Reference Entry
ROBERT E. LEE RESIGNS FROM THE UNITED STATES ARMY
Just days after the call for volunteers, a respected career officer faced his own decision. On April 20th, 1861, Colonel Robert E. Lee resigned his commission in the United States Army rather than take command against his native Virginia. Lee had served for decades in the regular army, distinguishing himself as an engineer and commander during the war with Mexico. In the tense weeks after Fort Sumter, senior leaders in Washington considered him for high command in the Union field army.
Dated Historical Context
A RECORDED MOMENT IN HISTORY
Robert E. Lee resigns from the United States Army
Just days after the call for volunteers, a respected career officer faced his own decision. On April 20th, 1861, Colonel Robert E. Lee resigned his commission in the United States Army rather than take command against his native Virginia. Lee had served for decades in the regular army, distinguishing himself as an engineer and commander during the war with Mexico. In the tense weeks after Fort Sumter, senior leaders in Washington considered him for high command in the Union field army. His choice to resign, and soon after to accept leadership of Virginia’s forces, symbolized the wrenching personal divisions of the Civil War. For the military institution, it meant that the Union lost one of its most experienced field commanders while the Confederacy gained a figure who would soon command the Army of Northern Virginia. Lee’s decision underscores how questions of loyalty, duty, and identity were not abstract but deeply personal for officers on both sides.
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