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Gray Fox: Robert E. Lee and the Civil War
From the Confederacy's first call to arms, to the Appomattox surrender, Robert E. Lee forged his reputation as perhaps the most daring soldier in American history, renowned for his shrewdness, courage and audacity.Gray Fox is the vivid chronicle of Lee's command, a book that humanizes this gentleman-soldier of tradition and makes him all the more awe-inspiring.
488 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1956
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
May 3, 2021
4.5 Stars
Robert E. Lee was a mortal man who inspired so much love and loyalty in his soldiers that some stated, “I’d follow that man into hell” This was not just a platitude, they did follow Lee into hell. The love and loyalty of the southern soldier toward Lee was real. How else do you explain some men who being barefoot and armed only with a club would willingly charging a well-armed enemy?
This book does an excellent job of explaining the trials faced by Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia during the Civil War. It doesn’t talk about his early life. A life that would have formed him into the man that could inspire such love and loyalty, nor does it discuss his life after the war. It does go into detail about the problems Lee faced in dealing with other strong-minded generals. How he worked to supply his army with their needs to conduct war. How he dealt with policies and politics that hampered his efforts. Most interesting is the reader is told of his ability to remain composed and steadfast in the face of disappointment, hardship, and disaster.
Like other histories I have read this one leaves one with the inevitable “what ifs.” What if, Lee stayed in the service of the U. S. Army? What if, Gettysburg had never happened, or Lee had conquered the field rather than withdraw? What if, after the battles of Gettysburg, The Wilderness, and Spotsylvania, the cost in blood and treasure broke the northern citizen, and they demanded and forced a peace? Reading history gives me so many what ifs I’ll never stop.
This is a worthwhile read and an easy recommendation
Robert E. Lee was a mortal man who inspired so much love and loyalty in his soldiers that some stated, “I’d follow that man into hell” This was not just a platitude, they did follow Lee into hell. The love and loyalty of the southern soldier toward Lee was real. How else do you explain some men who being barefoot and armed only with a club would willingly charging a well-armed enemy?
This book does an excellent job of explaining the trials faced by Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia during the Civil War. It doesn’t talk about his early life. A life that would have formed him into the man that could inspire such love and loyalty, nor does it discuss his life after the war. It does go into detail about the problems Lee faced in dealing with other strong-minded generals. How he worked to supply his army with their needs to conduct war. How he dealt with policies and politics that hampered his efforts. Most interesting is the reader is told of his ability to remain composed and steadfast in the face of disappointment, hardship, and disaster.
Like other histories I have read this one leaves one with the inevitable “what ifs.” What if, Lee stayed in the service of the U. S. Army? What if, Gettysburg had never happened, or Lee had conquered the field rather than withdraw? What if, after the battles of Gettysburg, The Wilderness, and Spotsylvania, the cost in blood and treasure broke the northern citizen, and they demanded and forced a peace? Reading history gives me so many what ifs I’ll never stop.
This is a worthwhile read and an easy recommendation
October 6, 2013
One of the reasons that I like to read, is that you are there, whether it be under the ocean in a submarine, walking with Moses during the Exodus, or traveling through foreign lands, or in this instance, on the war torn battle-fields with General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia during their struggles and the campaigns against the Union soldiers during "The (not so) Civil War." And Burke Davis's account is not a disappointment at all. You are there, with every Struggle,and disappointment, you experience death, heartbreak, loss, Victory and defeat. his descriptions are so poignant, compassion and deep feelings, I was so humbled I had to stop reading in silence, and ask in prayer to our most heavenly father how can inflict so much horror and destruction on each other.
Using eye-witness accounts and his broad knowledge of history to introduce you to General Robert E. Lee, the flawed and the brilliance, his loving compassion for his fellow man, and his unerring faith in God and his undying faith in the majesty of our Lord and Savior. He was and is now considered one of the great Generals in American Military history. A daring Strategist, brilliant and daring in his offensive tactics, and second to none at the defensive. A Southern Gentleman by all accounts by friends and foe, who never waivered from his personal convictions, of honor and his integrity. Hampered by the President of the CSA, Jefferson Dav is in interferring in day to day operations until March of 1865 when it was much too late.
