Lee wrote to his bounty hunters, telling them that at least one slave girl "could pass for white."
Pryor adds another shocker -- in a calm way. The average percentage of mulatto slaves at any given slave plantation was 10%,
PROVES GOD ORDAINED SLAVERY
Torture of your slave -- for no apparent reason!-- was your right as a master. You can torture her to death -- to death - as long as she does not die that day Exodus 20 21
Pryor did not use the word "Slave ledgers" . Nor would the Lee family want Lee to be seen in that light, naturally. Instead Pryor used the term "Monthly Account books."
It is important to know that Pryor could and did use Lee's "monthly account books" to reveal Lee's payment to bounty hunters and slave auctions -- two slave auction were nearby .
Pryor dressed up the shocking news of slave auctions by claiming a "rebellious" slave name Rome had to be sent to a place where he would learn to behave.
What Pryor knew and omitted -- Lee and others, if their own overseer could not torture that slave enough-- masters sent the slave to be beaten almost daily, to be "broken"
Lee's defense of torture - of course -- was the bible.
Slaves "must endure painful instruction"
One of the common books in the South was a book about God Ordained slavery. Front and center of that book is the scipture that you can torture your slave to death -- for no apparent reason!- as long as he or she lived until morning, then died.
If they die in the next day or too, that was okay -- buecase "It;s your money"
INSTRUCTION
PER PRYOR
Understandably, the Virginia Historical Society was not about to dump the sadism of Robert E Lee -- and the cowardice of Robert E Lee at the end without a fight.
The Virginia Historical Society exists largely to praise Robert E Lee, and to portray him as a man of GOD who was against slavery.
"Increasingly, whites were enslaving other whites"
Such a big deal to Lee -- that he paid more to have those girls, and paid more to have them captured.
WE OBEY GOD ALMIGHTY
AS REVEALED TO US
IN THE BIBLE
Exodus 21:20-21
WHites generally, and slave owners particularly -- claimed slavery -- and the torture of slaves-- was biblicalAnd indeed SLAVERY AND TORTURE OF SLAVES -- it was biblical.
WE SEE IT NOW
TO PROTECT HIS PROPERTY"
VIOLENTLY AGAINST SLAVERY
"Virginia scholars" were allowed to study Lee's slave ledgers (and other papers) for twelve weeks.*
God ordains slavery -- approved it.
The same day Lee tortured slaves, he probably thought or said his victims "must endure" and trust God .Before a human can torture or enslave or rape -- whatever -- they must justify it somehow.
Pryor never bluntly used the term "slave ledgers."
It sounded better to say "monthly account books"
Yet from those "monthly accounts," Pryor could tell us Lee paid 600% higher prices for slave women than slave men.
Why pay far higher prices from women?
And since Lee is sold -- taught -- as against slavery, what the fuck is he doing with 226 slaves?
Why the fuck would Lee know or hire bounty hunters.
Pryore tells us the first thing Lee did when he took over "management" of the slaves -- he had two whipping posts installed.
Why the fuck install torture devices?
Pryor had an excuse--Pryor wrote "as a silent reminder for the slaves to obey".
See what Pryor did there?
Yes, the whipping post were silent, they never screamed or begged for merch!
So she did not lie, right?
____________________
SLAVERY IS LIBERTY
Slavery was not only a spiritual freedom according to Lee seems owning slave was rather pleasurable
Lincoln exposed slave owners as "pleasure seekers."
He did not go into detail that we know of,
But others did go into detail. The vice President of the Confederacy said how slave women were treated was "DISGUSTING"
SMILE SLAVEY
A slave, women (or men)must, by Gods word obey the master -- sexual demand were no exception,
and show joy. Slaves had to show joy.
Frederick Douglas was owned by a master who whipped slaves if they did not show joy.* If you look unhappy or disrecpteful, you could get tortured.
But the most common torture was, surprisingly according to Frederick Douglas ....simple starvation - tied up and left on the ground, and starved.
NO OTHER WAY
Point is humans Lee had tortured did scream and beg for mercy.
Pryor knew. There were thousands of slaves and witnesses who documented the tortures.
That was the whole purpose of using bounty hunters to whip the slaves if they tried to escape. To inflict so much paid
to terrorize everyone
torture is the only way they knew how to keep their money and power.
_______________
INSTRUCTIONS
By the way -- Lee called torture "instructions" See for your self.
Pain is necessary for their instructions, Lee said in a letter to his wife.
Mary Custis wife did not want Lee torture the slaves -- she grew up with those slaves from child hood.
She knew many of them when they were born.
But she could hear the screams -- of small salves even -- as Lee hand them whipped.
