The date is June 26, 1862. The place is Mechanicsville, Virginia. The man of the moment is Robert E. Lee. At Mechanicsville, Lee suffers a devastating defeat. Will he be the general to lead the Confederate forces against the formidable Union Army?
This program examines the military mind and the factors that motivated Robert E. Lee to tender his resignation in the Union army to fellow Virginian Winfield Scott and remain true to his home state of Virginia. The program challenges the legend of Lee as a man of nobility of character. Instead, he is portrayed as a traitor to the ideals of the Founding Fathers. Those ideals include freedom for the individual and the necessity of holding the union together, as apparent in the expression "e pluribus unum."
"The way is forward, not back," cries Lee, as he proves himself a leader of men. Will he be the second coming of George Washington? Like Washington's stewardship of a ragtag revolutionary army, Lee took over the Southern army at a desperate time. His generals are Longstreet, Hill, and Stonewall Jackson, the latter in charge of his speedy "foot cavalry." Their game plan is "The Battle of the Seven Days" with the goal of forcing McClellan into retreat. Lee's plan picks up steam at Cheat Mountain, Virginia and Fort Pulaski, Georgia.
During the Mexican-American war, Lee and McClellan had fought side by side. Already, Lee's hardened vision of the realities of war were in sharp contrast to the tactician McClellan. While young McClellan was imagining flanking maneuvers in Cerro Gordo, Mexico, Lee was dreading the bloodshed that inevitably comes from war.
McClellan is overcome by paralysis, spooked by the inflated numbers of Confederate forces he is receiving from the intelligence provided by Allan Pinkerton. Against the advice of his generals, McClellan chooses to retreat to the James River. Concurrently, Lee has won over his troops with a stunning success at Malvern Hill, Virginia.
Lincoln now calls on John Pope to take over for McClellan after successes in the West. But Pope is aloof and known for sadistic war practices. At Jefferson, Virginia, Lee changes tactics, sending his pit bull Jackson to Manasus Junction. The Union's supply line is broken by the man known as "Stonewall."
Lee's army is now growing confident, believing that one Rebel can whip ten Yankees. Jackson confiscates all of his men's liquor, then sets a trap for the formidable Yankee "Iron Brigade," which derived its name from McClellan when he witnessed their ferocity in battle. Jackson senses that if he stays on the offensive, the Union army will reach a breaking point, resulting in a truce.
For the second time, the Union forces are scattered at Manassus. Once again, Lincoln selects McClellan to lead the Union, replacing Pope. Lee invades the Union border state of Maryland, hoping for a pivotal victory in Union territory. But Maryland is reluctant to join the Confederacy for one reason: slavery. It is at this precise moment that Lincoln needs a victory just as much as Lee, for he will then be able to proclaim a single world to land: emancipation.
The stage is set for the Maryland showdown at a small town called Antietam (or Sharpsburg. To be continued....
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