User blog:Ekreture/Robert E. Lee vs. Emilio Aguinaldo

Hello everybody. For my second battle. I'm pitting two men who rebelled against the United States against each other.

Robert E. Lee, the brilliant tactician who led the Confedarate army in the American Civil War, and would come to be known as one of the best American military leaders in all of history.

Emilio Aguinaldo, the first revolutionary President of the Phillipines, who led the Phillipine revolution against the Spanish, who fought alongside America during the Spanish-American war, and who would later fight the United States in the Phillipine-American war.

WHO IS DEADLIEST?

Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee (1807-1870) is perhaps one of the most famous American generals of all time. Lee was born into a military family, his father being Major General Henry Lee III, who was a top Westpoint graduate, and who fought in the American Revolution on the Revolutionary side. His father was also the governor of Virginia, and Robert Lee was raised to put your home first, and was incredibly proud of his heritage. Henry Lee I, his great grandfather, was one of the first colonists in Virginia.

When a relative who he was living with wanted him to get into Westpoint at the age of 17, he spoke little of his academic prowess (which he had), and instead spoke of his family's importance, and in the March of 1824, he was let into West Point.

After graduating 2nd in his class, Lee would become a military engineer, and later distinguished himself in the Mexican-American war.

When the Southern States began to secede, he dismissed them as ridiculous and as anarchists. He, for a while, remained incredibly loyal to the Union, and accepted a promotion to Colonel in March of 1861. It was not until his native state of Virginia seceded would he consider joining Confederacy, as he refused to bear arms against his home state. He resigned from the US army on April 20 of that year and took control of the Virginia state forces three days later. As time went on, he was responsible for more and more Confederate victories. He also was incredibly inventive. For instance, he is sometimes credited with inventing trench warfare, as he surrounded Richmond, the Confederate capital, with trenches, which would prove pivotol in coming battles. Another famous decision he made was to offer slaves emancipation in exchange for army service. In 1865, he was made general-in-chief of Confederate forces.

X FACTORS

Experience - 86

Tactics - 94

Personal Health - 67

Fighting Skill - 76

Emilio Aguinaldo
Emilio Aguinaldo (1869-1964) led the Phillipines in three different wars: the Phillipine Revolution against Spain, the Spanish-American war, and the Phillipine-American war. Born to parents of mixed Chinese and Filipino descent, he grew up quite wealthy, his father being the community's municipal governor. At the age of 25, he joined the Katipunan, which was devoted to the expulsion of the Spanish through military force. When the rebellion began two years later, Aguinaldo refused to join, saying he didn't want to be a part of an unsuccesful revolution, and that the rebels were too lightly armed to be succesful. When he did join, he didn't even have to resort to guerilla warfare, and drove out the Spanish from his area in set piece battles.

With the Spanish temporarily driven out of the Phillipines, Aguinaldo was elected president of the Phillipine Republic, however, it wouldn't be too long until the Spanish invaded again, and the president was sent to exile in Hong Kong. When America attacked the Phillipines and blockaded Manilla, they agreed to send Aguinaldo back, where he took control of all Filipino forces, and later declared the Phillipines independant. While at first it was a dictatorial government, he decided to end that, and made it a republic.

When America captured Manila and declared the Phillipines a part of the United States, tensions began to grow. After a Filipino was shot and killed by an American sentry, war began, and Aguinaldo once again led the Filipino army, however, this time, he found Guerilla warfare to be far more effective.

In 1901, Aguinaldo was captured and surrendered to the United States. When the Japanese conquered the Phillipines, he actually urged the country not to use violence, saying that he was tired of constantly fighting off the invaders, and saying they must cooperate for now and find a better way of dealing with the foreigners. He would die in 1964 at the age of 94.

X FACTORS

Experience - 79

Tactics - 83

Personal Health - 90

Fighting Skill - 86