Even more cruel -- reports at the time, and witnesses after the war, said Lee screamed at the slaves as he had them tortured.
Tortured is the right fucking word. that's why we use it, and why history teachers and text books should use it , too.
____________________
OTHERS
Pryor could and very carefully di tell us Lee bought "others." Others - what the hell did that mean? Pryor was a scholar, very adroit at words and word games.
You have to read her passage like that very closely --and check the notes. But "others" were human beings Lee paid to own that were kidnapped illegally
Pryor jumped into dazzle and give a reason Lee "failed to fill out the time consuming paperwork."
As if there is any paperwork fill out to buy or sell humans. Pryor had to say something -- so she said that.
Pryor, however, on Lee's torture of slave girls was oddly blunt.
Perhaps worn out using euphemism and double speak -- and finding no way to mention torture of screaming girls in a way the Virginia Historical society would approve of, she had to be candid.
She apparently shocked the living shit out of the Virginia Historical society, who pretended they had not read "all " of Lee's papers.
Of course they read all of Lee's slave ledgers and dirty letters to various women. Of course they saw the prices and names.
Of course they could see Lee had white looking slave girls who tried to escape, and see Lee sent bounty hunters after her with specific instructions.
Of course they could see Lee knew rape was common.
On and on.
But they were not about to tell their readers.
Sadly PRyor died on April 15 in a traffic accident not far from where Lee's slaves were buried in unmarked graves. While Lee was entombed in religous setting
Those whose psychologically or socially need Lee myth to be accurate -- you might not want to read Pryor's book with the above in mind.
Why find out that your heroes were cruel bastards, and or cowards (true)
and that you were lied to for your entire educational period. books with the above things in mind..
There will be linguistic tricks to tell you, but not too bluntly, that rape was common at Lee's slave farm.
There will be pages that even more gently reveal Lee's purchase of kidnapped women from bounty hunters.
Lee "failed to fill out time consuming paper work."
Pryor wrote that "technically." Lee might have broken the law.
That's the Pryor Dance. Two steps forward, one step back, oh look, a butterfly.
Scholar, Diplomat, Historian.
A Lee devotee and family friend.
_____________________________________
If Pryor could ask Robert Lee one thing, it might have been: Please -- Please General Lee -- burn your damn slave ledgers.
_____________________________________
Lee did not burn his slave ledgers.
Lee did not burn his bounty hunter instructions.
Lee did not even burn his sexually charged letters, to and from various women - even long after he was married.
How would Pryor tell the Lee family?
How would Pryor tell the Virginia "scholars"?
Pryor and 7 other "Lee scholars" were allowed to study Lee's slave ledgers.
No one should be surprised that the other "Virginia" scholars, whose pride and purpose in life was to glorify Lee, dared mention any of this in a candid way.
Human nature is not like that. If you spent years bragging about man of GOD Lee -- if your pay check and income and retirement came largely from repeating goofy myths, who has every flipped to tell the truth?
NO one - no one has every done such a thing.
Pryor did -- carefully-- expose more than anyone before dared. But her status, her job, her pension, her glory was not about repeating the goofy myth of Lee as a man of God, a man against slavery.
Notice none of those "Virginia scholars" apparently want Lee's slave ledgers, prices he paid for women, compared to prices he paid for men -- to be made public
And much -- much -- more.
Like how much did Lee profit when he sold a slave child, apparently to punish the mother or terrorize all mothers, because Lee did shit like that. Other slavers did shit like that too, but Lee did it to punish -- sell a child to punish a mother.
Gee -- I wonder why these "scholars" whimped out. The want the "real history" right? They care what "really happened" and what Lee wrote in his slave ledgers, right?
Ah -- not so much.
_________________________________
Pryor told it all -- the torture, the sale of children -- Lee ordering his own men shot in battle if they do not attack
ALL of it in Lee's hand writing. All of it in Lee's slave ledgers.
Lee wrote it all down
_________________________________
Lee family allowed Pryor and four* others to study Lee's slave ledgers and Lee's private papers at length.
No one thought there would be slave ledger in his "papers."
No one thought Lee's bounty hunter instructions would be there -- or that Lee even had slaves or a need for slave ledgers.
But there they were. All in Lee's handwriting.
_________________________
The Lee Family will not release Lee's slave ledgers to to the public-
They probably wish to hell they never allowed Pryor touch them, much less study then.
_________________________
THE OTHERS REFUSED
We are still working on the names of anyone allowed to see - - and study -- the slave ledgers.
To pretend they had access to Lee's trunks, but did not notice 40 or more slave ledgers (monthly ledgers -- Pryor wrote) is not credible. They read them, they studied them and they sure as fuck did not tell anyone about in any candid way.
