American soldier, general in the Confederate States army, was the youngest son of major-general Henry Lee ("Light Horse Harry") and Ann Hill Carter Lee .
Robert Edward Lee was born at Stratford, Westmoreland County , Virginia, January 19, 1807, and entered West Point in 1825. Graduating four years later second
in his class, he was given a commission in the U.S. Engineer Corps. In 1831 he married Mary Ann Randolph Custis, daughter
of George Washington Parke Custis,
the adopted son of George Washington and the grandson of Martha Washington. The Lees had seven children. All three of their sons served in the Confederate army.
George Washington Custis and William Henry Fitzhugh ("Rooney") attained the rank of Major General and Robert E. Lee , Jr., that of Captain.
The latter served as a private in the Rockbridge Artillery at the Battle of Antietam.
In 1836 Lee became first lieutenant, and in 1838 captain. In this rank he took part in the Mexican War, repeatedly winning distinction
for conduct and bravery.
After the war he was employed in engineer work at Washington and Baltimore, during which time, as before the war, he resided
on the Arlington estate,
near Washington, which had come to him through his wife.
In 1852 he was appointed superintendent of West Point, and during his three years there he carried out many changes in the
academy.
Under him as cadets were his son George Washington Custis Lee , his nephew, Fitzhugh Lee and J. E. B. Stuart, all of whom became general officers in the
Civil War. In 1855 he was appointed as lieutenant-colonel to the 2nd Cavalry, commanded by Colonel Sidney Johnston, with whom
he served on the Texas border.
In 1859, while at Arlington on leave, he was summoned to command the United States troops sent to deal with the John Brown
raid on Harper's Ferry.
In March 1861 he was made colonel of the 1st U.S. Cavalry. Lee's career in the U.S. army ended with the secession of Virginia in the following month.
The Federal authorities offered Lee the command of the field army about to invade the South, which he refused. Resigning his commission,
he made his way to Richmond and was at once made a major-general in the Virginia forces. A few weeks later he became a brigadier-general
(then the highest rank) in the Confederate service. He assumed command of the Army of Northern Virginia in May 1862 and led
the Confederate Army in
Virginia for the next three years.
Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House, on April 9, 1865. For a few months Lee lived quietly in Richmond, making his
formal submission to the Federal authorities and urging Southern acceptance of the new conditions. In August he was offered,
and accepted,
the presidency of Washington College (now Washington and Lee University), a post which he occupied until his death on October 12, 1870.
He was buried in the college grounds.
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1830 September 22
ALS 3 p. on 2 l.
#1085
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1830 September 30
ALS 3 p. on 2 l.
#1085
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1830 October 12
ALS 4 p. on 1 l.
#1085
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1830 November 16
ALS 3 p. on 1 l.
#1085
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1831 January 4
ALS 3 p. on 1 l.
#1085
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1831 February 27
ALS 3 p. on 1 l.
#1085
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1831 May 26
ALS 4 p. on 1 l.
#1085
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1831 June 15
ALS 3 p. on 1 l.
#1085
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1831 October 12
ALS 3 p. on 1 l.
#1085
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1832 April 6
ALS 4 p. on 1 l.
#1085
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1832 August 17
ALS 4 p. on 1 l.
#1085
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1832 September 1
ALS 4 p. on 1 l.
#1085
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1832 September 28
ALS 4 p. on 1 l.
#1085
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1833 February 1
ALS 4 p. on 1 l.
#1085
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1833 April 6
ALS 3 p. on 1 l.
#1085
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1833 September 16
ALS 3 p. on 1 l.
#1085
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to L[ittleton] W[aller] Tazewell
1833 September 17
ALS 1 p. on 1 l.
#10009
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1833 December 6
ALS 4 p. on 1 l.
#1085
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1834 June 30
ALS 4 p. on 1 l.
#1085
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1834 August 20
ALS 4 p. on 1 l.
#1085
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Mr. Blair
1835 January 13
ANS 1 p. on 1 printed leaf.
#1085
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1835 February 24
ALS 4 p. on 1 l.
#1085
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1835 May 17
ALS 4 p. on 1 l.
#1085
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1835 May 29
ALS 3 p. on 1 l.
