Birth Location: Stratford, a family plantation in Westmoreland County, Virginia
Parents: “Lighthorse” Harry Lee and Ann Hill Carter Lee
Education: United States Military Academy (1829)
Occupation: Military officer
Career Summary: Colonel (USA), General (CSA), General-in-Chief (CSA), Army of Northern Virginia commander
Spouse: Mary Custis (1831)
Nickname(s): Granny Lee, Bobby Lee
Place of Death: Lexington Virginia
Date of Death: October 12, 1870
Place of Burial: Campus of Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia
Robert Edward Lee was born January 19, 1807, at Stratford, a family plantation in Westmoreland County, Virginia.
Robert E. Lee was the son of Revolutionary War hero, “Lighthorse Harry Lee” and Ann Hill Carter Lee.
Robert E. Lee attended the United States Military Academy and graduated number two in his class in 1829.
Robert E. Lee married Mary Custis (daughter of Martha Washington’s grandson) on June 30, 1831.
Robert E. Lee served in the engineering corps during the Mexican War.
Robert E. Lee served as superintendent at West Point from 1852-1855.
Robert E. Lee was appointed lieutenant colonel of the United States 2d Cavalry in 1855.
Robert E. Lee was a slave-owner, reputed to have been complicit in instances of harsh treatment of slaves he deemed to be troublesome, despite his assertions that he found slavery to be “a moral & political evil.”
Robert E. Lee led U.S. forces against John Brown’s attack on federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia in 1859.
Robert E. Lee was appointed colonel of the 1st U.S. Cavalry in March 1861.
Due to his loyalty to his home state of Virginia, Robert E. Lee rejected an offer from General Winfield Scott to serve as field commander of the United States Army in 1861.
Robert E. Lee became commander of Virginia’s forces in the Civil War when Virginia seceded from the Union in 1861.
Robert E. Lee succeeded Joseph E. Johnston as commander of the Confederacy’s Army of Northern Virginia in 1862.
Robert E. Lee was appointed as a military advisor to Confederate President Jefferson Davis in 1862.
Robert E. Lee was appointed general-in-chief of Confederate forces in February 1865.
Robert E. Lee commanded victorious Confederate forces at the battles of Bull Run, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville.
Robert E. Lee commanded defeated Confederate forces at the Battle of Gettysburg.
Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia on April 9, 1865.
Robert E. Lee Served as president of Washington College, in Lexington, Virginia, from September 1865 until his death in 1870.
