Saturday, January 19, 2013

Guns and Pistol Permits Stolen From Another Home Identified by The Journal News


It's suing time.

VERBATIM

Police in Clarkstown, New York have reported that a home was broken into and ransacked by burglars.  The thieves managed to open two safes and stole a third safe from the third floor in the home.  The stolen safe contained a .45 Colt revolver and a .22 Iver Johnson handgun along with the two pistol permits to own them.

The home, like that of a seventy year old man in White Plains, had the home owner’s name and address identified as a pistol permit holder on the interactive map posted online by The Journal News.  In this case, burglars used a ladder to break through a window on the upper floor.  Their target was his gun safe.

Clarkstown police have not said if there is any evidence linking the burglary to the online posting. 

Sgt Joanne Fratianni stated:
“The burglary is still under investigation, and there are no facts to support this correlation at this time.  If the investigation develops further information, it will be released accordingly.”
Det. Lt. Charles Delo told the local news:
“At this early point in the investigation, we believe it is a random crime and the home was not targeted.”
Is it random?  How do they explain the break-ins occurring in neighborhoods where break-ins of this type are rare?  In White Plains, one neighbor has lived there for 15 years and never recalls anything like that happening during that time.

Are the police in that area protecting The Journal News?  All it takes is one piece of evidence linking a break-in to the online posting and The Journal News is ripe for a lawsuit from one or all of the victims.  Would the newspaper like ALL of their names and home addresses posted online along with the knowledge of something valuable that they own like a painting, jewelry or expensive car?

Many people, including myself, predicted that those gun permit holders identified by The Journal News would be victims of break-ins from criminals looking to steal guns.  Now, there have been at least two such incidences reported and mostly likely, many more to come.  Will it take someone being shot and killed to bring the issue to a legal head?  I wonder if the newspaper’s insurance will cover all of the damages they could be facing once the lawsuits start getting filed?

Eisenhower On Lee

 

Re-post due to Horace's comment on Robert E. Lee The Shepherd General & Making Hard Choices

 "Dear Mr. President:

"At the Republican Convention I heard you mention that you have the pictures
of four (4) great Americans in your office, and that included in these is a
picture of Robert E. Lee.

"I do not understand how any American can include Robert E. Lee as a person
to be emulated, and why the President of the United States of America should
do so is certainly beyond me.

"The most outstanding thing that Robert E. Lee did, was to devote his best
efforts to the destruction of the United States Government, and I am sure that
you do not say that a person who tries to destroy our Government is worthy of
being hailed as one of our heroes.

"Will you please tell me just why you hold him in such high esteem?

Sincerely yours, 


Leon W. Scott"

Eisenhower's response, written from the White House on August 9, 1960, reads
as follows:

"Dear Dr. Scott:

"Respecting your August 1 inquiry calling attention to my often expressed
admiration for General Robert E. Lee, I would say, first, that we need to
understand that at the time of the War Between the States the issue of Secession
had remained unresolved for more than 70 years. Men of probity, character,
public standing and unquestioned loyalty, both North and South, had disagreed
over this issue as a matter of principle from the day our Constitution was
adopted.

"General Robert E. Lee was, in my estimation, one of the supremely gifted
men produced by our Nation. He believed unswervingly in the Constitutional
validity of his cause which until 1865 was still an arguable question in America;
he was thoughtful yet demanding of his officers and men, forbearing with
captured enemies but ingenious, unrelenting and personally courageous in battle,
and never disheartened by a reverse or obstacle. Through all his many
trials, he remained selfless almost to a fault and unfailing in his belief in God.
Taken altogether, he was noble as a leader and as a man, and unsullied as I
read the pages of our history.

"From deep conviction I simply say this: a nation of men of Lee's calibre
would be unconquerable in spirit and soul. Indeed, to the degree that
present-day American youth will strive to emulate his rare qualities, including his
devotion to this land as revealed in his painstaking efforts to help heal the
nation's wounds once the bitter struggle was over, we, in our own time of
danger in a divided world, will be strengthened and our love of freedom
sustained.

"Such are the reasons that I proudly display the picture of this great
American on my office wall.

"Sincerely, 


Dwight D. Eisenhower"

 

Eisenhower On Lee

Sheriff pledges to protect Second Amendment

 Comment below addressed to SF.

