Why the Confederacy Lost

Abstract

In one of his New Yorker short stories, Donald Barthelme introduced a character named Francesca, a young woman who was a Robert E. Lee freak. Whenever she was with Thomas, the protagonist of the story, Francesca babbled on endlessly about Lee's Lost Order No. 191, or the tactics of Pickett's Charge, or the Confederate government's failure to resupply Lee's army at Amelia Court House. Even Francesca's eyes were Confederate-gray, reflecting “a lifelong contemplation of the nobility of Lee's great horse, Traveller.” However, as the anomie which usually engulfs Barthelme's characters overtook her, Francesca was finally forced to admit that “ ‘Lee was not without his faults.… Not for a moment would I have you believe that he was faultless.’ ” Thomas roused himself to ask, “ ‘What was his principal fault?’ ” To that, Francesca offered a one-word reply: “ ‘Losing,’ she said.”