Robert E. Lee

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This article is about the Confederate general. For other uses, see Robert E. Lee (disambiguation).

Robert Edward Lee
January 19, 1807 (1807-01-19) – October 12, 1870 (1870-10-13) (aged 63)
Robert E. Lee, General of the Confederate Army. (1863, Julian Vannerson)
Place of birth	Stratford Hall, Virginia
Place of death	Lexington, Virginia
Resting place	Lee Chapel Washington and Lee University Lexington, Virginia
Allegiance	United States of America Confederate States of America
Years of service	1829–61 (USA) 1861–65 (CSA)
Rank	Colonel (USA) General (CSA)
Commands held	Army of Northern Virginia
Battles/wars	Mexican–American War Harpers Ferry Raid American Civil War
Other work	President of Washington and Lee University

Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a career United States Army officer and combat engineer. He became the commanding general of the Confederate army in the American Civil War and a postwar icon of the South's "lost cause." A top graduate of West Point, Lee distinguished himself as an exceptional soldier in the U.S. Army for 32 years. He is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War.
In early 1861, President Abraham Lincoln invited Lee to take command of the entire Union Army. Lee declined because his home state of Virginia was, despite his wishes, seceding from the Union. When Virginia declared its secession from the Union in April 1861, Lee chose to follow his home state.^[1] Lee's eventual role in the newly established Confederacy was to serve as a senior military adviser to President Jefferson Davis. Lee soon emerged as the shrewdest battlefield tactician of the war, after he assumed command of the Confederate eastern army (soon christened "The Army of Northern Virginia") after the wounding of Joseph Johnston at the Battle of Seven Pines. His abilities as a tactician were quickly made evident in his many victories such as the Battle of Fredericksburg (1862), Battle of Chancellorsville (1863), Battle of the Wilderness (1864) Battle of Cold Harbor (1864), Seven Days Battles, and the Second Battle of Bull Run. His strategic vision was more doubtful—his invasions of the North in 1862 and 1863 depended on the conviction that Northern morale was weak, hoping that a handful of rebel victories could shatter the North's willpower and possibly help to gain recognition and aid from European nations through negotiations. After a defeat at Antietam (1862) and disaster at Gettysburg (1863), hopes for victory were dashed and defeat for the South was almost certain. However, due to ineffectual pursuit by the commander of Union forces, Lee escaped after both defeats to Virginia. His decision in 1863 to overrule his advisers and invade the North, rather than protect Vicksburg, proved a major strategic blunder and cost the Confederacy control of its western regions,.^[2] Nevertheless Lee's brilliant defensive maneuvers stopped the Union offenses one after another, as he defeated a series of Union commanders in Virginia.
In the spring of 1864, the new Union commander, Ulysses S. Grant, began a series of campaigns to wear down Lee's army. In the Overland Campaign of 1864 and the Siege of Petersburg in 1864–1865, Lee inflicted heavy casualties on Grant's larger army, but was forced back into trenches; the Confederacy was unable to replace his losses or even provide adequate rations to the soldiers that did not desert. In the final months of the Civil War, as manpower drained away, Lee adopted a plan to arm slaves to fight on behalf of the Confederacy, but the decision came too late and the black soldiers were never used in combat. In early April 1865, Lee's depleted forces were overwhelmed at Petersburg; he abandoned Richmond and retreated west as Union forces encircled his army. Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865, marking the end of Confederate hopes; the remaining armies soon capitulated. Lee rejected the folly of starting a guerrilla campaign against the Yankees and called for reconciliation between the North and the South.
Lee's numerous victories against superior forces won him enduring fame as a crafty and daring battlefield tactician, but some of his strategic decisions, such as invading the North in 1862 and 1863, have been criticized by many military historians.
After the war, as a college President, Lee supported President Andrew Johnson's program of Reconstruction and inter-sectional friendship, while opposing the Radical Republican proposals to give freed slaves the vote and take the vote away from ex-Confederates. He urged them to re-think their position between the North and the South, and the reintegration of former Confederates into the nation's political life. Lee became the great Southern hero of the war, and his popularity grew in the North as well after his death in 1870. He remains an iconic figure^[3] of American military leadership.

Stained glass of Lee's life in the National Cathedral, depicting his time at West Point, his service in the Army Corps of Engineers, the Battle of Chancellorsville, and his death

Farewell address by Lee to the Army of Northern Virginia, Appomattox Court House, Virginia, April 10, 1865

[show]

Early life and career

Lee was born at Stratford Hall Plantation in Westmoreland County, Virginia, the son of Major General Henry Lee III "Light Horse Harry" (1756–1818), Governor of Virginia, and his second wife, Anne Hill Carter (1773–1829). One of Lee's great great grandparents Henry Lee I was a prominent Virginian colonist of English descent.^[4] His mother grew up at Shirley Plantation, one of the most elegant homes in Virginia.^[5] Lee's father, a tobacco planter, suffered severe financial reverses from failed investments.^[6]
Little is known of Lee as a child; he rarely spoke of his boyhood as an adult.^[7] Nothing is known of his relationship with his father, who, after leaving his family, only mentioned Robert once in a letter. When given the opportunity to visit his father's Georgia grave, he remained there only briefly, yet while president of Washington College, defended his father in a biographical sketch while editing Light Horse Harry's memoirs.^[8] In 1809, Harry Lee was put in debtors prison; soon after his release the following year, Harry and Anne Lee and their five children moved to a small house on Cameron Street in Alexandria, Virginia, both because there were then good local schools there, as well as several members of her extended family.^[9] In 1811, the family, including the newly-born sixth child, Mildred, moved to a house on Oronoco Street, still close to the center of town and with the houses of a number of Lee relatives close by.^[10] In 1812, Harry Lee was badly injured in a political riot in Baltimore, and Secretary of State James Madison arranged for Harry Lee to travel to the West Indies. He would never return, dying when his son Robert was 11.^[11] Left to raise six children alone in straitened circumstances, Anne Lee and her family often paid extended visits to relatives and family friends.^[12] Robert Lee attended school at Eastern View, a school for young gentlemen, in Fauquier County, and then at the Alexandria Academy, free for local boys, where he showed an aptitude for mathematics. Although brought up to be a practicing Christian, he was not confirmed in the Episcopal Church until age 46.^[13]
Anne Lee's family was often succored by a relative, William Henry Fitzhugh, who owned the Oronoco Street house and allowed the Lees to stay at his home in Fairfax County, Ravensworth. When Robert was 17 in 1824, Fitzhugh wrote to the Secretary of War, John C. Calhoun, urging that Robert be given an appointment to the United States Military Academy (commonly referred to as "West Point"). Fitzhugh wrote little of Robert's academic prowess, dwelling much on the prominence of his family, and erroneously stated the boy was 18. Instead of mailing the letter, Fitzhugh had young Robert deliver it.^[14] In March 1824, Robert Lee received his appointment to West Point, but due to the large number of cadets admitted, Lee would have to wait a year to begin his studies there.^[15]
Lee entered West Point in the summer of 1825. At the time, the focus of the curriculum was engineering; the head of the Army Corps of Engineers supervised the school and the superintendent was an engineering officer. Cadets were not permitted leave until they had finished two years of study, and were rarely permitted to leave the grounds of the Academy. Lee graduated second in his class behind Charles Mason,^[16] who resigned from the Army a year after graduation, and Lee did not incur any demerits during his four-year course of study—five of his 45 classmates earned a similar distinction. In June 1829, Lee was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers.^[17] After graduation, he returned to Virginia while awaiting assignment to find his mother on her deathbed; she died at Ravensworth on July 26, 1829.^[18]

[hide]Ancestors of Robert E. Lee

8. Henry Lee I

4. Henry Lee II

9. Mary Bland

2. Henry Lee III

10. Charles Grymes

5. Lucy Grymes

11. Frances Jennings

1. Robert E. Lee

12. John Carter

6. Charles Carter

13. Elizabeth Hill

3. Anne Hill Carter

14. Bernard Moore

7. Ann Butler Moore

15. Anne Catherine Spotswood

Combat engineer career

Portion of a map drawn by Robert E. Lee of the head of the Des Moines Rapids, 1837, showing Fort Des Moines No. 1, later Montrose, Iowa.