Human nature that -- not a plot. But no one in hierarchy of Virginia historians was going be candid about torture, raped, whipping posts, bounty hunters
_____________________
Historians since 1920 knew of the two trunks, but the Lee family, for whatever reason, did not see fit to let anyone see them -- and they are not about to let the public see them now.
For generations we were taught, by self confident sincere men, taught teachers and text books and movies and even scholars told us - Lee had no slaves.
_____________________
NO FAULTS TO PROBE
NO SLAVES
THE MOST CHASTE MAN,
THE MOST TIDY MAN
THEY MOST BRAVE MAN
THE MOST DEVOUT
THE MOST HONEST
THE MOST SINCERE
On and on and on, Douglas Southall Freeman listed 4 columns of noble human traits --- and then "proved" Lee was the most everything of all.
Stupid chits ate it up. And still do,
_______________________-
NO -- THE TRUTH IS NOT SOMEWHERE IN THE BIDDLE
THE FUCKING TRUTH IS NOT IN THE MIDDLE.
THE FUCKING TRUTH IS IN LEE"S SLAVE LEDGERS
_______________________-
Freeman not only was insane, if insanity includes compulsive liar, he lied his ass off. He claimed to have found a treasure trove of documents that proved all of this.
He found no such thing, Nothing.
There is no possible document that Lee was kind. In fact, he was a sadist -- a man who gets joy from giving pain. Lee personally order small slave girls to be torture-- and Lee personally yell "hit her harder, hit her hard" -- though the vernacular of the time it was "Lay it on, lay it on.
Lee did much more -- orderd it done -- to this small slave girl. He taunted her before she was tortured -- he bragged she will never forget this -- and he paid a nearby bounty hunter to do the torture.
He had salt poured on her wounds according to three newspapers at the time
None of this - none - was the idea of anyone but Lee.
Lee paid the bounty hunters. Lee paid the man who did the torture. Lee paid the costs of housing the escaped slaves until he could be there personally to watch them be tortured.
Lee was MORE cruel than other slave owners. Not less cruel.
Lee "ONLY WANTED TO BRING MEN TO CHRIST."
_____________________
Freeman was not scholarship -- it was a lying contest.
Lee, we were told, prayed with black women when no else would.
Lee was "violently" against slavery and prayed for it to end.
Entire books are filled with utter nonsense -- to the point that authors seems to compete for the most outlandish -- and as we know now -- false.
Lee was "violently" against slavery said one historian. Lee "emphatically said so, said that fool. (He referred to Lee's famous letter to his wife -- see below)
Yet now we know Lee had the largest slave farm in Viginia. He not only owned a documented 266 humans, Lee bought and sold they like some folks buy and sell stocks,
Children -- the offspring -- was money in the bank for slave owners. That's how Lee became wealthy -- he did not sell cotton, he sold humans.
As Robert Toombs bragged -- the rapid increase in slave numbers is proof of the kind treatment from slave owners,
Toombs added that soon the rapid increase of slave would greatly outnumber whites, and the white race would be "exterminated"
But until there were so many slaves Contrary to the nonsense that his wife owned slaves -- not Lee -- Lee became the legal owner when he married her -- might have been the reason Lee chose his wife, a rather homely woman, and Lee quit the stud and quite the catch for any slave owning woman,
266 slaves, ignored court orders to free slaves, and paid bounty hunters to capture and "discipline" slaves.
Only one - Pryor --dared to mention prices Lee paid, and income Lee gained. Apparently all others who had Lee's slave ledgers in their hand "punted" -- they were not about to expose Lee's cruelty.
It was not their job to "expose the ugly" as Pryor claimed her duty. The others who studied Lee's slave ledgers and sexually explicit letters to various women -- and more --their job apparently was to keep the Lee myth going, and not be hated intensely by most of the whites in Virginia and all former slave states.
Lee was, of course, the man who "had no fault's to probe" according to Pulitzer Prize Winner, Douglas Southall Freeman.
Freeman's goofy (and they are goofy) statements about Lee were accepted, and may always be accepted in slave states, as Gospel.
It was said of Freeman if Lee farted, Freeman could tell you what Robert ate for lunch.
Only one- - Pryor -- dared to mention that newspapers at the time, which wrote about Lee's sadism, were "unquestionably correct." Why were they correct?
Because Lee's own hand written slave ledgers and instructions verified those newspaper reports.
The date, the names, the actions in the newspapers Lee's hand written ledgers verified them
It would be impossible for those newspaper reports to know what Lee wrote in his own ledgers, his own writings.
