Essay

My research project led me on many different paths to find who was the greatest general of the Civil War. The best part of the project was getting to go to Appomattox Courthouse in Lexington, Virginia and visiting the museum there. The books, articles, videos I read and watched all had valid points on who they thought was the greatest general. I thoroughly enjoyed researching this topic and learned many great things about great men.

I learned that there were several great generals during the Civil War, not just one. I also learned that the South was gifted with better trained and capable generals than the north. The southern generals had far less supplies and men and still put up a tremendous fight. If I were to pin down who the greatest general in the Civil War I would say General Robert E. Lee. He was the leader of the southern troops and had the best leadership skills of any general and knew the best way to utilized his men and supplies. General Lee never backed down to the Union during the war, but knew towards the end that he had far less men, and knew he must surrender. He showed me how to take a loss with dignity and continue on with his life.

If I could do it over again I would probably go somewhere else other than Appomattox Courthouse because it was so far away. I would probably try harder to find someone to interview that would have gave me good input on my topic and allowed me to learn from them. I'd have read more extensive literature on my topic, so it would have been easier to find a clearer picture on who was the greatest general of the Civil War. The youtube videos I watched weren't the most educational videos on the market, but I couldn't find much other videos on my topic. All in all I am satisfied with the research I put forward and thought my research was good enough to complete my project. I wouldn't have changed my topic because I enjoyed it so much.