On August 11, 1829, Brigadier General Charles Gratiot ordered Lee to Cockspur Island, Georgia; plans were to build a fort on the marshy island which would command the outlet of the Savannah River. Lee was involved in the early stages of construction, as the island was being drained and built up.^[19] In 1831, it became apparent that the existing plan to build what became known as Fort Pulaski would have to be revamped, and Lee was transferred to Fort Monroe at the tip of the Virginia Peninsula (today in Hampton, Virginia).^[20]
While home in the summer of 1829, Lee had apparently courted Mary Custis, great-granddaughter of Martha Washington, whom he had known as a child. Lee obtained permission to write to her before leaving for Georgia, though Mary Custis warned Lee to be "discreet" in his writing, as her mother read her letters, especially from men.^[21] Custis refused Lee the first time he asked to marry her; her father, George Washington Custis did not believe the son of the disgraced Light Horse Harry Lee was a suitable man for his daughter.^[22] She accepted him, with her father's consent, in September 1830, while he was on summer leave,^[23] and the two were wed on June 30, 1831, at the Custis home at Arlington House in the southern portion of the District of Columbia (today in Arlington County, Virginia).^[24]
Lee's duties at Fort Monroe were varied, typical for a junior officer, and ranged from budgeting to designing buildings.^[25] Although Mary Lee accompanied her husband to Hampton Roads, she spent about a third of her time at Arlington, though the couple's first son, Custis Lee was born at Fort Monroe. Although the two were by all accounts devoted to each other, they were different in character: Robert Lee was tidy and punctural, qualities his wife lacked. Mary Lee also had trouble transitioning from being a rich man's daughter to having to manage a household with only one or two slaves.^[26] Beginning in 1832, Robert Lee began a platonic, but close relationship with Harriett Talcott, wife of fellow officer Andrew Talcott.^[27]
Life at Fort Monroe was marked by conflicts between artillery and engineering officers; eventually the War Department transferred all engineering officers away from Fort Monroe, except Lee, who was ordered to take up residence on the artificial island of Rip Raps across the river from Fort Monroe, where Fort Wool would eventually rise, and continue work to improve the island. Lee duly moved there, then discharged all workers and informed the War Department that he could not maintain laborers without the facilities of the fort. In 1834, Lee was transferred to Washington as General Gratiot's assistant.^[28] Lee had hoped to rent a house in Washington for his family, but was not able to find one; the family resided at Arlington, though Lieutenant Lee rented a room at a Washington boarding house for when the roads were impassible.^[29] In mid-1835, Lee was assigned to assist Andrew Talcott in surveying the southern border of Michigan.^[30] While on that expedition, he responded to a letter from an ill Mary Lee, which had requested that he come to Arlington, "But why do you urge my immediate return, & tempt one in the strongest manner[?] ... I rather require to be strengthened & encouraged to the full performance of what I am called on to execute."^[20] Lee completed the assignment and returned to his post in Washington, finding his wife ill at Ravensworth. Mary Lee, who had recently given birth to their second child, remained bedridden for several months. In October 1836, Lee was promoted to first lieutenant.^[31]
Lee served as an assistant in the chief engineer's office in Washington, D.C. from 1834 to 1837, but spent the summer of 1835 helping to lay out the state line between Ohio and Michigan. As a first lieutenant of engineers in 1837, he supervised the engineering work for St. Louis harbor and for the upper Mississippi and Missouri rivers. Among his projects was blasting a channel through the Des Moines Rapids on the Mississippi by Keokuk, Iowa, where the Mississippi's mean depth of 2.4 feet (0.7 m) was the upper limit of steamboat traffic on the river. His work there earned him a promotion to captain. Circa 1842, Captain Robert E. Lee arrived as Fort Hamilton's post engineer.^[32]

Marriage and family

While he was stationed at Fort Monroe, he married Mary Anna Randolph Custis (1808–1873), great-granddaughter of Martha Washington by her first husband Daniel Parke Custis, and step-great-granddaughter of George Washington, the first president of the United States. Mary was the only surviving child of George Washington Parke Custis, George Washington's stepgrandson, and Mary Lee Fitzhugh Custis, daughter of William Fitzhugh^[33] and Ann Bolling Randolph. They were married on June 30, 1831 at Arlington House, her parents' house just across from Washington, D.C. The 3rd U.S. Artillery served as honor guard at the marriage. They eventually had seven children, three boys and four girls:

George Washington Custis Lee (Custis, "Boo"); 1832–1913; served as Major General in the Confederate Army and aide-de-camp to President Jefferson Davis; unmarried
Mary Custis Lee (Mary, "Daughter"); 1835–1918; unmarried
William Henry Fitzhugh Lee ("Rooney"); 1837–1891; served as Major General in the Confederate Army (cavalry); married twice; surviving children by second marriage
Anne Carter Lee (Annie); June 18, 1839 – October 20, 1862; died of typhoid fever, unmarried
Eleanor Agnes Lee (Agnes); 1841 – October 15, 1873; died of tuberculosis, unmarried
Robert Edward Lee, Jr. (Rob); 1843–1914; served as Captain in the Confederate Army (Rockbridge Artillery); married twice; surviving children by second marriage
Mildred Childe Lee (Milly, "Precious Life"); 1846–1905; unmarried

All the children survived him except for Annie, who died in 1862. They are all buried with their parents in the crypt of the Lee Chapel at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia.
Lee is also related to Helen Keller through Helen's mother, Kate.
On May 1, 1864, General Lee was at the baptism of General A.P. Hill's daughter, Lucy Lee Hill, to serve as her godfather. This is referenced in the painting Tender is the Heart by Mort Künstler.

Mexican-American War

American Occupation of Mexico City

Robert Edward Lee, as a U.S. Army Colonel before the Civil War

Lee distinguished himself in the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). He was one of Winfield Scott's chief aides in the march from Veracruz to Mexico City. He was instrumental in several American victories through his personal reconnaissance as a staff officer; he found routes of attack that the Mexicans had not defended because they thought the terrain was impassable.
He was promoted to brevet major after the Battle of Cerro Gordo on April 18, 1847.^[34] He also fought at Contreras, Churubusco, and Chapultepec, and was wounded at the last. By the end of the war, he had received additional brevet promotions to Lieutenant Colonel and Colonel, but his permanent rank was still Captain of Engineers and he would remain a Captain until his transfer to the cavalry in 1855.
For the first time Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant met and worked with each other during the Mexican-American War. Both Lee and Grant participated in the Scott's march from the coastal town of Vera Cruz to Mexico City. Grant gained wartime experience as a quartermaster, Lee as an engineer who positioned troops and artillery. Both did their share of actual fighting. At Vera Cruz, Lee earned a commendation for "greatly distinguished" service. Grant was among the leaders at the bloody assault at Molino del Rey, and both soldiers were among the forces that entered Mexico City. Close observations of their commanders constituted a learning process for both Lee and Grant.^[35] The Mexican-American War concluded on February 2, 1848.
After the Mexican War, Lee spent three years at Fort Carroll in Baltimore harbor. During this time his service was interrupted by other duties, among them surveying/updating maps in Florida. Lee declined an offer from Cuban rebels to lead their fight against Spain.^[36]

The 1850s

The 1850s were a difficult time for Lee, with his long absences from home, the increasing disability of his wife, and his often morbid concern with his personal failures.^[37]
In 1852 was appointed Superintendent of the Military Academy at West Point;^[38] he was reluctant to enter what he called a "snake pit" but the War Department insisted and he obeyed. His wife occasionally came to visit. During his three years at West Point, Brevet Colonel Robert E. Lee improved the buildings and courses, and spent a lot of time with the cadets. Lee's oldest son, George Washington Custis Lee, attended West Point during his tenure. Custis Lee graduated in 1854, first in his class.^[39]
Lee was greatly relieved to receive a long-awaited promotion as second-in-command of the Second Cavalry regiment in Texas in 1855. It meant leaving the Engineering Corps and its sequence of staff jobs for the combat command he really wanted. He served under Colonel Albert Sidney Johnston at Camp Cooper, Texas; their mission was to protect settlers from attacks by the Apache and the Comanche.
The death in 1857 of his father-in-law George Washington Parke Custis created a major crisis, as Lee had to assume the main burden of executing the will. The Custis estate was in disarray, with vast landholdings and hundreds of slaves balanced against huge debts. The plantations had been poorly managed and were losing money. Lee took several leaves of absence from the army and became a planter and eventually straightened out the estate. On June 24, 1859 Lee was accused by the New York Tribune of having three runaway slaves whipped, himself whipping a female slave, Mary Norris. One of the captured slaves, Wesley Norris, confirmed the account in an 1866 interview^[40] printed in the National Anti-Slavery Standard, though he denied that Lee personally whipped Mary Norris. Lee did not respond to the attack until 1866, claiming in a letter the accusation was not true. The Custis will called for emancipating the slaves within five years, but state law required they be funded in a livelihood outside Virginia, and that was impossible until the debts were paid off. They were all emancipated by 1862.^[41]^[42]

Lee's views on slavery

Since the end of the Civil War, it has often been suggested that Lee was in some sense opposed to slavery. In the period following the Civil War and Reconstruction, and after his death, Lee became a central figure in the Lost Cause interpretation of the war, and as succeeding generations came to look on slavery as a terrible immorality, the idea that Lee had always somehow opposed it helped maintain his stature as a symbol of Southern honor and national reconciliation.
The evidence cited in favor of the claim that Lee opposed slavery included his direct statements and his actions before and during the war, including Lee's support of the work by his wife and her mother to liberate slaves and fund their move to Liberia,^[43] the success of his wife and daughter in setting up an illegal school for slaves on the Arlington plantation,^[44] the freeing of Custis' slaves in 1862, and his insistence in 1864–1865 that the Confederacy enroll slaves in Lee's Army, with manumission offered as an eventual reward for good service.^[45]^[46]
In December 1864, Lee was shown a letter by Louisiana Senator Edward Sparrow, written by General St. John R. Liddell, which noted that Lee would be hard-pressed in the interior of Virginia by spring, and the need to consider Patrick Cleburne's plan to emancipate the slaves and put all men in the army who were willing to join. Lee was said to have agreed on all points and desired to get black soldiers, saying that "he could make soldiers out of any human being that had arms and legs."^[47]
A key source on Lee's views is his 1856 letter to his wife:^[48]

“

... In this enlightened age, there are few I believe, but what will acknowledge, that slavery as an institution, is a moral & political evil in any Country. It is useless to expatiate on its disadvantages. I think it however a greater evil to the white man than to the black race, & while my feelings are strongly enlisted in behalf of the latter, my sympathies are more strong for the former. The blacks are immeasurably better off here than in Africa, morally, socially & physically. The painful discipline they are undergoing, is necessary for their instruction as a race, & I hope will prepare & lead them to better things. How long their subjugation may be necessary is known & ordered by a wise Merciful Providence.