#1085
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1835 May 31
ALS 2 p. on 1 l.
#1085
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1836 May 2
ALS 3 p. on 1 l.
#990-b
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1836 August 2
ALS 3 p. on 1 l.
#1085
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1837 January 26
ALS 4 p. on 1 l.
#1085
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Brigadier General R. Jones
1837 April 10
ALS 1 p., letter in another hand but signed by Lt. Lee of the Engineer Corps.
#4703
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1837 August 15
ALS 2 p. on 1 l.
#1085
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Mary Ann Custis Lee
1837 August 21
ALS 4 p. on 1 l.
#1085
Box 1
Robert E. Lee and M.C. Lee to George Washington Parke Custis
1837 August 25
ALS 4 p. on 1 l.
#1085
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1837 October 8
ALS 4 p. on 1 l.
#1085
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1838 May 18
ALS 2 p. on 1 l.
#1085
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1838 December 24
ALS 4 p. on 1 l.
#1085
Box 1
Account of Robert E. Lee with the U.S. government re the Improvement of the Mississippi River, Above the Mouth of the Ohio River (bottom of account
is cut off)
1838
ADS 1 l.
##441
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1839 January 7
ALS 4 p. on 1 l.
##1085
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1840 January 30
ALS 3 p. on 2 l.
#990-b
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1840 February 23
ALS 3 p. on 2 l.
#990-b
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1840 August 22
ALS 4 p. on 1 l.
#990-b
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Mary Ann Custis Lee
1841 April 18
ALS 3 p. on 1 l.
#990-b
Box 1
Receipt for a mare & her colt, signed by Robert E. Lee , to R.W. Carter
1843 February 10
ADS 1 p.
#1959
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1843 February 14
ALS
4 p. on 1 l.; top of the letter is trimmed away.
#990-b
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1843 July 24
ALS 2 p. on 1 l.
#990-b
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1843 August 17
ALS 4 p. on 1 l.; part of letter trimmed away.
#990-b
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1844 September 1
ALS 3 p. on 1 l.
#990-b
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1846 July 13
ALS 3 p. on 1 l.
#990-b
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1846 September 1
ALS 2 p. on 1 l.
#990-b
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Joseph E. Johnston
1846-1865
6 items. Photocopies only.
1846 will of Robert E. Lee showing that he owned a slave named "Nancy" and her three children, together with a letter from Judith S. Hynson of the Jessie
Ball DuPont Memorial Library at Stratford, Va., quoting an 1856 letter from Lee to his wife on the subject of slavery. There are also copies of letters from Lee to his sister, April, 20, 1861 to Winfield Scott, April 20, 1861 to Jefferson Davis, July 8, 1863 and a copy in an unidentified
hand, signed by Lee , of General Order No. 9, April 10, 1865.
#12132
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1848 February 13
ALS 4 p. on 1 l.
#990-b
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1848 March 18
ALS 4 p. on 1 l.with envelope.
#990-b
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1848 May 15
ALS 4 p. on 1 l.
#990-b
Box 1
Mapa de la Sierra Gorda
[1848]
Physical Location: OS Tray 49
Copied for Lee ; with his notes and signature. #5096-a
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Henry A. DuBois
1853 February 9
ALS 1 p. on 1 l., typescript and photostatic copy only.
#990-b
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Capt. J. Monroe
1853 May 3
Photocopy only.
#38-257
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to William Henry Fitzhugh Lee
1853 June 15
ALS 2 p. on 1 l.
#990-b
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1855 May 10
ALS 4 p. on 1 l., with envelope
#990-b
Box 1
R.E. Lee to William [Overton Winston?]
1856 July 24
ALS 2 p. on 1 l.
#8482
Box 1
Orders to Captain Stoneman, 2nd Cavalry, San Antonio, signed by Robert E. Lee
1857 August 31
ADS 1 p.
#990-b
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Edward C. Turner
1858 February 13
ALS 2 p. on 1 l.
#990-b
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Major Earl Van Dorn
1860 June 27
ALS 3 p. on 2 l.
#990-b
Box 1
Hugh Sheffey to Robert E. Lee , with endorsements by John B. Baldwin, Capt. John D. Imboden, Sam M. Garlan, Roger A. Pryor and accompanied by a note from
Lee , who refers the request to Colonel Thomas J.