Resigning from the United States Army must have been one of hardest things for him to do and then take up the sword in Virginia's defense must of been devastating for him. Drawing his sword and taking the field was probably the most dis-service that he could have done to the South, by prolonging the final results for by all accounts by at least two years or more. This is only Conjecture on my part, I believe if he would had accepted the Commanding General of the Union Army the war would of been over alot quicker and would have been more humane and kinder to the south. Lee did with a depleted Command that the Generals of the north could not do with plenty including Grant. Lee Had an uncanny way of anticipating his apponents next move and acting on it without evidence and then proved right. Grant was also good General Who realized that he possessed unlimited man-power, provissions and materials and that what Gen. Lee lost in man-power and provissions could not replaced. Gen. Grant had an added influx of man-power by recruiting and enlisting the recently ammancipated slaves and free men of color, He also crippled Lee and the South by discontiuing prisoner exchanges. At the end even taking POW's was a strain on the Lee because he had to feed them when his own army was starving.
To really appreciate the struggles of the South and the Army of Northern Virginia I would like to recommend reading:
April 1865 "The Month That Saved America" by Jay Winik.
Jefferson Davis "Confederate President" by Hudson Strode
Using eye-witness accounts and his broad knowledge of history to introduce you to General Robert E. Lee, the flawed and the brilliance, his loving compassion for his fellow man, and his unerring faith in God and his undying faith in the majesty of our Lord and Savior. He was and is now considered one of the great Generals in American Military history. A daring Strategist, brilliant and daring in his offensive tactics, and second to none at the defensive. A Southern Gentleman by all accounts by friends and foe, who never waivered from his personal convictions, of honor and his integrity. Hampered by the President of the CSA, Jefferson Dav is in interferring in day to day operations until March of 1865 when it was much too late.
Resigning from the United States Army must have been one of hardest things for him to do and then take up the sword in Virginia's defense must of been devastating for him. Drawing his sword and taking the field was probably the most dis-service that he could have done to the South, by prolonging the final results for by all accounts by at least two years or more. This is only Conjecture on my part, I believe if he would had accepted the Commanding General of the Union Army the war would of been over alot quicker and would have been more humane and kinder to the south. Lee did with a depleted Command that the Generals of the north could not do with plenty including Grant. Lee Had an uncanny way of anticipating his apponents next move and acting on it without evidence and then proved right. Grant was also good General Who realized that he possessed unlimited man-power, provissions and materials and that what Gen. Lee lost in man-power and provissions could not replaced. Gen. Grant had an added influx of man-power by recruiting and enlisting the recently ammancipated slaves and free men of color, He also crippled Lee and the South by discontiuing prisoner exchanges. At the end even taking POW's was a strain on the Lee because he had to feed them when his own army was starving.
To really appreciate the struggles of the South and the Army of Northern Virginia I would like to recommend reading:
April 1865 "The Month That Saved America" by Jay Winik.
Jefferson Davis "Confederate President" by Hudson Strode
August 20, 2014
I have skipped much of the Civil War history perhaps the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War dominated my formative years. However in celebration of the 150th anniversary of this war, I have discovered General Robert E Lee. He opposed the Southern decision to secede from the Union and as a Virginian he wrestled with his choices when his state followed the South. If Virginia had been a Northern State, his leadership and military aptitude would have shortened the war. Lee possessed great dignity as well as a touching compassion for troops blended with uncanny military insight and skill. One can see why Lee has been revered. In a war with devastating carnage and loss of life, he rose as a quiet hero and became a role model. I, too, have to admire him as a man and leader! Too bad Lee had no control over the infamous Andersonville Prison where my Great-Grandfather survived as a prisoner of war during his teens!
April 22, 2020
The Civil War's length and difficulty always centered around the leadership of each side. The Confederates from the start had the general that worked best for them, Lee, and many other of the military leaders, like Stonewall Jackson. This leaves an amazing look into Lee's life while still giving an overview of the Civil War, and we learn how things might have gone differently had Lee accepted an invitation to join the Union Army instead of joining the Confederates to defend his birth state of Virginia.
September 28, 2022
If I could give this book 5.8 stars, I would. It's very nearly worth five stars - which is what I gave it, lacking the option I wanted - but not quite.
