Lee, Robert E.
Lee, Robert E. (1807–1870), Confederate Civil War general.Born at Stratford, a family plantation in Virginia, Robert E. Lee was the son of Henry Lee (“Light‐Horse Harry”) of the Revolutionary War. He graduated with great distinction from West Point in 1829, and in 1831 he married Mary Custis, daughter of Martha Washington's grandson, George Washington Parke Custis, who was also George Washington's adopted son. The Lees made their home at Arlington, the Custis mansion overlooking Washington, D.C. The marriage produced four daughters and three sons. The sons—George Washington Custis Lee, William Henry Fitzhugh Lee, and Robert E. Lee, Jr.—all served as officers in the Confederate army.
Lee's continuous and distinguished service in the U.S. Army before the Civil War included highly acclaimed action in...
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