Robert_E._Lee

Robert E. Lee was born on January 19, 1807. He was raised by his mother, from who he learned patience, control, and discipline. He was accepted to the United States Military Academy and graduated 2nd in his class. He helped build the St. Louis waterfront and worked on coastal forts in Brunswick and Savannah. During this time, he married Mary Custis, granddaughter of President George Washington. In 1845, the war between U.S. and Mexico happened. General Winfield Scott, overall U.S. Army commander, made Lee part of his staff. He learned many skills he would need. After the Mexican War, Lee returned as an army engineer. He spent a lot of time near Washington D.C. and moved into Custis mansion (now overlooking the Arlington Cemetery.) Thus was Colonel Lee available for duty to put down a believed rebellion at Harp Ferry, Virginia, the site of a United States arsenal. Colonel Lee and Lt.Jeb Stuart were rushed by train to Harp Ferry, were they Captured abolitionist John Brown and followers. Browns attempt seemed to confirm all their worst fears. And when Abraham Lincoln was elected, South Carolina seceded and 6 other states did shortly after. Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. General Winfield Scott asked Lee to take control of the U.S. army and put the rebellion down. Lee’s greatest victory was the Battle of Chancellorsville. This was in May of 1863. Lee was faced with a bigger army that was led by the fighting Joe Hooker. Lee and his most trusted lieutenant, Gen. Stonewall Jackson, divided their forces and marched around to his exposed flank, rolled it up and defeated the union forces once again. On June 24, 1863, General Robert E. Lee led his Confederate soldiers across the Potomac River and turned in the direction of Pennsylvania. In answer to this threat, President Abe Lincoln replaced his army commander, Jeb Stuart, who, instead of reporting Union movements to General Lee, he had gone off on a raid deep behind the union army. This action left Lee with nothing to se of the union’s position. When a scout reported the union’s position, Lee ordered his scattered troops to move west of the village of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Lee ordered his men to attack against Union flanks if practicable. He decided to not attack the union when he saw the union artillery. If he would have attacked and succeeded, it might have changed the course of the war. The rest of the troops arrived that night, and then after, the union made a defensive position that resembled a fish hook. The next day, Lee decided to attack both flanks. On his right flank, Union troops had mistakenly shifted out of position, leaving Little Round Top unprotected. At the last second, a Union general rushed in with troops just before the charging Confederates. After a long day of fighting, they barely, held position. Thinking the union had weakened, Lee decided to hit the Union first with artillery, then an infantry charge led by General George Pickett. Stuart’s late-arriving cavalry was to arrive behind the Union forces. Following the war, Lee was almost tried as a traitor, but was only left with his Civil War rights suspended. Lee was offered the post of President of Washington University where he served until his death in 1870. The school was later renamed Washington and Lee. As a final note, the president, Gerald Ford, had Lee’s citizenship restored.