Robert Edward Lee was born in Stratford, Virginia in 1807, and throughout his life he gained a deep love and loyalty for his home state.
Many of Lee’s family members played important roles in early American politics. Among his extended family, one could find a chief justice, signers of the Declaration of Independence, and even an American president.
In pursuing the military, Lee followed in the footsteps of his father, Colonel Henry Lee. Both men attended West Point Academy, and Robert finished second in his class upon graduating in 1829. Henry Lee served as a cavalry leader in the Revolutionary War and eventually earned the praise of George Washington.
Lee married Mary Anna Randolph Custis, the great-granddaughter of George and Martha Washington, at the age of twenty-four. He had proposed to her within a year of graduating from West Point, and the two were married in 1831. The two produced seven children, all but one of which were born in Arlington. Though many of their habits and interests differed, Robert and Mary were a friendly and devoted pair.
Along with most of his family, Lee was an Episcopalian. After being confirmed in 1853, he proved himself an ideal churchman, steering clear of tobacco and alcohol. He enjoyed attending church and reading religious publications.
Lee’s early military career caused him to spend time away from his family. He visited Baltimore, Savannah, New York, and St. Louis, while Mary stayed home with their children. When the United States went to war with Mexico in 1846, he got the chance to prove his abilities as a commander and was celebrated as a war hero.
Robert E. Lee did not always support southern independence. In fact, he initially disagreed with both political and economical arguments for independence; however, he eventually changed his mind when forced to choose between the Union and Virginia.
Lee had a long career with the United States Army, and was offered a position as field commander when war became imminent. But the next day, Lee discovered that Virginia had seceded from the Union, and in loyalty to his home state, submitted his resignation letter to the United States Army soon after. He was then named commander of Virginia forces.
While serving as commander in the Civil War, Lee’s two biggest victories were the Battle of Manassas (better known as second Bull Run) and the Battle of Chancellorsville.
On February 6, 1865, Lee was granted the position of General-in-Chief of the entire Confederate Army. His service in this new role was cut short; he was forced to surrender to General Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865, which ended the Civil War.
Washington College, in Lexington, Virginia, had the honor and pleasure of having Lee as their president. This was during the last five years of his life. He fell ill in late September of 1870, and died on October 12, 1870. Lee was buried in Lexington, Virginia.
April 1, 2014 4:56 pm
Do you even know what a fact is? Actually you show the myth, but few facts.
Like Lee never commanded troops militarily — in his entire life — until the Civil War, unless you call the arrest of John Brown military, and even then he was two hours late, in his civilian clothes, Brown was already surrounded.
Lee was a military ENGINEER — he built bridges. One of his first jobs in Civil War was as engineer and slave driver (yes, slave driver) for the massive earth works around Richmond, built largely with slave labor. In fact, newspapers in Richmond started calling him “King of Spades” because he was always ordering slaves around. The “Lee Myth” crowed has claimed that “King of Spades” nick name came from troops — nonsense, it came from newspapers because SPADE was a word for black males. Lee was King of Spades.
ALso, Lee was not anti slavery at all, and owned his own slaves, plus bought more from bounty hunters, and even bought women and children his hunters would catch in the North — free women and children who happened to be black — and kidnapped them for Lee. They were looking for Lee’s escaped slaves, and when they found others WITH the blacks that were supposedly Lee’s property, they took the other blacks too.
Lee would do the same in the CIvil War — he ordered his troops to capture free blacks IN THE NORTH during the war, and take them South for sale. No one knows what happened to the money Lee got for those free people he turned into slaves, but I have a guess. Lee therefore, is the only person in US history to order free women and children captured during war, and sold as slaves.
It gets worse — much worse. Learn about Lee’s slave ledgers and private sexual letters, his torture of slave girls, and his sale of children.
In other words, the Lee Myth is nonsense. Time to start over, this time use his own slave ledgers and dirty letters — things HE wrote.