Monday August 8th, 1863
Confederate General Robert E. Lee Resigns
Former Confederate General Robert E. Lee
Confederate General Robert E. Lee resigned as commander of the Army of Northern Virginia after his defeat at Gettysburg by sending Confederate President Jefferson Davis a letter. President Davis refused the request by writing “To ask me to substitute you by someone…more fit to command, or who would possess more of the confidence of the army…is to demand an impossibility.