The idol of the South, to this day, is Robert E. Lee who was born in Virginia.  He had some difficulty in adjusting to the new form of warfare (non-Napoleonic tactics) that unfolded with the Civil war, but this did not prevent him from keeping the Union armies in Virginia at bay for almost three years.  Robert E. Lee was a devoted soldier, father, and husband.  He was against secession and slavery and also believed in the Union. Lee said in a letter to Winfield Scott after he resigned from the Union army, “safe in the defense of my native state, I never desire to again draw my sword.” (Robert E. Lee and the Rise of the South, p.19).

On January 19, 1807, Robert E. Lee was born at his family’s ancestral home, Stratford Hall.  He was the son of (Light Horse) Harry Lee, a famous Revolutionary War general and good friend of General George Washington. The Lee’s were a very important family in Virginia.  Two Lee’s had signed the Declaration of Independence.  Robert’s father had been a governor of Virginia for three, one-year terms and had also been a Congressman. His father left for the West Indies when he was eleven. The Lee’s would never see Harry Lee again.  Mrs. Lee was now left to support the Lee children by herself.

  When Robert was thirteen, he started school at Alexandra Academy.  He learned Latin and Greek and discovered he was quiet good at math.  By the time he was sixteen, he had finished all his courses and had begun to think about his future (Robert E. Lee and the Rise of the South, p.27).  Robert wanted to go to college, but his family had no money.  Instead, he decided to join the military which was considered to be a prestigious career.  Robert decided to apply at West Point where competition was fierce. A relative who personally knew the Secretary of War helped Robert write his application letter and put his personal recommendation on it.  Robert was accepted, but had to wait many months to begin because of the long wait list.

After Lee left for West Point, Mrs. Lee later remarked, “How can I live without Robert, he is both son and daughter to me.” (Virginia’s General Robert E. Lee and the Civil War, p.12).  Lee studied hard because he knew that this was his only chance to get a good education.  West Point had harsh rules and cadets got demerits for breaking the rules.  Many cadets got plenty, but not Robert.  He was the first cadet to not get a single demerit so his classmates nicknamed him the marble model, meaning that only a statue could be so perfect.  He was third in his class in his first year, after which he consistently held the number two slot.  In his last year, he was named to the Engineer Corps which was the most prestigious group in the army.

After Robert graduated from West Point, he returned home.  Soon after, his mother died.  During this time, Robert spent some time with Mary Custis.  They had known each other for many years and often took long walks through Arlington’s vast grounds, which was Mary’s family home (Robert E. Lee Hero of the South, p.29).  Robert fell in love with Mary.  His first assignment intervened with his courtship (Robert E Lee. p15). Lee was assigned to Cockspur Island, South Carolina. The War of 1812 had made it clear that the U.S. ports were not very well defended and he had been assigned to oversee the building of a new fort, Fort Pulaski.  Robert was then transferred to Fort Monroe, Virginia.  One day he went to Arlington House to see Mary and he proposed to her.  They were married on June 30, 1831.  During most of their married years, the Lee’s lived with the Custis Family in the house at Arlington. (Robert E. Lee:  A Life Portrait, p.15).  On September 16, 1832, their first son was born.  Robert called him George Washington Park Custis, in honor of his hero, President George Washington.  Then Robert was transferred to Washington to work in the War Department.  Everyday he was able to ride home to Arlington to see his family.  These were the happiest years of his life.

Not long after the United Sates annexed Texas, Mexico declared war on the United States.  Lee was soon dispatched to Mexico under the command of General Winfield Scott.  Unfortunately, he was transferred before the actual battle with Santa Anna’s army could take place, but due to his intelligence, the Americans easily beat Santa Anna’s troops.  When he was transferred, Lee remained in Mexico and was given command of some sailors.  The sailors built fortifications for the main army.  After many days of siege, the city of Veracruz surrendered.  He earned a special mention in Scott’s official report and then Scott marched on Mexico City. 

After the Mexican War, Lee was promoted to colonel and had made a reputation for himself in the army. Then he was given surprising new orders – he had been appointed Superintendent of West Point Military Academy.  Lee earned the reputation as the best superintendent West Point had ever had. While he was Superintendent, he reported directly to Jefferson Davis who was the Secretary of War (strangely enough Davis would later become the president of the Confederacy).  Lee spent nearly three years at West Point and was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and transferred to the Second Calvary.  Lee was not happy about his promotion because it separated him from his family.  Lee had high hopes for his career following the Mexican War, but he was nearly fifty and his career was going nowhere.  His children were away at school or in the army and his wife was debilitated by arthritis.  This period of depression was cut short by urgent orders from the Secretary of War.  An unknown abolitionist, who called himself Smith, had seized a federal armory and had taken hostages at Harper’s Ferry.  Troops were immediately dispatched and orders were drawn up for Lee to lead the assault.  One of Lee’s men recognized the abolitionist as John Brown.  Lee sent a soldier to present a truce, but Brown refused so the troops charged the building.  Although Lee didn’t think of the event as a big deal, it inflamed the tempers of both northerners and southerners.

