Robert E. Lee

Robert E. Lee was a leading general for the Army of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War (1861–65). His strategies and determination gave the Confederacy many victories on the battlefield, but in the end it was he who surrendered to the Union Army in April 1865.

Early life

Lee was born January 19, 1807, at Stratford Hall Plantation, Virginia. He was one of five children born to Henry Lee III and Ann Hill Carter

Lee. Henry “Lighthorse Harry” Lee was a member of the Virginia upper class and had been a hero in the American Revolution (1775–83), governor of Virginia, and a member of Congress, but his fortunes were in decline at the time of Robert's birth. Henry Lee's debts forced him into prison in 1809 and caused the family to move to Alexandria, Virginia, in 1810.

In 1813, Henry Lee left for the Caribbean to recover his fortune and his health. He would never return, for he died in 1818. Forced to parent alone, Ann Lee raised her children in very modest circumstances, and taught them standards of conduct to help them avoid the mistakes their father had made. These lessons served Robert E. Lee throughout his lifetime.

In 1825, Lee attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He finished second in the class of 1829 and earned an appointment in the U.S. Engineer Corps. His first assignment was at Cockspur Island in the Savannah River in Georgia . He made many friends in Savannah, yet spent every leave in northern Virginia in the company of Mary Custis, step-granddaughter of President George Washington . They were married in July 1831 at the Custis family estate in Arlington, Virginia.

The young couple moved to Fort Monroe, Virginia, the place of Lee's second assignment in the Engineer Corps. They had seven children between 1832 and 1846. The family often lived at the Custis estate in Arlington when Lee's assignments brought him to nearby Washington, D.C. , or called him far away. (This estate still stands today amidst what is now Arlington National Cemetery .)

Military career

Lee served on the staff of General Winfield Scott (1786–1866) during the Mexican-American War (1846–48). He became one of Scott's trusted advisors and proved his talent, energy, and daring during a campaign from Vera Cruz to Mexico City in 1847. Through this, Lee earned both Scott's admiration and the temporary rank of colonel.

In 1852, Lee returned to West Point as superintendent. He transferred from staff assignments to command of cavalry troops on the Texas frontier in 1855. When his father-in-law died in 1857, Lee returned to Arlington to take care of the estate. He remained there until he was called to lead a detachment of Marines against a slave insurrection at Harpers Ferry , Virginia, in 1859. In 1860, he returned to Texas and active duty.

Civil War

By February 1861, several Southern states had announced their secession (withdrawal) from the United States. Lee, who opposed secession, returned to Virginia to help handle the crisis. In April, however, negotiations failed and the conflict erupted into the Civil War.

President Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865; served 1861–65) offered Lee a command position to suppress the rebellion. Lee's home state of Virginia, however, had seceded at the outbreak of war, so Lee submitted his resignation to the U.S. Army and accepted a command of the armed forces of Virginia. He felt his loyalties lied more with his native state, rather than with the federal government. He organized the mobilization of Virginia troops and gave his men and equipment to the Confederate cause in June 1861. On August 31, Lee became a full general in the Confederate Army.

General Lee's contributions to the Confederate cause were significant both on and off the battlefield. Though he spent the first several months of the war leading troops, in March 1862 Confederate president Jefferson Davis (1808–1889) recalled Lee to Richmond, Virginia, to serve as his chief of staff. In this position, Lee was an invaluable advisor, managing communication between Davis and his generals.

The following June, Confederate general Joseph E. Johnston (1807–1891) was seriously wounded. President Davis placed Lee in charge of Johnston's troops, and Lee was thereafter in the field. His armies fought many noteworthy battles. Lee was a highly effective general who earned many victories for the Confederacy, but his efforts to beat the Union Army ultimately failed. General Lee surrendered to Union general Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885) at Appomattox Courthouse , Virginia, on April 9, 1865. The Confederacy collapsed almost immediately.

Last years

After the war, Lee accepted a post as president of Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) in Lexington, Virginia. He took the position seriously, dedicating himself to leading the next generation of Southerners into the Reconstruction phase it faced. His wartime efforts and leadership as an educator earned him great respect in the South. Lee's health, which had suffered since the war, continued to decline. He died of a stroke on October 13, 1870, at his home in Lexington.