's performance of "I'm a Good Old Rebel" on Pete Fornatale's "Mixed Bag" historyt of the Civil War this evening.)

Comments

[redbird]

Late for Lincoln's actual birthday, though.

[womzilla.livejournal.com]

For some reason, I had it fixed in my head that Lincoln's Birthday was Feb. 16th. Probably this is because Beethoven's birthday is Dec. 16th.

[wild-irises.livejournal.com]

Seems like the answer should be, "Yes, sir, General Lee, sir!"

[montoya.livejournal.com]

I thought for sure the answer was going to be "Mr. President," even if I wasn't entirely certain about how the enslaving got in there. (And, on reflection, the troop numbers don't add up, either.)

Virgil, Quick, Come See, There Goes Robert E. Lee

[(Anonymous)]

There isn't much to endear Lee to me (he must have been the David Watts of West Point -- listen to the Kinks tune on *Something Else,* and learn why King Mob liked to say "nice and smooth"), certainly not in comparison to Grant, who achieved a greatness in the Civil War no one would have expected who had known him as a clerk in Galena and went on to write a masterful *Personal Memoirs* just before his death. But Lincoln offered Lee the command of the Union Army before Virginia seceded, and I've always thought that at some point, as he realized that for all of his brilliant strategy ("stratergy"!), the Army of the Potomac was going to defeat him that he thought:

"That could have been my army."

It makes me want to shout fresh orders to A.P. Hill, it does.

The Gallant Hood of Texas played hell in Tennessee, and the Sparrow says salaam.