Robert E. Lee
Best known as: Great Confederate general
Occupation: Military leader
Nationality: American
Religion: Anglican / Episcopalian
Born: January 19, 1807, Stratford, VA
Died: October 12, 1870 of pneumonia in Lexington, VA
Education: West Point (graduated 2nd in a class of 46 in 1829)
Military service:
Mexican War (Lt. Colonel)
U.S. Civil War (General, commanded Army of Northern Virginia)
Civil War victories:
Second Battle of Bull Run
Battle of Fredericksburg
Battle of Chancellorsville
Short biography:
In addition to being one of the greatest generals in American history, Robert E. Lee was also a gentleman of exceptional moral character. He graduated from West Point without a single demerit, joined the U.S. Army's Corps of Engineers, and fought in the Mexican War, during which he was instrumental in several American victories. After the war, in 1851, he led the group of militia and U.S. Marines that put down John Brown's rebellion. Although Lee was skeptical of the right to secession and was offered the job of commander of Union forces, he was loyal to his state above all else. When Virginia seceded, Lee became a general in the Confederate Army, where he took command of the Army of Northern Virginia after Joseph Johnson was wounded in 1862. Lee amazed many with his ability to outsmart much larger Union forces and win several decisive victories including Second Bull Run, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. However, he met his downfall in 1863 at the Battle of Gettysburg, when he made the bad decision of ordering a massive attack (Pickett's Charge) on the center of the Union lines. He was promoted to General-in-Chief of Confederate Forces in January 1865, but it was clear at this point that the Confederacy had little hope of victory. In April 1965 Lee surrendered to Ulysses Grant. He agreed with Andrew Johnson's plans for Reconstruction, including making it easy for former Confederates to re-enter the Union, giving Southern states the right to self-government, and avoiding giving blacks the right to vote. Lee served as president of Washington College (now Washington and Lee University), where he strengthened the curriculum and introduced an honor code. Although he was on the losing side of the Civil War, Lee is widely regarded as an American hero and is respected by Northerners and Southerners alike.
Wife: Mary Anna Rudolph Custis
Friends: Stonewall Jackson, Jefferson Davis
Adversaries: George B. McClellan, Ambrose Burnside, Joseph Hooker, George Meade, Ulysses Grant
Parents: Henry Lee and Ann Hill Carter
