The King of Spades – Life and Military Carrier of General Robert E. Lee (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. A Civil War Military Biography of Confederate Command and MemoryBy John Esten Cooke
Length20h 26m
About this audiobook
The King of Spades: Life and Military Career of General Robert E. Lee presents Robert E. Lee as soldier, commander, and emblem of the Confederate cause, tracing his public life through the campaigns of the American Civil War. Written in a richly narrative, often elegiac style, the book combines military biography with romanticized historical portraiture. Its literary context is the postwar Southern tradition of memorial writing, where battlefield recollection, personal admiration, and the shaping of public memory converge. John Esten Cooke was a Virginia novelist, biographer, and former Confederate officer whose wartime experience gave him firsthand familiarity with the army and its commanders. His proximity to the conflict, and to the culture that revered Lee, deeply informs the book's tone and purpose. Cooke's prose reflects both the trained storyteller's instinct for drama and the veteran's desire to preserve a vanishing world through biography. This book is recommended to readers interested in Civil War memory, nineteenth-century American biography, and the literary construction of military heroism. While modern readers should approach its sympathies critically, it remains a valuable document of how Lee's reputation was shaped in the decades after the war.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes.
- The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists.
- A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing.
- A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings.
- Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life.
- Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance.
- Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
Audiobook details
GenreBiography and Memoir
Length20 hrs 26 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateDec 14, 2023
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1The King of Spades – Life and Military Carrier of General Robert E. Lee (Annotated)
55III LEE'S DETERMINATION
2Introduction
56IV JACKSON'S ATTACK AND FALL
3Synopsis
57V THE BATTLE OF CHANCELLORSVILLE
4Historical Context
58VI FLANK MOVEMENT OF GENERAL SEDGWICK
5PART I LEE'S EARLY LIFE
59VII LEE'S GENERALSHIP AND PERSONAL DEMEANOR DURING THE CAMPAIGN
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6I INTRODUCTION
60VIII PERSONAL RELATIONS OF LEE AND JACKSON
7II THE LEES OF VIRGINIA
61IX CIRCUMSTANCES LEADING TO THE INVASION OF PENNSYLVANIA
8III GENERAL "LIGHT-HORSE HARRY" LEE
62X LEE'S PLANS AND OBJECTS
9IV STRATFORD
63XI THE CAVALRY-FIGHT AT FLEETWOOD
10V LEE'S EARLY MANHOOD AND CAREER IN THE UNITED STATES ARMY
64XII THE MARCH TO GETTYSBURG
11VI LEE AND SCOTT
65XIII LEE IN PENNSYLVANIA
12VII LEE RESIGNS
66XIV CONCENTRATION AT GETTYSBURG
13VIII HIS RECEPTION AT RICHMOND
67XV THE FIRST DAY'S FIGHT AT GETTYSBURG
14IX LEE IN 1861
68XVI THE TWO ARMIES IN POSITION
15X THE WAR BEGINS
69XVII THE SECOND DAY
16XI LEE'S ADVANCE INTO WESTERN VIRGINIA
70XVIII THE LAST CHARGE AT GETTYSBURG
17XII LEE'S LAST INTERVIEW WITH BISHOP MEADE
71XIX LEE AFTER THE CHARGE
18PART II IN FRONT OF RICHMOND
72XX LEE'S RETREAT ACROSS THE POTOMAC
19I PLAN OF THE FEDERAL CAMPAIGN
73XXI ACROSS THE BLUE RIDGE AGAIN
20II JOHNSTON IS WOUNDED
74PART VII LAST CAMPAIGNS OF THE YEAR 1863
21III LEE ASSIGNED TO THE COMMAND — HIS FAMILY AT THE WHITE HOUSE
75I THE CAVALRY OF LEE'S ARMY
22IV LEE RESOLVES TO ATTACK
76II LEE FLANKS GENERAL MEADE
23V STUART'S "RIDE AROUND McCLELLAN"
77III A RACE BETWEEN TWO ARMIES
24PART III ON THE CHICKAHOMINY
78IV THE FIGHT AT BUCKLAND
25I THE TWO ARMIES
79V THE ADVANCE TO MINE RUN
26II LEE'S PLAN OF ASSAULT
80VI LEE IN THE AUTUMN AND WINTER OF 1863
27III THE BATTLE OF THE CHICKAHOMINY
81PART VIII LEE'S LAST CAMPAIGNS AND LAST DAYS
28IV THE RETREAT
82I GENERAL GRANT CROSSES THE RAPIDAN
29V RICHMOND IN DANGER — LEE'S VIEWS
83II THE FIRST COLLISION IN THE WILDERNESS
30VI LEE AND McCLELLAN — THEIR IDENTITY OF OPINION
84III THE BATTLE OF THE 6TH OF MAY
31PART IV THE WAR ADVANCES NORTHWARD
85IV THE 12TH OF MAY
32I LEE'S PROTEST
86V FROM SPOTTSYLVANIA TO THE CHICKAHOMINY
33II LEE'S MANOEUVRES
87VI FIRST BATTLES AT PETERSBURG
34III LEE ADVANCES FROM THE RAPIDAN
88VII THE SIEGE OF RICHMOND BEGUN
35IV JACKSON FLANKS GENERAL POPE
89VIII LEE THREATENS WASHINGTON
36V LEE FOLLOWS
90IX THE MINE EXPLOSION
37VI THE SECOND BATTLE OF MANASSAS
91X END OF THE CAMPAIGN OF 1864
38PART V LEE INVADES MARYLAND
92XI LEE IN THE WINTER OF 1864-'65
39I HIS DESIGNS
93XII THE SITUATION AT THE BEGINNING OF 1865
40II LEE IN MARYLAND
94XIII LEE ATTACKS THE FEDERAL CENTRE
41III MOVEMENTS OF THE TWO ARMIES
95XIV THE SOUTHERN LINES BROKEN
42IV THE PRELUDE TO SHARPSBURG
96XV LEE EVACUATES PETERSBURG
43V THE BATTLE OF SHARPSBURG
97XVI THE RETREAT AND SURRENDER
44VI LEE AND McCLELLAN — THEIR MERITS IN THE MARYLAND CAMPAIGN
98XVII LEE RETURNS TO RICHMOND
45VII LEE AND HIS MEN
99XVIII GENERAL LEE AFTER THE WAR
46VIII LEE PASSES THE BLUE RIDGE
100XIX GENERAL LEE'S LAST YEARS AND DEATH
47IX LEE CONCENTRATES AT FREDERICKSBURG
101APPENDIX
48X THE BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG
102I THE FUNERAL OF GENERAL LEE
49XI FINAL MOVEMENTS OF 1862
103II TRIBUTES TO GENERAL LEE (pt. 1)
50XII THE YEAR OF BATTLES
104II TRIBUTES TO GENERAL LEE (pt. 2)
51XIII LEE IN DECEMBER, 1862
105Analysis
52PART VI CHANCELLORSVILLE AND GETTYSBURG
106Reflection
53I ADVANCE OF GENERAL HOOKER
107Memorable Quotes
54II THE WILDERNESS
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