AFTER THE WAR INTERVIEWS
Furthermore newspaper reporters after the war went to Arlington -- Lee's slave farm--and found former slaves still working at the former slave farm.
The found some of the slaves who were actually tortured by Lee -- meaning, by Lee's orders. By Lee's direction.
It would of course be impossible for those former slaves to know what the hell Robert wrote in his ledgers, his letters.
Pryor sure as hell did not want to trash Lee - she bent over backwards to blame others -- even the slaves. She bent over backwards to minimize Lee's sadism and sexual writings.
Undertandably, Pryor was not about to be candid. If the Lee family wanted candor, they could just publish Lee's slave ledgers and instructions to bounty hunters, and Lee's sexually charged letters to various women (plural) after his marriage, they could do that.
These "monthly account books" is where Lee recorded prices he paid for humans, including slave girls. Lee recorded the pay to bounty hunters, hired and directed to capture dozens of slaves -- including a white looking small slave ("could pass for white" as Lee phrased it),
Pryor carefully told readers that Lee "technically may have broken the law" when he purchased "others. "
Other than what?
What law did Lee "technically break" Pryor said Lee may have "technically broken the law - regarding a purchase of humans . She did not make clear who -- Pryor just wrote "others?
Pryor quickly added Lee did so to avoid time consuming paperwork.
What the fuck time consuming paper work was involved with any purchase?
Pryor had to lessen blame somehow, in her text, so she used a gentle, but deceptive trick.
Still, no one else even admitted this much,
You can read Pryor's book, "Reading the Man," yet cling the the Lee Myths we were taught.
Pryor's book started with seemingly endless flattery of Lee, a requirement even those few authors who dare question the Lee myth.
Pryor problem was HOW -- how on earth, would she reveal Lee's preferred torture was the whip. Or that Lee wrote sexually charged letters to various women after he was married
HOW would Pryor tell her readers that Lee ordered his own soldiers shot during battle -- if they ran.
HOW would Pryor tell her readers that made an elderly slave buy -- buy -- his own grandchild from Lee.
HOW would she reveal that Lee sold slave children to punish the mother.
HOW would she reveal that rape was common at Lee's slave farm?
HOW would she reveal that Lee hoped sick slaves would "die quickly"
HOW would she reveal Lee had other ways to "instruct" escaped slaves.
IF Pryor was candid-- of course-- she would be instantly despised by the public. It's possible, given the goofy adoration of Lee, that someone would do her harm
___________________
SLAVES WERE LIKE TRACTORS -- IDIOTS HAVE CLAIMED ON TWITTER
One problem showing Lee's sadism is that most US citizens believe the lie that slaves were often treated like family.
Goof ball "twitter historians" claimed a master would treat a slave well, for the same reason a farmer treats his tractors well.
Yet the whole intent of torture was to remind slaves to obey.
Slaves were raped, as Pryor revealed "slavery was common" at Lee's slave plantation, though she decided not to go into detail.
To this day, domination, whipping torture is considered an erotic act. At that time, quite legal to torture your slave, and no penalty for a white man to impregate slaves or slaves forced word at whore houses.
Lee, as mentioned, had over 50% mullato slaves. And had slaves that could pass for white.
_________________
--- sold to the highest bidder, so that "comely" (meaning sexy looking) could be and were sold to houses of prostitution, or just a man who wanted a sexual slave.
Slaves were actually forced to watch other slaves being tortured
Slavery only existed if the slave was terrified to escape, or could not escape. By definition, slaves must do as master demands.
Not so, as we learned from the testimony of a thousand slaves reporting rape, murder starvation, plucking eyes out, branding, burning to death -- forcing family to watch their child tortures.
Frederick Douglass writings showed a man who had Douglas watch as the master whipped a small girl almost to death -- as the master yelled bible scripture
When the girl was near death, unresponsive, the master had her dragged to the woods to die alone, in pain if she could still feel anything
The last thing she heard in life - the master yelling bible scripture.
That pretty much defines slave owners,
There was no limit to slave owner cruelty.
The master was their GOD -- if their master was evil -- the master would face God sometime for that.
But mean while, the slave woman was to obey anything - anything including sexual obedience
For a slave to resist -- to fight back --to injure a man torturing them or their children, could and did get slaves punished - even burned to death.
--------
"LEE WAS THE WORST MAN WE EVER KNEW"
SALT ON WOUNDS
Pryor has to be stunned to find that -- as reported at the time -- Lee had salt applied to wounds after the torture. While Lee "scholar" claimed yes, Lee did that -- he did so to aiding their healing. Never mind that
We even know the words Lee screamed --as the bounty hunter applied the lash to the mazimum number -- he screamed "Lay it on, Lay it on."
