Robert Edward Lee was born on January 19, 1807 at Stratford Hall Plantation (Westmoreland County, VA) to Henry Lee III and Anne Hill Carter Lee. His father was the famous “Light horse Harry” Lee that served in the revolutionary war. Unfortunately, there aren’t many details on his early life except his father was sent to debtors prison. Soon after his release he was injured in a political riot and James Madison arranged for him to travel to the West Indies. He died while he was there. Robert was only 11 years old. In 1825 Lee entered West Point and upon his graduation he was 2nd in his class.
Lee married Mary Anna Randolph Custis, great-granddaughter of Martha Washington, on June 30, 1831. They had 7 children: George Washington Custis Lee, Mary Custis Lee, William Henry Lee Fitzhugh Lee, Annie Carter Lee, Eleanor Agnes Lee, Robert Edward Lee, Jr., and Mildred Childe Lee. All of them outlived their father except Annie who died in 1862. Custis Lee became president of Washington and Lee College for 26 years after his father’s death. Fitzhugh Lee was president of the VA Agricultural society. In 1887 he was elected to Congress. Robert loved children and animals. He had a horse named Grace Darling that he purchased in Texas on his way to Mexico for the war; she was said to be his favorite mare. Also a dog named Spec who stayed with him while he was stationed at different forts. During the Mexican War he was one of General Winfield Scott’s chief aides. During this time Lee met U.S. Grant and they even worked together. The highest promotion he received due to the Mexican war was Colonel. In 1859, Lee along with Jeb Stuart participated in capturing John Brown at Harper’s Ferry.
In February, 1861 General Lee was ordered to report to General Scott commanding the United States Army. In April 20th he wrote a letter to Gen. Scott stating his wish of resignation and requested that the General to recommend it for acceptance. He sent in his resignation from the United States Army the same day. He wrote several other letters around the same time and in all of them he expressed his wish that “Save in the defense of my native State, I never desire again to draw my sword.”1 On April 22, 1861 he was requested to command the forces from Virginia, which he accepted.
After stating a few facts, concerning his actions during the war, I will not try to go in depth into all of his campaigns and movements but rather focus on General Lee as a person, a Christian and father. But to start, General Lee was unable to be at Manassas because President Davis wouldn’t allow him to go. General Lee encouraged Mary and the children to leave Arlington because he didn’t know how the war would affect Richmond and didn’t think it was “prudent” for them to stay. Throughout the war they stayed with several family members but eventually found a place in town. Mary never saw Arlington again. To make sure the Lee’s never got to live there again, Union troops buried their dead in the yard making it unlivable.
In 1861, General Lee bought Traveller in the mountains of Virginia. He had a total of five horses throughout the war: Richmond, Brown Roan, Ajax, Lucy Long and Traveller. The first two died and he next two “failed”2. Traveller alone “retained his vigor”3 and was a lifelong friend to General Lee. His had an immense faith in God and never failed to mention him in victory. He often sent orders naming a specific day for fasting and prayer to God because he believed they relied on their own strength to much for victory.
At the beginning of the war Lee’s troops suffered several losses and the presses blamed Lee for them. He was appointed military advisor to Jefferson Davis. On June 1, 1862 General Lee was appointed commander of the Army of Northern Virginia. In the early stages of the war he was called “Granny Lee” because they didn’t think he was aggressive enough with the enemy. After the Seven Days Battles and as a result McClellan being driven back they called him “Marse Robert” as a term of respect. All of the General’s sons served in the Confederacy. For most of the war Custis Lee served as Aide-de-camp to President Jefferson Davis. Fitzhugh Lee was a Colonel in the 9th VA Cavalry until he was promoted to command of a brigade in the same arm of service. Robert, Jr. was a Private in the Rockbridge Artillery under Stonewall Jackson until he was promoted to Lieutenant and Aide-de-camp to his brother Fitzhugh.
