Goodreads Librarians Group discussion

I cannot believe anyone would put a reader through all this just to correct "their" mistake. The argument that readers are responsible for the quotes does not shift their responsibility for not having verified it.
Though I will admit there are countless sites claiminging the quotes below as factual, but these same sites claim that Robert E. Lee was against slavery and/ or did not own slaves. Howver, my forth coming book on Myths of the Civili War shows with proper research these among many others are nothing but myths.

“Duty is the sublimest word in our language. Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more. You should never wish to do less.”
― Robert E. Lee
Same quoted worded differently.
“Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more, you should never wish to do less.”
― Robert E. Lee

“If I thought this war was to abolish slavery, I would resign my commission and offer my sword to the other side”
― Ulysses S. Grant

Lee never said "Duty is the sublimest word in our language. Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more. You should never wish to do less". "Letter purportedly written to his son, G. W. Custis Lee (5 April 1852); published in The New York Sun (26 November 1864). Although the “Duty Letter” was presumed authentic for many decades and included in many biographies of Lee, it was repudiated in December 1864 by “a source entitled to know.” This repudiation was rediscovered by University of Virginia law professor Charles A. Graves who verified that the letter was inconsistent with Lee's biographical facts and letter-writing style. Lee's son also wrote to Graves that he did not recall ever receiving such a letter. “The Forged Letter of General Robert E. Lee”, Proceedings of the 26th annual meeting of the Virginia State Bar Association 17:176 (1914)".
Grant never said “If I thought this war was to abolish slavery, I would resign my commission, and offer my sword to the other side”. This was started by Horace Greeley in (1868 and 1872) during his run for President against Ulysses Grant and defended and proven by E. B. Washburne Representative from Illinois.

"This quote was supposedly made to the Chicago Tribune in 1862 by Grant. Problem is that nobody has ever been able to find this quote, not even the Chicago Tribune and the quote is contrary to everything that Grant has ever stated about the slavery issue. This quote first appears on page 219 of the 1904 reprint of _Facts and Falsehoods Concerning the War on the South 1861-65_ by George Edmonds, and page 54 of a 1920 reprint of _Truths of History_ by Mildred Lewis Rutherford. Both books are available from the Crown Rights Book Company. The alleged quote is referenced in both of these books as coming from page 33 of a the 1868 printing of a non-footnoted book called the _Democratic Speakers Handbook_ by Matthew Carey, a political enemy of Grant in the presidential election. Until someone finds a better source than the Politically Incorrect Guide to US History, please do not repost this quote.

The _Democratic Speakers Handbook_ (or, to give its full title, _The Democratic Speaker's Hand-Book: Containing Every Thing Necessary for the Defense of the National Democracy in the Coming Presidential Campaign, and for the Assault of the Radical Enemies of the County and its Constitution_) does have something vaguely like the above quote on page 33, but the sourcing is very dubious, and I agree that the quote should not be given credence. From the Handbook, p. 33:

"The editor of the [Huntsville, Alabama] Randolph Citizen [a Democratic party newspaper] recalls some interesting reminiscences of the great Reticent. He had a tongue at one time, it would seem: In the summer of 1861 General Grant, then Colonel of the Twenty-first Illinois Regiment of Infantry, was stationed in Mexico [Missouri], on the North Missouri Railroad, and had command of the post . . . . Ulysses the Silent was then Ulysses the Garrulous, and embraced every fair opportunity which came his way to express his sentiments and opinions in regard to political affairs. One of these declarations we distinctly remember. In a public conversation in Ringo's banking-house, a sterling Union man put this question to him: 'What do you honestly think was the real object of this war on the part of the Federal Government?'

http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-...

Mr. Greeley’s private newspaper invents so many false statements about public men nowadays that it would be next to impossible to keep the run of them all. Yesterday it declared that Gen. GRANT HAD MADE “the following extraordinary declaration:”

“Sir, I have no doubt in the world that the sole object is the restoration of the Union. I will say further, though, that I am a Democrat - everyman in my regiment is a Democrat – and whenever I shall be convinced that this war has for its object anything else than what I have mentioned, or that the Government designs uses its soldiers to execute the purposes of the abolitionists, I pledge you my honor as a man and a soldier that I will not only resign my commission, but will carry my sword to the other side and cast my lot with that people.”

Mr. GREELEY is a candidate for Gen. GRANT’S place, and all his criticisms upon his rival are, therefore, naturally regarded with suspicion. But he ought not to tell stories. Mr. GREELEY knows very well that Gen. GRANT never uttered a word of the above “speech” – no doubt that is why GREELEY says he did. The same fib was circulated in 1868, and brought out the following letter from Mr. Washburne:

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
WASHINGTON, D.C. June 10, 1868}
DEAR SIR : It is idle for the loyal men of the country to attempt to deny the rebel and copperhead lies now being put in circulation against Gen. GRANT. No sooner would one lie be exploded than another would be put in circulation. No more silly and ridiculous fabrication has been put forth than the pretended speech of Gen. GRANT , to his regiment, in 1861, which I have seen paraded in some of the most disreputable copperhead newspapers. The whole thing is false, there not being a ‘shadow of a shade’ of foundation for it.
Yours, truly, E. B. WASHBURNE.
D. C. HENDERSON, Esq.

Yet, in the face of this, Mr. GREELEY causes it to be stated that the “Grant speech” has never been contradicted. “Is there no limit to lying?” asked the Professor the other day, and he answers his own question by his conduct.

Gary wrote: "I cannot believe anyone would put a reader through all this just to correct "their" mistake. The argument that readers are responsible for the quotes does not shift their responsibility for not having verified it."

For who not having verified it?

For future reference, it is very helpful if you include links to the specific quotes you are referring to with some comments about your suggested changes to each one.

"Duty is the sublimest word in our language" and the variant "Do your duty in all things" are well documented as not being by Lee. I've deleted them.

I'll look at the rest.

Deleted the Grant quote, again it is well documented that his actual statement was considerably different.