In some ways this seems to be a piece of hagiography at the expense of other generals. The author especially seems to have a dislike of Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson; he can't say a single thing good about him, even though Jackson was able to perform feats with his "foot cavalry" that horse cavalry couldn't duplicate. He also portrays James "Pete" Longstreet as little more than an insubordinate incompetent, even though he was right at Gettysburg when he warned against a straight ahead attack at the northern center, which indeed proved to be a disaster.
The thing is, what the author tells and shows us about Robert E. Lee is so magnificent that there's no need to prop the man up by knocking down others. While Lee certainly wasn't perfect - he did have a penchant for frontal attacks when he could have far more profitably gone around the enemy's flank - he was such a great man and such a great general that simply presenting who and what he was is sufficient. He gained the love of his soldiers not by running down others, but by simply being "Marse Robert."
But that's the only real drawback of this book. Where the author isn't taking potshots at other generals, he presents what Robert E. Lee did, how he did it, what he said, what he faced. There is a tendency to compress things, so that it seems like there was almost no time between battles and the whole war seems as though it's occupied just a year or so. But the old adage is that combat operations are 90% boredom and 10% sheer terror, and so it would have been in the Army of Northern Virginia. For every day of fighting, there would've been several days, or even weeks, of marching, and during the winter trying to keep from freezing in the poor uniforms that the Confederacy could afford (these were the last days in which armies went into winter quarters during the cold months). It's understandable that a historian would give more attention to the battles than to the time in between. But there is this compression...
And I'd said that there was just one drawback. I meant it, too, even if I did thereupon begin to complain again. But compared to the denigrations of other generals, the compression I spoke of is a minor detail. Overall this is a very good book, and as I say, it's just shy of being five stars good.
In some ways this seems to be a piece of hagiography at the expense of other generals. The author especially seems to have a dislike of Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson; he can't say a single thing good about him, even though Jackson was able to perform feats with his "foot cavalry" that horse cavalry couldn't duplicate. He also portrays James "Pete" Longstreet as little more than an insubordinate incompetent, even though he was right at Gettysburg when he warned against a straight ahead attack at the northern center, which indeed proved to be a disaster.
The thing is, what the author tells and shows us about Robert E. Lee is so magnificent that there's no need to prop the man up by knocking down others. While Lee certainly wasn't perfect - he did have a penchant for frontal attacks when he could have far more profitably gone around the enemy's flank - he was such a great man and such a great general that simply presenting who and what he was is sufficient. He gained the love of his soldiers not by running down others, but by simply being "Marse Robert."
But that's the only real drawback of this book. Where the author isn't taking potshots at other generals, he presents what Robert E. Lee did, how he did it, what he said, what he faced. There is a tendency to compress things, so that it seems like there was almost no time between battles and the whole war seems as though it's occupied just a year or so. But the old adage is that combat operations are 90% boredom and 10% sheer terror, and so it would have been in the Army of Northern Virginia. For every day of fighting, there would've been several days, or even weeks, of marching, and during the winter trying to keep from freezing in the poor uniforms that the Confederacy could afford (these were the last days in which armies went into winter quarters during the cold months). It's understandable that a historian would give more attention to the battles than to the time in between. But there is this compression...
And I'd said that there was just one drawback. I meant it, too, even if I did thereupon begin to complain again. But compared to the denigrations of other generals, the compression I spoke of is a minor detail. Overall this is a very good book, and as I say, it's just shy of being five stars good.
March 11, 2022
Worst biography I have ever read.
One learns nothing of Robert E Lee, as the biography begins and end with the Civil War, ignoring 54 years he lived before the war and the subsequent 5 years.
It is a rather deatiled and very flawed description of the war, as fought in the arena where lee served (mainly the 'North Virginia' arena), ignoring other arenas of the war as if this (admittedly of major importance) arena was isolated from the rest of the war. For example Sherman's 1864 'march to the sea' is only briefly mentioned, leaving the reader to wonder how comes in the latter stages of the war Lee is surrended from all sides by federal troops.
Lee is portrayed as a genius, a superb miliatry leader, ignoring his disregard for human lives, and his stuburnness that was one of the causes to the expensive disaster in Gettysburg.
We learn nothing of his attitudes towards slavery. We know more about his horse (Traveller) than his personal slaves who were with him all during the war. This is a serious flaw in a book about a person in that era, especially a Confederate General who fought to preserve slavery.
