1861 Civil War Battles
1861 American Civil War Battles |
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General Robert Edward Lee
Commander,
Army of Northern Virginia
January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870
Early Life and Family
On January 19, 1807 Robert E. Lee was born at Stratford Hall Plantation
in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He was the fifth child of Major
Henry Lee III and Anne Hill Carter. His father, a Revolutionary
War hero who had earned the nickname “Light Horse Harry”
while serving under George Washington, could trace his roots back
to the earliest settlers in Virginia. With this backdrop Robert
E. Lee was raised within a family with a strong military influence
and a deep devotion to their home state. He would later move to
Alexandria, Virginia where he would pursue his studies.
In 1825, he entered the United States Military Academy (commonly
referred to as “West Point”) and by the end of his
first year there had become the first cadet to ascend to the rank
of sergeant. In 1829, he graduated second in his class and had
the distinction of never having received a single demerit during
his tenure there. This sense of honor and excellent character
would be a central theme throughout his life.
Commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant, his first of many posts was
at Fort Pulaski located on Cockspur Island, Georgia. He was a
combat engineer and worked on various projects in that capacity
prior to 1846 when he served with distinction in the Mexican-American
War.
This
service would be instrumental in providing Lee with the combat
experience that he would utilize later during the Civil War. In
an interesting historical twist of fate, during the Mexican-American
War Lee would meet and work for a short time alongside his future
opponent, Ulysses S. Grant.
At this same time Lee, who had married in 1831 was raising a family
which produced seven children. His three sons would all serve
in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. His eldest son,
George Washington Custis Lee, served as Major General in the Confederate
Army and as aide-de-camp to President Jefferson Davis. His second
son, William Henry Fitzhugh Lee, served as Major General in the
Confederate Cavalry. His youngest son, served as a Captain in
the Confederate Army. All three survived the Civil War.
A Date With Destiny
Interestingly, Robert E. Lee was present at two of the most monumental
events leading up to the war. In October of 1859, a radical named
John Brown along with a band of 21 men seized the federal arsenal
at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia. Lee was given command of a
force comprised of Maryland and Virginia militia, soldiers, and
United States Marines to put down the uprising. On October 18
Lee ordered the attack against the insurgents and they were captured.
Secondly, in February 1861 when Texas seceded from the Union,
Robert E. Lee was amongst the United States soldiers stationed
there and rather than resign his commission and join the Confederacy
he returned to Washington and remained loyal to the Union. Subsequently
on March 28, 1861 he was promoted to Colonel by newly elected
President Abraham Lincoln.
Just weeks later President Lincoln offered to promote Robert E. Lee to Major General and place him in command of the Union Army. However, while at West Point, Lee had taken an oath of allegiance to the State of Virginia and this oath was not taken lightly. Lee declined the command on the grounds that he could not violate this oath and draw his sword against his beloved home state. Lee believed that “loyalty to Virginia ought to take precedence over that which is due to the Federal Government.” With that decision the ground work was laid for Robert E. Lee to take up arms for Virginia and by its association, the Confederate States of America.
Commander
of the Army of Northern Virginia
Shortly thereafter, Robert E. Lee resigned from the United States
Army and moved his family to Richmond. Upon arriving there, he
offered his services to his state and was placed in command of
all military forces from Virginia. Later in 1861, he would become
the personal military advisor to President Jefferson Davis. In
the spring of 1862, Confederate General Joseph Johnston was seriously
wounded at the battle of Seven Pines and Lee was immediately appointed
to replace him. Upon taking this new field command, Lee renamed
the confederate forces under him the “Army of Northern Virginia”.
General Robert E. Lee, aided by the expertise of excellent commanders serving beneath him such as General Thomas Jonathon “Stonewall” Jackson, was able to reel off a series of military victories despite the fact that his army was outnumbered and outgunned by Union forces. In the spring of 1863, the Union responded with a surprise attack against the Army of Northern Virginia. The resulting conflict, known as The Battle of Chancellorsville, would be extremely costly to Lee and the South as General Stonewall Jackson was mortally wounded there. Despite the loss of his most trusted corps commander, Lee would invade the North in response.
Confidently the Army of Northern Virginia moved across Maryland and into southern Pennsylvania culminating in the most pivotal and costly battle of the Civil War near a small town named Gettysburg. On July 1-3, 1863, some 158,000+ soldiers under the commands of General Robert E. Lee and Major General George G. Meade respectively, clashed in deadly conflict. The 3 days of heavy fighting would produce an estimated 23,000 casualties for the Union Army and 28,000 for the Confederate Army. On July 4, 1863 Lee would be forced to withdraw. Lee and his army retreated into Virginia, never again to fight on Northern soil. The defeat would mark the beginning of the end for the hopes of the Confederacy.
In 1864, fate would bring Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant together again. Now a Lieutenant General, Grant was tasked with waging a war of attrition against Lee. Utilizing the superior resources available to the North of both men and material, Grant would continually attack Lee and ultimately overwhelm hi s ability to reinforce and resupply the Army of Northern Virginia. The battles led up to a final showdown and a siege at Petersburg, Virginia (a vital railroad link supplying Richmond) which lasted from June 1864-March 1865.
On
April 2, 1865 Grant attacked and Lee was forced to retreat away
from Richmond to the west. He would become surrounded and finally
on April 9, 1865 at Appomattox Court House, Virginia he reluctantly
surrendered effectively signaling the end of the Civil War.
On October 2, 1865, Robert E. Lee accepted an offer to become
President of Washington College (now called Washington and Lee
University) in Lexington, Virginia. He would remain in this role
until his death in 1870 following a brief illness. To this day,
Robert E. Lee is remembered and revered by many as a great American
gentleman and military leader who served his country and his home
state with exceptional honor.