A quote from the great General Lee is as follows, “I cannot trust a man to control others who cannot control himself.” This quote gives you an incite on how great of a leader he was ethically and morally, as well as his battle strategies. To some people, including myself, he is the considered the greatest military leader of all time. This paper will be organized starting with his life and his accomplishments, then will go into his leadership attributes. Robert E. Lee was born on January 19, 1807 in Stratford, Virginia. He was destined for military success as his father was Colonel Harry Lee, “Light-Horse Harry,” who was a cavalry leader considered a revolutionary hero and received praise from General George Washington. During his childhood his father faced financial hardships and moved to the West Indies. That didn’t stop Robert E. Lee from reaching greatness though, and when he was 18 he applied to West Point Military …show more content…
Lee such a great and respect military leader. Two traits that stuck out about him is that he was empathetic and compassionate. For instance, he was very personal with those commanders under him in the fact that he would openly express sympathy and acceptance of there circumstances personally. In one case during a conversation with General James Longstreet his four daughters had died and General Lee had expressed support and comfort. That is an extremely important trait that a leader needs, especially in the military. The reason why is because his soldiers will be a lot more willing to fulfill his commands and willing to die for their leader if they feel like he actually cares about them, and that they are just not a number to him. Therefore, if you are a leader and do not posses the qualities of empathy and compassion you risk not having the full support of the troops that results in their lives being a lot more at risk since they are not 100%, as well as defeat in