”

Freeman's analysis puts Lee's attitude toward slavery and abolition in historical context:

“

This [letter] was the prevailing view among most religious people of Lee's class in the border states. They believed that slavery existed because God willed it and they thought it would end when God so ruled. The time and the means were not theirs to decide, conscious though they were of the ill-effects of Negro slavery on both races. Lee shared these convictions of his neighbors without having come in contact with the worst evils of African bondage. He spent no considerable time in any state south of Virginia from the day he left Fort Pulaski in 1831 until he went to Texas in 1856. All his reflective years had been passed in the North or in the border states. He had never been among the blacks on a cotton or rice plantation. At Arlington the servants had been notoriously indolent, their master's master. Lee, in short, was only acquainted with slavery at its best and he judged it accordingly. At the same time, he was under no illusion regarding the aims of the Abolitionists or the effect of their agitation.^[49]

”

Harpers Ferry and Texas, 1859–61

Both Harpers Ferry and the secession of Texas were monumental events leading up to the Civil War. Robert E. Lee was at both events. Lee initially remained loyal to the Union after Texas seceded.

Harpers Ferry

When John Brown led a band of 21 men (including five African Americans) and seized the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia in October 1859, Lee was given command of detachments of Maryland and Virginia militia, soldiers, and United States Marines, to suppress the uprising and arrest its leaders.^[50] By the time Lee arrived later that night, the militia on the site had surrounded Brown and his hostages. When on October 18 Brown refused the demand for surrender, Lee attacked and after three minutes of fighting, Brown and his followers were captured.
Robert E. Lee made a summary report of the events that took place at Harpers Ferry to Colonel Samuel Cooper, the U. S. Army Adjutant General. According to Lee's notes, Lee believed John Brown was insane,"...the plan [raiding the Harpers Ferry Arsenal] was the attempt of a fanatic or madman". Lee also believed that the African Americans used in the raid were forced to by John Brown himself. "The blacks, whom he [John Brown] forced from their homes in this neighborhood, as far as I could learn, gave him no voluntary assistance." Lee attributed John Brown's "temporary success" by creating panic and confusion and by "magnifying" the number of participants involved in the raid.^[51]

Texas

When Texas seceded from the Union in February 1861, General David E. Twiggs surrendered all the American forces (about 4,000 men, including Lee, and commander of the Department of Texas) to the Texans. Twiggs immediately resigned from the U. S. Army and was made a Confederate general. Lee went back to Washington, and was appointed Colonel of the First Regiment of Cavalry in March 1861. Lee's Colonelcy was signed by the new President, Abraham Lincoln. Three weeks after his promotion, Colonel Lee was offered a senior command (with the rank of Major General) in the expanding Army to fight the Southern States that had left the Union.

Civil War

Lee in uniform, 1863.

Main article: American Civil War

Lee privately ridiculed the Confederacy in letters in early 1861, denouncing secession as "revolution" and a betrayal of the efforts of the founders. Writing to his son William Fitzhugh, Lee stated,"I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than a dissolution of the Union." The commanding general of the Union Army, Winfield Scott, told Lincoln he wanted Lee for a top command. Lee accepted a promotion to colonel on March 28.^[52] Lee had earlier been asked by one of his lieutenants if he intended to fight for the Confederacy or the Union, to which he replied, "I shall never bear arms against the Union, but it may be necessary for me to carry a musket in the defense of my native state, Virginia, in which case I shall not prove recreant to my duty."^[53] Meanwhile, Lee ignored an offer of command from the CSA. After Lincoln's call for troops to put down the rebellion, it was obvious that Virginia would quickly secede. So Lee turned down an April 18 offer to become a major general in the U.S. Army, resigned on April 20 and took up command of the Virginia state forces on April 23.^[16]

Early role

At the outbreak of war, Lee was appointed to command all of Virginia's forces, but upon the formation of the Confederate States Army, he was named one of its first five full generals. Lee did not wear the insignia of a Confederate general, but only the three stars of a Confederate colonel, equivalent to his last U.S. Army rank.^[54] He did not intend to wear a general's insignia until the Civil War had been won and he could be promoted, in peacetime, to general in the Confederate Army.
Lee's first field assignment was commanding Confederate forces in western Virginia, where he was defeated at the Battle of Cheat Mountain and was widely blamed for Confederate setbacks.^[55] He was then sent to organize the coastal defenses along the Carolina and Georgia seaboard, where he was hampered by the lack of an effective Confederate navy. Once again blamed by the press, he became military adviser to Confederate Pres. Jefferson Davis, former U.S. Secretary of War. While in Richmond, Lee was ridiculed as the 'King of Spades' for his excessive digging of trenches around the capitol. These trenches would later play an important role in battles near the end of the war.^[56]

Commander, Army of Northern Virginia

In the spring of 1862, during the Peninsula Campaign, the Union Army of the Potomac under General George B. McClellan advanced upon Richmond from Fort Monroe, eventually reaching the eastern edges of the Confederate capital along the Chickahominy River. Following the wounding of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston at the Battle of Seven Pines, on June 1, 1862, Lee assumed command of the Army of Northern Virginia, his first opportunity to lead an army in the field. Newspaper editorials of the day objected to his appointment due to concerns that Lee would not be aggressive and would wait for the Union army to come to him. Early in the war his men called him "Granny Lee" because of his allegedly timid style of command.^[57] After the Seven Days Battles until the end of the war his men called him simply "Marse Robert." He oversaw substantial strengthening of Richmond's defenses during the first three weeks of June and then launched a series of attacks, the Seven Days Battles, against McClellan's forces. Lee's attacks resulted in heavy Confederate casualties and they were marred by clumsy tactical performances by his subordinates, but his aggressive actions unnerved McClellan, who retreated to a point on the James River where Union naval forces were in control. These successes led to a rapid turn-around of public opinion and the newspaper editorials quickly changed their tune on Lee's aggressiveness.

Lee mounted on Traveller (September 1866)

After McClellan's retreat, Lee defeated another Union army at the Second Battle of Bull Run. Within 90 days of taking command, Lee had run McClellan off the Peninsula, defeated Pope at Second Manassas, and the battle lines had moved from 6 miles outside Richmond, to 20 miles outside Washington. Instead of a quick end to the war that the Peninsula Campaign had promised in its early stages, the war would go on for almost another 3 years and claim a half million more lives. He then invaded Maryland, hoping to replenish his supplies and possibly influence the Northern elections to fall in favor of ending the war. McClellan's men recovered a lost order that revealed Lee's plans. McClellan always exaggerated Lee's forces, but now he knew the Confederate army was divided and could be destroyed by an all-out attack at Antietam. Yet McClellan was too slow in moving, not realizing Lee had been informed by a spy that McClellan had the plans. Lee urgently recalled Stonewall Jackson and in the bloodiest day of the war, Lee withstood the Union assaults. He withdrew his battered army back to Virginia while President Abraham Lincoln used the reverse as sufficient pretext to announce the Emancipation Proclamation to put the Confederacy on the diplomatic and moral defensive.
Disappointed by McClellan's failure to destroy Lee's army, Lincoln named Ambrose Burnside as commander of the Army of the Potomac. Burnside ordered an attack across the Rappahannock River at Fredericksburg. Delays in getting bridges built across the river allowed Lee's army ample time to organize strong defenses, and the attack on December 12, 1862, was a disaster for the Union. Lincoln then named Joseph Hooker commander of the Army of the Potomac. Hooker's advance to attack Lee in May, 1863, near Chancellorsville, Virginia, was defeated by Lee and Stonewall Jackson's daring plan to divide the army and attack Hooker's flank. It was a victory over a larger force, but it also came with a great cost; Jackson, one of Lee's best subordinates, was accidentally wounded by his own troops, and soon after died of pneumonia.

Battle of Gettysburg

The critical decisions came in May–June 1863, after Lee's smashing victory at the Battle of Chancellorsville. The western front was crumbling, as multiple uncoordinated Confederate armies were unable to handle General Ulysses S. Grant's campaign against Vicksburg. The top military advisers wanted to save Vicksburg but Lee convinced Davis to overrule them and authorize yet another invasion of the North. The immediate goal was to acquire urgently needed supplies from the rich farming districts of Pennsylvania; a long-term goal was to stimulate peace activity in the North by demonstrating the power of the South to invade. Lee's decision proved a major strategic blunder and cost the Confederacy control of its western regions, and nearly cost Lee his own army as Union forces cut him off from the South. Lee had to fight his way out at Gettysburg.^[58]

Battle of Gettysburg, by Currier and Ives

In the summer of 1863, Lee invaded the North again, marching through western Maryland and into south central Pennsylvania. He encountered Union forces under George G. Meade at the three-day Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania in July; the battle would produce the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War. Some of his subordinates were new and inexperienced in their commands, J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry was out of the area, slightly ill, and thus Lee was less than comfortable with how events were unfolding. While the first day of battle was controlled by the Confederates, key terrain which should have been taken by General Ewell was not. The Second day ended with the Confederates unable to break the Union position, and the Union more solidified. Lee's decision on the third day, against the sound judgment of his best corps commander General Longstreet, to launch a massive frontal assault on the center of the Union line was disastrous. The assault known as Pickett's Charge was repulsed and resulted in heavy Confederate losses. The general rode out to meet his retreating army and proclaimed, "All this has been my fault."^[59] Lee was compelled to retreat. Despite flooded rivers that blocked his retreat, he escaped Meade's ineffective pursuit. Following his defeat at Gettysburg, Lee sent a letter of resignation to Pres. Davis on August 8, 1863, but Davis refused Lee's request. That fall, Lee and Meade met again in two minor campaigns that did little to change the strategic standoff. The Confederate Army never fully recovered from the substantial losses incurred during the 3-day battle in southern Pennsylvania. The historian Shelby Foote stated, "Gettysburg was the price the South paid for having Robert E. Lee as commander."

