Robert e lee biography civil war

Lee, outnumbered two to one, was able to hold his own through swift tactical maneuvering and his forceful personal role in rallying the ranks. Still, Grant edged southward. Lee forestalled the drive when on June 3 the Union flung itself against the zigzagged Confederate fortifications at Cold Harbor, suffering 7, casualties, many of whom fell in an ill-conceived assault.

Nonetheless, Grant continued the forward movement, maneuvering past Lee a few weeks later and into a siege at Petersburg. The men looked up to Lee because of his splendid bearing, his courage on the field, his fair dealings, and his willingness to share their hardships. During the campaigns of he was conspicuous on the field—rallying the troops, directing battle maneuvers, plugging gaps, and sometimes acting more like a brigade commander than the general in charge.

Wise reportedly told Lee at the end of the conflict. Diminished by some 35, casualties during the Overland Campaign—the most famous of whom, J. Stuart, was killed at the Battle of Yellow Tavern —the Army of Northern Virginia held on in miserable trench conditions for nearly nine months. Always a reluctant politician, Lee was unable to wrest critical supplies from the Confederate authorities.

His army quashed a Union attempt to exploit the huge explosion of a mine dug under its fortifications at the Battle of the Crater on July 30, , but various efforts at offensive action failed. Despite his defeat , Lee was hugely admired in the postwar South. Counseling his soldiers to return home peaceably, Lee showed by example how to accept loss with dignity.

The war had taken a terrific personal toll on the Lees: death had claimed numerous family members and Arlington had been confiscated for use as a national cemetery. Penniless, Lee accepted an offer to be president of Washington College, a small, nearly destitute school in Lexington. His stated goal was the instruction of the rising generation and the rebuilding of his state.

Lee proved to be an able educator, though he did not relish the work. He added practical subjects such as engineering and journalism to the traditional classical studies, attracted funding from both the North and the South, and introduced a rigorous disciplinary code. Publicly he counseled Southerners to face the future with stoicism and hard work.

Privately, he was far from content. Although Lee was granted parole at Appomattox, his personal fate was uncertain until his citizenship was returned with the amnesty of After this time, though still maintaining a low public profile, he worked to establish a conservative state government, wrote angry private diatribes against the principle of majority rule, and advocated disenfranchising the newly liberated African Americans.

Racial conflicts also plagued Washington College, to which he responded ambivalently. The South went into universal mourning and Lee became a charismatic symbol of honor and sacrifice in the region. In the nineteenth century, proponents of the Lost Cause view of the Civil War used both myth and fact to mold a public image of Lee as a titan of personal virtue and military genius.

Early in the twentieth century, several national figures, including U. Since his decision to withdraw from the Union in , his actions have provoked controversy. Yet Lee remains a significant historical figure, whose importance lies as much in the questions he prods Americans to ask about patriotism and loyalty as it does in his battlefield prowess.

Encyclopedia Virginia Grady Ave. Virginia Humanities acknowledges the Monacan Nation , the original people of the land and waters of our home in Charlottesville, Virginia. We invite you to learn more about Indians in Virginia in our Encyclopedia Virginia. Skip to content. Contributor: Elizabeth Brown Pryor. Early Years Stratford Hall. Family and Military Life Lee entered the U.

Robert E. Lee and Son. Battle of Vera Cruz. The Politics of Slavery Robert E. Lee and the Custis Slaves. The Union Divides Arlington House, Proclamation to the People of Maryland. Lee in Illustrated London News. The Last Meeting. Confederate Dead at Gettysburg. Partial List of Casualties at Pickett's Charge. General Robert E. Later Years Robert E.

Death of General Robert E. January 19, Robert E. Lee is born at Stratford Hall, Westmoreland County. His son Robert never sees him again. His disgrace in part motivates his half brother Robert to join the army.

Robert e lee biography civil war

June Robert E. Lee enters the U. Lee graduates second in his class at the U. He enters the Army Corps of Engineers as a brevet 2nd lieutenant. November 1, Robert E. Lee reports to his first military assignment at Cockspur Island, Georgia, near Savannah. May 7, Robert E. Lee reports to Fort Monroe. June 30, Robert E. July 19, Robert E.

Lee is promoted to 2nd lieutenant, shedding his brevet, or honorary, designation. Lee and Mary Randolph Custis Lee, is born. November Robert E. Lee surveys the boundary between the Ohio and Michigan territories to resolve a border dispute. Lee, is born. Mary Lee suffers serious illness at the birth. September 21, Robert E. Lee is promoted to 1st lieutenant.