After Harper’s Ferry, Lee was posted to Texas and he watched as the Union slowly started to fall apart.  Lee was faced with a huge moral battle.  He did not support slavery and was not for secession.  Lee was a strong supporter of his home state and he hoped logic would prevail, but 1860 was not a year for logic.  Both the North and the South were fed up with compromise and now was the time for action (Robert E. Lee and the Rise of the South, p.55).  

When Abraham Lincoln was elected on November 26, 1860, it was the final straw for the South.  South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union less than one month later.  Many southern states saw that they had entered the Union voluntarily so they could leave voluntarily. By February 1861, seven states had seceded from the Union.  They were South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas.  Although Virginia had not yet seceded, Lee believed they would. On April 13, 1861,   President Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to put down the “rebellion”.  Lee soon got a letter that said that President Lincoln wanted him to become supreme commander of all northern forces.  Then came the inevitable, Virginia seceded.  After a night of indecision, Lee declined the offer of becoming a general and resigned from the United States Armed Forces.  The next day, Lee was summoned to Richmond and given command of the armed forces of Virginia.  Lee had a huge task ahead of him because Virginia was the most vulnerable state in the south (Robert E. Lee, p.43).  It bordered Washington, making Virginia a huge threat to the capital of the Union.  Lee’s first task was huge. He appointed officers, organized a command structure, and designed defenses.  Neither side was prepared for war, but the south was at a huge disadvantage because the north had a larger population and had almost all of the factories and railroads. 

On July 21, 1861, the first battle of the Civil War was fought at Bull Run, outside of Washington.  Many people, including many Congressmen, came to witness the battle as if it were a parade.  The North thought that they would easily beat the South, but contrary to their belief, the Confederates won the battle.  Then, later that year, Lee won the Second Battle at Bull Run as well.  Lee decided that another demoralizing blow in the North might make Washington talk peace. (Robert E. Lee Hero of the South p.53).  He led his troops into Union territory.  He had devised a cunning plan, but a careless soldier left the plans in an old campsite where they were found by the Union forces.  This caused Lee to lose at the Battle of Antietam. 

Lee positioned his troops in fortified positions in Fredericksburg, Virginia.  Lee beat General Burnside, of the Union forces, and inflicted heavy causalities on the Union armies.  Burnside continually charged his troops into Lee’s line of fire and Lee was able to beat down more 12,000 Union soldiers while suffering minimal casualties.  Lee then went back on the offensive and attempted to capture a little town called Gettysburg in Pennsylvania which was fortified by Union soldiers.  The battle was a stalemate until Lee used Napoleonic tactics.  He ordered an infantry charge which, in the Civil War, did not work anymore due to new weapons.  The charge became known as Pickett’s charge.  Due to Lee’s blunder, the Union won that battle.  After that, the Union commander, Ulysses Grant took over the Union armies and forced Lee to retreat.  Toward the end of the war, Lee made astounding use of what little materials he had.  He used entrenchments earning the name “Ace of Spades” (the trenches were dug out with spades).  He held on to Richmond, Virginia for ten months after the defeat at Gettysburg during which time the Confederacy began to fall apart.  At the Battle of the Wilderness, Lee was forced to retreat away from Richmond with his 60,000 men versus Grant’s 125,000 men.  Consequently, Richmond fell into Union hands.  At the Battle of Petersburg, Lee managed to hold out for two weeks until fresh Union reinforcements forced the Confederate troops to retreat.

After being chased all over Virginia, Lee was finally backed into a corner.  Lee surrendered his army to General Grant at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865. Grant’s Terms were generous.  He allowed the Confederate soldiers to keep their horses and their weapons and they could go home to their native states.

   Lee returned to Richmond as a paroled prisoner of war.  He devoted the rest of his life to setting an example of conduct for other thousands of ex-Confederates. He turned down many offers which would have secured substantial means for his family. Instead, he became President of Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) in Lexington, Virginia.  His reputation revitalized the school after the war. Lee’s reputation, both in the North and South, and the devotion inspired by his unconscious symbolism of the “Lost Cause” made him a legendary figure even before his death.  Robert E. Lee died on October 12 1870, at the age of 63.  He is buried at Lexington, Virginia.  Before his death, Lee made an application for restoration of his United States citizenship.  The application was lost by the government, and it was not until the 1970’s, over one hundred years later, that it was found and Lee’s citizenship restored. (http://cicilwarhome.com./leebio.htm p.2).  Lee was considered one of the greatest generals this country has ever known.  Although he fought for the south, Lee still commanded respect in victory, as well as defeat, because he always handled himself with composure and was a true gentleman.