As if defeat itself isn’t bad enough, seeing the Union Army cheerfully waving the battle flag of Virginia is the ultimate humiliation. That flag represented them, their pride, and their honor.
During the battle, Longstress tries to pray but cannot. There is no one there, just like when his children died. Longstreet’s men are the only children and family he has left. And now they have died. So Longstreet tries to kill himself by riding into the battle.
Lee guides his men gently. When Lee comes into Longstreet’s camp, it is almost a biblical scene with the dark sky, and the men surrounding him, pleading with him. Lee has a presence that they all respond to and need, and they make him larger than life. Even in defeat, he has a majesty that continues to inspire the men.
Longstreet doesn’t want to forgive Lee. Yet Lee can still get to Longstreet’s emotions. Lee’s fatigue, his vulnerability, his shielding of his eyes to hide his emotions from view — all these things melt Longstreet in spite of his rage. When Lee tries to say something, Longstreet just tells Lee, “Never mind.” Longstreet agrees to take care of things. When Lee is assured of Longstreet’s help, he recovers his strength.
Why do men die? Longstreet says he cannot go on leading men to die for nothing. Lee reflects that each man dies for his own reasons, not for their commanders. Lee doubts that the outcome of the war itself ever really mattered and that God will not ask about that in the end. Lee tells Longstreet that while commanders may have no cause, soldiers do. It is the only way they ever stand a chance of winning. It is like life itself: In the end, the challenges and the outcomes are irrelevant. It is the response chosen and the quality of its execution that matters. There is nothing else.
