Douglas Southall Freeman s Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Robert E. Lee was greeted with critical acclaim when it was first published in 1935. This reissue chronicles all the major aspects and highlights of the general s military career from his stunning accomplishments in the Mexican War to the humbling surrender at Appomattox. More than just a military leader Lee embodied all the conflicts of his time. The son of a Revolutionary War hero and related by marriage to George Washington he was the product of young America s elite. When Abraham Lincoln offered him command of the United States Army however he choose to lead the confederate ranks convinced that his first loyalty lay with his native Virginia. Although a member of the planter class he felt that slavery was a moral and political evil. Aloof and somber he nevertheless continually inspired his men by his deep concern for their personal welfare. Freeman s biography is the full portrait of a great American--a distinguished scholarly yet eminently readable classic that has linked Freeman to Lee as irrevocably as Boswell to Dr. Johnson.