Robert E. Lee, a man of bravery, a man of devotion, a man of war. This
Confederate general kept his chin high, even in moments of failure. He was an important
man in American history while he fought for the freedom of the South. His ancestors were
men somewhat like him. His father, "Light Horse Harry" Lee, was an amazing
cavalry commander in the American Revolution. Another relative was Thomas Lee, the
Governor of Virginia.
Robert Edward Lee was born on January 19, 1807, in Stratford Hall, Virginia. In 1825, he entered the United States Military Academy. There, he was admired for his brilliance, leadership, and his devotion to work. He graduated in 1829 with high honors. He became a second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers. Lee served for 17 months at Fort Pulaski on Cockspur Island, Georgia. In 1831, he was transferred to Fort Monroe as an assistant engineer. There, Mary Anna Randolph Custis, the adopted daughter of George Washington's adopted son, became his wife. Lee had seven children, George, Mary, William, Anges, Annie, Robert, Edward, and Mildred, three of which would become commanders of the Civil war. He was promoted to captain in 1837, and, in 1841, was transferred to Fort Hamilton in New York Harbor.
However, Mexico and America had some problems with each other. 1846 came, and Lee became an Assistant Engineer under General John E. Wool's command. Later, he was transferred to General Winfield Scott's corps and took part in the capture of Veracruz. On the way to Mexico City, Lee was promoted to brevet major, then brevet lieutenant colonel. Before the war ended, he became a brevet colonel.
The Mexican War had ended and Lee became the Superintendent of West Point and improved the buildings and training courses. In 1855, he became a lieutenant colonel of cavalry and was assigned to the Texas Frontier. However he wanted to be with his family as Mrs. Lee had become an invalid. Once in a while he went home, but in 1859, he was called to another job. John Brown, a black man, had raided Harpers Ferry. Lee was sent to arrest him. Brown was arrested without much bloodshed. In 1861, Lee was called to Washington D.C. to await further orders.
Lee opposed slavery, he had even freed the few slaves that he had, but, when he was asked to lead the Union soldiers in the Civil War, he did not accept for two reasons. Primarily, he didn't want to fight against his family. Secondly, he thought that the North had no right to rule the South. He became the advisor for the southern president, but was bored because he did not see much action behind a desk.
It was June of 1862. General McClellan and 115,000 men from the Union army were headed for Richmond, Virginia. Davis turned the lead of the Confederate armies over to Lee. By that time, some of the union soldiers had been in the Shenandoah Valley, and some in Fredericksburg. Lee sent troops to scatter the Union troops in the Shenandoah Valley and others to push the Union back to Washington D.C. McClellan ran to the James and Chickahominy Rivers. Lee charged and attacked. This was later known as the Seven Day Campaign, and a victory for the South.
The Union general lost 15,000 men, leaving 100,000. General John Pope helped to add to that. Lee split his men, giving half to General "Stonewall" Jackson and keeping half. Jackson made it look like Pope was chasing him, then he turned around and attacked. Lee and his men surprised them from the rear. It was another victory for the Confederates.
Lee, again, split his men and gave half of them to General A. P. Hill. Hill's men were to retrieve ammunition from Harpers Ferry. Lee's half attacked Maryland, which became known as the Battle of Antietam. Then trouble arose for the Confederates. A copy of the battle plans went into Union hands. In September of 1862, Lee attacked, but he was blasted by Union troops. By the end of the day, Lee was on the verge of defeat. Finally, Hill came back and defeated the Union. The Union troops retreated to Washington, and the Confederates backed off to Virginia.
As the war raged on, General Burnside and 125,000 men of the Union attacked Richmond. This took place in the winter of 1862-63. Lee set up his men in the hills of Fredericksburg. When Burnside came, Lee was ready. The Union charged and fell back four times until they finally gave up. It was another southern win.