Ulysses S. Grant and the Union offensive

William T. Sherman, Ulysses S. Grant and Philip H. Sheridan Postage, 1937 Issue

In 1864 the new Union general-in-chief, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, sought to use his large advantages in manpower and material resources to destroy Lee's army by attrition, pinning Lee against his capital of Richmond. Lee successfully stopped each attack, but Grant with his superior numbers kept pushing each time a bit farther to the southeast. These battles in the Overland Campaign included the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House and Cold Harbor.
Grant eventually was able to stealthily move his army across the James River. After stopping a Union attempt to capture Petersburg, Virginia, a vital railroad link supplying Richmond, Lee's men built elaborate trenches and were besieged in Petersburg. (This development presaged the trench warfare of World War I, exactly 50 years later.) He attempted to break the stalemate by sending Jubal A. Early on a raid through the Shenandoah Valley to Washington, D.C., but was defeated early on by the superior forces of Philip Sheridan. The Siege of Petersburg lasted from June 1864 until March 1865, with Lee's outnumbered and poorly supplied army shrinking daily because of desertions by disheartened Confederates.

General-in-chief

Lee with son Custis (left) and aide Walter H. Taylor (right) by Brady, April 16, 1865.

Lee photographed in 1865

On January 31, 1865, Lee was promoted to general-in-chief of Confederate forces.
As the South ran out of manpower the issue of arming the slaves became paramount. By late 1864 the army so dominated the Confederacy that civilian leaders were unable to block the military's proposal, strongly endorsed by Lee, to arm and train slaves in Confederate uniform for combat. In return for this service, slave soldiers and their families would be emancipated. Lee explained, "We should employ them without delay ... [along with] gradual and general emancipation." The first units were in training as the war ended.^[60]^[61] As the Confederate army was devastated by casualties, disease and desertion, the Union attack on Petersburg succeeded on April 2, 1865. Lee abandoned Richmond and retreated west. Lee then made an attempt to escape to the southwest and join up with Joseph E. Johnston's Army of Tennessee in North Carolina. However his forces were soon surrounded and he surrendered them to Grant on April 9, 1865, at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.^[62] Other Confederate armies followed suit and the war ended. The day after his surrender, Lee issued his Farewell Address to his army.
Lee resisted calls by some officers to reject surrender and allow small units to melt away into the mountains, setting up a lengthy guerrilla war. He insisted the war was over and energetically campaigned for inter-sectional reconciliation. "So far from engaging in a war to perpetuate slavery, I am rejoiced that slavery is abolished. I believe it will be greatly for the interests of the South."^[63]

Lee's Civil War battle summaries

The following are summaries of Union and Confederate battles where Robert E. Lee is the Commanding Officer. Battles that did not end in a decisive victory are labeled "Inconclusive" or "Draw".^[64]

1861

Cheat Mountain

September 11–13 – Union victory (Lee's first battle of the Civil War. Lee was severely criticized for the defeat and named "Granny Lee". Lee was sent to South Carolina to supervise fortifications.)^[65]

Lee's troop strength – 15,000, casualties – 100

Reynolds's troop strengths – 2,000, casualties – 21

1862

Mathew Brady portrait of Lee on April 16, 1865, Richmond, Virginia. (detail)

Seven Days

6/25/1862 to 7/1/1862 – Inconclusive

Lee's troop strength – 95,000, casualties – 20,614

McClellan's troop strengths – 91,000, casualties – 15,849^[64]

Oak Grove – Draw (Union withdrawal.)
Beaver Dam Creek – Union victory
Gaine's Mill – Confederate victory
Savage's Station – Draw
Glendale – Draw (Union withdrawal.)
Malvern Hill – Union victory

Second Manassas

8/28/1862 to 8/30/1862 Confederate victory

Lee's troop strength – 49,000, casualties – 9,197

Pope's troop strengths – 76,000, casualties – 16,054^[64]

South Mountain

9/14/1862 Union victory

Lee's troop strength – 18,000, casualties – 2,685

McClellan's troop strength – 28,000, casualties – 1,813^[64]

Antietam

9/16/1862 to 9/18/1862 – Inconclusive (Union strategic victory.)

Lee's troop strength – 52,000, casualties – 13,724

McClellan's troop strength – 75,000, casualties – 12,410^[64]

Fredericksburg

12/11/1862 – Confederate victory (Lee's troops and supplies depleted.)

Lee's troop strength – 72,000, casualties – 5,309

Burnside's troop strength – 114,000, casualties – 12,653^[64]

1863

Chancellorsville

5/1/1863 – Confederate victory

Lee's troop strength – 57,000, casualties – 12,764

Hooker's troop strength – 105,000, casualties – 16,792^[64]

Gettysburg

7/1/1863 – Union Victory (The Confederate army that returned from the fight at Gettysburg was physically and spiritually exhausted. Lee would never again attempt an offensive operation of such monumental proportions. Meade, who had forced Lee to retreat, was criticized for not immediately pursuing Lee's army. This battle become known as the High Water Mark of the Confederacy.^[66] Lee would never personally invade the North again after this battle. Rather he was determined to defend Richmond and eventually Petersburg at all costs.)

Lee's troop strength – 75,000, casualties – 28,063

Meade's troop strength – 83,000, casualties – 23,049^[64]

1864

Wilderness

5/5/1864 – Inconclusive (Lee's tactical victory, yet Grant continued his offensive.)

Lee's troop strength – 61,000, casualties – 11,400

Grant's troop strength – 102,000, casualties – 18,400^[64]

Spotsylvania

5/12/1864 – Inconclusive (Although beaten and unable to take Lee's staunch line defenses, Grant continued the Union offensive.)^[67]

Lee's troop strength – 52,000, casualties – 12,000

Hancock's troop strength – 100,000, casualties – 18,000^[64]

Cold Harbor

6/1/1864 – Inconclusive (Tactically, Lee was the victor, but Grant continued the strategic offensive)

Lee's troop strength – 62,000, casualties – 2,500

Grant's troop strength – 108,000, casualties – 12,000^[64]

Deep Bottom

Lee Surrenders at Appomattox Court House. (Zoom)

8/14/1864 Confederate victory (Union attempt to attack Richmond, the Confederate Capital.)

Lee's troop strength – 20,000, casualties – 1,700

Hancock's troop strength – 28,000, casualties – 2,901^[64]

1865

Appomattox campaign

3/29/1865 – Union victory – General Robert E. Lee Surrenders to General Ulysses S. Grant. Casualties on Confederate side are enormous.^[68] After the surrender Grant gave Lee's army much-needed food rations, made them lay down their arms and return to their homes, never to take up arms against the Union again.

Lee's troop strength – 50,000, casualties – No Record Available

Grant's troop strength – 113,000, casualties – 10,780^[64]

After the war

After the war, Lee was not arrested or punished, but he did lose the right to vote as well as some property. Lee supported President Johnson's plan of Reconstruction, but joined with Democrats in opposing the Radical Republicans who demanded punitive measures against the South and distrusted its commitment to the abolition of slavery and, indeed, distrusted the region's loyalty to the United States. Lee supported civil rights for all, as well as a system of free public schools for blacks, but dissented regarding black suffrage. Most of all he became an icon of reconciliation between the North and South, and the reintegration of former Confederates into the national fabric.

President of Washington College, Lexington VA. From a photograph by Boude and Miley, late 1869.

Lee's prewar family home, the Custis-Lee Mansion, was seized by Union forces during the war and turned into Arlington National Cemetery. The family was compensated in 1883.^[69]
Lee hoped to retire to a farm of his own, but he was too much a regional symbol to live in obscurity. He accepted an offer to serve as the president of Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) in Lexington, Virginia, and served from October 1865 until his death. The Trustees used his famous name in large-scale fund-raising appeals and Lee transformed Washington College into a leading Southern college. Lee was well liked by the students, which enabled him to announce an "honor system" like West Point's, explaining "We have but one rule here, and it is that every student be a gentleman." To speed up national reconciliation Lee recruited students from the North and made certain they were well treated on campus and in town.^[70]
Several glowing appraisals of Lee's tenure as college president have survived, depicting the dignity and respect he commanded among all. Previously, most students had been obliged to occupy the campus dormitories, while only the most mature were allowed to live off-campus. Lee quickly reversed this rule, requiring most students to board off-campus, and allowing only the most mature to live in the dorms as a mark of privilege; the results of this policy were considered a success. A typical account by a professor there states that "the students fairly worshipped him, and deeply dreaded his displeasure; yet so kind, affable, and gentle was he toward them that all loved to approach him... No student would have dared to violate General Lee's expressed wish or appeal; if he had done so, the students themselves would have driven him from the college." Elsewhere, the same professor recalls the following:

To a recalcitrant student, who was contending for what he thought his rights as a man, I once heard General Lee say: "Obedience to lawful authority is the foundation of manly character," in those very words.^[71]

President Johnson's first amnesty pardon

On May 29, 1865, President Andrew Johnson issued a Proclamation of Amnesty and Pardon to persons who had participated in the rebellion against the United States. There were fourteen excepted classes, though, and members of those classes had to make special application to the President. Lee sent an application to Grant and wrote to President Johnson on June 13, 1865:

“

Being excluded from the provisions of amnesty & pardon contained in the proclamation of the 29th Ulto; I hereby apply for the benefits, & full restoration of all rights & privileges extended to those included in its terms. I graduated at the Mil. Academy at West Point in June 1829. Resigned from the U.S. Army April '61. Was a General in the Confederate Army, & included in the surrender of the Army of N. Virginia 9 April '65.^[72]

”

Oath of amnesty submitted by Robert E. Lee in 1865.

