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**Confederate Generals**

**General Robert E. Lee** Appearance and Personality: Important Army Recognition:
 * General of the Army of Northern Virginia.
 * Robert E. Lee was alive from January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870. He was born in Virginia.
 * People often described him as polite, brave, kind and unselfish.
 * He came from a popular Virginia family, so most people in the town knew him. He graduated from the US military academy, and served in the army for thirty years. President Lincoln even liked him!
 * He did not support slavery, but was very devoted to his home state and town.
 * At the start of the war, president Lincoln offered him the role as the commander of the Army Of Potomac. Even though he didn't support slavery and the use of slaves at all, he decided he couldn't bear to fight against his home state of Virginia and the people who lived there. He decided to become in command of the Army of Northern Virginia instead, so he could fight for Virginia.
 * All his soldiers adored him and had unspeakable confidence in him. They believed he would lead them to victory, even under the circumstances of having low soldiers and supplies.
 * In 1863, he decided to use his tireless ambition yet again to charge into the north.
 * On the third day of battle, he decided to lead a group to charge on the Union. This attack was known as Pickett's Charge, and they suffered a very bad defeat. He had a lack of subordinates and other Generals, and he made decisions against the better judgment of the Confederates, which led to the defeat. Some people chose to just blame him, but it was really the fault of the entire army. They were lacking both major generals and soldiers, both which are important to any army in the war.
 * In the Battle Of Gettysburg, the South suffered a nasty defeat. They lost a lot of confidence in General Lee after that, and he lost confidence in himself, which impacted the overall outcome of the Civil War.

Appearance and Personality: Important Army Recognition:
 * Richard S. Ewell**
 * He was alive from February 8, 1817 – January 25, 1872. He was born in Washington D.C.
 * He was not the most trustworthy, and many troops lost confidence in him soon after Gettysburg started.
 * In the Battle Of Gettysburg he decided to charge on the Union soldiers even though it was not ideal. When he drove them up to Cemetery Hill, he didn't know what to do.
 * General Lee was very confused with his actions.
 * He was very respected in the army, even though he wasn't the most trustworthy. Often times his plans succeeded, but if it required some more work, he would get stuck.

Appearance and Personality: Important Army Recognition:
 * General George Pickett**
 * He was alive from January 16, January 25, or January 28 1825 – July 30, 1875. He was born in Richmond, Virginia.
 * He went to Springfield, Illinois to use study law and become a lawyer, but at age 17 he was chosen to study at the United States Military Academy. He took the spot instead of becoming a lawyer.
 * He personally did not believe in slavery. He was very against it and didn't support in the practice of owning slaves, yet he still chose to work in the Confederate army.
 * Everyone knew him as the 'Formal General,' because they said he always "looked so proper" while riding on his horse, or giving orders.
 * George Pickett was mainly known for the failed assault called "Pickett's Charge."
 * When Pickett arrived at the Battle Of Gettysburg, General Lee and General Ewell had already scared the Union soldiers onto Cemetery Hill, a high point in Gettysburg, but they were having issues getting them down. The Union held their ground, even as the Confederates attempted to get them away. They were stuck and didn't know what to do.
 * General Lee then got the idea of doing a charge on the Unions to soften the Union's defense. George Pickett and two other Confederate Generals agreed. They decided to send a large assault on the Union on July 3rd, which was called Pickett's Charge. What they didn't know is that Meade had already predicted what they were going to do.
 * The charge was a complete disaster, along with a violent bloodbath. When they managed to slightly break through the wall of defense the Union had, they couldn't hold it. The Unions scared them away.
 * During Pickett's charge, the Confederates lost nearly 50% of their soldiers, and they weren't able to get many reinforcements.
 * This charge ended the eventful three day battle of Gettysburg. Many people lost a lot of confidence in both Lee and Pickett as Generals, because they made this poor decision.

Appearance and Personality: Important Army Recognition:
 * General James Longstreet**
 * He was alive from January 8, 1821 – January 2, 1904. He was born in South Carolina.
 * He enlisted in the United States Military Academy in 1838.
 * His noteworthy friends included George Pickett and Ulysses S. Grant.
 * He played a big part in the whole Civil war, doing a variety of different things.
 * As a kid he owned a cotton plantation.
 * Lee's plan for July 2 called for Longstreet to attack the Union's left flank, but Longstreet was not ready to attack as early as Lee envisioned.
 * All of Longstreet's divisions were forced to take a long detour while approaching the enemy position, misled by bad maps and communication that failed to identify a completely concealed route.
 * Longstreet decided not to pursue Lee's orders because he disagreed with them. Most people decided that this was a terrible decision and he didn't take into consideration the safety and security of the army. He decided to take longer than expected. This made Lee very frustrated and messed up their plans and setup for the future assualt on the 2nd.
 * On the third day, Lee ordered Longstreet to coordinate a massive assault on the center of the Union line, but Longstreet knew this was a bad idea that would surely fail.
 * When it did fail, Longstreet continued to criticize the moves of Lee, and this put him on the bad side of the confederates, given that they had a lot of faith in Lee already. They blamed Longstreet instead.