(July 14, 2021) Robert E. Lee had three sons of military age during the Civil War. All of them served in the Confederate army. Two were wounded, one of whom was captured and spent time in an unhealthy prison camp before he was exchanged. The third one was captured at the Battle of Saylers Creek near the end of the war.
Abraham Lincoln had one son of military age during the Civil War. The youth, Robert Todd Lincoln, was the same age as Robert E. Lee, Jr. Both were 18 when the war started. Robert Lincoln chose to go to Harvard instead of enlisting in the Union Army. When he graduated in January 1865 President Lincoln wrote a letter to Union Lieutenant General Ulysses Grant asking that Grant find a place for Robert on Grant's staff where he would generally be out of harms was. Lee surrendered at Appomattox less that three months after Robert Todd Lincoln joined Grants' staff as an officer.
General Lee, and his boys, set an example that I admire more than the one President Lincoln set with Robert Todd Lincoln.
President Joe Biden and his son Hunter seem to be following the style of Abe and Rob Lincoln. A New York gallery has agreed to sponsor a show for Hunter's arty work in the fall. Press reports indicated he can get $75,000 to $500,000 for his painting. The gallery has told the White House that the names of the art buyers will not be disclosed. Having seen Hunter's art work on the Internet, it is hard for me to believe that the proposed auction is anything the than vile influence peddling.
If the statues to Lee were still standing, Americans might not permit the President and his son Hunter to engage in such shameful conduct.
