Robert E. Lee and Me

It's not an entirely original idea, but I really enjoyed the form of a memoir that showed the author's interaction with history and how he was taught it. Most history books are straight history that may briefly make a case in the epilogue, but otherwise don't focus much on how it affects the present. The prose wasn't anything special, but Seidule did speak with his own voice and let his emotion come through. It was interesting how he balanced the shame of having believed white supremacist history with pride in the US and the Army.

He consistently referred to plantations as "enslaved labor farms", which is a good call and something I'll try to remember to do. He also repeatedly emphasized that the Army still wears blue.

Two hangups here: (i) I'm not sure who this book is for. There were some new things I learned, especially about Lee personally, but I broadly agreed going in and there were new details, but nothing major. I don't know if the people who need to read this ever will. You'd have to be at least half-convinced to pick it up in the first place, so maybe it's function is just the last step for people who previously couldn't admit the war was a white supremacist project, and (ii) every white Southerner experiences white supremacist and lost cause teaching, but I discussed it with my mother and I think Seidule's case, based on his father's profession, the historic towns he lived it, the college he attended, and his military career, was particularly bad. My mom was taught that Lee was a good man, but I don't think her childhood was saturated with it the way Seidule describes.

The chapel at Washington and Lee sounds like a real nightmare, and it's on my list to visit next time I drive down I-81 on a day that it's open.