Sold – The Credo of Robert E. Lee

As he matured and his life and career progressed, Lee developed principles that he felt should clearly govern a person’s thoughts and actions. These were nothing less than principles to live by – a creed or credo. He saw these beliefs as outgrowths not merely of his philosophy but of his religion, and measured himself and others by how closely they adhered to – or lived up to – these measures. They were the source of his private motivations and his public personna. It was precisely because he was known as a man who held himself to the highest principles that he was selected to command the Confederate armed forces and was able to lead them so inspiringly. After the Civil War, Lee became a revered and even iconic figure, exerting extraordinary moral influence, again because he embodied those highest principles.

In “Reading the Man: A Portrait of Robert E. Lee Through His Private Letters” by Elizabeth Brown Pryor and Robert Edward Lee, the authors state Lee’s personal creed as “duty and diligence.” In “The Debate on the American Civil War Era,” author Hugh Tulloch claims them as “duty and self-control.” In his monumental biography of Lee, Douglas Southall Freeman writes:?“Equally was his religion expressed in his unquestioning response to duty. In his clear creed, right was duty and must be discharged…It was a high creed – right at all times and at all costs – but daily self-discipline and a clear sense of justice made him able to adhere to it.”

What did Lee himself have to say on this critical subject? Before the Civil War, he shared aspects of his credo in letters of advice to his children. In 1857, he wrote his daughter to be “satisfied in doing what is right &?perfecting yourself in all usefulness.” Taking another and somewhat different tack after the war, on September 4, 1865, he wrote to a magazine publisher, “It should be the object of all to avoid controversy, to allay passion, give full scope to reason and to every kindly feeling. By doing this and encouraging our citizens to engage in the duties of life with all their heart and mind, with a determination not to be turned aside by thoughts of the past and fears of the future, our country will not only be restored in material prosperity, but will be advanced in science, in virtue and in religion.” He also stated, “Duty is the most sublime word in our language. Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more. You should never wish to do less.” But perhaps the best statement of Lee’s credo came in a piece of private correspondence.

In January 1869, Mr. and Mrs. M.L. Karr of Carrollton, Kentucky had a son. There was a tradition in the Karr family of naming sons after the great men of the age; there was a George Washington Karr and a Thomas Jefferson Karr. This time, the Karrs were inspired by the example of Robert E. Lee and named their new son after him. Mrs. Karr wrote to the General to tell him, and he responded with a clear and broad exposition of his credo – words for the young man to live by, by the older man who indeed lived by them.

Autograph Letter Signed, Lexington, Va., February 13, 1869, to Mrs. M.L. Karr. “I am much obliged to you for the photograph of my young namesake. I trust that his present appearance betokens the future man. He has my fervent prayers that his career through life may be marked by truthfulness, integrity, piety, & that virtue & usefulness may be his constant aim.” The original post-marked envelope in Lee’s hand is also present. This letter was obtained by us directly from the Karr descendants and has never previously been offered for sale.

So we see that Lee here expanded upon some of his themes: “doing what is right,” as he advised his daughter, he essentially defined as “truthfulness” and “integrity;” he included and clarified religion by adding “piety”; and he defined duty as consisting of “virtue & usefulness.” This is the first time in our decades of experience that we can recall seeing a letter of Lee expounding his credo reach the market, nor does our search of auction records reveal another example in the past thirty years.