The Christian Character of Lee and Jackson

A Presentation by Stephen Lee Ritchie

Even the most casual mention of Robert E. Lee and “Stonewall” Jackson immediately suggest lives of dedicated military service and leadership. Men of widely diverse background and social station, they were both men of strong religious conviction and turned to God not only in times of gratitude or need but to express their abiding faith in God’s plan for their lives and the future of their country.

Originally delivered as the Keynote Address on Lee-Jackson Day in Lee Chapel on the campus of Washington and Lee University, this talk will focus on “The Christian Character of Lee and Jackson” and using their most intimate words and writings, will illustrate the unwavering faith of two great men both in times of great adversity and in their daily lives.

Bio: Stephen Lee Ritchie

Stephen Lee Ritchie holds degrees in both U.S. History and U.S. Government from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. He is a former Staff Historian for the Civil War Education Association and for 15 years was the Historian of the Civil War Institute at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia. Steve is also a past Camp Commander of the National Camp of the Year, Past Indiana Division Commander and Past Adjutant in Chief of the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

An award-winning historian, in 1998 he was honored to be presented the Jefferson Davis Historical Gold Medal by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, in 2013, the Dr. William Woods Hassler Award for Civil War Studies by the Civil War Education Association and in 2014 the Robert E. Lee Gold Medal by the Sons of Confederate Veterans, the second highest award given by that organization.