Ep. 5: Wayne Hsieh on Robert E. Lee

Biography Wayne Hsieh is a history professor at the United States Naval Academy. He served on the State Department's provincial reconstruction team in Iraq from 2008 to 2009 and is the recipient of multiple awards and honors, including the Army's Commander's Award for Civilian Service and the State Department's Meritorious Honors Award. Hsieh is the author of numerous articles and the co-author of The Savage War: A Military History of the Civil War. Times 01:17 - Introduction 06:50 - Hostility toward studying Robert E. Lee 12:50 - Lee and West Point 15:18 - Senior leadership of Confederate and Union armies at West Point 17:17 - Lee's job as a junior officer in the Army Corps of Engineers 19:17 - Lee's rise during the Mexican War 23:27 - Ulysses Grant 26:21 - Stereotypes and temperaments of Civil War leaders 31:50 - What drives Lee's tactical decision-making 34:07 - Lee's strategic mistake Recorded October 6, 2021