General Stephen D. Lee

by Herman Hattaway

This biographical portrait by a well known Civil War historian brings much deserved attention to an exceptional Confederate military figure who became one of the New South's most progressive leaders.

Herman Hattaway's clear, swift narrative depicts Lee in brilliant performance at Second Manassas, Chickasaw Bayou, Nashville, and after the war as a leader who used his military skills and discipline to work in bringing prosperity and education into the defeated South.

After the war Lee established a home in Mississippi and found fulfillment in his calling to be the first president of Mississippi A & M College (today Mississippi State University), where he preached the message of applying brain power to farming. His admirers bestowed upon him the title "Father of Industrial Education in the South."

Though the significance of Stephen D. Lee was long overlooked in historical perspectives of the Civil War and the development of the New South, Hattaway's appreciative study has remedied a case of unintended neglect by previous historians.

Genres: Civil War, American Civil War, Biography

304 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 1975

About the author

Herman Hattaway is a professor emeritus of history and religion studies at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hattaway's biography of S.D. Lee is a workman-like account of this somewhat lesser known Confederate general's life. Lee's military career was checkered, although he had some noted high points, and was doubtlessly a talented administrator, he stumbled when he had the chance at independent command. He rose perhaps too quickly (he was a 32 year old Lieutenant General at the end of the Civil War), and may have developed into a capable army commander if he'd had more time, but such was not his luxury.

Being that Lee was only 32 when the war ended, a large part of the book covers the general's postwar life. This is where the book kind of lags. Though Lee played important roles in the founding and early history of the school that would become Mississippi State University, Mississippi state politics, national Confederate veteran organizations (most notably the UCV), and the Vicksburg National Military Park, these don't provide very compelling reading. One of the biggest issues of Lee's character, his blatant racism, is one of the threads of this part of the narrative that certainly make any arguments for his greatness harder to swallow.

Generally, Hattaway covers Lee fairly. He seems laudatory at times, but will then balance his positive analysis with honest admissions of the general's shortcomings. Lee's failure at the Battle of Tupelo, his aforementioned racism, and his occasional inflexibility are some chief examples. One of the things that really stuck in my craw is the author's partisan treatment of Nathan Bedford Forrest. Hattaway goes out of his way to be a Forrest apologist and try to diminish or explain away the Fort Pillow Massacre, which besides being highly questionable, didn't belong in the biography of S.D. Lee, except to state that he was a partisan of Forrest's cause in later years.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is look into a not very well-known general. He served in both the eastern & western theaters of the war. He started out in Charleston, SC-with the firing on Ft. Sumter; headed north for a while; then got transfered to Vicksburg where he remained until it was surrendered to Grant. After being paroled he was sent to the Army of Tennessee under Hood and was at both the battles of Franklin & Nashville.

After the war, he remained active w/ Confederate veterans rights and to make sure that the story of the South was told "properly". It was a nice book which I would recommend to any reader who enjoys the Civil War.

[Joel Manuel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Workmanlike biography of S.D. Lee, the "other" General Lee, known for his exploits at Second Manassas, Antietam, Vicksburg, Tupelo, and Nashville. What I DID learn was details about his varied postbellum career, including a long stint as president of what became Mississippi State University.