are you arguing Lee was not the son (and grandson) of a great slaveholder? It is odd that he was in "the process" of freeing slaves. What does that mean? did he ever finish the process? [log in to unmask] wrote: > In a message dated 2/22/03 11:53:45 AM Eastern Standard Time, > [log in to unmask] writes: > > > the officer > > corps, on the otherhand, was made up to the sons of great slaveowners, or > > great > > slaveowners themselves > > could you state some facts on this...Lee didn't not ...he was in fact freeing > some of His wife's slaves....Jackson did not own slave....Longstreet > didn't...so what about the field grade officers and company level > officers...yes some of them own slaves but a lot didn't. The fear the South > had was other parts of country would control them ( the slave issue yes, the > trade issue yes, control in Congress yes)....when the Union called for Vols. > then did Va. leave the Union...a feeling of oppression maybe...they did feel > that the North was invading their state...remember most people in south > thought first of their state then on the Union. This issue of why is as > complex today as it was then.....and we each understand that in the end the > right thing happened. Slavery most likely would not have survived much longer > in Va.. From what I remember reading Virginia Senate that started to talk of > freeing the slaves well before the war but was shelved after a slave revolt. > > WC Buser > > To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions > at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html -- Paul Finkelman Chapman Distinguished Professor of Law University of Tulsa College of Law 3120 East 4th Place Tulsa, OK 74104-3189 phone 918-631-3706 Fax 918-631-2194 e-mail: [log in to unmask] To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html