Robert E Lee wrote the letter of resignation just a little over a month after his armies retreat from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia saw 23,000 casualties at the Battle of Gettysburg, about a third of its force. The southern press began to conjecture on Lee’s leadership ability. Lee also considered the loss at Gettysburg to be his personal failure. He wrote in his letter to Davis, “I have been prompted by these reflections more than once since my return from Pennsylvania to propose to Your Excellency the propriety of selecting another commander for this army.” Davis refused to except the resignation, stating that he could find no other man “more fit to command, or who would possess more of the confidence of the army.”
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