That was a term that meant Harder, hit her harder"
The point is, get the full story. Not the horseshit made up later by fools, liars, and those who repeate fools and liars.
______________________________________________________
500 WAYS TO TELL YOU ABOUT LEE'S TORTURE AND ABOUT HIS SEXUALLY EXPLICIT LETTER
500 WAYS TO TELL YOU LEE ORDERED HIS OWN SOLDIERS SHOT WHO RAN IN BATTLE
500 WAYS TO
There was a 1000 ways-- maybe 50,000 ways -- for Pryor to reveal any particular fact.
At the start of her book, Pryor does the typical required dance -- Lee was the most brave and honorable man -- braver than Richard the Lionhearted.
His entire family was generation after generation noble, kind fearless- - etc.
____________________
UNTIL SHE TOLD US ABOUT LEE'S FATHER --
A man who executed slave girl, and was hated, even despised by many who knew him. White Horse Harry Lee -- Pryor reveals the ugly.
A cruel man who was endlessly corrupt, for example he sold slaves, helped them escape, captured them, and sold them again.
He was chased down by men he cheated, left for dead, with hot was poured on his eyes. Robert Lee was disgusted and shamed by his father -- White Horse lost the family estate because of his endless frauds.
Lee found his father when White Horse was left for dead, and took him in to comfort, until White Horse died.
For the rest of his life, it seems Robert E Lee was obsessed to regain that glory -- meaning get that large number of slaves and get the biggest slave plantation for those slaves to work.
Oh -- and keep the money from their labor.
One more thing -- to keep the money from the sale of humans, and from renting out slaves to plantations deeper (meaning more deadly) in the deep south.
That was good business at the time.
Best of all -- for Lee- it was Godly.
lantation.
As usual -- the "encyclopedia of Virginia
and every such publication, put out various degrees of nonsense. Such sources endlessly repeat the nonsense, until now, to expose the truth about Robert E Lee and or his son, would be to risk your reputation, if not your life (depending how you revealed it).
Pryor was exceedingly careful -- even clever-- at revealing
1)Lee's slave ledgers
2) Lee instructions to bounty hunters
3)Lee's record of paying to have slaves "disciplined"
4) Lee's sexually explicit letters to various woman for years after his marriage- -
5) Lee's refusal to obey repeated court orders to free certain slaves (contrary to what we were taught)
6) Lee's use of slave auctions to purchase and sell slaves
7) Lee's habit of selling children away from the mother
8) Pryor's big problem was how to tell the Lee family and the world about
"LEE'S HAND WRITTEN SLAVE LEDGERS"
______________________
Pryor tells us Lee used "Monthly account books." We know the information in those "monthly account books" was financial record of slaves -- sales of, purchases of. And payments to bounty hunters.
Payment Pryor simply calls "others" -- others who sold Lee free men and women -- not escaped slaves. "Technically," Pryor wrote, Lee broke the law. She excused that by this trick "Lee avoided time consuming paper work"
As if buy humans has paper work attached, time consuming or not. But Pryor had to say something to soften the sadistic cruel reality of slave owner Lee -- so she did.
We know Lee kept exceedingly detailed records, because Pryor could tell us -- from Lee's handwritten account books- the name age, and prices of slaves. Prices Lee received at slave auctions, for example.
Pryor even told us the name of the auction house-- close to slave farm, and almost as close to Washington DC
By the way -- Lincoln in his own handwriting wrote legislation in 1849 -- see it and his handwriting below -- to end slavery in DC. Lincoln was hated for that.
Compare that to Lee who in writing claimed slaves deserve to "endure painful discipline",
Lincoln also said slave owners should be kicked to death --see below. He was also hated for that.
_________________________________
HOW YOUNG
HOW OLD
HOW MUCH IS SHE WORTH
HOW MANY CHILDREN WILL SHE MAKE ME
THE BUSNESS OF SLAVERY
ALL ORDAINED BY GOD
GOD'S WISOM
According to thousands of South leaders --including Lee and Jeff Davis both -- slavery was "A DIVINE BLESSING."
Those who even spoke -- even preached against slavery could be arrest tried and tortured publically, after 1847
But was far bas as 1831-- South leaders bragged they would kill -- arrest and kill -- those who published Anti-slavery publications.
Lee and most others spent most of their life before the Civil War when it was a crime to preach or speak or write against slavery.
Certainly they never went to hear sermons against slavery.