 "I went to the gun rally in CDA today and your sheriff had a letter that was read and the whole crowd cheered. Perhaps you were there?

It was a good rally. Made my heart glad to see so many openly worn guns. Enola Gay from http://www.paratusfamiliablog.com/ was there and her husband was one of the speakers.


It was worth the 2 hour round trip drive, and I bought some more ammo to boot.


Oh, there was music before the rally started and Brock you would be happy to know that along with other patriotic songs, Dixie was sung too. ;)


Miss Violet


======================================

Via SF comments on Fox News poll: Twice as many favor more guns over banning guns to reduce crime 


 

VERBATIM 

Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler is letting the public know where he stands as the debate over gun control rages in Washington, D.C.

“I’ve been a strong advocate of the Second Amendment and I’m always going to stand up to make sure that those rights are protected,” Wheeler said on Thursday.

As officials around the nation react to President Barack Obama’s $500 million effort to control gun violence in the wake of last month’s Sandy Hook massacre, Wheeler said his office has fielded a number of requests from the public asking what his position is on the issue.

In response, Wheeler posted a message to his department’s website which urges the public to reach out to local, state and federal officials to push back against 23 executive actions proposed by the Obama administration to enhance gun control regulations.


“I felt obligated to present my position,” said Wheeler.

Wheeler said in the posting that he took an oath of office on Monday to, among other things, uphold the U.S. Constitution.

“Nowhere in my oath did I agree to uphold the arbitrary wishes of a President who strays outside his Constitutional authority,” Wheeler said in the online message.

Obama’s proposal includes the establishment of universal background checks for gun buyers, and prohibiting military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines.

Meanwhile, people in Bonner County are voicing concerns that the names and addresses of those who possess concealed weapons permits will be publicized by the media, as was done by The Journal News in New York state after the mass shootings in Newtown, Conn.

“I know that that’s been a topic of conversation around coffee shops and people I’ve talked to are wondering what’s going to happen here in Idaho,” Wheeler said.

There are currently 1,742 people in Bonner County with concealed weapons permits, according to sheriff’s office records.

But Wheeler said Idaho Code specifically prohibits his office from disclosing such information under the state’s public records law.

“That information absolutely will never be released from this office,” said Wheeler.

Wheeler’s contention is backed up by an email exchange between state Sen. Steve Bair, R-Blackfoot, and Assistant Chief Deputy Attorney General Brian Kane obtained by The Daily Bee.

Kane said in the Jan. 3 email that information regarding an applicant or licensee is deemed confidential under the Idaho Public Records Act.

“In other words, information gathered and maintained by the county sheriff or the state police for the purpose of processing and maintaining concealed weapons applications is exempt from disclosure to the public,” Kane wrote.

Wheeler said his office has not been presented with any public records requests for such information from news or other organizations.

The sheriff’s office, however, is seeing an uptick in applications for permits to carry a concealed weapon. Wheeler said his office has received 35 new applications and 10 renewals in the four last days.

“We’re issuing a lot of concealed weapons permits as a result of what’s happening in Washington, D.C.,” said Wheeler.

====================================


 
Sheriff Wheeler Sworn In For A Second Term January 14, 2013 
 
This last Monday, before a small group of friends and family, I took an oath to uphold  the U.S. Constitution, the Idaho State Constitution and the laws of Idaho. Nowhere in my oath did I agree to uphold the arbitrary wishes of a President who strays outside his Constitutional authority.  On January 16th, it was reported in the media that President Barak Obama signed 23 Executive Orders.  

This is not so.  President Obama signed 23 “Executive Actions.”  These so called “Executive Actions” are nothing more than 23 suggestions which do not have the force of law.  This is nothing more than a Presidential Christmas “wish list” that he passed along to Congress for their approval.  

Even though these “Executive Actions” do not constitute real law, the President has directed the Federal Agencies to carry them out.  The Department of Justice, the A.T.F., the Centers for Disease Control, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the General Services Administration, the Department of Education and the Department of Homeland Security have all been tasked to carry out his wishes.  He is also dove-tailing all his actions and attempting to restrict gun ownership by changing the rules within the Affordable Care Act.  

So now that you know that, I urge you to push back by contacting your Idaho representatives on all levels, local, state and federal.  Let’s not lose any ground.  The law enforcers and the law makers need to be on the same page.

