5. Robert E. Lee, United States Army, Confederate States Army
Robert E. Lee was America’s foremost soldier in early 1861, other than perhaps Winfield Scott. Lee earned his reputation as a soldier in the Mexican American War; as an engineer in projects including diverting the Mississippi at St. Louis, and in the construction of several fortifications. His performance as Superintendent at West Point led to his being held in high esteem by the junior officers of the United States Army, a position he held in the minds of most of the officers of his own generation. At Arlington, his wife’s plantation in Virginia as Virginia pondered secession, Lee was offered command of the First Regiment of Cavalry, United States Army, at the rank of Colonel. He accepted.
In doing so Lee took yet another oath of loyalty to the Constitution of the United States as part of accepting his commission. It was one of many he took during his years in the United States Army. The newly inaugurated President, Abraham Lincoln, signed his commission. Less than one month later, in April 1861, Lee resigned his commission, ignored his oath, and accepted a commission in the Army of the Confederate States of America, in command of all the forces of Virginia. Lee’s attitude towards slavery is evident in the fact that during his ownership of Arlington, nearly every slave family on the plantation were broken up by sale or transfer.