In Lee's famous letter to his wife. Lee praises the invasions and killings going on then, to spread slavery in Kansas... and spread slavery then to the Pacific. That's yet another thing stupid chits and scholars never mention about Lee's letter to his wife.
Never mind that 95% of Kansas Citizens were against slavery -- and eventually became free state because of that 95% vote to be a slave state.
The whole fucking reason for Davis to send anyone to Kansas what that the Kansas Cittizens-- according to Davis's partner in Kansas Act -- were "19 of 20"e,
Pryor as mentioned, claimed it was required by law to punish-- specifically torture -- a slave who tried to escape. Pryor made up that lie (it is a lie) to blame someone other than Lee.
But Lee had a small slave woman -- age about 13--to be tortured. Tortured is the right word. Or as Lee called it, "painful discipline."
Escaped slaves, said Pryor, was Lee's biggest problem. Kind of a big deal.
So of course -- of course Edward Lee Shepard wisely never would make any of this clear. Not a plot-- this is human nature.
But did Shepard lie?
Shepard did say Lee's papers would be a "Treasure Trove" of information. So he told you, right?
Shepard told you PART of the story. So did Pryor. Neither were candid --both had their reasons. Naturally.
The part you like -- the part that made him lovable and important. That's human nature. That is not a plot.
Shepard -- naturally made damn sure he did not mention the term "Lees slave ledgers." What a web we weave when we first start to tell only part of the story.
__________________
________________
Shepard was the curator -- officially in charged of these 6000 or so Lee documents. Shepard came up with that number -- 6000-- not Pryor.
Edward found such material, (and he would have to find them if he examined all the papers. Edward Lee Shepard, for some odd reason, decided such trivial matters were not worth mentioning.
We can't judge a man like Lee- - why stir up things like facts, like torture, like buying and selling children. None of that can be important. Right?
6000 Documents, letters, ledgers, receipts, drawings, even military orders -- all from Lee, or so important to Lee he kept them.
And important to his family when Lee died. Lee saved the documents, which his family put in two trunks after Lee died in 1870*
When the Lee family picked scholars and historians to study two Pryor adored Lee --so much so that the Lee family allowed her to Study almost 6,000 pages.
Freeman claimed to have found stacks of papers from Lee-- each of them proving how amazing Lee was. Funny he never showed those papers.
HE was not writing a book, he was creating his lover, in his mind. A perfect lover in his mind. A gentle lover in his mind.
No faults to probe, Feeman says. No faults to probe.
Freeman's goal was to make the world believe his lies - and many did;
Why not believe Freeman -- self confident, -- that is 80% of fooling fools. Scholarly looking -- that is 15% more. Religious and a compelling liar, that makes it 100%.
Freeman seemed to have proof of everything he wrote.
No greater proof of the spirit and nature of Robert E Lee is that those who knew him best (the servants" Loved him most of all.
Since Freeman claimed to know all of Lee's details -- did he just not know about Lee's slave ledgers and torture of small girls? He had to know -- the newspapers of that time reported Lee's torture of small girls, and much more
Pryor won the "Lincoln Prize" for her Lee biography, "READING THE MAN" .
The Lee family allowed Pryor to study -- at length, nearly 6000 Lee documents in two trunks.
Trunks the Lee family kept for over 150 years. While scholars knew about them for 100 years, if anyone was allowed to study they before Pryor, no one knew about it.
____________________________________________________
While Pryor called Lee's slave ledgers by another name,(she called them, cleverly, "Monthly Account Books") Lee's account books were about slaves -- names dates, and prices of slaves. Who he sold -- what prices did he pay, what prices did he charge.
Pryor did tell us about a few prices Lee paid -- and received- - at auctions - slave auctions. Pryor picked on slave who she claimed was "unruly" and Lee sold him for that reason.
BUYING OTHERS
Pryor could have told us -- or shown -- all the prices- - and show whatever Lee put down in his "slave ledgers." Pryor told us -- that Lee even bought "others" -- others that were from the North.
Technically, Pryor writes, Lee broke the law when Lee bought "others" that were in the North. Grabbed, apparently, by bounty hunters and kidnappers.
Kidnapping free blacks in the North was a booming and cruel business, a bisomess scum of the earth used to get rich. Extremely violent, these kidnappers would beat victims almost to death, stuff them into wagons, and take them South to sell.
No other biographers ever hinted that Lee bought anyone.
Lee was "violently" opposed to slavery. Stupid historians have claimed Lee "was very clear" he was extremely anti slavery. That was all "proven" by Lee's "Letter to his wife"
But you gotta ask -- have those stupiod bastards even bothered to read the full letters?
Have those stupiod bastards bothers to check the context-- meaning what Lee's letter was about?
