Author Jonathan Horn to Focus on Lee at Washington College
Lee Chapel and Museum presents “Remembering Robert E. Lee” with a speech by author and former White House presidential speech writer Jonathan Horn on Oct. 12 at 12:15 p.m. in the Lee Chapel Auditorium.
Horn will speak about “Lee at Washington College: The Link and the Legacy.” The public is invited at no charge.
There will be a book signing of Horn’s book, “The Man Who Would Not Be Washington” at 10:30 a.m. in the Lee Chapel Museum Shop the morning of his talk. The book will be available for purchase at that time.
Horn’s writing has appeared in the Washington Post, The New York Times “Disunion” series, The Weekly Standard, and other outlets. He has appeared on MSNBC, the PBS NewsHour, C-SPAN and the BBC radio. “The Man Who Would Not Be Washington” was on the Washington Post bestseller list.
During his time at the White House, Horn served as a speechwriter and special assistant to President George W. Bush. He is a graduate of Yale University.
“For generations, Washingtons and Lees had lived along the Potomac,” said Horn. “Lee’s father was Washington’s most famous eulogist, author of the famous words ‘first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen.’ Meanwhile, Lee’s father-in-law was George Washington’s adopted son.”
Horn continued, “These connections were so powerful at the start of the Civil War that an emissary for the Lincoln administration actually tried to persuade Lee to accept command of the main Union army by arguing that the country looked to Lee as ‘the representative of the Washington family.’ Lee’s place in history today would be very different had he accepted that offer instead of casting his fate with Virginia.”