On October 2, 1865, the same day that Lee was inaugurated as president of Washington College (today named Washington and Lee, in Lee's honor) in Lexington, Virginia, he signed his Amnesty Oath, thereby complying fully with the provision of Johnson's proclamation. Lee was not pardoned, nor was his citizenship restored. The fact that he had submitted an amnesty oath at all was soon lost to history.^[72]
Apparently Secretary of State William H. Seward had given Lee's application to a friend as a souvenir, and the State Department had pigeonholed the oath. More than a hundred years later, in 1970, an archivist at the National Archives discovered Lee's Amnesty Oath among State Department records (reported in Prologue, Winter 1970).^[72] For 110 years Lee remained without a country, as the Confederacy had dissolved and Lee's United States application and oath were lost and disregarded. It is probable that someone at the State Department did not want Robert E. Lee to regain citizenship while Lee was alive.^[73] One can only speculate as to whether Secretary of State Seward was involved in the matter of Lee's citizenship reinstatement.

President Johnson's second amnesty pardon

President Andrew Johnson, in a proclamation dated December 25, 1868 (15 Stat. 711), gave an unconditional pardon to those who "directly or indirectly" rebelled against the United States.

... unconditionally, and without reservation, to all and every person who directly or indirectly participated in the late insurrection or rebellion, a full pardon and amnesty for the offense of treason against the United States, or of adhering to their enemies during the late civil war, with restoration of all rights, privileges, and immunities under the Constitution and the laws which have been made in pursuance thereof.^[73]

Lee, with this full amnesty pardon by President Johnson, could not be held liable for treason or insurrection against the United States. Lee was posthumously officially reinstated as a United States citizen by President Gerald Ford in 1975.

Postwar politics

Robert E. Lee, oil on canvas, Edward Calledon Bruce, 1865. Virginia Historical Society

Lee in 1867

Lee, who had opposed secession and remained mostly indifferent to politics before the Civil War, supported President Johnson's plan of Presidential Reconstruction that took effect in 1865–66. However, he opposed the Congressional Republican program that took effect in 1867. In February 1866, he was called to testify before the Joint Congressional Committee on Reconstruction in Washington, where he expressed support for President Andrew Johnson's plans for quick restoration of the former Confederate states, and argued that restoration should return, as far as possible, the status quo ante in the Southern states' governments (with the exception of slavery).^[74]
Lee told the Committee, "...every one with whom I associate expresses kind feelings towards the freedmen. They wish to see them get on in the world, and particularly to take up some occupation for a living, and to turn their hands to some work." Lee also expressed his "willingness that blacks should be educated, and ... that it would be better for the blacks and for the whites." Lee forthrightly opposed allowing blacks to vote: "My own opinion is that, at this time, they [black Southerners] cannot vote intelligently, and that giving them the [vote] would lead to a great deal of demagogism, and lead to embarrassments in various ways."^[75] Lee also recommended the deportation of African Americans from Virginia and even mentioned that Virginians would give aid in the deportation. "I think it would be better for Virginia if she could get rid of them [African Americans]. ... I think that everyone there would be willing to aid it."^[76]^[77]
In an interview in May 1866, Lee said, "The Radical party are likely to do a great deal of harm, for we wish now for good feeling to grow up between North and South, and the President, Mr. Johnson, has been doing much to strengthen the feeling in favor of the Union among us. The relations between the Negroes and the whites were friendly formerly, and would remain so if legislation be not passed in favor of the blacks, in a way that will only do them harm."^[78]
In 1868, Lee's ally Alexander H. H. Stuart drafted a public letter of endorsement for the Democratic Party's presidential campaign, in which Horatio Seymour ran against Lee's old foe Republican Ulysses S. Grant. Lee signed it along with thirty-one other ex-Confederates. The Democratic campaign, eager to publicize the endorsement, published the statement widely in newspapers.^[79] Their letter claimed paternalistic concern for the welfare of freed Southern blacks, stating that "The idea that the Southern people are hostile to the negroes and would oppress them, if it were in their power to do so, is entirely unfounded. They have grown up in our midst, and we have been accustomed from childhood to look upon them with kindness."^[80] However, it also called for the restoration of white political rule, arguing that "It is true that the people of the South, in common with a large majority of the people of the North and West, are, for obvious reasons, inflexibly opposed to any system of laws that would place the political power of the country in the hands of the negro race. But this opposition springs from no feeling of enmity, but from a deep-seated conviction that, at present, the negroes have neither the intelligence nor the other qualifications which are necessary to make them safe depositories of political power."^[81]
In his public statements and private correspondence, Lee argued that a tone of reconciliation and patience would further the interests of white Southerners better than hotheaded antagonism to federal authority or the use of violence. Lee repeatedly expelled white students from Washington College for violent attacks on local black men, and publicly urged obedience to the authorities and respect for law and order.^[82] In 1869–70 he was a leader in successful efforts to establish state-funded schools for blacks.^[83] He privately chastised fellow ex-Confederates such as Jefferson Davis and Jubal Early for their frequent, angry responses to perceived Northern insults, writing in private to them as he had written to a magazine editor in 1865, that "It should be the object of all to avoid controversy, to allay passion, give full scope to reason and to every kindly feeling. By doing this and encouraging our citizens to engage in the duties of life with all their heart and mind, with a determination not to be turned aside by thoughts of the past and fears of the future, our country will not only be restored in material prosperity, but will be advanced in science, in virtue and in religion."^[84]

Illness and death

Lee's death mask

So-called "Recumbent Statue" of Robert E. Lee in Lee Chapel in Lexington, Virginia, of Lee asleep on the battlefield, sculpted by Edward Valentine. It is often mistakenly thought to be a tomb or sarcophagus, but Lee is actually buried elsewhere in the chapel.

On September 28, 1870, Lee suffered a stroke that left him without the ability to speak.
Lee died from the effects of pneumonia shortly after 9 a.m. on October 12, 1870, in Lexington, Virginia. He was buried underneath Lee Chapel at Washington and Lee University, where his body remains today.
According to J. William Jones' Personal Reminiscences, Anecdotes, and Letters of Gen. Robert E. Lee, his last words, on the day of his death, were "Tell Hill he must come up. Strike the tent", but this is debatable because of conflicting accounts. Since Lee's stroke resulted in aphasia, last words may have been impossible.

Legacy

Among Southerners, Lee came to be even more revered after his surrender than he had been during the war (when Stonewall Jackson had been the great Confederate hero, particularly after Jackson's death at Chancellorsville). Admirers pointed to his character and devotion to duty, not to mention his brilliant tactical successes in battle after battle against a stronger foe. Military historians continue to pay attention to his battlefield tactics and maneuvering, though many think he should have designed better strategic plans for the Confederacy. However, it should be noted that he was not given full direction of the Southern war effort until very late in the conflict. His reputation continued to build and by 1900 his followers had spread into the North, signaling a national apotheosis.^[85] Today among the devotees of the Lost Cause, General Lee is referred to as "The Marble Man."

He was a foe without hate; a friend without treachery; a soldier without cruelty; a victor without oppression, and a victim without murmuring. He was a public officer without vices; a private citizen without wrong; a neighbour without reproach; a Christian without hypocrisy, and a man without guile. He was a Caesar, without his ambition; Frederick, without his tyranny; Napoleon, without his selfishness, and Washington, without his reward.
— Benjamin Harvey Hill of Georgia
referring to Robert Edward Lee during an address before the Southern Historical Society in Atlanta, Georgia on February 18, 1874^[86]

Civil War-era letters

On September 29, 2007, General Lee's three Civil War-era letters were sold for $61,000 at auction by Thomas Willcox, much less than the record of $630,000 for a Lee item in 2002. The auction included more than 400 documents of Lee's from the estate of the parents of Willcox that had been in the family for generations. South Carolina sued to stop the sale on the grounds that the letters were official documents and therefore property of the state, but the court ruled in favor of Willcox.^[87]

Citizenship restored

On January 30, 1975, Senate Joint Resolution 23, A joint resolution to restore posthumously full rights of citizenship to General R. E. Lee was introduced into the Senate by Senator Harry F. Byrd, Jr. (I-VA). The resolution was to restore the U.S. citizenship to Robert E. Lee effective June 13, 1865. This resolution was the result of a 5 year campaign to posthumously restore Robert E. Lee's U.S. citizenship.^[88]^[88]^[89]

Congressional summary

January 30, 1975 S. J. Res. 23 introduced.
March 19, 1975 Reported to Senate from the Committee on the Judiciary, S. Rept. 94-44.
April 10, 1975 Passed/agreed to in Senate: Measure passed Senate.
June 24, 1975 Reported to House from the Committee on the Judiciary, H. Rept. 94–324.
July 22, 1975 Passed/agreed to in House: Measure passed House, roll call #415 Vote: 407 Yea 10 Nay
July 22, 1975 Cleared for White House

