by Alexander Bleddyn

Created on: November 25, 2008

The issue of whether or not General Robert E. Lee of Virginia should have been tried for treason against the United States of America is tricky. Article 3, Section 3 of the US Constitution clearly defines what treason is: "Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort."

According to the US Constitution, General Robert E. Lee, despite his allegiance to Virginia first and foremost, was an American citizen and not only gave aid and comfort to the Confederacy but also helped the Confederacy wage war against the United States. However, two things to consider. The first being that within the same portion of the Constitution, it also states that "no Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the testimony of two Witnesses to the save overt Act, or on Confession in open court." Granted, there probably would have been a number of people who would have been more than happy to appear in court and give eye-witness accounts proving that Lee in fact waged war against the US and also gave comfort to its enemies; but then again, in those times there was a code of honor between generals and armies, and it is probably unlikely that an individual such as General Grant would have bore witness against Lee as a traitor.

Second, there is the whole state's rights debate; and whether or not states could secede from the Union. There is no article within the US Constitution that declares whether a state could or could not secede from the Union; therefore, it could be argued that the union of states is not permanent and that the Confederacy was well within its rights to secede since there was no Constitutional law prohibiting secession. Therefore, though General Lee was an enemy combatant against the United States, he was not necessarily fighting against his country (the US) as much as he was fighting for his country (the Confederacy); and this could explain why no Confederate leader was ever tried for treason. It could further be argued that General Lee and the Confederacy were holding to the ideals set forth in the Declaration of Independence: "...it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government..."

With a literal interpretation of the Constitution, I feel that Robert E. Lee and other Confederate leaders should have been tried for treason; but since the issue of secession was, and still is, Constitutionally ambiguous, I don't think any prosecution would have succeeded in trying them for treason and would only have further infuriated those angry with the outcome of the Civil War.

Learn more about this author, Alexander Bleddyn.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.