Robert E. Lee was the commanding general of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during the American Civil War. He is remembered as one of the most skilled military leaders of the war and became the most famous symbol of the Confederate South. Despite being offered command of the Union Army at the start of the war, Lee chose to fight for the South when his home state of Virginia left the United States.
Robert E. Lee’s Early Life
Robert Edward Lee was born on January 19th, 1807 CE in Stratford Hall, Virginia. His father was Henry Lee, known as Light-Horse Harry Lee, a hero of the American Revolutionary War and a former governor of Virginia. His mother was Anne Hill Carter Lee, who also came from a wealthy Virginia family. Despite his family’s fame, Lee grew up in difficult conditions. His father was bad with money and left the family in debt. When Lee was just six years old, his father moved to the Caribbean and never came back. Lee’s mother raised him largely on her own.
Lee worked hard in school and earned a place at the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1825 CE. He graduated second in his class of 46 students in 1829 CE and never received a single demerit, which is a penalty mark for bad behavior, during his entire time at the academy. His fellow cadets called him the Marble Model because he seemed so close to perfect. After graduation, Lee served as an army engineer for many years, working on building and improving forts and other military structures around the country. For instance, he served in the Mexican-American War from 1846 to 1848 CE on the staff of General Winfield Scott and was praised highly for his bravery and skill. He later served as superintendent of West Point from 1852 to 1855 CE. As such, by the time the Civil War began, Lee was one of the most respected officers in the United States Army.
Robert E. Lee’s Decision to Fight for the Confederacy
When Southern states began leaving the United States in 1860 and 1861 CE over the issue of slavery and the right of states to make their own laws, Lee faced a very difficult choice. The American Civil War began in April of 1861 CE when Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina. The Civil War was fought between the Union, which was the Northern states that stayed loyal to the United States, and the Confederacy, which was the group of Southern states that left to form their own country. One of the main causes of the war was slavery. The Southern states wanted to keep slavery, while many in the North wanted to stop it from spreading further.
President Abraham Lincoln offered Lee command of the main Union Army in April of 1861 CE. It was one of the highest military honors in the country. Lee turned it down. He had been personally opposed to secession and had his own doubts about slavery. With that said, when his home state of Virginia voted to leave the Union on April 17th, 1861 CE, Lee felt he could not fight against his own state and people. He resigned from the United States Army and accepted a position leading Virginia’s military forces. He later wrote that to fight against his own state and people was impossible. As such, his decision to join the Confederacy was one of the most important decisions in the history of the Civil War.
Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia
Lee served as a military adviser to Confederate President Jefferson Davis in the early months of the war. In June of 1862 CE, he was given command of the Confederate army defending the Virginia peninsula, which he renamed the Army of Northern Virginia. From that point on, the Army of Northern Virginia became the most famous and successful Confederate army in the war.
Lee quickly showed that he was a brilliant battlefield commander. He was almost always outnumbered by the larger Union armies he faced, but he found ways to win anyway. He was known for being bold and willing to take risks that other generals would not. For instance, he and his top general, Stonewall Jackson, worked together to beat larger Union armies at battles including the Second Battle of Bull Run in August of 1862 CE and the Battle of Chancellorsville in May of 1863 CE, which many historians consider Lee’s greatest victory. As such, Lee built a reputation as the most feared and respected Confederate general of the entire war.
Robert E. Lee’s Invasions of the North
Lee knew that the South could not win the war simply by defending its own territory. The North had far more men, factories and supplies than the South. Lee believed the best chance for Confederate victory was to take the fight into the North, win major victories on Northern soil and convince the Northern public and government that the war was not worth continuing. He launched two major invasions of the North during the war.
The first invasion came in September of 1862 CE when Lee led his army into Maryland. The two sides met at the Battle of Antietam on September 17th, 1862 CE. It was the single bloodiest day of the entire war. Both sides suffered very heavy losses. Lee was unable to win a clear victory and pulled his army back to Virginia. The second invasion came in June and July of 1863 CE when Lee led his army north into Pennsylvania. The two sides fought at the Battle of Gettysburg from July 1st to 3rd, 1863 CE. On the third day, Lee ordered a massive attack called Pickett’s Charge across open ground against a strong Union position. The attack failed badly and Lee’s army suffered enormous losses. He retreated back to Virginia. The Battle of Gettysburg was the last time Lee would lead a major invasion of the North. As such, the defeat at Gettysburg was a turning point in the war that made a Confederate victory much less likely.
Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant
In the spring of 1864 CE, Union General Ulysses S. Grant took command of all Union armies and came east to fight Lee personally. Grant was a very different kind of opponent from the ones Lee had beaten before. Earlier Union generals had often pulled back after suffering heavy losses. Grant kept attacking. The two armies fought a series of bloody battles through the spring and summer of 1864 CE, including the Wilderness, Spotsylvania and Cold Harbor. Lee’s army held on but was slowly being worn down. By June of 1864 CE, Grant had trapped Lee’s army at Petersburg, Virginia. The two sides dug into trenches and fought a siege that lasted nearly ten months.
By early April of 1865 CE, Lee’s army was running out of food, men and supplies. The Confederate lines at Petersburg finally broke on April 2nd, 1865 CE. Lee abandoned Petersburg and Richmond, the Confederate capital, and tried to move his remaining army south. Grant chased him and cut off his escape. Lee had very few options left. On April 9th, 1865 CE, Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia. Before leaving his soldiers for the last time, Lee told them: “I have done the best I could for you. Go home now, and if you make as good citizens as you have soldiers, you will do well, and I shall always be proud of you.” His surrender effectively ended the Civil War.
Robert E. Lee’s Death and Legacy
After the war, Lee accepted the position of president of Washington College in Lexington, Virginia in 1865 CE. He spent five years there working to build up the school and to encourage the people of the South to accept the outcome of the war and work toward bringing the country back together. He died on October 12th, 1870 CE in Lexington at the age of sixty-three, likely from a stroke. He was buried at the college, which was later renamed Washington and Lee University in his honor.
Robert E. Lee became the most beloved figure in the South after the war. Many Southerners saw him as a symbol of honor, courage and dignity in the face of defeat. For instance, in the years after the war a way of thinking about the Civil War called the Lost Cause became popular in the South. It painted Lee as a near-perfect hero who had fought for a noble cause. Historians today look at Lee’s life in a more complicated way. They point out that he chose to fight to defend a society built on slavery, even though he had personal doubts about it. Regardless, Robert E. Lee remains one of the most significant and most talked-about figures in the history of the American Civil War.
