The "war on monuments", as it turned out, is characteristic not only of the former republics of the Soviet Union and former socialist countries in Eastern Europe, but also of the United States itself. The scandal continues over the demolition of monuments to the leaders of the Southern Confederation. A real epidemic of the transfer of monuments from the main and central streets and squares of cities in the southern states began in 2015, but it has attracted the attention of the world community only now, when riots began in Charlottesville, Virginia, caused by the demolition of the monument to General Robert Lee, the legendary hero of the Civil war in the United States. One person was killed and nineteen others were injured.
Robert Lee is one of the most iconic figures in the modern history of the United States of America. By the way, this year marks the 210th anniversary of his birth. Robert Edward Lee was born back in 1807, January 19, in Stradford, Virginia. The father of the future General Henry Lee was himself a hero of the American War of Independence and became famous under the nickname "Cavalier Harry". Ann Carter Lee, the general's mother, also belonged to a prominent Virginia family and was distinguished by intelligence and determination. She passed these qualities on to her son. Since the father of the family soon had serious financial problems, in fact, Anne Carter Lee's mother was involved in raising his son and maintaining the family. Growing up in such an environment, Robert Edward, as a teenager, began to act as head of the family, since the mother's health deteriorated, and the man was not in the house. The choice of the future life path of Robert Lee was also associated with the financial problems of the family. If his older brother Charles still had enough money to pay for his studies at the prestigious Harvard University, then by the time Robert's turn to get higher education came, the family was already very badly financed.
But education was still required - the noble Virginian family did not want its representative to remain an uneducated person on the sidelines of social life. The only way out in this situation was admission to a military educational institution - the renowned military academy West Point. Robert Lee, distinguished not only by diligence in his studies, but also by great physical strength, could well become the ideal officer in the American army. And he became one. During his studies at the academy, Lee was one of the best cadets in the academy, having not received a single punishment from the higher command. By the time he graduated from West Point, Lee was the academy's second highest performing cadet.
At that time, the cadets, depending on their academic performance and inclination, were distributed according to the arms of the army. The guys were physically strong, but without expressed interests, they were sent to the infantry or cavalry. "Clever men", among whom was Robert Lee, were assigned to the engineer troops and artillery - those branches of the military, which required a deeper knowledge of special disciplines and exact sciences. Robert Lee was assigned to the Corps of Engineers and was assigned to the Corps of Engineers with the rank of second lieutenant. Almost immediately after graduation, he participated in the construction of a dam in St. Louis, then in the construction of coastal forts in Brunswick and Savannah.
The young officer settled in Arlington, on the estate of his wife Mary Ann Custis, with whom he married on June 30, 1831. Mary Custis also belonged to the elite of American society - her father, George Washington Park Custis, was the adopted grandson of George Washington himself, one of the fathers of American statehood. Robert Lee continued to serve in the Corps of Engineers and might never have moved to command posts in the army, if not for the Mexican-American War, which broke out in 1846. By this time, the 39-year-old engineer officer was already well known to the command. He was sent to Mexico to oversee the construction of roads needed to advance the American army. But General Winfield Scott, who was in charge of the American troops, drew attention to the fact that Robert Lee is not only a good engineer officer, but also an excellent rider, an excellent marksman and scout. A person with such data was very much needed in the headquarters, so Robert Lee was immediately included in the number of General Scott's staff officers. Thus began his acquaintance with command and staff duties.
However, after the end of the war, Lee again continued to serve in the engineering troops, which was very burdensome. First, a career as a military engineer did not give him the desired promotion in ranks and positions. It was possible to serve all my life in middle-level positions, engaged in the construction of roads in remote areas. Secondly, the service in the outback was also a burden for the officer, who could not fully take care of his family and lead a normal life. In the end, Robert Lee managed to get a transfer to the cavalry. By this time he was already 48 years old - not the youngest age for a military career. However, it was after the transfer to the cavalry with a career growth that Li got better. In October 1859, he commanded the suppression of the John Brown rebellion that attempted to seize the government arsenal at Harpers Ferry. Colonel Robert Lee commanded at this time not only the cavalry, but also the marines, managing to quickly suppress the uprising. By this time, Colonel Lee was already 52 years old and, it is likely, he would have finished his colonel service, like hundreds of other American officers, if not for the outbreak of civil war soon.
- Battle of Antiitem. 1862 © / Commons.wikimedia.org
In 1861, the new President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, invited Colonel Lee to lead the federal government's ground forces. By this time, the situation in the country had escalated to the limit. The southern states, and Lee, as we know, was a native of the South, came into sharp conflict with the federal government. At the same time, Colonel Lee was considered a staunch opponent of slavery and the separation of the southern states from the federal center. Lincoln believed that a talented officer could become a reliable military leader of the federal forces. However, Colonel Lee himself made his own choice. He wrote to the President of the United States to resign from military service, stressing that he was not in a position to participate in the invasion of his native southern states.
