Lee

//**Robert E. Lee**// // By Katerina Toffoloni // = = toc

=Rising Military Career=

Robert E. Lee was born on January 19, 1807, in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He was the fifth child of a revolutionary war hero, Edward Lee III, who left their family when Lee was six and never returned. Lee's father played an important part in Lee's life by giving him the political connections to attend the US Military Academy at West Point in 1825. Lee graduated second in his classes without earning a single demerit as he was exceptional in academics and had great leadership qualities. Some of his peers were jealous of Lee, yet many admired him as he was a determined, handsome figure who became known as the “Marble Model.” He had great physical attributes being a little under six feet tall and having black hair and brown eyes. As a result of his distinguished graduation from West Point, Lee entered the US Army Corps of Engineers as the second lieutenant in 1829. The Corps of Engineers was the engineering, design and construction management agency of the US Army that included training in the offensive and defensive aspects of war. Lee remained with the Corps for a little more then a decade and a half until he received a promotion and became a first lieutenant on the battlefield.

=Mexican American War=

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In May of 1846, the United States declared war against Mexico. In this war, Lee served under General Winfield Scott who ended up being one of Lee’s greatest rivals in the Civil War. During this war, he fought with valor, employing outstanding and daring strategies which earned him the admiration and respect of others, most notably of General Winfield Scott. Lee later served as a lieutenant colonel of the Second Cavalry in West Texas, earning further distinction in his brilliant military career. Then, in 1859, Lee along with his detachment of marines, suppressed the uprising of the abolitionist, John Brown, and his attack on Harper’s Ferry without shedding any blood. This earned him a promotion to colonel of the First Calvary in March of 1861.

=Precursor to the Civil War=

At the time of this promotion, seven southern states had seceded from the Union and on April 12, 1861, Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter. President Abraham Lincoln issued a call to quell the uprising and on April 18th, Lee was offered the command of the US Army by General Winfield Scott. Lee was a Whig, adhering strongly to the Union and the Constitution. For this reason, Lee did not support the secession of the South or slavery, but his passion to his state was more powerful than his duty to the federal government which is why he declined the position and resigned from the armed forces. He did not want to fight against his native state, Virginia, and really did not want to fight as he declared to General Scott, “Save in the defense of my Native State, I never desire again to draw my sword.” Despite these sentiments, when Virginia seceded from the Union, Lee was appointed the major general of the Virginia state forces. Within four month’s time, he was commissioned as a general in the Confederate Army, ranking third in seniority among all Confederate generals. When Lee moved on to Richmond to become the Commander-in-Chief of the military and naval forces of Virginia, the Virginia forces joined the Confederate services.

=Battle of Chancellorsville=

== The Battle of Chancellorsville was one of the most important and successful battles fought by Lee, revealing his great strategy and daring manner. This battle started on May 1, 1863, and lasted a grueling four days. Lee and approximately 60,000 Confederate soldiers opposed General Hooker’s army of more than 120,000 Union soldiers. Despite being outnumbered two to one, Lee was unrivaled by his Union counterpart thanks to his brilliant strategy and daring decisions. Hooker led his Army of the Potomac across the Rapidan River, having a goal to outmaneuver the Confederates. Lee divided his army into two, making the lengthy trip around the Union and hitting them from behind at Chancellorsville. Once Lee’s army crushed Hooker, Lee split his army a third time planning to attack General John Sedgwick. Lee is remembered in this battle for his brave plans and for being a brilliant military tactician as he drove an army twice the size of his own back. During this victory, he lost over 12,500 troops, among them the gallant Stonewall Jackson who died on May 10 after being wounded the second day of the battle. Nevertheless, the Confederates’ spirit was uplifted and Lee remained their idol and leader with his reputation being boosted with every clever move he made.

=Battle of Gettysburg=

== Following this victory, Lee’s forces pushed into northern territory. By the end of June, his army, 75,000 strong, had penetrated well into Pennsylvania setting the stage for the Battle of Gettysburg. The Battle of Gettysburg, which began on July 1, 1863, was the greatest and most significant battle of the Civil War. Robert E. Lee attempted to capitalize on the Unions’ chaos and confusion, carrying the field on the first two days of battle with hopes that victory on Northern soil would add pressure to the North and to Lincoln to end the war. He continued his offensive on the third day in his famous attack known as Pickett’s Charge. Despite the Confederates’ amazing efforts, they lost over 25,000 troops, almost 2,000 more than the Union forces. Lee’s intentions in battle fell short, and this bloodiest and most significant battle of the Civil War concluded in a Union victory. Lee took the blame for this defeat, commenting to a fellow officer, “Never mind general, all this has been my fault - it is I that have lost this fight.” The Battle of Gettysburg showed that sometimes Lee's aggressiveness overshadowed his better judgment.

=End of War/Post War=

Lee mustered up 60,000 soldiers of the Army of Northern Virginia against Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Potomac, numbering about 120,000 soldiers. Grant advanced to Richmond, only to face defeats at Lee’s hands at the battles at Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and Cold Harbor. Except Grant did not retreat and instead continued on towards Richmond, forcing Lee to follow in his home territory. At Five Works, Virginia, General Sheridan broke through Fitzhugh Lee’s defense. Grant took advantage of this success and ordered an attack across the line. All Confederate defenses had weakened and Lee’s forces were unable to defend so he ordered the capital to be abandoned. Lee then decided to join General Johnston’s forces, yet he was stopped by Sheridan at the Appomattox Court House. Lee was surrounded with Union forces and surrendered to Grant on April 9, 1865. Most importantly, he surrendered with dignity and pride, accepting the defeat. Although Lee lost the war, this was not an end to his life and great heroic reputation. Lee was and is still known to be one of the most brilliant tacticians in America military history. As Lee accepted his defeat, he began to work as president of Washington College in Lexington, Virginia and even urged his former compatriots to work towards restoring the Union. In Washington College, he made many changes that impacted the college in a great way. He improved the faculty, increased the student body and added engineering and science courses. Washington College is now named Washington and Lee University after Lee because of all his accomplishments and effective changes. Unfortunately, his life came to an abrupt end as he was hit with a stroke at age 63, struggling for two weeks until he died on October 12, 1870. “Always outnumbered but never outfought, Robert E. Lee was one of the most brilliant tacticians in American military history and the embodiment of Southern military prowess during the Civil War.”

media type="youtube" key="upvbOR1L-aA" height="385" width="480" align="center" =__Bibliography__= Information __Confederate General Robert E. Lee 1807-1870.__ Americancivilwar. 26 Apr. 2010 .

Frederikson, John. “Lee, Robert E,” __Civil War Almanac.__ 1st Edition. 2007: 709-712.

Gallager, Gary W. “Lee, Robert E.” Encyclopedia of American History: Civil War and Reconstruction, 1865 to 1869, vol. 5. New York: In Waugh, Joan, and Gary B. Nash, eds., 2003. Facts On File, Inc. Online. 27 Apr. 2010. .

Images (In the order that they appear) 1. http://www.keystoneguards.org/images/Battalion-Engineer-co%20d.jpg 2.http://www.history2u.com/scott_lee.jpg 3. American History Online: "Battle of Chancellorsville, May 1-4, 1863." Map. Print. 4. Flickr. Search Query: "Pickett's Charge" 5. American History Online.

Multimedia YouTube - All You Need To Know About Robert E Lee. YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. NeedToKnowHistory, 7 July 2009. Web. 06 May 2010. .