I believe that in order for the President to carry out his plans, he needs the approval of Congress.  This is where you come in.  I urge you to push back now by contacting your Idaho representatives on all levels, local, state and federal. The threat to your 2nd Amendment Rights will most likely come to your mailbox through a questionnaire in the mail, not a knock on your door.  These regulations will most likely be tied to Federal dollars sent to you as an individual. Please contact this office immediately if you are threatened.  I can't do anything if I don't know what is happening.  Above all, keep your cool!  I will come when you call. You can be assured my office will uphold and protect your 2nd Amendment rights.

Sheriff Daryl Wheeler

14 Southern Pictures 1865 - 1943

 

More @ NamSouth

Newspaper Removes Controversial Map of Gun-Permit Owners

 A screengrab of The Journal News's gun-permit map, which is concentrated in Westchester County.

The controversial interactive map of gun-permit owners in two suburban New York City counties was taken off-line Friday after hundreds of complaints.

The Journal News, the newspaper that published the map insisted it was not removing the map due to the pressure, instead saying the database had most likely been viewed by those interested readers and that the information would become outdated over time.

“Our decision to do so is not a concession to critics that no value was served by the posting of the map in the first place,” Janet Hasson, publisher of the Gannett-owned newspaper, said in a letter posted on its website.

“On the contrary, we’ve heard from too many grateful community members to consider our decision to post information contained in the public record to have been a mistake.

“Nor is our decision made because we were intimidated by those who threatened the safety of our staffers,” she added. “We know our business is a controversial one, and we do not cower.”

More @  Newsmax

Fox News poll: Twice as many favor more guns over banning guns to reduce crime

 

Nearly twice as many voters say there would be less violent crime if more law-abiding Americans owned guns, than if guns were banned.

In addition, while American voters generally favor strengthening gun laws, 71 percent do not think tougher laws can stop shootings like the one last month in Newtown, Connecticut.  Some 22 percent say new laws can prevent the next Sandy Hook.

These are just some of the findings from a Fox News poll released Friday.

Click here for full poll results.

More @ Fox

No More Guns: Time Warner Cable Bans Semi-Automatic Weapons From Ads

VERBATIM

A major semi-automatic gun ban just went into effect in America, without the President, Congress or any other government entity doing a thing.

In a statement obtained by Multichannel.com, Time Warner Cable, the second largest cable provider in the country, announced:

“We no longer accept ads showing semi-automatic weapons and guns pointed at people. We stand by this policy. If it’s essential to a business owner to show this kind of imagery in their commercials, there are other advertising options in the marketplace.”

Whoops!

Via grossfater_m

Backfire: Obama Approval Plummets During Gun Push


 GALLUP DAILY
Jan 16-18, 2013 – Updates daily at 1 p.m. ET; reflects one-day change

Obama Approval
48%
-1
Obama Disapproval
45%
+1

VERBATIM

Just a week before the New Year, Obama enjoyed his highest approval ratings of 2012. According to Gallup, 58% of Americans approved of the job Obama was doing. Survey results released today by Gallup, though, show Obama's approval rating has plummeted to just 49%. It is a dramatic drop, especially coming over a holiday period when people traditionally pay little attention to politics. Four years ago, at his first inauguration, a full 69% of Americans approved of Obama.

The drop in Obama's approval from 4 years ago is understandable, given the sluggish economy and the hope American's had as his presidency began. The considerable drop from just a few weeks ago is more puzzling. According to the media, he was the "winner" of the fiscal cliff negotiations, getting most of the tax hikes he campaigned on and avoiding spending cuts.

Also according to the media, he has deftly exploited the Sandy Hook tragedy to make a renewed push for gun control. This is supposedly popular with the American public and Obama has been all over the airwaves pushing his proposals. He even orchestrated a back-drop of children from across the country to release his proposals to the public.

And, yet, his approval rating is dropping. Exit polls from the past election make it pretty clear that voters chose Obama the person and not his policies. Pushing his policies even further to the left looks like its backfiring with the public.

Tax dollars for gun control Sneaky executive order bankrolls anti-Second Amendment propaganda

 "This is our first task as a society, keeping our children safe," President Obama said Wednesday as he and Vice President Joseph R. Biden announced their legislative and executive agenda to curb gun violence in America. (Associated Press)

The directives on gun violence President Obama signed Wednesday were meant to seem harmless. A closer look at the president’s first memorandum reveals it to be a sneaky assault on congressional authority in order to fund gun-control propaganda.

