“It is well that war is so terrible, otherwise we should grow too fond of it.”

— Robert E. Lee

Comment to James Longstreet, on seeing a Union charge repelled in the Battle of Fredericksburg (13 December 1862)
1860s

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "It is well that war is so terrible, otherwise we should grow too fond of it." by Robert E. Lee?

Robert E. Lee 55

Confederate general in the Civil War 1807–1870

Related quotes

“It is probably well that we had the war when we did. We are better off now than we would have been without it, and have made more rapid progress than we otherwise should have made… But this war was a fearful lesson, and should teach us the necessity of avoiding wars in the future.”

Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885) 18th President of the United States

Conclusion
1880s, Personal Memoirs of General U. S. Grant (1885)

“When a war breaks out, people say: "It's too stupid; it can't last long." But though the war may well be "too stupid," that doesn't prevent its lasting. Stupidity has a knack of getting its way; as we should see if we were not always so much wrapped up in ourselves.”

Albert Camus book The Plague

The Plague (1947)

“You might as well appeal against the thunder-storm as against these terrible hardships of war.”

William T. Sherman (1820–1891) American General, businessman, educator, and author.

1860s, 1864, Letter to the City of Atlanta (September 1864)
Context: You might as well appeal against the thunder-storm as against these terrible hardships of war. They are inevitable, and the only way the people of Atlanta can hope once more to live in peace and quiet at home, is to stop the war, which can only be done by admitting that it began in error and is perpetuated in pride.