Confederate Quotes

"You can be whatever you resolve to be."
                                                                                                  Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson
                                                                                                  1842

"I am with the South in life or in death, in victory or defeat. I never owned a negro and care nothing for them, but these people have been my friends and have stood up to me on all occasions. In addition to this, I believe the North is about to wage a brutal and unholy war on a people who have done them no wrong, in violation of the Constitution and the fundamental principles of the government...We propose no invasion of the North, no attack on them, and only ask to be let alone."
                                                                                                 Patrick R. Cleburne
                                                                                                 May 1861   

"They do not know what they say. If it came to a conflict of arms, the war will last at least four years. Northern politicians will not appreciate the determination and pluck of the South, and Southern politicians do not appreciate the numbers, resources, and patient perseverance of the North. Both sides forget that we are all Americans. I foresee that our country will pass through a terrible ordeal, a necessary expiation, perhaps, for our national sins."
                                                                                                    Robert E. Lee
                                                                                                    May 5, 1861

"War is inevitable, and there is not telling when it will burst around you . . . You have to move and make arrangements to go to some point of safety which you must select. The Mount Vernon plate and pictures ought to be secured. Keep quiet while you remain, and in your preparations . . . May God keep and preserve you and have mercy on all our people."
                                                                                          Robert E/ Lee to his wife,
                                                                                       Mary Anna Custis
                                                                                       May 1861                    

"With all my devotion to the Union, and the feeling of loyalty and duty of an American citizen, I have not been able to make up my mind to raise my hand against my relatives, my children and my home."
                                                                                                    Robert E. Lee

"Do your duty in all things...You cannot do more; you should never wish to do less."
                                                                                                    Robert E. Lee

"Obedience to lawful authority is the foundation of manly character."
                                                                                                    Robert E. Lee

"You cannot be a true man until you learn to obey."
                                                                                                     Robert E. Lee

"I cannot trust a man to control others who cannot control himself."
                                                                                                    Robert E. Lee

"Never marry unless you can do so into a family that will enable your children to feel proud of both sides of the house."
                                                                                                    Robert E. Lee

"Governor, if I had foreseen the use those people designed to make of their victory, there would have been no surrender at Appomattox Courthouse; no sir, not by me. Had I foreseen these results of subjugation, I would have preferred to die at Appomattox with my brave men, my sword in this right hand."
                                                                                                     General Robert E. Lee,
                                                                                                      August 1870 to
                                                                                                     Governor Stockdale of Texas

"...In the good providence of God apparent failure often proves a blessing....My trust is in the mercy and wisdom of a kind Providence, who ordereth all things for our good."
                                                                                                                      Robert E. Lee

"Get correct views of life, and learn to see the world in its true light. It will enable you to live pleasantly, to do good, and, when summoned away, to leave without regret."
                                                                                                      Robert E. Lee

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