Getting this done has been on the White House “to do” list for some time. In his 2013 budget submission, Mr. Obama deleted the prohibition that has been in effect since 1995 on the use of federal funds to advocate or promote gun control.

Mr. Obama is trying to steamroll the Democratic and Republican majorities that kept the ban intact by labeling the advocacy as research. “While year after year, those who oppose even modest gun-safety measures have threatened to defund scientific or medical research into the causes of gun violence, I will direct the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to go ahead and study the best ways to reduce it,” said Mr. Obama.

Under the terms of the memo, CDC may “sponsor” another entity to conduct the research, which is a handy way of funneling taxpayer cash to sympathetic gun-control groups.

Dixie State College keeping its name amid controversy

Via SHNV

 


Recent study showed 83% of those with ties to school want to keep name as it becomes a university. 

Dixie State College looks ready to become Dixie State University after the school’s board of trustees voted unanimously Friday to retain the name despite its controversial associations with the Southern Confederacy.

"In the end, the board chose to unite as one body. We unanimously stand behind the Dixie State University name," said Board of Trustees Chairman Steven Caplin, reading from a prepared statement. The crowd of about 150 people broke out in applause at the name announcement. "No one on this board or in this administration is aware of any racial discrimination in our past."

But for Dixie State senior Roi Wilkins, who is African-American, the name and the school’s history of using Deep South iconography and students dressing in blackface is associated with oppression.
"I feel like they’re still trying to sweep it under the rug," he said.

Trustees did acknowledge the frequent use of the Confederate flag and soldier mascot on campus from the 1950s to the late 1990s, but said people at the school "did not associate these symbols with antipathy toward anyone."

"We neither judge nor condemn those who supported our former team name and mascot," Caplin said. As for the occasional but consistent use of blackface at the school, memorialized in school yearbooks, trustee David Clark said, "We have to be referential of the time period…obviously we wish we’d chosen a different pathway."

The trustees did not, however, apologize.

States have right to secede

Via SHNV

 

NEWS OK
VERBATIM

Washington and the liberal states say secession is a bad idea. That should make us suspicious that it would be bad for them. The Articles of Confederation included a “union in perpetuity” clause that forbade secession. To replace the Articles of Confederation, a Constitutional Convention was held, and the question of including a “union in perpetuity” clause was introduced. The idea was overwhelmingly rejected, since the whole idea of the Constitution was to give the states as much independence as possible.

In 1860 and 1861, 11 states exercised their right of secession and formed the Confederate States of America. Abraham Lincoln along with the entire executive branch and the U.S. Congress didn't want to lose control of those 11 states and made the decision to deny the right of secession. Since this decision couldn't be clearly justified by the Constitution, the excuse of “saving the Union” was used; consequently, 600,000 lives were lost. This war didn't settle the question of secession; it settled the question of which side had the stronger military.

Today, if conservative states exercise their right to secede, liberal states will continue their unconstitutional agenda, which history has repeatedly shown will lead to a police state and a wrecked economy. Meanwhile, the conservative states will continue their constitutional agenda, which history has repeatedly shown will lead to individual freedoms and a healthy economy. Have you noticed all the people and companies moving from liberal states to conservative states?

Mike Jones, Oklahoma City

Stay Calm, Dad

Roundabout via Cousin Colby

Re-post


Robert E. Lee The Shepherd General & Making Hard Choices

 
Mike Scruggs

January 19 will mark the birthday of one of the most revered military leaders in American history. In fact, Robert E. Lee remains one of the most studied and respected military commanders in world history, though he was ultimately on the losing side.

Robert Edward Lee was born on Stratford Hall plantation in Westmoreland County, Virginia, in 1807. He was the youngest son of Revolutionary War hero, Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee and Anne Hill Carter. Henry Lee III was a close military confident of fellow Virginian, George Washington. He was a Virginia delegate to the Continental Congress form 1786 to 1788 and later became the 9th Governor of Virginia from1791 to1794. However, he lost most of his fortune in the financial panic of 1795-6. Nevertheless, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1799. During his one two-year term he wrote the Congressional tribute to Washington on his death in 1799: “First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen,” Continued financial difficulties resulted in a year in debtors prison in 1809. He spent most of the rest of his life in the West Indies trying to recover his wealth and from injuries received while rescuing a friend from mob violence in 1812. He died in 1818 on his way back to Virginia, when young Robert was only 11-years-old.

