>>>>>>>Sure glad you all found an interesting discussion point.
>>>>>>>PC gone overboard.
>>>>>>>Just imagine we started tearing down statues. We'd never see the end of it as we have a somewhat longer history than the US.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Ok - so how many statues of Leon Degrelle in Belgium are there?
>>>>>
>>>>>Try Leopold I.
>>>>
>>>>But he wasn't a traitor like Degrelle was he?
>>>
>>>Maybe he meant Leopold II. Even by the already low standards of colonialism his Belgian empire in the Congo was a shocker.
>>
>>Ok - well my point was that Belgium is not going to build statues and monuments to someone like Leon Degrelle because he was a traitor - ...like why on earth would anyone want to do that? ..which is why it's so strange (and stupid) that we would have statues and monuments to a traitor like Lee here. He is not some founding father or great American patriot - as matter of fact he's the exact opposite and represents the south's desire to keep slavery. He was the leader of the army for the other side! arrrg!
>
>You're looking with twenty first eyes at nineteenth century events. As far as I know Lee was the most competent general of that war.

That's a common misconception.
Few people have heard of this man https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Henry_Thomas
A native Virginian, unlike Lee, he remained loyal to the Union.
He's only general on either side who never suffered a defeat during the Civil War, despite having engaged in some of the most vicious battles.
Like Omar Bradley- a terrific warrior who served in the shadows of people like Patton and Montgomery during WWII- Thomas just won battles and shunned the limelight.