On July 24, 1975, after passing the Senate and House of Representatives, the resolution was presented to President Gerald Ford. The resolution, S.J. Res. 23, was signed on August 5, 1975 by the President and became Public Law 94-67 (89 Stat. 380). The signing took place at a ceremony at Arlington House, Arlington, Virginia. The house was formerly known as the Custis-Lee Mansion, and was the home of General Lee. The ceremony was attended by a dozen of Lee's descendants, including Robert E. Lee V, the general's great-great-grandson. Also attending were: Governor Mills E. Godwin, Senator Harry F. Byrd, Jr., and congressmen M. Caldwell Butler, Herbert E. Harris II, David E. Satterfield III, Thomas N. Downing, and Robert W. Daniel, Jr.^[88]^[89]^[90]

President Ford signing and speech

July 24, 1975 Measure presented to President.
August 5, 1975 Signed by President.
August 5, 1975 Public law 94-67

Before signing President Ford spoke at 2:12 p.m. at the signing ceremony:

“

I am very pleased to sign Senate Joint Resolution 23, restoring posthumously the long overdue, full rights of citizenship to General Robert E. Lee. This legislation corrects a 110-year oversight of American history. It is significant that it is signed at this place. Lee's dedication to his native State of Virginia charted his course for the bitter Civil War years, causing him to reluctantly resign from a distinguished career in the United States Army and to serve as General of the Army of Northern Virginia. He, thus, forfeited his rights to U.S. citizenship.
Once the war was over, he firmly felt the wounds of the North and South must be bound up. He sought to show by example that the citizens of the South must dedicate their efforts to rebuilding that region of the country as a strong and vital part of the American Union.
In 1865, Robert E. Lee wrote to a former Confederate soldier concerning his signing the Oath of Allegiance, and I quote: "This war, being at an end, the Southern States having laid down their arms, and the questions at issue between them and the Northern States having been decided, I believe it to be the duty of everyone to unite in the restoration of the country and the reestablishment of peace and harmony....
As a soldier, General Lee left his mark on military strategy. As a man, he stood as the symbol of valor and of duty. As an educator, he appealed to reason and learning to achieve understanding and to build a stronger nation. The course he chose after the war became a symbol to all those who had marched with him in the bitter years towards Appomattox.
General Lee's character has been an example to succeeding generations, making the restoration of his citizenship an event in which every American can take pride.
In approving this Joint Resolution, Congress removed the legal obstacle to citizenship which resulted from General Lee's Civil War service. "Although more than a century late, I am delighted to sign this resolution and to complete the full restoration of General Lee's citizenship."

”

Monuments, memorials and commemorations

Monuments

Jefferson Davis, Lee, and Stonewall Jackson
at Stone Mountain

Unveiling of the Equestrian Statue of Robert E. Lee, May 29, 1890. Richmond, Virginia.

Since it was built in 1884, the most prominent monument in New Orleans has been a 60-foot (18 m)-tall monument to General Lee. A sixteen and a half foot statue of Lee stands tall upon a towering column of white marble in the middle of Lee Circle. The statue of Lee, which weighs more than 7,000 pounds, faces the North. Lee Circle is situated along New Orleans' famous St. Charles Avenue. The New Orleans streetcars roll past Lee Circle and New Orleans' best Mardi Gras parades go around Lee Circle (the spot is so popular that bleachers are set up annually around the perimeter for Mardi Gras). Around the corner from Lee Circle is New Orleans' Confederate Museum, which contains the second largest collection of Confederate memorabilia in the world.^[91] In a tribute to Lee Circle (which had formerly been known as Tivoli Circle), former Confederate soldier George Washington Cable wrote:

"In Tivoli Circle, New Orleans, from the centre and apex of its green flowery mound, an immense column of pure white marble rises in the ... majesty of Grecian proportions high up above the city's house-tops into the dazzling sunshine ... On its dizzy top stands the bronze figure of one of the worlds greatest captains. He is alone. Not one of his mighty lieutenants stand behind, beside or below him. His arms are folded on that breast that never knew fear, and his calm, dauntless gaze meets the morning sun as it rises, like the new prosperity of the land he loved and serve so masterly, above the far distant battle fields where so many thousands of his gray veterans lie in the sleep of fallen heroes." (Silent South, 1885, The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine)

A large equestrian statue of Lee by French sculptor Jean Antonin Mercié is the centerpiece of Richmond, Virginia's famous Monument Avenue, which boasts four other statues to famous Confederates. This monument to Lee was unveiled on May 29, 1890. Over 100,000 people attended this dedication.

Robert E. Lee is also featured in the carving on Stone Mountain.

Robert E. Lee is shown mounted on Traveller in Gettysburg National Park on top of the Virginia Monument

A large double equestrian statue of Lee and Jackson in Baltimore's Wyman Park, directly across from the Baltimore Museum of Art, was dedicated in 1948. Designed by Laura Gardin Fraser, Robert E. Lee is depicted astride his horse Traveller next to Stonewall Jackson who is mounted on "Little Sorrel." Architect John Russell Pope created the base, which was dedicated on the anniversary of the eve of the Battle of Chancellorsville.

Holidays

The birthday of Robert E. Lee is celebrated or commemorated in:

The state of Virginia as part of Lee-Jackson Day, which was separated from the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday there in 2001. The King holiday falls on the third Monday in January while the Lee-Jackson Day holiday is celebrated on the Friday preceding it.
The state of Texas celebrates, as part of Confederate Heroes Day on January 19, Lee's actual birthday.
The states of Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi on the third Monday in January, along with Martin Luther King, Jr.
The state of Georgia on the day after Thanksgiving.
The state of Florida, as a legal holiday and public holiday, on January 19.^[92]

Geographic features

Robert Lee, Texas
The Leesville half of Batesburg-Leesville, South Carolina.
Fort Lee in Prince George County, Virginia.
Lee County, Alabama; Lee County, Arkansas; Lee County, Florida; Lee County, Kentucky; Lee County, Mississippi; Lee County, North Carolina; Lee County, South Carolina; Lee County, Texas.
Lee Drive, Baton Rouge, Louisiana—one of the city's major streets, it is located near the Louisiana State University. Robert E. Lee High School is located on the street.
Lee Highway, a National Auto Trail in the United States connecting New York City and San Francisco, California via the South and Southwest.
Lee Avenue, in Manassas, Virginia, was named after Robert E. Lee and intersects with Grant Avenue in front of the old Prince William County Courthouse. Grant Avenue was named after General Ulysses S. Grant.
Robert E. Lee Memorial Park, Baltimore, MD
Robert E. Lee is on the carving on Stone Mountain in Georgia
Robert E. Lee Blvd. in New Orleans
Lee Circle, New Orleans, with doric column surmounted by a statue of Lee

Schools and universities

Robert E. Lee Academy, Bishopville, South Carolina
Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia
Lee College, Baytown, Texas
Several high schools and middle schools. See Robert E. Lee High School.
- Lee High School, Houston, Texas
- Lee-Davis High School, Mechanicsville, Virginia
- Southern Lee High School, Sanford, North Carolina
- Lee County High School, Sanford, North Carolina
- Robert E. Lee High School, Baytown, Texas
- Upson-Lee High School, Thomaston, Georgia
- Washington-Lee High School, Arlington, Virginia
- Robert E. Lee Junior High School, Monroe, Louisiana
- Robert E. Lee Junior High School, San Angelo, Texas
- Robert E. Lee High School, Jacksonville, Florida
- Robert E. Lee Middle School, Orlando, Florida
- Robert E. Lee High School, Springfield, Virginia
Several elementary schools. See Robert E. Lee Elementary School.

Memorials

Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial, also known as the Custis-Lee Mansion and located in present-day Arlington National Cemetery, is maintained by the National Park Service as a memorial to Lee.
The Virginia State Memorial at Gettysburg Battlefield is topped by an equestrian statue of Lee by Frederick William Sievers, facing roughly in the direction of Pickett's Charge.
Lee is one of the figures depicted in bas-relief carved into Stone Mountain near Atlanta, Georgia. Accompanying him on horseback in the relief are Stonewall Jackson and Jefferson Davis.
A statue of Lee on horseback, located in Robert E. Lee Park, in Dallas, Texas.
Despite his presidential pardon by Gerald Ford and his continuing to being held in high regard by many Americans, Lee's portrayal on a mural on Richmond's Flood Wall on the James River was considered offensive by some, was removed in the late 1990s, but currently is back on the flood wall.
The USS Robert E. Lee, a George Washington class ballistic missile submarine built in 1958, was named for Lee.
The Mississippi River steamboat, Robert E. Lee, was named for Lee after the Civil War. It was the participant in an 1870 St. Louis – New Orleans race with the Natchez VI, which was featured in a Currier and Ives lithograph. The Robert E. Lee won the said race. The steamboat also inspired a song Waiting for the Robert E. Lee (Lewis Muir-L. Wolfe Gilbert).
In 1900, Lee was one of the first 29 individuals selected for the Hall of Fame for Great Americans (the first Hall of Fame in the United States), designed by Stanford White, on the Bronx, New York, campus of New York University, now a part of Bronx Community College.
On September 21, 1955, the United States Postal Service released a 30¢ Liberty Issue postage stamp honoring Lee.
A statue of Lee is on display at the main mall of The University of Texas at Austin.
The Commonwealth of Virginia issues an optional license plate honouring Lee, making reference to him as 'The Virginia Gentleman'.

