Robert E. Lee

Robert E. Lee is widely recognized as the greatest commander in U.S. History. But why? In his new book, Ron Field, a member of the DC-based Company of Military Historians, seeks to convey the character, outlook, bearing, leadership style, and military brilliance of the "Old Man." His narrative builds to Leers"s "hour of destiny" during the Civil War where Lee outshined McClellan during the Seven Days, Pope at Second Manassas, Burnside at Fredericksburg, and Hooker at Chancellorsville. Field also explores the tragic side to Leers"s legend: the heart attack that in 1963 sidelined him at Gettysburg; the loss of Stonewall Jackson to friendly fire that weakened his Western flank; and difficulties with fellow general Longstreet that contributed to his eventual defeat. Field also provides a balanced assessment of Leers"s flaws, including his difficulty in giving clear commands to his subordinates. Readers of Osprey will find inRobert E. Leeeverything they have come to expect from an Osprey series title, including campaign maps, full-color illustrations-this time from Adam Hook, dozens of photographs and a selected bibliography.

Until his retirement in 2007, Ron Field was Head of History at the Cotswold School in Bourton-on-the-Water. He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 1982 and taught history at Piedmont High School in California from 1982 to 1983. He was associate editor of the Confederate Historical Society of Great Britain, from 1983 to 1992. He is an internationally acknowledged expert on US military history, and was elected a Fellow of the Company of Military Historians, based in Washington, DC, in 2005.