Robert E. Lee Biography

Introduction

The American Civil war birthed war heroes. Different alliances were created, and men and women joined forces and fought on either side of the war. Those that did not actively participate in the battlefields either commanded or financed the troops. Robert Edward Lee is one such warrior. This paper documents Robert E. Lee's early life and career. It details his role in the American-Mexican war and the Civil war and his life after these battles.

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Early Life and Career

Robert E. Lee was born on January 19, 1807, to the revolutionary war hero Henry Lee and Ann Hill Carter Lee. His family suffered financial hardship, and when his father departed to the West Indies, Lee was left under his mother's care. Anne Lee exposed him to Christianity and instilled in him the virtues of discipline and patience ("Robert E. Lee (1-19-1807 - 10-12-1870)."). Henry Lee died when his son was 11 years old. Despite the challenges that his family faced, young Lee went to school at Eastern View and later Alexandria Academy. Lee's academic prowess; and especially his aptitude for Mathematics was not lost on his mother's relative who wrote to John C. Calhoun; the Secretary of War, asking that he be admitted to the United States Military Academy. In 1825 Robert Lee successfully secured a place at West Point where he later finished second in his class ("General Robert E. Lee | Stratford Hall."). He left a record of no demerits, and it yet to be broken. Notably, Lee's classmates remembered him as having a strictness that could only be found among men from the military (Fellman 11). In 1829 Robert Lee was commissioned a brevet second Lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers, and he helped to construct the St. Louis Waterfront. Lee wedded Mary Anna Randolph Custis, George Washington's step-granddaughter, on June 30, 1831.

Robert Lee and War

Before the Mexican-American war of 1846, Lee had never set foot on any battlefield. Captain Lee was attached to General Winfield Scott's staff. Some of Lee's duties entailed plotting out the terrain and dividing the line of advance for the troops of the United States. These tasks contributed to the troop's success. In April 1847, Captain Lee was aggrandized to brevet major after the Battle of Cerro Gordo. Additional brevet promotions followed until he rose to the positions of lieutenant colonel and later colonel. All the while, Lee remained the captain of engineers, and it is in this position that he educated and evaluated people that would then become his enemies and foes in various battles ("General Robert E. Lee | Stratford Hall."). For instance, Lee met and worked with Ulysses Grant, a soldier, and both learned from their commanders through observation. Lee would later face off Ulysses in different battles in the future. In 1855, Colonel Lee left the academy, where he served as superintendent, for the cavalry in Texas. There he was the second-in-command after Colonel Albert Sydney Johnston. Lee was tasked with protecting settlers from the attacks by the Comanche and the Apache.

During his regime at the cavalry, Lee successfully captured John Brown, the abolitionist, and his followers at Harper's Ferry. John Brown and his followers had seized the federal arsenal thereon with the intention of inciting a slave rebellion ("General Robert E. Lee | Stratford Hall."). Another monumental event marking Lee's success was the Texas secession. In 1861, Texas seceded from the Union, and General David Twiggs relinquished the American forces, including Lee, to the Texans. Afterward, Lee was named Colonel of the First Regiment of Cavalry in 1861; a position that was signed by President Abraham Lincoln. Lee's maiden military engagement in the Civil War was at Cheat Mountain Virginia on September 11, 1861. At the outset of the war, he had been appointed as the commander of all Virginia's forces and later on named as a full general of the Confederate States Army. The Mountain Virginia war went down in history's record as one of his lost battles, and he was blamed for the setbacks that his team faced. However, his reputation withstood the criticism, and he was the military advisor to President Davis Jefferson.

In June 1862, he was appointed the Commander of the Army of Northern Virginia. It was an opportunity to redeem himself as a successful commander. He was confident that under his leadership, the Union army would be expelled from Richmond ("General Robert E. Lee | Stratford Hall."). Many did not approve of his taking over from the wounded General Joseph Johnston citing that Lee was too passive a commander. When Lee launched attacks against McClellan's forces, the superior Union forces were derailed and forced to retreat. It took Lee's army less than 90 days to defeat two union armies and to move battle lines 32km into Washington. Resultantly, Lee earned the respect of not only the Confederate armies but also his men. When Lee launched an annexation into Maryland in September 1862, he hoped to shift the war's attention away from Virginia. Lee realized that his success lay in his victory on Northern soil. However, he could not yet attain it as the element of surprise was lost and a face-off ensued between McClellan's and Lee's men. Consequently, Lee was compelled to withdraw under cover of darkness after suffering heavy casualties. That notwithstanding, the Antietam battle ended in a draw.

A mixture of success and failure characterized commander Lee's tenure. After the Antietam war, he won in Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville but lost to George Gordon Meade's men in Gettysburg ("Robert E. Lee (1-19-1807 - 10-12-1870)."). Other victories included the Cold Harbor battle against Ulysses Grant and The Second Battle of Deep Bottom against Winfield Scott Hancock. His legacy ended in defeat after Lee surrendered to General Grant in The Appomattox Campaign.

Life After War

Upon his surrender on April 9, 1865, Lee returned home on parole. Alongside some of his property, he lost his right to vote as his civil rights were suspended. The Union forces had seized the Custis-Lee mansion during the war, and it was converted into a cemetery. Therefore, he lived in Richmond at the Stewart-Lee House with his family from April to June 1865. Lee was enjoined in the Democrats' protests against radical Republicans who demanded that the South be punished (Fellman 82). Also, Lee advocated for a system of free public schools for the black although he was against their being given the right to vote. Lee later served as the President of the Washington College in Virginia until his demise in Lexington Virginia on October 12, 1870. His death resulted from a stroke that he had suffered on September 28, 1870, coupled with a bout of pneumonia.

Works Cited

Fellman, Michael. The Making of Robert E. Lee. JHU Press, 2003.

"General Robert E. Lee | Stratford Hall." Stratford Hall | Home of the Lees of Virginia & Birthplace of Robert E. Lee, www.stratfordhall.org/meet-the-lee-family/general-robert-e-lee-1807-1870/"

Robert E. Lee (1-19-1807 - 10-12-1870)." Robert E. Lee (1-19-1807 - 10-12-1870) < Biographies < American History From Revolution To Reconstruction and Beyond, www.let.rug.nl/usa/biographies/robert-e-lee/