Around the spring of 1863, General "Fighting Joe" Hooker had tried to attack, but it was too muddy. Lee was at Chancellorsville in a place called the Wilderness which was a dense forest. Hooker had 140,000 men. Lee had 42,000 and he again split his men, giving 28,000 to Jackson and keeping 14,000 to taunt Hooker. General Hooker took the bait. Lee ran to the Wilderness, and, foolishly, Hooker followed. Lee and Jackson were fighting on familiar ground. Jackson attacked and the Union troops fled. There is much happening in a war, everything is confusing: that was how a Southern soldier felt. Trying to shoot another man, he shot Stonewall Jackson. Lee mourned the loss, but that did not effect his courage.
Lee, for the final time, split his men in three. General James "Old Pete" Longstreet was in charge of the first group. General Richard Ewell was in charge of the second. General A. P. Hill was in charge of the third. The groups moved into Virginia and Pennsylvania. There, the troops found crops and cattle and stole them for supplies. The barefoot soldiers left for Gettysburg to take over the shoe plants. Instead of finding shoes, they found soldiers, Union soldiers. Hill had arrived first, but Lee was not there yet. Jeb Stuart, a scout, was supposed to tell Lee about the enemy location, but he failed to return and report. Lee guessed Gettysburg and, to his surprise, a battle was already in progress. The third group was there and the second group came later. The Union fled to the hills. Lee arrived at Seminary Ridge to survey the scene. Ewell was told by Lee to attack, but he froze. He had never been given such a responsibility. The next day, despite Lee's orders, Longstreet did not attack a thin line of Union soldiers. Instead, he waited for a small group of soldiers to catch up. Meanwhile, the Union was receiving more men. When the group caught up, instead of attacking the thin line, they attacked the Union base on Cemetery Ridge. General Ewell helped. Men with the Confederate General Jubal Early almost reached the Union base, but they were fought off. Longstreet's final division arrived under the command of General George Picket. Lee put Picket in charge of the army. He used 140 cannons to fire at Cemetery Ridge for two hours. Then, the Confederates formed a line of 15,000 men. This line was a half mile wide and 1,000 men deep. That was a great target for the Union. The southern soldiers were shot down and retreated. For the first time in Lee's Civil War days, he was defeated.
Ulysses S. Grant became the leader of the Union army. He stopped a siege at Chattanooga and appeared to charge on Georgia. Lee was called on to attack, but he wanted to guard Richmond, the Confederate capital. On May 4, 1864, Grant lead 120,000 men to Richmond. Lee had 70,000. Grant headed for the Wilderness and they battled. Grant could replace his men, Lee could not.
Many of the Confederate Generals were injured in the war. Stonewall Jackson was killed, Longstreet was hurt by a Confederate bullet in the Wilderness. General Hill collapsed from nervous exhaustion. General Stuart was killed during an enemy raid, and Lee, himself, suffered intestinal pains.
At Cold Harbor, Grant lost 7,000 men in less than an hour. Lee sent 8,000 men with Early to attack Washington. However, he was chased away just when he arrived at Washington D.C. Lee had managed to gather 50,000 men in Petersburg, but many of them either left to go to their families or died. The southern general met with President Davis, the president of the South. The Confederates had three choices: to head south, attack the Union by surprise, or surrender to the Union. On April 9, 1865, the decision was made. Lee met with Grant at the Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia, and Lee signed the surrender.
Lee's life after the war was very different. He became the President of Washington College in Lexington, Virginia. As he did at West Point, he made improvements. Lee said that education would help the South recover from the war. He added classes in building, banking, and agriculture to the school. Soon, his family moved there and everything that they needed was provided by the neighbors. He lived five years more. On October 12, 1870, Robert E. Lee died.
Robert E. Lee, from a line of heroes, was a hero himself. He was a great leader for the South as he fearlessly fought in our Civil War, and almost won. You can visit the places in which Lee lived. The school was named Washington and Lee University. Lee, his family, and his horse are buried in the school. His estate later became Arlington National Cemetery in which John F. Kennedy and some of the unknown soldiers are buried. In the words of General Robert E. Lee, "...I have done the best I could for you."