Jackson
1861 April 27
ANS 3 p. on 2 l.
#4406
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Cary Charles Cocke
1861 June 10
Photocopy only.
#5313-f
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Colonel J.W. Ware
1861 June 19
LS 1 p.
#6136
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Colonel J.W. Ware
1861 June 28
LS 1 p.
#6136
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Joseph E. Johnston
1861 July 24
ALS 1 p.
#11576
Box 1
Alfred Beckley to Robert E. Lee
1861 August 21, 25
Physical Location: Original tipped in E470.2 .T25 1878 copy 1
Photocopy.
#6846-bb
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Edward C. Turner
1861 September 14
ALS 2 p. on 1 l.
#7959
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Philip St. George Cocke
1861-1865
10 items. Photocopies only.
#2433-f
Box 1
Robert E. Lee , telegram to Major Harman
1862 April 18
Photocopy only.
#3327
Box 1
Thomas J. Jackson to Robert E. Lee
1862 June 11
Photocopy only.
#3327
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Major General John Bankhead Magruder
1862 June 26
ALS 1 p.
#2562
Box 1
Thomas L. Rosser to Robert E. Lee
1862 July 25
ALS, 5 p. on 5 l.
#1171-j
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Colonel J. Thompson Brown
1862 August 7
ALS 1 p.
#10100-c
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Anne B. Carter Wickham
1862 November 11
D, 1 p. 19th century copy.
Lee expresses his regret that Williams Carter Wickham, her son,
has again been wounded but explains that he cannot be spared from returning to duty in the army
#15753
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to [J.E.B.] Stuart
[1862];
ALS 1 p.
#49
Box 1
J.E.B. Stuart to Robert E. Lee
1862 October 12
ALS 2 p. on 1 l.
#448
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Major Duffy
1862 [November] 18
Photocopy only.
#3327
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Albert Taylor Bledsoe
1863 February 18
ANS, on verso of ALS, 1863 February 16, Bledsoe to Lee , 1 p.
#2769-a
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1863 March 24
ALS 2 p.
#11424
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Charles Carter Lee
1863 May 24
ALS 5 p. on 2 l. (20th century copy)
#438
Box 1
William F. Wickham to Robert E. Lee
1863 June 28
AD; 2 drafts.
Wickham writes about the arrival at Hickory Hill of Union cavalry, who carried off General William Henry Fitzhugh Lee as a prisoner
in Wickham’s carriage, as well as horses and slaves, and reports that Charlotte Lee ’s health is not good and that
she is much distressed at her husband’s capture.
#15753
Box 1
J.E.B. Stuart to [Robert E. Lee ]
1863 September 19
ALS 3 p. on 1 l.
#5660
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Edward Willis
1864 March 11
Photocopy only.
#7837
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Mrs. J.S. Heiskell
1864 March 24
ALS 2 p. on 1 l., with typescript.
#38-186
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to George Wasington Custis Lee
1864 March 29
Photocopy only.
#9320
Box 1
Robert E. Lee circular letter to Commanding officers
1864 June 3
ALS 1 p.
#5660
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to General Thomas L. Rosser
1864 July 28
LS 1 p.
#1171
Box 1
Jubal A. Early to Robert E. Lee
[1864] August 10
Photocopy only.
#4166
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Mrs. Paschal Jennings Fowlkes
1864 September 17
Photocopy only.
#5355
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Colonel Cabell
1864 December 19
ALS 1 p., mounted on board.
#438
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Ulysses S. Grant
1865 April 9
Photocopy only.
#10645
Box 1
Robert E. Lee , General Order No. 9
1865 April 9
D, 1 p.
19th century? copy in unidentified hand.
#793
Box 1
Robert E. Lee , General Order No. 9
1865 April 10
DS. 2 p. on 1 l.
#5711
Box 1
Robert E. Lee , General Order No. 9
1865 April 10
Photocopy only.
#5155
Box 1
Robert E. Lee , General Order No. 9
1865 April 10
Photographic copy only.
Draft?
#5155
Box 1
Robert E. Lee , General Order No. 9
1865 April 10
Photocopy only.
#4166
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Phillip Slaughter
1865 August 31
Photocopy only.
