Robert e. lee fun facts

Robert E. Lee

Confederate States Army general (1807–1870)

"General Lee" redirects here. For other uses, see General Lee (disambiguation) and Robert E. Lee (disambiguation).

Robert E. Lee

Lee in 1864

Birth nameRobert Edward Lee
Nickname(s)
  • Uncle Robert
  • Marse Robert
  • King of Spades
  • Marble Man
Born(1807-01-19)January 19, 1807
Stratford Hall, Westmoreland County, Virginia, U.S.
DiedOctober 12, 1870(1870-10-12) (aged 63)
Lexington, Virginia, U.S.
Buried

University Chapel at Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia, U.S.

Allegiance
Service / branch
Years of service
  • 1829–1861 (U.S.)
  • 1861–1865 (C.S.)
Rank
Commands
Battles / wars
Alma materUnited States Military Academy
Spouse(s)
Children
RelationsLee family
Signature
In office
February 6, 1865 – April 12, 1865
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byPosition abolished
In office
1865–1870
Preceded byGeorge Junkin (Washington College)
Succeeded byCustis Lee
In office
1852–

Robert E. Lee

1807-1870

Who Was Robert E. Lee?

Robert E. Lee became military prominence during the U.S. Civil War, commanding his home state's armed forces and becoming general-in-chief of the Confederate troops toward the end of the conflict. Though the Union won the war, Lee earned renown as a military tactician for scoring several significant victories on the battlefield. He became president of Washington College and, renamed Washington and Lee University after he died in 1870.

Quick Facts

FULL NAME: Robert Edward Lee
BORN: January 19, 1807
DIED: October 12, 1870
BIRTHPLACE: Stratford, Virginia
SPOUSE: Mary Custis (1831-1870)
CHILDREN: George Washington Custis, William “Rooney,” Robert Jr, Mary, Anne, Eleanor Agnes, and Mildred
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Capricorn

Early Years

A Confederate general who led southern forces against the Union Army in the U.S. Civil War, Robert Edward Lee was born on Jan. 19, 1807, at his family home of Stratford Hall in northeastern Virginia.

Lee was cut from Virginia aristocracy. His extended family members included a president, a United Sta

Robert Edward Lee was born in 1807, into a prominent family at Stratford Hall in Virginia. Soon after Robert’s birth, his father’s poor financial management forced the family to leave Stratford Hall. Moving to Alexandria, Virginia, he met and would eventually marry his distant cousin, Mary Custis, heiress of Arlington House, in 1831. Though he served three decades in the US Army, it was his three years as commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and his post-war career that largely defined his public life.

Graduating second in his class from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1829, Lee served 31 years in the US Army, including three years as superintendent of West Point in the 1850s. Though his career rarely included combat, Lee gained recognition as a scout in the Mexican-American War. In 1859, he led US troops to subdue abolitionist John Brown’s raid at Harper’s Ferry. At the time of his resignation in 1861, he was a Colonel.

Lee’s military career kept him away from Arlington for most of his adult life. In 1853, he admitted to his wife, “I un

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