I've been reading several letters and articles on Lee's decision to resign his commission, and why he did it.

1. In March of 1861, Lee was promoted from Lt. Col. to Col. by Abraham Lincoln. When he did so he swore an oath. At this time many Americans thought Fort Sumter was going to be evacuated without any military action.

2. After the attempt to reinforce Fort Sumter, he was approached by an agent from President Lincoln asking him if he would take command of the Union forces in the field. He politely refused and then went directly to General Scott telling him what happened. He then asked General Scott if he would give him permission to go home to Mount Vernon, and wait out the future. This would keep him from possibly having to obey an order he morally could not do. General Scott refused to let him do so. A day or two later, after much thought, he resigned his commission.

3. My thoughts are he probably knew what would happen to him if he took command of the Union forces in the field. He must have figured out that he would have had no friends in Congress (abolitionist) and his career would have lasted about two to six months at best. He would have been branded a traitor to his state by Virginia, and to his family, and ended up an outcast and exiled in the North.

This poor man didn't have much choice, either way, he was going to have to perform actions he did not morally deem right. He was against secession and war against the Union but he was also against the Federal Government declaring war on Virginia. In his view, joining the Union army was the worst of two evils and he avoided that one and submitted to the other.

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David Upton