Apparently scholars and fools alike, read two or three sentences, and did not bother to finish the letter!
SLAVERY = FREEDOM
The letter was a defense of torture of slaves, slaves MUST ENDURE painful discipline.
Further more in that letter, Lee writes that slavery is a FREEDOM -- a FREEDOM - a
SPIRITUAL FREEDOM that on nation was found on. The "FREEDOM" to enslave others.
She then tells us Lee "avoided time consuming paperwork. What paper work, time consuming or not, was she talking about.
Pryor could have called her book "Lee's slave ledgers." But that would have stopped traffic in Virginia. Stopping traffic was not Pryor's goal.
SKIN TONE AND PROFIT
Lee even kept track of the skin-tone of slaves.
For example when he wrote instructions to bounty hunters about an escaped slave girl, Lee told them she could "pass for white." Lee also suggested where to find her.
Even more amazing -- perhaps - was that this light skinned girl -- could pass for white -- was one of 12 who escaped at the same time
For a guy who fools and scholars said did not own slaves, Lee's biggest problem was large number of slaves who escaped. Pryor tells us that from information -- in Lee's slave ledgers.
Another bit of information -- though not from Pryor or her book -- was the Bounty Hunters used trained slave dogs -- dogs trained to attack blacks who ran, and kill on command.
Training such dogs was a profitable business for some, as revealed in Macon Georgia newspaper ads.
Those who raised slave dogs to sell competed in their advertising on the ferocity -- the terror and danger -- of their trained dogs.
_________________
Slaves all knew this, of course, which is a big reason slave women would not take their children when they escaped -- the death of slaves from slave dogs was an added terror. No one kept track of how many slave women were captured or attacked by slave dogs. But Lee regularly used bounty hunters.
We know that -- becasue Pryor herself wrote that Lee's biggest problem with slaves -was their frequent attempts to escape. That was Lee's "biggest problem" as slave ower.
Something Lunatic Douglas Southall Freeman knew -- but was not about to tell you!
Lee had more than one slave who "could pass for white." Lee had them captured anyway. And had them punished, if they were captured, just the same.
And for those who claim Lee had no slaves- - Lee not only had slaves, he bought more. He controlled his wife's slaves, but Lee's slave ledgers show Lee bought others. See below-- Pryor was exceedingly clever how she "revealed" who Lee bought, when and why.
________________________________
It wasn't that historians were ignorant of those two trunks -- but apparently most historians assumed anything worth knowing about Lee was already revealed in details -details from Douglas Southall Freeman, who's father "served" with Lee.
Freeman started his
Like 99% of us who learned about Lee -- we assumed Freeman was not a pathological liar nor lunatic. We assume he did not make us his narrative
RIP ELIZABETH PRYOR -- 2015
_________________________________
"LEE ONLY WANTED TO BE A PLANTER"
"LEE ONLY WANTED TO BRING SOULS TO CHRIST"
_________________________________
CLEVER
Pryor tells readers that "Lee only wanted to be a Planter."
Pryor made sure she did not tell you -- "
Planter" means "Owns a large number of Slaves."
"Planter" assumes the slave owner is rich from the sale of flesh and the labor from those slaves.
"Only wanted to be a Planter"
So Pryor did not outright lie (she would outright lie if needed- - see below) But "Only wanted to be a planter" is swallowed by fools, scholars, and students alike.
___________________________________
Another clever
Words are powerful -- therefore slogans are more powerful
A word -- by itself -- is nearly meaningless. Like a book with one word title, but no story.
Humans -- naturally, being ego driven important. With slight variations, intentional or not, fools and liars can give drastically distorted views
Just omitting "details" like Lee paid extra to have slave girls trorted. And omittie details like Lee paid extra -- to have captured slaves kept in jail, until he could get there for the torture (torture is the right word).
A Lee devotee and family friend Pryor did her best to honor Lee and blame others. Her first 70 pages was the typical "Lee was the best and most kind and brave soul". She had to write that way -- probably -- to placate everyone in Virginia.
There was, however, too much Lee sadism to hide.
Sadism is the right word. When Pryor tells of the Lee's tortures, including torture of small slaves. These reports were in newspapers -- at the time. In those newspaper reports, Lee supposedly screamed at his victims, that was beyond even Pryor's considerable ability to hide completely -- but Pryor did her best.
BIGGEST PROBLEM?
Pryor's biggest problem was not organizing Lee's slave ledgers --it was how to tell the public what she found.
She herself had no idea -- Pryor believed, like most US citizens have since Douglas Southall Freeman biography of Lee.
