#OTD in 1865 Confederate General Robert E. Lee issued his Farewell Address also known as General Order No. 9 to the men in the Army of Northern Virginia. It is commonly referenced as one of the foundational documents of what came to be called the Lost Cause. Indeed it is.

At the same time it sheds light on Lee's commitment to and identification with the Confederacy. "With an unceasing admiration of your constancy and devotion to your COUNTRY..."

Here Lee was also expressing his "constancy and devotion" to the Confederacy one final time.

It challenges the common belief that Lee was an unwilling participant in the war. He supposedly couldn't turn his back on Virginia, adding an element of tragedy. In Douglass Freeman's framing of Lee's decision to resign from the U.S. army it was "A Decision He Was Born to Make."

Lee was a thoroughgoing Confederate nationalist, fully committed to the creation of an independent slaveholding republic. Even as their parole slips were being printed Lee encouraged his men to see their rebellion as morally justified. There was nothing to be ashamed about.

Lee was forced to surrender at Appomattox Court House on April 9 because he was forced to by Ulysses S. Grant and the U.S. army. The Farewell Address is a reminder that Lee would have continued fighting against the United States if it were at all militarily feasible.

Here are a few recommendations for further reading:

1. @davidsilkenat _Raising the White Flag_ https://uncpress.org/book/9781469649726/raising-the-white-flag/
2. Elizabeth Varon _Appomattox_ https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780190217860
3. William Marvel _A Place Called Appomattox_ https://uncpress.org/book/9781469628394/a-place-called-appomattox/