Almost everyone knows about the Civil War, but does anyone really know who the best general was? He was born into a military family and was married to George Washington's great-granddaughter (Compton). The man, the myth, the legend, this man is General Robert Edward Lee. He was praised for many of his decisions, but chastised for others. His mistakes could not be avoided, because he always chose the best path. General Lee was by far the best and most strategic general of the Civil War. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay First of all, Lee was destined to fight. Lee's father was "Revolutionary War hero, 'Light-Horse' Harry Lee" (of Compton). Later in Robert Lee's life, he grew up and went to West Point (Compton's). In 1852 he graduated second in his class. Later, after the Mexican War, he returned to West Point and became its superintendent. After Lee became superintendent of West Point, he became a Confederate general, with his home state of Virginia (Compton). Second, Lee was the greatest general of the Civil War, but not at the very beginning. This is because Lee was not given many jobs at the beginning of the Civil War. So it's not his fault. When the Confederate government took control of Virginia's armies, Lee became a general in his own right. Unfortunately, the government did not give him soldiers. They finally gave him some men and told him to blockade some Union troops in West Virginia. Because he had so few men, he failed. This caused Jefferson Davis, leader of the Confederacy, to send Lee to "...build coastal fortifications" (Compton). He was eventually brought back, but was given very few jobs. His greatness did not truly begin until the commander of the Confederate armies was wounded, making it necessary for Lee to take his place in the summer of 1862 (Compton). Lee's first major battle was the Seven Days Battle. General Lee discovered that the Union general, George McClellan, had stationed his army near the Chickahominy River, which is just outside of Richmond, Virginia. Lee's plan was to destroy the army on the northern part of the river with as many soldiers as possible, and then deal with the smaller part on the south side. General Lee failed to destroy their army, but it was not an entirely lost cause. He managed to push the army back about twenty-five miles (Compton). Subsequently, many people argue that Lee's first big "mistake" in the Civil War was at the Battle of Antietam, but what Lee did was actually very clever. The main reason it failed was because the Union general, George McClellan, discovered its plans (civilwar.org). But Compton says that during the battle, McClellan had difficulty breaking through Lee's lines. So, the reason Lee retired wasn't because he was losing. Instead, Compton says the reason Lee retreated was because he realized he was too far from his supplies and needed to turn back. Furthermore, after Lee retreated at Antietam, Compton says that General Burnside attacked Lee, but then quickly retreated due to Lee's power. After the Battle of Antietam it was Lee's "worst" decision ever in The Battle of Gettysburg (Compton's; civilwar.org). Later, during the Battle of Gettysburg, Lee planned a very complicated assault, and this was why it failed. The main reason Lee planned such a complicated assault was because "the masterly victory at Chancellorsville gave Lee great pride in his army, and the Rebel leader was inspired once again to.