#6020
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to Williams Carter Wickham
1865 October 3
ALS
Lee writes about Henry T. Wickham’s attendance at
Washington College in Lexington and Lee ’s plan to write
a history about military campaigns in Virginia during the Civil War
#15753
Box 1
Williams Carter Wickham to Robert E. Lee
1865 October 13
D.
Draft in the hand of Lucy Wickham of Williams Carter Wickham's reply to 1865 October 3
letter of Robert E. Lee , above.
#15753
Box 1
Robert E. Lee to the Rev. Francis Sprigg
1865 October 21
ALS 1 p.
#4703
Box 1
Robert E. Lee , testimonial on behalf of Chaning M. Smith
1865 November 6
Photocopy only.
#5749
Box 2
Robert E. Lee to Hunter McGuire
1866 September 15
Photocopy only.
#9302
Box 2
Robert E. Lee to Colonel Charles S. Venable
1866 March 8
ALS 2 p. on 1 l.
#5660
Box 2
Robert E. Lee to Professor Charles S. Venable
1866 July 6
ALS 3 p. on 1 l., with envelope.
#5655-a
Box 2
Robert E. Lee to Dr. A[lbert] T[aylor] Bledsoe
1866 October 8
ALS 1 p.
#3461
Box 2
Robert E. Lee to General Thomas L. Rosser
1866 December 13
ALS 2 p. on 1 l.
#1171
Box 2
John D. Carter to Faculty of Washington College
1867 January 17
3 p. on 1 l., with pencilled notes by Robert E. Lee , repaired.
#5241
Box 2
Robert E. Lee to John B. Minor
1867 January 17
ALS 4 p. on 2 l.
#38-602, interfiled with 3750
Box 2
Robert E. Lee to Mrs. S.A. Rees
1867 February 6
ALS 2 p. on 1 l., repaired.
#5241
Box 2
Robert E. Lee to Colonel E. Fontaine
1867 July 9
ALS 2 p. on 1 l.
#6269-g
Box 2
Robert E. Lee to Colonel E. Fontaine
1867 July 9
ALS 1 p.
#6269-g
Box 2
Robert E. Lee to Socrates Maupin
1868 June 23
ALS 1 p., with envelope.
#2478-a
Box 2
Robert E. Lee to W.A. Morgan
1868 December 3
ALS 1 p.
#1275
Box 2
Robert E. Lee to Major Jed Hotchkiss
1868 December 14
ALS 1 p.
#2822
Box 2
Robert E. Lee to Major Jed Hotchkiss
1868 December 16
ALS 1 p.
#2822
Box 2
Robert E. Lee to Henry Tutwiler
1869 April 8
Photocopy only.
#10156
Box 2
Robert E. Lee to Edmund Pendleton
1869 April
Photocopy only.
#5779
Box 2
Robert E. Lee to Basil L. Gildersleeve
1869 July 9
ALS 1 p., with envelope.
#RG-21/90.902
Box 2
Robert E. Lee to Major Jed Hotchkiss
1869 October 20
ALS 1 p.
#2822
Box 2
Robert E. Lee to the students of Washington College
1869 [November] 23
Photocopy only.
#9141
Box 2
Robert E. Lee to Major Jed Hotchkiss
1869 December 24
ALS 2 p. on 1 l.
#2822
Box 2
Robert E. Lee to W. Gordon McCabe
1870 February 9
ALS 1 p.
#10568
Box 2
Robert E. Lee to T[homas] Hewitt Key
1870 February 17
ALS 2 p. on 1 l., with envelope.
#10300
Box 2
Robert E. Lee to Joseph Henry
1870 March 11
Photocopy.
Original in the Huntington Library.
#2776
Box 2
Robert E. Lee to Annie Wickham [Anne Carter Wickham Renshaw Byerly]
1870 May 23
AL; signature excised.
Lee promises to stop by “Hickory Hill” to visit if at all possible on his way back to Lexington.
#15753
Box 2
Robert E. Lee , "I will place the appt. under the President's..."
n.d.
ADS 1 p.
#2723
Box 2
Robert E. Lee autograph
n.d.
#2926
Box 2
Hair from Traveller's mane; with confirmation note
n.d.