After a little thought, Colonel Robert Edward Lee approached Jefferson Davis, president-elect of the Confederate States of America, to offer him his services as an officer. Davis happily accepted Lee's offer and awarded him the rank of brigadier general. So Lee rose to the rank of general's epaulettes, taking up the creation of a regular army of the southern states. Lee took over as chief military adviser to President Davis, helping to plan many of the Confederate military operations. Then Lee, promoted to full general, led the Army of Northern Virginia. He took up the post of army commander on June 1, 1862 and soon gained immense prestige among the Confederate troops. Southerners highly respected and appreciated General Lee - not only for his talent as a commander, but also for his excellent human qualities, as a sociable and good-natured person.
Under the command of General Lee, the Army of Northern Virginia has achieved impressive success, with a large number of victories over federal forces. In particular, Lee's army was able to repulse a powerful offensive by the northerners, defeating General Burnside's army in the vicinity of Fredericksburg. In May 1863, General Lee's troops were able to inflict a severe defeat on the northerners at the Battle of Chancellorsville. Lee then launched a second invasion of the North, hoping to break through to Washington and force President Lincoln to recognize the Confederate States of America as an independent entity. However, on July 1-3, 1863, in the area of the city of Gettysburg, another grandiose battle took place, in which the troops of the northerners under the command of General George Mead still managed to defeat the southern genius Robert Lee. General Lee's troops, however, continued to fight against the northerners for another two years. Robert Lee has earned great respect from his opponents as well. In particular, Ulysses Grant referred to him as "Ace of Spades". Only on April 9, 1865, the Army of Northern Virginia was forced to surrender.
Federal authorities pardoned Robert Lee and allowed him to return to Richmond. The retired general became president of the College of Washington, and five years after the surrender, on October 12, 1870, he died of a heart attack. Almost until the end of his life, he was involved in organizing assistance to former soldiers and officers of the Confederation of the States of America, trying to alleviate their fate a little after the victory of the northerners. At the same time, the general himself was struck in civil rights.
For a long time, the merits of General Lee were recognized not only by southerners and supporters of right-wing views, but also by many US patriots, regardless of political beliefs and origins. The situation began to change not so long ago, when a "left-liberal" turn took place in the United States, expressed at a symbolic level and in a rigid rejection of the memory of all representatives of the Confederation. In the views of the left-liberal circles of American society, the Confederates are practically fascists, ideological opponents and almost political criminals. That is why they meet this attitude from the American left.
Interestingly, President Donald Trump himself sharply criticized the decision to demolish the monument to General Lee and to relocate monuments to other prominent figures of the Confederation. However, as you know, the specificity of the political system in the United States is such that the authorities of a particular state can themselves make decisions of this kind. In the southern states, there have been major political changes lately, caused by the growth of the non-white population and the acquisition of serious political ambitions by the latter.
After Barack Obama, a man of African descent, visited the president of the United States for the first time in American history, it became clear that the political situation in the United States would never be the same. Representatives of non-European populations in the states, including African Americans, immigrants from Latin America and Asia, realized that they could very well be a serious political force influencing the political life of a country. Left-liberal forces in the United States have sided with non-white populations, including large numbers of Democratic Party supporters and more left-wing organizations. They also provided information support, since there are many supporters of left-liberal views among American media journalists and bloggers who are trying to influence the mass consciousness of Americans.
The authorities of the southern cities believe that they are doing everything right, since the monuments are not being demolished, but transferred to other places. For example, in Lexington, the second largest city in Kentucky, the relocation of a monument to General John Morgan and Vice President John Breckenridge is being discussed. Both politicians fought on the side of the Confederation of American States, which earned criticism from modern American Democrats. The latter justify the need to move the monument by the fact that it stands on the site where slave auctions were held in the 19th century, and, thus, offends the African American population of the city. On monuments to American generals, slogans in support of the African American population are now increasingly appearing. The war on monuments has taken on symbolic meaning in America today.
Representatives of the American white public were mobilized to protect the monuments to the heroes of the Confederation, primarily the right-wing radical organizations, which are still very strong in the American South. The activities of the American right are associated with numerous attempts to defend monuments and prevent the actions of the left, including through direct clashes. Their opponents are also keeping up with the right. If the right-wingers are trying to protect the monuments, the left-wingers have already switched to acts of vandalism, without waiting for the decisions of the administrative authorities to move some monuments. So, on August 16, in Knoxville, a monument to the soldiers of the Confederation of the States of America who died in Fort Sanders in November 1863 was doused with paint. The monument was erected in 1914 and stood for over a hundred years before it drew hatred from the local left-wing liberals.
In New Orleans, it was decided to demolish all four monuments to the heroes of the Confederation, including the monument to Robert Lee, which had stood since 1884. It is noteworthy that the monuments were erected shortly after the war, despite the fact that opponents of the Confederates were in power, shedding blood in the fight against them. But they also did not raise a hand to desecrate monuments to American patriots, even if they understood the model of political and social order that was optimal for the United States in their own way. But now many people who have recently arrived in the United States are taking part in demonstrations against the monuments. They have never been associated with American history, for them it is history, alien and alien to them, alien heroes. The fight against monuments is being successfully speculated by political forces opposed to President Donald Trump and wishing to further implement their own ideas in the United States, which consist in the final erasure of the historical memory of the American people.
