Robert E. Lee

 

 

Beloved General of the South

 1807 - 1870

 

For some, Robert E. Lee is almost a god-like figure.  For others, he is a paradox.  Lee was born on January 19, 1807, at Stratford, Virginia.  Robert was the fourth child of  Revolutionary War hero, Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee and Ann Hill Carter Lee.  Young Robert was raised mostly by his Mother.  From her, he learned patience, control and discipline.  As a young man he was exposed to Christianity and accepted it's faith.  In contrast to the strong example of his mother, Robert saw his father go from failed enterprise to failed enterprise.  Embarrrassed by his father's example, the young Robert was led to try harder to secceed.

Robert was accepted to the United States Military Accademy at West Point and graduated 2nd in his class.  But, perhaps greater than his accedemic acheivement, was his success at recieving no demerits while being a cadet, which today has still not been equaled.  Following his graduation, Lee, like most top classmen, was given a commision as an engineer.  Lt. Lee helped build the St. Louis waterfront and worked on coastal forts in Brunswick and Savannah.  It was during this time he married Mary Randolph Custis, granddaughter of       George Washington and Martha Custis Washington.

In 1845, the war between U.S. and Mexico errupted.  General Winfield Scott, overall U.S. Army commander, attached Capt. Robert E. Lee, to his staff.  Lee was entrusted with the vital duties of mapping out the terrain ahead, dividing the line of advance for U.S. troops, and in one case leading troops into battle.  Lee was learning skills he would need, 16 years later.  There in Mexico, Lee also met, and got a chance to evaluate. many of those he would later serve with and against:  James Longstreet, Thomas J. Jackson, George Pickett and U. S. Grant.

Following the Mexican War Lee returned to service as an Army Engineer.  He spent most of his time near Washington D.C. and moved into Arlington. the Custis Mansion, ( now overlooking Arlingtion Cemetery).      Thus was Col. Lee available for duty to put down a believed rebellion at Harper's Ferry, Virginia, the sight of a United States arsenal.  Col. Lee and a young aide, Lt. Jeb Stuart, and a detachment of U.S. Marines, were rushed by train to Harper's Ferry, where they were able to capture radical abolitionist John Brown and his followers.

When Abraham Lincoln was elected President, South Carolina seceded, and was quickly followed by six more deep Southern states:  Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.  The old warrior, General Winfield Scott, asked  Colonel Robert E. Lee to take command of the United States Army to put down the rebelion, with a promotion to General.

General Lee's first campaign  in what was to become West Virginia was less than a success.  Command of the Eastern Army was divided between the hero of Fort Sumter,  P.G.T. Beauregard, and Joe Johnston, who together won the first big battle of the East -- Bull Run (Manassas).  Thus, Joe Johnston was in command when George B. McClellan started his march on Richmond.  When Johnston went down with wounds, it was easy for Davis to replace him with General Robert E. Lee, who immediately took charge and attacked, trying to make up for his numbers with audacity.  In a series of continuous battles known as the 7 days battle, Lee forced McClellan to retreat.

Thus began the career of the Army of Northern Virginia, which rose and fell with Lee's star.  His boldness and grasp of strategy made him more than a match for every General President Lincoln sent against him, until U.S. Grant defeated him through a battle of attrition.

Lee's greatest victory was the Battle of Chancellorsville in May of 1863.  Lee was faced with a larger Army led by "Fighting" Joe Hooker.  Lee and his most trusted lieutenant, General Stonewall Jackson, divided their forces and through a forced march around Gen. Hooker, fell on his exposed flank, rolling it up, and defeating the union forces once again. This victory led Lee and Davis to consider a second invasion of the North.  Lee's army would hopefully bring the Federal forces to bay and destroy them.  They would then march on Washington to hand Lincoln a letter asking for recognition of the Confederate States of America.  So with desperate hopes, and while still mourning the loss of his friend Stonewall Jackson, Lee and crossed the river and invaded Pennsylvania.

The greatest land battle in the Western Hemisphere was fought at Gettysburg, Pa., on July 1, 2 and 3.  The Army of Northern Virginia led by Lee, and the Army of the Potomac led by newly appointed General George Meade, hammered each other.  On the third day of battle, General Lee, hoping to end the war, ordered the great frontal assault, popularly known as Pickett's Charge.  After the failure of the attack General Lee blamed only himself, but Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia fought on for two more bloody years. General Lee finally surrendered his desperately worn-out army at Appomatox Court House on April 9, 1865.  This effectively brought the American Civil War to an end, as other Confederate field commanders soon followed Lee's example and surrendered their forces also. 

Following the war, Lee was almost tried as a traitor, but was only left with his civil rights suspended.  Lee was offered the post of president at Washington University, where he served until his death in 1870.  The school was later renamed Washington and Lee.  As a final note:  President Gerald Ford restored Lee's citizenship on August 5, 1975.

 

 

"Surrender at Appomattox"

 

   

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