Retired Pinellas County educator Harold Clark “Mac” Mclntosh portrayed former Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee during a recent presentation at Seminole Community Library.
SEMINOLE – He stood in front of the crowd as Robert E. Lee, Confederate leader and general, and told his story.
Retired Pinellas County teacher, Harold Clark “Mac” McIntosh, who dressed in a replica of the general’s uniform, recently presented “Reflections of Robert E. Lee” at the Seminole Community Library. He held the audience of about 85 in rapt attention as he took them on a journey through the general’s life from boyhood to the years after the war highlighting both the man and the warrior.
The time is set five years after the end of the Civil War. Lee is the president of Washington College in his beloved Virginia. Speaking as Lee, McIntosh said, “After my father left when I was 7 years old, I was greatly influenced by my mother. She taught me love, how to do my best and to do my duty,” McIntosh added that it was that sense of duty that drove Lee through the rest of his life. Even his decision to enter West Point was influenced by the prospect of a free education that his mother would not have to fund.
“Most people remember the picture of Lee on his horse and his surrender at Appomattox. But there are many things a lot of folks don’t know,” he noted. “Lee was devoted to family. He was a man of moral strength and always held to his convictions. He led with honesty and integrity. He was a great patriot and an important part of the reconciliation efforts after the war.”
McIntosh also gave tidbits of information of special interest to locals:
• Lee, as a young lieutenant and a member of the Army Corps of Engineers, helped plan Fort DeSoto as a defense site.
• About 15,000 Floridians fought in the early stages of the war and were known as the “Whirlwind Brigade.”
• He reminded his audience that the causes of the Civil War were many including the tariff on southern cotton, states rights, arguments about free and slave states and slavery itself.
McIntosh says he became interested in Lee after he “graduated” in 1991 from a long teaching career.
“I taught at Tyrone Junior High School, received a master’s degree in administration with a minor in history, was an administrator at Seminole High School and ended up at Largo Middle,” he remembered. He became interested in Lee as a general and a citizen. “Lee suffered dearly for his convictions,” McIntosh said. “He lost his home (Arlington Mansion which was confiscated by the government), a daughter and daughter-in-law died during the war, and he lost a grandchild and many friends. There were times when he wondered if he should have gone to West Point and become a soldier. But duty always came first.”
McIntosh’s presentation follows the general from his career on Gen. Winfield Scott’s staff during the Mexican War in 1846, through the years preceding the Civil War, to the four-year-conflict and beyond. He spotlights what happened to the general after the war and how close he came to imprisonment.
Jim and Joy Currie of Largo said they came because they went to Lee’s former mansion on their honeymoon 37 years ago.
Ten-year-old Lela Mainland, a visitor from West Virginia, said she had seen many reenactments. “This one was very interesting. One of the best reenactments I’ve seen,” she said.
McIntosh morphs into Lee several times a year making presentations at schools, colleges, libraries and to organizations.
“I speak to anyone who is interested and if they offer, I will accept payment,” he smiled.
To learn more about “Reflections of Robert E. Lee” call 393-4636 or send an e-mail to mrmacmsann@ aol.com.
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