In growing up, the young Lee was influenced by his father’s military and political legacy including his financial humiliation and struggles. He was also strongly influenced by his mother’ s Biblical teachings and the character of his father’s friend, George Washington. It was not surprising that he decided upon a military career and attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Lee graduated second of the 46 cadets who graduated in June 1829 and began his career as a Second Lieutenant assigned to the Engineer Corps. Lee distinguished himself in combat reconnaissance assignments under General Winfield Scot in the Mexican War from 1846 to 1848, but his emerging leadership style and effectiveness became most apparent during his tenure as Superintendent the U.S Military Academy from 1852 to 1855.

Lee immediately saw the need for tighter academic and discipline standards at the Academy and undertook a careful study of needed changes. Then he began to implement them without fanfare. Although Lee’s outstanding academic performance and strict military bearing had gained him the nickname “the Marble Man” with his classmates as a cadet, his leadership style was anything but stiff and overbearing. The Cadet Corps was only about 200 at the time, and he took a personal interest in every cadet, especially those who struggled with the strenuous academic and strict military discipline of the school. Lee had high standards, but his style was not to push, drive, or threaten. According to his most celebrated biographer, Douglas Southall Freeman,

“He carried them [the cadets] on his heart, and spent many an anxious hour debating how he could best train them to be servants of their country by making them masters of themselves.”

Lee kept a close eye on class reports, and when he perceived that a cadet was in danger of failing, he watched his standing week by week, consulted his instructors, and sometimes brought the young man in for a personal talk. He sometimes wrote letters to parents encouraging them to encourage disheartened students. When a cadet’s failure seemed inevitable, he would write the parents encouraging them to let him resign and thereby save him the humiliation of dismissal.

Later as Commander of the Army of Northern Virginia and General-in-Chief of the Confederate Armies, one of the reasons for Lee’s spectacular success in motivating Confederate soldiers, who were often badly outnumbered, out-gunned, and coping with inadequate supplies and clothing, was that they knew his orders were not given to gain himself promotion, praise, or personal glory. He had the highest standards of duty and honor and that included responsibilities to his troops as well as cause and country.

Here are some quotes from Lee and others that illustrate the general’s “shepherding” style of leadership.

On discipline Lee remarked, “A true man of honor feels humbled himself when he cannot help humbling others.”

“As a general principle, you should not force young men to do their duty, but let them do it voluntarily and thereby develop their characters…. Make no needless rules.”—Lee to faculty of Washington College (now Washington and Lee) while president of the institution after the war.

“His soldiers reverenced him and had unbounded confidence in him, for he shared all their privations.”—Recollection of a Confederate officer.

“It was remarkable what confidence the men reposed in General Lee; they were ready to follow him wherever he might lead, or order them to go.”—a private in the Army of Northern Virginia.

“When a man makes a mistake, I call him to my tent, talk to him, and use the authority of my position to make him do the right thing the next time.”—Lee, advising a subordinate officer.

[After Lee took command]…”the troops improved in appearance…The discipline became better; they went into battles with shouts and without being urged, and when in, fought like tigers….A more marked change for better never was made in any body of men than wrought in his army…”—A Northern newspaper reporter, 1862.

When told that his chaplains were praying for him daily Lee responded:

“I can only say that I am nothing but a poor sinner, trusting in Christ alone for salvation.”

Responding to public praise, Lee said:

“I tremble for my country when I hear of confidence expressed in me. I know too well my weakness, that our only hope is in God."


===========================================

                                                        Robert E. Lee Making Hard Choices

From December 20, 1860, through February 1, 1861, seven Southern states seceded from the Union: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. The immediate cause of their secession was not slavery. There was tension between North and South over slavery, but Abraham Lincoln and most Northern political leaders were willing to let it be. The principal Northern objection to slavery was that they did not want it to spread to new territories or prospective states or to overflow into Northern states that had already phased out slavery. A substantial part of this Northern objection to slavery was an antipathy toward blacks. In fact, Illinois (the President's own state), Indiana, Ohio, and Oregon had strict laws against blacks entering into their territories.

