What happened on April 20 - Interesting US History

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ON THIS DAY IN UNITED STATES HISTORY

April 20, 1861

Robert E. Lee Resigns His Commission in the U.S. Army
to Command Forces of His Home State of Virginia

On this day in 1861, Robert E. Lee made the difficult decision to resign his commission in the United States Army. The decision did not come lightly. On many occasions he had criticized the south for talk of secession and had declared he would never take up arms agains the Union but in the end, his loyalty to his state of Virginia was too strong to ignore.

On April 23, he took up command of the Virginia state forces. Although he got off to a rocky start, Lee eventually became well respected and is considered by some historians as one of the best Generals in American history (although he technically was not an American general during the Civil War).

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April 20, 1861

Robert E. Lee Resigns His Commission in the U.S. Army to Command Forces of His Home State of Virginia

Robert E. Lee Resigns His Commission in the U.S. Army
to Command Forces of His Home State of Virginia