"And One was a Soldier": The Spiritual Pilgrimage of Robert E. Lee

In many ways, Robert E. Lee was one of the most paradoxical men history has produced. Though a lover of peace, he was a professional soldier, and loyalty and duty first to his country and then to the state of Virginia plunged him into the death and destruction of war. An overall foe to slavery, at times he appeared to defend it. Seeking diligently after hope, he was often the victim of despair. In spite of these contradictions, he never lost control of himself or succumbed to events which would have destroyed ordinary men. He deepened his trust, expanded his beliefs in a loving God, and was never nearer to God than during moments of defeat and despondency. That has made him the prototype of what countless people would like to be.

This is the story of the pilgrimage of Robert E. Lee toward a full relationship with his God. Competent scholars have been dealing with the historic events of his life for over ten decades, but few have considered the inner spiritual forces which prompted them. As Thomas L. Connelly had said, they "have been content to describe Lee in terms of his character traits, and have closed the book on his inner soul."