"[P]ortrait of Lee as a brilliant general, a devoted family man, and principled gentleman who disliked slavery and disagreed with secession, yet who refused command of the Union Army in 1861 because he could not "draw his sword" against his beloved Virginia. Well-rounded and realistic, Clouds of Glory analyzes Lee's command during the Civil War and explores his responsibility for the fatal stalemate at Antietam, his defeat at Gettysburg (as well the...

Providing a thorough examination of the life of Robert E. Lee, a biography finds meaning in Lee's successes and failures and portrays him as a man struggling with personal inner torments who found release in the responsibilities of war.