Faculty and staff invited to discussion around Ty Siedule’s book on Robert E. Lee

The Pell Honors Program is partnering with the McAuley Institute for Mercy Education to present a community read of “Robert E. Lee and Me: A Southerner’s Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause” by Ty Siedule.

Dr. Theresa Ladrigan-Whelpley, vice president for mission integration, and Dr. Bill Leeman, program director of the Pell Honors Program and professor in the Department of History, will offer a faculty and staff book discussion with free lunch on Friday, Oct. 28, from 1-2:30 p.m.

Registration is required to attend. Anyone who would like a copy of the book to read and register for this luncheon should email pellhonors@salve.edu.

Ty Seidule grew up revering Robert E. Lee. From his southern childhood to his service in the U.S. Army, every part of his life reinforced the Lost Cause myth: that Lee was the greatest man who ever lived and that the Confederates were underdogs who lost the Civil War with honor. Now as a retired brigadier general and Professor Emeritus of History at West Point, his view has radically changed. From a soldier, a scholar and a southerner, Ty Seidule believes that American history demands a reckoning.

Part history lecture, part meditation on the Civil War and its fallout and part memoir, “Robert E. Lee and Me” challenges the deeply-held legends and myths of the Confederacy―and provides a surprising interpretation of essential truths that the U.S. still has a difficult time articulating and accepting.

The event will culminate with an in person presentation from author Ty Seidule on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022 at 7 p.m. More details on this will be forthcoming.