Note: This is an encore edition of Reader's Corner. The episode originally aired May 2021.
Ty Seidule grew up revering Robert E. Lee. From his southern childhood to his service in the U.S. Army, every part of Ty Seidule’s life reinforced the Lost Cause myth: that Lee was the greatest man who ever lived, and that the Confederates were underdogs who lost the Civil War with honor. In a forceful but humane narrative, former soldier and head of the West Point history department Ty Seidule's Robert E. Lee and Me: A Southerner’s Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause challenges the myths and lies of the Confederate legacy – and explores why some of this country’s oldest wounds have never healed.
Ty Seidule is Professor Emeritus of History at West Point where he taught for two decades. He served in the U.S. Army for thirty-six years, retiring as a brigadier general in 2020. He is the Chamberlain Fellow at Hamilton College as well as a New America Fellow. He has published numerous books, articles, and videos on military history including the award-winning West Point History of the Civil War.
