Ah, what the hell. Here's a discussion of the song from The Band's website.
http://theband.hiof.no/articles/dixie_viney.html
I guess the upshot is, it's only rock and roll.
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andie nachgeborenen
But General Lee spent little if any time in Tenn. Gens Bragg, then Hood were the CSA commanders in Tenn., Lee was glued to the Army of Northern Virginia.
As to ship names, the Navy does not put a definite article in front of a ship name. It's USS Kansas City, not The USS Kansas City.
http://www.nvr.navy.mil/nvrships/NAME.HTM
This is also true for civilian ships, the vessel we call The Totanic was properly called just Titanic.
http://titanic.marconigraph.com/mgy_faqs.html
Likewise, another ship involved in a famous disaster was properly called Andrea Doria, not The Andrea Doria.
http://www.andreadoria.org/TheShips/Default.htm
Likewise (to take it back to civil war ships) the first ironclad battle was fought between USS Monitor and CSS Merrimac, formerly CSS Virginia.
http://www.klaus-kramer.de/Schiff/Panzerschiffe/MONITOR&MERRIMAC/MONITOR %20and%20MERRIMAC_engl_top.html
However Steam Boat Robert E. Lee was constructed in 1866, but that fits with the song, which is not located during the war.
http://www.shipmodelco-op.com/roblee.htm
--- Charles Brown <cbrown at michiganlegal.org> wrote:
> Jim Devine
>
> it's _the_ Robert E. Lee in the song. That's a _ship_ (a riverboat),
> not a Southern General that the song is referring to.
>
> ^^^^^
> CB: As I say, I'm not good at catching and memorizing the words,
> although you did post the following ,which doesn't have "the Robert E.
> Lee" , but "robert e. lee".
>
> Back with my wife in tennessee,
> When one day she called to me,
> Virgil, quick, come see,
> There goes robert e. lee!
> Now I don't mind choppin' wood,
> And I don't care if the money's no good.
> Ya take what ya need and ya leave the rest, But they should never have
> taken the very best.
>