Man Who Would Not Be Washington

This biography of Robert E. Lee is “an intriguing, nuanced, close-up portrait of a complex American leader and his fateful moment of choice” (Michael Beschloss, New York Times–bestselling author of Presidents of War).

A Washington Post Bestseller

On the eve of the Civil War, one soldier embodied the legacy of George Washington and the hopes of leaders across a divided land. Both North and South knew Robert E. Lee as the son of Washington’s most famous eulogist and the son-in-law of Washington’s adopted child. Each side sought his service for high command. Lee could choose only one.

This book reveals how the officer most associated with Washington went to war against the union that Washington had forged. This extensively researched. gracefully written biography follows Lee through married life, military glory, and misfortune. The story that emerges is more complicated, tragic, and illuminating than the familiar tale—more complicated because the unresolved question of slavery, the driver of disunion, was among the personal legacies Lee inherited from Washington; more tragic because the Civil War destroyed the people and places connecting the two men in agonizing and astonishing ways; more illuminating because the battle for Washington’s legacy shaped the nation that America is today. As Washington was the man who would not be king, Lee was the man who would not be Washington. The choice was Lee’s. The story is America’s. A must-read for those passionate about history, The Man Who Would Not Be Washington introduces Jonathan Horn as a masterly voice in the field.

“Compelling.” —USA Today

“Horn presents not only the historical record, but also the pathos, irony and tension involved in Lee’s decision and how it reflected issues in his personal life . . . reads very much like a novel . . . suitable for both serious historians and lovers of engaging stories.” —The Missourian