The Northern states were tolerant of slavery as long as it was contained in the South. On February 28 and March 2 of 1861, in order to forestall or prompt reconsiderations of Southern secessions, the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate passed by the required two-thirds of its un-seceded members a prospective Constitutional Amendment (the Corwin Amendment) that would have forever prohibited any Congressional legislation that interfered with slavery:

“No Amendment shall be made to the Constitution which will authorize or give power to Congress the power to abolish or interfere, within any State, with the domestic institutions thereof, including that of persons held to labor or service by the laws of such State.”

Lincoln endorsed this prospective Amendment in his inaugural speech on March 4, 1861. The South, however, ignored it. The primary Southern reason for secession was independence from all Northern economic and political dominance. Ohio, Maryland, and Illinois actually ratified the Amendment, but the outbreak and continuation of the war, which was really a war to prevent Southern independence, essentially dissolved further interest in ratification.

The immediate causes of Southern secession were an unfair tax system to be imposed on the South by a Northern Congressional majority and continuing Northern disregard for the Constitution. Approximately 87 percent of the Federal Tax burden fell on the South in the form of tariffs on imported goods. The new Morrill Tariff would raise average tariff rates from 15 percent to 47 percent over the next three years. Lincoln's number one campaign issue in the 1860 election had been to pass high-tariff legislation to protect Northern industry from foreign competition. He thus endorsed the Morrill Tariff in his inaugural speech and promised to collect it even from seceded states. In addition to the tax burden, high tariffs severely impacted Southern income from cotton exports. Hence the South favored free trade or low tariffs, while politically dominant Northern industry demanded high protective tariffs. Federal tax revenues also went disproportionately to Northern projects.

After over 40 years of bitter disputes over tariff rates, Southerners realized that politically dominant Northern commercial interests had no reservations about trampling the Constitution under foot to advance their interests regardless of the economic suffering imposed on the South. Hence Southern States depended upon strict adherence to the Constitution and States Rights to protect their commercial and political interests from an unsympathetic Northern majority that aggressively advanced its interests over that of the nation.

Southern secession would mean a devastating loss of Federal tax revenue to the Union. Moreover, Southern free trade would ruin Northern shipping. Foreign trade would shift from high-tariff Northern ports to low-tariff Southern ports.

On March 29, 1861, Lincoln's Cabinet approved his plan to reinforce Fort Sumter, although they knew it meant war. Col. Robert E. Lee was already in route from Texas to Washington for a meeting with U.S. Army Commandant Winfield Scott, who had been his commander in the Mexican War. Scott considered Lee the greatest military genius in America. They met in Washington on April 1 and evidently discussed the possibility of war--which Scott already knew was in the works.

At 4:30 am on April 12, Confederate batteries encircling Fort Sumter began to bombard it to prevent its reinforcement and resupply by Union warships nearing Charleston's defense perimeter. Fort Sumter was forced to surrender to the Confederates on April 14, but Lincoln never expected reinforcement and resupply to be accomplished. His real purpose was to use the Fort Sumter incident to rally the Northern public to support his planned invasion of the South.

On April 15, Lincoln called on state governors for 75,000 volunteers to invade the Southern states and put down the “rebellion.” This was the immediate cause of the war.

On April 18, Francis Preston Blair, acting with Lincoln's authorization, offered Lee the position of Supreme Commander of the United States Army and command of nearly 100,000 men.

Lee later described his reaction:

“After listening to his remarks, I declined the offer he made me to take command of the army that was to be brought into the field; stating as candidly and as courteously as I could, that, though opposed to secession and deprecating war, I could take no part in an invasion of the Southern States.”

As an immediate consequence of Lincoln's call for 75,000 troops to invade the South, four other states seceded: Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina. In addition, Lincoln had to send troops to Missouri, Kentucky, and Maryland to prevent them from seceding.

Lee resigned his commission in the U.S. Army on April 20, and wrote this brief note to his sister:

With all my devotion to the Union and the feeling of loyalty and duty of an American citizen, I have not been able to make up my mind to raise my hand against my relatives, my children, my home. I have therefore resigned my commission in the Army, and save in defense of my native state, with the sincere hope that my poor services may never be needed, I hope I may never be called on to draw my sword.”

To his wife, he had already written: “There is no sacrifice I am not ready to make for the preservation of the Union save that of honor.” hope that my poor services may never be needed, I hope I may never be called on to draw my sword.”

To his wife, he had already written:

“There is no sacrifice I am not ready to make for the preservation of the Union save that of honor.”