I have found no value in this book. The personal descriptions of Lee's conduct are infuriating. The military part is flawed, and the details are boring. The over-all tone of admiration and sympathy for the southern cause is disgusting.
I did learn one fun fact. Lee had a pet chicken named Nellie. After a few years besides the General it was served as dinner to his HQ staff in the eve of the 'Battle of the Wilderness'. This may make a fun anecdote in social circumstances. It does not justify the reading of the whole book.
One learns nothing of Robert E Lee, as the biography begins and end with the Civil War, ignoring 54 years he lived before the war and the subsequent 5 years.
It is a rather deatiled and very flawed description of the war, as fought in the arena where lee served (mainly the 'North Virginia' arena), ignoring other arenas of the war as if this (admittedly of major importance) arena was isolated from the rest of the war. For example Sherman's 1864 'march to the sea' is only briefly mentioned, leaving the reader to wonder how comes in the latter stages of the war Lee is surrended from all sides by federal troops.
Lee is portrayed as a genius, a superb miliatry leader, ignoring his disregard for human lives, and his stuburnness that was one of the causes to the expensive disaster in Gettysburg.
We learn nothing of his attitudes towards slavery. We know more about his horse (Traveller) than his personal slaves who were with him all during the war. This is a serious flaw in a book about a person in that era, especially a Confederate General who fought to preserve slavery.
I have found no value in this book. The personal descriptions of Lee's conduct are infuriating. The military part is flawed, and the details are boring. The over-all tone of admiration and sympathy for the southern cause is disgusting.
I did learn one fun fact. Lee had a pet chicken named Nellie. After a few years besides the General it was served as dinner to his HQ staff in the eve of the 'Battle of the Wilderness'. This may make a fun anecdote in social circumstances. It does not justify the reading of the whole book.
November 29, 2024
Started off rocky, but was not as bad as I was fearing. Especially since it was published in 1956 when Civil War historiography was grasped by Lost Cause mythology. The narrative follows Robert E. Lee from the start of the Civil War in April 1961 to the end in April 1865. It's a bit of a hagiography of Lee, he doesn't seem to have any flaws or make any wrong decisions. The only mention of him being a slave owner comes during a short anecdote about him freeing his slaves. No mention was made about his brutal punishments to these slaves (Lee was a brutal disciplinarian in regards to his slaves).
But there were some anecdotes and information in this book that I had not heard before and had appreciated that. Overall it's a flawed book and the scholarship on Lee has become much more balanced by modern biographies on Lee. I'd suggest Robert E. Lee: A Life over this.
But there were some anecdotes and information in this book that I had not heard before and had appreciated that. Overall it's a flawed book and the scholarship on Lee has become much more balanced by modern biographies on Lee. I'd suggest Robert E. Lee: A Life over this.
February 11, 2023
This book is Lost Cause sycophantic tripe. The author isn't guilty so much of outright lies, but rather he's guilty of omission. For example, when mentioning Lee's resignation from the Army, there is no mention that Lee was in the minority of fellow Virginian officers of the same rank. The majority stayed loyal to their country. He also fails to mention that in resigning and serving the Confederacy Lee was breaking his oath to support and defend the Constitution, an oath that made no exception for choosing your home state over the country. The author also chooses to blame everyone other than Lee for any failure. For example, J.E.B. Stuart is solely to blame for his expedition during the Gettysburg campaign... you know the one Lee, as the commander of the army, had given him permission to do so. It's terrible books like this that brainwashed generations into believing Lost Cause nonsense.
September 16, 2020
A very good book with well researched and related detail and lots of fun anecdotes. The currently in vogue historiographical view is that anything that in any way praises the south is a 'lost cause' work. As such, this book, written in the 50s, would be criticized as such. It is not. It is a frank account of Lee's generalship, and includes criticisms of him from Longstreet, and examines mistakes he made. In the modern age of the eternal current year, it is difficult for many to understand how and why General Lee was a great man, because he fought to defend a a country that was established in large part to defend slavery (yes, it was, don't give me that states rights nonsense); but Lee was a great man, and a great general; and this is a great book.
July 7, 2018
I listened to this book. I had to get used to the southern accent of the reader, but once I did he was easy to listen to. I have an empathy for the South now that I have never had before. I do believe General Lee deserves all the praise that everyone continues to give him.
