Robert E. Lee: Civil War General of a trend toward ease-of-use in the computer wargame genre spurred by "Panzer General"s commercial success. He further noted that Impressions " 'borrowed' half the title" from SSI's game. T. Liam McDonald of "PC Gamer US" likewise reported that the "Civil War General" title was chosen to capitalize on the commercial performance of "Panzer General" and "Allied General". "Civil War General" was based on Robert E. Lee's campaign against the Army of the Potomac because of his popularity among Civil War enthusiasts, and because Fiske believed that this confrontation "converts to computer gameplay better than any other" from the period.
Robert E. Lee: Civil War General "Milwaukee Journal Sentinel", Guinn described "Civil War General" as "the kind of game you'll enjoy playing over and over", despite its difficulty. In "PC Gamer US", William R. Trotter noted that "Civil War General" was simplified to appeal to a mass-market audience, but he argued that it remained "deep enough to satisfy most hardcore wargamers." In this regard, he compared it to "Panzer General". Trotter highly praised the game's reenactment footage, and he summarized "Civil War General" as "a serious wargame, wrapped in a friendly multimedia package." Conversely, "Computer Games Strategy Plus"s Robert Mayer considered "Civil War General" to be