He participated in the battle of Antietam, the bloodiest day in the war. He also took a part on the victories at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. The beginning years of the war were mostly Confederate high tides. When General Lee received General Jackson’s note about being wounded he sent him a reply saying, “I cannot express my regret at the occurrence. Could I have directed events, I should have chosen for the good of the country to have been disabled in your stead. I congratulate you on the victory, which is due to your skill and energy.”4 When Jackson received this reply he said, “Better ten Jacksons should fall than one Lee.”5 When General Lee was told later on that General Jackson was doing better he teasingly wrote and said, “You are better off than I am, for while you have only lost your left, I have lost my right arm.”6 After learning of Jackson’s death, he wrote to his wife, “I know not how to replace him.”7 General Jackson once said about the General “… He is the only man whom I would follow blindfolded.”8
In 1863, Lee decided to invade the North once again. The fighting that started a 3 day battle, at Gettysburg, began on July 1st. The Confederacy suffered a terrible loss when Jeb Stuarts Cavalry was unable to participate in the battle until the 2nd day, Lee not being in good health, and several other factors that turned those 3 days for the worse. At the close of the battle the Confederates and their Commander had to retreat. They never fully recovered from the loss at Gettysburg. Most of the battles afterwards were losses. But despite his loss I want to tell a story that shows that even in defeat the General was always a heroic gentleman: “A Union soldier, wounded and laying on the battlefield at Gettysburg, saw General Lee and his men retreating. As they passed by he yelled ‘Hurrah for the Union, Hurrah for the Union!’ General Lee got off his horse and walked over to him. The soldier at first he thought he was going to be killed. Instead, the General bent down and grabbed his hand and said “My son, I hope you will soon be well.” He then got on his horse and left. The soldier was so shocked that a man would be so kind as to stop and say such words especially to his enemy, not to mention a man who had taunted him.” This story tells of General Lee’s ever kind spirit. General Lee also issued an order throughout the ranks that no soldier should burn, harm or bother any person or their belongings in the north, despite Sherman ravaging the south from South Carolina to Georgia.
In early 1865, General Lee was made general-and-chief of the Confederate army. The General wrote to his wife concerning his thoughts that Grant would attack and the possibility that they could be overwhelmed: “I shall, however, endeavor to do my duty and fight to the last.” The Battle of Petersburg was the final straw in the Confederacy. General Lee had only a small force of men, having lost thousands to battle, disease, capture, and possibly some due to starvation. They were running out of rations and supplies. Many men had no blankets or shoes to withstand the cold weather. Here is an account given by General Early concerning the retreat after Petersburg: "...The retreat from the lines of Richmond and Petersburg began in the early days of April, and the remnant of the Army of Northern Virginia fell back, more than one hundred miles, before its overpowering antagonists, repeatedly presenting front to the latter and giving battle so as to check his progress. Finally, from mere exhaustion, less than eight thousand men with arms in their hands, of the noblest army that ever fought 'in the tide of time,' were surrendered at Appomattox to an army of 150,000 men; the sword of Robert E. Lee, without a blemish on it, was sheathed forever; and the flag, to which he had added such luster, was furled, to be, henceforth, embalmed in the affectionate remembrance of those who remained faithful during all our trials, and will do so to the end."9
And here is also a quote from Colonel Archer Anderson: "...Of the siege of Petersburg, I have only time to say that in it for nine months the Confederate commander displayed every art by which genius and courage can make good the lack of numbers and resources. But the increasing misfortunes of the Confederate arms on other theatres of the war gradually cut off the supply of men and means. The Army of Northern Virginia ceased to be recruited, it ceased to be adequately fed. It lived for months on less than one-third rations. It was demoralised, not by the enemy in its front, but by the enemy in Georgia and the Carolinas. It dwindled to 35,000 men, holding a front of thirty-five miles; but over the enemy it still cast the shadow of its great name. Again and again, by a bold offensive, it arrested the Federal movement to fasten on its communications. At last, an irresistible concentration of forces broke through its long thin line of battle. Petersburg had to be abandoned. Richmond was evacuated. Trains bearing supplies were intercepted, and a starving army, harassed for seven days by incessant attacks on rear and flank, found itself completely hemmed in by overwhelming masses. Nothing remained to it but its stainless honour, its unbroken courage. In those last solemn scenes, when strong men, losing all self-control, broke down and sobbed like children, Lee stood forth as great as in the days of victory and triumph. No disaster crushed his spirit, no extremity of danger ruffled his bearing…”10
Finally to state the respect the Army of Northern Virginia had gained from friend and foe alike, I insert an excerpt from “History of the Army of the Potomac” by William Swinton: We had, I was satisfied, sacred principles to maintain and rights to defend, for which we were in duty bound to do our best, even if we perished in the endeavour."11