Robert E Lee Monument, Charlottesville, Virginia, Leo Lentilli, sculptor, 1924

Robert E Lee, Virginia Monument, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Frederick William Sievers, sculptor, 1917

Lee by Mercié, Monument Avenue, Richmond, Virginia, 1890

Statue of Lee in Dallas, Texas

In other media

Robert E. Lee serves as a main character in the Shaara novels The Killer Angels, Gods and Generals, and The Last Full Measure, as well as the film adaptations of The Killer Angels and Gods and Generals. He is played by Martin Sheen in the former and his descendent Robert Duvall in the latter. Lee is portrayed as a hero in the historical children's novel Lee and Grant at Appomattox by MacKinlay Kantor. He features on the cover of Harry Turtledove's Alternate History Novel Guns of the South, in which he plays one of two major characters & ends up President of a Victorious Confederacy

Notes

^ Elizabeth Brown Pryor "Robert E. Lee's "Severest Struggle,"" American Heritage, Winter 2008.
^ Stephen W. Sears, "'We Should Assume the Aggressive': Origins of the Gettysburg Campaign," North and South: The Official Magazine of the Civil War Society, March 2002, Vol. 5#4 pp 58–66
^ John F. Ross "Unlocking History: Treasures of Robert E. Lee Discovered," American Heritage, Winter 2008.
^ William Thorndale, "The Parents of Colonel Richard Lee of Virginia," National Genealogical Society Quarterly 76 (December 1988): 253-68
^ His maternal great-great-grandfather, Robert "King" Carter of Corotoman, was the wealthiest man in the colonies when he died in 1732.
^ Davis, Pohanka & Troiani 1997, p. 135
^ Fellman 2000, p. 12
^ Fellman 2000, pp. 16–17
^ Thomas 1995, pp. 30–31
^ Thomas 1995, p. 32
^ Thomas 1995, pp. 32–34
^ Thomas 1995, pp. 34–35
^ Thomas 1995, pp. 38–45
^ Fellman 2000, pp. 13–14
^ Freeman 1991, pp. 12–13
^ ^a ^b Davis 1999, p. 21
^ Thomas 1995, pp. 48–54
^ Thomas 1995, p. 56
^ Thomas 1995, pp. 57–58
^ ^a ^b Freeman 1997, pp. 25–26
^ Thomas 1995, p. 57
^ Fellman 2000, p. 33
^ Thomas 1995, pp. 62
^ Thomas 1995, pp. 64–65
^ Freeman 1997, p. 31
^ Fellman 2000, pp. 24–25
^ Thomas 1995, p. 72
^ Thomas 1995, pp. 74–75
^ Freeman 1997, pp. 33–34
^ Thomas 1995, p. 81
^ Thomas 1995, pp. 83–84
^ "Welcome to Fort Hamilton". Nad.usace.army.mil. http://www.nad.usace.army.mil/fh.htm. Retrieved 2010-10-16.
^ "William Fitzhugh". Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, National Park Service. http://www.nps.gov/frsp/fitzchm.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
^ "A Day Under a Log Contributes to Victory". University of Chicago. http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/People/Robert_E_Lee/FREREL/1/15*.html#p248. Retrieved 2008-05-20.
^ "Lee and Grant | Before the War | Virginia Historical Society". Vahistorical.org. http://www.vahistorical.org/lg/btw.htm. Retrieved 2010-10-15.
^ Thomas, Robert E. Lee p. 148
^ Connelly, The Marble Man (1977) pp 176–82
^ Davis 1999, p. 111
^ Thomas, Robert E. Lee, pp 152–62
^ Blassingame, Slave Testimony: Two Centuries of Letters, Speeches, Interviews, and Autobiographies, pp 467–468
^ Fellman, Making of Robert E. Lee pp 64–67
^ Thomas, Robert E. Lee, pp 173–79
^ Fellman, The Making of Robert E. Lee p. 67-68
^ Fellman, The Making of Robert E. Lee p. 69
^ Fellman, The Making of Robert E. Lee pp. 209–18
^ Rafuse, Robert E. Lee and the Fall of the Confederacy, 1864–1865 (2008) pp. 216–20
^ Hughes & Liddell 1997, pp. 192–193
^ Freeman 1934, p. 372
^ Freeman, R. E. Lee, A Biography, 1:372
^ Freeman 1934, pp. 394–395
^ "Col. Robert E. Lee's Report Concerning the Attack at Harper's Ferry". Law.umkc.edu. 1959-10-18. http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/FTRIALS/johnbrown/leereport.html. Retrieved 2010-10-15.
^ Freeman, Douglas Southall (1934). "XXV". R. E. Lee: A Biography. New York and London: Charles Scribner's Sons. ISBN 1931313369. http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/People/Robert_E_Lee/FREREL/1/25*.html.
^ Freeman 1934, p. 425
^ Davis 1999, p. 49
^ Fellman 2000, §6
^ Foot Soldier: The Rebels. Prod. A&E Television Network. Karn, Richard. The History Channel. 1998. DVD. A&E Television Networks, 2008.
^ Freeman 1934, p. 602
^ Stephen W. Sears, "'We Should Assume the Aggressive': Origins of the Gettysburg Campaign," North and South: The Official Magazine of the Civil War Society, March 2002, Vol. 5#4 pp 58–66; Donald Stoker, The Grand Design: Strategy and the U.S. Civil War (2010) p 295 says that "attacking Grant would have been the wiser choice" for Lee.
^ "Fremantle's Diary, p. 135". Docsouth.unc.edu. http://docsouth.unc.edu/imls/fremantle/fremantle.html. Retrieved 2010-10-15.
^ Nolan 1991, pp. 21–22
^ Davis 1999, p. 61
^ Davis 1999, p. 233
^ Nolan 1991, p. 24
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m "Civil War Casualties Battle Statistics and Commanders". Americancivilwar.com. http://americancivilwar.com/cwstats.html. Retrieved 2010-10-15.
^ "Battle of Cheat Mountain". Civilwar.bluegrass.net. http://civilwar.bluegrass.net/battles-campaigns/1861/610911-13.html. Retrieved 2010-10-15.
^ "Gettysburg Battle American Civil War July 1863". Americancivilwar.com. http://americancivilwar.com/getty.html. Retrieved 2010-10-15.
^ Mcfeely (2002), Grant: A Biography, p. 169)
^ "Appomattox Courthouse Robert E Lee Surrenders to Ulysses S Grant". Americancivilwar.com. http://americancivilwar.com/appo.html. Retrieved 2010-10-15.
^ In December 1882, the U.S. Supreme Court returned the property to Lee's son because it had been confiscated without due process of law. In 1883, the government paid the Lee family $150,000."Historical Information". Arlington National Cemetery. http://www.arlingtoncemetery.org/historical_information/arlington_house.html. Retrieved 2008-05-20.
^ Thomas, Robert E. Lee pp 374–402
^ Professor Edward S. Joynes, chair of Modern Languages at Washington College under Lee, originally published in Richmond Dispatch, Jan 27. 1901.
^ ^a ^b ^c "General Robert E. Lee's Parole and Citizenship". Archives.gov. 1975-08-05. http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2005/spring/piece-lee.html. Retrieved 2010-10-15.
^ ^a ^b "Pardon of Robert E. Lee". Gdg.org. http://www.gdg.org/Research/People/RELee/pardon.html. Retrieved 2010-10-15.
^ Fellman 2000, p. 265
^ Fellman 2000, pp. 267–268
^ Robert E. Lee, Joint Committee on Reconstruction in Washington, D.C., February 17, 1866
^ "Richmond IMC: The Real Robert E. Lee". Richmond.indymedia.org. 2007-01-13. http://richmond.indymedia.org/newswire/display/12541/index.php. Retrieved 2010-10-15.
^ Freeman 1934, p. 301
^ Freeman 1934, pp. 375–377
^ Freeman 1934, pp. 375–376
^ Freeman 1934, p. 376
^ Fellman 2000, pp. 258–263
^ Pearson, Charles Chilton (1917). "The Readjuster Movement in Virginia". American Political Science Review (Yale University Press): 60.
^ Fellman 2000, p. 275–277
^ Weigley, Russell F. (February 2000). "Lee, Robert E.". American National Biography. http://www.anb.org/articles/04/04-00622.html. Retrieved 2008-05-20.
^ "The politically incorrect guide to ... – Google Books". Books.google.com. http://books.google.com/books?id=1samovCrW9wC&pg=PA165&lpg=PA165&dq=He+was+a+foe+without+hate,+a+friend+without+treachery,+a+soldier+without+cruelty,+a+victor+without+oppression,+and+a+victim+without+murmuring.&source=web&ots=GBG9sbRBSR&sig=gCOA2t7X2F3-aPAHMpwrEdP8p4w&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result. Retrieved 2010-10-15.
^ "General Lee letters sold at auction". US Auction Info. 2007-09-30. http://www.usauction.info/2007/09/30/general-lee-letters-sold-at-auction/. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Citizenship For R. E. Lee". The Gettysburg Times. August 7, 1975.

NOTE: The 10 objecting Congressmen against Lee's citizenship resolution argued it should include amnesty for Vietham war draft dodgers (subsequently granted in 1977).

^ ^a ^b "Bill Summary & Status - 94th Congress (1975 - 1976) - S.J.RES.23 - All Information - THOMAS (Library of Congress)". Thomas.loc.gov. http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d094:SJ00023:@@@L&summ2=m&. Retrieved 2010-10-16.

^ "Remarks Upon Signing a Bill Restoring Rights of Citizenship to General Robert E. Lee, August 5, 1975". Fordlibrarymuseum.gov. http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/speeches/750473.htm. Retrieved 2010-10-15.