March 28, 2019
remarkable.
November 3, 2021
Amazing book. There's a lot here!
June 11, 2022
Compelling yet conversational biography of the Gray Fox.
July 10, 2022
Not bad, not great. Only covers the Civil War, Lee had an accomplished life outside of the Civil War.
October 13, 2025
Tremendous read. A great introduction to Robert E. Lee and his role in the Civil War. Not overly in-depth but a suitable portrait of him as a Commanding General.
July 6, 2024
Good overview of Lee's Civil War career, although coverage of military operations varied widely on detail. For example, the battle of Gettysburg is covered by almost thirty pages, while the part of the Petersburg Campaign between the Crater and Fort Stedman was skipped over. Also, a few points made by the author seem to be poorly supported by the facts. For example, he notes that Stuart was out of touch with Lee for several days but fails to mention that Lee still had four cavalry brigades to use for scouting during the few days before Gettysburg. He also stated that the divisions of Hood and McLaws were supposed to take part in Pickett's Charge, something that I've never come across in other Gettysburg books.
December 19, 2012
This is a Civil War biography of Robert Edward Lee (1/19/1807–10/12/1870), commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, then, after 1864, General-in-Chief of the Armies of the Confederate States of America. Little is noted of his life before succession, nothing of his life afterwards. The focus is on the man as a military commander. But that does not mean that the book is entirely about strategy, tactics and politics. The character of Lee is well represented, primarily through the testimony of those who knew him during the war.
While not as charming a writer as Bruce Catton, Davis writes clearly and well.
While not as charming a writer as Bruce Catton, Davis writes clearly and well.
December 10, 2013
Gives the feeling of actually being there and meeting the generals, infantrymen and artillerymen. A highly descriptive narrative of the war that is never weighed down with statistics. Davis simply tells the story of the Confederate general, his triumphs and struggles, without hyperbole or unnecessary fanfare. As a result, Lee emerges as a real man, at times, strong and capable and, at other times, weak and culpable. No wonder the book is widely acknowledged as a ground-breaking biography.
June 20, 2015
Retelling of the Civil War from a Southern perspective. Goes into the character of the Rebel forces generalship and shows by example the elements of what makes great leaders. Credit to the author for putting exciting narration over boring fact, stats, etc.
Not sure if the Davis' veneration of his subject biases the account. Gettysburg featured one of the most colossal blunders, Pickett's Charge, in history; a fatal Lee flaw, not just a frustrated attack.
Not sure if the Davis' veneration of his subject biases the account. Gettysburg featured one of the most colossal blunders, Pickett's Charge, in history; a fatal Lee flaw, not just a frustrated attack.
October 16, 2014
A look at the leadership of Robert E. Lee during the Civil War. Lee started out as an engineer during the Mexican American War and when the Civil War started was the commander of a regiment stationed in Texas. President Lincoln offered him command of the Union army but he turned it down to support Virginia.
Read
January 14, 2016Enjoyed this book full of first hand accounts of the civil war and Robert E. Lee. The author did a good job covering a lot of history while keeping the read interesting all the way through. A few bad words sprinkled here and there as I guess may be expected during war. Hard to skip in an audiobook. :/
September 1, 2013
This was my second time through this book. What a sad, sad tale in our nation's history. Burke Davis adds many interesting details regarding R.E. Lee's personality that I did enjoy hearing about despite the horrific war accounts.
January 19, 2010
One of the best on Lee.
December 31, 2010
Whether you see Lee as hero or villain, this book shows you the very real human being behind the legend and mythology.
Must read for fans of North and South!
Must read for fans of North and South!
April 9, 2012
This book was awesome! I learned much about Lee and have a new found respect for him and his legacy
June 17, 2012
I ithoroughly enjoyed this narrative of Lee during the Civil War years. You see him as a flesh and blood man, not a marble statue on a gray horse.
November 23, 2013
Terrific bio of Lee.
May 26, 2014
Superb writing. Great description of the life and times of Robert E. Lee. Good job Burke!
February 4, 2015
A really great book, that is well written, and very informative. I would highly recommend this book.
December 22, 2015
Enjoyed it. A little dry at the start. Skipped part of it to get to the chapter on Gettysburg and then finished it. Learned a lot about how the war ended.
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