Robert E. Lee

ROBERT E. LEE

Robert E. Lee was born in 1807 at Startford Hall Plantation in Virginia. Both of Lee’s parents were close to President George Washington. His father was Washington’s favorite cavalry commander and his mother, a member of Virginia’s distinguished Carter family, belonged to Washington’s social set.

Lee left for West Point, New York, in 1825 and during his four years at the military academy he did not earn a single demerit, and he graduated second in his class, qualifying for the top rated branch of service the corps of engineer.

In June of 1831, Lee married a distant cousin Mary Custis. They had seven children together. All of his sons served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, and two of them also became Generals.

Lee fought with distinction during the Mexican War and then became Superintendent of West Point in 1852.

In October of 1859, Lee led 93 U.S. Marines to Harpers Ferry where they crushed John Brown’s effort to start a slave rebellion. He then went back to Texas and served with the 2nd U.S. Cavalry. In 1861 after the Confederacy was formed, Lee was called to Washington and offered the command of the Union Army. But, because of Lee’s loyalty to his home state of Virginia he refused saying “I could take no part in an invasion of the Southern States”.

Then in 1862, Robert E. Lee was chosen to command the Confederate Army defending Richmond. Lee was not very successful in this assignment and therefore was moved to the job of military advisor to President Jefferson Davis. Lee performed masterfully in this position. Then on June 1, 1862, Lee became the commander of the Army of Northern Virginia. Because of Lee’s success and leadership ability, on January 23, 1865, President Davis promoted General Lee the Commanding General of all Confederate Armies. But, by this time the war for the south was almost over. In April, Lee surrender to General Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia which ended the...