^ "History of Confederate Memorial Hall". Confederate Memorial Hall. http://www.confederatemuseum.com. Retrieved 2008-05-20.

^ "The 2007 Florida Statutes". Florida Legislature. http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch0683/SEC01.HTM&Title=-%3E2006-%3ECh0683-%3ESection%2001#0683.01. Retrieved 2008-05-20.

References

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Lee at Fredericksburg

Blassingame, John W. (July 1977). Slave Testimony: Two Centuries of Letters, Speeches, Interviews, and Autobiographies. Louisiana State University Press. ISBN 0807102733
Connelly, Thomas Lawrence (1977). The Marble Man: Robert E. Lee and His Image in American society. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0-394-47179-2 .
Davis, William C. (1999). The Commanders of the Civil War. London: Salamander Books Ltd. ISBN 1-84065-105-9 .
Davis, William C.; Pohanka, Brian C.; Troiani, Don (1997). Civil War Journal, The Leaders. Rutledge Hill Press. ISBN 0-517-22193-4 .
Eicher, John H.; Eicher, David J. (2001). Civil War High Commands. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-3641-3 .
Fellman, Michael (2000). The Making of Robert E. Lee. Random House. ISBN 0-679-45650-3 .
Freeman, Douglas S. (1934). R. E. Lee, A Biography. Charles Scribner's Sons. http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/People/Robert_E_Lee/FREREL/home.html. Retrieved 2008-05-20
Fuller, J. F. C. (1957). Grant and Lee, A Study in Personality and Generalship. Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-13400-5 .
Hughes, Nathaniel C., Jr.; Liddell, St. John R. (1997). Liddell's Record. Louisiana State University Press. ISBN 978-0-8071-2218-1 .
Lee, Edmund Jennings (1983). Lee of Virginia 1642–1892. Genealogical Publishing Company. ISBN 0-8063-0604-1 .
Lee, Robert Edward (2000). Recollections and Letters of General Robert E. Lee. Project Gutenberg. http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/2323. Retrieved 2008-05-20
Nolan, Alan T. (1991). Lee Considered: General Robert E. Lee and Civil War History. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0-8078-4587-6 .
Thomas, Emory M. (1995). Robert E. Lee. W.W. Norton & Co.. ISBN 9780393316315 .
Warner, Ezra J. (1959). Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders. Louisiana State University Press. ISBN 0-8071-0823-5 .

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Robert E. Lee

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Robert E. Lee

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Lee, Robert Edward.

Robert E. Lee by Elizabeth Brown Pryor in Encyclopedia Virginia
Freeman's biography of Lee
Biographical article in Appleton's Encyclopedia
Obituary of Robert E. Lee, with a retrospective from a Northern point of view. The New York Times; October 13, 1870

Primary sources

Recollections and Letters of General Robert E. Lee, by Captain Robert E. Lee, His Son
A Leadership Walk Across Gettysburg, DVD that reflects on Lee's leadership decisions that unfolded during the three-day long battle at Gettysburg
Interactive Animation of the Battle of Gettysburg - A chronicle of the 3-day battle, it also touches on Lee's tactical strategies during the American Civil War.

Monuments and memorials

Military offices
Preceded by Henry Brewerton	Superintendent of the United States Military Academy 1852–1855	Succeeded by John Gross Barnard
Preceded by Gen. Joseph E. Johnston	Commander, Army of Northern Virginia June 1, 1862– April 12, 1865	End of War
Preceded by None, position was created with Lee's appointment	General-in-Chief of the Confederate States Army January 31, 1865 – April 12, 1865	End of War

[show] v • d • e Gettysburg figures

Confederate leaders	Robert E. Lee · Edward Porter Alexander · Richard H. Anderson · George T. Anderson · James J. Archer · Lewis Addison Armistead · William Barksdale · Henry L. Benning · John M. Brockenbrough · John R. Chambliss · Junius Daniel · Joseph R. Davis · George P. Doles · Jubal Anderson Early · Richard S. Ewell · Richard B. Garnett · John Brown Gordon · Wade Hampton III · Harry T. Hays · Henry Heth · A. P. Hill · John Bell Hood · Benjamin G. Humphreys · John D. Imboden · Alfred Iverson, Jr. · Albert G. Jenkins · Allegheny Johnson · John M. Jones · William E. Jones · James L. Kemper · Joseph B. Kershaw · James Henry Lane · Evander M. Law · Fitzhugh Lee · William Henry Fitzhugh Lee · James Longstreet · William Mahone · James K. Marshall · Lafayette McLaws · Edward A. O'Neal · William C. Oates · William Dorsey Pender · J. Johnston Pettigrew · Abner Perrin · George Pickett · Carnot Posey · Stephen Dodson Ramseur · Jerome B. Robertson · Robert E. Rodes · Alfred Moore Scales · Paul Jones Semmes · William "Extra Billy" Smith · George H. Steuart · J.E.B. Stuart · Edward Lloyd Thomas · Isaac R. Trimble · James A. Walker · Reuben Lindsay Walker · Cadmus M. Wilcox · William T. Wofford · Ambrose R. Wright

Union leaders	George Meade · Adelbert Ames · Romeyn B. Ayres · Francis C. Barlow · James Barnes · Henry Baxter · David B. Birney · John Buford · John C. Caldwell · Charles Candy · Louis Henry Carpenter · Joseph Bradford Carr · Joshua Chamberlain · Edward E. Cross · Andrew Gregg Curtin · George Armstrong Custer · Lysander Cutler · Samuel W. Crawford · Abner Doubleday · Elon J. Farnsworth · John W. Geary · John Gibbon · Leopold von Gilsa · Charles K. Graham · George S. Greene · David McMurtrie Gregg · Winfield Scott Hancock · William Harrow · Alexander Hays · Joseph Hooker · Oliver O. Howard · Andrew A. Humphreys · Henry Jackson Hunt · Judson Kilpatrick · Wlodzimierz Krzyzanowski · Abraham Lincoln · Solomon Meredith · Wesley Merritt · John Newton · Gabriel Rene Paul · Alfred Pleasonton · John F. Reynolds · John C. Robinson · Thomas Algeo Rowley · Thomas H. Ruger · Alexander Schimmelfennig · Carl Schurz · John Sedgwick · Daniel Sickles · Henry Warner Slocum · George J. Stannard · Samuel H. Starr · Adolph von Steinwehr · George Sykes · William S. Tilton · Robert O. Tyler · Strong Vincent · James S. Wadsworth · J. H. Hobart Ward · Gouverneur K. Warren · Stephen Weed · Alexander S. Webb · Alpheus S. Williams · Samuel K. Zook

Other notable military characters	Russell A. Alger · Isaac E. Avery · Laurence S. Baker · Alfred Horatio Belo · Hiram Berdan · Alexander Biddle · John R. Brooke · Goode Bryan · Henry K. Burgwyn · George C. Burling · Samuel S. Carroll · Thomas Henry Carter (Civil War) · Thomas Chamberlain · William J. Colvill · Father William Corby · Charles Coster · James Dearing · Thomas Devin · Augustus van Horne Ellis · Richard Enderlin · Arthur Fremantle · Birkett D. Fry · William Gamble · Archibald C. Godwin · John Irvin Gregg · Bryan Grimes · Norman J. Hall · Henry Thomas Harrison · Frank A. Haskell · Horatio Stockton Howell · Amos Humiston · Harrison Jeffords · Marcellus Jones · Patrick Kelly · Myles Keogh · David Lang · Joseph W. Latimer · William G. Lewis · William McCandless · Archibald L. McDougall · George F. McFarland · John Baillie McIntosh · Robert Murphy Mayo · Edward D. Muhlenberg · Patrick O'Rorke · Ario Pardee, Jr. · William Ransom Johnson Pegram · Abner Monroe Perrin · William T. Poague · Edward S. Salomon · Orland Smith · Moxley Sorrel · Ellis Spear · Roy Stone · Walter H. Taylor · Traveller (horse) · Régis de Trobriand · Charles S. Wainwright · George Hull Ward

Local civilians	Abraham Bryan · John L. Burns · Moses McClean · David McConaughy · Edward McPherson · Ginnie Wade · David Wills

Persondata
Name	Lee, Robert Edward
Alternative names
Short description	American general
Date of birth	January 19, 1807
Place of birth	Stratford Hall, Virginia
Date of death	October 12, 1870
Place of death	Lexington, Virginia

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Robert E. Lee

Robert E. Lee

Contents

Early life and career

Combat engineer career

Marriage and family

Mexican-American War

The 1850s

Lee's views on slavery

Harpers Ferry and Texas, 1859–61

Harpers Ferry

Texas

Civil War

Early role

Commander, Army of Northern Virginia

Battle of Gettysburg

Ulysses S. Grant and the Union offensive

General-in-chief

Lee's Civil War battle summaries

1861

Cheat Mountain

1862

Seven Days

Second Manassas

South Mountain

Antietam

Fredericksburg

1863

Chancellorsville

Gettysburg

1864

Wilderness

Spotsylvania

Cold Harbor

Deep Bottom

1865

Appomattox campaign

After the war

President Johnson's first amnesty pardon

President Johnson's second amnesty pardon

Postwar politics

Illness and death

Legacy

Civil War-era letters

Citizenship restored

Congressional summary

President Ford signing and speech

Monuments, memorials and commemorations

Monuments

Holidays

Geographic features

Schools and universities

Memorials

In other media

Notes

References

Further reading

Biographical

Military campaigns

Primary sources

External links

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Monuments and memorials

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