August 5, Robert E. Lee arrives in Saint Louis, Missouri, where he heads a project to unblock the city's silted port and develop a navigable route through the rapids on the Mississippi River at Keokuk, Iowa, and Rock Island, Illinois. Among the most popular books featuring Lee is a trilogy of novels. Lee—as the famed general. Fact Check: We strive for accuracy and fairness.

The Biography. We have worked as daily newspaper reporters, major national magazine editors, and as editors-in-chief of regional media publications. Among our ranks are book authors and award-winning journalists. Our staff also works with freelance writers, researchers, and other contributors to produce the smart, compelling profiles and articles you see on our site.

The Manhunt for John Wilkes Booth. Dred Scott. The 13 Most Cunning Military Leaders. Clara Barton. Abraham Lincoln. The Story of President Ulysses S. Hiram R. John Wilkes Booth. The Final Days of Abraham Lincoln. Stonewall Jackson. Frederick Douglass. Nathan Bedford Forrest. Early Military Career While Mary and the children spent their lives on Mary's father's plantation, Lee stayed committed to his military obligations.

Lee in Movies Robert E. Quotes I suppose there is nothing for me to do but go and see General Grant. And I would rather die a thousand deaths. Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more; you should never wish to do less. I cannot trust a man to control others who cannot control himself. The Episcopal Church funeral service was led by Rev.

William Pendleton. Lee was buried underneath the college chapel where his body remains. Among the supporters of the Confederacy, Lee came to be even more revered after his surrender than he had been during the war, when Stonewall Jackson had been the great Confederate hero. He was a foe without hate; a friend without treachery; a soldier without cruelty; a victor without oppression, and a victim without murmuring.

He was a public officer without vices; a private citizen without wrong; a neighbour without reproach; a Christian without hypocrisy, and a man without guile. He was a Caesar , without his ambition; Frederick , without his tyranny; Napoleon , without his selfishness, and Washington , without his reward. By the end of the 19th century, Lee's popularity had spread to the North.

According to my notion of military history there is as much instruction both in strategy and in tactics to be gleaned from General Lee's operations of as there is to be found in Napoleon's campaigns of Military historians continue to pay attention to his battlefield tactics and maneuvering, though many think he should have designed better strategic plans for the Confederacy.

He was not given full direction of the Southern war effort until late in the conflict. Historian Eric Foner writes that at the end of his life. Lee had become the embodiment of the Southern cause. A generation later, he was a national hero. The s and early 20th century witnessed the consolidation of white supremacy in the post-Reconstruction South and widespread acceptance in the North of Southern racial attitudes.

Lee has been commemorated on U. A second "regular-issue" stamp was issued in His horse Traveller is pictured in the background. Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia was commemorated on its th anniversary on November 23, , with a three-cent postage stamp. The central design is a view of the university, flanked by portraits of generals George Washington and Robert E.

The stamp was issued on September 19, , in conjunction with the dedication of the Stone Mountain Confederate Memorial in Georgia on May 9, The design of the stamp replicates the memorial, the largest high relief sculpture in the world. It is carved on the side of Stone Mountain feet above the ground. Stone Mountain also led to Lee's appearance on a commemorative coin , the Stone Mountain Memorial half dollar.

During the s and '30s dozens of specially designed half dollars were struck to raise money for various events and causes. This issue had a particularly wide distribution, with 1,, minted. Unlike some of the other issues it remains a very common coin. In , after the war, Lee was paroled and signed an oath of allegiance , asking to have his citizenship of the United States restored.

However, his application was not processed by Secretary of State William Seward , and as a result Lee did not receive a pardon and his citizenship was not restored. Lee" was introduced into the Senate by Senator Harry F. Byrd Jr. I-VA , the result of a five-year campaign to accomplish this. Proponents portrayed the lack of pardon as a mere clerical error.

The resolution, which enacted Public Law 94—67, was passed, and the bill was signed by President Gerald Ford on August 5. Patton said he had prayed to a portrait of General Lee, as well as one of Stonewall Jackson , as a young child, believing them to be portraits of God and Jesus, and associating their features with his perceptions of the two men.

Lee opposed the construction of public memorials to Confederate rebellion on the grounds that they would prevent the healing of wounds inflicted during the war. Arlington House, The Robert E. During the Civil War, the grounds of the mansion were selected as the site of Arlington National Cemetery , in part to ensure that Lee would never again be able to return to his home.

