THE champion of a losing side usually suffers oblivion regardless of his merits. Robert E. Lee , the Confederate general in the American Civil War, has been luckier than most. His brilliance as a soldier and the nobility of his character have been recognised by historians, and Mr. John Drinkwater , the author of the play that made Lee's great rival, Abraham Lincoln , familiar to the British public, went on five years later to make a: drama of the career of Lee himself. This play, a broadcast version of which will be performed this afternoon, was produced at the Regent Theatre in 1923.