WI: Robert E. Lee as Union General

As you may or may not know, President Lincoln asked Robert E. Lee to command the Union Army during the American Civil War. He rejected the offer, saying that accepting would be treason against his home state of Virginia.

But what if Robert E. lee had accepted the offer? How would the war have turned out?

Lee was asked to command a Union army, not all of them. Had Lee accepted, he probably would have gotten the position McDowell held in actual history. Lee was much better on the defense than the offense and his early performance in West Virgina was so poor Lee was sidelined until Jefferson Davis had no other choice.

Faced with the same problems McDowell had and requiring the same learning curve as in actual history, Lee would have lost Bull Run and been sidelined.
 
Here's the (rather good) story, incidentally. I agree, this's the best way - aside from Virginia not seceding - to get Lee fighting for the Union.

. . . .

Still, it'd be best to give that government more legitimacy. Like, for instance, more legislators supporting it? Unionist legislators being excluded from the convention before the final vote, perhaps by the militia the secessionist governor had already mustered?

I'd combine the two PODs for extra assurance. I think Turtledove's POD maybe gets you to a Lee who sits out the war. Having that extra bit of ambiguity about the Virginia secession convention would help.
 
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I wonder how Lee would fare working with other Union generals-who would he work well or poorly with?

Well, he already had a good relationship with fellow Virginian George Thomas. I could see Lee recommending Thomas for a major command of his own.
 
He didn't own slaves. For the most part he was opposed to Slavery.

At no point did Robert E Lee ever oppose slavery. Lee owned slaves from early adulthood, inheriting some from his mother. The slaves Lee is given credit for freeing were technically his wife's and they had to be freed according to the terms George Custis' will. Lee kept those slaves enslaved for the maximum time he was legally allowed. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia enslaved freed blacks in the Antietam and Gettysburg campaigns. Lee did nothing to stop this, nor attempted to punish the troops for it. At the Crater, Lee's men killed surrendering black troops. Lee did nothing to stop this, nor attempted to punish the troops for it.
 
Someone needs to do a spinoff of that story. Literally, a folowup/timeline if you will of the aftermath.

I'd combine the two PODs for extra assurance. I think Turtledove's POD maybe gets you to a Lee who sits out the war. Having that extra bit of ambiguity about the Virginia secession convention would help.

I like these! One of us should start that as a discussion thread, if not a TL. Let's begin with Turtledove's story through Lee's surrender in early March. Then, when Turtledove jumps ahead in time, let's insert some machinations around Virginia's secession convention. Since it doesn't do anything except debate until we're well past Lee's stand at the Alamo, we can have everything follow from Turtledove's PoD.
 
Turtledove wrote a story about this; but he never followed up on it.

As it happens, Lee at the Alamo is really one of his better works.
 
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