_______________
NOW EVEN VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY KNOWS
Lee owned as minimum 266 slaves, we finally learned that from Virginia Historical Society.
MULATTO SLAVES
Amazingly Lee owned white looking female slaves -- a stunning fact that no before even hinted, much less stated. Pryor tells us, with uncommon clear prose -- that over 50% of Lee's slave were mulatto -- and some slave women passed for white.
Pryor stated that most large slave plantations had 10% or so mulatto slaves-- Lee had "over" 50. Pryor did not show us those pages in his slave ledgers that validated that --she should have, of course.
But Pryor had a drastically more difficult set of facts to reveal - like Lee's use of bounty hunters. Like Lee's "preference " for the whip as a method of "instruction."
Like Lee screaming -- taunting -- slaves before and during their torture. And after.
Like Lee's letters to various women -- not his wife -- of a sexual nature. Lee did that AFTER his marriage. He even wrote about his son's sex life to one of the women.
Like Lee's written military orders to have his own soldiers shot during battle -- if they ran. Pryor found those orders in his personal papers.
__________________________________
Most amazing- - 100% of cruelties and horror Pryor reveals about Lee -- is from Lee. From Lee's "personal papers." Lee's slave ledgers.
From Lee's written bounty hunter instructions.
From Lee's letters to various women -- for decades -- women not his wife. Letters with sexual overtones. Have you sent sexually charged letters to various women -- for years - if you were the chaste man of GOD that Douglass Southall Freeman claimed Lee was.
_________________________________
"POOR CROSS CULTURAL
COMMUNICATION SKILLS"
Lee was not the only slave owner who "disciplined" slaves by whip. We know from Frederick Douglas that physical torture -- and starvation -- were the two most common "discipline." Other forms of torture was to tie a slave into a painful position and let him rot for a few day.
Pryor could not just show us Lee's slave ledgers and letters.
It was "Lee's poor cross cultural communication skills" that caused the pain and horrors of torture."
Pryor must not have seen the film "Cool Hand Luke," where Paul Newman was tortured without mercy -- while the warden yelled
"What we have here is a failure to communicate."
Maybe so -- but Paul Newman open defied the warden. The small slave girl begged and cried-- her crime was trying to escape.
Lee paid bounty hunters to "discipline" the slaves. And as the slaves were tortured -- Lee screamed at them
Big difference.
It the "Cornerstone" speeches officially approved by Jeff Davis, and given by Alexander Stephens to explain why South created the Confederate States.
Blacks are to be enslaved -- in perpetuity.
Blacks are to be punished-- in perpetuity -- for "biblical sins."
____________________
This was not some conspiracy of evil men making up lies. They did not meet every month to invent distortions. This is human nature, to see our family and culture as lovely brave and principled men and women. When someone supplies us with such myths, of course we will welcome it.
✔️LEE WROTE ORDERS TO HAVE HIS OWN SOLDIERS SHOT IN BATTLE WHO RAN
✔️LEE WROTE SEXUALLY EXPLICIT LETTERS TO VARIOUS WOMEN
_________________________________
And much more. Robert E Lee in his own handwriting -- in his own words wrote slave ledgers and much more.
TO BOUNTY HUNTERS
Sundays slaves expected a "day off" but during that day off they had to study the bible -- guess which parts of the bible? Yet Lee is taught as wonderful because he gave slaves a "day off". The day off was to fix their clothes, grow their own food, and learn scripture about obeying the master -- regardless what the master demands.
and received
IS A FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE
Pryor also studied Lee's description of white looking slave girls -- they could pass for white, Lee wrote. Lee directed bounty hunters to where he thought the white looking slave girl might be hiding.
Pryor also found perhaps a dozen if not more, letters of a sexual nature, to and from various women -- over decades. Even after the Civil War started, Lee even wrote of his son's sexual prowess. These were not letters to and from his wife
Pryor is quick to note that there "is no evidence" that Lee actually acted or had sexual relations with any of these women.
Again this is from Lee's slave ledgers and personal letters -- Lee's letter to bounty hunters letters to and from Lee to various women -- some of those letters were of a sexual nature.. for decades Lee wrote to women who were not his wife-- and Lee included sexually explicit concepts.
THERE IS NO WAY PRYOR OR ANYONE ELSE COULD HAVE PREDICTED THAT
Probably the least important thing - that Lee was embarrassed about his baldness -- his comb over.Lee he was so embarrassed he spend two hours on the day he surrendered to Grant to look spiffy -perfectly clean. Including a comb over.Lee's friends made fun of his bald top, hence the comb over. Drawings at the time, and two photos - show his comb over.
Napoleon said history "is a joke we play on our children."