On April 10, 1865, General Lee surrendered his forces at Appomattox Court House to General Grant. The General said only a few words to his men, "Men, we have fought through the war together; I have done my best for you; my heart is too full to say more."12 General Long describes who the men reacted when they realized that surrender was inevitable: "It is impossible to describe the anguish of the troops when it was known that the surrender of the army was inevitable. Of all their trials, this was the greatest and hardest to endure. There was no consciousness of shame; each heart could boast with honest pride that its duty had been done to the end, and that still unsullied remained its honour. When, after this interview with General Grant, General Lee again appeared, a shout of welcome instinctively went up from the army. But instantly recollecting the sad occasion that brought him before them, their shouts sank into silence, every hat was raised, and the bronzed faces of thousands of grim warriors were bathed in tears. As he rode slowly along the lines, hundreds of his devoted veterans pressed around the noble chief, trying to take his hand, touch his person, or even lay their hands upon his horse, thus exhibiting for him their great affection. The General then with head bare, and tears flowing freely down his manly cheeks, bade adieu to the army."13 On the same day of the surrender General Lee wrote this farewell address to the troops: "After four years' of arduous service, marked by unsurpassed courage and fortitude, the Army of Northern Virginia has been compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources. I need not tell the survivors of so many hard-fought battles, who have remained steadfast to the last, that I have consented to this result from no distrust of them; but, feeling that valour and devotion could accomplish nothing that could compensate for the loss that would have attended the continuation of the contest, I have determined to avoid the useless sacrifice of those whose past services have endeared them to their countrymen. By the terms of the agreement, officers and men can return to their homes and remain there until exchanged. You will take with you the satisfaction that proceeds from the consciousness of duty faithfully performed; and I earnestly pray that a merciful God will extend to you his blessing and protection. With an increasing admiration of your constancy and devotion to your country, and a grateful remembrance of your kind and generous consideration of myself, I bid you an affectionate farewell.” "R. E. Lee, General."14
His final thoughts on the war can be described this way: “… We had, I was satisfied, sacred principles to maintain and rights to defend, for which we were duty bound to do our best, even if we perished in the endeavor.”15 I must also add that even in surrender his troops never lost their love for the General. After the signing of the terms of surrender, General Lee rode Traveller back towards camp. When his men saw him they cheered but became solemn when they remember the severity of the occasion. As he rode back into camp one of his soldiers yelled “We still love you General Lee!” That was the way, I trust, the whole army felt.
The men in the Confederate forces were sent home on parole. General Lee rode Traveller back to be with his wife and children. He received numerous callers in the weeks following his return to Richmond. Old friends, Confederate and Union soldiers alike. He received them all graciously. One in particular I wish to tell you about, so, I enter it here; describing a man who came to see the General: The man was Irish all over, and showed by his uniform and carriage that he was a "regular," and not a volunteer. On our asking him what he wanted, he replied that he wanted to see General Lee, that he had heard down the street the General and his family were suffering for lack of something to eat, that he had been with "the Colonel" when he commanded the Second Cavalry, and, as long as he had a cent, his old colonel should not suffer. My father, who had stepped into another room as he heard the bell ring, hearing something of the conversation, came out into the hall. The old Irishman, as soon as he saw him, drew himself up and saluted, and repeated to the General, with tears streaming down his cheeks, what he had just said to us. My father was very much touched, thanked him heartily for his kindness and generosity, but told him that he did not need the things he had brought and could not take them. This seemed to disappoint the old soldier greatly, and he pleaded so hard to be allowed to present the supplies to his old colonel, whom he believed to be in want of them, that at last my father said that he would accept the basket and sent it to the hospital, for the sick and wounded, who were really in great need. Though he was not satisfied, he submitted to this compromise, and then to our surprise and dismay, in bidding the General good-bye, threw his arms around him and was attempting to kiss him, when "Dan" and I interfered. As he was leaving, he said: "Good-bye, Colonel! God bless ye! If I could have got over in time I would have been with ye!"16
Eventually, General was elected president of Washington College, later re-named Washington and Lee. General Lee came home one day and could not speak. The doctors were immediately called and he was put in bed. When his son General Custis Lee spoke of his getting well Gen. Lee only shook his head no and pointed towards Heaven. He died on Oct, 12, 1870. Neither, Custis Lee nor Robert, Jr. was able to be with the General at his death but Colonel Johnston who was a very close friend of the General, and was present when he died and reports his last words as being: “Strike the tent. Tell Hill he must come up.” Besides this he spent most of his sick time quietly, and apparently resigned to God’s will in the matter. General Lee’s favorite song, “How Firm a Foundation”, was sung at his funeral. His old war companion, Traveller, was led behind the casket. He was buried in the Chapel at Washington and Lee University along with his wife and children who followed after him. Traveller died not long after him in, 1871 and is buried outside of the chapel, only a few feet away from the family crypt. Before I conclude I have to enter these two quotes by General Lee: I have fought against the people of the North because I believed they were seeking to wrest from the South its dearest rights. But I have never cherished toward them bitter or vindictive feelings, and have never seen the day when I did not pray for them. -Robert E. Lee
I can only say that I am nothing but a poor sinner, trusting in Christ alone for salvation.”- Robert E. Lee
Footnotes 1-16 are direct quotes from “Reminiscences and letters of General Robert E. Lee”
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