Who was Robert E. Lee? Was he a hero or was he a traitor? For some, Robert E. Lee is an almost god like figure for others, he is a paradox. When Abraham Lincoln was elected President, South Carolina seceded and was quickly followed by six more southern states: Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. General Winfield Scott asked Colonel Robert E. Lee to take command of the United States Army to put down the rebellion. Lee, however, offered his services to the newly elected President of the Confederate States of America, Jefferson Davis. Mr. Davis accepted them and Lee was made a general in CSA service. By joining the Confederacy Lee was going against the Union. However, after the war Lee was very involved in uniting the Union again. It was said in The Hero of The South by Merrill Root that "the man who fought against the Union showed us what unity means". …