The United States designated the mansion as a National Memorial to Lee in , a mark of widespread respect for him in both the North and South. This monument to Lee was unveiled on May 29, ; over , people attended this dedication. That has been described as "the day white Virginia stopped admiring Gen. Lee and started worshiping him". Lee's portrayal on a mural on Richmond's flood wall on the James River , considered offensive by some, was removed in the late s, but currently is back on the flood wall.

Architect John Russell Pope created the base, which was dedicated on the anniversary of the eve of the Battle of Chancellorsville. Lee Memorial Park. A statue of Robert E. Capitol in Washington, D. It was removed from the Capitol on December 21, , after a state commission voted to replace it with a statue of Civil Rights activist Barbara Rose Johns.

Accompanying him on horseback in the relief are Stonewall Jackson and Jefferson Davis. The birthday of Robert E. Lee is celebrated or commemorated in several states. Day, [ ] [ ] while in Georgia, this occurred on the day after Thanksgiving before , when the state stopped officially recognizing the holiday. Day which is the third Monday in January, [ ] until , when the Virginia legislature eliminated the holiday, making Election Day a state holiday instead.

Throughout the South, many primary and secondary schools were also named for him as well as private schools such as Robert E. Lee Academy in Bishopville, South Carolina. Lee is featured on the Stone Mountain Memorial half dollar. Lee in honor of this Confederate General. During the next year, she became one of the South's most famous Confederate blockade runners , successfully making more than twenty runs through the Union blockade.

The Mississippi River steamboat Robert E. Lee was named for Lee after the Civil War. It was the participant in an St. The Robert E. Lee won the race. Lee by Lewis F. Muir and L. Wolfe Gilbert. Lee , a George Washington -class submarine built in , was named for Lee, [ ] as was the M3 Lee tank, produced in and The Commonwealth of Virginia issues an optional license plate honoring Lee, making reference to him as 'The Virginia Gentleman'.

A recent biographer, Jonathan Horn, outlines the unsuccessful efforts in Washington to memorialize Lee in the naming of the Arlington Memorial Bridge after both Grant and Lee. In February , the City Council of Charlottesville , Virginia , voted to remove a sculpture of Lee , who has no historical link to the city, as well as one of Stonewall Jackson.

This was temporarily stayed by court action, though the city did rename Lee Park: first to Emancipation Park, then later to Market Street Park. As of July , the statue has been permanently removed. The statue was melted in October Several other statues and monuments to Lee were removed in the aftermath of the incident, including:. Douglas Southall Freeman 's Pulitzer prize-winning four-volume R.

Lee: A Biography , which was for a long period considered the definitive work on Lee, downplayed his involvement in slavery and emphasized Lee as a virtuous person. Eric Foner, who describes Freeman's volume as a " hagiography ", notes that on the whole, Freeman "displayed little interest in Lee's relationship to slavery. The index to his four volumes contained 22 entries for 'devotion to duty', 19 for 'kindness', 53 for Lee's celebrated horse, Traveller.

But 'slavery', 'slave emancipation' and 'slave insurrection' together received five. Freeman observed, without offering details, that slavery in Virginia represented the system 'at its best'. He ignored the postwar testimony of Lee's former slave Wesley Norris about the brutal treatment to which he had been subjected. More recent biographies offer a broader variety of perspectives.

Thomas L. Lee: A Biography by Emory M. Thomas attempted a "post-revisionist" compromise between the traditional and more recent views. Lee: A Life by Allen C. Guelzo focuses on a study of Lee's character. His part in the Civil War is told from the perspective of his horse in Richard Adams 's book Traveller Lee is an obvious subject for American Civil War alternate histories.

Although Moore and Kantor's novels relegate him to a set of passing references, Lee is more of a main character in Turtledove's Guns. He is also the prime character of Turtledove's "Lee at the Alamo". Stirling and featuring Lee, whose Virginia is still a loyal British colony, fighting for the Crown against the Russians in Crimea. Robert Skimin 's Grey Victory features Lee as a supporting character preparing to run for the presidency in Lee's point of view.

Contents move to sidebar hide. Grant and the Union offensive. Article Talk. Read View source View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikiquote Wikisource Wikidata item. Confederate States general — For other uses, see General Lee disambiguation and Robert E. Lee disambiguation.

