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Date published: 9/13/2006
Frank Withrow's letter shows the sad state of understanding of our system of government and requires a rebuttal ["Lee? Speak no more of the traitor," Sept. 9]. Lee did not "break his oath and abandon his duty when he joined the Confederate cause." He resigned his commission. President Lincoln had declared a blockade of southern ports on April 19, and Lee knew what was coming next: an unconstitutional invasion of the states to overthrow elected state governments. As the saying goes, "When you take the king's shilling, you do the king's bidding." When one is asked to violate one's oath to the Constitution, the honorable thing to do is resign the office. If you cannot do the king's bidding, you cannot take the king's shilling. This is what honorable men do. Perhaps Mr. Withrow thinks that officers should obey every government order, even unconstitutional ones. More's the pity. The soldiers who guarded the walls at Auschwitz felt much the same way. Lee's conduct is exactly what should be held up as an example of what honorable men do when faced with orders that violate their solemn oaths to the Constitution. Jonathan WhiteOxfordshire, England
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