Davis and Lee: The Confederacy’s Civil War, 1860-1865

This set of 4 lectures examines the challenges of leading the newly created Confederate States of America during an unprecedented time of total war. Confederate President Jefferson Davis and General Robert E. Lee brought a fractious, contrarian set of states within a whisker of victory – only to lose in the face of superior resources and a maturing northern command. Ultimately, the failures of their own governance and the unsustainable causes for which they fought would prove their undoing. The experience of average black and white southerners will also be explored.