The Religious Life of Robert E. Lee

by R. David Cox, Mark A. Noll (Foreword by)

Overview

The first close examination of how Robert E. Lee's faith shaped his life

Robert E. Lee was many things—accomplished soldier, military engineer, college president, family man, agent of reconciliation, polarizing figure. He was also a person of deep Christian conviction. In this biography of the famous Civil War general, R. David Cox shows how Lee's Christian faith shaped his crucial role in some of the most pivotal events in American history.

Delving into family letters and other primary sources—some of them newly discovered—Cox traces the lifelong development of Lee's convictions and how they influenced his decisions to stand with Virginia over against the Union and later to support reconciliation and reconstruction in the years after the Civil War. Faith was central to Lee's character, Cox argues—so central that it directed and redirected his life, especially in the aftermath of defeat.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802874825
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	04/12/2017
Series:	Library of Religious Biography (LRB)
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	710,340
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Mark A. Noll is the Francis A. McAnaney Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Notre Dame. His other books include A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada, America's God: From Jonathan Edwards to Abraham Lincoln, and Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity.

Table of Contents

Foreword Mark A. Noll xi

Preface xiv

Family Names and Relationships xxi

1 "All Our Doings Being Ordered by Thy Governance" 1

2 "A Goodly Heritage" 10

Anglicanism in Lee's Virginia

3 "A House Divided" 20

Faith in the Lee Household

4 "Who Setteth the Solitary in Families" 32

Lee's Extended Clan

5 "To Illuminate All Bishops" 37

William Meade and His Influence

6 "With the Sign of the Cross" 49

The Young Officer

7 "To Have and to Hold" 56

Struggling to Unite Two as One

8 "Christ's Faithful Soldier and Servant" 73

Lee, Family, and Church

9 "This Our Bounden Duty and Service" 87

From Peace to War

10 "That, as We Grow in Age, We May Grow in Grace" 97

Father and Superintendent

11 "That He May Continue Thine Forever" 109

Lee's Confirmation

12 "Of the Traditions of the Church" 117

Lee the Episcopalian

13 "Whose Never-Failing Providence Ordereth All Things" 129

Lee's Central Tenet

14 "Under the Protection of Thy Good Providence" 139

The Lee Family

15 "Help Thy Servants, Whom Thou Hast Redeemed" 151

Lee and Slavery

16 "Scatter Thou the Peoples That Delight in War" 161

Lee's First Great Decision

17 "Who Teacheth My Hands to War" 176

The Years of Struggle

18 "In the Bond of Peace, and in Righteousness of Life" 197

Lee's Second Great Decision

19 "To Put Away the Leaven of Malice" 211

Pursuing Reconciliation

20 "The Mouth of the Deceitful Is Opened upon Me" 228

The Uneasy Peace

21 "Do Now Rest from Their Labors" 242

The Earthly End

Non Incautus Futuri: A Personal Epilogue 251

Acknowledgments 260

Select Bibliography 263

Abbreviations 272

Notes 274

Index 322

Editorial Reviews

James M. McPherson
— Pulitzer Prize winner for Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era
"Nearly every aspect of Robert E. Lee's life and military career has been carefully examined in scores of books. We know that his character and actions were shaped in considerable part by his religious beliefs, but until now we have not had a systematic analysis of those beliefs. This book adds an important dimension to our understanding of Lee and his world."

S. C. Gwynne
— author of Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion, and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson
"David Cox has written the book I always wanted to read about how Robert E. Lee's relationship with God influenced his remarkable career. Here the reader will find a superbly detailed portrait of the down-to-earth, practical faith of a man who believed that his life rested in God's hands."

Allen C. Guelzo
— author of Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President
"This opens up an entirely new way of looking at Robert E. Lee. Cox not only examines the details of Lee's religious pilgrimage, but in the process recreates the entire world of Virginia Episcopalianism which nurtured him and the family world which shaped his practices. From start to finish, this is a major contribution to understanding Lee, his religion, and his times."

From the Publisher