United States Confederate States. Colonel U. General C. Military Academy Army of Northern Virginia. See battles. Mary Anna Randolph Custis. George Mary William Robert Jr. Anne Eleanor Mildred. Fort Monroe , Hampton, Lee's early duty station. Fort Des Moines , Montrose, Lee's hand-drawn sketch. Mexican—American War. Early s: West Point and Texas.

Late s: Arlington plantation and the Custis slaves. Christ Church in Alexandria, Virginia , where the Lees worshiped. Lee's views on race and slavery. Harpers Ferry and return to Texas, — Resignation from United States Army. Army of Northern Virginia commander June — June Further information: Army of Northern Virginia. Main article: Battle of Gettysburg.

Summaries of Lee's Civil War battles. President Johnson's amnesty pardons. Illness, death and funeral. On March 23, , the U. Post Office issued a series of stamps , one of which features Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. Lee, Liberty Issue of Lee, Jefferson Davis, Stonewall Jackson. Stone Mountain Issue of Monuments, memorials and commemorations.

See also: List of memorials to Robert E. Edward Virginius Valentine , sculptor, Statue of Lee in Murray, Kentucky. University Chapel on the campus of Washington and Lee University. Unite the Right rally and removal of monuments. New York: Time Books. ISBN Grant and Lee. Washington, D. Lee ca. Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved February 18, Civil War Journal, The Leaders.

Rutledge Hill Press. United States Army Corps of Engineers. Archived from the original on July 23, Retrieved October 16, Retrieved July 13, Washington and Lee University. Archived from the original on June 13, Retrieved June 13, John Marshall; life, character and judicial services as portrayed in the centenary and memorial addresses and proceedings throughout the United States on Marshall day, , and in the classic orations of Binney, Story, Phelps, Waite and Rawle.

Nielsen, Kim E. Helen Keller: selected writings. Archived from the original on March 27, Retrieved June 14, Archived from the original on January 14, Retrieved June 12, Munsey's Magazine. January Virginia Historical Society. Archived from the original on July 14, Retrieved October 15, Mercenaries, Pirates and Sovereigns.

Princeton University Press. The Marble Man: Robert E. Lee and His Image in American society. New York: Alfred A. The Politics of Mourning. Harvard University Press. Lee Through His Private Letters. Freeman , p. Freeman , pp. The Religious Life of Robert E. Lee , ISBN , p. Lee, Slavery, and the Problem of Providence". EerdWord publisher blog.

May 18, Retrieved May 15, The Atlantic. Retrieved August 29, Lee was not the George Washington of his time. But a lot ties them together". Los Angeles Times. ISSN PT Lee through his private letters , p. October 4, Lee Wrote to The Times about Slavery in ". The New York Times. Retrieved November 2, As servants of the nation, they should stand aloof from party and sectional strife" and avoid taking public positions on controversial issues such as slavery.

Crucible of Command: Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee , p. In , even before Chancellorsville, Lee began to advance, "for the first time, a political understanding of the war, quite unlike his previous apolitical belief in duty". Duty Faithfully Performed: Robert E. Lee and His Critics , , p. Lee entered the fray by halting a raid at Harpers Ferry in , capturing radical abolitionist John Brown and his followers.

When he was asked to lead Union forces, he resigned from military service rather than fight against his Virginia friends and neighbors. Lee has been widely criticized for his aggressive strategies that led to mass casualties. In the Battle of Antietam, on September 17, , Lee made his first attempt at invading the North in the bloodiest single day of the war.

Antietam ended with roughly 23, casualties and the Union claiming victory for General George McClellan. Less than a week later, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. The war dragged on for two more years until a victory for Lee became impossible. At the start of the war, Lee and his family headed South, leaving Arlington House, but they did not reclaim their property.

The federal government seized the estate now the site of Arlington National Cemetery and used it for military graves for thousands of fallen Union soldiers, possibly to prevent Lee from ever returning home. Lee Memorial , and is open to the public for tours. As a well-educated man with considerable social and military experience, Lee is known for many of his quotes regarding slavery , duty and military service, including:.

In August of , soon after the end of the war, Lee was invited to serve as president of Washington College now Washington and Lee University , where he and his family are buried. Since his death at age 63 on October 12, , following a stroke, he has retained a place of distinction in most Southern states. Statues and other memorials built in his honor have become flashpoints in cities such as New Orleans , Louisiana, Baltimore, Maryland and Dallas, Texas.