I've noticed in the movies, and now confirmed with REAL photographs, that Gen. Robert E. Lee always wore the rank of Colonel, rather than his authorized rank of General.

Confederate rank was a little different than traditional Union rank (which we still use today). A Confederate Major was denoted by one star, a Lieutenant Colonel by two stars, and a Colonel by three stars. Generals of all grades (one through four stars) were denoted by the same device; it was three small stars encircled by a wreath.

Here are three original photographs of Gen. Lee wearing Confederate Colonel's rank. They were all taken a few days after his surrender at Appamatox court house in 1865, so no one can claim that it happened before his promotion to General:

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Here is an original photograph of Lieutenant General (3 star) Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, taken only a few weeks before his death in 1863. I posted this so you can clearly see the General's rank on his collar. As I said, all Generals were denoted by three stars encircled by a wreath, which you can plainly see here:

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Here is a picture of Lieutenant General James Longstreet, another one of Lee's corps commanders. Although somewhat obscured by his beard, you can still see the General's rank I described:

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So, all this to ask the question: WHY DID LEE WEAR COLONEL'S RANK INSTEAD OF GENERAL'S RANK? Lee was a Colonel in the Union Army before secession, and was made a full General (four star) by the Confederacy in order to command the Army of Northern Virginia. So I wonder if he felt like the General rank was a frock and therefore chose to wear his original, permanant rank?

What are your thoughts? Is there any documentation as to WHY Lee chose to do this?

^^^And yes, I borrowed these photos from our host's web site...gotta give credit where it's due.

It's my understanding that Lee chose to use the 3 stars of a colonel because that was his rank when he resigned from the U.S. Army. Lee decided that he would only wear colonel's stars until the South won the war and he could be promoted to general in peacetime.