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)
2Introduction
3Synopsis
4Historical Context
5PART I LEE'S EARLY LIFE
Show all chaptersShow less
6I INTRODUCTION
7II THE LEES OF VIRGINIA
8III GENERAL "LIGHT-HORSE HARRY" LEE
9IV STRATFORD
10V LEE'S EARLY MANHOOD AND CAREER IN THE UNITED STATES ARMY
11VI LEE AND SCOTT
12VII LEE RESIGNS
13VIII HIS RECEPTION AT RICHMOND
14IX LEE IN 1861
15X THE WAR BEGINS
16XI LEE'S ADVANCE INTO WESTERN VIRGINIA
17XII LEE'S LAST INTERVIEW WITH BISHOP MEADE
18PART II IN FRONT OF RICHMOND
19I PLAN OF THE FEDERAL CAMPAIGN
20II JOHNSTON IS WOUNDED
21III LEE ASSIGNED TO THE COMMAND — HIS FAMILY AT THE WHITE HOUSE
22IV LEE RESOLVES TO ATTACK
23V STUART'S "RIDE AROUND McCLELLAN"
24PART III ON THE CHICKAHOMINY
25I THE TWO ARMIES
26II LEE'S PLAN OF ASSAULT
27III THE BATTLE OF THE CHICKAHOMINY
28IV THE RETREAT
29V RICHMOND IN DANGER — LEE'S VIEWS
30VI LEE AND McCLELLAN — THEIR IDENTITY OF OPINION
31PART IV THE WAR ADVANCES NORTHWARD
32I LEE'S PROTEST
33II LEE'S MANOEUVRES
34III LEE ADVANCES FROM THE RAPIDAN
35IV JACKSON FLANKS GENERAL POPE
36V LEE FOLLOWS
37VI THE SECOND BATTLE OF MANASSAS
38PART V LEE INVADES MARYLAND
39I HIS DESIGNS
40II LEE IN MARYLAND
41III MOVEMENTS OF THE TWO ARMIES
42IV THE PRELUDE TO SHARPSBURG
43V THE BATTLE OF SHARPSBURG
44VI LEE AND McCLELLAN — THEIR MERITS IN THE MARYLAND CAMPAIGN
45VII LEE AND HIS MEN
46VIII LEE PASSES THE BLUE RIDGE
47IX LEE CONCENTRATES AT FREDERICKSBURG
48X THE BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG
49XI FINAL MOVEMENTS OF 1862
50XII THE YEAR OF BATTLES
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